Fiber bragg grating monitoring and processing system for automatic deviation rectifying belt

Abstract

The invention relates to a fiber bragg grating monitoring and processing system for an automatic deviation rectifying belt, and belongs to the technical field of fiber bragg gratings. The device comprises a fiber bragg grating displacement meter, the fiber bragg grating displacement meter comprises a measuring part, an optical fiber with a grating and an elastic sheet attached and connected with the grating, one end of the measuring part is provided with a contact part with the edge of a belt, and the other end is provided with a group of convex body assemblies with sequentially changed heights; the free end of the elastic piece can be elastically attached to the height change area of the convex body assembly, when the belt deviates, the measuring part stretches out and draws back and drives the convex body assembly to move, the position, attached to the convex body assembly, of the elastic piece changes, the elastic piece deforms, the grating stress is changed, and wavelength changes are generated. The optical signals are converted into digital signals through the fiber grating demodulator and transmitted to the upper computer, and belt resetting is achieved by adjusting the belt conveyor deviation rectifying mechanism. The device is high in automation degree, good in stability and suitable for chemical agent-containing materials and the situation of large temperature difference change.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of fiber Bragg grating technology, and more specifically to a fiber Bragg grating monitoring and processing system for an automatic correction belt. Background Technology

[0002] In existing mineral processing plants, both belt conveyors and dewatering lines require dedicated or part-time personnel for monitoring to prevent belt misalignment, which could lead to incorrect material delivery or even belt jamming. Conventional electromagnetic displacement sensors have low automation levels and require manual intervention to handle misalignment alarms. Furthermore, the measurement accuracy of electromagnetic equipment is susceptible to corrosion from chemical agents, and it can introduce errors in regions with significant seasonal temperature variations. Over years of operation in mineral processing plants, accumulated errors can cause the monitoring equipment to completely malfunction. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention aims to overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies by providing an automatic fiber Bragg grating monitoring and processing system for belt alignment. Utilizing the corrosion resistance, temperature compensation, stability, and high degree of automation of fiber Bragg gratings, it achieves automatic monitoring and processing, thereby reducing labor costs.

[0004] It adopts the following technical solution: A fiber Bragg grating monitoring and processing system for an automatic belt alignment system includes a fiber Bragg grating displacement meter installed on the side of the belt conveyor for sensing the position of the belt edge, and a fiber Bragg grating demodulator connected to the fiber Bragg grating displacement meter for signal transmission. The fiber Bragg grating demodulator is connected to a host computer for signal transmission. The fiber optic grating displacement meter includes an elastically expandable measuring part, an optical fiber with a grating, and an elastic sheet attached to the grating. One end of the measuring part has a contact area with the edge of the belt, and the other end has a set of protrusions with sequentially varying heights. One end of the elastic sheet is fixed, and the other end is a free end that can elastically fit onto the height variation area of ​​the protrusions. When the belt deviates, the measuring part expands and contracts, causing the protrusions to move. This changes the position of the elastic sheet against the protrusions, causing the elastic sheet to deform and altering the force on the grating to produce a wavelength change. The optical signal is converted into a digital signal by the fiber optic grating demodulator and transmitted to the host computer. When the belt resets, the measuring part, elastic sheet, and grating return to their initial positions, and the grating does not produce a wavelength change.

[0005] Furthermore, the protrusion assembly includes a guide wheel seat, on which a group of guide wheels with successively varying diameters are connected. The lowest points of the group of guide wheels are all in the same plane, and the upper surface of the group of guide wheels forms a height variation region. When the elastic sheet is in the initial position, the elastic sheet is horizontal and tangent to the upper surface of the smallest guide wheel, and the elastic sheet does not deform.

[0006] Furthermore, the convex component is located inside the housing of the fiber optic displacement meter, and the housing has a fiber-through hole for the optical fiber to pass through. The guide wheel seat forms a relative sliding fit with the bottom wall of the housing.

[0007] Furthermore, the contact portion of the measuring unit is a baffle, which is connected to one end of a telescopic rod. A spring that provides a restoring force for its movement is connected to the rod, and the other end of the rod is connected to the protrusion assembly.

[0008] Furthermore, the fiber optic displacement gauges are symmetrically installed on both sides of the belt conveyor.

