Sintering Machine

Abstract

To provide a sintering machine suppressing deterioration in the productivity of sintered ores.SOLUTION: A sintering machine 1 comprises: a crusher 17 pulverizing sinter cakes produced and separated in pallets 10 to produce sintered ores; a crushing guide 16 guiding the sinter cakes to the crusher; a back chute 19 recovering cake pieces separated from the sinter cake and dropped to a side opposite to the crushing guide via an opening part formed at a side opposite to a side guiding to the crusher with respect to the crushing guide; a cake piece detection sensor 20 acquiring cake piece information showing a state of the cake pieces present at a region including the opening part; and a control device 21 determining whether the opening part is clogged by the cake pieces or not based on the cake piece information and outputting a clogging signal showing that the opening part is clogged when it determines that the opening part is clogged by the cake pieces.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sintering machine. [Background technology]

[0002] A sintering machine is known that produces sintered ore by loading a blended raw material containing raw material fine ore and fuel onto a pallet, igniting the upper surface of the stacked raw material packed bed, and moving the pallet together with the raw material packed bed in the forward direction while supplying an oxygen-containing gas to the raw material packed bed.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a sintering machine in which a flat stand extending in the extension direction of the side wall of a pallet is arranged on the base of the pallet on which the raw material packed bed is stacked. In the sintering machine described in Patent Document 1, the raw material packed bed is stacked on the pallet on which stands having a simple structure are arranged, thereby improving the air permeability of the raw material packed bed and increasing the productivity of sintered ore.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a sintering machine having a crusher that crushes the sinter cake discharged from the pallet and a crushing guide that guides the sinter cake discharged from the pallet to the crusher. In the crushing guide described in Patent Document 2, a slit portion is formed in a corresponding portion of the main body wall of the crushing guide to avoid interference when the stand passes through. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-168234 [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-179754 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the sintering machine described in Patent Document 2, a part of the sinter cake guided by the crushing guide may separate from the sinter cake and fall to the opposite side of the crusher. The cake pieces that have fallen to the opposite side of the crusher are returned to the flow of sintered ore produced by crushing the sinter cake in the crusher through a back chute having an opening formed near the crushing guide, and are collected.

[0007] However, since the cake pieces separated from the sinter cake have various sizes, there is a possibility that a cake piece having a width greater than the width of the opening of the chute may block the opening. When the cake pieces block the opening of the back chute, the cake pieces that fall on the side opposite the crusher gradually accumulate above the opening, and the accumulated cake pieces come into contact with the pallet. When the accumulated cake pieces come into contact with the pallet, an excessive load is applied to the motor that drives the sprocket that moves the pallet, causing the motor to stop abnormally, and the operation of the sintering machine to stop. When the operation of the sintering machine stops due to the abnormal stopping of the motor, the productivity of sintered ore decreases.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for suppressing a decrease in productivity of sintered ore in a sintering machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention, which solves these problems, is based on the sintering machine described below. (1) A sintering machine that produces sintered ore by moving multiple pallets, a crusher for crushing the sinter cake generated and separated on the pallet to generate sintered ore; A crushing guide that guides the sinter cake into the crusher, A back chute that separates the cake pieces from the sinter cake and collects the cake pieces that fall to the opposite side of the crushing guide through an opening formed on the opposite side of the crushing guide to the crusher; a cake piece detection sensor for acquiring cake piece information indicating a state of the cake piece present in an area including the opening; a control device that determines whether the opening is blocked by a cake piece based on the cake piece information, and outputs a blocking signal indicating that the opening is blocked when it is determined that the opening is blocked by a cake piece; A sintering machine comprising: (2) A sintering machine as described in (1), in which the control device determines that the opening is blocked by a cake piece when it determines that a cake piece corresponding to the cake piece information has been in a position covering the opening for a predetermined blocking time. (3) The sintering machine according to (2), wherein the blocking time is longer than the time it takes for one pallet included in the plurality of pallets to pass through the tip of the crushing guide. (4) A sintering machine as described in (2) or (3), wherein the blocking time is shorter than the time it takes for two adjacent pallets included in the plurality of pallets to pass through the tip of the crushing guide. (5) The sintering machine according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the cake piece detection sensor is an imaging device that images an area including the opening. (6) A sintering machine described in any one of (1) to (4), wherein the cake piece detection sensor is a distance sensor that measures the distance between a predetermined point included in an area including the opening. Effect of the Invention

