Processing device, magnetic domain subdivision processing system, processing method, and program

Abstract

This processing device is provided with a calculation unit that, on the basis of the material characteristics of a magnetic material to be processed, determines a processing region for performing magnetic domain subdivision processing in the magnetic material to be processed.

Description

Processing device, magnetic domain refining processing system, processing method, and program

[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-119981, filed on July 25, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] For example, magnetic materials such as electrical steel sheets are used in social infrastructure, and ensuring the material properties is important for improving social life. Grain-oriented electrical steel sheets, one type of magnetic material, use a technology to reduce iron loss by dividing the magnetic domains using laser irradiation.

[0003] However, when grain-oriented electrical steel sheets are subjected to magnetic domain refinement processing, the magnetostriction characteristics change due to closure domains, which can increase the noise of transformers. As such, there is a trade-off between reducing iron loss and reducing noise in grain-oriented electrical steel sheets, and an optimal magnetic domain refinement technology that can achieve both is needed.

[0004] As a technology aimed at achieving both low iron loss and low noise, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet and a manufacturing method thereof that achieves both low iron loss and low noise by having a magnetic domain refinement treated wire in which a magnetic domain control treated wire is partially subjected to a magnetic domain refinement treatment.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-52343

[0006] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 uses a magnetic domain image capturing device that uses a magneto-optical element to measure magnetic domains. With such a device, it is difficult to obtain a highly accurate magnetic domain image in an environment where the distance between the sensor and the object to be measured fluctuates, for example, due to vibrations during transport of a steel plate. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the technology described in Patent Document 1.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a processing device, a magnetic domain refining processing system, a processing method, and a program that are capable of manufacturing a magnetic material with reduced iron loss even in a measurement environment in which the position of the magnetic material fluctuates.

[0008] The inventors have come up with the idea that it is possible to achieve both low iron loss and low noise by determining the processing region in the magnetic material where magnetic domain refinement processing is performed based on the results of measuring the properties of the magnetic material.

[0009] The gist of the present invention, which was completed based on the above findings, is as follows. [1] A processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a calculation unit that determines a processing region in which magnetic domain refinement processing is to be performed on a magnetic material to be processed, based on the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed. [2] In the processing apparatus described in [1] above, the calculation unit may determine the processing region based on the relationship between the material properties of the magnetic material and whether the magnetic domain refinement processing is required. [3] In the processing apparatus described in [2] above, the calculation unit may estimate the magnetic domain width using a trained model that has learned the relationship. [4] In the processing apparatus described in [1] above, the calculation unit may estimate the magnetic domain width of the magnetic material to be processed based on the relationship between the material properties of the magnetic material and the magnetic domain width of the magnetic material, and determine the processing region based on the estimated magnetic domain width. [5] In the processing apparatus described in [4] above, the magnetic domain width may be estimated using a trained model that has learned the relationship. [6] In the processing apparatus described in any one of [1] to [5] above, the material properties may be material properties measured non-contact by at least one of magnetic measurement, X-ray analysis, and ultrasonic analysis. [7] The processing apparatus described in any one of [1] to [6] above may further include a physical property acquisition unit that acquires the material properties, and the calculation unit may determine the processing area based on the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed acquired by the physical property acquisition unit. [8] In the processing apparatus described in [7] above, the physical property acquisition unit may be installed upstream of a processing unit in a production line that performs magnetic domain refining on the processing area determined by the calculation unit. [9] In the processing apparatus described in [8] above, the processing unit may perform the magnetic domain refining by irradiating the magnetic material to be processed with a laser or an electron beam.

[10] In the processing apparatus described in [9] above, the calculation unit may determine at least one of the intensity and irradiation angle of the laser or the electron beam irradiated by the processing unit.

[0010]

[11] Furthermore, a magnetic domain refinement processing system according to another aspect of the present invention comprises a processing device having a calculation unit that determines a processing region in a magnetic material to be processed, where magnetic domain refinement processing is to be performed, based on the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed, and a physical property acquisition device having a physical property acquisition unit that acquires the material properties of the magnetic material.

