Vertical Looper Carriage Horizontal Maintenance Device and Carriage Horizontal Maintenance Method

Abstract

To provide a carriage horizontal maintenance device and horizontal maintenance method of a vertical looper which can accurately maintain the horizontal state of a carriage even when there is a distortion that affects the measurement in a sensor in a measurement object body.SOLUTION: A carriage horizontal maintenance device of a vertical looper includes: a jack 22 which adjusts suspension height of a carriage 5; a column 11 which is provided vertical to a lifting direction of the carriage; upper and lower displacement measurement sensors 26, 27 which are provided on an upper side and a lower side of the carriage and measure first and second horizontal distances D1, D2 to the column; a calculation storage unit which stores, at a measurement time when the carriage in the horizontal attitude is moved up / down, a measurement height position Hx, and a measurement time distance difference ΔDSx between the horizontal distances to the column measured respectively by the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors at the measurement height position; and a controller which performs operation control of the jack such that a conveyance time distance difference ΔDRx between the horizontal distances to the column measured respectively by the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors is equal to the measurement time distance difference at the measurement height position when the carriage at a conveyance time is moved up / down.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a carriage horizontal maintenance device and a carriage horizontal maintenance method for a vertical loop capable of precisely maintaining the horizontal state of a carriage even when there is distortion that affects measurement by a sensor in a body to be measured.

Background Art

[0002] In a vertical loop in which a steel strip to be conveyed is alternately wound around rolls arranged on a bottom frame and rolls arranged on a carriage that is suspended by a suspension member and moves up and down, it is required to maintain the horizontal posture of the carriage in order to suppress the meandering of the steel strip.

[0003] As a carriage horizontal maintenance device for a vertical loop that maintains the horizontal posture of a carriage, for example, Patent Document 1 is known.

[0004] The "carriage horizontal maintenance device of a vertical loop" of Patent Document 1 is a vertical loop in which a strip-shaped material is alternately wound around a first roll arranged on a fixed bed and a second roll arranged on a carriage that is suspended by a suspension member and moves up and down. An adjusting means provided between the carriage and the suspension member, which is stroked in the suspension direction to adjust the suspension height position of the carriage to be suspended; a body to be measured provided vertically along the up-and-down movement direction of the carriage; an upper displacement measurement sensor mounted on the upper side of the carriage to be lifted and lowered, which measures a first horizontal distance to the body to be measured; a lower displacement measurement sensor mounted on the lower side of the carriage to be lifted and lowered, which measures a second horizontal distance to the body to be measured; and a controller that receives the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance from these upper displacement measurement sensors and lower displacement measurement sensors and operates the adjusting means so that these horizontal distances are equal.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In the background art, the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance serving as the criteria for operating the adjusting means by the controller are the distances from the upper displacement measurement sensor and the lower displacement measurement sensor mounted on the carriage to the object to be measured provided vertically along the lifting operation direction of the carriage.

[0007] By the way, if the object to be measured for distance measurement by these sensors has uneven distortion, this distortion is included in the measured horizontal distance, and there is a problem that it is affected by the distortion and the horizontal posture of the carriage cannot be precisely maintained.

[0008] The present invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a carriage horizontal maintenance device and a carriage horizontal maintenance method for a vertical loop type that can precisely maintain the horizontal state of the carriage even if the object to be measured has distortion that affects the measurement by the sensor.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] The carriage horizontal maintenance device of the vertical loop according to the present invention is a vertical loop in which a belt-like material to be conveyed is alternately wound around a first roll arranged on a bottom frame and a second roll arranged on a carriage that is suspended by a suspension member and moves up and down. An adjusting means provided between the carriage and the suspension member, which is stroke-operated in the suspension direction to adjust the suspension height position of the carriage suspended by the suspension member; A measured object provided vertically along the vertical movement direction of the carriage; an upper displacement measurement sensor provided on the upper side of the carriage to measure a first horizontal distance to the measured object; a lower displacement measurement sensor provided on the lower side of the carriage to measure a second horizontal distance to the measured object; When the carriage in a horizontal posture is moved up and down with respect to the measured object during measurement, a plurality of measurement height positions and, at each of the measurement height positions, a plurality of measurement time distance differences between the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors are stored in a one-to-one correspondence; and a controller that controls the operation of the adjusting means so that, for each of the measurement height positions, when the carriage is moved up and down during conveyance of the belt-like material with respect to the measured object, the conveyance time distance differences between the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors are equal to the respective measurement time distance differences.