[0010] In one embodiment, a decrease in productivity of sintered ore in a sintering machine can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sintering machine according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sintered ore production process in the sintering machine according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pallet shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of the crushing guide shown in FIG. [Diagram 5]2(a) is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the opening of the back chute and the cake piece detection sensor shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2(b) is a side view showing the positional relationship between the opening of the back chute and the cake piece detection sensor shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device shown in FIG. [Figure 7] 7 is a flowchart of a blockage determination process executed by the control device shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sintering machine according to a modified example. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the control device shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart of a blockage determination process executed by the control device shown in FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is a diagram showing an example of an altitude difference calculated by a distance determining unit shown in FIG. 10. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] The sintering machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to those embodiments. A direct charge type sintering machine without a hot screen is illustrated, but the present invention can be applied to a sintering machine with a hot screen as well. Also, a Dwight Lloyd type sintering machine with two sprockets, one upstream and one downstream, is illustrated, but the present invention can be applied to a Coppers type sintering machine without a driven sprocket located downstream in the traveling direction as well.

[0013] (Configuration and Function of Sintering Machine According to the Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a sintering machine according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a sintered ore production process in the sintering machine according to the embodiment.

[0014] The sintering machine 1 includes a plurality of pallets 10, a pair of sprockets 11, a track guide 12 also called a track rail, a sintering material supply section 13, an ignition furnace 14, an exhaust device 15, a crushing guide 16, a crusher 17, and a cooler 18. The sintering machine 1 further includes a back chute 19, a cake piece detection sensor 20, and a control device 21. In the sintering machine 1, each of the plurality of pallets 10 moves along a predetermined circular track via the track guide 12 by the drive of a sprocket 11a arranged on the upstream side of the traveling direction indicated by an arrow A. The sprocket 11b arranged on the downstream side of the traveling direction is driven to reverse and return the pallet 10 that has reached the downstream end of the traveling direction.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pallet 10.

[0016] The pallet 10 has a base 10a, a first side wall portion 10b, a second side wall portion 10c, and a plurality of stands 10d.

[0017] The base 10a is a rectangular member, and a first side wall portion 10b and a second side wall portion 10c stand up from a pair of opposing short sides. The first side wall portion 10b and the second side wall portion 10c are rectangular plate members, and are arranged to face each other. The first side wall portion 10b stands up from one side of the base 10a, and the second side wall portion 10c stands up from a side of the base 10a opposite to the side from which the first side wall portion 10b stands up.

[0018] The multiple stands 10d are arranged in, for example, four rows so as to stand up from the surface of the base 10a. The method of locking the multiple stands 10d to the base 10a is well known, so a detailed description will be omitted here. Note that the pallet 10 has four rows of stands 10d arranged, but in the sintering machine according to the embodiment, the number of stands 10d is determined by the width of the pallet, and may be less than four rows or may be five rows or more.

[0019] The sintering raw material supplying section 13 has a surge hopper 13a, a roll feeder 13b arranged below the surge hopper 13a, and a sintering raw material charging device 13c. The surge hopper 13a stores the sintering raw material, which is a granulated product obtained by kneading blended raw materials such as fine ore, auxiliary raw materials, fine coke, limestone, and return ore with water. The roll feeder 13b supplies the sintering raw material stored in the surge hopper 13a to the pallet 10 via the sintering raw material charging device 13c. The sintering raw material supplied from the sintering raw material supplying section 13 to the pallet 10 is filled into the pallet 10 to form a raw material filling layer S0.

