WO2019188718A1

WO2019188718A1 - Surface shape monitoring device, abrasion loss measuring system, and surface shape monitoring system

Info

Publication number: WO2019188718A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/011884
Authority: WO
Inventors: 永谷　修一; 荒木　伸介
Original assignee: バンドー化学株式会社
Priority date: 2018-03-28
Filing date: 2019-03-20
Publication date: 2019-10-03
Also published as: JPWO2019188718A1; JP7165114B2; JP2020076767A

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a surface shape monitoring device which can detect defects in various conveyor belt surfaces with a single inexpensive device, and can reduce operation loss arising from the faulty determination of defects in the conveyor belt surfaces. A surface shape monitoring device according to the present invention, which is a device for monitoring the surface shape of a conveyor belt, is provided with: a line laser which emits a laser beam at a wide angle in the widthwise direction of the surface of the conveyor belt; a camera which captures reflective light of the line laser from the surface of the conveyor belt; a pattern extracting unit which extracts, from the image captured by the camera, a specific pattern drawn by the reflective light; and a location specifying mechanism which specifies the location of a pattern, on the surface of the conveyor belt, which is extracted by the pattern extracting unit, on the basis on an extraction timing, wherein the location specifying mechanism acquires a surface image of the conveyor belt at the specified location.

Description

Surface shape monitoring device, wear amount measuring system, and surface shape monitoring system

The present invention relates to a surface shape monitoring device, a wear amount measuring system, and a surface shape monitoring system.

For example, an endless belt (endless belt) in which both ends are joined is used as a main body belt for a conveyor belt for conveying an object. Since the main body belt is repeatedly loaded with the conveyed product, the cover rubber constituting the outer surface of the main body belt is worn as it is used. If this amount of wear exceeds a certain value, cores such as canvases and steel cords embedded in the main body belt may be exposed and cut, and further, the main body belt may be cut. When the main belt is cut, it takes a lot of time and money to recover. For this reason, the amount of wear (remaining thickness) of the main body belt of the conveyor belt is regularly inspected. If the amount of wear is large, the wear position of the main body belt is specified and repaired, or the main body belt is replaced. Maintenance work is required.

As an apparatus for measuring the amount of wear of a conveyor belt, a wear visualizing member whose cross-sectional area gradually changes along the thickness direction of the main body belt is embedded in a cover rubber layer, and an image of a portion where the wear visualizing member is exposed on the surface of the conveyor belt is imaged. A wear amount measuring device that detects the wear amount of a conveyor belt based on the image information is known (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-202933).

In the conventional wear amount measuring device, an alarm is notified by controlling the notification device according to the detected amount of wear of the conveyor belt, and maintenance work of the main body belt is performed based on this alarm. This maintenance work needs to be performed with the conveyor belt stopped. However, in general, erroneous determination is likely to occur in the determination based on the image information, and when the conveyor belt is stopped and checked, there is a case where no abnormality is found. Since it takes a relatively long time to stop and restart the conveyor belt, an operation loss caused by such an erroneous determination cannot be ignored, and a reduction in the operation loss is required.

Furthermore, abnormalities of the main body belt that require maintenance work can include deposits on the main body belt, cracks in the main body belt, vertical tearing, biting, etc. in addition to wear of the main body belt. A conventional wear amount measuring apparatus cannot detect these abnormalities. Therefore, in order to detect various abnormalities, it is necessary to prepare a large number of separate detection devices, and a place for installation and device costs are required. For this reason, there is a need for a surface shape monitoring device that can detect abnormalities in various body belts.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-202933

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and can detect various conveyor belt surface abnormalities with a single inexpensive device, and reduce operation loss caused by erroneous determination of conveyor belt surface abnormalities. An object of the present invention is to provide a wearable surface shape monitoring device and a wear amount measuring system using the surface shape monitoring device.

The invention made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems is a conveyor belt surface shape monitoring device, which irradiates a laser at a wide angle in the width direction of the surface of the conveyor belt, and the above-mentioned from the surface of the conveyor belt. A camera that captures the reflected light of the line laser, a pattern extraction unit that extracts a specific pattern drawn by the reflected light from a captured image of the camera, and the pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit based on the extraction timing A position specifying mechanism for specifying a position on the surface of the conveyor belt; and an image acquisition unit for acquiring a surface image of the conveyor belt at the position specified by the position specifying mechanism.

The surface shape monitoring device can detect unevenness in the width direction of the conveyor belt surface by a so-called optical cutting method using the reflected light of the line laser irradiated on the surface of the conveyor belt. The surface shape monitoring device can detect various abnormalities such as wear, deposit accumulation, cracks, vertical tearing and biting caused by the pattern extraction unit on the surface of the conveyor belt by the uneven pattern on the surface of the conveyor belt. . In the surface shape monitoring device, the position specifying mechanism specifies the position of the pattern on the surface of the conveyor belt, and the image acquisition unit acquires the surface image of the conveyor belt at the position specified by the position specifying mechanism. For this reason, in the said surface shape monitoring apparatus, even when abnormality is observed in the surface of a conveyor belt, the state of a surface can be confirmed, without stopping a conveyor belt. Therefore, by using the surface shape monitoring device, it is possible to reduce operation loss caused by erroneous determination of abnormality on the conveyor belt surface. Furthermore, the surface shape monitoring device can be configured at a low cost with a small number of devices.

The above camera may be used for image acquisition by the image acquisition unit. Since the number of devices constituting the surface shape monitoring device can be further reduced by using the camera for image acquisition of the image acquisition unit, the manufacturing cost of the surface shape monitoring device can be reduced.

Another invention made to solve the above-mentioned problems is that the surface shape monitoring device and at least one belt thickness in the width direction of the conveyor belt can be continuously measured in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt. A wear amount calculation unit that calculates the wear amount of the conveyor belt using a thickness measuring device and a belt thickness of the conveyor belt measured by the thickness measuring device and a pattern extracted by the surface shape monitoring device A wear amount measuring system.

In the wear amount measuring system, the thickness of the belt is measured at least at one location in the width direction of the conveyor belt by the thickness measuring device. For this reason, when the conveyor belt is uniformly worn in the width direction, the wear amount measuring system can detect wear from the measurement result of the thickness measuring device. Moreover, since the said abrasion amount measuring system is equipped with the said surface shape monitoring apparatus of this invention, it can detect the unevenness | corrugation of the width direction of the conveyor belt surface. For this reason, the said abrasion amount measuring system can detect wear from the unevenness | corrugation of the width direction of the conveyor belt surface, when a part of the width direction of a conveyor belt wears. Thus, the wear amount measuring system can detect the wear of the conveyor belt regardless of the wear pattern. Further, since the wear amount measuring system includes the surface shape monitoring device of the present invention, the surface state can be confirmed without stopping the conveyor belt when the wear of the conveyor belt is observed. Therefore, by using the wear amount measuring system, it is possible to reduce an operation loss caused by erroneous determination of abnormality on the conveyor belt surface. Further, the wear amount measuring system can be configured inexpensively with a small number of required devices.

