JPH0132147Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a container handling device that can be applied to a drum inspection line for radioactive waste generated at a nuclear power plant, an acceptance inspection line in a storage facility, and the like.

Conventionally, radioactive waste generated at nuclear power plants is placed in drums (hereinafter referred to as cans), solidified with cement, glass, etc., and then inspected, transported, and stored. The conventional procedure is as shown in FIG. 1 (~ is the processing order, and ~ corresponds to the numbers in FIG. 1).

Put the radioactive waste into a can and solidify it (details omitted as it is outside the scope of this invention).

Write the management number (hereinafter referred to as can number) on the can and attach it to the surface of the can, and write the can number and information (contents, radiation dose, weight, date, etc.) on the ledger.

On the can inspection line, the can number is read using an industrial television in a remote control room or by a person directly approaching the can and comparing it with the can number on the ledger.

Cans are inspected on the can inspection line (can dirt, external damage, solidification status, radiation leakage, can surface radiation level, etc.). If there are any abnormalities, they will be repaired and re-examined.

After the can inspection is completed, the cans are transported by truck to a storage facility. After that, the acceptance inspection is carried out again on the inspection line in the storage facility using the same procedure as above.
Stored in a storage facility. The stored cans are periodically removed for inspection or removal to another processing facility and are subjected to similar inspections as described above.

However, the conventional device has the following drawbacks.

○B If the paper with the can number affixed to it was damaged or soiled during the handling of the can, there was a possibility that it would become unreadable on industrial televisions as described above.

○B When the can number is read manually as described above, there is a drawback that reading errors are likely to occur due to psychological burden on the worker and monotonous labor.

○C As the amount of cans increased, the number of ledgers increased, and manpower and storage space were required to manage the ledgers.

○D Changes or additions to management items (information) regarding cans,
When a deletion occurs, there is a drawback that it requires a lot of effort to manually update the ledger.

This invention was proposed to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and reduces the chances of workers touching or getting close to the cans, thereby reducing the chances of exposure to radiation (exposure to radiation emitted from radioactive waste). At the same time, the can number can be automatically read by a machine, and the automatic can number reading device, processing device, storage device, and control device are combined to centrally manage can information and improve the accuracy of information management. , speeding up and saving labor. Another object of the present invention is to provide a container handling device that can accurately, quickly, and easily change, add, and delete management items related to cans.

As described above, in this invention, since the reading device rotates while following the circumference of the can, it is possible to read even if the can is deformed. By installing multiple reading devices, the frame can be rotated 180 degrees and all can be read. In addition, the reader is replaceable, and the can no.
By combining automatic reading, processing equipment, storage equipment, and control equipment, centralized information management is faster than the ledger entry method.
In addition to being able to accurately manage the can, the reading device reads the can without contacting the can, which has the advantage of improving the reliability of the reading device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 2 to 13 show embodiments of the present invention.
Now, Fig. 2 is an overall view of the device according to the present invention, where arrows B and C indicate the direction of travel of the can, A and B indicate the direction of rotation, C,
E, O, and F indicate the direction of expansion and contraction. Also, R is on the right side, L
indicates the left side. In the figure, elements with a dash are on the left side as viewed in the direction of travel of the can, and elements without a dash are on the right side.

The following describes the case of one pair (two) of reading heads based on the drawing. 1 is a rotation mechanism of the frame 3, and the arm rotation axis 2 is rotated in the direction A or A to the maximum.
It rotates up to 180 degrees by the angle specified by the rotation control device 43 (FIG. 12). Rotation is 5 degrees, 10
The degree is arbitrary (a structural example of 1 is shown in FIG. 4).
Further, the lower part of the rotation mechanism 1 is attached to gate-shaped fixed beams 19, 19' fixed to the floor (not shown).

The arm rotation shaft 2 is rotated up to 180 degrees in the direction A or B by the arm rotation mechanism 1. The frame 3 is integrated with the arm rotation shaft 2 by welding, etc.
It supports the reading head transport mechanism 5. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, the frame 3 includes an industrial television 2.
0 is attached with screws etc. 4 is a drum can (can), and the can number sticker 9 to be read is the 9th one.
It is pasted as shown.

