Ingot transport device

Abstract

The present invention provides an ingot conveying device that can reliably detect, over a long period of time, when an ingot has reached the end of the conveying path. [Solution] An ingot conveying device is provided for conveying ingots and supplying them to a melting furnace, comprising: a lower roller provided on a conveying path for conveying the ingots; a detection sensor that detects when the ingot on the lower roller reaches a predetermined position and also detects the height of the water level in the melting furnace bath; and an upper roller located above the lower roller, wherein when the detection sensor detects the ingot, the lower roller at the leading end of the conveying path descends, and the upper roller descends to a height at which it can grip the ingot together with the lower roller, and when the detection sensor detects that the height of the water level in the melting furnace bath has reached a predetermined value, the conveying of new ingots is stopped.

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , , ,

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an ingot transfer device.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an ingot charging device that can maintain the height of the molten metal surface in a melting furnace, suppress a decrease in the temperature of the molten metal, and safely charge an ingot.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When an ingot transfer device that transfers an ingot charges the ingot into a melting furnace, molten metal may scatter around, and the tip of the transfer path may be contaminated by the scattered molten metal. When the tip of the transfer path is contaminated by molten metal, it becomes difficult to maintain the normal state of the transfer path. When the transfer path is no longer in a normal state, it becomes impossible to detect that the ingot has reached the tip of the transfer path. Therefore, there is a need for an ingot transfer device that can detect the height of the molten metal surface and stop the transfer of the ingot when the height reaches a predetermined value to prevent contamination of the tip of the transfer path, so that it is possible to normally detect in the long term that the ingot has reached the tip of the transfer path.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an ingot transfer device that can normally detect in the long term that an ingot has reached the tip of a transfer path.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A first aspect of the present disclosure is an ingot conveying device for conveying ingots and supplying them to a melting furnace, comprising: a lower roller provided on a conveying path for conveying the ingots; a detection sensor that detects when the ingot on the lower roller reaches a predetermined position and also detects the height of the water level in the melting furnace bath; and an upper roller located above the lower roller, wherein when the detection sensor detects the ingot, the lower roller at the leading end of the conveying path descends, and the upper roller descends to a height at which it can grip the ingot with the lower roller, and when the detection sensor detects that the height of the water level in the melting furnace bath has reached a predetermined value, the conveying of new ingots is stopped. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, when a detection sensor detects that the water level of the melting furnace bath has reached a predetermined value, the transport of new ingots is stopped to prevent contamination of the transport path, thereby providing an ingot transport device that can reliably detect when an ingot has reached the end of the transport path over a long period of time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows a schematic configuration of an ingot transport device according to an embodiment of the disclosed technology. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates the operation of the ingot transport device. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the ingot transport device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, identical or equivalent components and parts are given the same reference numerals. Also, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0010] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of an ingot conveying device according to this embodiment. The ingot conveying device 1 shown in Figure 1 is a device that conveys an ingot 2 and feeds it into a melting furnace. The ingot 2 is, for example, a block of aluminum. If the ingot 2 is a block of aluminum, then molten aluminum is present in the melting furnace. The ingot conveying device 1 includes a lower roller 12, an upper roller 14, a detection sensor 16, and a control unit 20, all positioned on a conveying path 10. A stopper 18 is provided at the end of the conveying path 10.

[0011] The lower roller 12 is a roller that transports the ingot 2 to the melting furnace. The ingot 2 is transported by the lower roller 12 from left to right in Figure 1. The upper roller 14 is a roller located above the lower roller 12. The detection sensor 16 is a sensor that detects when the ingot 2, which is on the lower roller 12, reaches a predetermined position, for example, just before the stopper 18 at the tip of the transport path 10, and also detects the height of the water level 3 in the melting furnace bath. The detection sensor 16 detects the position of the ingot 2 and the height of the water level 3 in the melting furnace bath, for example, using a laser. In Figure 1, the detection sensor 16 detects whether the ingot 2 has reached the position of the dashed line by irradiating laser light downwards in the figure, and also detects the height of the water level 3 in the melting furnace bath. The control unit 20 controls the operation of the lower roller 12 and the upper roller 14. The control unit 20 also has a timer 22.

[0012] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the ingot conveying device 1. Figure 2(a) shows that the ingot 2 is in front of the position indicated by the dashed line. The ingot 2 is conveyed to the right by the lower roller 12, and when it reaches the position shown in Figure 2(b), the detection sensor 16 detects that the ingot 2 has reached the position indicated by the dashed line and notifies the control unit 20 that the ingot 2 has reached the position indicated by the dashed line. In the state shown in Figure 2(b), both the lower roller 12 and the upper roller 14 are at their upper ends, and the table in the figure indicates that both the lower roller 12 and the upper roller 14 are at their upper ends. Next, the ingot conveying device 1 lowers the upper roller 14 by the control unit 20, as shown in Figure 2(c). In the state shown in Figure 2(c), only the lower roller 12 is at its upper end, and the table in the figure indicates that only the lower roller 12 is at its upper end. As the upper roller 14 descends, as shown in Figure 2(d), the lower roller 12 at the leading end of the transport path 10 tilts, and the upper roller 14, while gripping the ingot 2 with the lower roller 12, descends to a height where the ingot 2 can be gripped. In the state of Figure 2(d), only the lower roller 12 is at the lower end, and the table in the figure indicates that only the lower roller 12 is at the lower end. Subsequently, the ingot transport device 1 rotates the lower roller 12 with the control unit 20 to feed the ingot 2 into the melting furnace. In the state of Figure 2(e), both the lower roller 12 and the upper roller 14 are at the lower end, and the table in the figure indicates that both the lower roller 12 and the upper roller 14 are at the lower end.