[12] In the magnetic domain refinement processing system described in

[11] above, the processing device has a processing unit that performs magnetic domain refinement processing on the processing region determined by the calculation unit, the physical property acquisition device is installed upstream of the processing device in a production line that has the processing device, and the calculation unit may determine a processing region in the magnetic material to be processed, where magnetic domain refinement processing is to be performed, based on the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed acquired by the physical property acquisition unit.

[0011]

[13] Furthermore, a processing method according to yet another aspect of the present invention includes a calculation step of determining a processing region in the magnetic material to be processed, in which magnetic domain refining processing is to be performed, based on the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed.

[0012]

[14] Furthermore, a program according to yet another aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as an arithmetic unit that determines a processing region for magnetic domain refining processing in a magnetic material to be processed, based on the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed.

[0013] According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a magnetic material with reduced iron loss even in a measurement environment in which the position of the magnetic material fluctuates.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a magnetic domain refining processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a processing unit provided in a processing device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the main configuration of a magnetic sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a form when the magnetic sensor according to the embodiment is used. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the main configuration of an X-ray analysis unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the main configuration of an ultrasonic analysis unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the arrangement of a processing device and a physical property acquisition device in a magnetic domain refining processing system according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a contour diagram of a magnetic domain width distribution calculated based on a magnetic domain image of a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet in an example. FIG. 9 is a contour diagram of a magnetic domain width distribution estimated by machine learning from the results of magnetic measurements in an example.

[0015] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment will be described below using grain-oriented electrical steel sheet as an example of a magnetic material. While the magnetic domain refining process for a magnetic material will be described using laser irradiation, it may also be performed using electron beam irradiation. In this case, the laser irradiation described below will be replaced with electron beam irradiation. The ratios and dimensions of the components in the drawings do not represent the actual ratios and dimensions of the components. Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of a magnetic domain refining system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] <Magnetic domain refining processing system 1> As shown in Fig. 1, a magnetic domain refining processing system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a processing device 10 and a physical property acquisition device 20. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a processing unit 13 included in the processing device 10.

[0017] [Processing Apparatus 10] As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus 10 includes a calculation unit 11, a control unit 12, and a processing unit 13.

[0018] (Calculation unit 11) The calculation unit 11 determines the area in the magnetic material where magnetic domain refinement processing is to be performed based on the measurement results of the material properties. The calculation unit 11 transmits a processing instruction including a processing area instruction that indicates the area in the magnetic material where magnetic domain refinement processing is to be applied to the control unit 12. The processing instruction is information on the calculation results by the calculation unit 11.

[0019] The material properties used by the calculation unit 11 are properties of materials that can be measured contactlessly. Examples of contactless measurement include magnetic measurement, X-ray analysis, and ultrasonic analysis. The material properties are information that can be used to estimate the magnetic domain width. The magnetic domain width refers to the width of a magnetic domain whose magnetization direction is the <100> orientation of the crystal and is sandwiched between two 180° domain walls that are approximately parallel to the rolling direction. Here, the magnetic domain width refers to the distance between adjacent domain walls (domain wall spacing).

[0020] The information obtained by magnetic measurement is information obtained when acquiring at least a part of the hysteresis loop for each arbitrary region of the magnetic material, and examples thereof include the feature amount of the excitation waveform, the feature amount of the B-H loop (magnetic flux density B-external magnetic field H loop), and the feature amount of the eddy current.

[0021] The feature quantity of the excitation waveform is, for example, the maximum magnetization voltage V ｍａｇ , maximum magnetizing current I ｍａｇ , distortion factor K, third harmonic amplitude A3, and third harmonic phase P3.

[0022] The characteristic quantities of the BH loop include, for example, the maximum incremental permeability DZ ｍａｘ , average incremental permeability DZ ｍｅａｎ , the incremental permeability DZ when the external magnetic field is zero ｒ , maximum incremental permeability DZ ｍａｘ Magnetizing voltage U at ｃｄｚ , maximum incremental permeability DZ ｍａｘ Magnetization voltage DU at 75% of ７５ｄｚ , maximum incremental permeability DZ ｍａｘ Magnetization voltage DU at 50% ５０ｄｚ , maximum incremental permeability DZ ｍａｘ Magnetization voltage DU at 25% of ２５ｄｚ , and the asymmetry of the incremental permeability R ｅｍ etc.

