Surface shape measurement device, surface shape measurement method, and tape management method

Abstract

The invention provides a surface shape measuring device, a surface shape measuring method, and a belt management method, which can measure the thickness of a belt with high precision. A surface shape measuring device (10) for measuring the surface shape of a belt wound around a pulley is provided with: a belt surface measuring device (11) for measuring the surface position of the belt and the surface position of the pulley at the portion where the belt is in contact with the pulley; and a control device (15) that corrects the surface position of the tape on the basis of the measured surface position of the pulley, and calculates the surface shape of the tape.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a surface shape measuring device, a surface shape measuring method, and a belt management method. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a surface shape measuring device, a surface shape measuring method, and a belt management method for measuring the surface shape of a belt wound around a pulley. Background Art

[0002] For example, as a conveying device for conveying a conveyance object such as a raw material, a belt conveyor having a belt wound around a pair of pulleys as a driving unit is known. In the belt conveyor, it is necessary to manage the thickness of the belt so that the belt does not break.

[0003] Here, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose an apparatus and a system for measuring the unevenness of the surface of a conveyor belt by a light section method using a line laser.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-32346

[0005] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-76767

[0006] In the technology of Patent Document 1, the unevenness of the conveyor belt is measured at a position far from the pulley, so the posture of the conveyor belt, such as when the conveyor belt swings up and down, tends to become unstable, and it is difficult to improve the measurement accuracy of the unevenness of the conveyor belt. On the other hand, in the technology of Patent Document 2, the unevenness of the conveyor belt is measured at the part where the conveyor belt contacts the pulley, but when the pulley around which the conveyor belt is wound is eccentric or tilted, there is a problem that the thickness of the conveyor belt cannot be accurately measured. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a surface shape measuring device, a surface shape measuring method, and a belt management method that can measure the thickness of a belt with high accuracy.

[0008] (1) A surface shape measuring device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a surface shape measuring device for measuring the surface shape of a belt wound around a pulley, and includes:

[0009] a belt surface measuring device for measuring the surface position of the belt and the surface position of the pulley at a portion where the belt contacts the pulley; and

[0010] The control device corrects the surface position of the belt based on the measured surface position of the pulley and calculates the surface shape of the belt.

[0011] (2) As one embodiment of the present disclosure, based on (1),

[0012] The belt surface measuring device measures the surface positions of both ends of the pulley in the width direction which are exposed from the ends of the belt in the width direction.

[0013] The control device estimates the surface position of a portion other than the two ends in the width direction of the pulley from the surface positions of the two ends in the width direction of the pulley, and corrects the surface position of the belt based on the estimated surface position of the pulley.

[0014] (3) As one embodiment of the present disclosure, based on (1) or (2),

[0015] The belt surface measuring device measures the surface position of the belt over at least the entire length in the conveyance direction.

[0016] (4) As one embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to any one of (1) to (3),

[0017] The control device estimates the inclination of the pulley in the width direction from the surface position of the pulley, and corrects the surface position of the belt based on the inclination.

[0018] (5) As one embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to any one of (1) to (4),

[0019] The control device estimates an eccentricity of the pulley in a circumferential direction from the surface position of the pulley, and corrects the surface position of the belt based on the eccentricity.

[0020] (6) A surface shape measuring method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a surface shape measuring method for measuring the surface shape of a belt wound around a pulley.

[0021] At a portion where the belt contacts the pulley, the surface position of the belt and the surface position of the pulley are measured;

[0022] Based on the measured surface position of the pulley, the surface position of the belt is corrected, and the surface shape of the belt is calculated.

[0023] (7) A tape management method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure manages the tape based on the surface shape of the tape calculated by the surface shape measuring method of (6).

[0024] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a surface shape measuring device, a surface shape measuring method, and a tape management method that can measure the thickness of a tape with high accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of a surface shape measuring device according to one embodiment.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating a state where the surface shape (surface position) of a conveyor belt is measured by a belt surface measuring device.

[0027] Figure 3A This is a diagram for explaining the influence of the inclination and eccentricity of the pulley on the surface shape data of the conveyor belt.

[0028] Figure 3B This is a diagram for explaining the influence of the inclination and eccentricity of the pulley on the surface shape data of the conveyor belt.

[0029] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a surface shape measuring method according to an embodiment.

[0030] Figure 5A It is a diagram for explaining a method of correcting the influence of the inclination of the pulley.