[0009] Furthermore, it also includes a fiber grating thermometer located in the same temperature field as the fiber grating displacement meter, the fiber grating thermometer being connected in series with the fiber grating displacement meter and connected to the fiber grating demodulator.

[0010] Furthermore, the elastic sheet is a metal elastic sheet.

[0011] Furthermore, the host computer connects to and controls the belt conveyor correction mechanism.

[0012] The advantages of this invention compared to the prior art are as follows: This invention features a high degree of automation and stability, making it suitable for applications involving materials containing chemical reagents and situations with significant temperature variations. This device leverages the sensitivity, stability, and adaptability to harsh environments of fiber optic grating displacement gauges to solve the common problem of belt misalignment in mineral processing production lines. The fiber optic grating displacement gauges are symmetrically mounted on the belt conveyor support. The measuring unit senses the distance between the belt and the edge of the conveyor. Belt misalignment causes the measuring unit to contract, resulting in a change in the force on the grating within the fiber optic grating displacement gauge, thus causing a change in the grating wavelength. The fiber optic grating demodulator receives the wavelength optical signal, converts it into a digital signal, wirelessly transmits it to the host computer, and issues an alarm. Upon receiving the digital signal, the host computer automatically adjusts the belt misalignment correction mechanism to correct the belt misalignment. Once the belt returns to its normal position, the measuring unit of the fiber optic grating displacement gauge springs back, the grating returns to its normal state, and no further wavelength changes occur, allowing the production line to resume normal operation. To prevent temperature from affecting the grating wavelength, a fiber optic grating thermometer is installed to compensate for temperature-induced wavelength changes in the fiber optic grating displacement gauge, eliminating the impact of temperature on the entire system. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the fiber optic grating monitoring and processing system for the automatic belt alignment according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the fiber optic displacement meter in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 100, Fiber Bragg grating displacement gauge; 101, Housing; 102, Fiber optic port; 103, Fixing block; 110, Measuring section; 111, Baffle; 112, Rod; 113, Spring; 120, Optical fiber; 121, Grating; 130, Elastic sheet; 140, Protrusion assembly; 141, Guide wheel seat; 142, Guide wheel; 200, Fiber Bragg grating demodulator; 300, Host computer; 400, Fiber Bragg grating thermometer; 500, Belt conveyor correction mechanism; 600, Belt conveyor; 601, Belt; 602, Support. Detailed Implementation

[0015] To make the present invention clearer, the fiber grating monitoring and processing system for an automatic belt alignment belt of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific embodiments described herein are only for explaining the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0016] like Figure 1 As shown, an automatic belt alignment monitoring and processing system includes a fiber optic displacement meter 100 mounted on the side of a belt conveyor 600 for sensing the edge position of the belt 601. The fiber optic displacement meter 100 can be fixed by brackets 602 on both sides of the belt conveyor. Preferably, two fiber optic displacement meters 100 are used, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the belt conveyor in the width direction. The fiber optic displacement meter 100 transmits signals to a fiber optic demodulator 200 via a wired connection. The fiber optic demodulator 200 transmits signals to a host computer 300 via a wireless connection. The host computer 300 connects to and controls the belt alignment mechanism 500. Of course, the host computer 300 can also directly issue an alarm, allowing manual belt alignment. It should be noted that the belt alignment mechanism 500 is used to adjust the belt movement position of the belt conveyor, generally achieved by adjusting the pulleys with a pair of electric eccentric pulleys. Since this structure is not the focus of this application and is a conventional technology in this field, it is only described schematically here and will not be elaborated further.

[0017] In some implementations, considering that temperature has a significant impact on the wavelength of optical fibers, a fiber optic grating thermometer 400 is also installed on the support of the belt conveyor in this embodiment. The fiber optic grating thermometer 400 and the fiber optic grating displacement meter 100 are located in the same temperature field and are not disturbed by external forces. The fiber optic grating thermometer 400 and the fiber optic grating displacement meter 100 are connected in series and are finally connected to the fiber optic grating demodulator 200 through a jumper.