[0023] The feature of the eddy current is, for example, the maximum amplitude Z ｍａｘ , the minimum amplitude Z on the impedance plane ｍｉｎ , the average amplitude Z on the impedance plane ｍｅａｎ , the maximum phase P on the impedance plane ｈｉＺｍａｘ, the minimum phase P on the impedance plane ｈｉＺｍｉｎ , the average phase P on the impedance plane ｈｉＺｍｅａｎ , the maximum amplitude Z on the impedance plane ｍａｘ Impedance width W at 3% of ３Ｚ , and the maximum amplitude Z on the impedance plane ｍａｘ Impedance width W at 10% of １０Ｚ etc.

[0024] The information obtained by X-ray analysis is information obtained when X-rays are irradiated onto a magnetic material and the intensity of the transmitted and diffracted X-rays is measured, and examples thereof include the attenuation ratio and diffraction angle.

[0025] The information obtained by ultrasonic analysis is information obtained when ultrasonic waves are applied to a magnetic material and the ultrasonic waveform that propagates while being reflected and scattered within the magnetic material is measured, such as ultrasonic intensity and ultrasonic scanning time.

[0026] Note that the material properties are those of the magnetic material and do not include crystal grain size. While there are conventional methods for measuring magnetic domain width, these techniques use magnetic domain imaging equipment using magneto-optical elements. With such equipment, it is difficult to obtain highly accurate magnetic domain images in environments where the position of the magnetic material fluctuates due to vibrations or other factors. On the other hand, the material properties described above can be obtained more stably than magnetic domain images. Therefore, this embodiment excludes methods for obtaining material properties using magnetic domain imaging equipment using magneto-optical elements. Furthermore, the material properties in this disclosure do not include magnetic domain width.

[0027] To explain the calculation unit 11 in more detail, the calculation unit 11 may directly calculate whether or not laser irradiation (magnetic domain refinement processing; the same applies hereinafter) is required for a measurement area (measurement position; the same applies hereinafter) based on the material properties obtained by measuring the magnetic material to be processed (hereinafter, the material to be processed). That is, the calculation unit 11 may determine the area to be irradiated with laser (hereinafter, the processing area) based on, for example, the relationship between the material properties and the necessity of laser irradiation. Alternatively, the calculation unit 11 may estimate the magnetic domain width in the measurement area based on the material properties obtained by measuring the material to be processed, and calculate whether or not laser irradiation is required for the measurement area based on the estimated magnetic domain width. That is, the calculation unit 11 may estimate the magnetic domain width based on the relationship between the material properties and the magnetic domain width of the magnetic material, and determine the processing area based on the estimated magnetic domain width. The above two relationships may also be obtained from a magnetic material different from the material to be processed. Details will be described later.

[0028] The calculation of whether laser irradiation is necessary and the estimation of the magnetic domain width described above may be performed by learning (machine learning). Specifically, the calculation unit 11 may use a trained model that has learned the relationship between material properties and whether laser irradiation is necessary to calculate whether laser irradiation is necessary based on the measurement results of the material properties of the measurement area of ​​the material to be processed. The calculation unit 11 may also use a trained model that has learned the relationship between material properties and magnetic domain width (machine learning) to estimate the magnetic domain width based on the measurement results of the material properties of the measurement area of ​​the material to be processed. In this case, the calculation unit 11 may determine whether laser irradiation is necessary for the measurement area by comparing the estimated magnetic domain width with a predetermined threshold, or the processing unit 13 may determine whether laser irradiation is necessary based on the estimated result, as described below. That is, the calculation unit 11 inputs the measurement results (measured values) of the material properties into the trained model, thereby obtaining the estimated magnetic domain width or the necessity of laser irradiation output from the trained model.

