Conveyance device for ingot

Abstract

To provide a technique which conveys ingot of various types, shapes and directions to molten metal.SOLUTION: A conveyance device for ingot includes: a plurality of lower surface rollers on which ingot is placed; and an upper surface roller for pressing the ingot from an upper surface of the ingot. After sandwiching the ingot by the lower surface roller and the upper surface roller, the plurality of lower surface rollers move to a direction toward molten metal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an ingot transport device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been known devices and systems for charging ingots into a melting furnace. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which an ingot is hung from a hook serving as a gripper and charged into a melting furnace. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-139586 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The feeding device in Patent Document 1 has a gripping part with a specific shape, which can cause a problem in that the gripping part cannot be reused when gripping ingots of different shapes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0006] (1) According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an ingot transport device, which includes a plurality of lower surface rollers on which the ingot is placed and an upper surface roller that presses the ingot from the upper surface of the ingot, and after the lower surface rollers and the upper surface rollers sandwich the ingot, the plurality of lower surface rollers move in a direction toward a molten metal. According to this embodiment, by using the lower surface rollers and upper surface rollers of the transport device, ingots of various types, shapes and orientations can be transported to the molten metal. (2) In the above embodiment, the device may further include a control unit, wherein the plurality of lower surface rollers form a downstream conveying path that is part of the conveying path along which the ingot travels toward the molten metal, and a tilting rotation axis for tilting the downstream conveying path, and when the ingot reaches a predetermined position in the downstream conveying path, the control unit may lower the upper surface roller to a position where the ingot can be sandwiched between the lower surface roller and the upper surface roller, and tilt the downstream conveying path toward the molten metal around the tilting rotation axis, thereby moving the plurality of lower surface rollers toward the molten metal. According to this embodiment, the ingot can be smoothly transported to the molten metal using the inclined downstream transport path. (3) In the above embodiment, when the ingot reaches a predetermined position in the downstream conveying path, the control unit may stop the rotation of the plurality of lower surface rollers to stop the conveying of the ingot, tilt the downstream conveying path in a direction toward the molten metal, and then resume the rotation of the plurality of lower surface rollers to resume the conveying of the ingot. According to this embodiment, the ingot can be transported to the molten metal more safely. (4) In the above embodiment, the control unit may measure the injection time, which is the injection time from when the ingot reaches a predetermined position in the downstream conveying path to when the ingot is injected into the molten metal, and if the injection time is not within a predetermined range, may make an abnormality determination indicating that there is an abnormality in the injection process of the ingot. According to this embodiment, the control unit can detect an abnormality in the loading of the ingot. The present disclosure can be realized in various forms, and in addition to the forms described above, can be realized in the form of an ingot transport system, a computer program for controlling a transport device, a non-temporary recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, a method for manufacturing an ingot transport device, etc. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the ingot transport device according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the ingot transport device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart showing the ingot transport process. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the ingot transport process. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the contents of a control command issued by a control unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the positions of the lower roller and the upper roller in the Z-axis direction. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram showing the transport process for different types of ingots. [Figure 8] A diagram showing the balance of forces acting on an ingot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A. First embodiment: FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of the ingot transport device 1 in this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the ingot transport device 1 in this embodiment. Note that in FIGS. 1 and 2, an XYZ three-dimensional coordinate system is defined. The Z direction is the up-down direction, the +Z direction is the up direction, and the -Z direction is the down direction. The X and Y directions are horizontal directions. For ease of understanding, FIG. 1 omits the illustration of an upper surface roller 20 and a rotation center B2, which will be described later.

[0009] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the ingot transport device 1 has a plurality of lower surface rollers 10, upper surface rollers 20, and a control device 200. As shown in Figure 1, the lower surface roller 10 has a lower surface roller barrel portion 12 and a rotation shaft 14. The lower surface roller barrel portion 12 forms a transport path 120 along which the ingot IG1 moves toward the molten metal, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the lower surface roller barrel portions 12 of the plurality of lower surface rollers 10 are connected in the Y direction to form the transport path 120. The rotation shaft 14 fixes the lower surface roller 10 to a frame, which will be described later.

