Automatic lid closing device and automatic lid closing method

Abstract

To provide an automatic lid closing device that automatically tightens a lid to a steel container with bolts, in which a radioactive material separated from a workpiece that contains the radioactive material and concentrated is accommodated.SOLUTION: The automatic lid closing device comprises: a lid closing work unit which is provided with an automatic lid closing mechanism that, after adjusting the position of a lid relative to a container body, fastens and secures the lid with bolts to a container whose lid is to be closed, that includes the container body in which a radioactive material is accommodated and the lid that is temporarily placed at an opening of the container body; a container transport mechanism that automatically carries in or automatically carries out the container whose lid is to be closed, from a container carry-in and -out unit to or from the lid closing work unit; and a fixing mechanism that positions in place and secures the container body having been carried in to the lid closing work unit by the container transport mechanism, said lid closing work unit, container transport mechanism and fixing mechanism being constructed to a common support frame.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic lid closing device and an automatic lid closing method, and in particular to an automatic lid closing device and an automatic lid closing method for a container to be closed, the automatic lid closing device and the automatic lid closing method including a container body containing radioactive material and a lid body temporarily placed on the opening of the container body, which automatically tightens and fixes a lid body to a container body. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to restore natural environments such as soil, vegetation, oceans, and rivers that have been contaminated with radioactive materials leaked from equipment that utilizes nuclear fission reactions at nuclear power plants and other facilities, various methods have been researched for separating and concentrating radioactive materials from materials that contain radioactive materials.

[0003] Among radioactive substances, cesium-134, cesium-137 are water-soluble, easily absorbed into the body, and have a significant impact on health, so they are said to be one of the three major nuclides along with iodine-131. Cesium-137 in particular has a long half-life of 30 years, and once adsorbed into soil it cannot be easily decontaminated.

[0004] There is a limit to the storage facilities for such radioactively contaminated soil, vegetation, waste materials, and other large amounts of contaminated material that have accumulated temporarily, and there is an urgent need to reduce their volume. For example, combustible materials such as vegetation and waste materials, and sludge generated at sewage treatment plants, are incinerated and reduced in volume as incineration bottom ash and incineration fly ash, which contain concentrated radioactive materials, and then stored under strict management, but there is also a limit to the capacity of the storage facilities for these.

[0005] Patent Document 1 proposes a method for separating and concentrating radioactive cesium in a material to be treated, including soil, by melting the material to be treated. This method for separating and concentrating radioactive cesium includes a basicity adjustment step of adding a basicity adjustment assistant containing a chlorine-based basicity adjustment assistant to the material to be treated, a separation step of heating the material to which the basicity adjustment assistant has been added to 1200°C to 1500°C to volatilize and separate radioactive cesium from the material to be treated, and a collection step of collecting the radioactive cesium volatilized and separated in the separation step, and the remaining material from which the radioactive material has been removed in the separation step is reduced in volume as molten slag.

[0006] By adopting the method for separating and concentrating radioactive cesium as described in Patent Document 1, incineration bottom ash, incineration fly ash, or even soil contaminated with radioactive substances is melted and the radioactive substances are volatilized and separated from the molten slag, and the radioactive substances are concentrated and separated as molten fly ash, making it possible to reduce the volume of contaminated materials. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-011924 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The radioactive material that has been concentrated and separated in this manner is ultimately contained and stored in a steel container body. In order to bolt the steel lid, which is also heavy, to the container body containing the radioactive material, it is necessary to align a number of bolt fastening holes formed on the opening edge of the container body with a number of bolt insertion holes formed on the peripheral edge of the lid, and then fasten the bolts to each of them.

[0009] However, because the work of aligning the lid to the container body and tightening the bolts requires delicate alignment, it must currently be done manually, which poses the risk of the worker being exposed to radiation. Therefore, there has been a demand for an environment in which the lid can be tightened automatically without manual intervention.

[0010] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic lid-closing device and an automatic lid-closing method that automatically bolts a lid to a steel container that contains radioactive material that has been separated and concentrated from a treatment object that contains radioactive material. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a first characteristic configuration of the automatic lid closing device according to the present invention is that a lid closing work unit equipped with an automatic lid closing mechanism for adjusting the relative position of the lid body relative to the container body and fastening and fixing the lid body with a bolt, for a container to be closed, which includes a container body containing radioactive material and a lid body temporarily placed on the opening of the container body, a container transport mechanism for automatically transporting the container to be closed from the container loading / unloading unit to the lid closing work unit, and a fixing mechanism for positioning and fixing the container body transported to the lid closing work unit by the container transport mechanism at a predetermined position, are all constructed on a common support frame.

[0012] In the automatic lid-closing device, the lid-closing operation section, the container transport mechanism, and the fixing mechanism are constructed on a common support frame. When the container to be lid-closed, with the lid body temporarily placed on the opening of the container body, is transported to the container loading / unloading section of the automatic lid-closing device by a transport vehicle such as a forklift, the container to be lid-closed is automatically transported to the lid-closing operation section by the container transport mechanism, and is positioned and fixed to the lid-closing operation section by the fixing mechanism. The relative position of the lid body with respect to the container body of the container to be lid-closed, which is positioned and fixed to the lid-closing operation section, is adjusted by the automatic lid-closing mechanism, and the container to be lid-closed is fastened and fixed to the container body with bolts. After that, when the container to be lid-closed is transported from the lid-closing operation section to the container loading / unloading section by the container transport mechanism, it is transported from the automatic lid-closing device by a transport vehicle such as a forklift. Since a series of operations from the transport of the container to be lid-closed to the automatic lid-closing device, the lid body is fastened and fixed to the container body with bolts, and the container is transported from the automatic lid-closing device, are performed automatically without human intervention, so that exposure of workers to radioactive materials contained in the container body can be avoided.

[0013] The second characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the first characteristic configuration described above, the automatic lid closing mechanism is equipped with an imaging device that images the lid body from above, and an automatic position deviation detection mechanism that detects the amount of relative position deviation between a plurality of bolt fastening holes formed in the opening edge of the container body and a plurality of bolt insertion holes formed in the peripheral portion of the lid body based on the image taken by the imaging device, and obtains position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body based on each position deviation amount, an automatic position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the relative position between the container body and the lid body to an appropriate position based on the position correction information detected by the automatic position deviation detection mechanism, and an automatic bolt fastening mechanism that inserts bolts into each bolt insertion hole and fastens them at the relative position adjusted by the automatic position adjustment mechanism.