[0010] The first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance are measured in the axial direction of the roll axis of the second roll.

[0011] The carriage horizontal maintenance method of the vertical loop according to the present invention is a carriage horizontal maintenance method using the carriage horizontal maintenance device of the vertical loop. When the carriage in a horizontal posture is moved up and down with respect to the measured object during measurement, a plurality of the measurement height positions and, at each of the measurement height positions, a plurality of the measurement time distance differences between the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors are made to correspond one-to-one. the arithmetic and memory unitA measurement step for storing in a memory, and for the object to be measured, when the carriage moves up and down during the conveyance of the belt-like material, for each of the measurement height positions, the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors A posture control step of operating the adjustment means by the controller so that each conveyance distance difference is equal to each measurement distance difference is included.

Effects of the Invention

[0012] In the carriage horizontal maintenance device and carriage horizontal maintenance method of the vertical loop according to the present invention, even if there is distortion that affects the measurement by the sensor in the object to be measured, the horizontal state of the carriage can be precisely maintained.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a carriage horizontal maintenance device and a carriage horizontal maintenance method of a vertical loop according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] The vertical loop 1 is installed on the inlet side and the outlet side of the processing line of the strip material 2 such as a metal strip, respectively.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as is well known in the art, the vertical loop 1 is rotatably supported and includes a lower roll 4 as a plurality of first rolls arranged side by side on the bottom frame 3, and an upper roll 6 as a plurality of second rolls rotatably supported and arranged side by side on a carriage 5 above the bottom frame 3.

[0017] The vertical loop 1 sequentially winds the conveyed strip material 2 around the lower roll 4 and the upper roll 6 alternately in the arrangement direction of these rolls 4 and 6, and moves the carriage 5 up and down with respect to the bottom frame 3 to expand and contract the distance between the upper roll 6 and the lower roll 4, so that without stopping the processing line, the upstream line and the downstream line of the processing line can be accelerated, decelerated or stopped in speed.

[0018] In the present embodiment, hereinafter, the case where the lower roll 4 is a fixed roll and the upper roll 6 is a moving roll that moves up and down will be exemplified and described, but it goes without saying that the lower roll 4 may be a moving roll and the upper roll 6 may be a fixed roll.

[0019] Both the carriage 5 and the bottom frame 3 are formed in an elongated rectangular shape in plan view. The carriage 5 is supported at four points by a suspension member such as chains 7 and 8 or a wire rope described later so as to be able to take a horizontal posture.

[0020] The suspension members 7 and 8 are supported from the ceiling portion 10 of the three-dimensional frame 9 constituting the vertical loop 1.

[0021] The three-dimensional frame 9 is configured to surround the carriage 5 and the bottom frame 3 and is supported by four columns 11 vertically erected at its four corners with the ceiling portion 10, and is assembled and provided on a machine base 12 on which the bottom frame 3 is installed.

[0022] The plurality of upper rolls 6 and lower rolls 4 are arranged in their longitudinal directions along the long sides of the carriage 5 and the bottom frame 3.

[0023] The elevating mechanism of the carriage 5 when the suspension members 7 and 8 are chains will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0024] FIG. 3(A) is a plan view of the ceiling portion 10, FIG. 3(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow B-B in FIG. 3(A), and FIG. 3(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow C-C in FIG. 3(A).

[0025] The elevating mechanism of the carriage 5 includes a drive motor 13 provided at the central position of the ceiling portion 10, a gear box 15 provided on the ceiling portion 10 and connected to the drive motor 13, which decelerates and transmits the rotational driving force of the drive motor 13 to a rotating shaft system 14 that is serially connected via a coupling 41 in the longitudinal direction of the carriage 5, a pair of first sprockets 17 and second sprockets 18 of the same size provided on the ceiling portion 10 near each bearing member 16 that supports both ends of the rotating shaft system 14, and are connected to both ends of the rotating shaft system 14 in an adjacent arrangement, and are rotationally driven in the same direction at the same speed by the rotating shaft system 14, thereby driving the first chain 7 and the second chain 8 wound around them at a constant speed, two third sprockets 20 provided on the ceiling portion 10 opposite to each of the first sprockets 17 and rotatably supported via bearing members 19 to guide the first chain 7 wound from the first sprocket 17, and a counterweight 21 to which one end of each of the first chain 7 and the second chain 8 is connected on each side in the longitudinal direction of the carriage 5.