[0020] The ignition furnace 14 is equipped with a plurality of ignition nozzles that spray flames downward, and is disposed at a predetermined position above the sintering machine 1. The ignition furnace 14 ignites the surface of the raw material packed bed S0 formed on the pallet 10 from above.

[0021] The exhaust device 15 is disposed below the pallet 10 on which the raw material packed bed S0 is mounted, and draws in the air in the raw material packed bed S0 from below the pallet 10, and circulates the air from the top to the bottom of the raw material packed bed S0. By circulating the air from the upper layer to the lower layer inside the raw material packed bed S0, the powdered coke placed inside the raw material packed bed S0 is combusted to form a combustion zone. The combustion zone formed inside the raw material packed bed S0 moves from the upper layer to the lower layer of the raw material packed bed S0, and sinters the sintering raw material S1 placed inside the raw material packed bed S0 to form a sinter cake S2.

[0022] The crushing guide 16 is disposed between the sprocket 11b disposed downstream in the traveling direction and the crusher 17. The crushing guide 16 guides the sinter cake S2 ​​discharged from the pallet 10 to the crusher 17.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a front view of the crushing guide 16. As shown in FIG.

[0024] The crushing guide 16 has a base 16a, a guide portion 16b, and a side receiving portion 16c. The base 16a supports the guide portion 16b and the side receiving portion 16c, and the guide portion 16b extends from the base 16a toward the base 10a of the pallet 10 while inclining toward the upstream side in the traveling direction, and guides the sinter cake S2 ​​loaded on the pallet 10 to the crusher 17.

[0025] At the tip of the guide portion 16b, four slits 16d are formed through which the stands 10d of the pallet 10 pass. Furthermore, the guide portion 16b is formed with a stone box for storing and cooling the fine ore generated from the sinter cake S2.

[0026] The side receiving portion 16c is positioned to face the first side wall portion 10b and the second side wall portion 10c of the pallet 10 moving along the downstream sprocket 11b in the direction of travel, and a pocket is formed to accommodate the fine ore generated from the sinter cake S2.

[0027] The crusher 17 is positioned near the sprocket 11b, which is located downstream in the direction of travel, and crushes the sinter cakes S2 that are generated and separated on each of the multiple pallets 10 and guided by the crushing guide 16 to produce sintered ore S3.

[0028] The cooler 18 cools the sintered ore S3 produced by the crusher 17 and the cake pieces S4 collected in the back chute.

[0029] The back chute 19 collects the cake pieces S4 that have separated from the sinter cake S2 ​​and fallen to the upstream side of the crushing guide 16 through the opening 19a. The opening 19a is formed on the upstream side of the crushing guide 16 in the traveling direction, that is, on the opposite side of the crushing guide 16 to the side that guides the cake pieces S4 to the crusher 17. The back chute 19 guides the collected cake pieces S4 to the cooler 18.

[0030] The cake piece detection sensor 20 is an imaging device having imaging elements such as CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) and CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and is disposed near the opening 19a of the back chute 19 to image the area including the opening 19a.

[0031] Fig. 5(a) is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the opening 19a of the back chute 19 and the cake piece detection sensor 20, and Fig. 5(b) is a side view showing the positional relationship between the opening 19a of the back chute 19 and the cake piece detection sensor 20. In Figs. 5(a) and 5(b), the dashed dotted line indicates the field of view of the cake piece detection sensor 20. L is the length of the opening 19a in the short side direction (the pallet traveling direction).

[0032] The cake piece detection sensor 20 is disposed away from the opening 19a in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the pallet 10, i.e., on the side of the opening 19a so as to look down on the opening 19a. The cake piece detection sensor 20 has a field of view that includes the entire opening 19a. The cake piece detection sensor 20 captures an image of the area including the opening 19a, and outputs an image signal indicating the captured image to the control device 21.