[0014] By processing an image including the bolt insertion holes formed in the lid captured by an imaging device from above the container to be closed, the amount of relative positional deviation between the bolt insertion holes and the bolt fastening holes present inside the bolt insertion holes can be detected, and from the result, the amount of positional deviation from an appropriate position at which a bolt can be inserted through the bolt insertion hole and fastened to the bolt fastening hole can be detected. When the automatic position adjustment mechanism automatically adjusts the relative position between the container body and the lid to an appropriate position based on the amount of positional deviation, the automatic bolt fastening mechanism inserts bolts into each bolt insertion hole and fastens them, and the lid is automatically fixed to the container.

[0015] The third characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the second characteristic configuration described above, the automatic position adjustment mechanism is provided with multiple sets of pressing mechanisms that are arranged opposite each other to sandwich the lid body temporarily placed on the container body fixed by the fixing mechanism, and press the lid body horizontally.

[0016] The lid body is movable horizontally relative to the container body fixed by the fixing mechanism. The lid body can be moved in the operating direction by pressing one of the pressing mechanisms arranged opposite to each other so as to sandwich the lid body. By providing multiple sets of such pressing mechanisms, the lid body can be moved in multiple directions, and the relative positions of the bolt insertion holes formed in the lid body and the bolt fastening holes formed in the container body can be appropriately adjusted.

[0017] The fourth characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the first or third characteristic configuration described above, the device further comprises a capping processing device including a capping head and an XY movement mechanism that supports the capping head so that it can move on an XY two-dimensional plane in the space above the lid body, and the imaging device and the automatic bolt tightening mechanism are attached to the capping head.

[0018] By moving a capping head equipped with an imaging device and an automatic bolt tightening mechanism along an XY two-dimensional plane in the space above the lid body via an XY movement mechanism provided in the capping processing device, each bolt insertion hole can be imaged from above using the imaging device, and bolts can be inserted into each bolt insertion hole using the automatic bolt tightening mechanism, and the bolts can be tightened and fixed in the bolt tightening holes.

[0019] The fifth characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the fourth characteristic configuration described above, it further includes a marking mechanism that marks the bolts fastened by the automatic bolt fastening mechanism, and the marking mechanism is attached to the closing head.

[0020] By providing the closing head with a marking mechanism, it becomes possible to manage the progress of the work by marking the bolts tightened and fixed in the bolt fastening holes to indicate the completion of the fastening work.

[0021] A sixth characteristic feature of the present invention is that, in addition to the fifth characteristic feature described above, a marking confirmation mechanism is provided which takes an image of the marking position by the imaging device after marking by the marking mechanism.

[0022] After the automatic bolt tightening mechanism has tightened the bolt, the image of the bolt marked by the marking mechanism is captured by the imaging device. The marking confirmation mechanism is then able to confirm whether the bolt has been properly marked based on the captured image.

[0023] The seventh characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the second characteristic configuration described above, the automatic position deviation detection mechanism determines the amount of deviation between the center position of each bolt fastening hole and the center position of each bolt insertion hole from the image captured by the imaging device, and determines position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable deviation amount.

[0024] The center positions of the bolt insertion holes are obtained by applying image processing to the bolt insertion holes shown in the captured image, and the center positions of the bolt fastening holes are obtained by applying image processing to the bolt fastening holes shown inside the bolt insertion holes. Since the amount and direction of deviation between the center positions of the bolt insertion holes and the center positions of the bolt fastening holes can be obtained from each of the central positions of the bolt fastening holes, position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body, i.e., the amount and direction of deviation correction, can be obtained so that the maximum of each deviation falls within a predetermined allowable amount of deviation, thereby making it possible to tighten bolts into all of the bolt fastening holes.

[0025] The eighth characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the seventh characteristic configuration described above, the automatic position misalignment detection mechanism obtains position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of misalignment falls within a predetermined allowable misalignment amount and the amount of correction is minimized.

[0026] The positional relationship between the container body and the lid can be efficiently adjusted by determining the position correction information for the lid, i.e., the amount and direction of misalignment correction, so that the maximum value of each misalignment amount falls within a specified allowable misalignment amount and the correction amount is minimized.

[0027] The ninth characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the second characteristic configuration described above, the automatic position deviation detection mechanism outputs an abnormality signal when it is unable to obtain position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable amount of deviation.

[0028] If position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body cannot be obtained so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a specified allowable amount of deviation, there is a high possibility that the container or lid body does not conform to the standards, and an abnormal signal can be output to notify the manager that the product is defective and prompt them to take appropriate action.

[0029] A tenth characteristic feature of the present invention is that, in addition to the first or second characteristic feature described above, the support frame is provided with casters that are movable relative to a floor surface.

[0030] By providing casters on the support frame, even the automatic lid-closing device, which is a heavy object, can be flexibly moved and installed to any location in the workplace.

[0031] The first characteristic configuration of the automatic lid closing method according to the present invention is that it comprises a loading step of automatically loading a container to be closed, which includes a container body containing radioactive material and a lid body temporarily placed on the opening of the container body, from a container loading / unloading section to a lid closing work section, a fixing step of positioning and fixing the container body automatically loaded into the lid closing work section in the loading step at a predetermined position, an automatic lid closing step of adjusting the relative position of the lid body to the container body fixed in the fixing step and fastening the lid body with a bolt, and a unloading step of automatically unloading the container to be closed that has been closed in the automatic lid closing step from the lid closing work section to the container loading / unloading section.

[0032] The second characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the first characteristic configuration described above, the automatic lid closing process includes an automatic position misalignment detection process for detecting the amount of relative position misalignment between a plurality of bolt fastening holes formed in the opening edge of the container body and a plurality of bolt insertion holes formed in the peripheral portion of the lid body based on an image of the lid body captured from above using an imaging device, and determining position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body based on each position misalignment amount; an automatic position adjustment process for adjusting the relative position between the container body and the lid body to an appropriate position based on the position correction information detected by the automatic position misalignment detection process; and an automatic bolt fastening process for inserting bolts into each bolt insertion hole and fastening them using an automatic bolt fastening mechanism at the relative position adjusted by the automatic position adjustment process.