[0031] Figure 5B It is a diagram for explaining a method of correcting the influence of the inclination of the pulley.

[0032] Fig. 6A It is a diagram for explaining a method of correcting the influence of the eccentricity of the pulley.

[0033] Figure 6B It is a diagram for explaining a method of correcting the influence of the eccentricity of the pulley. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Hereinafter, a surface shape measuring device, a surface shape measuring method, and a belt management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are marked with the same reference numerals. In the description of this embodiment, the description of the same or corresponding parts is appropriately omitted or simplified.

[0035] <Surface shape measuring device>

[0036] Figure 1 A configuration example of the surface shape measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment is shown. Figure 2 1 shows a situation where the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 of the belt conveyor 1 is measured by the belt surface measuring device 11 of the surface shape measuring device 10. Figure 2As shown, the surface shape measuring device 10 measures the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 wound on the pulley 20. Here, the pulley 20 is an example of a driving unit. In addition, the conveyor belt 30 is an example of a belt. The surface shape measuring device 10 is a device that measures the surface shape of a belt driven by the driving unit in the traveling direction. The belt is not limited to the conveyor belt 30, but in this embodiment, the belt is described as the conveyor belt 30 driven by the pulley 20. Here, the traveling direction is the direction in which the belt moves with the help of the driving force from the driving unit. In this embodiment, the traveling direction is also referred to as the conveying direction. The conveying direction is the direction in which the conveyed object loaded on the surface 31 of the running conveyor belt 30 moves.

[0037] In the belt conveyor 1, it is necessary to manage the thickness of the conveyor belt 30 so that the conveyor belt 30 does not break. The thickness of the conveyor belt 30 can be managed by calculating the thickness of the conveyor belt 30 based on the surface shape measured by the surface shape measuring device 10. As long as the surface shape can be measured with high accuracy, the thickness of the conveyor belt 30 can be accurately obtained by calculation. Here, the surface shape refers to the shape of the concavities and convexities of the surface 31 of the conveyor belt 30. For example, a portion of the surface 31 of the conveyor belt 30 that is concave than the surrounding portion can indicate that the thickness of the conveyor belt 30 is thinner than the surrounding portion.

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, the surface shape measuring device 10 involved in this embodiment has a belt surface measuring device 11 and a control device 15. The control device 15 has a computing device 12 and an analyzing device 14. The surface shape measuring device 10 is a device that measures the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 by the cooperation of the belt surface measuring device 11, the computing device 12 and the analyzing device 14. The computing device 12 obtains the conveyor belt operation information 13 as needed. The conveyor belt operation information 13 is information about the operation and state of the conveyor belt 30, for example, obtained from the control device of the belt conveyor 1. The belt surface measuring device 11 and the control device 15 are connected to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), and can send and receive information (measurement data) obtained by measurement. In addition, the control device of the belt conveyor 1 can be connected to the same network such as a LAN. The details of the components of the surface shape measuring device 10 will be described later.

[0039] like Figure 2 As shown, a conveyor belt 30 to be measured by the surface shape measuring device 10 is wound around a pulley 20. When the pulley 20 rotates, the conveyor belt 30 moves, and can convey the conveyed object placed on the surface 31 of the conveyor belt 30. Here, the surface 31 of the conveyor belt 30 is the surface (outer surface) of the conveyor belt 30 opposite to the surface (inner surface) on the pulley 20 side.

[0040] <With surface measuring device>

[0041] like Figure 2 As shown, the belt surface measuring device 11 measures the surface shapes of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20. The belt surface measuring device 11 can determine the surface positions of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20 through measurement. That is, it can be said that the local information of the surface shape is the surface position. Therefore, hereinafter, the measurement performed by the belt surface measuring device 11 is sometimes recorded as "measuring the surface position". The belt surface measuring device 11 can simultaneously measure the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 and the surface position of the pulley 20 at the portion where the conveyor belt 30 contacts the pulley 20. In the present embodiment, the belt surface measuring device 11 is a non-contact measuring device that measures the surface positions of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20 in a non-contact state with the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20. The belt surface measuring device 11 performs the measurement while the pulley 20 and the conveyor belt 30 are rotating. The belt surface measuring device 11 preferably measures the surface position of at least the entire length of the conveyor belt 30 in the conveying direction.