[0026] The counterweight 21 reduces the required driving force for the elevating movement of the carriage 5 and prevents the chains 7 and 8 from rising.

[0027] On the carriage 5, the other ends of two first chains 7 are connected on one side in the width direction with a space therebetween in the length direction, and the other ends of two second chains 8 are connected on the other side in the width direction with a space therebetween in the length direction. Thus, the carriage 5 is supported at four points by four chains 7 and 8.

[0028] It is desirable that the four points serving as suspension points are the four corners of a rectangular shape with the width direction of the carriage 5 as the short side direction.

[0029] When the suspension members 7 and 8 are wire ropes, pulleys are used instead of the sprockets 17, 18, and 20.

[0030] For example, when the drive motor 13 is driven forward, a set of first and second sprockets 17 and 18 are driven forward in the same direction, and each third sprocket 20 is also rotated forward in the same direction via the first chain 7. The first and second chains 7 and 8 lower the carriage 5 at the other end while pulling up the weight 21 at one end. On the other hand, when the drive motor 13 is driven in reverse, the first to third sprockets 17, 18, and 20 are all driven in reverse in the same direction, and the first and second chains 7 and 8 lift and raise the carriage 5 at the other end while lowering and raising the weight 21 at one end.

[0031] The carriage 5 may be configured to be raised by driving the drive motor 13 forward and lowered by driving it in reverse.

[0032] Alternatively, instead of this mechanism, four winches (not shown) may be used to synchronously wind up and unwind a suspension member such as a wire instead of the chains 7 and 8.

[0033] The carriage 5 is provided with adjusting means for performing a stroke operation in the suspension direction by the chains 7 and 8 and adjusting the suspension height position of the carriage 5 suspended by these chains 7 and 8.

[0034] In this embodiment, the adjustment means is exemplified by using the jack 22, and is provided between the other end of the first chain 7 and the carriage 5.

[0035] The adjustment means is not limited to the jack 22, and any means may be used as long as it can perform a stroke operation in the suspension direction.

[0036] The illustrated jack 22 is a well-known screw jack in which a stroke for the rod 24 to protrude and retract occurs in the motor-driven screw mechanism 23. The screw mechanism 23 is attached to the carriage 5, and the rod 24 is connected to the first chain 7.

[0037] When the carriage 5 is in a fixed suspended state by the first and second chains 7 and 8, when a forward stroke occurs in the rod 24, the suspended height position of the carriage 5 on the first chain 7 side becomes lower than that on the second chain 8 side. Conversely, when a retraction stroke occurs in the rod 24, the suspended height position of the carriage 5 becomes higher. Thus, even when the carriage 5 is not suspended horizontally by the first and second chains 7 and 8, the stroke adjustment of the jack 22 enables the carriage 5 to be suspended in a horizontal posture by the chains 7 and 8.

[0038] The jack 22 may be provided between the second chain 8 and the carriage 5 instead of the first chain 7.

[0039] In the vertical loop 1, a plurality of upper rolls 6 are arranged in the length direction of the carriage 5, and the roll shafts 6a of the upper rolls 6 installed in the width direction of the carriage 5 are inclined in the axial direction, causing the strip material 2 to meander. Therefore, it is required to maintain the horizontal posture of the carriage 5 in the axial direction of the roll shaft 6a (see FIGS. 1 and 2). In other words, it is required that the carriage 5 does not tilt in the width direction.

[0040] In the width direction of the carriage 5, a structure is provided to detect the suspended posture of the carriage 5 and maintain it in a horizontal posture. The structure includes the column 11 serving as the object to be measured, displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 mounted on the upper side and the lower side of the carriage 5, and a controller 28 that operates and controls the jack 22 based on the detection signals from these displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27.