5 is a reading head feeding mechanism;
There is a device for expanding and contracting the motor in directions U and E, such as a known electric cylinder, and FIG. 5 shows an example of a structure that utilizes forward and reverse rotation of the motor. 6
is a reading head support shaft that supports the reading head 7. These are screwed together as shown in FIG. 6 to facilitate replacement of the head 7. The reading head 7 is also equipped with a can surface detector 8 and a reading detector 8a. One detector 8 and five detectors 8a are attached to one reading head 7. Figure 6 shows an example of its installation.

The can surface detector 8 is, for example, a known limit switch or micro switch, and an example of its structure is shown in FIG. In this structural example shown in FIG. 8, when the detector 8 comes into contact with the can surface (that is, when it is pushed from the direction E), the spring 8g contracts.
Contacts 8j and 8i are in contact and an electrical signal is allowed to flow. If it further contracts in the E direction, the spring 8h contracts and absorbs the error.

The head 7 and the detector 8 are attached by a known method such as screwing, and the electrical contact signals from the contacts 8j and 8i are also taken out by a known method, not shown. Five reading detectors 8a are installed in one row in the head 7, as shown in FIG. 6B. Also the 12th
The processing device 40 shown in the figure samples the electric signal from the reading detector 8a at a fixed time while rotating the head 7 in the A or A (in this example, A) direction, and reads the can number.
Interpret it as.

In FIG. 10, the one-digit number 9a is given meanings 1, 2, 4, and 8 in order from the bottom, and the parity is also arranged. The reading detector 8a is made of glass 8
k, a light projecting tube 8b, a shielding plate 8c, and a light receiving section 8d, and only when light hits the black part 9a in Fig. 10 or vice versa, electricity is sent to the light receiving section 8d. The signal is now flowing. Further, the details of the reading detector 8a, its installation, and the extraction of electric signals are known methods and are not shown in the drawings.

9 is a can number sticker, and an example of its structure is shown in FIG. 10. The can number is displayed with multiple digits (5 digits in this example), and has a start symbol 9b at the beginning of the digits. Further, each digit 9a is represented by four marks, each of which is set as 1, 2, 4, and 8 to represent 0 to 9, and odd or even parity (odd number in this example) is added to each digit. The numerical value indicated by the mark is directly written below each digit so that it can be easily read by humans on an industrial television or the like.

The black part and the white frame part of this mark are distinguished by electrical signals by the detector 8a. Seal 9
The preparation method, filling method, display paint, etc. are known methods, and details are not shown. Further, the sticker 9 has adhesive on the back side and is attached to the can.

10 is a can positioning mechanism (for example, a known mechanism such as an electric cylinder, not shown). This device centers the cans 4 in the direction of the conveyor, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the traveling directions B and C of the cans, in order to align the cans with the rotation axis center P of the rotation mechanism 1. Further, the can positioning mechanism 10 is equipped in left and right pairs with respect to the conveyor direction B, and when the can has progressed to the can arrival detector 14,
The roller conveyor 17 is stopped, and then the can positioning arms 11, 11' are pushed in the O direction from the left and right to align the can center with P.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a can positioning arm, and a stop plate 12 having the same curvature as the outside diameter of the can is attached to the tip by welding or the like (its structure and shape are well known, and details are not shown). In addition, by matching the curvature of the backing plate 12 with the outer diameter of the can, the center of the can will be at P when pressed from the left and right.
It is adjusted to Reference numeral 13 denotes a stand, which fixes the can positioning mechanism 10 to the floor.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a can arrival detector, and its mechanism is a known one, such as a phototube, and its details are not shown. can 4
travels on the conveyor in the direction of arrow B and reaches detector 1.
When the light of 4 is turned off, the signal is detected and inputted to the conveyor control device 47, which stops the roller conveyor 17, and the can 4 is stopped on the conveyor.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a bracket for mounting the can arrival detector 14. 16 is the roller conveyor 1 of the conveyor
7, and has a known structure.
18 is a conveyor leg.