[0010] The transport path 120 extends in the Y direction. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the transport path 120 includes an upstream transport path 122 and a downstream transport path 124. The upstream transport path 122 is located on the -Y side of the transport path 120, away from the melting furnace 40, and the downstream transport path 124 is located on the +Y side of the transport path 120, closer to the melting furnace 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the downstream transport path 124 has a tilting rotation axis B1. The tilting rotation axis B1 is formed at the upstream end of the downstream transport path 124, which is one end of the downstream transport path 124 in the ingot transport direction. In response to a command from the control device 200, the downstream end of the downstream transport path 124, which is the other end of the downstream transport path 124, rotates in a downward direction D1 and an upward direction D2 around the tilting rotation axis B1. The downward direction D1 is the direction toward the molten metal M, which will be described later, and the upward direction D2 is the direction away from the molten metal M. In this disclosure, of the multiple lower surface rollers 10, the lower surface roller 10 on which the tilting rotation axis B1 is formed is referred to as the lower surface roller 10a to distinguish it from the other lower surface rollers 10. The tilting rotation axis B1 is formed by the rotation axis 14 of the lower surface roller 10a.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1 , the plurality of lower surface rollers 10 forming the upstream conveying path 122 are fixed to the fixed-side frame 30 via rotation shafts 14. On the other hand, the plurality of lower surface rollers 10 forming the downstream conveying path 124 are fixed to the tilting-side frame 35 via rotation shafts 14. The lower surface roller 10a is fixed by the fixed-side frame 30 and the tilting-side frame 35. The tilting-side frame 35 is rotatably supported by a cylinder (not shown) and is driven by a driving force from a driving source such as a motor. The tilting-side frame 35 rotates in a downward direction D1 and an upward direction D2 around the tilting rotation shaft B1 in response to a command from the control device 200.

[0012] An ingot IG1 is placed on a transport path 120 formed by multiple lower surface rollers 10. The multiple lower surface rollers 10 rotate around a rotation axis 14 upon receiving a command from the control device 200, and transport the ingot IG1 downstream in the +Y direction.

[0013] 2, the ingot IG1 in this embodiment has grooves 50. The grooves 50 serve to prevent warping of the ingot IG1 and make it easier to release the ingot IG1 from the mold. The shape and number of the grooves 50 vary depending on the type of ingot IG1, as will be described later.

[0014] The upper surface roller 20 is installed above the multiple lower surface rollers 10 that form the downstream conveying path 124. The upper surface roller 20 is rotatably supported by a cylinder (not shown). Upon receiving a command from the control device 200, the upper surface roller 20 rotates in a downward direction D3 and an upward direction D4 around the rotation center B2 as an axis. The upper surface roller 20 presses the ingot IG1 from the top surface of the ingot IG1.

[0015] The control device 200 shown in FIG. 1 controls a plurality of lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20. The control device 200 is, for example, a server. The control device 200 functions as a control unit 205 by executing a program stored in a processor. The control unit 205 controls the operation of each part of the conveying device 1. For example, the control unit 205 generates commands for controlling the plurality of lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20 and sends the commands to the plurality of lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20. Details of the control unit 205 will be described later.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the transport device 1 further has a stopper 17 and a sensor 25. The stopper 17 is located on the +Y side of the multiple lower surface rollers 10. The stopper 17 is provided to restrict movement of the ingot IG1 in the +Y direction. The sensor 25 is located on the +Y side of the multiple lower surface rollers 10 and on the -Y side of the stopper 17. The sensor 25 detects the position of the ingot IG1. Details of the sensor 25 will be described later.

[0017] In this embodiment, a melting furnace 40 is installed on the −Z direction side of the downstream transfer path 124. The melting furnace 40 holds a molten metal M. An ingot IG1 transferred by the transfer device 1 is thrown into the molten metal M.

[0018] Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the transport process of the ingot IG1. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the transport process of the ingot IG1. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the contents of the control command by the control unit 205.

[0019] In step S1 shown in Fig. 3, the ingot IG1 is placed on the transport path 120. A side view P1 in Fig. 4 shows the ingot IG1 placed on the transport path 120. The ingot IG1 is placed, for example, at a predetermined position. In this embodiment, the ingot IG1 is placed at the end of the upstream transport path 122 on the -Y direction side.

