Grain tank level sensor abnormality detection system

Abstract

To provide a grain tank level sensor abnormality detection system capable of detecting an abnormality in a level sensor arranged in a grain tank.SOLUTION: There is provided a grain tank level sensor abnormality detection system including: current value measuring means 51 for measuring a current value of a drive motor 23 for rotating a rotor 20 in a grain tank 1; an upper level sensor 40 for detecting grain at an upper limit of storage in the grain tank 1; a lower level sensor 41 capable of detecting grain around a discharge port 11 in the grain tank 1; and a level sensor abnormality determination means 50 capable of determining presence or absence of an abnormality in the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 based on a current value measured by the current value measuring means 51 and grain detection results by the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a grain tank level sensor anomaly detection system capable of detecting an abnormality in a level sensor placed in a grain tank. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as a grain tank that can eliminate grain bridges in the grain tank and discharge residual grain in the grain tank, for example, Patent Document 1 has been disclosed. That is, the grain tank is provided with a supply port at the top, and a discharge port and a discharge gate for opening and closing the discharge port at the bottom end. Furthermore, a level sensor is provided near the discharge port to detect the presence or absence of grain.

[0003] It is described that when the level sensor detects the absence of grain, the discharge gate is controlled to change from the "open" state to the "closed" state once, and then to the "open" state again before returning to the "closed" state. By controlling the opening and closing in this manner, a vibration or impact is generated when the discharge gate first closes, which breaks up the grain bridge formed on the inner wall surface of the grain tank, and the remaining grain is completely discharged, thereby preventing contamination. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 111828 / 1983 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, while it is assumed that a capacitance sensor, an electrical resistance sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, or the like is used as the above-mentioned level sensor, there are cases where the level sensor does not properly detect the presence or absence of grains due to leakage or breakage of the signal line, etc. If there is an abnormality in the level sensor, it naturally cannot detect the presence or absence of grains, and the above-mentioned opening and closing control of the discharge gate cannot be performed properly.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a grain tank level sensor abnormality detection system capable of detecting an abnormality in a level sensor placed in a grain tank. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The invention related to (1) is a level sensor abnormality detection system for a grain tank, comprising: a current value measuring means for measuring a current value of a drive motor that rotates a rotor in a grain tank; an upper level sensor capable of detecting grain at the upper limit of storage in the grain tank; a lower level sensor capable of detecting grain around the discharge outlet in the grain tank; and a level sensor abnormality determination means for determining the presence or absence of an abnormality in the upper level sensor and the lower level sensor based on the current value measured by the current value measuring means and the grain detection results by the upper level sensor and the lower level sensor.

[0008] The invention related to (2) is a level sensor abnormality detection system for a grain tank described in (1) above, in which the rotor is capable of eliminating bridges of grain in the grain tank.

[0009] The invention related to (3) is a level sensor abnormality detection system for a grain tank described in (1) or (2) above, wherein the rotors include a first rotor arranged between the upper level sensor and the lower level sensor, and a second rotor arranged between the first rotor and the lower level sensor.

[0010] The inventions related to (4) and (5) are level sensor anomaly detection systems for grain tanks described in (1) to (3) above, in which the level sensor anomaly determination means includes a current threshold setting means for setting a threshold current value of the drive motor to determine the presence or absence of grain in the grain tank, and determines that grain is present in the grain tank when the current value measured by the current value measuring means exceeds the threshold. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not there is an abnormality in the upper and lower level sensors based on the current value of the drive motor that rotates the rotor in the grain tank and the detection results of the upper and lower level sensors. This makes it possible to easily diagnose abnormalities in each level sensor and appropriately control the discharge of the grain tank. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a grain tank in an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first rotor in an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a top view of a first rotor in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a schematic block diagram of a level sensor abnormality determination unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a determination configuration of an abnormality determination unit in the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, one embodiment of a level sensor anomaly detection system for a grain tank according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a grain tank 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The grain tank 1 has a general external shape with a cylindrical portion capable of storing grain and a conical portion 10 below the cylindrical portion.

[0015] In addition, in the grain tank 1 of this embodiment, a rotor 20 capable of eliminating bridges of grain occurring in the grain tank 1 is rotatably disposed in the center of the grain tank 1. Furthermore, an upper level sensor 40 capable of detecting grain at the upper limit of storage in the grain tank 1 and a lower level sensor 41 capable of detecting grain around the discharge port 11 in the grain tank 1 are disposed as shown in the figure.