[0033] The third characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the first characteristic configuration described above, the automatic position adjustment process is a process in which the lid body is pressed horizontally to adjust its position by multiple sets of pressing mechanisms arranged opposite each other to sandwich the lid body temporarily placed on the container body fixed by the fixing process.

[0034] The fourth characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the second or third characteristic configuration described above, the automatic position misalignment detection process and the automatic bolt tightening process are performed by moving the closing head in the space above the lid body using a closing processing device that includes a closing head to which the imaging device and the automatic bolt tightening mechanism are attached, and an XY movement mechanism that supports the closing head so that it can be moved on an XY two-dimensional plane in the space above the lid body.

[0035] The fifth characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the fourth characteristic configuration described above, a marking mechanism is attached to the closing head, and a marking process is further provided in which the marking mechanism is used to mark the bolts fastened by the automatic bolt fastening process.

[0036] A sixth characteristic feature of the present invention is that, in addition to the fifth characteristic feature described above, it further includes a marking confirmation step of imaging the marking position with the imaging device after marking by the marking mechanism.

[0037] The seventh characteristic configuration is that, in addition to the second characteristic configuration described above, the automatic position misalignment detection process is a process of determining the amount of misalignment between the center position of each bolt fastening hole and the center position of each bolt insertion hole from an image captured by the imaging device, and determining position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of misalignment falls within a predetermined allowable misalignment amount.

[0038] The eighth characteristic configuration of the same is that, in addition to the seventh characteristic configuration described above, the automatic position misalignment detection process is a process of obtaining position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of misalignment falls within a predetermined allowable misalignment amount and the amount of correction is minimized.

[0039] The ninth characteristic configuration is, in addition to the first or second characteristic configuration described above, that the automatic position misalignment detection process outputs an abnormality signal when it is not possible to obtain position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of misalignment falls within a predetermined allowable amount of misalignment. Effect of the Invention

[0040] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic lid-closing device and an automatic lid-closing method that automatically bolts a lid to a steel container that contains radioactive material that has been separated and concentrated from a treatment object that contains radioactive material. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0041] [Figure 1] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the automatic lid-closing device as viewed from above the right front of the container loading / unloading section, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the automatic lid-closing device as viewed from above the left front of the container loading / unloading section. [Diagram 2] (a) is a perspective view of the automatic lid-closing device viewed from above the right rear of the lid-closing work section, and (b) is a perspective view of the automatic lid-closing device viewed from above the left rear of the lid-closing work section. [Diagram 3] 1A is a perspective view of a container to be closed, viewed from above, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a container to be closed, viewed from below, and FIG. 1C is an explanatory diagram of the state in which containers to be closed are stacked vertically; FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view of a main part explaining the positional relationship between the bolt insertion hole formed in the lid, the bolt fastening hole formed in the container body, and the gasket; FIG. 1E is an explanatory diagram of an image taken from above the lid, showing the positional relationship between the bolt insertion hole and the bolt fastening hole; and FIG. 1F is an explanatory diagram of an image taken from above the lid, showing the positional relationship between the bolt insertion hole and the bolt fastening hole, showing the state in which the positional relationship is within a specified allowable deviation. [Figure 4] FIG. 2A is a plan view of a container transport mechanism provided in an automatic lid-closing device, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the same. [Diagram 5] An explanatory diagram of the fixing mechanism provided in the automatic lid closing device [Figure 6] (a) is an explanatory diagram of an XYZ movement mechanism provided in an automatic capping device, and (b) is an explanatory diagram of a capping head provided in the XYZ movement mechanism. [Figure 7] FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram of an imaging device provided in the capping head; FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram of an automatic bolt fastening mechanism provided in the capping head; and FIG. 1C is an explanatory diagram of a marking mechanism provided in the capping head. [Figure 8] An explanatory diagram of the automatic position adjustment mechanism provided in the automatic lid closing device [Figure 9]A flowchart showing the overall procedure of an automatic lid closing method using an automatic lid closing device. [Figure 10] A flowchart showing the steps of loading and fixing the automatic lid-closing device. [Figure 11] A flowchart showing the steps of the automatic lid-closing method using the automatic lid-closing device, mainly showing the bolt fastening steps. [Figure 12] A flowchart showing the steps of the automatic lid-closing method using the automatic lid-closing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0042] Hereinafter, an automatic lid closing device and an automatic lid closing method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0043] [Configuration of containers to be closed] 3(a) to (c) show a container 10 to be closed by an automatic closing device. The container 10 to be closed is composed of a steel rectangular parallelepiped container body 11 that contains high-concentration radioactive material concentrated and separated from radioactive contaminants, and a lid 12 that closes the opening of the container body 11 (see FIG. 3(a)). In this embodiment, the container body 11 is set to a left-right width of 1300 mm, a depth of 1300 mm, a height of 1200 mm, and a thickness of 3 mm. Note that the size of the container body 11 is merely an example and can be set as appropriate.

[0044] A pair of gripping portions 12A are formed on the top surface of the lid body 12, and bolt insertion holes 12H are formed at four equally spaced locations on the four edges of the lid body 12. Corresponding to the bolt insertion holes 12H, bolt fastening holes 11H are formed at four equally spaced locations on the flange portion 11A formed on the opening edge of the container body 11. A female thread is formed on the inner surface of the bolt fastening hole 11H, which has an inner diameter of 10 mm, to screw in with a fastening bolt B, and is formed with a smaller diameter than the bolt insertion hole 12H, which has an inner diameter of 15 mm.

[0045] A protrusion 12B is formed on the underside of the lid 12, extending downward inside the edge, with dimensions slightly smaller than the opening size of the container body 11. After radioactive materials that have been concentrated and separated in a separate concentration and separation device are automatically charged into the container body 11 via an automatic charging mechanism, which is a separate piece of equipment, the lid 12 is temporarily placed so as to cover the opening of the container body 11 via an automatic lid temporary placement mechanism, which is a separate piece of equipment.