[0042] In the present embodiment, the belt surface measuring device 11 is a laser cutting device such as a light cutting type profilometer. The belt surface measuring device 11 can measure the surface position of the entire length of the conveyor belt 30 in the width direction by irradiating a linear laser to the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20. The belt surface measuring device 11 can measure the surface positions of the two ends of the pulley 20 in the width direction that are exposed from the ends of the conveyor belt 30 in the width direction.

[0043] The belt surface measuring device 11 is provided at a position where the conveyor belt 30 can be irradiated with laser light from the oblique upper direction of the pulley 20, so that the surface positions of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20 can be measured simultaneously at the portion where the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20 are in contact. The belt surface measuring device 11 can be configured to be held near the pulley 20 by a holding member 40 provided on the ground. At this time, in order to accurately measure the thickness direction of the conveyor belt 30, the belt surface measuring device 11 is provided so that the irradiation direction of the laser light passes through the center 22 of the pulley 20. Since the belt surface measuring device 11 measures the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 at the portion in contact with the pulley 20, the conveyor belt 30 does not swing up and down, and the conveyor belt 30 in a stable posture can be measured. In addition, the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 and the surface position of the pulley 20 can be measured simultaneously at the same position. Therefore, compared with a structure in which the surface positions of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20 are measured by two measuring devices respectively, the number of measuring devices can be reduced, and the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 can be corrected with high accuracy according to the surface position of the pulley 20.

[0044] In this way, the belt surface measuring device 11 performs measurement to obtain information on the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 and the surface position of the pulley 20. However, the obtained information on the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 includes the eccentricity and inclination of the pulley 20.

[0045] Here, as another configuration example, a device other than the laser cutting method can be used as the belt surface measuring device 11. However, the belt surface measuring device 11 is preferably a non-contact measuring device capable of measuring in a non-contact state with the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20, so that the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20 can be measured during rotation.

[0046] <Control device>

[0047] The control device 15 is configured to include a computing device 12 and an analyzing device 14. The control device 15 corrects the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 based on the surface position of the pulley 20 measured by the belt surface measuring device 11, and calculates the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30. The control device 15 can be configured to include a processor that performs calculations and a storage unit that stores data used in the calculations (such as information on the surface position). The processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor customized for a specific process, but is not limited to them and can be any processor. The storage unit is one or more memories. The memory is, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, or an optical memory, but is not limited to them and can be any memory. The control device 15 can also be, for example, a computer.

[0048] <Computing device>

[0049] The computing device 12 computes the surface shape of the entire length of the conveyor belt 30 in the conveying direction based on the measurement data as information on the surface position from the belt surface measuring device 11 and the conveyor belt operation information 13 obtained as needed. Here, the entire length of the conveyor belt 30 in the conveying direction is sometimes referred to as the entire circumference or the circumferential total length. In addition, the calculation of the surface shape may include determining the thickness of the conveyor belt 30, and may also include determining the concavity and convexity of the surface 31 of the conveyor belt 30 by establishing a correspondence relationship with a two-dimensional map, for example.

[0050] <Analysis equipment>

[0051] The analysis device 14 is a device for removing the information on the surface position (eccentricity and inclination) of the pulley 20 from the information on the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 calculated by the calculation device 12, thereby obtaining the accurate surface shape of the conveyor belt 30. Here, the surface position of the pulley 20 to be removed is the surface position of the total width (full length in the width direction) of the pulley 20. The analysis device 14 infers the surface position of the portion other than the two ends in the width direction of the pulley 20 (full length in the width direction) based on the surface positions of the two ends in the width direction of the pulley 20 measured by the belt surface measuring device 11. For example, Figure 5AAs shown by the dotted line, the analyzing device 14 infers the straight line portion when the positions of the two ends of the pulley 20 in the width direction are connected by a straight line as the surface position of the pulley 20. Here, in the present embodiment, the analyzing device 14 infers the entire length in the width direction based on the measured surface positions of the two ends of the pulley 20 in the width direction, but it is also possible to infer a portion of the pulley 20 in the width direction (discrete inference).