As shown in Fig. 11, the industrial television 20 is mounted on the frame 3 in left and right pairs, and is used to read the can number by remote manual operation when the reading head 7 etc. is broken and the can number cannot be read automatically. is attached by a known method such as screwing as shown in FIG. Further, in FIG. 4, 50 is a drive gear, 51 is a drive motor, 52 is a driven gear, and 53 is a bearing. In addition, 54 in FIG. 5 is a drive motor, 55 is a drive gear, 5
6 is a holding metal fitting, 57 is a mounting bolt, and 58 is a driven gear.

Next, these control system diagrams will be explained according to FIG. 12. 40 is a processing device that controls the entire device shown in FIG. This is a device that manages the date, can number, etc.). 41 is a storage device that stores information regarding cans.

Reference numeral 42 denotes an input/output device, which inputs the can number to the processing device 40 when the can number is read by remote control on the industrial television when the reading head 7 or the like is out of order. 4
Reference numeral 3 denotes a rotation control device for the arm rotation shaft 2, which outputs a rotation command instructed by the processing device 40 to the arm rotation mechanism 1 to control the rotation. 44
is a reading control device, which detects the reading detector 8 at regular intervals.
This is to collect the read information of a and input it to the processing device 40.

45 is a reading head control device, and the processing device 4
The operation in the C or E direction instructed by 0 is output to the reading head feeding mechanism 5 and controlled. Reference numeral 46 denotes a can positioning control device, which outputs and controls operations in the upward and downward directions instructed by the processing device 40 to the can positioning mechanism 10. 47 is a conveyor control device,
The roller conveyor 17 is controlled based on instructions from the processing device 40. A can arrival detector 14 inputs a signal to the processing device 40 when a can cuts off the phototube of the detector 14 . Further, the reading detector 8a inputs the reflection information of the can number to the reading control device 44 as reading data.

Next, to explain the operation, the processing device 40 of this device
performs the following operation control. That is, when the can 4 advances from the B direction, the reading head 7 and the backing plate 12 are retracted to the maximum extent in the E and F directions. Reading head 7
is rotated perpendicular to the direction of conveyor movement,
The can 4 is prevented from coming into contact with the reading head 7 and the backing plate 12 when moving forward. When the can 4 cuts off the light from the phototube of the detector 14, the roller conveyor 17 is stopped by a conveyor control device 47.

Next, the can positioning arms 11, 11' are extended from the left and right in the O direction, and the stopping position of the can is aligned with the center P of the arm rotation shaft 2 for centering. Subsequently, the reading head 7 moves toward the can surface detector 8 in FIG.
The head support shaft 6 is extended until it comes into contact with the surface of the can 4 and a signal is detected. When the signal is detected, the head 7 is retracted in the E direction by a certain distance _l5 in Fig. 3 (the detector 8 is If the arm rotation shaft 2 is rotated while it is in contact with the can surface, it will be damaged). l ₅ is determined together with l ₃ and l ₄ by the sensitivity and degree of mutual interference of the reading detector 8a shown in FIG.

Continuing, the arm rotation axis 2 is rotated θ in the A direction in this example.
Rotate degrees. During the rotation operation, the processing device 40 samples the read data of the detector 8a at regular intervals of t seconds and stores it as shown in FIG. When the rotation of θ degrees is completed, the reading head 7 is extended again until the can surface detector 8 comes into contact with the surface of the can 4, and the same operation is repeated to carry out the next rotation of θ degrees and continue the reading operation.

The read data is parity checked, start symbol detected, and combined with data from multiple (left and right pairs in this example) reading heads to be aligned, and the required number of digits (in this example, 5 digits) is processed. ) until reading
Repeat reading operation. The data shown in FIG. 13 shows the contents read by the left-hand reading head and the right-hand reading head.