[0046] Even if the lid 12 temporarily placed on the opening of the container body 11 shifts sideways, the lid will not come off because the protrusions 12B fitted into the container body 11 come into contact with the inner wall surface of the container body 11. A packing P is interposed between the bolt insertion hole 12H and the bolt fastening hole 11H, and the packing P is adhesively fixed around the bolt insertion hole 12H formed in the lid 12 (see FIG. 3(d)).

[0047] Legs 11B are formed extending from the bottom of the container body 11 at the left and right widthwise ends, and claw guides 11C for receiving the claws of a forklift are provided between the left and right legs 11B (see FIG. 3(b)).

[0048] The container body 11 on which the lid body 12 is temporarily placed is transported by a forklift and carried into the automatic lid-closing device of the present invention. In the automatic lid-closing device, the bolts B are inserted through the bolt insertion holes 12H formed in the lid body 12, and the bolts B are fastened and fixed into the bolt fastening holes 11H formed in the container body 11. After that, the container body 11 is transported out of the automatic lid-closing device and stored in a managed storage location by a forklift in a vertically stacked manner (see FIG. 3(C)).

[0049] [Configuration of the automatic lid closing device] 1(a), (b) and 2(a), (b) show an automatic lid-closing device 1. In the automatic lid-closing device 1, a lid-closing working section 1A, a container transport mechanism 1B, and a fixing mechanism 1C are constructed on a common support frame F. The steel support frame F is formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view, and casters CA are attached to the underside of the support frame F in eight places, and anchor bolts AB that can be freely extended and retracted by screwing into the support frame F are attached near each caster CA.

[0050] By extending the anchor bolt AB after moving the automatic lid closing device 1 to an appropriate position in the workplace, the caster CA can be raised relatively above the floor surface, thereby fixing the position of the automatic lid closing device 1. If there is no need to move it, it may be fixed via an anchor buried in the floor surface of the workplace.

[0051] The support frame F has multiple auxiliary frames SF arranged vertically and horizontally to cover the closing work section 1A, the container transport mechanism 1B, and the fixing mechanism 1C, and although not shown, a mesh-like safety fence is attached to the auxiliary frames SF, except for the container loading / unloading section 1D.

[0052] When the container 10 to be closed, with the lid body 12 temporarily placed on the opening of the container body 11, is transported to the container loading / unloading section 1D of the automatic closing device 1 by a transport vehicle such as a forklift, the container 10 to be closed is automatically transported to the closing work section 1A by the container transport mechanism 1B, and then positioned and fixed by the fixing mechanism 1C.

[0053] The container 10 to be closed, which is positioned and fixed in the closing work section 1A, is adjusted by the automatic closing mechanism 20 so that the relative position of the lid body 12 to the container body 11, i.e., the hole positions of the bolt insertion hole 12H and the bolt fastening hole 11H, are aligned, and the container body 11 is fastened and fixed with bolt B, and a mark indicating that the bolt B has been fastened and fixed is stamped on it.

[0054] Thereafter, the fixing mechanism 1C is released, and the container 10 to be capped is transported from the capping work section 1A to the container loading / unloading section 1D by the container transport mechanism 1B, and then transported out of the automatic capping device 1 by a forklift.

[0055] The entire series of operations from carrying the container 10 to be closed into the automatic closing device 1, to fastening the lid body 12 to the container body 11 with bolts B, to carrying it out from the automatic closing device 1, are performed automatically without human intervention, thereby preventing workers from being exposed to radioactive materials contained in the container body 11.

[0056] [Configuration of container transport mechanism] As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4, the container transport mechanism 1B is composed of a roller conveyor having a pair of guide rails 30, 31 extending from the container loading / unloading section 1D to the lid closing work section 1A, and a plurality of transport rollers 32 rotatably supported between the pair of guide rails 30, 31.

[0057] A pair of guide rails 30, 31 arranged on the container loading / unloading section 1D side are inclined in a plan view so that the container loading / unloading section 1D side is wider, with the boundary being the middle part between the container loading / unloading section 1D and the capping section 1A. The container 10 to be capped that is loaded into the container loading / unloading section 1D is received by the wider part and moved to the center between the guide rails 30, 31 as it is transported to the capping section 1A. A plurality of guide rollers 33 are arranged on the upper part of the guide rails 30, 31, which roll around a vertical axis along the guide rails 30, 31 to guide the container 10 to the capping section 1A.

[0058] The conveying rollers 32D arranged on the container loading / unloading section 1D side are driven by a first drive motor 34, and the conveying rollers 32A arranged on the container loading / unloading section 1A side are driven by a second drive motor 35, with the boundary being the midpoint in the longitudinal direction from the container loading / unloading section 1D to the closing section 1A, and are connected via a drive connection mechanism.

[0059] A discharge arrival sensor 36 and a container presence sensor 37 are installed at a predetermined distance along the conveying direction on the container carry-in / out section 1D side above the guide rails 30, 31, and an inlet arrival sensor 38 and an inlet pre-arrival sensor 39 are installed on the end side of the capping work section 1A. Each is composed of a photoelectric sensor consisting of a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element arranged on either side of the conveying path, and is a sensor that recognizes the presence of a container 10 to be capped based on whether or not light from the light-emitting element is detected by the light-receiving element.

[0060] When the container 10 to be capped is brought in, the container 10 to be capped, which has been transported by a forklift, is detected by the container presence sensor 37. When the container carry-in switch on the operation switch panel 1F is turned on by an operator, the first drive motor 34 and the second drive motor 35 are started in the forward direction by the control unit on the control panel 1G. Furthermore, when the container 10 to be capped is detected by the carry-in arrival sensor 38, the first drive motor 34 and the second drive motor 35 are stopped by the control unit.

[0061] When the container 10 to be closed is to be transported, the first drive motor 34 and the second drive motor 35 are started in reverse by the control unit provided in the control panel 1G, and when the container 10 to be closed is detected by the discharge arrival sensor 36, the first drive motor 34 and the second drive motor 35 are stopped by the control unit provided in the control panel 1G.

[0062] [Fixing mechanism configuration] As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 5, the fixing mechanism 1C is a mechanism for positioning and fixing the container body 11 of the container 10 to be closed that has been transported to the closing work section 1A, and is equipped with receiving portions 40, 41 at an angle of 90 degrees in a plan view that abuts a pair of diagonal corners of the container body 11 transported to the closing work section 1A.

