JPH0785111B2 - Entrained air detection device in a sealed container - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a cylindrical main body of a certain length having an opening on one side and the inner peripheral surface of the main body to slide the opening. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mixed air detection device in a hermetically sealed container including a hermetically sealed plunger.

(Prior art and its problems) In order to apply a fluid such as an adhesive or a sealant, these fluids are filled in a cartridge of a certain shape and the cartridge is mounted on a gun so that human power or motor or air It is designed to be pushed out by the power of such as to discharge. The cartridge used for this is, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a main body 2 formed in a cylindrical shape with a small-diameter cylindrical discharge port 2a provided at the tip and an inner peripheral surface of the main body 2. And a slidable plunger portion 3. The cartridge 1 is filled with a constant volume of the fluid H using a constant volume pump, a weight measuring device or the like. In the filling step, air is mixed or air is mixed in the fluid itself. I have been doing. When air is mixed in the cartridge 1, there is a problem that when the fluid H is, for example, a one-liquid moisture-curing sealant, it is cured in the container due to a reaction with moisture in the air. Further, when the plunger 3 is pushed out to push out the fluid at the time of use, due to the residual pressure of the mixed air, the discharge does not stop immediately even if the pushing operation is stopped, so that the liquid drainability is poor and the workability is poor. There is a problem.

Therefore, it is necessary to detect whether or not the mixed air exists in the cartridge 1. As a detection method therefor, there is a fluoroscopic method using soft X-rays, but this method requires high equipment cost and Detection may be difficult depending on the shape and the amount of mixed air. In addition, there is a method of measuring the weight to check whether a prescribed amount of fluid is filled and detecting the presence of mixed air, but this requires a precise weight measuring device and Since it is light, it is difficult to directly detect it in the weight measurement, and there is a problem that it cannot be detected unless there is an entrained air that changes the filling amount of the fluid.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides a detection device that can easily and relatively accurately detect the presence or absence of mixed air and that requires a low equipment cost. The technical means therefor is that a sealed container is filled with a metered amount of fluid, and is positioned relative to the body of the sealed container to face the plunger portion. Type photoelectric sensor is provided, the photoelectric sensor outputs a measurement signal according to the distance between the plunger portion,
A detection signal is output when the measurement signal exceeds a set value of a constant width corresponding to the filling amount.

(Function) The photoelectric sensor measures the distance between the photoelectric sensor and the plunger portion of the sealed container, and thereby the position of the plunger portion with respect to the main body is measured. If the position of the plunger portion is not at the position corresponding to the filling amount of the fluid, the measurement signal exceeds the set value of the constant width, and the detection signal is output.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the cartridge 1 is made of a material such as paper, resin or aluminum, or a material obtained by laminating or coating paper with aluminum, and is provided with a small-diameter cylindrical discharge port 2a at its tip. It is composed of a main body 2 formed in a cylindrical shape and a bottomed cylindrical plunger portion 3 that can slide in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the main body 2, and the inside is filled with a fluid H such as an adhesive or a sealant. Has been done.

A stopper portion 5 for positioning is provided on the support base 4, a pusher 6 formed of a solenoid for pressing the cartridge 1 against the stopper portion 5, a reflective photoelectric sensor 7 for measuring the position of the plunger portion 3, and A reflective photoelectric sensor 8 for detecting that the cartridge 1 is positioned at the proper position is attached.

The photoelectric sensor 7 is provided with a long hole in the bracket 7a and is attached so that its axial position can be adjusted. The photoelectric sensor 7 is a known one that outputs an analog voltage according to a distance (displacement) from an object by using laser light or visible light. For example, the light from a light emitting diode is squeezed by a lens. The diffused reflected light is imaged as a spot on the optical position detecting element by the light receiving lens, and a measurement signal of a voltage corresponding to the position of the spot is output.

The control unit 9 is for controlling the whole of the detection device, and in addition to the pusher 6 and the photoelectric sensors 7 and 8, a depth meter 10 including a meter relay, and an operation switch 11 for starting and stopping the operation. An output line 12 for outputting a detection signal is connected. The depth meter 10 has a measurement pointer 13 that swings according to the input measurement signal, two setting pointers 14 and 15 for upper and lower limits, knobs 14a and 15a for setting, and the like. When the range of the pointers 14 and 15 is exceeded, an alarm signal is output to the control unit 9 and the pilot lamps 14b and 15b are turned on.