Still another invention made in order to solve the above-described problems is a conveyor system having a pair of pulleys, a conveyor belt that is spanned between the pair of pulleys and configured to be able to travel, and the surface shape monitoring of the present invention. A light distribution position based on the thickness of the conveyor belt, wherein the surface shape monitoring device extracts a pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit. The surface shape monitoring system further includes a display unit for displaying an image.

In the surface shape monitoring system, the laser beam irradiation position of the line laser is set to a position facing the pulley. Since the position of the conveyor belt is easily fixed by a pulley, the thickness of the conveyor belt at the laser beam irradiation position can be calculated even when the surface shape is measured from one side of the conveyor belt. Thus, the surface shape monitoring system can detect even when the surface is evenly worn. In addition, the surface shape monitoring system displays the pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit as a grayscale distribution image based on the thickness of the conveyor belt, so that visibility is improved and the surface state of the conveyor belt is confirmed on the image. Can be made easier.

Here, the “conveying direction” of the conveyor belt refers to the direction in which the conveyed product loaded on the surface of the operating conveyor belt travels.

As described above, the surface shape monitoring device of the present invention can detect abnormalities on various conveyor belt surfaces with one inexpensive device. Moreover, the surface shape monitoring apparatus of this invention and the wear amount measuring system using this surface shape monitoring apparatus can reduce the operation loss which arises by misjudgment of the abnormality of the conveyor belt surface.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a surface shape monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the surface shape monitoring apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a pattern showing that the conveyor belt is worn. FIG. 4 is a pattern showing that deposits are deposited on the conveyor belt. FIG. 5 is a pattern showing that the conveyor belt is cracked. FIG. 6 is a pattern showing that a longitudinal crack has occurred in the conveyor belt. FIG. 7 is a pattern showing that the conveyor belt is in a state of biting. FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a wear amount measuring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of the wear amount measuring system of FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing a wear amount measuring system according to an embodiment of the present invention different from FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of calculating the thickness of the conveyor belt in the wear amount measuring system of FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic side view showing a surface shape monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an example of a pattern in which distortion occurs. FIG. 15 is an example of a pattern in which distortion different from that in FIG. 14 occurs. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a grayscale distribution image displayed by the display unit of FIG.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a surface shape monitoring device and a wear amount measuring system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

[Surface shape monitoring device]
A surface shape monitoring apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a surface shape monitoring apparatus for a conveyor belt X1 used as a main body belt of a conveyor system X, and is a line for irradiating a laser at a wide angle in the width direction of the surface of the conveyor belt X1. A laser 11, a camera 12 that captures the reflected light of the line laser 11 from the surface of the conveyor belt X1, a pattern extraction unit 13 that extracts a specific pattern drawn by the reflected light from a captured image of the camera 12, and the extraction timing The position specifying mechanism 14 for specifying the position of the pattern extracted by the pattern extracting unit 13 on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 based on the above, and the image acquisition for acquiring the surface image of the conveyor belt X1 at the position specified by the position specifying mechanism 14 Part 15. In the surface shape monitoring apparatus 1, the camera 12 is used for the image acquisition unit 15.

<Conveyor system>
The conveyor system X is configured such that a conveyor belt X1 is stretched between a pair of pulleys X2 and can run. Moreover, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the conveyor system X is provided with the support roller X3 which supports the conveyor belt X1 from the downward direction between the pulleys X2 as needed.

The conveyor belt X1 is configured as an endless belt in which both ends of a belt-like flat belt are joined at a joint Z. The conveyor belt X1 may have a core such as canvas inside, but at least the outer surface and the inner surface are made of cover rubber.

The material of the cover rubber of the conveyor belt X1 is not particularly limited as long as it has flexibility and elasticity. For example, natural rubber, butadiene rubber (BR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), ethylene-propylene rubber (EPM, EPDM) ), Isoprene rubber (IR), acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR, NIR, etc.) and the like can be used alone or in combination. The conveyor belt X1 may have a multilayer structure.

The width of the conveyor belt X1 is appropriately determined according to the size of the conveyed product Y, the amount of conveyance per hour, and the like, and can be, for example, 300 mm to 3000 mm. Moreover, although the length of the conveyor belt X1 is suitably determined by the distance which conveys the conveyed product Y, it can be 10 m or more and 40000 m or less, for example.

As a minimum of average thickness of conveyor belt X1, 8 mm is preferred and 10 mm is more preferred. On the other hand, the upper limit of the average thickness of the conveyor belt X1 is preferably 50 mm, and more preferably 30 mm. If the average thickness of the conveyor belt X1 is less than the lower limit, the strength of the conveyor belt X1 may be insufficient. Conversely, if the average thickness of the conveyor belt X1 exceeds the above upper limit, the flexibility of the conveyor belt X1 may be insufficient, and it may be difficult to wrap around the outer periphery of the pulley X2.

Further, for example, a plurality of steel cords or the like may be embedded in the conveyor belt X1 so as to be parallel to the transport direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1). By embedding a plurality of steel cords in this way, the tension applied to the conveyor belt X1 can be maintained, and a wide belt or a belt for carrying a long distance can be realized.

The material of the pulley X2 and the support roller X3 is not particularly limited as long as the conveyor belt X1 can be driven or supported. For example, a metal such as steel can be used.

The diameter of the pulley X2 is appropriately determined according to the use of the conveyor system X and the like, but the lower limit of the diameter of the pulley X2 is preferably 80 mm, and more preferably 100 mm. On the other hand, the upper limit of the diameter of the pulley X2 is preferably 3000 mm, and more preferably 2500 mm. If the diameter of the pulley X2 is less than the above lower limit, high speed rotation is required to increase the traveling speed of the conveyor belt X1, so that energy consumption may increase unnecessarily. On the other hand, if the diameter of the pulley X2 exceeds the above upper limit, the height of the conveyor system X becomes unnecessarily high, which may make installation difficult.

The conveyor system X may include a blade type cleaner X4 on the return side behind the transfer completion point of the transfer object Y as shown in FIG.

During the operation of the conveyor system X (while the conveyor belt X1 is running), the conveyed product Y is placed on the outer surface on the upper side of the conveyed conveyor belt X1 and downstream (to the right in FIG. 1) of the conveyor belt X1. Be transported. Then, when the conveyor belt X1 is folded back by the pulley X2 on the downstream side, the conveyed product Y separates downward like the conveyed product Y1 shown in FIG. 1, and the conveyance is completed. However, like the conveyed product Y2 shown in FIG. 1, the conveyed product Y does not detach from the conveyor belt X1 in the vicinity of the downstream pulley X2, but directly adheres to the surface of the conveyor belt X1 and moves upstream. . The blade-type cleaner X4 prevents such adhesion of the conveyed product Y.

The blade-type cleaner X4 can remove the conveyed product Y2 and the like adhering to the conveyor belt X1 by being pressed against the conveyor belt X1 traveling on one or a plurality of blades (one blade in FIG. 1).

<Line laser>
The line laser 11 irradiates the surface of the conveyor belt X1 with a laser beam in a line shape. As the line laser 11, a known line laser can be used.

The line drawn by irradiating the surface of the conveyor belt X1 with the line laser 11 is preferably formed by continuous straight lines, but may be formed by a plurality of intermittent straight lines or a plurality of bright spots. . When the line is formed by a plurality of straight lines or a plurality of bright spots, the interval is preferably 0.5 mm or less from the viewpoint of the surface shape extraction system.