[0063] One receiving portion 40 is fixed to the container conveying mechanism 1B so as to abut against the front end portion of the container body 11 along the carrying-in direction to receive the corners of the carried-in container body 11. The other receiving portion 41 is attached to the piston of an air cylinder 42, as shown in Fig. 5. The air cylinder 42 is attached to a support portion 44 erected on a base 43 fixed to the frame F.

[0064] When the container 10 to be closed is carried in or out, the piston of the air cylinder 42 is switched to a retracted position so that the other receiving part 41 is removed from the passageway of the container 10 to be closed. Then, after the container 10 to be closed is carried into the closing work section 1A, the piston is extended and the container body 11 is pressed by the receiving part 41.

[0065] The advancement and retreat of the piston relative to the base 43 is controlled by a control unit provided in the control panel 1G.

[0066] [Automatic lid-closing mechanism configuration] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an automatic lid-closing mechanism 20 is provided in the lid-closing operation section 1A. The automatic lid-closing mechanism 20 includes an automatic position deviation detection mechanism 50, an automatic position adjustment mechanism 60, and an automatic bolt tightening mechanism .

[0067] The automatic positional deviation detection mechanism 50 includes an imaging device 52 (see FIG. 6(b)) that images the lid body 12 from above, and a calculation unit that detects the amount of relative positional deviation between the multiple bolt fastening holes 11H formed in the opening edge of the container body 11 and the bolt insertion holes 12H formed in the peripheral portion of the lid body 12 for each bolt insertion hole 12H based on an image (see FIG. 3(e)) captured by the imaging device 52, and calculates position correction information for the lid body 12 relative to the container body 11 based on each amount of positional deviation. The calculation unit is provided in a control unit provided in the control panel 1G.

[0068] 3(e) illustrates an example of the positional relationship between one bolt insertion hole 12H and the corresponding bolt fastening hole 11H included in an image captured by the imaging device 52. A center position 12O of the bolt insertion hole 12H is obtained by performing image processing on the circular bolt insertion hole 12H that appears in the captured image, and a center position 11O of the bolt fastening hole 11H is obtained by performing image processing on the arc-shaped bolt fastening hole 11H that appears inside the bolt insertion hole 12H.

[0069] The amount and direction of deviation between the center position 12O of each bolt insertion hole 12H and the center position 11O of each bolt fastening hole 11H can be determined, and by determining position correction information for the lid body 12 relative to the container body 11, i.e., the amount and direction of deviation correction, so that the maximum of each deviation falls within a specified allowable deviation, the positional relationship can be adjusted so that bolts B can be tightened into all of the bolt fastening holes 11H.

[0070] 3(f), the predetermined allowable deviation is the deviation between the center position 11O and the center position 12O when the entire inner periphery of the bolt fastening hole 11H is located in the bolt insertion hole 12H and part of the inner periphery of the bolt fastening hole 11H is in contact with the inner periphery of the bolt insertion hole 12H. Note that the allowable deviation may be set to a value smaller than the deviation.

[0071] It is preferable that the automatic positional deviation detection mechanism 50 obtains position correction information for the lid body 12 relative to the container body 11 so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable deviation amount and the amount of correction at that time is minimized, and the positional relationship between the container body 11 and the lid body 12 can be quickly and efficiently adjusted.

[0072] If the calculation unit provided in the automatic positional deviation detection mechanism 50 cannot obtain positional correction information for the lid 12 relative to the container body 11 so that the maximum deviation falls within a predetermined allowable deviation, it is configured to recognize that the bolt fastening holes 11H formed in the container body 11 or the bolt insertion holes 12H formed in the lid 12 are defective and do not meet the specifications, and to output an abnormality signal. By outputting an alarm (e.g., sounding an alarm or flashing an alarm lamp) based on the abnormality signal, the operator or manager is notified that the product is defective, and an appropriate response is urged.

[0073] As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 8, the automatic position adjustment mechanism 60 is supported by cross beams 25, 26, 27 that connect four aluminum pillars 21, 22, 23, 24 that are erected on the frame F so as to surround the closing work section 1A, and is composed of four sets of pressing mechanisms 62, 64, 66, 68 that are arranged opposite each other to sandwich the lid body 12 that is temporarily placed on the container body 11 fixed by the fixing mechanism 1C and press the lid body 12 horizontally.

[0074] FIG. 8 shows four pressing mechanisms 62, 64, 66, and 68 in a plan view. Each mechanism is composed of an electric cylinder and a pressing part provided at the piston tip of the electric cylinder. Of the pressing mechanisms 66, 68, the pressing mechanism 66, 68 arranged on the container loading / unloading part 1D side is fixed to the piston of an evacuation air cylinder 67, 69 so that it can be retracted from the passage of the container 10 to be closed when the container 10 to be closed is loaded or unloaded.

[0075] The procedure for adjusting the position based on the amount of positional deviation detected by the automatic positional deviation detection mechanism 50 will be described. First, the retracting air cylinders 67, 69 are extended so that the electric cylinders 66, 68 are arranged opposite each other with the lid body 12 in between. Then, all eight electric cylinders 62, 64, 66, 68 are extended to a position where they contact the lid body 12, and all cylinders 62, 64, 66, 68 are stopped in the state where they contact the lid body 12. After the current position of the lid body 12 is recognized based on the operating state of each cylinder 62, 64, 66, 68, all eight pistons are retracted to the origin position. Then, only the pistons of the cylinders (maximum four) required to move the lid body 12 by the correction amount are extended to move the lid body 12 to a predetermined position. That is, the position adjustment in the X direction and the Y direction is performed simultaneously. Each of the cylinders 62, 64, 66, 68 is provided with a stroke sensor that detects the advancement and retreat of the piston. A control unit provided in the control panel 1G reads the values ​​of each stroke sensor and controls each of the cylinders 62, 64, 66, 68.

[0076] As a result, the relative positions of the bolt insertion holes 12H formed in the lid 12 and the bolt fastening holes 11H formed in the container body 11 can be appropriately adjusted.

[0077] The automatic bolt fastening mechanism 70 includes an electric screwdriver that inserts the bolts B into the bolt insertion holes 12H at the relative positions adjusted by the automatic position adjustment mechanism 60 and fastens them into the bolt fastening holes 11H. This will be described in detail below.