[0020] The ingot IG1 is placed on the transport path 120 by, for example, the robot 60. As shown in FIG. 5, the robot control panel 65 sends a setting command to the robot 60. The robot 60 places the ingot IG1 at a predetermined position. Once the robot 60 places the ingot IG1 at the predetermined position, it sends information to the robot control panel 65 indicating that the setting of the ingot IG1 is complete. Once the placement of the ingot IG1 is complete, information indicating this is sent from the robot control panel 65 to the control unit 205.

[0021] In step S2 shown in Fig. 3, the ingot IG1 is transported by the transport path 120 to a predetermined stop position. A side view P2 in Fig. 4 shows the ingot IG1 transported to stop position 124e. In this embodiment, stop position 124e is the position where the end of the ingot IG1 on the +Y direction side is detected by sensor 25. As described above, the ingot IG1 is transported in the +Y direction by the rotation of the multiple lower surface rollers 10 around the rotation axis 14.

[0022] 5, when information indicating that the setting of ingot IG1 is complete is sent from robot control panel 65 to control unit 205, control unit 205 sends a rotation command to multiple lower surface rollers 10. As a result, ingot IG1 is transported to stop position 124e. Note that in this embodiment, the "rotation command" for lower surface roller 10 is a command to rotate lower surface roller 10 around rotation axis 14 shown in FIG. 1.

[0023] In step S3 shown in Fig. 3, workpiece confirmation is performed by the sensor 25. "Confirming the workpiece" by the sensor 25 means that ingot detection information indicating that the sensor 25 has detected the ingot IG1 is transmitted to the control unit 205. More specifically, when the ingot IG1 is transported to the stop position 124e shown in the side view P2 in Fig. 4, the ingot detection information is transmitted to the control unit 205 as shown in Fig. 5.

[0024] The control unit 205 measures a transport time T1 from when the ingot IG1 is placed on the upstream transport path 122 in step S1 shown in FIG. 3 until the workpiece is detected by the sensor 25 in step S3. The control unit 205 further determines whether the transport time T1 is within a predetermined range. In this embodiment, the predetermined range is "5 seconds." If the transport time T1 is within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to steps S5 and S9. If the transport time T1 is not within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S4.

[0025] In step S4, the control unit 205 detects a transport abnormality. This allows the control unit 205 to detect that an abnormality has occurred in the transport process of the ingot IG1. If a transport abnormality is detected, the control unit 205 stops the transport process or notifies the user via a display device that a transport abnormality has occurred.

[0026] In step S5, the multiple lower surface rollers 10 stop rotating. This stops the transport of ingot IG1, preventing ingot IG1 from being transported further in the +Y direction than stop position 124e. As shown in FIG. 5, when control unit 205 receives ingot detection information from sensor 25, it sends a stop command to the multiple lower surface rollers 10. This causes the multiple lower surface rollers 10 to stop rotating.

[0027] In step S6, the upper surface roller 20 descends. Side view P3 in FIG. 4 shows the state in which the upper surface roller 20 has descended. The upper surface roller 20 rotates in the downward direction D3 around the rotation center B2. The upper surface roller 20, together with the lower surface rollers 10, rotates in the downward direction D3 until a predetermined force is applied to the ingot IG1. In this embodiment, when the upper surface roller 20 descends, the ingot IG1 is clamped between the upper surface roller 20 and the multiple lower surface rollers 10.

[0028] 5, the control unit 205 sends a stop command to the multiple lower surface rollers 10, and then sends a tilt command to the upper surface roller 20. In this embodiment, the "tilt command" for the upper surface roller 20 is a command to lower the upper surface roller 20 to a position where the lower surface roller 10 and the ingot IG1 can be clamped with a predetermined force. As a result, the upper surface roller 20 is lowered to a position where the lower surface roller 10 and the ingot IG1 can be clamped.

[0029] In step S7 shown in FIG. 3, the multiple lower surface rollers 10 are tilted. Side view P4 in FIG. 4 shows the multiple lower surface rollers 10 in a tilted state. More specifically, the multiple lower surface rollers 10 that form the downstream conveying path 124 are tilted. The multiple lower surface rollers 10 are tilted by moving in a direction toward the molten metal M. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 205 sends a tilt command to the upper surface roller 20, and then sends a tilt command to the multiple lower surface rollers 10. The "tilt command" for the lower surface roller 10 is a command to tilt the downstream conveying path 124 in a direction toward the molten metal M, as shown in side view P4 in FIG. 4. When the multiple lower surface rollers 10 that form the downstream conveying path 124 receive the tilt command from the control unit 205, they rotate in the downward direction D1 around the tilting rotation axis B1.