[0041] The column 11 is vertically provided along the lifting and lowering movement direction of the carriage 5, and the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 are arranged to face the column 11.

[0042] In this embodiment, the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 are respectively arranged on both end sides in the length direction of the carriage 5, on one side in the width direction of the carriage 5, and two (a pair of upper and lower) are provided. Also, two columns 11 facing each other in proximity to these displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 are used as the object to be measured.

[0043] It is preferable to arrange the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 on both sides instead of only one side in the width direction of the carriage 5, and provide four of them, so that the accuracy of the posture control of the carriage 5 can be improved.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, on the carriage 5, an upper displacement measurement sensor 26 attached to the upper surface 5a of the carriage 5 and a lower displacement measurement sensor 27 attached to the lower surface 5b of the carriage 5 are provided in a pair.

[0045] These displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 emit laser light L from the light projecting unit 33 in the width direction of the carriage 5 toward the side surfaces of the facing columns 11, and receive the laser light L from the width direction of the carriage 5 reflected by the columns 11 with the light receiving unit 34, so as to measure the horizontal distances D1 and D2 to the columns 11.

[0046] Specifically, it is desirable that the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 be attached to the carriage 5 in a horizontal state without inclination, such that the positions of the light-receiving portions 34 of the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 are the same in the vertical direction and equidistant from the support column 11 in the horizontal direction.

[0047] Sensors that utilize laser light are susceptible to ambient environmental disturbances such as temperature, stray light, and dust, and the longer the measurement distance, the more likely measurement errors are to occur.

[0048] In contrast, in the present invention, when measuring the attitude (inclination) of the carriage 5, measurements are performed with as little error as possible using the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27, and a slight difference in the measured values (horizontal distances D1 and D2) can be used for attitude control of the carriage 5 by measuring from the closest distance to the support column 11.

[0049] The upper displacement measurement sensor 26 measures the first horizontal distance D1 from the support column 11 in the width direction of the carriage 5 at the upper part of the carriage 5. The lower displacement measurement sensor 27 measures the second horizontal distance D2 from the support column 11 in the width direction of the carriage 5 at the lower part of the carriage 5.

[0050] The upper displacement measurement sensor 26 and the lower displacement measurement sensor 27 measure the first horizontal distance D1 and the second horizontal distance D2 at a plurality of measurement height positions, that is, at a plurality of height positions of the support column, and input them to the controller 28.

[0051] The input of the horizontal distance from the sensor to the controller is executed during "measurement" when the carriage is moved up and down in a horizontal attitude as a preparatory step, and is also executed during "attitude control" when the carriage is moved up and down during the operation of conveying the strip material 2.

[0052] The controller 28 includes an arithmetic and storage unit 28a. The arithmetic and storage unit 28a calculates the distance difference ΔD from the first horizontal distance D1 and the second horizontal distance D2 for each of the plurality of measurement height positions input to the controller 28.

[0053] The distance difference ΔD calculated during "measurement" is treated as the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx, and the distance difference ΔD calculated during "posture control" is treated as the conveyance-time distance difference ΔDRx.

[0054] Further, in the arithmetic and storage unit 28a, when the carriage 5 in a horizontal posture is moved up and down, the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx at each measurement height position is stored in advance in a one-to-one relationship with the measurement height position Hx.

[0055] A spirit level (not shown) is provided on the carriage 5. When measuring the distances D1 and D2 with the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 during "measurement", it is confirmed by the spirit level that the carriage 5 is in a horizontal posture.

[0056] The controller 28 controls the operation of the jack 22 so that the conveyance-time distance difference ΔDRx is equal to the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx stored in the arithmetic and storage unit 28a at each measurement height position Hx.

[0057] The measurement height position Hx can be measured, for example, by fixing a laser beam type height sensor on the bottom frame 3 side and measuring the height distance to the carriage 5 that moves up and down in the vertical direction with this height sensor, or by detecting the forward and reverse rotation amounts of the drive motor 13 and the winding-up length and winding-down length of the chains 7 and 8 by the drive motor 13.