[0078] As shown in Figure 6(a), the automatic closing mechanism 20 is equipped with a closing processing device that includes a closing head 80 and an XY movement mechanism 90 that supports the closing head 80 so that it can move on an XY two-dimensional plane in the space above the lid body 12.

[0079] The XY movement mechanism 90 is configured to include a motor-driven first drive mechanism 91 that drives the lid-closing head 80 back and forth in the Y-axis direction along the cross beam 28 that is suspended between the supports 21 and 22, and a motor-driven second drive mechanism 92 that drives the cross beam 28 in the X-axis direction along the cross beams 26 and 27 that are perpendicular to the cross beam 28. Furthermore, it is provided with a third drive mechanism 93 equipped with an electric cylinder that drives the lid-closing head 80 in the Z-axis direction relative to the cross beam 28.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 6(b), the capping head 80 is equipped with the imaging device 52, the automatic bolt tightening mechanism 70, and the marking mechanism 100. 7(a) shows the appearance of the imaging device 52, with a camera, focusing lens, illumination light source, etc. attached to a casing. The coordinates of the capping head 80 are grasped based on the amount of movement of the capping head 80 from a reference position by the XY movement mechanism 90. Taking into account the mounting position of the imaging device 52 relative to the capping head 80, the coordinates in the capping work section 1A of the lid body 12 and bolt insertion hole 12H of the target container 10 brought into the capping work section 1A can be accurately grasped.

[0081] Fig. 7(b) shows the external appearance of automatic bolt tightening mechanism 70, which is equipped with a driver for tightening bolts and an electric motor for driving the driver, etc. Fig. 7(c) shows the external appearance of marking mechanism 100 that stamps a bar mark "-" on the head of bolt B tightened by automatic bolt tightening mechanism 70.

[0082] In this embodiment, a stamp head 101 that stamps a bar mark "-" is provided on the head of the bolt B. By stamping the mark on the bolt B after fastening is completed, the progress of the work can be managed and later, it can be detected whether the bolt B has loosened or not.

[0083] The stamp head 101 is lowered downward along the Z-axis direction by the third driving mechanism 93 by a preset height, whereby a bar mark "-" is applied to the head of the bolt B for checking whether the bolt has loosened.

[0084] In this embodiment, the stamp head 101 stamps a bar mark "-" oriented in a fixed direction onto the head of each bolt, making it possible to later identify bolts that have become loose based on whether or not there is a deviation in the relative positions of each bar mark "-", but the stamp mark is not limited to the bar mark "-".

[0085] 9 shows all steps of the automatic lid-closing method using the above-mentioned automatic lid-closing device 1. When the container 10 to be lidded is carried into the lid-closing work section 1A (SA1), the imaging device 52 is moved along the bolt insertion hole 12H provided in the lid body 12 by the XY movement mechanism 90, and position correction amount information of the lid body 12 is calculated (SA2).

[0086] When the position of the lid body 12 is corrected by the automatic position adjustment mechanism 60 based on the position correction amount information (SA3), the automatic bolt tightening mechanism 70 is moved by the XY movement mechanism 90 to the target bolt insertion hole 12H, and the bolts B are temporarily fastened in order, and then returned to the initial position for final tightening (SA4), and further, a stamp is applied to the head of the bolt etc. by the marking mechanism 100 (SA5). When the capping process is completed in this manner, the container 10 to be capped is carried out from the capping operation unit 1A (SA6).

[0087] After the positional relationship between each bolt insertion hole and the corresponding bolt fastening hole, i.e., the positional relationship between the container body and the lid body, is appropriately adjusted, bolts are inserted through specified bolt insertion holes in a specified order and temporarily fastened into the corresponding bolt fastening holes. Even if the positional relationship between the container body and the lid body changes when the bolts are temporarily fastened, all bolts can be temporarily fastened and can be properly fully tightened after being temporarily fastened.

[0088] The term "predetermined bolt insertion hole" means that it can be set in advance, and can be set arbitrarily, for example, the position where the amount of deviation after position adjustment is the largest, the position where the amount of deviation is the smallest, the position of a corner if the lid body is rectangular, the position where the closing head is closest, etc. Also, the term "predetermined order" means that the order of temporary fastening can be set in advance, and can be set arbitrarily, for example, in clockwise order from the predetermined bolt insertion hole, in counterclockwise order, alternately from left to right, or in order at a position facing the predetermined bolt insertion hole in either the left or right direction.

[0089] A detailed flow of steps SA1 and SA2 is shown in Fig. 10. The container 10 to be closed is carried into the automatic closing device 1 by a forklift, and after the container presence sensor 37 detects the container 10 to be closed, the worker turns on the container carry-in switch on the operation switch panel 1F (SB1). The control unit on the control panel 1G starts the first drive motor 34 and the second drive motor 35 in the forward direction, and the container is transported to the closing operation unit 1A (SB2). The container 10 to be closed is then positioned and fixed by the fixing mechanism 1C (SB3).

[0090] The lid-closing processing device is activated, and the lid-closing head 80 is moved by the XY movement mechanism along a predetermined movement path (for example, a path that goes around in the arrangement direction of the bolt insertion holes 12H arranged in the lid body 12) (SB4), and the bolt insertion holes 12H formed in the lid body 12 are imaged from above by the imaging device 52 (SB5). When all the bolt insertion holes 12H have been imaged (SB6, Y), the calculation unit calculates position correction information for the lid body 12 based on the deviation in the center positions of the bolt insertion holes 12H and the bolt fastening holes 11H (SB7). If the position correction information cannot be obtained appropriately (SB8, N), the calculation unit outputs an abnormality signal (SB9).

[0091] 11 shows a detailed flow of steps SA3 and SA4. When the position correction information of the lid body 12 is calculated in step SB7, the automatic position adjustment mechanism 60 is operated (SC1), and the position of the lid body 12 is adjusted by the four pressing mechanisms 62, 64, 66, and 68 (SC2). After that, the lid closing processing device is operated, and the lid closing head 80 is moved by the XY movement mechanism along a predetermined movement path (for example, a path that goes around along the arrangement direction of the bolt insertion holes 12H arranged in the lid body 12, or a path that follows the order in which the positions of the bolt insertion holes 12H are diagonally arranged) (SC3), and the bolts B are temporarily fastened in the bolt fastening holes 11H in order (SC4, SC5).