[0018] Combined Figure 2As shown, the fiber optic displacement gauge 100 includes a housing 101, within which a retractable measuring section 110 extends partially outward from the housing. The housing 101 has a pair of fiber optic holes 102 through which an optical fiber 120 passes. A grating 121 is connected to the optical fiber 120 inside the housing. The grating 121 is attached to an elastic sheet 130, which has one fixed end and the other free end. The fixed end of the elastic sheet 130 can be fixed by a fixing block 103 fixedly connected to the side wall of the housing 101. One end of the extending measuring section 110 has a contact portion with the edge of a belt, and the other end has a set of protrusion assemblies 140 with sequentially varying heights, located inside the housing. The free end of the elastic sheet 130 can elastically fit onto the height variation area of ​​the convex component 140. When the belt deviates, the measuring unit 110 undergoes a telescopic displacement, which drives the convex component 140 to move, causing the position of the elastic sheet 130 against the convex component 140 to change. The elastic sheet 130 then bends and deforms, thereby changing the force on the grating 121 to produce a wavelength change. The wavelength is transmitted to the fiber optic demodulator 200 through the optical fiber. The fiber optic demodulator 200 converts the optical signal of the grating wavelength into a digital signal and transmits the digital signal to the host computer 300 through the built-in 4G module. The host computer 300 processes the signal internally and controls the operation of the belt conveyor correction mechanism 500 to adjust the position of both sides of the belt. When the belt resets, the measuring unit 110, the elastic sheet 130, and the grating 121 return to their initial positions. The grating 121 does not produce a wavelength change. The host computer 300 adjusts the operation of the belt conveyor correction mechanism 500 according to the corresponding digital signal.

[0019] In some embodiments, the protrusion assembly 140 includes a guide wheel seat 141 with a flat bottom that forms a sliding fit with the bottom wall of the housing 101. To reduce sliding resistance, there is a smooth contact surface between them, and the friction surface can be lubricated to reduce frictional resistance. A set of guide wheels 142 with successively varying diameters are connected to the guide wheel seat 141, and the guide wheels 142 can rotate freely relative to each other. The lowest points of the set of guide wheels 142 are all in the same plane, and the upper surface of the set of guide wheels forms a height variation region. As shown in the figure, the diameter of the set of guide wheels 142 decreases from left to right, with the rightmost guide wheel having the smallest diameter. When the elastic plate 130 is in the initial position, the elastic plate 130 is horizontal and tangent to the upper surface of the smallest guide wheel (the rightmost guide wheel). The elastic plate 130 does not bend or deform. Correspondingly, the grating 121 is in a stress-free state, and the wavelength it generates is consistent with the initial wavelength and does not change.

[0020] The protrusion assembly 140, formed using a guide wheel structure, can smoothly raise the free end of the elastic sheet 130 during its movement, especially when it moves closer to the elastic sheet 130, through the rotation of the guide wheel 142, causing it to undergo elastic bending deformation. This reduces the collision and jamming of the elastic sheet 130. Of course, the protrusion assembly 140 can also be a protrusion with a height-varying region formed on its upper surface. The height-varying region of the protrusion has a smooth connecting transition surface, and this surface has a smooth contact surface with the free end of the elastic sheet 130.

[0021] Considering stability and durability, it is preferable to set the elastic sheet 130 as a metal elastic sheet, such as a thin elastic iron sheet. In addition, in order to ensure the bonding stability between the grating 121 and the thin elastic iron sheet, the middle of the thin elastic iron sheet needs to be polished smooth and the grating 121 is bonded with epoxy resin. The epoxy resin needs to be applied evenly to ensure that the grating 121 itself is not subjected to force and does not deform when the thin elastic iron sheet is in a free horizontal state.

[0022] In other embodiments, the contact portion of the measuring unit 110 is a vertically arranged baffle 111, which is connected to one end of a horizontally telescopic rod 112, forming an L-shape. A spring 113 is connected to the rod 112 to provide a restoring force for its movement. One end of the spring 113 is connected to the middle of the rod 112, and the other end of the spring 113 is fixed to a spring seat (not shown in the figure). The spring seat is fixed to the housing 101. When the rod 112 retracts into the housing, the spring 113 is in a compressed state, providing a restoring force for the rod 112 to extend outward. The other end of the rod 112 is fixedly connected to the protrusion assembly 140. When the baffle 111 is pushed by the side of the belt, the baffle 111 drives the rod 112 to move into the housing, compressing the spring 113 and pushing the protrusion assembly 140 to move towards the elastic plate 130; when the baffle 111 is not pushed by the side of the belt, the rod 112 rebounds under the action of the spring 113, driving the protrusion assembly 140 to reset.

