RU2772682C1 - Device for automatic checking of metal plates, method for checking and method for manufacturing metal plates - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: metal plates inspection.

SUBSTANCE: devices 300a and 300b for automatic inspection of metal plates include a carriage 14 that moves on the surface of a metal plate, a radio navigation transmitter 12b or a radio navigation receiver 12a, an inspection device 15, which includes a flaw detection head 35, including inspection and measurement a sensor that scans the test area of ​​the metal plate 10, and a test result generation unit 71 to generate a test result, and a control unit that performs, based on the position of the carriage 14 measured by the position measurement system, and the target position, which is the position of the carriage 14, controlling the carriage 14 to automatically move to the target position and controlling the flaw detection head 35 for scanning. The test result generation unit 71 generates a test result based on the test information received by the inspection sensor and the position information of the flaw detection head 35.

EFFECT: invention provides a device that is capable of efficiently generating test results even in cases where the flaw detection data contains a huge amount of information.

23 cl, 39 dwg

Description

The field of technology to which the invention relates

The present invention relates to a device for automatically checking metal plates using a position measuring system and a checking method. In addition, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a metal plate, the method including the step of checking the metal plate for defects using a metal plate automatic checking device.

State of the art

In the prior art, a metal plate, such as a steel plate, is examined by ultrasonic testing for scratches that form on the surface of the metal plate, or defects that are present inside the metal plate (and hereinafter also referred to simply as "internal defects"), to guarantee the quality of the metal plate.

In recent years, an automatic checking device has been developed as a device that checks a metal plate for scratches formed on the surface of the metal plate or internal defects of the metal plate. One of the simplest devices for automatic testing is a device that can move on a metal plate and is equipped with a flaw detection head. In the case of using such an inspection device, it is necessary to attach a ribbed surface plate or the like around the plate to be tested in order to scan the entire surface of the plate to be tested.

In the automatic checking device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, which is shown in FIG. 22, the track 8 is moved using the tracks 8a, and when moving from side to side, the track 8 is moved using the sideways moving wheels 8b. Sensors 2b that detect the end edges of the metal plate are provided at the front and rear of the track 8, and probes 2a that check the metal plate for scratches formed on the metal plate are located on the rails. The crawler 8 is designed in such a way that the search position can be calculated by means of a measuring means A, which is provided at the end edge of the metal plate 1, and a stretch measuring means B, which is provided at the reference point P on the metal plate 1.

As an example of a method for measuring the position of an automatic inspection device, a method for setting a guide cable along a travel path is known. As another example of the method, a method of recording a video of a floor surface or a ceiling surface along a camera path and performing image processing on the video is known. As another example of the method, there is known a method of mounting a gyro sensor on a device for automatically checking and calculating the current position by adding the moving speed and the angular speed at high speed.

The flaw detector disclosed in Patent Literature 2 is a metal plate automatic checking device that checks a metal plate using a position measurement system that measures its own position in the interior of a room based on the principle of triangulation. In the embodiments, the case of using conventional beamforming technology is given as an example of ultrasonic testing of steel plates for pressure vessels defined in JIS G 0801. Conventional beamforming technology is one of the methods for reflecting pulsed signals. Each flaw detection head has one source of ultrasonic wave generation (transducer), and the test data is a reflected echo signal (A-oscilloscope), which carries the primary information. Among the pieces of information included in the A-oscilloscope, information regarding the "defect size" is extracted from the defect echo peak, and information regarding the "defect position in the depth direction" is extracted from the propagation time of the ultrasonic wave. The inspection data is transmitted from the on-board computer to the main computer (host computer) along with information about the inspection position, which is calculated in real time. Then the positions of the defects within the metal plate are mapped and displayed on the plane of the metal plate in such a way as to visualize the two-dimensional positions of the defects.

JIS G 0801 defines automatic or manual ultrasonic testing for carbon or alloy steel plate which is used for nuclear reactor, boiler, pressure vessel and the like having a thickness of 6 mm or more and 300 mm or less. When ultrasonic testing a steel plate with a thickness of more than 60 mm, the conventional probe is indicated as the type of probe used. As a rule, as the thickness of the plate increases, the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) becomes smaller due to the scattering and attenuation of ultrasonic waves along their propagation path.

The development of ultrasonic phased array technology has progressed since the 1980s, and in the early years of the 21st century, it has reached its mature stage as a new field of technology. In phased array technology, the flaw detection head uses a plurality of ultrasonic wave generation sources (transducers), and the beam direction and focal point can be freely changed by electrically controlling the transmission timing. In other words, the signal-to-noise ratio is improved by controlling the focal point in the sheet thickness direction, and it can detect the smallest defects present in a steel sheet having a thickness of more than 300 mm, which was difficult to achieve in the prior art.

Citation list

Patent Literature

PTL 1: Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 5-172798.

PTL 2: Japanese Patent No. 5954241.

Disclosure of the essence of the invention

Technical task

In Patent Literature 1 and 2, when the inspection unit uses phased array technology, the amount of flaw detection data information becomes enormous. In such a case, there is a problem that a huge amount of flaw detection data information prevents the data from being transmitted to the main computer.

In addition, when the inspection unit uses phased array technology, the primary information of the inspection data is a reflected echo, and thus it becomes difficult to calculate the paths of beams emitted by a plurality of transducers, interpret the flaw detection results considering these paths, etc. . Therefore, it is technically difficult to make inspection data independent of the flaw detector and make the main computer have a function of graphical representation of flaw detection results. For this reason, a special device is generally used as a test probe, and flaw detection results are generally obtained using the function of a special device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a metal plate automatic inspection apparatus capable of efficiently generating inspection results even when the flaw detection data has a huge amount of information, a inspection method, and a metal plate manufacturing method. plates using a control and measuring device.

The solution of the problem

The inventors of the present invention have made extensive studies to solve the above problem. In the course of research, the present inventors have made a metal plate automatic checking device that includes a predetermined inspection unit, a predetermined control unit, and so on. and which generates test results based on the test information received by the inspection sensor and the position information of the flaw detection head. The inventors of the present invention have found that even in cases where the flaw detection data contains a huge amount of information, inspection results can be efficiently obtained with a metal plate automatic inspection device having the above configuration, and accordingly completed the present invention. The above problem is solved in the following ways.

[1] An automatic metal plate tester designed to test a metal plate using a position measurement system that measures position based on the principle of triangulation and includes a carriage that moves on the surface of the metal plate, a radio navigation transmitter mounted on the carriage for transmitting signals position measurement systems, or a radio navigation receiver installed on the carriage for receiving signals from the position measurement system, a control and measuring unit installed on the carriage, which includes a flaw detection head and a test results generation unit designed to generate a test result. The flaw detection head includes an inspection sensor for scanning the inspection area of a metal plate. The inspection unit further includes a control unit that performs, based on the position of the carriage measured by the position measuring system and the target position of the carriage for performing inspection, controlling the carriage to automatically move to the target position and controlling the scanning actuator that performs flaw detection scanning. head. The test result generation unit generates a test result based on the test information received by the inspection sensor and the position information of the flaw detection head.

[2] In the device for automatically checking metal plates described in [1], the control unit performs work, based on the position and angular position of the carriage that is measured by the position measuring system, and the target position and angular position of the carriage to perform the test, control the carriage to automatic move to target position and angular position.

[3] In the automatic metal plate inspection apparatus described in [1] or [2], the inspection sensor is a phased array probe that houses a plurality of ultrasonic transducers.

[4] The device for automatically checking metal plates described in [3] further includes an output unit for outputting a pulse signal corresponding to a change amount of the position of the flaw detection head, which is updated in each control period, to the inspection sensor, in in which the pulse signal is used as information about the position of the flaw detection head.