[0092] Furthermore, the capping processing device is operated, the capping head 80 is moved along the same movement path by the XY movement mechanism (SC6), and each bolt B is finally tightened (SC7, SC8).

[0093] 12 shows a detailed flow of steps SA5 and SA6. The capping processing device is operated, and the capping head 80 is moved along the same movement path by the XY movement mechanism (SD1), and a mark indicating completion of final tightening is stamped on the head of the bolt B in order (SD2), and then image processing of the image captured by the imaging device 52 is performed to check whether the stamp is properly stamped on the head of the bolt B (SD3, SD4). If the stamp is determined to be inappropriate, the bolt marking is repeated (SD4, N), and if the stamp is determined to be appropriate (SD4, Y), the process returns to step SD1 and the same process is repeated for all bolts B (SD5).

[0094] Once stamping has been completed for all bolts B (SD5, Y), the positioning and fixing by the fixing mechanism 1C is released (SD6), and the container transport mechanism 1B is operated. When the discharge arrival sensor 36 detects that the container 10 to be lidded has been transported from the lid-closing work section 1A toward the container loading / unloading section 1D, the container transport mechanism 1B is stopped, and after the operator turns on the container unloading switch provided on the operation switch panel 1F (SD7), the container 10 to be lidded is transported out using a forklift (SD8).

[0095] As described above, the automatic lid closing method according to the present invention comprises a loading process for automatically loading a container to be closed, which includes a container body containing radioactive material and a lid body temporarily placed on the opening of the container body, from the container loading / unloading section to the lid closing work section; a fixing process for positioning and fixing the container body automatically loaded into the lid closing work section in the loading process at a predetermined position; an automatic lid closing process for adjusting the relative position of the lid body to the container body fixed in the fixing process and fastening the lid body with a bolt; and a unloading process for automatically unloading the container to be closed that has been closed in the automatic lid closing process from the lid closing work section to the container loading / unloading section.

[0096] The automatic lid closing process includes an automatic position deviation detection process for detecting the amount of relative position deviation between a plurality of bolt fastening holes formed in the opening edge of the container body and a plurality of bolt insertion holes formed in the peripheral portion of the lid body based on an image taken from above of the lid body using an imaging device, and determining position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body based on each position deviation amount; an automatic position adjustment process for adjusting the relative position between the container body and the lid body to an appropriate position based on the position correction information detected by the automatic position deviation detection process; and an automatic bolt fastening process for inserting bolts into each bolt insertion hole and fastening them using an automatic bolt fastening mechanism at the relative position adjusted by the automatic position adjustment process.

[0097] The automatic position adjustment process is a process in which the lid body, which has been temporarily placed on the container body fixed by the fixing process, is pressed horizontally to adjust its position using multiple sets of pressing mechanisms arranged opposite each other to sandwich the lid body.

[0098] The automatic position misalignment detection process and automatic bolt tightening process are performed by using a capping processing device equipped with a capping head equipped with an imaging device and an automatic bolt tightening mechanism, and an XY movement mechanism that supports the capping head so that it can move on an XY two-dimensional plane in the space above the lid body, by moving the capping head in the space above the lid body.

[0099] The automatic position misalignment detection process is a process in which the amount of misalignment between the center position of each bolt fastening hole and the center position of each bolt insertion hole is determined from an image captured by an imaging device, and position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body is obtained so that the maximum amount of misalignment falls within a predetermined allowable misalignment amount.

[0100] The automatic positional deviation detection step is a step of determining position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable amount of deviation and the amount of correction is minimized.

[0101] The automatic positional deviation detection step outputs an abnormality signal when it is not possible to obtain position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable amount of deviation.

[0102] In the above-described embodiment, an automatic lid closing device has been described for a container to be closed, which includes a container body containing radioactive material and a lid body temporarily placed on the opening of the container body, and which adjusts the relative position of the lid body with respect to the container body and fastens the lid body with a bolt. However, instead of the automatic bolt fastening mechanism provided in the lid closing head, an automatic bolt release mechanism may be provided.

[0103] The bolt fastening position is grasped from an image taken by the imaging device 52 moved by the XY movement mechanism for the target container to be uncapped, which is fixed to the uncapping work section corresponding to the closing work section 1A by the fixing mechanism 1C. The automatic bolt release mechanism may be configured to move to the grasped bolt fastening position and release the bolt.

[0104] Although an electric motor can be used as a drive source for the automatic bolt tightening mechanism and the automatic bolt releasing mechanism, compressed air or hydraulic pressure may also be used.

[0105] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which, when the position of the lid body 12 is corrected by the automatic position adjustment mechanism 60 based on the position correction amount information, the automatic bolt fastening mechanism 70 is immediately moved by the XY movement mechanism 90 to the target bolt insertion hole 12H, and the bolts B are temporarily fastened in order. However, it may also be configured so that, after the position of the lid body 12 is corrected by the automatic position adjustment mechanism 60, the lid body 12 is again imaged from above by the imaging device 52 provided in the automatic position deviation detection mechanism 50, and based on the imaged image, it is determined whether or not the position deviation between the multiple bolt fastening holes 11H formed in the opening edge of the container body 11 and the multiple bolt insertion holes 12H formed in the peripheral portion of the lid body 12 has been eliminated.

[0106] If it is determined based on the re-captured image that the misalignment has been eliminated, the automatic bolt tightening mechanism 70 temporarily fastens the bolts, and if it is determined that the misalignment has not been eliminated, position correction amount information for the lid body 12 is calculated based on the re-captured image, and the automatic position adjustment mechanism 60 may be controlled to correct the position of the lid body 12. Note that at this time, the number of re-corrections of the position of the lid body 12 may be limited to a predetermined number of times, for example, five times, and if the misalignment is still not eliminated, the automatic misalignment detection mechanism 50 may be configured to output an abnormality signal.