[0033] The control device 21 is, for example, a monitoring control device that monitors and controls the manufacturing process of sintered ore by the sintering machine 1, and judges whether or not the opening 19a is blocked by a cake piece S4 based on an image acquired by the cake piece detection sensor 20. When the control device 21 judges that the opening 19a is blocked by a cake piece S4, it outputs a blocking signal indicating that the opening 19a is blocked.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control device 21.

[0035] The control device 21 has a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, an input unit 33, an output unit 34, and a processing unit 40. The communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, the input unit 33, the output unit 34, and the processing unit 40 are connected to each other via a bus 35.

[0036] The communication unit 31 has a wired communication interface circuit such as Ethernet (registered trademark) etc. The communication unit 31 communicates with the cake piece detection sensor 20 and a higher-level control device (not shown) via a LAN 109.

[0037] The storage unit 32 includes at least one of a semiconductor storage device, a magnetic tape device, a magnetic disk device, and an optical disk device. The storage unit 32 stores an operating system program, a driver program, an application program, data, and the like used in the processing in the processing unit 40. For example, the storage unit 32 stores a blockage determination program and the like for causing the processing unit 40 to execute a blockage determination process for determining whether the opening 19a is blocked or not using an image captured by the cake piece detection sensor 20. The blockage determination program may be installed in the storage unit 32 using a known setup program or the like from a computer-readable portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM. The storage unit 32 also stores various data used in the blockage determination process. For example, the storage unit 32 stores image information indicating an image corresponding to an image signal input from the cake piece detection sensor 20. The storage unit 32 also stores reference image information indicating an image captured by the cake piece detection sensor 20 when the opening 19a is not blocked by the cake piece S4.

[0038] The input unit 33 may be any device capable of inputting data, such as a touch panel or a keyboard. An operator can use the input unit 33 to input letters, numbers, symbols, and the like. When the input unit 33 is operated by the operator, it generates a signal corresponding to the operation. The generated signal is then supplied to the processing unit 40 as an instruction from the operator.

[0039] The output unit 34 may be any device capable of displaying video, images, etc., such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The output unit 34 displays video corresponding to video data supplied from the processing unit 40, images corresponding to image data, etc. The output unit 34 may also be an output device that prints video, images, characters, etc. on a display medium such as paper.

[0040] The processing unit 40 has one or more processors and their peripheral circuits. The processing unit 40 centrally controls the overall operation of the control device 21, and is, for example, a CPU. The processing unit 40 executes processing based on programs (driver programs, operating system programs, application programs, etc.) stored in the storage unit 32. The processing unit 40 can also execute multiple programs (application programs, etc.) in parallel.

[0041] The processing unit 40 has an imaging instruction unit 41, an image information acquisition unit 42, an image determination unit 43, a timing unit 44, and a blockage signal output unit 45. Each of these units is a functional module realized by a program executed by a processor included in the processing unit 40. Alternatively, each of these units may be implemented in the control device 21 as firmware.

[0042] (Image Determination Learning Process According to the Embodiment) Fig. 7 is a flowchart of the blockage determination process executed by the control device 21. The blockage determination process shown in Fig. 7 is executed mainly by the processing unit 40 in cooperation with each element of the control device 21, based on a program stored in advance in the storage unit 32.

[0043] First, the cake piece detection sensor 20 is instructed to capture an image of the area including the opening 19a (S101). In response to an instruction to capture an image from the imaging instruction unit 41, the cake piece detection sensor 20 captures an image of the area including the opening 19a and outputs an image signal indicating the captured image to the control device 21. The imaging instruction unit 41 stores image information indicating an image corresponding to the image signal input from the cake piece detection sensor 20 in the storage unit 32. Next, the image information acquisition unit 42 acquires the image information stored in the storage unit 32 (S102).

[0044] Next, the image determination unit 43 determines whether the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 based on the image corresponding to the image information acquired in the process of S102 (S103). The image determination unit 43 compares the brightness of the pixels of the portion corresponding to the opening 19a in the image corresponding to the image information acquired in the process of S102 with the brightness of the pixels of the portion corresponding to the opening 19a in the image corresponding to the reference image information stored in the storage unit 32. The image determination unit 43 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 when the brightness of the pixels of the portion corresponding to the opening 19a differs over a predetermined width in the short side direction of the opening 19a (for example, the length L in the short side direction of the opening 19a).