[5] In the device for automatically checking metal plates described in [4], the frequency of the output pulse signal generated by the output unit is set so that it is synchronized with the product of the flaw detection data acquisition frequency set by the inspection unit, the pulse resolution and the inspection result display resolution, and the mechanical scanning speed of the flaw detection head is equal to or lower than the upper speed limit, which is calculated by multiplying the inspection result display resolution by the frequency of flaw detection data collection.

[6] In the device for automatically checking metal plates described in any one of [1] to [5], the position measurement system is an in-shop global positioning system (IGPS), and the radio navigation receiver receives rotating fan-shaped beams emitted by one or more radio navigation IGPS transmitters, and recognizes the rotating fan-shaped beams as IGPS signals, which are position system signals.

[7] In the metal plate automatic checking device described in any one of [1] to [5], the position measurement system uses laser triangulation technology. The radio navigation transmitter is configured to perform the function of projecting and receiving laser beams and uses laser triangulation, and the radio navigation transmitter causes laser beams projected by the radio navigation transmitter to be reflected from one or more reflectors and receives the reflected light as position measurement system signals.

[8] In the automatic metal plate checking device described in any one of [1] to [7], the carriage includes at least two rotating wheels and drive units that drive the wheels, and each of the drive units is provided for a respective one of the wheels, and includes a first drive system that drives the respective wheel and a second drive system that is capable of driving the wheel to rotate 90 degrees or more about an axis that is perpendicular to the surface of the metal plate on which it travels. carriage, and which is offset to the center of the carriage with respect to the wheel.

[9] The automatic metal plate checking apparatus described in any one of [1] to [8] further includes an edge detection sensor that is included in the carriage and detects an edge of the metal plate that is being tested.

[10] A method for automatically checking metal plates is for checking metal plates using a position measurement system for position measurement based on the principle of triangulation. The method uses a device for automatic checking of metal plates, which includes a carriage that moves along the surface of a metal plate, a radio navigation transmitter mounted on the carriage for transmitting signals from the position measurement system, or a radio navigation receiver installed on the carriage for receiving signals from the position measurement system, a block control, which, based on the position of the carriage measured by the position measurement system and the target position of the carriage to perform the inspection, controls the carriage to automatically move to the target position and controls the scanning actuator to scan the flaw detection head. The test result generation unit generates a test result based on the test information received by the inspection sensor and the position information of the flaw detection head.

[11] In the method for automatically checking metal plates described in [10], the control unit performs, based on the position and angular position of the carriage that is measured by the position measuring system, and the target position and angular position of the carriage to perform the inspection, control of the carriage to automatically move to the target position and angular position.

[12] The metal plate manufacturing method includes a metal plate manufacturing step, an inspection step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the metal plate automatic checking device described in any one of [1] to [ 9] and a metal plate sorting step based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection step.

Advantageous Effects of the Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a metal plate automatic inspection apparatus capable of efficiently generating inspection results even when the flaw detection data contains a huge amount of information, an inspection method, and a method for manufacturing a metal plate using an inspection device. Further, the metal plate automatic checking apparatus of the present invention can be suitably used, in particular, when the testing apparatus uses ultrasonic phased array technology.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configuration of the overall system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configuration of the overall system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3A is a block diagram of an overall system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3B is a block diagram of a position measurement system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4A is a graph illustrating an example of the relationship between pulse and time to describe the amount of change in the position of the flaw detection head, which is updated in each control period.

Fig. 4B is a graph illustrating another example of the relationship between pulse and time to describe the amount of change in the positions of the flaw detection heads that are updated in each control period.

Fig. 5 is a side view illustrating a carriage which is used in the automatic metal plate checking apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross section along line A-A of a carriage used in the automatic metal plate checking apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a front view illustrating the carriage used in the automatic metal plate checking apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating, on an enlarged scale, a carriage driving unit used in the automatic metal plate checking apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of driving direction control when the automatic metal plate checking device is moved from side to side.

Fig. 9B is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of motion direction control when the automatic metal plate checking apparatus is tilted.

Fig. 9C is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of driving direction control when the metal plate automatic quality checker is moved back and forth.

Fig. 9D is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of driving direction control when the automatic metal plate checking device makes a turn.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for collecting information about the position and angular position of a metal plate.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the system after collecting information about the position and angular position of the metal plate.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart of a method for detecting the position and angular position of the metal plate and setting the target position and inspection path.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the coordinate system that is established based on the measurement points at the ends of the metal plate plate during the operation of detecting the position and angular position of the metal plate.

Fig. 14A is a schematic diagram illustrating the scanning classification and defect detection positions as defined in subsection "7.6. Defect detection positions (scanning positions and areas)" of JIS G 0801 "Ultrasonic Inspection of Steel Plates for Pressure Vessels".

Fig. 14B is a diagram illustrating the scanning classification and defect detection positions which are defined in subsection "7.6. Defect detection positions (scanning positions and areas)" of JIS G 0801 "Ultrasonic inspection of steel plates for pressure vessels".

Fig. 14C is a diagram illustrating the scanning classification and defect detection positions which are defined in subsection "7.6. Defect detection positions (scanning positions and areas)" of JIS G 0801 "Ultrasonic inspection of steel plates for pressure vessels".

Fig. 15A is a conceptual diagram of an A-oscilloscope, which represents the raw information obtained from defect detection.

Fig. 15B is a graph illustrating the relationship between the sound pressure received by the probe and the propagation time of an ultrasonic wave in an A-oscilloscope.

Fig. 15C is a conceptual diagram of a B-oscilloscope that provides a map display relating to a vertical cross-section of a flaw detection target in combination with an A-oscilloscope and scan position information.

Fig. 15D is a conceptual diagram illustrating information that is acquired in the XZ plane of a flaw detection target in a B-oscilloscope.

Fig. 15E is a conceptual diagram of a C-oscilloscope that provides a map display relating to a horizontal cross section of a flaw detection target.

Fig. 15F is a conceptual diagram illustrating information that is acquired in the XY plane of a flaw detection target in a C-oscilloscope.

Fig. 16 is a schematic representation illustrating examples of flaws (defects) that are present in a metal plate.

Fig. 17 is a schematic view illustrating an example in which the positions of flaws (defects) within the metal plate shown in FIG. 16 are mapped and displayed on the plane of the metal plate.

Fig. 18 is a schematic view illustrating an example in which position information of flaws (defects) in the depth direction is added in order to further define the positions of flaws (defects) inside the metal plate in the thickness direction.

Fig. 19 is a schematic representation illustrating the movement of the carriage during flaw detection of four peripheral sections of the metal plate.

Fig. 20A is a schematic representation illustrating the movement of the carriage to the left during flaw detection of the inside of a metal plate.

Fig. 20B is a schematic representation illustrating the movement of the carriage to the right when flaw detection is performed on the inside of a metal plate.

Fig. 21A is a schematic view illustrating the inspection position and the inspection path in the case where four peripheral portions of the metal plate are tested twice.

Fig. 21B is a schematic diagram illustrating the inspection position and inspection path in the case where the inside of the metal plate is inspected in the rolling direction.

Fig. 21C is a schematic diagram illustrating the inspection position and inspection path in the case where the inside of the metal plate is inspected in the rolling direction.

Fig. 21D is a schematic diagram illustrating the inspection position and inspection path in the case where the inside of the metal plate is inspected in the rolling direction.

Fig. 21E is a schematic diagram illustrating the inspection position and inspection path in the case where the inside of the metal plate is inspected in the rolling direction.

Fig. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating a prior art automatic tester.

Implementation of the invention

Below, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the examples illustrated in the drawings.