[0029] The trained model is created by learning multiple data sets (training data) that associate material properties with the corresponding magnetic domain widths or the need for laser irradiation. This training data is created by measuring the specified material properties of multiple magnetic material samples using the magnetic measurements described above and measuring the magnetic domain widths through magnetic domain image capture, and creating data that associates the material property measurement results with the magnetic domain width measurement results or the results of the determination of the need for magnetic domain refinement processing based on these measurement results for each sample. Each sample is selected so that the above relationship is appropriately obtained, for example, by selecting from magnetic materials of the same type (same steel type) as the material to be processed.

[0030] The magnetic domain width may be acquired (measured) by any known method that can obtain magnetic domain information. For example, the method may be performed using a line segment method or a short-interval two-dimensional Fourier transform (see Patent Document 1). The determination of whether laser irradiation is necessary may be performed manually or automatically by comparing with a threshold value. The calculation unit 11 (machining device 10) may create a trained model (machine learning), or a device other than the processing device 10 may create the trained model, and the processing device 10 may acquire the trained model and use it. In the present disclosure, a trained model is a type of program.

[0031] The calculation unit 11 is realized by a processor. A central processing unit (CPU) may be used as the processor, or dedicated hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) specialized for analyzing magnetic domain structures may be used instead of general-purpose hardware such as a CPU.

[0032] (Controller 12) The controller 12 controls the processing unit 13, which irradiates the magnetic material to be processed (the material to be processed; the same applies below) with a laser beam based on the processing instruction received from the processor 11. If the processor 11 estimates the magnetic domain width, the processing instruction may include an estimated magnetic domain width along with a processing area instruction, and the controller 12 controls the processing unit 13 based on the processing instruction including the estimated magnetic domain width. The controller 12 may control the processing unit 13 to irradiate a region of the magnetic material having a magnetic domain width equal to or greater than a predetermined value, such as a region of the magnetic material having a magnetic domain width equal to or greater than 500 μm, as included in the processing instruction. The controller 12 is connected to the processing unit 13 as shown in FIG. 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the controller 12 is connected to a light source device 132, a motor 135, and a sensor 136 provided in the processing unit 13.

[0033] The control unit 12 also receives the processing instruction and the rotation angle information S output from the sensor 136. θ Based on this, the control unit 12 controls the on / off of the power of the laser beam LB output by the light source device 132. The control unit 12 may also control the laser intensity and irradiation angle based on processing instructions including the estimated magnetic domain width or material properties. This makes it possible to more reliably reduce iron loss. The laser intensity and irradiation angle may be determined directly from the material properties, or may be determined from the magnetic domain width estimated from the material properties. When the laser intensity and irradiation angle are determined based on the magnetic domain width estimated from the material properties, the correspondence between the estimated magnetic domain width and the intensity or irradiation angle may be defined in advance in the form of a table or function, and the intensity may be determined with reference to this. The laser intensity may also be 0.

[0034] The control unit 12 is realized by at least a processor. The applicable processor is the same as the processor applicable to the calculation unit 11.

[0035] (Processing unit 13) The processing unit 13 performs processing, such as irradiating a laser, on the magnetic material to be processed in accordance with control by the control unit 12. In accordance with control by the control unit 12, the processing unit 13 actually irradiates (processes) the laser on an area of ​​the magnetic material to be processed that is specified by the processing instruction, thereby performing magnetic domain refinement processing on the magnetic material to be processed. Figure 2 shows a configuration that realizes the processing unit 13 that irradiates a laser. The processing unit 13 is realized by a polygon mirror 131, a light source device 132, a collimator 133, a condenser lens 134, a motor 135, and a sensor 136. In Figure 2, the processing unit 13 is arranged above the strip threading device 30 (ND; normal direction of the rolling surface).

[0036] The polygon mirror 131 has, for example, a regular polygonal prism shape, and a plurality of plane mirrors are provided on each of the side surfaces of the regular polygonal prism. A laser beam LB is emitted from a light source device 132 via a collimator 133 and is incident on the plane mirror of the polygon mirror 131 in one direction (horizontal direction) and is reflected by the plane mirror.