[0107] The above-described embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the description. It goes without saying that the present invention can be appropriately modified and designed within the scope in which the effects of the present invention are achieved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 1: Automatic lid closing device 1A: Lid closing work section 1B: Container transport mechanism 1C:Fixing mechanism 10: Containers to be closed 11: Container body 11H: Bolt fastening hole 12: Lid 12H: Bolt insertion hole 20:Automatic closing mechanism 50: Automatic position shift detection mechanism 52: Imaging device 60:Automatic position adjustment mechanism 70: Automatic bolt tightening mechanism 80: Lid-closing head 90:XY movement mechanism

Claims

1. a lid-closing unit including an automatic lid-closing mechanism for adjusting a relative position of the lid with respect to a container body containing a radioactive substance and a lid temporarily placed on an opening of the container body, and fastening and fixing the lid with a bolt; a container transport mechanism that automatically transports the container to be closed from a container loading / unloading section to the closing operation section; a fixing mechanism that positions and fixes the container body that has been carried into the lid-closing operation section by the container transport mechanism at a predetermined position; An automatic lid-closing device in which the lids are built on a common support frame.

2. The automatic lid closing mechanism includes: an automatic positional deviation detection mechanism that includes an imaging device that images the lid from above, detects relative positional deviations between a plurality of bolt fastening holes formed in the opening edge of the container body and a plurality of bolt insertion holes formed in the peripheral portion of the lid based on the image captured by the imaging device, and obtains positional correction information for the lid relative to the container body based on the respective positional deviations; an automatic position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the relative position between the container body and the lid body to an appropriate position based on position correction information detected by the automatic position deviation detection mechanism; an automatic bolt fastening mechanism that inserts bolts into the bolt insertion holes at the relative positions adjusted by the automatic position adjustment mechanism and fastens the bolts; 2. The automatic lid closing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

3. The automatic lid closing device as described in claim 2, wherein the automatic position adjustment mechanism is provided with a plurality of sets of pressing mechanisms arranged opposite each other to sandwich the lid body temporarily placed on the container body fixed by the fixing mechanism, and pressing the lid body horizontally.

4. a capping head and an XY movement mechanism that supports the capping head in an XY two-dimensional plane in a space above the cap body, 4. The automatic lid closing device according to claim 2, wherein the image capturing device and the automatic bolt fastening mechanism are mounted on the lid closing head.

5. 5. The automatic lid closing device according to claim 4, further comprising a marking mechanism for marking the bolts fastened by the automatic bolt fastening mechanism, the marking mechanism being attached to the lid closing head.

6. 6. The automatic lid closing device according to claim 5, further comprising a marking confirmation mechanism for taking an image of the marking position with the imaging device after marking by the marking mechanism.

7. The automatic closing device of claim 2, wherein the automatic positional deviation detection mechanism determines the amount of deviation between the center position of each bolt fastening hole and the center position of each bolt insertion hole from the image captured by the imaging device, and determines position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable deviation amount.

8. 8. The automatic lid closing device according to claim 7, wherein the automatic positional deviation detection mechanism determines positional correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable amount of deviation and the amount of correction is minimized.

9. The automatic lid closing device according to claim 2, wherein the automatic positional deviation detection mechanism outputs an abnormality signal when it is not possible to obtain positional correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum deviation amount falls within a predetermined allowable deviation amount.

10. 3. The automatic lid closing device according to claim 1, wherein the support frame is provided with casters that are movable relative to a floor surface.

11. Method Claims A carrying-in process of automatically carrying a container to be closed, the container including a container body containing a radioactive substance and a lid body temporarily placed on an opening of the container body, from a container carrying-in / carrying-out section to a closing operation section; a fixing step of positioning and fixing the container body, which has been automatically carried into the lid-closing operation section in the carrying step, at a predetermined position; an automatic lid closing step of adjusting a relative position of the lid body with respect to the container body fixed in the fixing step and fastening the lid body with a bolt; a carrying-out process of automatically carrying out the container to be covered in the automatic covering process from the covering operation unit to the container loading / unloading unit; An automatic lid closing method comprising:

12. The automatic lid closing step includes: an automatic positional deviation detection process for detecting a relative positional deviation between a plurality of bolt fastening holes formed in the opening edge of the container body and a plurality of bolt insertion holes formed in the peripheral portion of the lid body based on an image of the lid body captured from above using an imaging device, and determining positional correction information of the lid body relative to the container body based on each positional deviation; an automatic position adjustment step of adjusting the relative position between the container body and the lid body to an appropriate position based on position correction information detected by the automatic position deviation detection step; an automatic bolt fastening step of inserting bolts into the bolt insertion holes and fastening them using an automatic bolt fastening mechanism at the relative positions adjusted by the automatic position adjustment step; The automatic lid closing method according to claim 11, further comprising:

13. The automatic lid closing method according to claim 12, wherein the automatic position adjustment process is a process of adjusting the position of the lid body by pressing the lid body horizontally using multiple sets of pressing mechanisms arranged opposite each other so as to sandwich the lid body temporarily placed on the container body fixed by the fixing process.

14. The automatic closing method described in claim 12 or 13, wherein the automatic position misalignment detection process and the automatic bolt tightening process are performed by moving the closing head in the space above the lid body using a closing processing device comprising a closing head to which the imaging device and the automatic bolt tightening mechanism are attached, and an XY movement mechanism that supports the closing head so that it can be moved on an XY two-dimensional plane in the space above the lid body.

15. The automatic lid closing method according to claim 14, further comprising a marking step of attaching a marking mechanism to the lid closing head and marking the bolts fastened by the automatic bolt fastening step using the marking mechanism.

16. The automatic lid-closing method according to claim 15, further comprising a marking confirmation step of imaging the marking position with the imaging device after marking by the marking mechanism.

17. The automatic lid closing method described in claim 12, wherein the automatic positional deviation detection process is a process of determining the amount of deviation between the center position of each bolt fastening hole and the center position of each bolt insertion hole from an image captured by the imaging device, and determining position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable deviation amount.

18. The automatic lid closing method according to claim 17, wherein the automatic positional deviation detection process is a process of obtaining position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum amount of deviation falls within a predetermined allowable deviation amount and the amount of correction is minimized.

19. The automatic lid closing method described in claim 11 or 12, wherein the automatic position deviation detection process outputs an abnormality signal when it is not possible to obtain position correction information for the lid body relative to the container body so that the maximum deviation amount falls within a predetermined allowable deviation amount.

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