The metal plate automatic checking device according to the present invention is a metal plate automatic checking device that checks a metal plate using a position measurement system for position measurement based on the triangulation principle. A device for automatic checking of metal plates includes a carriage that moves along the surface of a metal plate, a radio navigation transmitter mounted on the carriage for transmitting position measurement system signals, or a radio navigation receiver mounted on the carriage for receiving position measurement system signals. The device for automatic testing of metal plates further includes a control and measuring unit mounted on the carriage, which includes a flaw detection head and a test result generating unit for generating a test result. The flaw detection head includes an inspection sensor for scanning the inspection area of a metal plate. The device for automatically checking metal plates also includes a control unit that performs, based on the position of the carriage measured by the position measuring system and the target position of the carriage to perform the inspection, control of the carriage to automatically move to the target position and control of the scanning actuator to scan the flaw detection head. The test result generation unit generates a test result based on the test information received by the inspection sensor and the position information of the flaw detection head. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

It should be noted that in the present invention, the position of the carriage to perform the check will also simply be referred to as the target position. In addition, in the present invention, the term "defect" refers to an internal defect such as a foreign body, crack, or hole within a metal plate. In addition, in the present invention, the phrase "carriage angular position" refers to the inclination of the carriage in three dimensions with respect to the orientation of the carriage when the test is performed as a reference. Although the following description is based on the assumption that a steel plate is used as an example of a metal plate, the metal plate automatic test apparatus of the present invention is also applicable to testing various metal plates such as aluminum plate and copper plate.

In FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configuration of the overall system 100a according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configuration of the overall system 100b according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating the overall system 100a according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3B shows a block diagram of a position measurement system 200b according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The system 100a as a whole according to the first embodiment includes a position measuring system 200a and a device 300a for automatically checking metal plates.

The position measurement system 200a includes a plurality of radio navigation transmitters 11a, a radio navigation receiver 12a, and a host computer 13 including position calculation software 16. The position measurement system 200a performs determination of one's own position in indoor space based on the principle of triangulation. For example, the position measurement system 200a may use an intra-shop global positioning system (IGPS).

In general, a global positioning system (GPS) is a system that determines and sets three-dimensional coordinate values (hereinafter referred to as "coordinate values") that correspond to the position of a GPS receiver using three or more artificial GPS satellites. IGPS is a position measurement system that applies this concept to indoor space. For example, IGPS is detailed in US Pat. No. 6,501,543.

The metal plate automatic checking apparatus 300a according to the first embodiment includes, for example, a carriage 14 that moves on the metal plate 10, a radio navigation receiver 12a mounted on the carriage 14, a tester (testing unit) 15, which includes includes a flaw detection head 35 having a probe mounted on a carriage 14. The automatic metal plate inspection device 300a also includes a host computer 13 that includes software that causes the carriage 14 to automatically move to a predetermined target position.

In the position measurement system 200a, each of the radio navigation transmitters 11a emits two rotating fan beams. The rotating fan-shaped beams may be fan-shaped laser beams or other light emitting means may be used. By receiving the rotating fan beams emitted by the transmitters, the radio navigation receiver 12a is able to determine its position relative to a plurality of transmitters. In this case, the rotating fan-shaped beams deviate from each other by a predetermined angle, and the coordinate values of the receiver receiving the rotating fan-shaped beams, that is, the position or height of the receiver can be determined (measured). The information received by the radio navigation receiver 12a is transmitted wirelessly to the host computer 13, and the host computer 13 calculates the position of the radio navigation receiver 12a according to the principle of triangulation. Thus, by calculating the position of the radio navigation receiver 12a in this way, real-time information regarding the current position and angular position of the carriage 14, which includes the radio navigation receiver 12a, can be obtained during carriage movement.

In FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the overall system 100b according to the second embodiment. The system 100b as a whole includes a position measurement system 200b and a device 300b for automatically checking metal plates. The metal plate automatic checking device 300b according to the second embodiment includes a radio navigation transmitter 12b that transmits a position measurement system signal, while the metal plate automatic checking device 300a according to the first embodiment includes a radio navigation receiver 12a that receives a position measurement system signal. positions.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the position measurement system 200b according to the second embodiment includes a radio navigation transmitter 12b mounted on the top of the carriage 14, a plurality of reflectors 11b, and a host computer 13 including a position calculation software 16. The position measurement system 200b according to the second embodiment performs self-position measurement in the indoor space based on the principle of triangulation. The position measurement system 200b according to the second embodiment may use laser triangulation technology, which is used, for example, by a cleaning robot that moves automatically in an office building or the like. (see, for example, http://robonable.typepad.jp/news/2009/11/25subaru.html).

The device 300b for automatically checking metal plates includes, for example, a carriage 14 that moves on a metal plate 10, a radio navigation transmitter 12b that is located on the top of the carriage 14, an inspection device 15 that includes a flaw detection head 35 having probe, which is a control and measuring sensor. The automatic metal plate checking device 300b also includes a host computer 13 that includes software that causes the carriage 14 to automatically move to a predetermined target position.

In the second embodiment, the radio navigation transmitter 12b uses laser triangulation technology. The automatic movement of the carriage 14 uses a radio navigation transmitter 12b, which performs laser triangulation, and reflectors 11b, each of which is located, for example, on a wall surface. The radio navigation transmitter 12b is located, for example, in the upper part of the carriage 14 and has the function of projecting and receiving laser beams. The radio navigation transmitter 12b projects the laser beam L through 360 degrees and receives the light reflected by the reflectors 11b as position measurement system signals. The distance is determined by the time required for the reflected light to reach the radio navigation transmitter 12b, and the direction in which each of the reflectors 11b is located is determined by the angle of the respective reflected light. By comparing the determined distances and directions with the coordinate positions of the reflectors 11b that are registered in advance, the position of the radio navigation transmitter 12b and the direction in which the radio navigation transmitter 12b is located can be calculated. Thus, by calculating the position of the radio navigation transmitter 12b in this manner, information about the current position and angular position of the carriage 14, which includes the radio navigation transmitter 12b, can be obtained in real time while the carriage 14 is moving.

In the configuration to be described below, the metal plate automatic checking apparatus 300a according to the first embodiment is used, and the case in which the position measurement system 200a is used will be described as an example. The configuration to be described below is also applicable to the metal plate automatic checking apparatus 300b according to the second embodiment. In addition, the configuration will be described below as an example using the position information and the angular position information of the carriage. It should be noted that in the case where the metal plate to be checked is placed parallel to a flat surface that is not inclined with respect to the horizontal surface, and when the angular position of the carriage remains constant, there is no need to store the position information.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the host computer 13 includes, for example, a position calculation software 16 that calculates the position of the aforementioned radio navigation receiver 12a, and a setting software 17 that sets the target position of the carriage 14 and position information of the carriage 14 when performing a check.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the carriage 14 includes, for example, a radio navigation receiver 12a, which is part of the aforementioned position measurement system 200a, an inspection device 15, which includes a flaw detection head 35, and an inspection output generating unit 71. The carriage 14 further includes an on-board computer 21, edge detection sensors 22 that detect the edges of the metal plate 10, an input/output board 23, and a scan actuator 24 for performing scanning with a flaw detection head 35. The carriage 14 further includes a drive control unit 25, which includes a controller and drive, wheels 26 for movement, and motor wheels 27 for driving and turning the wheels. Here, the position calculation software 16 and the setting software 17, which are included in the host computer 13, can also be installed in the on-board computer 21.

The on-board computer 21 includes a control unit that controls the carriage 14 to automatically move to the target position and angular position, and controls the scanning actuator 24 that scans the flaw detection head 35 based on the position and angular position of the carriage 14 that is measured by the system 200a position measurement, and the target position and angular position of the carriage 14, to perform a check. The flaw detection head 35 scans at the target position of the carriage 14. In automatic movement, for example, first, the current position and angular position of the carriage 14, which are the calculation results obtained by the aforementioned host computer 13, the target position and angular position of the carriage 14 to perform inspection, and information the target position of the scanning actuator 24 is wirelessly transmitted to the on-board computer 21 included in the carriage 14. The on-board computer 21 then calculates the deviation of the current position of the rotation position at the target position and rotation position. Then, the drive control unit 25 supplies a control signal to the motor-wheels 27 so that the deviations, which depend on the position and angular position of the main body of the carriage, become zero, and the feedback control of the speed and angle of rotation of each of the wheels 26 is performed in such a way that so that the carriage 14 automatically moves to the target position and angular position. It should be noted that in the case where the aforementioned angular position information is not required, the on-board computer 21 may include a control unit that controls the carriage 14 to automatically move to the target position and controls the scanning actuator 24 that scans the flaw detection head 35 on based on the position of the carriage 14 measured by the position measurement system 200a and the target position of the carriage 14 to perform the check.