[0052] <Surface shape measurement method>

[0053] exist Figure 3A and Figure 3B In the measurement data obtained by the belt surface measuring device 11, the surface shapes of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20 are displayed in grayscale. In the present embodiment, the surface position is obtained as the height direction (hereinafter referred to as "height") with the radial direction from the center 22 of the cylindrical pulley 20 as the height direction. Regarding the surface position of the conveyor belt 30, the situation away from the center 22 in the radial direction toward the pulley 20 is expressed as high, and the situation close to the center 22 is expressed as low. Figure 3A and Figure 3B In the figure, the black portion near the center in the width direction indicates that the surface position is higher than the white portion. Figure 3A This is data including the influence of the inclination and eccentricity of the pulley 20. For example, due to the influence of eccentricity, a black linear portion can be seen over the entire width direction. In addition, an asymmetric color distribution in the width direction can be seen. Figure 3B This is data that eliminates the influence of the inclination and eccentricity of the pulley 20. Figure 3B In the image, no black line-shaped part and asymmetrical color distribution are seen. By performing the correction process described below, Figure 3B Such data on the surface shapes of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20.

[0054] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a surface shape measuring method executed by the surface shape measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0055] The surface shape measuring device 10 waits when it is determined based on the signal obtained from the conveyor operation information 13 that the conveyor 30 is not in operation ("No" in step S1). If the conveyor 30 is in operation ("Yes" in step S1), the surface shape measuring device 10 performs measurement by the belt surface measuring device 11 (step S2).

[0056] Next, the surface shape measuring device 10 determines the position of the conveyor belt 30 in the conveying direction based on the conveyor belt operation information 13 , and stores the measurement data measured by the belt surface measuring device 11 in correspondence with the determined position of the conveyor belt 30 .

[0057] If the surface shape measuring device 10 has not measured the surface position of the entire length (one turn) of the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 30 ("No" in step S3), the measurement continues. When the surface shape measuring device 10 has measured the data of one turn of the conveyor belt 30 ("Yes" in step S3), it combines the data of one turn based on the information of the position in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 30 with which the correspondence has been established (step S4). Here, there may be multiple measurement data at one position. The surface shape measuring device 10 can, for example, select any measurement data, or perform operations such as averaging, and establish a correspondence between the measured data after the operation and the position.

[0058] Here, the surface shape data obtained in step S3 includes the influence of the surface position (inclination and eccentricity) of the pulley 20. Therefore, the surface shape measuring device 10 analyzes the correct surface shape data of the conveyor belt 30 (step S5). The surface shape measuring device 10 corrects the surface position of the conveyor belt 30 based on the surface position (inclination and eccentricity) of the pulley 20, and calculates the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 in which the influence of the inclination and eccentricity of the pulley 20 is eliminated.

[0059] Figure 5A and Figure 5B 1 is a diagram showing a method of correcting the influence of the inclination of the pulley 20. Here, the pulley 20 and the belt 30 wound around the pulley 20 have a sharp height difference (step) at both ends (boundaries) of the belt 30, so they can be distinguished in the width direction. Figure 5A and Figure 5B The pulley portion is determined to be a portion where the pulley 20 is exposed. Figure 5A and Figure 5B The belt portion is a portion where it is determined that the conveyor belt 30 exists. Figure 5A FIG. 1 shows an example of the surface position (surface shape) of the conveyor belt 30 before the tilt correction calculated by the control device 15. The difference in the surface position (height) at both ends of the pulley 20 indicates that the pulley as a whole is tilted in the width direction. In addition, it is known that the surface position (surface shape) of the conveyor belt 30 is also tilted due to the influence of the tilt of the pulley 20. Figure 5B As shown, the control device 15 corrects the influence of the inclination of the pulley 20 by rotating and parallelizing the surface positions of the conveyor belt 30 and the pulley 20 so that the height of the pulley 20 becomes 0 (reference point). Here, the inclination of the pulley 20 can be measured (inferred) even when the pulley 20 (conveyor belt 30) is stopped.

[0060] Fig. 6A and Figure 6BThis is a diagram showing a correction method when the pulley 20 is eccentric (center 22 is offset). Due to the eccentricity of the pulley 20, the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 is uneven in the conveying direction (circumferential direction). Here, for the conveying direction distance of the horizontal axis, the position in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 30 where the surface shape (height) is measured is represented by the distance from the reference position on the conveyor belt 30, and is shown as a length from 0 to one turn (total circumferential length). Fig. 6A The surface shapes of the center position in the width direction of the conveyor belt 30 and the two end positions in the width direction of the pulley 20 calculated by the control device 15 before the eccentricity correction are respectively shown. The moving average of the surface shape of the center in the width direction of the conveyor belt 30 (the contour of the belt portion) and the moving average of the surface shape of the two end positions in the width direction of the pulley 20 (the contour of the pulley portion) change in accordance with each other. In other words, it can be seen that the surface shape of the belt portion is affected by the eccentricity of the pulley 20. Figure 6B As shown, the control device 15 obtains the difference by subtracting the contour of the pulley portion from the contour of the belt portion, thereby correcting the influence of the eccentricity of the pulley 20. Figure 6B In the example of FIG. 1 , the variation width of the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 is about 2 mm. Fig. 6A ), the variation width of the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 is about 8 mm, and the variation width becomes quite small, and it can be known that the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 can be measured with high precision through correction. Then, the control device 15 can accurately measure the thickness of the conveyor belt 30 based on the surface shape of the conveyor belt 30 obtained with high precision through correction.