[0058] Next, the operation of the carriage horizontal maintenance device and the carriage horizontal maintenance method for the vertical loop according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0059] First, during "measurement" when the belt-like body 2 is not hung, while maintaining the state of the carriage 5 in a horizontal posture, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper displacement measurement sensor 26 and the lower displacement measurement sensor 27 measure the first and second horizontal distances D1 and D2 at a plurality of measurement height positions Hx along the height direction of the support column 11, and calculate the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx between the first horizontal distance D1 and the second horizontal distance D2 when the carriage 5 is in a horizontal state, and store it in the arithmetic and storage unit 28a (measurement-time step).

[0060] During the measurement step, at a plurality of measurement height positions Hx, the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx is calculated and accumulated from the horizontal distances D1 and D2 including the strain of the support column 11.

[0061] Then, during the "transportation" of the strip material 2, if the above-described transportation-time distance difference ΔDRx is equal to the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx at each measurement height position Hx, the carriage 5 is not affected by the strain of the support column 11, and based on the transportation-time distance difference ΔDRx calculated from the horizontal distances D1 and D2 input from the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27, the jack 22 is operationally controlled by the controller 28 to maintain the horizontal posture.

[0062] Specifically, the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx stored in the arithmetic and storage unit 28a is, for example, by mounting a level on the carriage 5 that can confirm the horizontal state, and at a plurality of measurement height positions Hx passed through during the up-and-down movement of the carriage 5, stopping the up-and-down movement of the carriage 5, confirming that the carriage 5 is horizontal with the level, then measuring the first and second horizontal distances D1 and D2 by the upper displacement measurement sensor 26 and the lower displacement measurement sensor 27, inputting the measured first and second horizontal distances D1 and D2 to the controller 28, calculating the distance difference (measurement-time distance difference) ΔDSx between the first horizontal distance D1 and the second horizontal distance D2, and storing it in the arithmetic and storage unit 28a in association with the measured measurement height position Hx.

[0063] The measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx may be measured continuously and automatically for the first and second horizontal distances D1 and D2 while the carriage 5 is moving up and down without stopping the up-and-down movement of the carriage 5, and input to the controller 28.

[0064] The wavy line F shown in FIG. 5 represents the strain of the support column 11. In the illustration, it is represented by a wavy line connecting a plurality of measurement height positions Hx.

[0065] In the illustrated example, the measurement height position Hx is shown based on the measurement position by the lower displacement measurement sensor 27, but it may be replaced with the measurement position by the upper displacement measurement sensor 26.

[0066] Next, during the vertical movement of the carriage 5 that winds and conveys the strip material 2 around the rolls 4 and 6, the first and second horizontal distances D1 and D2 measured by the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 continuously and constantly at each moment (in FIG. 5, the uppermost carriage 5 is assumed to be in a non-horizontal state, and in that case, it is measured by the laser beam L' shown by the dotted line) are input to the controller 28 at the timing when each measurement height position Hx is reached.

[0067] The controller 28 calculates the conveyance distance difference ΔDRx between the first horizontal distance D1 and the second horizontal distance D2 from the input first and second horizontal distances D1 and D2 at each measurement height position Hx.

[0068] The controller 28 reads out the measurement error ΔDSx stored in the arithmetic memory unit 28a in association with the measurement height position Hx for the measurement height position Hx at which the conveyance distance difference ΔDRx is calculated.

[0069] The controller 28 calculates the difference between the conveyance distance difference ΔDRx and the read measurement error ΔDSx, and outputs a control signal to the jack 22 so that this difference disappears, that is, these distance differences become equal (ΔDRx = ΔDSx at the measurement height position Hx).

[0070] The jack 22 is operated based on the control signal for stroke control output from the controller 28, whereby the carriage 5 is held in a horizontal posture (posture control step).

[0071] For example, when the conveyance distance difference ΔDRx is larger or smaller than the measurement distance difference ΔDSx at any measurement height position Hx in the arithmetic memory unit 28a, it is determined that the carriage 5 is not in a horizontal posture but is tilted.

[0072] The controller 28 operates the jack 22 in the direction in which the rod 24 protrudes or retracts according to the magnitude relationship between the measurement distance difference ΔDSx and the conveyance distance difference ΔDRx.

[0073] In this way, the controller 28 operates the jack 22 so that the conveyance distance difference ΔDRx matches the measurement error ΔDSx for each measurement height position Hx.

[0074] In short, the distance measured by the laser beam L’ when tilted is corrected to be the distance measured by the laser beam L when in a horizontal posture.