The control of the scanning operation of the inspection sensor (probe) performed by the on-board computer 21 will now be described. is performed by performing mechanical rectangular scanning by the flaw detection head 35 in the X and Y directions. in the Y direction. Mechanical scanning of the flaw detection head 35 is controlled by the scanning actuator 24 . The phased array flaw detection head 35 includes a plurality of ultrasonic wave sources (transducers), and the distance at which the electron beam can be scanned depends on the width, spacing, and number of the transducers. The internal structure of the flaw detection head 35 requires high manufacturing precision, and thus the flaw detection head 35 is generally more expensive than the flaw detection head of a conventional sensor of the prior art. Considering maintainability such as replacement if the flaw detection head 35 fails, the number of transducers is generally 10 to 128. For example, when the beam scanning distance in the X direction is 120 mm and the size of the metal plate in the X direction is 5000 mm, in order to perform flaw detection on the entire surface of the metal plate, the disadvantage of beam scanning is compensated by moving the wheels of the carriage 14 with a step of 100 mm. In addition, for example, when the dimension in the Y direction is 2000 mm and the stroke of the scanning actuator 24, which scans the flaw detection head 35 in the Y direction, is 600 mm, the lack of mechanical scanning of the scanning actuator 24 is compensated by moving the wheels of the carriage 14 in increments of 500 mm.

The function of the automatic metal plate inspection device 300a for inspecting the metal plate 10 will now be described. a metal plate inspection area 10, a scanning actuator 24 that controls the scanning of the flaw detection head 35, an on-board computer 21, and a drive control unit 25. The on-board computer 21 calculates, using pieces of information about the inspection position, the current position and the angular position of the carriage received from the main computer 13, the required scan amount of the actuator 24 to scan the flaw detection head 35, which is a component of the inspection device 15. Drive control unit 25 supplies an electrical signal to the scanning actuator 24 to actuate the scanning actuator 24 with the desired scan amount, and the scanning actuator 24 converts the electrical signal into a scanning motion of the flaw detection head 35. The position information of the flaw detection head 35 is transmitted back to the on-board computer 21 and calculated as information about the test position together with information about the current position of the carriage 14. The test data in the tester 15 is downloaded to the on-board computer 21 from the tester va 15 through the input-output board 23 and are transmitted wirelessly to the host computer 13 along with information about the position of the test. In this case, the scanning actuator 24 may control the position of the inspection head 35 in combination with the control of the carriage 14 for automatic movement, or may control the position of the inspection head 35 independently of the automatic movement of the carriage 14.

The inspection device 15 includes a flaw detection head 35 and a test result generation unit 71 that generates test results. The test result generating unit 71 generates test results based on the test information obtained by the probe and the position information of the flaw detection head 35. For example, the test result generating unit 71 generates, as a test result, a flaw map in which information about the position of the metal plate and the information regarding the flaw detection result are related to each other. By using the device configuration according to the present invention, the inspection device 15 can generate inspection results, and the host computer 13 does not need to create a flaw chart.

Even when the probe uses ultrasonic phased array technology, it is not necessary to transmit a huge amount of flaw detection data to the main computer 13, and even when the flaw detection data has a huge amount of information, it is possible to efficiently generate and evaluate test results.

In the case of using ultrasonic phased array technology, conventional technology can be used. This will be briefly described below. In the case of ultrasonic phased array technology, the inspection sensors included in the flaw detection head 35 are a phased array probe that houses a plurality of ultrasonic transducers. In ultrasonic phased array technology, by electronically controlling the timing (delay time) by which each ultrasonic transducer emits an ultrasonic wave, the ultrasonic beam can be focused at an arbitrary position, or the ultrasonic wave can propagate in an arbitrary direction.

In addition, in the case of imaging a defect in the X direction and the Y direction in two dimensions using the ultrasonic phased array technology, since the electron beam scanning is performed in the X direction, the image of the defect can be obtained in the range of the number of channels only by mechanically scanning the flaw detection head 35 in in the Y direction. As the beam scanning method, a conventional scanning method such as line scanning, sector scanning, or dynamic depth focusing (DDF) can be used.

As information about the position of the flaw detection head 35, pulse signals can be used. In this case, for example, the pulse signal output board 72, which serves as an output module for outputting pulse signals corresponding to the position change amount of the flaw detection head 35, which are updated in every control period of the on-board computer 21, to the probe (sensors) installed in the on-board computer 21. As the above-mentioned pulse signals, for example, pulse signals (A-oscilloscope and B-oscilloscope) indicating positions on the horizontal surface of the steel plate in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are used.

As a result, it is not necessary to extract a large amount of flaw detection data from the inspection device 15. In other words, in the phased array technology, the inspection device 15 can perform calculation of the paths of beams emitted from a plurality of sensors, analysis of the flaw detection results considering these paths, etc. and it is not necessary to output a large amount of data such as flaw detection data to the main computer 13. Thus, the inspection method of the present invention is a very practical method.

The on-board computer 21 included in the carriage 14 includes a pulse signal output board 72 (output unit 72), which outputs pulse signals corresponding to the amount of change in the positions of the flaw detection head 35, which are updated in each control period, to the control and measuring device 15. For example, when a flaw detection map is created, the flaw detection positions (the positions of the flaw detection head 35) are calculated in real time based on the information about the actual position and angular position of the carriage 14 and the limit positions of the scanning actuator 24 stroke, and the calculation results are output as pulse signals to the control -measuring device 15. It should be noted that the above information about the actual position and angular position of the carriage 14 is obtained in real time using IGPS. Preferably, the frequency of the output pulse signals generated by the pulse output board 72 is set so that it is synchronized with the setting conditions of the tester 15 and the mechanical scanning speed of the flaw detection head 35.

For example, when the flaw map display resolution (inspection result display resolution) is 2 mm and the flaw detection data collection frequency is 50 Hz, the maximum scanning speed at which flaw detection data does not appear within the display resolution of 2 mm is equal to the product of these values, which is 100 mm/s. In other words, when the mechanical scanning speed of the flaw detection head 35 exceeds 100 mm/s, flaw detection data is skipped while the flaw detection head 35 moves a distance of 2 mm, which is a display resolution. Thus, in order to improve the accuracy of flaw detection results, it is preferable to adjust the mechanical scanning speed of the flaw detection head 35 so that flaw detection data can be reliably obtained while the flaw detection head 35 is moving a distance of 2 mm, which is the display resolution.

In addition, in the case where the flaw detection frequency is set to 50 Hz, the pulse signal resolution of the tester 15 that receives the pulse signals is set to 10 pulses/mm, and the display resolution of the flaw map, which is the spatial resolution when displaying the flaw detection result, is set to 1 mm, the pulse frequency input to the test probe is determined by the product of these values, which is 500 Hz. When the frequency of the output pulse signals generated by the pulse output board 72 is 500 Hz, which is synchronized with the above frequency, the time changes in the position of the flaw detection head 35 obtained by the probe are continuous and close to the actual movements. The relationship between the actual position information of the flaw detection head (pulse signal) and the pulse signal output by the pulse signal output board 72 is shown in this case in FIG. 4A.