The irradiation direction of the line laser 11 is preferably not inclined with respect to the conveying direction of the surface of the conveyor belt X1. That is, it is preferable that the line laser 11 irradiates the laser from the normal direction of the conveyor belt X1. By irradiating the laser beam in this way, even if the flaw is short in the conveying direction and deep in the belt thickness direction, for example, a crack, the laser beam can easily reach the inside of the flaw. Can accurately capture various abnormalities. Here, in the “normal direction of the conveyor belt” that is the irradiation direction of the line laser 11, the angle formed by the central axis of the irradiation direction of the line laser 11 and the contact surface of the conveyor belt X 1 at the irradiation position of the laser beam. Includes a range from 80 degrees to 90 degrees. When the line laser 11 irradiates the laser beam while scanning in the width direction, the “center axis in the irradiation direction of the line laser” refers to the central axis for laser irradiation at the center position of the scanned range. .

The line formed by the laser beam and the conveying direction of the conveyor belt X1 are perpendicular to each other. In this way, the surface of the conveyor belt X1 is irradiated with laser light in a line shape, and the line formed by the laser light and the conveying direction of the conveyor belt X1 are perpendicular to each other, so that the width of the conveyor belt X1 is increased. It is possible to more reliably determine abnormalities that occur automatically with a short line length.

The lower limit of the line length of the laser beam is preferably 50% of the width of the conveyor belt X1, and more preferably 70%. On the other hand, the upper limit of the line length of the laser beam is preferably 100% of the width of the conveyor belt X1, and more preferably 90%. By setting the line length of the laser light within the above range, it is possible to make it difficult to overlook abnormalities that occur locally on the conveyor belt X1.

The laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 11 is preferably a position facing the pulley X2. Since the position of the conveyor belt X1 passing through the pulley X2 is easily fixed by the pulley X2, the possibility that the surface shape monitoring device 1 erroneously determines abnormality of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 due to vibration of the conveyor belt X1 or the like can be reduced.

The laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 11 is more preferably a position facing the upstream pulley X2 of the pair of pulleys X2, and facing the central axis of the pulley X2 in the horizontal direction or above the horizontal direction. More preferably, the position facing the central axis of the pulley X2 in the horizontal direction is particularly preferable. The conveyor belt X1 passing through the upstream pulley X2 has the surface shape formed by setting the laser beam irradiation position to a position facing the upstream pulley X2 because the deposits are removed by the blade type cleaner X4. The possibility that the monitoring device 1 erroneously determines abnormality of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 can be reduced. Further, since the conveyor belt X1 is normally driven by a pulley X2 on the downstream side, the pulley X2 on the upstream side is not attached with a driving device or the like, and the line laser 11 can be easily installed. Further, since the shooting direction of the camera 12 does not face upward by making the laser beam irradiation position face the central axis of the pulley X2 in the horizontal direction or above the horizontal direction, dust or the like accumulates on the lens of the camera 12. , It is possible to prevent the photographing ability from being lowered. Furthermore, since the tension in the conveying direction applied to the conveyor belt X1 is the largest at the position facing the central axis of the pulley X2 in the horizontal direction, vibration of the conveyor belt X1 is particularly difficult to occur. The possibility of erroneously determining an abnormality on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 can be further reduced.

The upper limit of the line width of the laser beam is preferably 5 mm, and more preferably 3 mm. If the line width of the laser beam exceeds the upper limit, the output of the line laser 11 becomes unnecessarily large, and the monitoring cost of the surface shape monitoring device 1 may increase. On the other hand, the lower limit of the line width of the laser beam is not particularly limited as long as the unevenness on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 can be confirmed, but may be, for example, 0.1 mm.

The wavelength of the laser beam is not particularly limited as long as it can be taken by the camera 12, but for example, the lower limit of the wavelength of the laser beam is preferably 500 nm, and more preferably 550 nm. On the other hand, the upper limit of the wavelength of the laser beam is preferably 800 nm, and more preferably 750 nm. When the wavelength of the laser beam is within the above range, it is easy to obtain strong reflected light particularly with respect to the black conveyor belt X1.

The laser beam may be irradiated at a wide angle in the width direction of the conveyor X1 by one line laser 11. However, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of (two in FIG. 2) line lasers 11 are used to convey the conveyor belt X1. Laser irradiation may be performed at a wide angle in the width direction. In the case of using a plurality of line lasers 11, the irradiation angle of laser light approaches a right angle with respect to the surface of the conveyor belt X 1 even at the end in the width direction irradiated by one line laser 11. 1 can capture various abnormalities more accurately.

<Camera>
As described above, the camera 12 captures the reflected light of the line laser 11 from the surface of the conveyor belt X1 from a position inclined in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt X1. By photographing from the inclined position in this way, it is possible to obtain an image in which the reflected light of the line laser 11 is shaded by the unevenness of the surface of the conveyor belt X1. As the camera 12, a known imaging device such as a CCD camera or a CMOS camera can be used. In addition, a smart camera that can perform high-speed image capturing and can also perform image data analysis of the pattern extraction unit 13 described later can be used.

The central axis of the image capturing direction of the camera 12 is preferably overlapped with the irradiation position of the line laser 11 on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 in a side view. The lower limit of the angle formed by the central axis of the image capturing direction of the camera 12 and the central axis of the irradiation direction of the line laser 11 (θ in FIG. 1, hereinafter also simply referred to as “angle θ”) is preferably 20 degrees, 30 The degree is more preferable. On the other hand, the upper limit of the angle θ is preferably 60 degrees, and preferably 45 degrees. If the angle θ is less than the lower limit, for example, the influence of irregular reflection of laser light due to water wetting on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 may easily occur. Conversely, if the angle θ exceeds the upper limit, the extraction accuracy of the uneven shape on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 may be reduced.

The camera 12 is preferably arranged so that at least the entire line formed by the line laser 11 can be photographed. For example, the entire line can be photographed by adjusting the distance between the camera 12 and the surface of the conveyor belt X1.

The entire line may be photographed by a plurality of cameras 12, but it is preferable to photograph by one camera 12. By shooting with one camera 12, it is not necessary to synthesize images shot with different cameras, adjust the brightness, and the like, so that pattern extraction by the pattern extraction unit 13 can be facilitated.

<Pattern extraction unit>
The pattern extraction unit 13 can be realized by, for example, a microcontroller that receives the captured image data of the camera 12 and performs analysis.

The pattern extraction unit 13 acquires the unevenness of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 from the image data captured by the camera 12 by a light cutting method. Specifically, the following procedure is followed. From the shade of the captured image data of the camera 12, the incident angle to the camera 12 of the reflected light from the line laser 11 at each coordinate position of the image can be obtained. Since the incident angle of the line laser 11 at the corresponding position on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 is known, the distance from the line laser 11 or the camera 12 at the corresponding position can be known by the principle of triangulation. Therefore, by calculating the distance in the width direction of the conveyor belt X1 using the reflected light of the line laser 11, a pattern representing the unevenness of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 can be obtained.