[0013] After the ingot transport device 1 loads the ingot 2 into the melting furnace, the detection sensor 16 detects the height of the water level 3 in the melting furnace bath. If the water level 3 in the melting furnace bath is above a predetermined value and the furnace is full, the ingot transport device 1 will not load any more ingot 2 into the melting furnace. By controlling the transport device 1 to not load ingot 2 into the melting furnace when it is full, the ingot transport device 1 can prevent contamination of the end of the transport path 10 due to the loading of ingot 2 into the melting furnace. By preventing contamination of the end of the transport path 10, the ingot transport device 1 can reliably detect that the ingot 2 has reached the end of the transport path over a long period of time.

[0014] Furthermore, the ingot transport device 1 can reliably detect when the ingot 2 has reached the end of the transport path over the long term without adding any extra costs by using the detection sensor 16, which is used to detect the forward end of the ingot 2, to also detect the height of the molten water surface 3 in the melting furnace bath.

[0015] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ingot conveying device 1. In step S101, when the ingot 2 is set in the ingot conveying device 1, the ingot conveying device 1 then rotates the lower roller 12 in step S102 to advance the ingot 2. In step S103, the ingot conveying device 1 then checks the workpiece using the detection sensor 16, that is, confirms whether the ingot 2 has reached a predetermined location on the conveying path. If the detection sensor 16 is turned ON within a predetermined time (within 5 seconds in this embodiment), the ingot conveying device 1 then lowers the upper roller 14 in step S104, and in step S105, the control unit 20 starts measuring the timer.

[0016] Following step S104, in step S106, the ingot conveying device 1 tilts the lower roller 12, and then in step S107, rotates the lower roller 12 to feed the ingot 2 into the melting furnace. Once the ingot 2 is fed into the melting furnace, in step S108, the ingot conveying device 1 completes the measurement with the timer 22. Following step S108, in step S109, the ingot conveying device 1 determines whether the feeding time of the ingot 2 measured by the timer 22 is within a predetermined range (in this embodiment, 5 seconds or more and 10 seconds or less). If the feeding time of the ingot 2 is within the predetermined range, following step S109, in step S110, the ingot conveying device 1 detects the height of the water level 3 in the melting furnace bath with the detection sensor 16 and determines whether the melting furnace is full. If the melting furnace is not full, the process returns to step S101 and the ingot 2 is set in the ingot conveying device 1. If the melting furnace is full, the ingot transport device 1 stops feeding ingots 2. By stopping the feeding of new ingots 2 when the melting furnace is full, the ingot transport device 1 can prevent the melting bath from splashing due to the feeding of ingots 2 into the melting furnace, and prevent the tip of the transport path 10 from being contaminated by the splashed melting bath.

[0017] In step S103, if the detection sensor 16 is not turned ON within a predetermined time, the ingot transport device 1 determines in step S111 that there is an abnormality in workpiece advancement and stops feeding ingot 2. Also, in step S109, if the feeding time of ingot 2 measured by the timer 22 is not within a predetermined range, the ingot transport device 1 determines in step S112 that there is an abnormality in feeding ingot 2 and stops feeding ingot 2.

[0018] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. The above-described embodiments are exemplary and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure. It is obvious that those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present disclosure can conceive of various modification examples or correction examples within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Naturally, these modification examples or correction examples are also understood to belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0019] In addition, the effects described in the above embodiments are illustrative or exemplary and are not limited to those described in the above embodiments. That is, the technology according to the present disclosure can exhibit other effects that are obvious to those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present disclosure from the description in the above embodiments, together with or instead of the effects described in the above embodiments.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0020] 1 Ingot transfer device 2 Ingot 3 Liquid surface 10 Transfer path 12 Bottom roller 14 Top roller 16 Detection sensor 18 Stopper 20 Control unit 22 Timer

Claims

[Claim 1] An ingot transporting device for transporting ingots and supplying them to a melting furnace, A lower roller is provided on the transport path for transporting the ingot, A detection sensor that detects when the ingot on the lower roller reaches a predetermined position and also detects the height of the water level in the melting furnace bath, The upper roller located above the lower roller, Equipped with, An ingot conveying device wherein, when the detection sensor detects the ingot, the lower roller at the leading end of the conveying path descends, the upper roller descends to a height where it can grip the ingot together with the lower roller, and when the detection sensor detects that the water level of the melting furnace bath has reached a predetermined value, the conveying of a new ingot is stopped.

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