[0030] In step S8 shown in FIG. 3, the ingot IG1 is poured into the molten metal M. A side view P5 in FIG. 4 shows the state in which the ingot IG1 has been poured into the molten metal M. In this embodiment, the ingot IG1 is sandwiched between the multiple lower surface rollers 10 and the upper surface rollers 20, and when the rotation of the multiple lower surface rollers 10 is resumed, the lower surface rollers 10 and the upper surface rollers 20 rotate, thereby transporting the ingot IG1 to the molten metal M. This allows the ingot IG1 to be smoothly transported to the molten metal M using the inclined downstream transport path 124.

[0031] 6 is a diagram showing the positions of the lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20 in the Z-axis direction during the transport process of the ingot IG1. In this embodiment, the control unit 205 detects the positions of multiple lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20 in the Z-axis direction. The control unit 205 may detect the position of the upper surface roller 20 in the Z-axis direction, for example, using the Z coordinate of the center coordinate B3 of the upper surface roller 20. The control unit 205 may also detect the position of the lower surface roller 10 in the Z-axis direction, for example, using the Z coordinate of the center coordinate B4 of the lower surface roller 10b located at the end in the +Y direction.

[0032] In this embodiment, the control unit 205 determines whether the positions of the lower surface roller 10 and the upper surface roller 20 in the Z-axis direction are at either the upper or lower end. In this disclosure, "upper end" refers to the position with the largest Z-coordinate value within the range in which the lower surface roller 10 and the upper surface roller 20 can rotate. "Downward end" refers to the position with the smallest Z-coordinate value within the range in which the lower surface roller 10 and the upper surface roller 20 can rotate. As the conveying process progresses in side views P6 to P10, the Z-coordinate value of the center coordinate B3 of the upper surface roller 20 decreases. In other words, the upper surface roller 20 is located at the upper surface roller upper end 20h in side views P6 and P7, and at the upper surface roller lower end 20l in side view P10. The Z-coordinate value of the center coordinate B4 of the lower surface roller 10 decreases from side views P8 to P9. That is, the lower surface roller 10 is located at the lower surface roller ascending end 10h in the side views P6 to P8, and at the lower surface roller descending end 10l in the side views P9 and P10. In this way, the control unit 205 can grasp the transport process of the ingot IG1 in detail by detecting the positions of the lower surface roller 10 and the upper surface roller 20 in the Z-axis direction.

[0033] In side view P10, when the lower surface roller 10b moves to the position of the lower surface roller descending end 10l, as shown in FIG. 5, tilt completion information indicating that the lower surface roller 10b has moved to the lower surface roller descending end 10l is sent to the control unit 205. Upon receiving the tilt completion information, the control unit 205 sends a rotation command to the multiple lower surface rollers 10. As a result, the multiple lower surface rollers 10 rotate, and as shown in side view P10 in FIG. 6, the ingot IG1 is cast into the molten metal M. Note that the upper surface roller 20 also rotates when the ingot IG1 is cast into the molten metal M, but this will be described in detail later. When the ingot IG1 is cast into the molten metal M, the upper surface roller 20 reaches the position of the upper surface roller descending end 20l.

[0034] In step S9 shown in Fig. 3, the control unit 205 measures the throwing time T2. The throwing time T2 is the time from when the ingot IG1 reaches the stop position 124e of the downstream transfer path 124, as shown in the side view P7 of Fig. 6, to when the ingot IG1 is thrown into the molten metal M, as shown in the side view P10. In this embodiment, the ingot IG1 is considered to have been thrown into the molten metal M when the control unit 205 detects that the top surface roller 20 has reached the top surface roller descending end 20l. When the top surface roller 20 has reached the top surface roller descending end 20l and measurement of the throwing time T2 has ended, the process proceeds to step S10 shown in Fig. 3.