An example of the pattern thus obtained is shown in FIG. 3 together with the conveyor belt X1. The conveyor belt X1 in FIG. 3 is worn and recessed at the center of the surface. In this case, the pattern extraction unit 13 calculates that the distance from the line laser 11 or the camera 12 is large, that is, the surface of the conveyor belt X1 is away from the line laser 11 or the camera 12 and is thin. Since the degree is specified by the distance from the line laser 11 or the camera 12, the pattern extraction unit 13 extracts a pattern L1 having a gently recessed central portion as shown in FIG. Therefore, since the shape of the pattern L1 corresponds to the unevenness on the surface of the conveyor belt X1, it can be determined that the conveyor belt X1 is worn at the center of the surface.

Actually, it may be a slight wear that does not need to be judged as an abnormality on the surface of the conveyor belt X1. For this reason, for example, the depth of the dent (D in FIG. 3) is calculated from the obtained pattern, and if the depth D is equal to or greater than a certain value, it is specified that the conveyor belt X1 has a wear abnormality pattern. It is preferable to provide a threshold value such as.

Hereinafter, specific patterns that can be determined to be abnormal on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 other than the above-described wear will be described. In addition, the following description is an illustration and does not mean that an abnormality other than the one described here cannot be detected. Further, in order to distinguish each pattern from minor ones, it is preferable to provide a threshold according to the shape of each pattern as in the above-described wear. The threshold value is appropriately determined depending on the type of abnormality to be detected and the specifications of the conveyor belt X1.

The pattern L2 shown in FIG. 4 is a pattern in which the central portion of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 swells gently. This pattern L2 means that deposits that cannot be removed by the blade cleaner X4 are deposited on the surface of the conveyor belt X1.

The pattern L3 shown in FIG. 5 is a pattern in which a sharp cut having a triangular cross section is formed in a part of the surface of the conveyor belt X1. The triangular cross section means that the cut from the front surface does not reach the back surface of the conveyor belt X1. That is, this pattern L3 is a pattern indicating that the surface of the conveyor belt X1 is cracked.

A pattern L4 shown in FIG. 6 is a pattern in which a part of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 has a trapezoidal cut. A trapezoidal cross section means that the cut from the front surface reaches the back surface. That is, this pattern L4 is a pattern indicating that a longitudinal crack has occurred on the surface of the conveyor belt X1.

The pattern L5 shown in FIG. 7 is a pattern in which convex portions are generated in a narrow range on the surface of the conveyor belt X1. This pattern L5 occurs when a part of the conveyor belt X1 is bitten and turned up.

<Positioning mechanism>
The position specifying mechanism 14 includes a reflective displacement meter. The reflective displacement meter can measure the distance to the detection position on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 relatively easily and accurately using laser light. The conveyor belt X1 has irregularities on the surface particularly near the joint Z. For this reason, it is possible to recognize the joint Z, for example, by measuring and analyzing the unevenness of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 with a reflective displacement meter. Since the conveyor belt X1 is traveling at a constant speed, the position specifying mechanism 14 recognizes the joint portion Z at a constant time interval. The traveling speed of the conveyor belt X1 can be calculated from the cycle.

Here, a case where an abnormality is extracted from the conveyor belt X1 by the pattern extraction unit 13 is considered. The distance between the camera 12 and the position specifying mechanism 14 is determined by the arrangement of each device of the surface shape monitoring device 1 and is known. On the other hand, since the position specifying mechanism 14 can calculate the traveling speed of the conveyor belt X1 and the position of the joint Z at the extraction timing, the joint Z at the position where the abnormality is extracted in the conveyor belt X1 from these information. The relative position with respect to can be specified. That is, the position specifying mechanism 14 can specify the position of the pattern extracted by the pattern extracting unit 13 on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 based on the extraction timing.

As described above, since the position of the pattern can be specified based on the uneven period, it is not necessary to provide a special configuration for specifying the position on the conveyor belt X1. Therefore, the surface shape monitoring apparatus 1 can be used for an existing conveyor belt, for example, and versatility can be improved.

In addition, although the position identification mechanism 14 recognized the position of the junction part Z and demonstrated the method of identifying the position on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 of the pattern extracted on the basis of the position of the junction part Z, other methods were demonstrated. You may specify a position by. For example, a method may be used in which the position specifying mechanism 14 directly recognizes a repeated pattern of unevenness on the entire surface of the conveyor belt X1.

The position of the position specifying mechanism 14 is not particularly limited as long as the unevenness of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 can be measured, but is preferably in the vicinity of the image acquisition unit 15 and upstream in the transport direction. By disposing at a certain distance upstream of the image acquisition unit 15, it is easy to absorb the time lag that occurs when the image acquisition unit 15, which will be described later, recognizes the image acquisition position and takes a picture with the image acquisition unit 15. . In addition, since the time from the position specifying mechanism 14 specifying the position to the image acquisition position is relatively short by being arranged in the vicinity of the image acquisition unit 15, a change in the traveling speed of the conveyor belt X1, etc. Thus, it is possible to prevent an error from occurring in the image acquisition position.

<Image acquisition unit>
In the surface shape monitoring apparatus 1, the camera 12 is used for image acquisition by the image acquisition unit 15. Since the number of devices constituting the surface shape monitoring device 1 can be reduced by using the camera 12 for image acquisition by the image acquisition unit 15 in this way, the manufacturing cost of the surface shape monitoring device 1 can be reduced.

Specifically, the surface of the conveyor belt X1 specified by the position specifying mechanism 14 is photographed by the camera 12. The photographed image may be confirmed by an operator on the spot, for example, but may be transmitted to a predetermined place in real time using a communication facility such as a well-known LAN for centralized management.

In the surface shape monitoring device 1, the image obtained by the image acquisition unit 15 can be confirmed, and when an abnormality is recognized on the surface of the conveyor belt X1, the conveyor belt X1 can be stopped to perform maintenance work.

<Advantages>
The surface shape monitoring device 1 can detect the unevenness in the width direction of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 by a so-called light cutting method using the reflected light of the line laser 11 irradiated on the surface of the conveyor belt X1. The surface shape monitoring device 1 detects various abnormalities such as wear, deposit accumulation, cracks, vertical tearing and biting caused by the pattern extraction unit 13 on the surface of the conveyor belt X1 by the uneven pattern on the surface of the conveyor belt X1. can do. In the surface shape monitoring device 1, the position specifying mechanism 14 specifies the position of the pattern on the surface of the conveyor belt X1, and the image acquisition unit 15 determines the surface image of the conveyor belt X1 at the position specified by the position specifying mechanism 14. To get. For this reason, in the said surface shape monitoring apparatus 1, even when abnormality is observed in the surface of the conveyor belt X1, the surface state can be confirmed without stopping the conveyor belt X1. Therefore, by using the surface shape monitoring device 1, it is possible to reduce an operation loss caused by erroneous determination of abnormality on the surface of the conveyor belt X1. Furthermore, the surface shape monitoring device 1 can be configured at a low cost with a small number of required devices.