[0037] The polygon mirror 131 is rotatable around a rotation axis O1 by being driven by a motor 135. The incident angle of the laser beam LB with respect to the plane mirror changes sequentially depending on the rotation angle of the polygon mirror 131, thereby sequentially changing the reflection direction of the laser beam LB and enabling scanning along magnetic domain control processing lines 52 of the magnetic material (grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50 in FIG. 2 ). The magnetic domain control processing lines 52 are virtual lines set by calculation by the calculation unit 11. The processing area may be continuously formed along the magnetic domain control processing lines 52, or multiple processing areas may be formed along the magnetic domain control processing lines 52 at intervals from each other, with at least some of the processing areas being spaced apart from each other. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the magnetic domain control processing lines 52 are multiple straight lines on the surface of the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50, forming an angle of 0° to 45° with respect to the transverse direction (TD) of rolling and aligned in the rolling direction (RD). Preferably, the multiple magnetic domain control processing lines 52 extend parallel to each other. Preferably, the plurality of magnetic domain control processing lines 52 are arranged at equal intervals. The interval P between adjacent magnetic domain control processing lines 52 represents the irradiation pitch.

[0038] The light source device 132 outputs a laser beam LB in a predetermined irradiation method (for example, a continuous irradiation method or a pulse irradiation method) under the control of the control unit 12 .

[0039] The condenser lens 134 is provided in the optical path of the laser beam LB reflected from the polygon mirror 131, and constitutes a condensing optical system with a predetermined focal length. The laser beam LB reflected from the polygon mirror 131 is condensed on the surface of the magnetic material via the condenser lens 134, thereby forming grooves or introducing thermal distortion along the magnetic domain control processing lines 52 on the surface of the magnetic material.

[0040] The motor 135 is connected to the polygon mirror 131 and drives the polygon mirror 131 to rotate under the control of the control unit 12 .

[0041] The sensor 136 is connected to the drive shaft of the motor 135, detects the rotation angle of the polygon mirror 131 rotated by the motor 135, and outputs information indicating the detected rotation angle (hereinafter referred to as rotation angle information S θ ) is output to the control unit 12.

[0042] In Fig. 2, the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50 is threaded in the rolling direction (RD) by the sheet threading device 30, and the laser is irradiated from the processing unit 13 onto the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50 being threaded. ｖ and receives the rotation drive information S ｄ The rotation drive information S ｄ is the speed information S ｖ This information is based on the

[0043] [Physical Property Acquisition Device 20] The physical property acquisition device 20 measures the material properties of the magnetic material that is the material to be processed. The physical property acquisition device 20 includes a physical property acquisition unit 21 that acquires the material properties of the magnetic material.

[0044] (Physical property acquisition unit 21) The physical property acquisition unit 21 acquires material properties of the magnetic material. The physical property acquisition unit 21 acquires, for example, at least one of magnetic properties, information obtained by X-ray analysis, and information obtained by ultrasonic analysis. The physical property acquisition unit 21 includes at least one of a magnetic measurement unit 22, an X-ray analysis unit 23, and an ultrasonic analysis unit 24.

[0045] (Magnetic Measurement Unit 22) The magnetic measurement unit 22 measures the magnetic properties of the magnetic material. The magnetic measurement unit 22 is realized by a magnetic sensor. For example, the magnetic sensor 220 shown in FIG. 3 can be used as the magnetic sensor. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the main components of the magnetic sensor 220 in this embodiment. The magnetic sensor 220 includes a U-shaped yoke 221, an excitation coil 222 wound around the yoke 221, and a detection coil 223 wound around the yoke 221 at a location different from the excitation coil 222. The magnetic sensor 220 may include only the excitation coil 222 without the detection coil 223. There may also be multiple magnetic sensors 220. In the case of multiple magnetic sensors 220, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of magnetic domain refining treatment lines (e.g., grooves, thermal distortion, etc.) that are portions that have been subjected to magnetic domain refining treatment for each portion on the magnetic domain control treatment line 52.