[0035] In step S10, the control unit 205 determines whether the throwing time T2 is within a predetermined range. In this embodiment, the predetermined range is "5 seconds or more and 10 seconds or less." If the throwing time T2 is within the predetermined range, it is assumed that the ingot IG1 has been normally thrown into the molten metal M. On the other hand, if the throwing time T2 is not within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S11.

[0036] In step S11, the control unit 205 determines whether a loading abnormality has occurred. This allows the control unit 205 to detect a loading abnormality for the ingot IG1. If a loading abnormality is detected, the control unit 205 stops the loading process or notifies the user via a display device that a loading abnormality has occurred.

[0037] In this embodiment, when the upper surface roller 20 reaches the upper surface roller descending end 20l, as shown in FIG. 5, loading completion information indicating that the upper surface roller 20 has moved to the upper surface roller descending end 20l is sent to the control unit 205. Upon receiving the loading completion information, the control unit 205 sends a stop command to the multiple lower surface rollers 10. Thereafter, the control unit 205 sends a return command to the multiple lower surface rollers 10 and the upper surface roller 20. In this embodiment, the "return command" is a command to return all of the lower surface rollers 10 to the positions of the lower surface roller ascending end 10h and the upper surface roller 20 to the position of the upper surface roller ascending end 20h. This completes the process of transporting the ingot IG using the transport device 1.

[0038] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the transport process for a different type of ingot IG1. Note that FIG. 7 omits some of the illustration of the ingot IG1. Side view P11 shows ingot IG1a being transported to the molten metal M by multiple lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20. Side view P12 shows ingot IG1b being transported to the molten metal M by multiple lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20. Here, ingot IG1a and ingot IG1b are different types of ingot IG1. The grooves 50a of ingot IG1a are smaller than the grooves 50b of ingot IG1b. Furthermore, ingot IG1b has more grooves 50 than ingot IG1a. Side view P13 shows ingot IG1a being transported to the molten metal M by multiple lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20. Note that the orientation of the ingot IG1a in side view P13 is different from that of the ingot IG1a in side view P11. More specifically, in side view P11, the groove portion 50a is located on the upper surface roller 20 side, while in side view P13, the groove portion 50a is located on the lower surface roller 10 side. Note that in the following description, when the orientations of the ingot IG1a, ingot IG1b, and ingot IG1a are not particularly taken into consideration, they will simply be referred to as ingot IG1.

[0039] The process of pouring the ingot IG into the molten metal M will be explained using side view P11. The ingot IG is sandwiched between multiple lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20. In other words, the upper surface rollers 20 apply a force F to the ingot IG1, thereby pressing the ingot IG1. In this state, when the multiple lower surface rollers 10 rotate as described above, the upper surface rollers 20, which can rotate freely without a drive source, also rotate. This allows the ingot IG1 to be transported to the molten metal M using the lower surface rollers 10 and the upper surface rollers 20. Note that this configuration allows ingots of various types, shapes, and orientations to be transported to the molten metal.

[0040] 8 is a diagram showing the balance of forces acting on the ingot IG1. A side view P14 shows the upper surface rollers 20 clamping the ingot IG1 in an area other than the grooves 50a. A side view P15 shows the upper surface rollers 20 clamping the ingot IG1 in the grooves 50a.

[0041] In this embodiment, the weight of the ingot IG1 is represented by W, the force applied by the lower surface roller 10 to the ingot IG1 by R, the force applied by the upper surface roller 20 to the ingot IG1 by F, the angle between the Y axis and the surface of the ingot IG1 that contacts the lower surface roller 10 by d1, and the coefficient of friction by μ. Also, the angle between a line passing through the center B3 of the upper surface roller 20 and perpendicular to the lower surface roller 10 against which the ingot IG1 contacts is represented by d2, and a line connecting the center B3 of the upper surface roller 20 and the corner 51 of the groove 50 in the ingot IG is represented by d2. In this embodiment, if the force F applied by the upper surface roller 20 to the ingot IG1 is small, the ingot IG1 may slide down into the molten metal M due to its own weight. On the other hand, if the force F is large, the upper surface roller 20 may spin freely when it gets stuck in the groove 50, potentially preventing the ingot IG1 from being fed into the molten metal M. Therefore, the force F needs to satisfy a first condition that prevents the ingot IG1 from dropping, and a second condition that allows the ingot IG1 to be sent to the molten metal M in the groove portion 50.