[Abrasion measurement system]
The wear amount measuring system 2 shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 has the surface shape monitoring device 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 and the belt thickness at one place in the width direction of the conveyor belt X1 in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt X1. The amount of wear of the conveyor belt X1 using the thickness measuring device 20 that can be continuously measured, and the belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 measured by the thickness measuring device 20 and the pattern extracted by the surface shape monitoring device 1 And a wear amount calculation unit 30 for calculating.

Since the conveyor belt X1 and the surface shape monitoring device 1 can be configured in the same manner as the conveyor belt X1 and the surface shape monitoring device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

<Thickness measuring device>
The thickness measuring device 20 includes a pair of reflective displacement meters 21 facing each other with the conveyor belt X1 interposed therebetween.

The reflection displacement meter 21 can accurately measure the distance to the irradiation position by irradiating the surface of the conveyor belt X1 with laser light and detecting the reflected light at the laser irradiation position. The pair of reflective displacement meters 21 are arranged to face each other so that the irradiation axes of the laser beams overlap. The distance to the front and back surfaces of the conveyor belt X1 can be measured by the pair of reflective displacement gauges 21 and the distance between the pair of reflective displacement gauges 21 is known. The belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 can be calculated. Further, since the conveyor belt X1 travels in the transport direction, the belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 can be continuously measured in the transport direction of the conveyor belt X1 by the pair of reflective displacement meters 21.

The arrangement position of the thickness measuring device 20 in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt X1 is preferably behind the blade cleaner X4 on the return side behind the conveyance completion point of the conveyed product. Behind the blade type cleaner X4 is the position where there is the least amount of deposits on the conveyor belt X1, so the belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 can be measured with relatively high accuracy.

The measurement position of the thickness measuring device 20 in the width direction of the conveyor belt X1 is set within the laser beam irradiation range of the line laser 11. Although the said measurement position is not specifically limited, It is preferable to avoid the edge part which is easy to receive the influence of skewing or meandering of the conveyor belt X1. Specifically, it is preferable to be 10% or more away from the end of the envelope belt X1 in the width direction. On the other hand, although the said measurement position can also be made into the center of the conveyor belt X1, it is preferable to set it as the position which is comparatively hard to wear, ie, the position of 30% or less of the full width from the edge part of the width direction of the conveyor belt X1.

The irradiation axis of the laser beam of the pair of reflective displacement gauges 21 may be orthogonal to the surface of the conveyor belt X1 at the laser beam irradiation position, but is inclined in the transport direction from the normal direction of the surface of the conveyor belt X1. Also good. By tilting the irradiation axis of the laser beam of the pair of reflection displacement meters 21 in the conveyance direction, the reflection displacement meter 21 can be easily disposed in a narrow space between the conveyance side and the return side of the conveyor belt X1. It may become. Further, in the reflective displacement meter 21 that is located on the lower side and irradiates the laser beam upward, it is possible to prevent dust or the like that can fall from the lower surface of the return side belt of the conveyor belt X1 from being accumulated on the laser emission surface. can do.

When tilting the irradiation axis of the laser beam of the reflective displacement meter 21 in the transport direction, the tilt angle from the normal direction is preferably 30 ° or less. By setting the tilt angle to be equal to or less than the upper limit, the belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 can be accurately measured.

<Abrasion amount calculation unit>
The wear amount calculation unit 30 is realized by, for example, a microcontroller that performs analysis by inputting the belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 measured by the thickness measurement device 20 and the pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit 13 of the surface shape monitoring device 1. it can. When a microcontroller is used for the pattern extraction unit 13, the microcontroller of the pattern extraction unit 13 and the microcontroller of the wear amount calculation unit 30 may be the same microcontroller.

Specifically, the wear amount calculation unit 30 calculates the belt thickness in the width direction of the conveyor belt X1 according to the following procedure. First, the wear amount calculation unit 30 can obtain unevenness information in the width direction of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 by the pattern extraction unit 13. Further, the wear amount calculation unit 30 can obtain the belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 at the position corresponding to this pattern by the thickness measuring device 20. Here, since the back surface of the conveyor belt X1 can be assumed to be flat with almost no wear, the wear amount calculation unit 30 corrects the amount of unevenness in the width direction from the belt thickness at a specific point, thereby making the conveyor The belt thickness in the width direction of the belt X1 can be calculated.

The wear amount measuring system 2 can directly determine the wear of the conveyor belt X1 based on the belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 in the width direction. For this reason, even if the belt thickness of the conveyor belt X1 is evenly worn and the surface is not uneven, it can be detected that the belt is worn.

<Advantages>
In the wear amount measuring system 2, the belt thickness at one location in the width direction of the conveyor belt X1 is measured by the thickness measuring device 20. For this reason, when the conveyor belt X1 is uniformly worn in the width direction, the wear amount measuring system 2 can detect wear from the measurement result of the thickness measuring device 20. Moreover, since the said abrasion amount measuring system 2 is provided with the said surface shape monitoring apparatus 1 of this invention, it can detect the unevenness | corrugation of the width direction of the conveyor belt X1 surface. Therefore, the wear amount measuring system 2 can detect wear from the unevenness in the width direction of the surface of the conveyor belt X1 when a part of the width of the conveyor belt X1 is worn. As described above, the wear amount measuring system 2 can detect the wear of the conveyor belt X1 regardless of the wear pattern. Moreover, since the said wear amount measuring system 2 is provided with the surface shape monitoring apparatus 1 of this invention, when abrasion of the conveyor belt X1 is observed, it can confirm the state of a surface, without stopping the conveyor belt X1. Therefore, by using the wear amount measuring system 2, it is possible to reduce operation loss caused by erroneous determination of abnormality on the surface of the conveyor belt X1. Further, the wear amount measuring system 2 can be configured at a low cost with a small number of required devices.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the wear amount measuring system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

The wear amount measuring system 3 shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 is a surface shape monitoring device 1 and a thickness capable of continuously measuring the belt thickness at one position in the width direction of the conveyor belt X1 in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt X1. A wear amount calculating unit that calculates the wear amount of the conveyor belt X1 using the thickness measuring device 40 and the pattern extracted by the belt thickness and surface shape monitoring device 1 of the conveyor belt X1 measured by the thickness measuring device 40 30.

The surface shape monitoring device 1 and the wear amount calculating unit 30 of the wear amount measuring system 3 are the same as the surface shape monitoring device 1 and the wear amount calculating unit 30 shown in FIGS. For this reason, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

<Thickness measuring device>
The thickness measuring device 40 of the wear amount measuring system 3 irradiates a pair of reflective displacement meters 41 that measure the optical path length by receiving reflected light of the irradiated laser light and the pair of reflective displacement meters 41. A pair of mirrors 42 that reflect the laser light and a frame 43 that supports the pair of reflective displacement meters 41 and the pair of mirrors 42 are configured to be able to stand on the floor surface G on the side of the conveyor belt X1.

The pair of reflective displacement gauges 41 are horizontally irradiated with the laser beam Q1 of one reflective displacement gauge 41 on the inner surface side of the conveyor belt X1 outside the conveyor belt X1 in plan view, and the other reflective displacement gauge 41 Are arranged side by side in the vertical direction so that the laser beam Q2 is irradiated horizontally to the outer surface side of the conveyor belt X1.