[0046] FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the yoke 221 and the magnetic material when measuring the magnetic material using the magnetic sensor 220. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration when the magnetic sensor 220 of this embodiment is used. The excitation coil 222 and the detection coil 223 are omitted from FIG. 4 . Also, in FIG. 4 , a plate-shaped guide 224 made of a non-magnetic material and fixed to the yoke 221 is used to stabilize the magnetic sensor 220 on the directional electromagnetic steel sheet 50 with the two end faces 221A of the yoke 221 abutting against the magnetic material. The magnetic sensor 220 does not need to abut against the directional electromagnetic steel sheet 50 (non-contact measurement). An AC voltage (or an AC voltage with a superimposed DC component) is applied to the excitation coil 222, causing an AC current (or an AC current with a superimposed DC component) to flow, and the output voltage (induced voltage) of the detection coil 223 is measured. The current flowing through the excitation coil 222 forms a magnetic path R in FIG. 4 . The magnetic properties of the magnetic material are measured from the relationship between the output voltage (waveform) of the detection coil 223 and the input current of the excitation coil 222, or from the output voltage (waveform) of the detection coil 223 when the input current of the excitation coil 222 is fixed. When the magnetic sensor 220 is equipped with only the excitation coil 222, information obtained by magnetic measurement is obtained from the output voltage (waveform) of the excitation coil 222 when the input voltage of the excitation coil 222 is fixed.

[0047] (X-ray analysis unit 23) The X-ray analysis unit 23 acquires information obtained by X-ray analysis. The X-ray analysis unit 23 is realized, for example, by the following configuration as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the main configuration of the X-ray analysis unit 23 (X-ray analysis device) in this embodiment. That is, the X-ray analysis unit 23 includes, for example, an X-ray source 231, a diffraction X-ray detector 232, and a transmission X-ray detector 233.

[0048] Information obtained by X-ray analysis can be obtained in the following manner: The diffraction X-ray detector 232 detects X-rays generated from the X-ray source 231 and diffracted by the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50. The transmission X-ray detector 233 detects X-rays generated from the X-ray source and transmitted through the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50.

[0049] (Ultrasound analysis unit 24) The ultrasound analysis unit 24 acquires information obtained by ultrasound analysis. The ultrasound analysis unit 24 is realized, for example, by the following configuration as shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the main configuration of the ultrasound analysis unit 24 (ultrasound analysis device) in this embodiment. That is, the ultrasound analysis unit 24 includes, for example, an ultrasound oscillator 241 and an ultrasound receiver 242. Note that there may be multiple ultrasound oscillators 241 and multiple ultrasound receivers 242.

[0050] Information obtained by ultrasonic analysis can be obtained in the following manner: That is, the ultrasonic receiver 242 detects the ultrasonic waveform generated by the ultrasonic oscillator 241 and passed through the surface and inside of the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50. The ultrasonic receiver 242 acquires, for example, the detected ultrasonic waveform and the time when the ultrasonic oscillator 241 emitted the ultrasonic wave, and calculates the amplitude and phase of the ultrasonic waveform and the ultrasonic scanning time.

[0051] According to the above embodiment, it is possible to perform processing such as irradiating a laser only on regions where iron loss can be reduced by magnetic domain refining processing such as laser irradiation or electron beam irradiation. Since laser irradiation can worsen magnetostriction, irradiating a laser of appropriate intensity only on regions where iron loss can be reduced can suppress deterioration of the material quality of the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet. As a result, it is possible to manufacture grain-oriented electrical steel sheets with low iron loss and low noise, in which deterioration of magnetostriction due to laser irradiation is suppressed.

[0052] Furthermore, in the magnetic domain refining processing system 1, the processing device 10 and the property acquisition device 20 that acquires material properties are separate entities, so property measurement and laser irradiation can be carried out in different locations.