[0075] The jack 22 is stroke-operated in real time in the suspension direction of the first chain 7, and the suspension height position of the carriage 5 can be adjusted to maintain the horizontal posture of the carriage 5.

[0076] In the carriage horizontal maintenance device and carriage horizontal maintenance method of the vertical loop according to the present embodiment, a jack 22 is provided between a carriage 5 and a first chain 7, which is stroke-operated in the suspension direction to adjust the suspension height position of the carriage 5 suspended by the first chain 7; a column 11 vertically provided along the vertical movement direction of the carriage 5; an upper displacement measurement sensor 26 provided on the upper side of the carriage 5 to measure a first horizontal distance D1 to the column 11; a lower displacement measurement sensor 27 provided on the lower side of the carriage 5 to measure a second horizontal distance D2 to the column 11; an arithmetic storage unit 28a that stores, in a one-to-one correspondence, a plurality of measurement height positions Hx and a plurality of measurement-time distance differences ΔDSx between the first horizontal distance D1 and the second horizontal distance D2 input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 at each measurement height position Hx when the carriage 5 in a horizontal posture is moved up and down with respect to the column 11 during "measurement"; and a controller 28 that controls the operation of the jack 22 so that, for each measurement height position Hx, a conveyance-time distance difference ΔDRx between the first horizontal distance D1 and the second horizontal distance D2 input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 is equal to each measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx when the carriage 5 is moved up and down during "conveyance" of the strip material 2 with respect to the column 11. Even if there is a strain F in the column 11, during "measurement" with the carriage in a horizontal posture, since the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx including the strain F in the distance from the carriage 5 to the column 11 is measured, the measurement-time distance difference ΔDSx is compared with the conveyance-time distance difference ΔDRx from the carriage 5 to the column 11 measured during "conveyance" of the strip material 2 at each measurement height position Hx, and the posture of the carriage 5 is adjusted with the jack 22 so that these distance differences ΔDSx and ΔDRx are equal and match. Thus, even if there is a strain F in the column 11, the horizontal state of the carriage 5 can be precisely maintained.

[0077] Therefore, there is no need to require high flatness processing for the column 11 as the object to be measured, which can facilitate manufacturing, assembly, etc., and can also reduce equipment costs.

[0078] Not limited to the stopped state of the carriage 5, even when the carriage 5 is moving up and down, the horizontal distances D1 and D2 to the support column 11 are measured by the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 provided on the carriage 5, and the attitude control of the carriage 5 can be precisely and finely executed with high precision continuously at all times.

[0079] On the carriage 5, the upper roll 6 is provided with the roll shaft 6a facing the width direction of the carriage 5, and since the first horizontal distance D1 and the second horizontal distance D2 are measured in the width direction of the carriage 5, the horizontal attitude in the width direction of the carriage 5 that causes the strip material 2 to meander can be accurately maintained, and the meandering of the strip material 2 can be prevented.

[0080] In the above description, the case of using the displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 including the light projecting portion 33 and the light receiving portion 34 has been described, but other types of sensors may be used as long as they can measure the distance.

[0081] In the above description, the vertical loop 1 in which the bottom frame 3 provided with the first roll (lower roll 4) is installed on the floor surface and the carriage 5 provided with the second roll (upper roll 6) moves up and down above it has been exemplified, but it goes without saying that it can also be applied to the vertical loop 1 in which the bottom frame 3 of the first roll is installed on the ceiling portion 10 and the carriage 5 of the second roll moves up and down below it.

[0082] The controller 28, regarding the stroke control of the jack 22, considering that the position of the support column 11 as the object to be measured is different from the position of the jack 22 controlled to maintain the horizontal attitude, as shown in FIG. 6, from the vertical distance V between the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors 26 and 27 (light receiving portion 34) that measure the horizontal distances D1 and D2 and the horizontal distance W between the first and second chains 7 and 8 that suspend the carriage 5, for the value of the difference between the first and second horizontal distances D1 and D2, the sensors 26 and 27 output an output signal multiplied by the magnification of W / V to the jack 22.

[0083] These vertical distance V and horizontal distance W are dimensions measured when the carriage 5 is in a horizontal attitude.