The pair of mirrors 42 are respectively attached to a pair of support bars 43a extending from the frame 43 in the horizontal direction. One mirror 42 is arranged so that the reflected light of the laser beam Q1 irradiated horizontally on the inner surface side of the conveyor belt X1 irradiates the inner surface side of the thickness measurement position P of the conveyor belt X1 from the vertical direction. The other mirror 42 is provided so that the reflected light of the laser beam Q2 that is irradiated horizontally on the outer surface side of the conveyor belt X1 is irradiated from the vertical direction on the outer surface side of the thickness measurement position P of the conveyor belt X1. Arranged.

The lower limit of the distance between the mirror 42 and the conveyor belt X1 is preferably 70 mm, and more preferably 150 mm. On the other hand, the upper limit of the distance between the mirror 42 and the conveyor belt X1 is preferably 2500 mm, and more preferably 2000 mm. If the distance between the mirror 42 and the conveyor belt X1 is less than the lower limit, the end of the mirror 42 may come into contact with the conveyor belt X1 due to vibration of the conveyor belt X1 or the like. On the contrary, if the distance between the mirror 42 and the conveyor belt X1 exceeds the upper limit, it may be difficult to dispose the mirror 42 on the inner surface side of the conveyor belt X1 spanned over the pulley X2.

The distance between the mirror 42 used for measurement on the outer surface side of the conveyor belt X1 and the conveyor belt X1 and the distance between the mirror 42 used for measurement on the inner surface side of the conveyor belt X1 and the conveyor belt X1 may be different. , Preferably equal. By equalizing the distance between the two, the time required for the reciprocation of the laser beam is balanced, so that the measurement timing can be easily synchronized.

The measurement position P of the thickness measuring device 40 in the width direction of the conveyor belt X1 can be the same as that of the wear amount measuring system 2 of FIGS.

In this thickness measuring device 40, as shown in FIG. 12, the reflection type displacement meter 41 used for measurement on the inner surface side of the conveyor belt X1 passes through the mirror 42 and reaches the inner surface side of the thickness measuring position P of the conveyor belt X1. The distance (H1 + W1) and the distance (H2 + W2) from the reflective displacement meter 41 used for the measurement on the outer surface side of the conveyor belt X1 through the mirror 42 to the outer surface side of the thickness measurement position P of the conveyor belt X1 are measured. Here, the distance H1 between the reflective displacement meter 41 and the mirror 42 used for measurement on the inner surface side of the conveyor belt X1, and the distance between the reflective displacement meter 41 and the mirror 42 used for measurement on the outer surface side of the conveyor belt X1. Since H2 is known, the distance W1 between the mirror 42 and the inner surface side of the thickness measurement position P of the conveyor belt X1 and the distance W2 between the mirror 42 and the outer surface side of the thickness measurement position P of the conveyor belt X1 can be calculated. is there. Furthermore, since the distance D between the pair of reflective displacement gauges 41 is also a base, the thickness T of the conveyor belt X1 can be calculated by the following equation (1).
T = D- (W1 + W2) (1)

In the thickness measuring device 40 described above, the case where the reflected light of the mirror 42 is irradiated from the vertical direction to the thickness measuring position P of the conveyor belt X1 has been described. However, the reflected light has a known angle. Even if irradiated, the thickness T of the conveyor belt X1 can be similarly obtained by calculating the length in the vertical direction. However, the reflected light is preferably applied to the thickness measurement position P from the vertical direction. The reflective displacement meter 41 measures the optical path length by detecting the reflected light at the thickness measurement position P at the laser irradiation position. By irradiating the thickness measurement position P from the vertical direction in this way, the reflected light from the thickness measurement position P can easily reach the reflective displacement meter 41, so that the measurement accuracy can be improved. Similarly, the thickness T of the conveyor belt X1 can be obtained even when the laser light emitted from the reflective displacement meter 41 is emitted with a certain depression angle, for example. However, from the viewpoint of measurement accuracy, it is preferable that the laser light emitted by the reflection-type displacement meter 41 is in the horizontal direction.

<Advantages>
In the thickness measuring device 40 of the wear amount measuring system 3, the reflective displacement meter 41 irradiates the laser beam horizontally and detects the reflected light at the laser irradiation position. That is, in the wear amount measuring system 3, since the laser light irradiation surface and the sensor surface are provided sideways, dust and the like can be prevented from being deposited on the laser light irradiation surface and the sensor surface. Further, since the pair of reflective displacement gauges 41 are disposed outside the conveyor belt X1 in plan view, the maintenance of the thickness measuring device 40 is facilitated. Furthermore, since the thickness measuring device 40 of the wear amount measuring system 3 is configured to be able to stand on the floor G on the side of the conveyor belt X1 by the frame 43, the thickness measuring device 40 is used as the wear amount measuring system. The mirror 42 can be easily cleaned by taking it out of 3.

[Third embodiment]
Hereinafter, the surface shape monitoring system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

The surface shape monitoring system 4 shown in FIG. 13 includes a conveyor system 5 and a surface shape monitoring device 6.

[Conveyor system]
The conveyor system 5 includes a pair of pulleys 51 and a conveyor belt 52 that is spanned between the pair of pulleys 51 and configured to be able to travel.

The pair of pulleys 51 and the conveyor belt 52 are the same as the pair of pulleys X2 and the conveyor belt X1 of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment. Moreover, since the other structure of the conveyor system 5 shown in FIG. 13 can be comprised similarly to the conveyor system X of FIG. 1 demonstrated in 1st embodiment, it attaches | subjects the same code | symbol and abbreviate | omits description.

[Surface shape monitoring device]
The surface shape monitoring device 6 is a surface shape monitoring device for the conveyor belt 52. As shown in FIG. 13, the surface shape monitoring device 6 includes a line laser 61 that irradiates a laser at a wide angle in the width direction of the surface of the conveyor belt 52, and the conveyor belt 52. A camera 12 that captures the reflected light of the line laser 61 from the surface, a pattern extraction unit 62 that extracts a specific pattern drawn by the reflected light from an image captured by the camera 12, and a pattern extraction unit 62 based on the extraction timing. A position specifying mechanism 14 that specifies the position of the extracted pattern on the surface of the conveyor belt 52, an image acquisition unit 15 that acquires a surface image of the conveyor belt 52 at a position specified by the position specifying mechanism 14, and a pattern extraction unit 62. The display unit 63 displays the pattern extracted by a gray-scale distribution image based on the thickness of the conveyor belt 52.

Since the camera 12, the position specifying mechanism 14, and the image acquisition unit 15 can be configured in the same manner as the surface shape monitoring device 1 of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

<Line laser>
In the surface shape monitoring device 6, the laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 61 is a position facing the pulley 51. The laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 61 is more preferably a position facing the upstream pulley 51 of the pair of pulleys 51 and facing the central axis of the pulley 51 in the horizontal direction or above the horizontal direction. More preferably, the position facing the central axis of the pulley 51 in the horizontal direction is particularly preferable. By setting the laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 61 to such a position, the thickness measurement accuracy of the conveyor belt 52 described later is improved. The “upstream pulley” refers to a pulley located on the starting side with respect to the direction in which the conveyed product Y is conveyed.