[0016] More specifically, a drive motor 23 for driving the rotor 20 to rotate is provided on the upper part of the rotation shaft of the rotor 20. Furthermore, the rotor 20 of this embodiment is composed of a first rotor 21 arranged between the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41, and a second rotor 22 arranged between the first rotor 21 and the lower level sensor 41.

[0017] The first rotor 21 of the present embodiment described above is made of stainless steel and has an upper inclined plate 211 that inclines upward from the rotation axis, and a lower inclined plate 212 that inclines downward from the rotation axis. With this configuration, the rotation of the first rotor 21 makes it possible to efficiently eliminate bridges of grain that have occurred in the grain tank 1.

[0018] On the other hand, the second rotor 22 of the present embodiment described above is disposed on the conical section 10 of the grain tank 1 above the discharge port 11, as shown in Fig. 1. To explain in more detail, Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the second rotor 22 of the present embodiment, and Fig. 3 shows a top view of the second rotor 22. As shown in the figures, the second rotor 22 is provided with three steel bars 221 that scrape off grains accumulated on the inner surface of the conical section 10 in accordance with the inclination of the conical section 10 of the grain tank 1 and further strengthen the bridge eliminating function of the first rotor 21 described above.

[0019] The three steel bars 221 are fixed to a ring member 223, which is fixed to the rotating shaft of the rotor 20 via a ring support member 222, so that the steel bars 221 can rotate in the conical section 10 of the grain tank 1. The steel bars 221 rotate along the inner surface of the conical section 10 of the grain tank 1, so that residual grain around the lower level sensor 41 can be efficiently scraped off.

[0020] As shown in the partially enlarged view of Fig. 1, the lower end of the rotor 20 in this embodiment is rotatably supported by a support member 24 fixed to the lower part of the grain tank 1. More specifically, the support member 24 is configured to support a fitting portion 25 protruding from the lower end of the rotor 20, and is fixed to the inner surface of the cone portion 10 of the grain tank 1 via a rod-shaped support member. By configuring in this manner, it is possible to effectively prevent the lower part of the rotor 20 from becoming eccentric within the grain tank 1.

[0021] Next, the level sensor abnormality determination means 50 of this embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, at least the current value of the drive motor 23 that rotates the rotor 20 and the detection signals of the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 are input to the level sensor abnormality determination means 50.

[0022] Figure 4 shows a schematic block diagram of the level sensor abnormality determination means 50, which is composed of at least a current value measuring means 51 that measures the current value of the drive motor 23, a detection signal input unit 52 to which detection signals from the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 are input, an abnormality determination unit 53 that determines abnormalities in the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 based on the current value input from the current value measuring means 51 and the detection signal input from the detection signal input unit 52, and a display unit 54 that outputs the abnormality determination result.

[0023] The level sensor abnormality determination means 50 may be provided in the grain tank 1, or may be configured to be programmed into a network device (personal computer, mobile terminal, etc.) that remotely controls the grain tank 1.

[0024] Next, the abnormality determination method in the abnormality determination unit 53 of this embodiment will be described based on the determination configuration shown in Fig. 5. As a premise for abnormality determination, when grain is present in the grain tank 1, a load is generated on the drive motor 23 when the rotor 20 is driven to rotate, and a current 1.2 times or more larger than that in a no-load state flows. If the level sensor does not detect grains despite such a load current flowing, it can be determined that an abnormality has occurred in the level sensor. Conversely, when there is no grain in the grain tank 1, driving the rotor 20 to rotate places no load on the drive motor 23, so the current for a no-load state flows. If the level sensor detects grain at such a time, it can be determined that an abnormality has occurred in the level sensor.

[0025] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, when both the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 are ON (detected), if the current value (A) of the drive motor 23 measured when the rotor 20 rotates is greater than the no-load state current threshold, then both the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 are determined to be normal.

[0026] When the upper level sensor 40 is ON (detecting) and the lower level sensor 41 is OFF (not detecting), if the current value (A) of the drive motor 23 when the rotor 20 rotates is greater than the no-load state current threshold, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the lower level sensor 41.

[0027] When the upper level sensor 40 is ON (detecting) and the lower level sensor 41 is OFF (not detecting), if the current value (A) of the drive motor 23 when the rotor 20 rotates is the same as the no-load state current threshold, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the upper level sensor 40.