Case 1 shows the read data on the right side and the left side after reading the entire 180° by reading θ° four times. Since the S (start mark) was read at the 4th θ° reading on the left side data, the subsequent 5-digit value should be connected to the 1st θ° reading on the right side (θ° 1), and should be processed. They are synthesized by the device 40 and can be recognized as S1, 2, 7, 8, and 9.

Case 2 is S at θ゜1 (first time) of the left data.
(start mark) was found and all subsequent 5-digit values were read at θ°2 and θ°3, so the rotation for reading could be completed at that point. S1 in the processing device 40,
It can be recognized as 2, 7, 8, 9.

In this way, if the processing device 40 checks whether the required number of digits are aligned each time it rotates by θ degrees, it will determine the can number if it rotates up to 360 degrees when there is one reading head and up to 180 degrees when there are two reading heads. is completely readable.

The rotation angle θ degrees can be determined in advance within the allowable range for can dents, distortions, etc. The interval t seconds at which the processing device 40 samples the read data is also determined by the radius of the can, the distance _l3 between each digit of the can number, and the rotation speed of the arm rotation shaft 2.

When the reading of the can number is completed, the reading head 7,
7' is pulled in the E direction on both the left and right sides, and then rotated back to a state perpendicular to the traveling direction of the conveyor, and further the backing plates 12 and 12' are pulled in the left and right directions to drive the roller conveyor 17. Let me, can 4
Proceed in the direction of arrow C.

If there is a reading error in the can number (that is, the read data has a parity error or does not match the predetermined number of digits, etc.), the processing device 40 displays it on the input/output device 42,
The operator instructs the processing device 40 to rotate the arm rotating shaft 2 through the input/output device 42, reads the can number using the industrial television 20, and inputs the result to the processing device 40 through the input/output device 42.

Since the present invention is constructed as explained in detail above, by installing this device on the can inspection and transportation line, it is possible to reduce the chances of workers being exposed to radiation, and by automatically reading can numbers. Reading errors are reduced. Furthermore, by connecting to a processing device and a storage device, it is possible to centrally manage information regarding cans. On the other hand, it is easy to install, replace, and expand the reading device, and the distortion of the can can be avoided.
Even if the precision with which cans are stopped on the conveyor is not accurate,
Since the reading head follows the can, the reading accuracy is improved. In addition, since the can number is read without contact, it has many excellent effects such as improving the reliability of the reading head.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the conventional can inspection work procedure, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container handling device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main part of FIG. 2, and FIG.
5 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the reading head feeding mechanism in FIG. 2, FIG. 6A is a plan view showing the reading head in FIG. 2, and FIG. B is a front view of the same, C is a side view of the same, FIG. 7 A is a side view showing an example of the arrangement of the reading detector, B is a front view of the same, and FIG.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the drum can, Fig. 10 is a front view of the can No. in Fig. 9, Fig. 11 A is an enlarged side view of the main part of Fig. 2, and Fig. 11 B is the x section of the same A. Detailed view, 12th
This figure is a control system diagram of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing read data. Explanation of the main parts of the diagram, 1...Rotation mechanism, 2...
Arm rotation axis, 3... frame, 4... can, 5...
...reading head feeding mechanism, 6...reading head support shaft, 7...reading head, 8...can surface detector, 8
a...reading detector, 8b...emitter, 8d...light receiving section, 9...can number sticker, 9a...each digit, 9b
... Signal, 10 ... Can positioning mechanism, 11 ... Can positioning arm, 16 ... Frame, 17 ... Roller conveyor, 40 ... Processing device, 43 ... Rotation control device, 44 ... Reading control device, 47 ... Conveyor control device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A conveyor for conveying containers, a positioning and fixing device installed on both sides of the conveyor with extendable arms, a rotatable support frame, and a support frame slidably installed on the support frame to move toward and away from the containers. , a reading device that moves around the container together with a support frame, and a control device that processes the output signal of the reading device and controls the operation of the conveyor, etc., and the head of the reading device has a light emitting part and a light receiving part. What is claimed is: 1. A container handling device comprising: a detection element having a sensor for reading encoded numbers on the outer surface of the container.