JPS636675Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Even in these days of remarkable accumulation of technology, the field of moisture control in product manufacturing processes is one of the fields that still has many unresolved problems. The present invention relates to a device for measuring the moisture content of materials flowing through a conveyor belt, especially during a manufacturing process.

Conventionally, the moisture content of materials on a belt conveyor has been measured either visually or by touch by an experienced worker, by sampling flowing material and measuring it using a drying method, or by using a high-frequency moisture content measurement method. This information was then sent to the upstream side of the process to control the moisture content of the material. However, measurements based on visual inspection or touch by the worker are subject to many errors, methods based on drying are time consuming, and even if there is a measurement method using high frequency, it is difficult to sample and measure each material by hand. This is extremely inconvenient, and in the case of materials flowing in large quantities at high speeds, it is necessary to take immediate action to deal with this situation. From this point of view, in the present invention, a container can be placed at the boundary between the end of the upper belt conveyor and the next belt conveyor, which serves as a container for collecting and measuring the flowing material, and this container is used to collect and transfer the material. measurement of the material,
The purpose of this system is to speed up and make measurements more accurate by configuring the system to return materials, and to continuously send prompt and accurate information upstream in the process.

The present invention will be described below based on embodiments.

In FIG. 1, a fixed frame 2 is mounted on a pedestal 1. A sliding frame 3 that can move left and right is inserted through and supported by the fixed frame 2. An air cylinder mounting portion 6 is provided at one end of the sliding frame 3, and an air cylinder having a stroke 18 is provided between this mounting portion 6 and a reinforcing plate 7 provided on a vertical portion of the support frame 4 fixed to the fixed frame 2. Cylinder 5 is attached. Although not shown, when the air cylinder 5 is moved to the position shown in the figure,
The sliding frame 3 moves in the direction of arrow a, and the container 1
2 moves to the position indicated by the dotted line. Conversely, when the container is at the position indicated by the dotted line, if the container is driven by air from the other injection port of the air cylinder 5, the stroke 18 will be shortened in the direction of the arrow b, resulting in the position shown. Further, a container 12 whose bottom plate 13 can be freely opened is attached to the other end of the sliding frame 3. The rod 14 is formed integrally with the bottom plate 13 and rotates around the shaft 21 as the bottom plate 13 is opened and closed. An air cylinder 16 is attached between the end of the rod 14 and a mounting portion 15 fixed to one end of the upper part of the container 12. The bottom plate 14 opens and closes as the stroke of the air cylinder 16 expands and contracts. Note that the shielding plate D on the upper part of the container 12 is for protecting the air cylinder 16. The material M from the upper belt conveyor 19 falls onto the lower belt conveyor 20 and is transferred, but if the bottom plate 13 of the container 12 is closed while the material M is falling, the material M will accumulate in the container 12. . The pedestal 1 is arranged astride a belt conveyor 20. An air cylinder 10 is attached to the crosspiece of the fixed support frame 4, and an electrode 8 for measuring moisture content is attached to the tip of its stroke 11. Although it has already been proposed, there are four electrodes in the embodiment, and the center electrode and surrounding electrodes have different polarities, and the center electrode 9 is slightly shorter in length than the surrounding electrodes. When the container 12 containing the material M comes to the dotted line position, the air cylinder is driven, the electrode 9 descends and enters the container, and the material M is measured in the manner described later. When the measurement is completed, The electrode 9 rises to its original high position, the container 12 also returns to its original position, the bottom plate 13 is opened, the material M is returned onto the belt conveyor 20, the bottom plate 13 is closed again, and the material M is placed under the belt conveyor 19. Start collecting material M.

Here, we will explain moisture measurement.
In the moisture measurement method using high frequency, the basic conditions are that the moisture measurement electrode creates a stable electric field in the material to be measured and that the measurement is performed under a constant pressure state. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, electrodes as shown in FIG. 2 are used. As is clear from the figure, only the needle-shaped electrode at the center embedded in the plate P is slightly shorter than the needle-shaped electrodes located at the same positions on the periphery. The electric field is formed without disturbance by the electrodes of the same polarity placed on the periphery and one electrode of the opposite polarity placed in the center, and in addition to the fact that the central electrode is shorter than the peripheral electrode. By pressing the material to be measured with a force above a certain level due to the shape of these electrodes, it is easy to maintain a constant pressure on the material to be measured, and the air cylinder 10
As will be described later, by being pressed with an appropriate pressure, the material to be measured interposed between the peripheral electrodes and the center electrode is placed in a nearly constant pressure state, and the basic measurement conditions described above are met. You will be satisfied.