[0045] When the image determination unit 43 determines that the opening 19a is not blocked by the cake piece S4 (S103-NO), the process returns to S101. After that, the processes of S101 to S103 are repeated at predetermined intervals until the image determination unit 43 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 (S103-YES).

[0046] When the image determination unit 43 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake pieces S4 (S103-YES), the timing unit 44 starts timing the blocking time (S104). The blocking time counted by the timing unit 44 is longer than the time it takes for one pallet 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16 and shorter than the time it takes for two adjacent pallets 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16.

[0047] When the blocking time has elapsed and the timing of the blocking time by the timing unit 44 has ended, the image capturing instruction unit 41 instructs the cake piece detection sensor 20 to capture an image of the area including the opening 19a (S105). Next, the image information acquisition unit 42 acquires the image information stored in the memory unit 32 (S106).

[0048] Next, the image determination unit 43 determines whether or not the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 based on the image corresponding to the image information acquired in the process of S106, similarly to the process of S103 (S107). If the image determination unit 43 determines that the opening 19a is not blocked by the cake piece S4 (S107-NO), the process returns to S101.

[0049] When the image determination unit 43 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 (S107-YES), the blockage signal output unit 45 outputs a blockage signal indicating that the opening 19a is blocked to the output unit 34 (S108). In response to the input of the blockage signal, the output unit 34 displays an alarm image indicating that the opening 19a is blocked. The control device 21 may display the alarm image on the output unit 34 and output a sound indicating that the opening 19a is blocked from a speaker (not shown). The cake piece S4 covering the opening 19a is removed by an operator who monitors and controls the sintering machine 1.

[0050] (Actions and Effects of the Sintering Machine According to the Embodiment) When the sintering machine 1 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by a cake piece S4, it outputs a blocking signal indicating that the opening 19a is blocked, thereby preventing the cake pieces S4 accumulated in the opening 19a from contacting the pallet 10 and causing the operation of the sintering machine 1 to stop.

[0051] Furthermore, in the sintering machine 1, whether or not the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 is determined based on the image of the area including the opening 19a captured by the cake piece detection sensor 20, so the determination process can be executed using an image processing technique with high determination accuracy. Since the sintering machine 1 determines whether or not the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 using an image processing technique with high determination accuracy, the determination process can be executed with high accuracy.

[0052] In addition, in the sintering machine 1, a blocking time is set to be longer than the time for one pallet 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16 and shorter than the time for two adjacent pallets 10 to pass the tips of the crushing guide 16. In the sintering machine 1, by using a blocking time longer than the time for one pallet 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16, the risk of the sinter cake S2 ​​discharged from the adjacent pallets 10 accumulating above the opening 19a is reduced.

[0053] In addition, in the sintering machine 1, by using a blocking time that is shorter than the time it takes for two adjacent pallets 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16, it is possible to determine in a relatively short time whether the opening 19a is blocked by a cake piece S4.

[0054] (Modification of the sintering machine according to the embodiment) In the sintering machine 1, the cake piece detection sensor 20, which is an imaging device, acquires cake piece information indicating the cake pieces S4 present in the area including the opening 19a, but in the sintering machine of the embodiment, a sensor other than an imaging device may be used as the cake piece detection sensor.

[0055] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sintering machine according to a modified example.

[0056] The sintering machine 2 differs from the sintering machine 1 in that it has a cake piece detection sensor 50 and a control device 51 instead of the cake piece detection sensor 20 and the control device 21. The configurations and functions of the components of the sintering machine 2 other than the cake piece detection sensor 50 and the control device 51 are the same as the configurations and functions of the components of the sintering machine 1 with the same reference numerals, so detailed explanations will be omitted here.