On the contrary, when the frequency of the pulse signal generated by the pulse signal output board 72 exceeds 500 Hz, the time changes of the positions of the flaw detection head 35 received by the probe become intermittent (stepping). There may be a case where position information is not updated within the display resolution range of 2 mm due to random factors such as changes in the time synchronization of the collection of travel limit information, which depends on the specifications of the linear slider for probe scanning and time synchronization pulse signal output command, which depends on the control period of the on-board computer 21. The relationship between the actual position information of the flaw detection head (pulse signal) and the pulse signal output by the pulse signal output board 72 is shown for this case in FIG. 4b.

As can be seen from these results, it is preferable that the frequency of the output pulse signal generated by the pulse output board 72 be set so that it is synchronized with the product of the flaw detection frequency, i.e. with the product of the amount of collected flaw detection data per unit time (times/sec) set by the inspection device 15, the pulse resolution (pulses/mm) and the flaw detection map display resolution (mm/times). In addition, it is preferable that the mechanical scanning speed of the flaw detection head 35 be equal to or less than the upper speed limit, which is calculated by multiplying the flaw detection map display resolution (test result display resolution) by the flaw detection data collection frequency.

The physical configuration of the carriage 14, which is the main part of the automatic metal plate checking apparatus, will now be described. In FIG. 5 shows a side view of the carriage 14, FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 5 and in FIG. 7 shows a front view of carriage 14. FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating the carriage drive unit 14 on an enlarged scale.

The carriage 14 includes a carriage main body 31, and the carriage main body 31 is divided into an upper tier part 31a, a middle tier part 31b, and a lower tier part 31c.

In the top tier part 31a, the radio navigation receiver 12a, the on-board computer 21, the input/output board 23, and the pulse signal output board 72, which are described above, are housed. In addition, it contains an ultrasonic flaw detector 32 and a wireless communication unit 33, which are included in the control and measuring device 15.

In the middle tier part 31b, a water tank 34 is placed, which serves as a water supply means. When testing the metal plate 10 with ultrasonic testing, the space between the probe and the metal plate 10 must always be filled with water, and thus water must be continuously supplied from the water tank 34 to the space between the probe and the metal plate through the water supply hose ( not shown). It should be noted that the water tank has a limited capacity, and therefore water can be supplied from an external water source using a hose.

The edge detection sensors 22 are placed around the bottom tier part 31c. In the lower tier part 31c, the wheels 26 for movement, the drive control unit 25, the motors 27a for driving the wheels and the motors 27b for turning, which are included in the motor-wheels 27, the flaw detection head 35 included in the inspection device 15, the sensor controller 37 edge detection and rechargeable battery 38.

In the case where water is supplied from an external water source using a hose, it is preferable to use a supply method in which the hose does not interfere with the operation of the robot as a result of being caught on the end portion of the flaw detection target, and in which the water supply will not be stopped due to kinking of the hose. For example, supports are provided around the flaw detection work area, and a rail having a plurality of hangers to support a cable to hang a hose is attached to the supports so that the rail can rotate so that the hose can be fed from the top of the robot along the hangers to support the cable. The tension in the hose resulting from the movement of the robot causes the rail to turn and the cable hangers to slide along the rail so that a stable water supply can be provided without interfering with the movement of the robot.

In this case, in addition to supplying water using a hose, power and signals can also be supplied using a cable. In this case, for example, the on-board computer 21 may not be part of the robot and may be stored, for example, on a control panel installed near the work area. The on-board computer 21 and the robot can be connected to each other by a communication cable, so the configuration of the main body of the robot can be simplified, and the weight of the robot can be reduced. In addition, by using wired communication instead of the wireless communication unit 33, wireless communication instability due to environmental disturbances and the like can be suppressed, and a highly reliable system configuration can be obtained. In addition, by using the cable to supply power to the main body of the robot and to supply power to the test sensor (probe) connected to the robot from the outside, it is not necessary to use the battery 38. In addition, problems such as abnormal stop from - for battery discharge.

Each of the flaw detection heads 35 includes a probe, which is an inspection sensor that scans the inspection area of the metal plate 10, and is supported by the flaw detection head support mechanism 36 . The flaw detection head 35 is attached to the vertical shaft 39 with the flaw detection head support mechanism 36 disposed therebetween, and the vertical shaft 39 can be moved in the vertical direction along the vertical rail 40. In addition, the vertical shaft 39 is attached to the horizontal rail 42 by a fastening part 41 , and the horizontal rail 42 scans along the horizontal scan shaft 43 by means of a scan actuator 24 (not shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7).

Each of the edge detection sensors 22 typically consists of a swirl sensor, and as a result, the edge detection sensors 22 detect the ends of the metal plates 10 when the carriage 14 automatically moves on the metal plate 10 and prevent the carriage 14 from slipping off the metal plate 10. In addition In addition, the edge detection sensors 22 are used as sensors that allow the carriage 14 to move along the ends of the plate when the carriage 14 conducts flaw detection at the ends of the plate while flaw detection of four peripheral portions of the metal plate. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, with respect to each of the sides on which the flaw detection heads 35 are located, two of the edge detection sensors 22 are positioned so as to be in line with the corresponding flaw detection head 35. By controlling the direction of movement of the carriage 14 so that the two edge detection sensors 22 continuously detect the end of the wafer, you can scan along the end of the wafer. Similarly, with respect to each of the sides on which the flaw detection head 35 is not located, two edge detection sensors 22 are located on the left and right sides.

Four wheels 26 are positioned independently of each other at the bottom of the carriage 14 and can be driven and rotated 90 degrees or more. These 26 wheels provide omnidirectional steering. The operating states of a plurality of wheel motors are determined by motor encoders (not shown) each corresponding to one of the wheel motors, and then omnidirectional motion control, which is used in conventional robot control, is performed using the detected signals.

Each drive unit 50 is provided for one of the wheels in order to drive the wheels independently of each other. As shown in FIG. 8, a wheel drive motor 27a that serves as a first drive system and a rotary motor 27b that serves as a second drive system for driving direction control are included as wheel motors 27 in each of the drive units 50. The drive gear 51 is attached to the shaft of the rotation direction control motor 27b, and the drive gear 51 engages with the rack 53 provided on the outer periphery of the rotation direction control platform 52.

The case (not shown) of the wheel motor 27a is mounted on the top of the direction control turntable 52, and the output rotary shaft 54 of the wheel motor 27a is extended downward through the direction control turntable 52. The first cross shaft gear 55 is connected to the lower end of the output rotary shaft 54. The second cross shaft gear 56 engages the first cross shaft gear 55, and the second cross shaft gear 56 is connected to the shaft element 57 of the wheel 26. The shaft element 57 is rotatably supported a suspension structure 58 that extends downward from the turntable 52 to control the direction of travel.

Thus, each of the wheel motors 27a rotates a respective wheel 26, and each of the swing motors 27b rotates a respective wheel 26 together with the directional control turntable 52 and the suspension structure 58. Each of the wheel motors 27a can rotate the corresponding wheel in the forward direction and in the reverse direction. Each of the rotary motors 27b is located perpendicular to the surface of the metal plate on which the carriage 14 travels, and can rotate 90 degrees or more about an axis that is offset to the center of the carriage relative to the corresponding wheel 26.

A moving direction control system that determines the moving direction of the metal plate automatic checking device will now be described. In FIG. 9A-9D are schematic representations illustrating a direction control system. In FIG. 9A shows the side-to-side driving direction control state. In FIG. 9B shows the state of the direction control of the inclined motion. In FIG. 9C shows the reciprocating direction control state. In FIG. 9D shows a state of steering direction control in a turn on the spot. It should be noted that the term "turn on the spot" refers to the case when a tracked vehicle, such as a hydraulic excavator or tank, changes the angular position of the vehicle body without moving it by rotating the left and right tracks at the same speed in opposite directions.

Now, the quality control operation performed by the metal plate automatic checking apparatus 300a using the position measurement system 200a according to the first embodiment will be described. First, the collection of information about the position and angular position of the metal plate in the process before setting the test target position and test path will be described. In FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for collecting position and angular position information of a metal plate. In FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the system configuration in this case.