The line laser 61 is configured in the same manner as the line laser 11 of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment except that the laser beam irradiation position is as described above, and thus other description is omitted.

<Pattern extraction unit>
The pattern extraction unit 62 acquires the unevenness on the surface of the conveyor belt 52 from the imaged image data of the camera 12 by a light cutting method. As described in the first embodiment, the unevenness can be known as, for example, the distance between the camera 12 and the laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 61 (the distance is A). As described above, the laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 61 is a position facing the pulley 51. The distance between the position of the pulley 51 facing this laser beam irradiation position and the camera 12 is known (the distance is B), and the conveyor belt 52 moves so that the back side is in contact with this position. It can be seen that the distance (BA) is the thickness of the conveyor belt 52 at the laser beam irradiation position. In this way, the pattern extraction unit 62 can obtain a pattern representing the unevenness of the surface of the conveyor belt 52 using the thickness of the conveyor belt 52 at the laser light irradiation position.

The pattern extraction unit 62 of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment except that the pattern representing the irregularities on the surface of the conveyor belt 52 is obtained using the thickness of the conveyor belt 52 at the laser light irradiation position. Since the configuration is the same as the above, other description is omitted.

<Display section>
The display unit 63 can be configured by an arithmetic device and a display device, for example. A known microcontroller or the like can be used as the arithmetic device, and a known liquid crystal display or the like can be used as the display device. In the case of this configuration, the display unit 63 creates gradation distribution image data by the arithmetic device and displays this image data on the display device. Hereinafter, the procedure for creating the grayscale distribution image data will be described in detail.

(Image adjustment)
The display unit 63 may create the density distribution image data using only the pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit 13, but it is preferable to use the image of the conveyor belt 52 captured by the camera 12 that also serves as the image acquisition unit 15. When using the image of the conveyor belt 52 together, the display unit 63 refers to the image of the image acquisition unit 15.

Thus, when the display unit 63 is configured to refer to the image of the image acquisition unit 15, the display unit 63 may have an image adjustment function.

For example, the display unit 63 may include an exposure sensor that detects the illuminance at the laser irradiation position of the conveyor belt 52, and may have an adjustment function of adjusting shooting conditions such as a diaphragm of the camera 12 according to the measured illuminance.

Also, confirmation in the image displayed by the display unit 63 is more effective during daytime when the illuminance is high, and conversely, position specification by the position specifying mechanism 14 is more effective during nighttime when the illuminance is low. For this reason, the adjustment function may detect an extreme change in illuminance such as day and night, and may control the presence or absence of display of the grayscale distribution image. That is, the adjustment function may be controlled to display a grayscale distribution image when the illuminance is greater than a predetermined value. Whether day or night may be determined based on the illuminance measured by the exposure sensor, but a clock may be provided instead of the exposure sensor, and management may be performed according to time.

When the illuminance is high, it may be difficult to detect the reflected light of the line laser 61 with the camera 12. For this reason, when the illuminance is larger than a predetermined value, the adjustment function may perform control to increase the output of the line laser 61. Note that the unit output of the line laser 61 may not be sufficiently increased due to safety restrictions or the like. In such a case, it is preferable to provide a plurality of line lasers 61 that can collect light at one place and adjust the intensity of the reflected light of the line laser 61 by the number of the line lasers 61 that emit light.

Further, when the illuminance is high and it is difficult for the camera 12 to detect the reflected light of the line laser 61, a transmission filter that selectively transmits the wavelength region of the line laser 61 may be used. The camera 12 may detect the reflected light of the line laser 61 through the transmission filter regardless of the illuminance. However, when the illuminance is low, the gain may decrease. For this reason, it is preferable that the adjustment function performs control using a transmission filter when the illuminance is larger than a predetermined value.

(Distortion correction)
The pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit 13 may be distorted due to the relative relationship between the pulley 51 facing the laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 61 and the installation position of the line laser 61 and the camera 12. This distortion is likely to occur when a wide-angle lens, a diagonal fisheye lens, an omnidirectional lens, or the like is mounted as a lens of the camera 12. On the other hand, these lenses have an advantage that the surface shape of the conveyor belt 52 can be monitored with a small number of cameras.

Since this distortion occurs uniformly, this pattern may be directly converted into grayscale distribution image data, but the display unit 63 preferably has a function of correcting the distortion of the pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit 13. This distortion correction function can be realized by an arithmetic device.

First, pattern distortion will be described. FIG. 14 shows a pattern L6 in which distortion occurs. Thus, the distortion which the whole inclined was easy to produce when the parallelism of the camera 12 has shifted | deviated with respect to the pulley 51. FIG. FIG. 15 shows a pattern L7 in which a distortion different from that in FIG. 14 occurs. Such distortion that is curved as a whole is likely to occur when the parallelism of the line laser 61 is deviated from the pulley 51.

Here, in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, the low height portions (L61 in FIG. 14, L71 in FIG. 15) at both ends are patterns indicating pulley portions. The pulley pattern L61, L71 is a reference line of thickness 0, and should be a straight line extending in the horizontal direction. Therefore, distortion correction can be performed by correcting the pattern so that the pulley portion patterns L61 and L71 are horizontal.

(Tint distribution image)
The display unit 63 converts the thickness of the conveyor belt 52 at the laser light irradiation position extracted by the pattern extraction unit 62 into a grayscale image using an arithmetic device. Specifically, it is preferable to create gray scale data such that when the thickness of the conveyor belt 52 is large and black when the thickness of the conveyor belt 52 is small, a predetermined value (for example, the initial thickness of the conveyor belt 52) is used as a reference. . This is merely an example, and black and white may be reversed, or color data corresponding to the type of pattern may be used.

Also, when the image of the conveyor belt 52 is used together, the grayscale data is created by superimposing the gray scale data on the image of the conveyor belt 52. Since the surface shape monitoring device 6 includes the position specifying mechanism 14, the position of the pattern extracted by the pattern extracting unit 62 on the conveyor belt 52 can be specified. Therefore, it is possible to easily align and superimpose the gray scale data on the image of the conveyor belt 52.

The grayscale distribution image data created as described above is displayed on the display device. The display device may be disposed in the vicinity of the conveyor system 5, but may be displayed by disposing the display device in a remote place and transferring the grayscale distribution image data by wireless communication or the like. That is, the display unit 63 may include a wireless communication device.

An example of the light and shade distribution image obtained in this way will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 16, the gray scale density distribution image is originally shown, and the difference in density is indicated by the difference in the type of hatching. The base portion that is not hatched (white portion in FIG. 16) is a reference gray.

In FIG. 16, the hatching of K1 represents a black portion. A black colored portion means that the conveyor belt 52 is thick, and K1 occupies a certain area, so that it is understood that the protrusion is attached.

* The hatching of K2, K3, and K4 represents a white portion. The white portion means that the conveyor belt 52 is thin, and K2, K3, and K4 are streaks, which is a damage. From the direction, etc., the damage K2 is longitudinally split, and the damage K3 is transversely cracked. The damage K4 is classified as a skew crack.

Similarly, the hatching of K5 and K6 represents the white part. Since K5 and K6 occupy a certain area, it can be seen that they are worn. From the length in the conveying direction, the wear K5 is scraped and the wear K6 is classified as wear.