[0057] The cake piece detection sensor 50 is a distance sensor such as a microwave distance sensor that detects the distance between the area including the opening 19a, and is positioned to the side of the opening 19a so as to overlook the opening 19a, similar to the cake piece detection sensor 20.

[0058] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the control device 51.

[0059] The control device 51 differs from the control device 21 in that the control device 51 has a processing unit 60 instead of the processing unit 40. The configurations and functions of the components of the control device 51 other than the processing unit 60 are the same as those of the control device 21 with the same reference numerals, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0060] Processing unit 60 differs from processing unit 40 in that it has a distance measurement instruction unit 61, a distance information acquisition unit 62, and a distance determination unit 63 instead of imaging instruction unit 41, image information acquisition unit 42, and image determination unit 43. The configurations and functions of processing unit 60 other than distance measurement instruction unit 61, distance information acquisition unit 62, and distance determination unit 63 are the same as those of processing unit 40, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0061] (Image Determination Learning Process According to Modification) Fig. 10 is a flowchart of the blockage determination process executed by the control device 51. The blockage determination process shown in Fig. 7 is executed mainly by the processing unit 60 in cooperation with each element of the control device 51, based on a program stored in advance in the storage unit 32.

[0062] First, the distance measurement instruction unit 61 instructs the cake piece detection sensor 50 to measure the distance to a predetermined point included in the area including the opening 19a (S201). In response to the distance measurement instruction from the distance measurement instruction unit 61, the cake piece detection sensor 50 measures the distance to the area including the opening 19a and outputs a distance measurement signal indicating the measured distance to the control device 51. For example, the cake piece detection sensor 50 sequentially measures the distance between the point near the opening 19a from one end of the opening 19a to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the opening 19a. The distance measurement instruction unit 61 stores the distance measurement information indicating an image corresponding to the distance measurement signal input from the cake piece detection sensor 20 in the storage unit 32. Next, the distance information acquisition unit 62 acquires the distance information stored in the storage unit 32 (S202).

[0063] Next, the distance determination unit 63 calculates the altitude difference between a predetermined reference height and the height of the measured point from the distance corresponding to the distance information acquired in the process of S202 (S203). The reference height is, for example, the height of the cake piece detection sensor 50. The distance determination unit 63 stores the calculated altitude difference in the memory unit 32 in association with information indicating the measured point.

[0064] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the altitude difference calculated by distance determination unit 63. In Fig. 11, the horizontal axis indicates the longitudinal position of opening 19a, and the vertical axis indicates the altitude difference between the reference height and the height of the measured point.

[0065] Next, the distance determination unit 63 determines whether the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 based on the altitude difference calculated in the process of S203 from the distance information acquired in the process of S202 (S203). The distance determination unit 63 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 when the altitude difference is smaller than a predetermined threshold value at a predetermined number of positions equal to or greater than two.

[0066] At the position indicated by A in Fig. 11, the altitude difference is smaller than the threshold value, but since the altitude difference is smaller than the threshold value at only one position, the distance determination unit 63 does not determine that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4. On the other hand, at the position indicated by B in Fig. 11, the altitude difference is smaller than the threshold value at two or more consecutive eight positions, so the distance determination unit 63 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4.

[0067] When the distance determination unit 63 determines that the opening 19a is not blocked by the cake piece S4 (S204-NO), the process returns to S201. After that, the processes of S201 to S204 are repeated at predetermined intervals until the distance determination unit 63 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 (S204-YES).

[0068] When the distance determination unit 63 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 (S204-YES), the timing unit 44 starts timing the blocking time (S205). When the blocking time has elapsed and the timing by the timing unit 44 has ended, the distance measurement instruction unit 61 instructs the cake piece detection sensor 20 to capture an image of the area including the opening 19a (S206). Next, the distance information acquisition unit 62 acquires the distance information stored in the memory unit 32 (S207).