[0028] When the upper level sensor 40 is OFF (not detecting) and the lower level sensor 41 is ON (detecting), if the current value (A) of the drive motor 23 when the rotor 20 rotates is the same as the no-load state current threshold, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the lower level sensor 41.

[0029] When both the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 are OFF (not detecting), if the current value (A) of the drive motor 23 when the rotor 20 rotates is greater than the no-load state current threshold, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the lower level sensor 41.

[0030] When both the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 are OFF (not detecting), if the current value (A) of the drive motor 23 when the rotor 20 rotates is the same as the no-load state current threshold, both the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 are determined to be normal.

[0031] The level sensor abnormality determination means 50 of this embodiment includes a current threshold setting means for setting a "no-load state current threshold" which is a threshold for the current value of the drive motor 23 in order to determine the presence or absence of grain in the grain tank 1. Then, when the current value measured by the current value measurement means 51 exceeds the "no-load state current threshold", it is determined that grain is present in the grain tank 1.

[0032] In this embodiment, the "no-load state current threshold" is set to 1.2 times the current value of the drive motor 23 in the no-load state. However, this value differs depending on the type of drive motor 23, the temperature environment, the shape of the rotor 20, the type of grain, etc., so it is necessary to check the current values ​​in the loaded state and the no-load state for each grain tank 1 and set the "no-load state current threshold".

[0033] In addition, the timing of abnormality determination by the abnormality determination unit 53 described above can be set as appropriate, but for example, when at least one of the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 transitions from ON (detection) to OFF (non-detection) or from OFF (non-detection) to ON (detection), the rotor 20 can be rotated and abnormality determination can be performed as described above based on the current value of the drive motor 23 after a predetermined time has elapsed (about 2 seconds). Of course, abnormality determination can also be performed manually by an administrator or operator at any timing.

[0034] (Other embodiments) While one embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the grain tank level sensor anomaly detection system of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0035] For example, it is possible to remotely monitor multiple grain tanks 1 in various locations via a network. This makes it possible to quickly notify facility managers in various locations of any abnormalities in the level sensors detected by the remote monitoring device.

[0036] In addition, the present invention is not limited to a particular type of grain, and can be applied to rice, wheat, soybeans, and various powders and grains. In addition, the upper level sensor 40 and the lower level sensor 41 are not limited to a particular detection method, and can be used in the present invention.

[0037] Although one embodiment of the present invention and other embodiments have been described above, the above-mentioned embodiments of the invention are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. Furthermore, the components described in the claims and specification may be combined or omitted within the scope of solving at least part of the above-mentioned problems or achieving at least part of the effects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1 Grain Tank 10 Cone section 11 Outlet 20 Rotor 21 First rotor 211 Upward slope plate 212 Downward slope plate 22 Second rotor 221 Steel bar 222 Ring support member 223 Ring member 23 Drive motor 24 Axle support member 25 Fitting part 40 Upper Level Sensor 41 Lower Level Sensor 50 Level sensor abnormality determination means 51 Current measurement means 52 Detection signal input section 53 Abnormality determination section 54 Display section

Claims

1. a current measuring means for measuring a current value of a drive motor that rotates a rotor in the grain tank; an upper level sensor capable of detecting grain at an upper storage limit in the grain tank; a lower level sensor capable of detecting grain within the grain tank around the discharge opening; and a level sensor abnormality determination means for determining the presence or absence of an abnormality in the upper level sensor and the lower level sensor based on the current value measured by the current value measurement means and the grain detection results by the upper level sensor and the lower level sensor. A grain tank level sensor anomaly detection system.

2. The rotor can eliminate grain bridging in the grain tank.

2. The grain tank level sensor abnormality detection system according to claim 1.

3. The rotor comprises: a first rotor disposed between the upper level sensor and the lower level sensor; a second rotor disposed between the first rotor and a lower level sensor.

3. A level sensor abnormality detection system for a grain tank according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The level sensor abnormality determination means includes a current threshold setting means for setting a threshold value of a current value of the drive motor in order to determine the presence or absence of grain in the grain tank, and determines that grain is present in the grain tank when the current value measured by the current value measuring means exceeds the threshold value.

3. A level sensor abnormality detection system for a grain tank according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The level sensor abnormality determination means includes a current threshold setting means for setting a threshold value of a current value of the drive motor in order to determine the presence or absence of grain in the grain tank, and determines that grain is present in the grain tank when the current value measured by the current value measuring means exceeds the threshold value.

4. The grain tank level sensor anomaly detection system according to claim 3.

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