The hatching of K7 and K8 represents dark gray (lighter than black of K1 and darker than the gray of the base portion). These K7 and K8 appear periodically, and both have the same period. The time obtained by dividing this cycle by the conveying speed of the conveyor belt 52 (the time required to pass this cycle) is equal to the time required for the pulley 51 to make one revolution. In other words, it can be seen that K7 and K8 appear to be thick as a result of the conveyor belt 52 being pushed to the outer peripheral side due to foreign matter adhering to the pulley. Note that the period in which K7 and K8 appear and the circumference of the pulley 51 are approximately the same, and therefore may be determined based on the coincidence. However, the period in which K7 and K8 appear is longer by the thickness of the conveyor belt 52. In addition, errors are likely to occur due to slippage loss between the conveyor belt 52 and the pulley 51. For this reason, it is preferable to judge by contrast with the time for the pulley 51 to make one round as described above.

Since the pulley 51 is generally rotated by a motor, the time for the pulley 51 to make one revolution can be easily measured from the change in the magnetic force of the motor. The surface shape monitoring system 4 may include a period detection mechanism that measures the time for which the pulley 51 makes one revolution, and the display unit 63 may delete a pattern generated in synchronization with the time measured by the period detection mechanism. . By having such a function, a pattern caused by the pulley 51 can be excluded.

Note that the K9 hatching indicates a portion where the color is black at the center in the transport direction and the color approaches the gray of the base portion as it approaches the boundary of the base portion. K9 crosses the conveyor belt 52 at an angle. K9 is a joint portion of the conveyor belt 52.

<Advantages>
The surface shape monitoring system 4 sets the laser beam irradiation position of the line laser 61 to a position facing the pulley 51. Since the position of the conveyor belt 52 is easily fixed by the pulley 51, the thickness of the conveyor belt 52 at the laser beam irradiation position can be calculated even when the surface shape is measured from one side of the conveyor belt 52. . Thus, the surface shape monitoring system 4 can detect even when the surface is evenly worn. Further, in the surface shape monitoring system 4, the pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit 62 is displayed as a grayscale distribution image based on the thickness of the conveyor belt 52, so that the visibility is improved and the surface state of the conveyor belt 52 is changed. It can be easily confirmed on the image.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in a mode in which various changes and improvements are made in addition to the above-described mode.

In the above embodiment, the case where the camera that captures the reflected light of the line laser is used for image acquisition of the image acquisition unit of the surface shape monitoring device has been described. However, a camera different from the camera is used for image acquisition of the image acquisition unit. The structure to be provided is also intended by the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the case where the reflective displacement meter is used for the position specifying mechanism of the surface shape monitoring device has been described, but the position may be specified by another method. For example, the position specifying mechanism includes a position transmitter embedded in a specific position of the conveyor belt, and a receiver that detects a signal from the position transmitter. By detecting a signal transmitted from the position transmitter, the conveyor The position on the surface of the belt may be specified. As such a position transmitter, an RFID tag, a photoelectric sensor, an eddy potential sensor, or the like can be used. In addition, a reflective mark is embedded at a specific position on the conveyor belt so that it is exposed on the surface of the conveyor belt, and the reflected position of the line laser from this reflective mark is detected by the difference in brightness and color. You may go.

In the above embodiment, the case where the thickness measuring device of the wear amount measuring system measures the belt thickness at one place in the width direction of the conveyor belt has been described, but the thickness at two or more places may be measured. By measuring the belt thickness at a plurality of locations, the measurement accuracy of the belt thickness in the width direction of the conveyor belt can be increased. On the other hand, when the number of measurement locations is one, the number of thickness measurement devices can be reduced, and thus the manufacturing cost of the wear amount measurement system can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the case where a pair of reflective displacement meters is used as the thickness measuring device of the wear amount measuring system has been described. However, as long as the belt thickness of the conveyor belt can be measured, the thickness measuring device is a pair of reflective type. It is not limited to a displacement meter. For example, a contact-type thickness measuring device that contacts both surfaces of the conveyor belt and measures the belt thickness based on the distance between the contacts can be used.

The surface shape monitoring device of the present invention can detect various conveyor belt surface abnormalities with one inexpensive device. Moreover, the surface shape monitoring apparatus of this invention and the wear amount measuring system using this surface shape monitoring apparatus can reduce the operation loss which arises by misjudgment of the abnormality of the conveyor belt surface.

Therefore, the surface shape monitoring device and wear amount measuring system of the present invention are effective for preventive maintenance of conveyor belts that are continuously operated in steelworks, thermal power plants, mines, and the like. In addition, since the surface shape monitoring device of the present invention can detect various abnormalities, it can also be used for detecting abnormalities such as transmission belt wear, synchro tooth wear, meandering, riding on, and cutting.

DESCRIPTION OF

SYMBOLS

1, 6 Surface

shape monitoring apparatus

2, 3 Wear amount measuring system 4 Surface shape monitoring system 5 Conveyor system 11 Line laser 12 Camera 13 Pattern extraction part 14 Position specifying mechanism 15 Image acquisition part 20 Thickness measurement apparatus 21 Reflective displacement meter 30 Wear calculation unit 40 Thickness measuring device 41 Reflective displacement meter 42 Mirror 43 Frame 43a Support bar 51 Pulley 52 Conveyor belt 61 Line laser 62 Pattern extraction unit 63 Display unit X Conveyor system X1 Conveyor belt X2 Pulley X3 Support roller X4 Blade type Cleaner Y, Y1, Y2 Conveyed object Z Joint L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L7 Pattern L61, L71 Pulley pattern K1 Protrusion adhesion K2, K3, K4 Damage K5, K6 Wear K7, K8 Pulley foreign matter adhesion K9 Joint part P Measurement position Q1, Q2 Light

Claims

A conveyor belt surface shape monitoring device,
A line laser that emits a laser at a wide angle in the width direction of the surface of the conveyor belt;
A camera that captures the reflected light of the line laser from the surface of the conveyor belt;
A pattern extraction unit for extracting a specific pattern drawn by the reflected light from the captured image of the camera;
A position specifying mechanism for specifying the position on the surface of the conveyor belt of the pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit based on the extraction timing;
A surface shape monitoring apparatus comprising: an image acquisition unit that acquires a surface image of the conveyor belt at a position specified by the position specifying mechanism.
The surface shape monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the camera is used for image acquisition by the image acquisition unit.
The surface shape monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2,
A thickness measuring device capable of continuously measuring at least one belt thickness in the width direction of the conveyor belt in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt;
A wear amount measurement unit comprising: a wear amount calculating unit that calculates a wear amount of the conveyor belt using a belt thickness of the conveyor belt measured by the thickness measuring device and a pattern extracted by the surface shape monitoring device. system.
A conveyor system having a pair of pulleys and a conveyor belt that is spanned between the pair of pulleys and configured to run;
A surface shape monitoring device according to claim 1,
The laser beam irradiation position of the line laser is a position facing the pulley,
The surface shape monitoring system further includes a display unit that displays a pattern extracted by the pattern extraction unit as a grayscale distribution image based on the thickness of the conveyor belt.