[0053] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the processing device 10 and the physical property acquisition device 20 in the magnetic domain refining processing system 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7 , the measurement of the material physical properties and the magnetic domain refining processing (laser irradiation, etc.) based on the measurement results are performed inline while the plate-shaped (strip-shaped) magnetic material is being transported by the sheet threading device 30, without temporarily stopping the magnetic material. Note that the magnetic material may be temporarily stopped during the above-mentioned transport. As shown in FIG. 7 , the physical property acquisition device 20 is preferably arranged upstream of the processing device 10 in the traveling direction (RD) of the magnetic material, such as the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50, in the production line. In this case, it is preferable that the processing device 10 irradiates the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50 with a laser based on the measurement results by the physical property acquisition device 20 and the threading speed of the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50. The control unit 12 in the processing device 10 receives the speed information S from the sheet threading device 30. ｖ Rotation drive information S according to ｄ Therefore, the material characteristics and the threading speed (speed information S ｖ ) is used to control whether or not to apply magnetic domain refining processing to the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 50 and the degree of processing, for example, whether or not to apply laser irradiation and the intensity of the laser to be irradiated. This makes it possible to process the areas that can reduce iron loss in a continuous process in the manufacture of the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet.

[0054] <Magnetic Domain Refinement Processing Method> Next, a processing method according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The processing method according to this embodiment includes a calculation step of determining a processing region in a magnetic material to be processed, where magnetic domain refinement processing is to be performed, based on the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed. A property acquisition step of acquiring the material properties of the magnetic material may be performed before the calculation step.

[0055] A program according to a third embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to function as a calculation unit that determines a processing region for magnetic domain refinement processing of a magnetic material to be processed based on the material properties of the magnetic material. This program may be recorded on a readable recording medium. Examples of readable recording media include portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), and non-transitory recording media such as hard disks and SSDs built into computer systems.

[0056] The present invention has been described above using the present embodiment. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0057] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the physical property acquisition device 20 includes the physical property acquisition unit 21, but the physical property acquisition unit 21 may be included in the processing device 10. That is, the processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a physical property acquisition unit that acquires the material properties of the magnetic material. Furthermore, when the processing device includes the physical property acquisition unit and the processing device is applied to a magnetic material such as a passing grain-oriented electrical steel sheet, it is preferable that the physical property acquisition unit be disposed upstream of the processing unit. In this case, the presence or absence of magnetic domain refining processing and the degree of processing, for example, the presence or absence of laser irradiation and the intensity of the irradiated laser, are controlled by control according to the control unit based on the material properties and the passing speed (speed information Sv).

[0058] Furthermore, for example, in the above-described embodiment, grain-oriented electrical steel sheets have been described as examples of magnetic materials, but the magnetic material is not limited to grain-oriented electrical steel sheets. Furthermore, the shape of the magnetic material is not particularly limited, and it may be in the form of a plate, a rod, a ring, or any of various processed shapes.

[0059] In the above, the threshold value of the magnetic domain width at the location where magnetic domain refining processing is applied is set to 500 μm, but this threshold value is merely an example and may be changed according to the properties required of the magnetic material.

[0060] Furthermore, the magnetic domain refining processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a magnetic measurement unit 22, an X-ray analysis unit 23, and an ultrasonic analysis unit 24 in the physical property acquisition unit 21, but it is sufficient if the physical property acquisition unit 21 is provided with at least any one of these.

[0061] Figure 8 shows a contour map of the magnetic domain width distribution calculated based on a magnetic domain image of a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet, and Figure 9 shows a contour map of the magnetic domain width distribution estimated by machine learning from the results of magnetic measurement. In Figures 8 and 9, the horizontal axis indicates an arbitrary direction of the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet, and the vertical axis indicates the direction perpendicular to the arbitrary direction. The scale on each axis is in mm. Figures 8 and 9 are normalized by the largest magnetic domain width among the estimated magnetic domain widths. Data correlating magnetic measurement results with magnetic domain widths was used as training data for machine learning, and learning was performed using support vector regression. The magnetic domain width distribution estimated by machine learning from the results of magnetic measurement correlated with the magnetic domain width distribution calculated based on the magnetic domain image, and it was found that the laser irradiation can be controlled based on the magnetic domain width distribution estimated from the results of magnetic measurement. Note that Figures 8 and 9 are normalized based on the maximum calculated magnetic domain width.