[0042] In the first condition described above, the following expressions (1) and (2) hold true. μ×R>W×sind1...Equation (1) R=W×cosd1+F...Equation (2)

[0043] Furthermore, in the second condition described above, the following expressions (3) and (4) hold true. W×sind1+μ×RF×tand2>0...Equation (3) R=W×cosd1+F...Equation (4)

[0044] In this embodiment, the optimum force F can be determined by using equations (1) to (4). For example, assuming that the ingot IG1 weighs 10 kg and the friction coefficient is 0.2, if the angle d2 is smaller than 23.983°, the optimum value of force F is 39.5 kg. Furthermore, values ​​such as the diameter of the top surface roller 20 can also be calculated using the above equations.

[0045] As described above, the conveying device 1 for the ingot IG1 in this embodiment has a plurality of lower surface rollers 10 and upper surface rollers 20. After the ingot IG1 is sandwiched between the lower surface rollers 10 and the upper surface rollers 20, the lower surface rollers 10 move in a direction toward the molten metal. In this way, by using the lower surface rollers and upper surface rollers of the conveying device, ingots of various types, shapes, and orientations can be conveyed to the molten metal.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 205 stops the rotation of the multiple lower surface rollers 10 when the ingot IG1 reaches a predetermined stop position 124e in the downstream conveying path 124. The control unit 205 also tilts the downstream conveying path 124 in a direction toward the molten metal M, and then resumes the rotation of the multiple lower surface rollers 10. This allows the ingot IG1 to be conveyed to the molten metal M more safely.

[0047] B. Other Embodiments: (B1) In the first embodiment described above, the ingot transport device 1 has the stopper 17. However, the ingot transport device 1 does not necessarily have to have the stopper 17.

[0048] (B2) In the first embodiment described above, the ingot transport device 1 has the sensor 25. However, the ingot transport device 1 does not necessarily have to have the sensor 25.

[0049] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be realized in various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features of the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each aspect described in the Summary of the Invention section can be appropriately replaced or combined to solve some or all of the above-described problems or achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1...conveying device, 10, 10a, 10b...lower roller, 10h...lower roller ascending end, 10l...lower roller descending end, 12...lower roller body, 14...rotating shaft, 17...stopper, 20...upper roller, 20h...upper roller ascending end, 20l...upper roller descending end, 25...sensor, 30...fixed side frame, 35...tilting side frame, 40...melting furnace, 50, 50a, 50b...groove portion, 51...corner portion, 60...robot, 65...robot control panel, 120...conveying path, 122...upstream side conveying path, 124...downstream side conveying path, 124e...stopping position, 200...control device, 205...control section

Claims

1. An ingot transport device, a plurality of lower rollers on which the ingot is placed; an upper surface roller that presses the ingot from the upper surface of the ingot, After the lower surface roller and the upper surface roller sandwich the ingot, the plurality of lower surface rollers and the upper surface roller move in a direction toward the molten metal while sandwiching the ingot. Ingot transport device.

2. The ingot transport device according to claim 1, Further, the control unit the plurality of lower surface rollers form a downstream transport path that is a part of a transport path through which the ingot moves toward the molten metal, and have a tilting rotation shaft for tilting the downstream transport path; When the ingot reaches a predetermined position in the downstream transport path, the control unit The upper roller is lowered to a position where the upper roller and the lower roller can sandwich the ingot. an ingot transport device that moves the plurality of lower surface rollers in the direction toward the molten metal by tilting the downstream transport path in the direction toward the molten metal around the tilting rotation axis.

3. The ingot transport device according to claim 2, When the ingot reaches a predetermined position in the downstream transport path, the control unit Stopping the rotation of the plurality of lower surface rollers to stop the transport of the ingot; an ingot transport device that, after tilting the downstream transport path in a direction toward the molten metal, restarts rotation of the plurality of lower surface rollers to restart transport of the ingot.

4. The ingot transport device according to claim 2, the control unit measures a throwing time, which is a throwing time from when the ingot reaches a predetermined position in the downstream transport path to when the ingot is thrown into the molten metal; An ingot transport device that performs an abnormality determination indicating that there is an abnormality in the ingot loading process if the loading time is not within a predetermined range.

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