As illustrated in these drawings, herein, the contact probe 61 of the fixture 60, which is used to detect the position and the angular position of the metal plate, is installed at the angular position of the metal plate 10, which is the measurement target, to measure the position. The radio navigation receiver 12a of the position measurement system 200a is attached to the fixture 60. In this case, in order to measure the coordinates of the contact position with high accuracy, the geometric positional relationship between the radio navigation receiver 12a and the contact sensor 61 is generally determined with high accuracy within ±50 µm. In the position measurement system 200a, information about the position (X, Y, Z) and the angular position (θx, θy, θz) of the radio navigation receiver 12a is obtained. If the positional relationship between the radio navigation receiver 12a and the touch probe 61 is determined, an operation of converting the position information of the radio navigation receiver 12a into position information is performed at the position of the touch probe 61.

In FIG. 12, steps 1-5 are included in the flowchart for detecting the position and angular position of the metal plate. In FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the coordinate system that is set based on the measurement points at the ends of the metal plate plate during the operation of detecting the position and angular position of the metal plate. First, the metal plate end edge position measurement mode is selected on the operation screen of the main computer 13, which is included in the position measurement system 200a (step 1). Then, the position of the measurement point A is measured as the end angle of the original plate with a fixture that is used to detect the position and angular position of the metal plate (step 2). Further, the position of the measurement end point B of the sheet is measured as the angle of the plate, which is adjacent to the measurement point A in the rolling direction (step 3). Thereafter, the position of the plate measurement end point C is measured as the angle of the plate diagonally opposite to the measurement point A (step 4). The position of the end edges of at least three of the four corners of the metal plate is determined by the method described above, and then a rectangular shape including these three points as its corners is calculated, so that the position and angular position of the metal plate can be determined. The main computer 13 calculates the position and angular position of the metal plate based on the fact that it has a rectangular shape, which includes as its three corners the coordinate data of the measurement positions of the above-mentioned measurement points A (origin point), B and C of the measurement. A coordinate system is set up in which the measurement point A is the origin, and in which the direction of the vector from the measurement point A to the measurement point B and the direction perpendicular to this direction are the X direction and the Y direction, respectively (step 5). It should be noted that this coordinate system will henceforth be referred to as the metal plate coordinate system.

It should be noted that the metal plate does not necessarily have a rectangular shape. Thus, the position and angular position of the metal plate can be detected, assuming that the metal plate is not rectangular, by forming a quadrilateral shape connecting the four corners of the metal plate with a line.

It should be noted that in the second embodiment, the aforementioned contact probe 61 may be included in a fixture that is used to detect the position and angular position of the metal plate and to which the radio navigation transmitter 12b of the position measurement system 200b is attached. The contact probe 61 may be installed at a position at a corner of the metal plate 10 which is the measurement target in order to measure the position.

Now, a method for setting the inspection target position and the inspection path will be described. In FIG. 12, steps 6-10 are included in the flowchart of the method for setting the test target position and the test path. After the metal plate coordinate system has been set as described above, in the setup software 17 of the host computer 13, the metal plate test target position setting mode is selected (step 6), and the metal plate test pattern is selected based on the industry standard and contract with customer (step 7). Then, the software specifies the flaw detection positions, the motion step for flaw detection and the number of defects for flaw detection of the four peripheral sections of the metal plate (step 8), and the flaw detection positions, the probe scanning direction, and the flaw detection step that is performed for the inside of the steel sheet ( step 9). The software sets, based on these specified conditions and information about the position and angular position of the metal plate, the test target position and test path in the metal plate coordinate system (step 10).

As an example of a check pattern, FIG. 14A to 14C show the scanning classification and inspection positions which are defined in subsection "7.6. Inspection positions (scanning positions and areas)" of JIS G 0801 "Ultrasonic Inspection of Steel Plates for Pressure Vessels". In FIG. 14A shows the flaw detection position when flaw detection is carried out in the rolling direction and in the direction perpendicular to the rolling direction. In FIG. 14B shows the flaw detection position when flaw detection is performed in the rolling direction. In FIG. 14C shows the flaw detection position in the case where the flaw detection is performed in the direction perpendicular to the rolling direction. In the standard, the four peripheral sections of the metal plate and the inside of the steel plate are designated as the flaw detection position. There is a specification for the flaw detection scan pitch for the four peripheral portions, and there are specifications for the flaw detection scan pitch and scanning direction for the inside of the steel plate. The standards for such metal plate inspection are not limited to JIS standards, and there are various standards, including foreign standards. In the end, it is necessary to perform verification on the basis of an agreement with the customer. Thus, with the aforementioned selection of the test pattern, preparing the software in advance to install the test pattern as needed allows for flexible response to the customer's request.

In FIG. 15A is a conceptual diagram of an A-oscilloscope, which is the raw information obtained from flaw detection. In FIG. 15B is a graph illustrating the relationship between the sound pressure received by the probe and the propagation time of ultrasonic waves in an A-oscilloscope. In FIG. 15C is a conceptual diagram of a B oscilloscope that provides a map display relating to a vertical cross section of a flaw detection target in combination with an A oscilloscope and scan position information. In FIG. 15D is a conceptual diagram illustrating the information that is acquired on the XZ plane of a flaw detection target in a B-oscilloscope. In FIG. 15E is a conceptual diagram of a C-oscilloscope that provides a map display related to a horizontal cross section of a flaw detection target. In FIG. 15F is a schematic diagram illustrating information that is acquired on the XY plane of the flaw detection target in the C-oscilloscope. In flaw detection, the A-oscilloscope is obtained as raw information and can extract "defect size" information from echo peak height and "defect position in depth direction" information from ultrasonic wave propagation time. In FIG. 15A, 15C and 15E defective areas are indicated by halftone dots.

In the case where phased array technology is used, the X-axis direction in FIG. 15A, 15C and 15E is the transducer placement direction, that is, the electronic scanning direction, and the Y-axis direction is the mechanical scanning direction. As mentioned above, by controlling the focal length in the wafer thickness direction, the signal-to-noise ratio can be reduced compared to the case of using the pulse reflection technology. In addition, the test results include information in the plate thickness direction in addition to the positions in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and thus the above ranges A to C can be obtained.

Although the method for determining the "defect amount" based on the height of the echo peak is defined in "9. Classification and Evaluation of Defects" of JIS G 0801 "Ultrasonic Inspection of Steel Sheets for Pressure Vessels", there is currently no rule for displaying "defect position in the direction of depth. However, in order to ensure quality and respond flexibly to customer request, it is necessary to take into account the three-dimensional distribution of defects in the steel sheet, which is an industrial product, including "defect positions in the depth direction".

When scanning with the probe at the inspection target position and along the quality inspection path, inspection is performed at the time of determining the current probe position, and flaw detection information related to inspection position information on the metal plate plane is obtained. In this way, the position of defects can be accurately determined. For example, if there are flaws (defects), such as those indicated by halftone dots in FIG. 16 inside the metal plate as shown in FIG. 17, the position of flaws (defects) inside the metal plate are displayed on the plane of the metal plate and displayed based on the flaw detection information associated with the inspection position information. As a result, two-dimensional positions of flaws (defects) can be visualized, and defects can be easily identified. In addition to this, as shown in FIG. 18, the positions of flaws (defects) inside the metal plate in the thickness direction can also be determined and mapped in three dimensions on the plane of the metal plate and displayed. More specifically, it is possible to obtain a B oscilloscope that provides a map display related to a vertical cross section of a flaw detection target in combination with an A oscilloscope and scan position information, and a C oscilloscope that provides a map display related to horizontal cross section.