The apparatus of the present invention can be understood from the above explanation, but if we go into more detail, the material to be measured transferred to the end of the belt conveyor 19 falls one after another onto the next belt conveyor 20 and is transferred. Ru.
During this falling path, the container 12 is maintained in a predetermined position with the bottom plate 13 closed by actuation of the air cylinder 5. In Fig. 1, the fixed frame is shown straddling the belt conveyor 20, but this is due to the impact of unwanted falling objects on the sliding frame 3 etc. when the container reaches the position where the material to be measured falls. If the container 12 is to be maintained in a position where the material to be measured falls from the side in the direction of movement of the belt conveyor, it is conceivable to place the falling material to be measured at the end of the flow. However, if the material to be measured is placed at the edge, even if the sampling time of the material to be measured using the container 12 is determined, if the sampling time is shortened, the falling of the material to be measured at the edge will be uneven, so it is not appropriate.
After all, it is preferable to allow only the container 12 to intervene from the front of the falling object mid-fall to the center where the material to be measured does not fall evenly. After a certain period of time, the container 12 is slid and moved to the dotted line position by the operation of the air cylinder 5, and when the movement is completed, the air cylinder 10 is operated and the electrode 8 is moved.
descends and presses the object in the container 12 to measure the moisture content. One issue is how much of the object to be measured should be collected in the container 12, but when the container is full, the falling material to be measured is removed from the portion of the material to be measured that has piled up on the container 12 and is removed from the belt conveyor 20. One condition for measurement is to create a condition in which the object falls on top of the object. When pressed by the electrode 8, since the measuring electrode 8 and the container 12 are on the belt conveyor 20, the material to be measured that spills from the upper part of the container 12 falls directly onto the belt conveyor 20. When the electrode 8 is pressed against the material to be measured using the air cylinder 20, it is necessary to always press the electrode 8 with a substantially constant pressure as described above. Therefore, an air cylinder equipped with a precise pressure reducing valve is used, a predetermined pressure is set, and the measurement is performed while pressing under that pressure. Moisture is measured by a measuring method that detects in combination the capacitance change and the resistance value change of the material to be measured interposed between the measurement electrodes. When the measurement is completed, the electrode 8 returns to the illustrated position and the sliding frame returns to the position for collecting the material to be measured, but in the middle of this, the bottom 13 of the container 12 is opened and the material to be measured is released. , close the bottom plate at the position where the object to be measured falls and start sampling. Such a series of operations over time can be easily performed by setting a program.

As described above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, the moisture content of the material being transported by the belt conveyor can be repeatedly and accurately measured, and its practical effects are extremely large.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows a measurement electrode used in the present invention. 1 is a stand, 2 is a fixed frame, 3 is a sliding frame, 4 is a support frame, 5 is an air cylinder, 6 is an air cylinder mounting part, 7 is a reinforcing plate, 8 is an electrode, 9 is a short electrode in the center, 10 is an air cylinder, 11 is an air cylinder stroke, 12 is a sampling and measurement container, 13 is a bottom plate, 14 is a rod, 15 is a mounting part, 16 is a
indicates an air cylinder, 17 indicates a rod of the air cylinder 16,
18 is a rod of the air cylinder 5, 19 is an upper conveyor belt, 20 is a lower conveyor belt,
Reference numeral 21 denotes the rotation axis of the bottom plate 14, M denotes the material to be measured, D denotes a shielding plate, and P denotes a plate in which a needle electrode is embedded.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A container whose bottom plate opens and closes is attached to one end of a sliding frame supported by a fixed frame, and a measurement electrode is attached to the stroke end of an air cylinder fixed to the support frame, A moisture measuring device in which the container is moved to a boundary between an upper belt conveyor and a lower belt conveyor and directly below the measurement electrode. (2) Utility Model Registration The moisture measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the measuring electrode is located on the lower belt conveyor.