[0023] This invention features a high degree of automation and good stability, making it suitable for applications involving materials containing chemical agents and situations with large temperature variations. It uses a fiber optic displacement meter 100 to detect belt position changes and a fiber optic thermometer 400 to eliminate measurement errors caused by temperature variations. The fiber optic displacement meter 100 and a fiber optic demodulator 200 convert physical quantities into optical signals and then into digital signals, ultimately feeding the data back to the host computer 300. The host computer 300 then adjusts the belt conveyor correction mechanism 500 to reset the belt.

[0024] The above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention and are not intended to limit the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively describe all embodiments here. However, obvious variations or modifications derived from the essential spirit of the present invention still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fiber optic grating monitoring and processing system for an automatic belt alignment system, characterized in that: The application relates to a fiber grating displacement meter (100) installed on the side of a belt conveyor for sensing the position of the belt edge, and a fiber grating demodulator (200) in signal transmission connection with the fiber grating displacement meter (100), wherein the fiber grating demodulator (200) is in signal transmission connection with an upper computer (300). The fiber grating displacement meter (100) comprises an elastic and retractable measuring part (110), a fiber (120) with a grating (121), and an elastic sheet (130) in adhesive connection with the grating (121), one end of the measuring part (110) is provided with a contact position with the belt edge, the other end is provided with a group of convex component assemblies (140) with changing heights, one end of the elastic sheet (130) is fixedly arranged, the other end is a free end which can be elastically adhered to the height changing area of the convex component assemblies (140), when the belt is deviated, the measuring part (110) is elastically and retractably displaced and drives the convex component assemblies (140) to move, the position of the elastic sheet (130) adhered to the convex component assemblies (140) is changed, the elastic sheet (130) is deformed, the grating (121) is stressed to change the wavelength, the optical signal is changed into a digital signal by the fiber grating demodulator (200) and is transmitted to the upper computer (300), when the belt is reset, the measuring part (110), the elastic sheet (130) and the grating (121) return to the initial positions, and the grating (121) does not change the wavelength. 2.The fiber grating monitoring system for automatically correcting the deviation of the belt according to claim 1, wherein: The convex component assemblies (140) comprise a guide wheel base (141), a group of guide wheels (142) with changing diameters are connected to the guide wheel base (141), the lowest points of the guide wheels (142) are in the same plane, and the upper surfaces of the guide wheels form a height changing area; when the elastic sheet (130) is in the initial position, the elastic sheet (130) is in a horizontal state and is tangent to the upper surface of the smallest guide wheel, and the elastic sheet (130) is not deformed.

3. The fiber grating monitoring system for automatically correcting the deviation of the belt according to claim 2, wherein: The convex component assemblies (140) are located in the shell (101) of the fiber grating displacement meter (100), the shell (101) is provided with a fiber passing hole (102) through the fiber (120), and the guide wheel base (141) is in relative sliding connection with the bottom wall of the shell (101).

4. The fiber grating monitoring system for automatically correcting the deviation of the belt according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The contact position of the measuring part (110) is a baffle (111), the baffle (111) is connected with one end of an elastic retractable rod (112), a spring (113) is connected to the rod (112) to provide elastic force for the movement of the rod (112), and the other end of the rod (112) is connected with the convex component assemblies (140).

5. The fiber grating monitoring system for automatically correcting the deviation of the belt according to claim 1, wherein: The fiber grating displacement meter (100) is symmetrically installed on the two sides of the belt conveyor.

6. The fiber grating monitoring system for automatically correcting the deviation of the belt according to claim 1, wherein: A fiber grating temperature meter (400) in the same temperature field as the fiber grating displacement meter (100) is further arranged, the fiber grating temperature meter (400) is connected in series with the fiber grating displacement meter (100) and is connected with the fiber grating demodulator (200).

7. The fiber grating monitoring system for automatically correcting the deviation of the belt according to claim 1, wherein: The elastic sheet (130) is a metal elastic sheet.

8. The fiber grating monitoring system for automatically correcting the deviation of the belt according to claim 1, wherein: The upper computer (300) is connected with and controls a belt deviation rectifying mechanism (500).

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