[0061] <How to manage the belt>

[0062] The above-mentioned surface shape measuring method can be used to manage (monitor) the conveyor belt 30 based on the calculated surface shape of the conveyor belt 30. The surface shape measuring device 10 determines whether the thickness of the conveyor belt 30 is sufficient based on the calculated surface shape of the conveyor belt 30, for example. When the surface shape measuring device 10 determines that the thickness is not sufficient, it can report the abnormality of the conveyor belt 30 to the operator or stop the conveyor belt 30. In this way, by managing the conveyor belt 30 based on the calculated surface shape of the conveyor belt 30, it is possible to detect abnormalities of the conveyor belt 30 with high accuracy, and to deal with abnormalities in advance.

[0063] As described above, the surface shape measuring device 10 and the surface shape measuring method according to the present embodiment can eliminate the influence of the inclination and eccentricity of the pulley 20 through the above-mentioned structure and process, and thus can accurately measure the thickness of the conveyor belt 30. In addition, the belt management method according to the present embodiment can accurately determine the thickness of the conveyor belt 30, and can manage the conveyor belt 30 in a manner that does not cause breakage, etc.

[0064] The embodiments of the present disclosure are described based on the drawings and embodiments, but it should be noted that as long as one skilled in the art can easily make various deformations or modifications based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that their deformations or modifications are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each component or each step (process) can be reconfigured in a logically non-contradictory manner, and multiple components or steps can be combined into one, or divided. The embodiments involved in the present disclosure can also be implemented as a program executed by a processor possessed by the device or a storage medium having a program recorded thereon. It should be understood that they are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0065] In the above embodiment, the measurement object is the conveyor belt 30, but it is not limited to the conveyor belt 30. The belt to be measured can be any belt as long as it is wound around at least the pulley 20.

[0066] Description of Reference Numerals

[0067] 1…belt conveyor; 10…surface shape measuring device; 11…belt surface measuring device; 12…calculation device; 13…conveyor belt operation information; 14…analysis device; 15…control device; 20…pulley; 22…center; 30…conveyor belt; 31…conveyor belt surface; 40…holding component.

Claims

1. A surface shape measuring device for measuring the surface shape of a belt wound around a pulley, characterized in that: have: a belt surface measuring device for measuring the surface position of the belt and the surface position of the pulley at a portion where the belt contacts the pulley; and The control device corrects the surface position of the belt based on the measured surface position of the pulley and calculates the surface shape of the belt.

2. The surface shape measuring device according to claim 1, wherein The belt surface measuring device measures the surface positions of both ends of the pulley in the width direction, which are exposed from the width direction end portions of the belt. The control device estimates the surface position of a portion other than the widthwise ends of the pulley based on the surface positions of the widthwise ends of the pulley, and corrects the surface position of the belt based on the estimated surface position of the pulley.

3. The surface shape measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The belt surface measuring device measures the surface position of the belt at least along the entire length in the conveyance direction.

4. The surface shape measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The control device estimates the inclination of the pulley in the width direction from the surface position of the pulley, and corrects the surface position of the belt based on the inclination.

5. The surface shape measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The control device estimates the eccentricity of the pulley in the circumferential direction from the surface position of the pulley, and corrects the surface position of the belt based on the eccentricity.

6. A surface shape measuring method for measuring the surface shape of a belt wound around a pulley, characterized in that: At a portion where the belt contacts the pulley, the surface position of the belt and the surface position of the pulley are measured. Based on the measured surface position of the pulley, the surface position of the belt is corrected, and the surface shape of the belt is calculated.

7. A belt management method, characterized in that: The belt is managed based on the surface shape of the belt calculated by the surface shape measuring method according to claim 6 .

Images