[0062] Furthermore, when the magnetic domain width distribution is estimated using machine learning from the results of X-ray analysis or ultrasonic analysis, there is a correlation with the magnetic domain width distribution calculated based on the magnetic domain image, and it was found that the irradiated laser can be controlled based on the magnetic domain width distribution estimated from the results of X-ray analysis or ultrasonic analysis.

[0063] The conditions in the examples are merely examples adopted to confirm the feasibility and effects of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the conditions used in the above examples. The present invention can adopt various conditions as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the present invention and the object of the present invention is achieved.

[0064] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 magnetic domain refinement processing system 10 processing device 11 calculation unit 12 control unit 13 processing unit 20 physical property acquisition device 21 physical property acquisition unit 22 magnetic measurement unit 23 X-ray analysis unit 24 ultrasonic analysis unit 30 sheet threading device 50 grain-oriented electrical steel sheet 52 magnetic domain control processing line 131 polygon mirror 132 light source device 133 collimator 134 condenser lens 135 motor 136 sensor 220 magnetic sensor 221 yoke 221A end face 222 excitation coil 223 detection coil 224 guide 231 X-ray source 232 diffraction X-ray detector 233 transmission X-ray detector 241 ultrasonic oscillator 242 ultrasonic receiver R magnetic path ND normal direction of rolled surface RD rolling direction TD Orthogonal to rolling direction

Claims

1. A processing apparatus comprising a calculation unit that determines a processing area for performing magnetic domain subdivision processing on a magnetic material to be processed, based on characteristic quantities obtained from measuring the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed.

2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit determines the processing area based on the relationship between the material properties of the magnetic material and whether or not the magnetic domain subdivision processing is necessary.

3. The processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the calculation unit estimates the magnetic domain width using a trained model that has learned the relationship.

4. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit estimates the magnetic domain width of the magnetic material to be processed based on the relationship between the material properties of the magnetic material and the magnetic domain width of the magnetic material, and determines the processing area based on the estimated magnetic domain width.

5. The processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the calculation unit estimates the magnetic domain width using a trained model that has learned the relationship.

6. The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the material properties are non-contact properties of the material measured by at least one of magnetic measurement, X-ray analysis, and ultrasonic analysis.

7. The system further comprises a physical property acquisition unit that acquires the aforementioned material properties, The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the calculation unit determines the processing area based on the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed obtained by the physical property acquisition unit.

8. The processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the physical property acquisition unit is installed upstream of the processing unit in a manufacturing line having a processing unit that performs magnetic domain subdivision processing on the processing area determined by the calculation unit.

9. The processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit performs the magnetic domain subdivision processing by irradiating the magnetic material to be processed with a laser or an electron beam.

10. The processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the calculation unit determines at least one of the intensity and irradiation angle of the laser or electron beam irradiated by the processing unit.

11. A processing apparatus comprising a calculation unit that determines a processing area for performing magnetic domain subdivision processing on the magnetic material to be processed, based on characteristic quantities obtained from measuring the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed, A magnetic domain subdivision processing system comprising: a physical property acquisition device equipped with a physical property acquisition unit for acquiring the material properties of the magnetic material; and a magnetic domain subdivision processing system.

12. The processing apparatus includes a processing unit that performs magnetic domain subdivision processing on the processing area determined by the calculation unit, The physical property acquisition device is installed upstream of the processing device in a manufacturing line having the processing device. The magnetic domain subdivision processing system according to claim 11, wherein the calculation unit determines a processing area in the magnetic material to be processed that is to be subdivided based on the material properties of the material to be processed obtained by the physical property acquisition unit.

13. A processing method comprising a calculation step of determining a processing area in the magnetic material to be processed that is to be subjected to magnetic domain subdivision processing, based on feature quantities obtained from measuring the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed.

14. Computers, A program for functioning as a calculation unit that determines a processing area for magnetic domain subdivision processing in a magnetic material to be processed, based on characteristic quantities obtained from measuring the material properties of the magnetic material to be processed.