[0069] Next, the distance determination unit 63 calculates the altitude difference between the reference altitude and the altitude of the measured point from the distance corresponding to the distance information acquired in the process of S207 (S208). Next, based on the altitude difference calculated in the process of S208, it is determined whether the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 (S209). If the distance determination unit 63 determines that the opening 19a is not blocked by the cake piece S4 (S209-NO), the process returns to S201.

[0070] When the distance determination unit 63 determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 (S209-YES), the blockage signal output unit 45 outputs a blockage signal indicating that the opening is blocked to the output unit 34 (S210).

[0071] Furthermore, in the sintering machine 1, the control device determines that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 when it determines that the cake piece S4 was present in a position covering the opening 19a for a predetermined blocking time. However, in the sintering machine according to the embodiment, the control device may determine that the opening is blocked by the cake piece S4 according to other criteria. For example, in the sintering machine according to the embodiment, the control device may determine that the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 when it determines that the cake piece S4 was present in a position covering the opening 19a over an area larger than a predetermined area.

[0072] Furthermore, in the sintering machine 1, the blocking time is longer than the time for one pallet 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16 and shorter than the time for two adjacent pallets 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16. However, in the sintering machine according to the embodiment, the blocking time may be shorter than the time for one pallet 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16 and may be longer than the time for two adjacent pallets 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16.

[0073] For example, in the sintering machine according to the embodiment, the blocking time may be a time shorter than the time for the pallet 10 to pass the tip of the crushing guide 16, based on an actual measurement value of the time when the sinter cake S2 ​​is discharged from the pallet 10 and becomes invisible from the opening 19a. Also, in the sintering machine according to the embodiment, the blocking time may be a time when three or four adjacent pallets 10 pass the tip of the crushing guide 16.

[0074] Furthermore, although the sintering machine 1 has a single cake piece detection sensor, the sintering machine according to the embodiment may have multiple cake piece detection sensors. For example, the sintering machine according to the embodiment may have a pair of cake piece detection sensors 20 arranged on the sides of the opening 19a so as to overlook the opening 19a. By having the pair of cake piece detection sensors 20 arranged on the sides of the opening 19a, the sintering machine according to the embodiment can determine whether the opening 19a is blocked by the cake piece S4 by using an image of the vicinity of the opening 19a captured at a closer position. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 1, 2 Sintering machine 10 Palettes 11 Sprocket 12 Truck Guide 13 Sintering material supply section 14 Ignition furnace 15 Exhaust system 16 Crashing Guide 17 Crusher 18 Cooler 19 Back Shot 20, 50 Cake piece detection sensor 21, 51 Control device

Claims

1. A sintering machine that produces sintered ore by moving a plurality of pallets, a crusher for crushing the sinter cake generated and separated on the pallet to generate sintered ore; A crushing guide for guiding the sinter cake to the crusher; A back chute that separates the cake pieces from the sinter cake and collects the cake pieces that have fallen to the opposite side of the crushing guide through an opening formed on the opposite side of the crushing guide to the crusher; a cake piece detection sensor for acquiring cake piece information indicating a state of the cake piece present in an area including the opening; A control device that judges whether the opening is blocked by the cake piece based on the cake piece information, and outputs a blocking signal indicating that the opening is blocked when it is judged that the opening is blocked by the cake piece; A sintering machine comprising:

2. The sintering machine according to claim 1, wherein the control device determines that the opening is blocked by the cake piece when it determines that the cake piece corresponding to the cake piece information has been in a position covering the opening for a predetermined blocking time.

3. The sintering machine according to claim 2 , wherein the blocking time is longer than a time required for one pallet included in the plurality of pallets to pass through a tip end of the crushing guide.

4. The sintering machine according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the blocking time is shorter than a time required for two adjacent pallets included in the plurality of pallets to pass through a tip end of the crushing guide.

5. The sintering machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cake piece detection sensor is an imaging device that images an area including the opening.

6. The sintering machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cake piece detection sensor is a distance sensor that measures a distance between a predetermined point included in an area including the opening.

Images