The collection of position and angle information of a metal plate using a metal plate position and angle detection tool that includes a radio navigation receiver and a contact sensor is based on the assumption that the metal plate is rectangular in shape. Thus, for example, if the metal plate is bent, there is a possibility that the position at which the plate end of the metal plate is detected by the above method will be different from the actual position of the plate end, and if the carriage is moved based on the test target position and the test path specified provided that the metal plate is rectangular, there is a possibility that the carriage will fall off the metal plate. Thus, as described above, when testing the four peripheral portions of the metal plate, it is preferable that the carriage stroke is corrected by the edge detection sensors installed around the device in addition to the test target position and the test path.

In FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating the movement of an automatic inspection device (carriage) during flaw detection of four peripheral portions of a metal plate. (1) When the end of the plate on the bottom side (FIG. 19) is checked, the device is moved, while the direction of its movement is adjusted so that the two edge detection sensors 22, which are located on the side of the carriage 14, so that they are in line with a corresponding flaw detection head 35, the end of the plate was constantly detected. (2) When the device approaches the plate end position in the direction of travel based on the test target position and the test path, the device starts to slow down, and (3) eventually, the device temporarily stops when the two edge detection sensors 22 that are located in front of the device, detecting the edge of the metal plate 10. (4) Then, the flaw detection head 35 is moved by an actuator (not shown), which causes the flaw detection head 35 to scan in the horizontal direction until the flaw detection head 35 reaches the plate end position. (5) The device drives a rotary motor (not shown) when it is not moving, and turns the wheels 26 in a direction perpendicular to the above direction of movement. (6) The device moves forward and checks the edge of the plate on the left side (Fig. 19). This process is repeated until the detection of the specified defects in the four peripheral regions is completed.

In FIG. 20A and 20B are diagrams illustrating the movement of an automatic inspection device (carriage) when inspecting the inside of a metal plate. Inspection of the inside of the metal plate 10 is independent of the edge of the plate, and is performed based on the inspection target position and inspection path that were mentioned above. The target position of the carriage and the target scan amount of an actuator (not shown) for scanning by the flaw detection head 35 are set in accordance with the target position and inspection path, and control related to driving and steering the wheels 26 and scanning using the scanning actuator 24 are performed. .

In FIG. 21A to 21E are diagrams illustrating the inspection position and the inspection path in the case where flaw detection of four peripheral portions of the metal plate and inspection of the inside of the metal plate are performed. In the case shown in FIG. 21A-21E, first, as shown in FIG. 21A, four peripheral portions of the metal plate, i.e., at the ends of the plate and 75 mm inward from the ends of the plate, are tested twice, and then, as shown in FIG. 21B-21E, a check is performed in the rolling direction such that adjacent scan lines pass in 50 mm increments.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the radio navigation receiver 12a is mounted on a carriage 14 including a probe that checks a metal plate for defects. The radio navigation receiver 12a receives the rotating fan beams emitted by the radio navigation transmitters 11a of the position measurement system 200a as IGPS signals and determines its position. According to the second embodiment, the radio navigation transmitter 12b is mounted on a carriage 14 including a probe that checks the metal plate for defects. The radio navigation transmitter 12b projects a 360-degree laser beam using laser triangulation technology, and receives the light reflected by the reflectors 11b to determine its position. As a result, the position and angle of the carriage 14 on the metal plate can be determined with high precision without using the metal plate marking or the image processing mark. In addition, the deviation of the own position thus determined from the target position is calculated, and the wheels are commanded, according to the deviation, to rotate in the forward direction, rotate in the reverse direction, or stop to cause the carriage 14 to automatically move to the predetermined target position. position, and thus the outer periphery of the metal plate can also be checked. In addition, straightness with respect to the target travel path can be ensured.

In addition, in both embodiments, it is necessary to measure beforehand the scanning pattern with the probe that passes in close proximity to the metal plate and performs the scanning operation, and the inspection position and the inspection path corresponding to the predetermined pattern is set based on the information of the position and the angular position. metal plate. The target position of the actuator, which specifies the position of the probe with respect to the carriage, and the target position of the carriage can be set to reach the scanning path, and thus various scanning patterns can be used. In particular, the position of the carriage can be adjusted so that the deviation between the target position and the current position, based on the signals of the radio navigation receiver, is less than the allowable value used in flaw detection. Thus, using any pattern, high scanning accuracy can be obtained.

The carriage 14 that travels on the surface of the metal plate may include four forward and reverse wheels, and a drive unit 50 may be provided for each of the wheels. The carriage 14 may include drive motors each driving one of the wheels so that the wheel can turn. In addition, the carriage 14 may include rotary motors, each of which is perpendicular to the surface of the metal plate on which the carriage 14 moves, and each of which can rotate the respective wheel by 90 degrees or more about an axis offset to the center of the carriage with respect to to the wheel. In the above configuration, the carriage 14 can perform tilting and side-to-side movement in addition to the general reciprocating movement while maintaining the angular position of the front side of the carriage. The carriage 14 can additionally perform a turn on the spot. In addition, fine adjustment of the position of the carriage 14 can be performed for various disturbances that cause the current position to deviate with respect to the target position, and the straightness of the target travel path can be increased to a very high degree.

Since the carriage 14, which moves on the surface of the metal plate, includes edge detection sensors that detect the edges of the metal plate that is the test target, the carriage 14 can be prevented from slipping off the metal plate and falling, and inspection can be performed on the edges of the metal plate. when checking the edges of a metal plate.

There are advantages that flaw detection can be performed automatically for scratches formed on the surface of a metal plate or internal defects of a metal plate in accordance with the inspection standards for metal sheet products, and that the inspector does not need to operate flaw detection heads to find scratches formed on the surface of a metal plate. In this way, the controller can avoid an accident when falling on a metal plate that has been sprayed with water.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiments, although a case has been described in which the carriage 14 includes four wheels, the number of wheels is not limited to four and may be two or more. One or more radio navigation receivers 12a may be included in the position measurement system 200a using the metal plate automatic checking device 300a according to the first embodiment. One or more reflectors 11b may be included in the position measurement system 200b using the metal plate automatic checking device 300b according to the second embodiment.

Now, a method for manufacturing a metal plate using the metal plate automatic checking apparatus of the present invention will be described. The method for manufacturing a metal plate according to the present invention includes a step for manufacturing metal plates, a checking step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate checking apparatus of the present invention, and a step for sorting the metal plates based on the results. verifications obtained during the verification phase.

Examples of the metal plate include steel plates, aluminum plates, and copper plates. In the step of manufacturing the metal plates, the conventional method for manufacturing these metal plates can be used.

In addition, in the method for manufacturing a metal plate according to the present invention, a check is made for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate checking apparatus of the present invention, and the metal plates are sorted based on the results of the check. More specifically, for example, the criteria for judging the size of defects and the number of defects are set in advance according to the types and applications of the metal plates, and the metal plates that satisfy the judging criteria are selected based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection step.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are exemplary in all respects, and the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments. In other words, the scope of the present invention is not to be determined by the above description but by the claims, and it is intended that the meanings of the claims and all modifications within the scope of the claims be included within the scope of the present invention.

List of reference positions

10 - metal plate

11a - radio navigation transmitter

11b - reflector

12a - radio navigation receiver

12b - radio navigation transmitter

13 - main computer

14 - carriage

15 - control and measuring device (control and measuring unit)

16 - position calculation software

17 - software installation

21 - on-board computer

22 - edge detection sensor

23 - input-output board

24 - scanning actuator

25 - drive control unit

26 - wheel

27 - motor-wheel

27a - wheel drive motor (first drive system)

27b - rotary motor (second drive system)

31 - the main body of the carriage

31a - part of the upper tier

31b - part of the middle tier

31c - part of the lower tier

32 - ultrasonic probe

33 - wireless communication unit

34 - water tank

35 - flaw detection head

36 – supporting mechanism of the flaw detection head.