The operation and usage of the above-mentioned detection device will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, a regular cartridge 1 filled with a prescribed amount of the fluid H and containing no mixed air is set, and the measurement pointer 13 of the depth gauge 10 is adjusted to the center position of the scale. This adjustment is performed using the zero-point adjuster of the depth gauge 10 or the long hole of the bracket 7a of the photoelectric sensor 7. Setting guide 14,
Set the upper and lower limits that can be tolerated by 15. This range is usually set slightly wider than the allowable value of the filling amount.
The operation switch 11 is operated to start the operation of the detection device.

In step S1, the cartridge 1 is mounted on the support base 4 by manual work of an operator or automatic conveyance by a manipulator.
Carry it into the specified position above. In step S2, it is determined whether or not the cartridge 1 is loaded by turning on / off the photoelectric sensor 8. If the result is yes, after waiting for a certain time in step S3 to set timing, the pusher 6 is activated in step S4. Push the cartridge 1 to the left in FIG.
As a result, the cartridge 1 is positioned by pressing the end surface of the main body 2 on the plunger 3 side against the stopper portion 5.

After the cartridge 1 is positioned, it is determined in step S5 whether or not the measurement pointer 13 of the depth gauge 10 is within the range set by the setting pointers 14 and 15. This is a depth meter
Judgment is based on the presence or absence of an alarm signal from 10. Step S5
If yes, end detection and return to step S1,
Detect the next cartridge. If no in step S5, pilot lamp 14b or 1 in step 6
5b is turned on and a detection signal is output from the output line 12 in step S7. By this detection signal, for example, an alarm lamp is turned on, an alarm buzzer is sounded, or the filling line of the fluid H to the cartridge 1 is stopped. At this time, the operator removes the defective cartridge 1 and performs other necessary processing, and then pushes the reset switch to reset. This reset signal is input in step S8, and the process returns to step S1.

It should be noted that a certain time may be waited after the operation of the pusher 6 in order to set the timing of performing the determination in step S5. Further, in the case of YES in step S5, the indicator light meaning normal may be turned on or a signal may be output.

According to the above-described embodiment, when the mixed air exists in the cartridge 1, the position of the plunger portion 3 is not the proper position, so that this is measured by the photoelectric sensor 7 and the detection signal is output. The mixed air can hardly be detected as a change in weight, but can easily be detected as a change in the position of the plunger portion 3 due to its volume. Therefore, it can be detected with high accuracy and speed, despite the simple configuration. Moreover, the equipment cost is low, the method of use is easy, and the detection can be fully automated.

In the above-described embodiment, the end surface of the main body 2 is provided with the stopper portion 5
Although the cartridge 1 is positioned by pressing it against, the main body 2 may be pushed out to a certain position by the pusher 6 to perform the positioning. Further, a step for inspecting the weight of the fluid H filled in the cartridge 1 may be provided in the preceding step of the present detection device. The depth meter 10 is used to obtain a detection signal from the output of the photoelectric sensor 7, but instead of this, a comparator using an operational amplifier or the like, or a digital value after conversion is used for comparison or calculation. It may be done.

(Effect of the Invention) According to the present invention, the presence or absence of mixed air is detected by the photoelectric sensor as displacement of the position of the plunger portion, so that the presence or absence of mixed air can be detected with high accuracy. Moreover, the equipment cost can be reduced and the use thereof can be facilitated, and the presence or absence of mixed air can be easily detected.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a front view including an electric circuit diagram showing a detection device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining the operation and usage of the detection device. . 1 ... Cartridge (sealed container), 2 ... Main body, 3 ...
Plunger part, 4 ... Support base, 5 ... Stopper part, 7
...... Photoelectric sensor, 9 ...... Control unit, 10 ...... Depth gauge, H ...
… Fluid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mixed air in a hermetically sealed container comprising a cylindrical main body having an opening on one side and having a constant length, and a plunger portion sliding on an inner peripheral surface of the main body to seal the opening. A detection device, wherein the sealed container is filled with a measured and fixed amount of fluid, and is positioned relative to the body of the sealed container, and is a reflective photoelectric sensor facing the plunger portion. Is provided, the photoelectric sensor outputs a measurement signal corresponding to the distance from the plunger portion, and outputs a detection signal when the measurement signal exceeds a set value of a constant width corresponding to the filling amount. A device for detecting mixed air in a sealed container, which is configured to output.