[0084] In the above embodiment, the case where the object to be measured is the support column 11 has been described. However, instead of the support column 11, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a wire member 30 such as a wire having its upper end connected to the ceiling portion 10 of the three-dimensional frame 9 via a suspension base 29, and a weight 31 connected to the lower end of the wire member 30 for pulling the wire member 30 downward to stretch it straight in the vertical direction are provided. For preventing the vibration of the wire member 30, a configuration is adopted in which the weight 31 is immersed in an oil reservoir filled with oil in a container 32 installed on the bottom frame 3. The wire member 30 may be used as the object to be measured for measuring the horizontal distances D1 and D2 by irradiating it with the laser beam L.

[0085] The above embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention and is not for limiting and interpreting the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be changed and improved without departing from its gist, and equivalents thereof are included in the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0086] 1 Vertical Looper 2 Band-shaped Material 3 Bottom Frame 4 First Roll (Lower Roll) 5 Carriage 5a Upper Surface 5b Lower Surface 6 Second Roll (Upper Roll) 6a Roll Shaft 7 First Chain (Suspension Member) 8 Second Chain (Suspension Member) 9 Three-dimensional Frame 10 Ceiling Portion 11 Support Column 12 Machine Base 13 Driving Motor 14 Rotating Shaft System 15 Gear Box 16 Bearing Member 17 First Sprocket 18 Second Sprocket 19 Bearing Member 20 Third Sprocket 21 Counterweight 22 Jack 23 Motor-Driven Screw Mechanism 24 Rod 26 Upper Displacement Measurement Sensor 27 Lower Displacement Measurement Sensor 28 Controller 28a Arithmetic and Memory Unit 29 Hanging Base 30 Wire Rod 31 Weight 32 Container 33 Light-Emitting Unit 34 Light-Receiving Unit 41 Coupling D1 First Horizontal Distance D2 Second Horizontal Distance ΔD Distance Difference ΔDRx Distance Difference during Conveyance ΔDSx Distance Difference during Measurement F Strain Hx Measurement Height Position L Laser Light V Vertical Distance between Upper and Lower Displacement Measurement Sensors W Horizontal Distance between First and Second Chains

Claims

1. A vertical looper configured to alternately loop a strip to be conveyed around a first roll arranged on a bottom frame and a second roll arranged on a carriage that is suspended by a suspension member and moves up and down, adjustment means provided between the carriage and the suspension member, which is stroke-operated in the suspension direction to adjust the suspension height position of the carriage suspended by the suspension member; a measured object provided vertically along the vertical movement direction of the carriage; an upper displacement measurement sensor provided on the upper side of the carriage to measure a first horizontal distance to the measured object; a lower displacement measurement sensor provided on the lower side of the carriage to measure a second horizontal distance to the measured object; an arithmetic storage unit that, when the carriage in a horizontal posture is moved up and down with respect to the measured object during measurement, stores a plurality of measurement height positions and a plurality of measurement time differences between the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors at each of the measurement height positions in a one-to-one correspondence; a controller that, when the carriage moves up and down during conveyance of the strip with respect to the measured object, controls the operation of the adjustment means so that the conveyance time distance differences between the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors at each of the measurement height positions are equal to the respective measurement time differences. A carriage horizontal maintenance device for a vertical looper, characterized by comprising the above.

2. The carriage horizontal maintenance device for a vertical looper according to claim 1, wherein the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance are measured in the axial direction of the roll axis of the second roll.

3. A carriage horizontal maintenance method using the carriage horizontal maintenance device for a vertical looper according to claim 1, When measuring by moving the carriage in a horizontal posture up and down with respect to the object to be measured, a measurement step of storing in the arithmetic storage unit by associating one-to-one a plurality of the measurement height positions and a plurality of the measurement-time distance differences between the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors at each of the measurement height positions; A method for maintaining the horizontal position of a carriage of a vertical loop, comprising: a posture control step of operating the adjustment means by the controller so that, for each of the measurement height positions, when the carriage moves up and down during conveyance of the strip material with respect to the object to be measured, a conveyance-time distance difference between the first horizontal distance and the second horizontal distance input from the upper and lower displacement measurement sensors is equal to each of the measurement-time distance differences.

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