37 - edge detection sensor controller

38 - battery

39 - vertical shaft

40 - vertical rail

41 - attachment area

42 - horizontal rail

43 - horizontal scanning shaft

50 - drive unit

51 - pinion

52 - rotary platform for controlling the direction of movement

53 - gear rack

54 - output rotary shaft

55 - the first gear of the crossing shaft

56 - the second gear of the crossing shaft

57 - shaft element

58 - suspended structure

60 - device for detecting the angular position

61 - contact probe

71 - block for generating test results

72 - pulse signal output board

100a, 100b - the system as a whole

200a, 200b - position measurement system

300a, 300b - automatic checking device for metal plates

Claims (55)

1. A metal plate automatic checking device for checking a metal plate using a position measurement system that measures a position based on the principle of triangulation, the automatic metal plate checking device comprising: a carriage configured to move over the surface of the metal plate; a radio navigation transmitter mounted on the carriage for transmitting position measurement system signals or a radio navigation receiver mounted on the carriage for receiving position measurement system signals; a test unit mounted on the carriage, the test unit including a flaw detection head and a test result output unit for generating a test result, the flaw test head including a test sensor for scanning a test area of a metal plate; and a control unit that performs, based on the position of the carriage measured by the position measuring system and the target position of the carriage for performing inspection, controlling the carriage to automatically move to the target position and controlling the scanning actuator that performs scanning with the flaw detection head, wherein the test result generation unit generates a test result based on the test information received by the inspection sensor and the position information of the flaw detection head, wherein said device for automatically checking metal plates further comprises an output unit for outputting a pulse signal corresponding to the amount of change in the position of the flaw detection head, which is updated in each control period, to the control and measuring sensor, while the specified pulse signal is used as information about the position of the flaw detection head. heads, at the same time, the frequency of the output pulse signal output by the output unit is set in such a way that it is synchronized with the product of the frequency of collection of flaw detection data set by the control and measuring unit, the resolution of the pulses and the resolution of displaying the test result, while the mechanical scanning speed of the flaw detection head is equal to or lower than the upper speed limit, which is calculated by multiplying the display resolution of the test result by the frequency of collection of flaw detection data. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs, based on the position and angular position of the carriage that is measured by the position measurement system and the target position and angular position of the carriage to perform the check, control of the carriage to automatically move to the target position and angular position . 3. The apparatus of claim. 1, in which the control and measuring sensor is a phased array probe, which houses a plurality of ultrasonic transducers. 4. The device according to any one of paragraphs. 1-3, in which the position measurement system is an intra-shop global positioning system (IGPS), while the radio navigation receiver receives rotating fan-shaped beams emitted by one or more IGPS radio navigation transmitters, and recognizes the rotating fan-shaped beams as IGPS signals, which are signals of the measurement system positions. 5. The device according to any one of paragraphs. 1-3, in which the position measurement system uses laser triangulation technology, while the radio navigation transmitter is configured to perform the function of projecting and receiving laser beams and performing laser triangulation, and the radio navigation transmitter causes laser beams projected by the radio navigation transmitter to be reflected from one or more reflectors and receives the reflected light as position measurement system signals. 6. The device according to any one of paragraphs. 1-3, in which the carriage includes at least two rotating wheels and drive units that drive the wheels, each of the drive units is provided for a respective one of the wheels and includes a first drive system that drives a corresponding wheel; and a second drive system that is capable of driving the wheel to rotate 90 degrees or more about an axis that is perpendicular to the surface of the metal plate on which the carriage travels and that is offset to the center of the carriage with respect to the wheel. 7. The device according to claim. 4, in which the carriage includes at least two rotating wheels and drive units that drive the wheels, while each of the drive units is provided for a corresponding one of the wheels and includes a first drive system, which drives the respective wheel, and a second drive system which is capable of driving the wheel to rotate 90 degrees or more about an axis which is perpendicular to the surface of the metal plate on which the carriage travels and which is offset to the center of the carriage with respect to the wheel. 8. The device according to claim 5, in which the carriage includes at least two rotating wheels and drive units that drive the wheels, each of the drive units is provided for a corresponding one of the wheels and includes a first drive system, which drives the respective wheel, and a second drive system which is capable of driving the wheel to rotate 90 degrees or more about an axis which is perpendicular to the surface of the metal plate on which the carriage travels and which is offset to the center of the carriage with respect to the wheel. 9. The device according to any one of paragraphs. 1-3 further comprising an edge detection sensor included in the carriage, the edge detection sensor detecting an edge of the metal plate to be inspected. 10. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising an edge detection sensor included in the carriage, the edge detection sensor detecting an edge of the metal plate to be inspected. 11. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising an edge detection sensor included in the carriage, the edge detection sensor detecting an edge of the metal plate to be inspected. 12. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising an edge detection sensor included in the carriage, the edge detection sensor detecting an edge of the metal plate to be inspected. 13. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising an edge detection sensor included in the carriage, the edge detection sensor detecting an edge of the metal plate to be inspected. 14. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising an edge detection sensor included in the carriage, the edge detection sensor detecting an edge of the metal plate to be inspected. 15. A method for automatically checking metal plates for checking a metal plate using a position measurement system for position measurement based on the principle of triangulation, the method includes: generating a test result using a device for automatically checking metal plates, which includes a carriage that moves along the surface of a metal plate, a radio navigation transmitter installed on the carriage for transmitting signals from the position measurement system, or a radio navigation receiver installed on the carriage for receiving signals from the position measurement system , a control and measuring unit mounted on a carriage, the control and measuring unit including a flaw detection head and a test results generation unit designed to generate a test result, the flaw detection head includes a test sensor for scanning the inspection area of a metal plate, and a control unit , which performs, based on the position of the carriage measured by the position measuring system and the target position of the carriage to perform the check, control of the carriage to automatically move to the target position and control scanning actuator for scanning with a flaw detection head, wherein the test result generation unit generates a test result based on the test information received by the inspection sensor and the position information of the flaw detection head, wherein said device for automatically checking metal plates further comprises an output unit for outputting a pulse signal corresponding to the amount of change in the position of the flaw detection head, which is updated in each control period, to the control and measuring sensor, while the pulse signal is used as information about the position of the flaw detection head , at the same time, the frequency of the output pulse signal output by the output unit is set in such a way that it is synchronized with the product of the collection frequency of flaw detection data set by the control and measuring unit, the resolution of the pulses and the resolution of displaying the test result, while the mechanical scanning speed of the flaw detection head is equal to or lower than the upper limit of the speed, which is calculated by multiplying the display resolution of the test result by the frequency of collection of flaw detection data. 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the control unit performs, based on the position and angular position of the carriage as measured by the position measurement system and the target position and angular position of the carriage to perform the check, control of the carriage to automatically move to the target position and angular position . 17. A method for manufacturing a metal plate, including the stage of manufacturing metal plates; an inspection step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate inspection device according to any one of claims. 1-3; and a stage of sorting metal plates based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection stage. 18. A method for manufacturing a metal plate, including the stage of manufacturing metal plates; an inspection step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate inspection apparatus of claim 4; and a stage of sorting metal plates based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection stage. 19. A method for manufacturing a metal plate, including the stage of manufacturing metal plates; an inspection step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate inspection apparatus of claim 5; and a stage of sorting metal plates based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection stage. 20. A method for manufacturing a metal plate, including the stage of manufacturing metal plates; an inspection step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate inspection apparatus of claim 6; and a sorting step of metal plates based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection stage. 21. A method for manufacturing a metal plate, including the stage of manufacturing metal plates; an inspection step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate inspection apparatus of claim 7; and a stage of sorting metal plates based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection stage. 22. A method for manufacturing a metal plate, including the stage of manufacturing metal plates; an inspection step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate inspection apparatus of claim 8; and a stage of sorting metal plates based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection stage. 23. A method for manufacturing a metal plate, including the stage of manufacturing metal plates; an inspection step for checking the metal plates for defects that are present in the metal plates using the automatic metal plate inspection apparatus of claim 9; and a sorting step of metal plates based on the inspection results obtained in the inspection stage.

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