JP7635576B2 - Method for detecting state of dust solidification device and dust solidification device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for detecting the state of a dust solidification device and a dust solidification device.

Dust containing fumes generated during laser processing, plasma processing, welding, etc. of metal materials can pose serious health risks if inhaled by workers.
Therefore, in order to keep the working environment clean, a dust collector is operated to remove dust from the working environment.
The dust collected in the dust collector has a low bulk density and is difficult to handle in this state. Therefore, the dust is compressed, solidified, and processed into an easier-to-handle state (e.g., pellets).
Once the dust has been processed into an easy-to-handle state, it can be reused by undergoing processes such as remelting.

Patent Document 1, an example of conventional technology, discloses a technology in which dust collected by a dust collector is compressed and solidified in a pre-dust box.

JP 2000-140799 A

There is room for improvement in both the introduction cost and the operating cost of the above-mentioned dust collector that compresses and solidifies dust.
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has an object to provide a technique that enables dust solidification at low cost.

One aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems and achieving the object is a method for detecting a state of a dust solidification device.
The dust solidification device includes a storage tank for storing dust, a forming member that is disposed at the bottom of the storage tank and has a forming hole through which the dust in the storage tank flows, and a rod that is driven to advance into and retreat from the forming hole.
The condition detection method includes the fact that when the rod retracts from the molding hole, the dust in the storage tank flows into the molding hole, and the fact that when the rod advances into the molding hole, the dust in the molding hole is compressed and solidified, and the condition in the storage tank is detected based on the number of times the rod advances.

The above-mentioned dust solidification device status detection method can detect the status inside the storage tank based on the number of times the rod advances, eliminating the need to provide a new mechanism for monitoring the status of the dust solidification device, and as a result, dust can be solidified at low cost.

One aspect of the present invention includes setting a threshold value for the number of times the rod advances, and determining that the amount of dust in the storage tank is low or that the tank is empty when the number of times the rod advances exceeds the threshold value.
By utilizing normal rod movement, the condition (amount of stored dust) within the storage tank can be determined.

In the method for detecting the state of a dust solidification device having the above-mentioned configuration, the threshold value includes being a value obtained by adding the difference between the maximum and minimum numbers of times the rod advances until the thickness of the molded solidified material reaches a specified range in an initial range for setting the threshold value excluding immediately after the start of molding to the average number.
The condition (amount of stored dust) inside the storage tank can be determined more precisely.

In the method for detecting the state of the dust solidification device having the above-mentioned configuration, the dust solidification device includes a first rod and a second rod, the molding hole of the molding member is a through hole through which a first opening and a second opening penetrate, and includes driving the first rod to advance and retreat from the first opening into the molding hole, while driving the second rod to advance and retreat from the second opening, and advancing the second rod a certain distance into the molding hole and stopping it, while advancing the first rod into the molding hole, and compressing and solidifying the dust in the molding hole between the first rod and the second rod.
A dust solidification device of the type that solidifies dust by the advancement of a rod can be realized at low cost.

Another aspect of the present invention is a dust solidification device that includes a storage tank for storing dust, a molding member that is disposed at the bottom of the storage tank and has a molding hole through which the dust in the storage tank flows, a rod that is driven to advance into and retreat from the molding hole and advances into the molding hole to compress the dust in the molding hole, and a control unit that controls the operation of the rod based on the number of times the rod advances.

In the above-mentioned dust solidification device, the condition inside the storage tank can be detected based on the number of times the rod advances, so there is no need to install a new mechanism for monitoring the condition of the dust solidification device, and as a result, dust can be solidified at low cost.

In one aspect of the present invention, the control unit includes a counting unit that counts the number of times the rod advances, a threshold memory unit that pre-stores a threshold value for the number of times the rod advances, and a storage tank condition determination unit that determines the condition within the storage tank based on the counting result of the counting unit and the threshold value.
By utilizing normal rod movement, the condition (amount of stored dust) within the storage tank can be determined.

The present invention has the effect of making it possible to solidify dust at low cost.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a dust solidification device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of solidified objects formed and the number of times the rod is pushed in until the thickness of each solidified object reaches a specified range when the amount of dust in the storage tank is large. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of solidified objects formed and the number of times the rod is pushed in until the thickness of each solidified object reaches a specified range when the amount of dust in the storage tank is small.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following embodiments.

<Dust solidification device>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a dust solidification device 1 according to this embodiment.
The dust solidification device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a storage tank 11 , a dust solidification unit 12 disposed below the storage tank 11 , and a control unit 13 .

The storage tank 11 has an inclined side wall 110 and stores dust that falls from above.

The dust solidification section 12 comprises a molding member 121 having a molding hole 122, a pressure rod 123 which is a first rod, a closing rod 124 which is a second rod, a discharge hole 125 through which the molded solidified material is discharged, a pressure cylinder 126 which operates the pressure rod 123, and a closing cylinder 127 which operates the closing rod 124.
The molding hole 122 is disposed between the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124, and is a through hole into which the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124 can be inserted.

The molding member 121 is a member having a molding hole 122 formed therein so that dust from the lower part of the storage tank 11 can flow therein.
The molding hole 122 is disposed between the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124, and is a through hole through which the first opening 1221 and the second opening 1222 can be inserted.
The pressure rod 123 is a first rod that can advance into and retreat from the first opening 1221 into the forming hole 122 .
The closing rod 124 is a second rod that can advance and retreat into the molding hole 122 through the second opening 1222, and is a rod that advances a certain distance into the molding hole 122 and then stops and remains stationary during molding of the solidified material.
The pressure rod 123 is driven to advance into and retreat from the molding hole 122 , and when it retreats from the molding hole 122 , dust in the lower part of the storage tank 11 flows into the molding hole 122 .
The pressure rod 123 advances into the forming hole 122 and pushes in the dust that has flowed into the forming hole 122 .
In the forming hole 122, the dust is pressed and compressed by the pressing surface of the pressing rod 123 and the pressing surface of the closing rod 124, thereby forming a pellet-shaped solidified material.
The discharge hole 125 is a hole for dropping and discharging the molded solidified material.
The molded solid is sandwiched between the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124, and is transported to the discharge hole 125 and discharged.
The pressure cylinder 126 is a drive source that reciprocates the pressure rod 123 .
The closing cylinder 127 is a drive source that reciprocates the closing rod 124 .

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the positions of the pressure rod 123 and the pressure cylinder 126 and the closing rod 124 and the closing cylinder 127 may be interchanged.
Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124 taken along the longitudinal direction may be circular or polygonal, such as a regular hexagon.

The operation of the dust solidification device 1 shown in FIG.
Specifically, the control unit 13 controls the operations of the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124 by outputting operation commands to the pressure cylinder 126 and the closing cylinder 127 .

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 13.
The control unit 13 shown in Figure 2 includes a counting unit 131, a threshold memory unit 132, a solidified material thickness detection and determination unit 133, a storage tank state determination unit 134, and a rod operation command generation unit 135, and controls the operation of the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124 based on the number of times the pressure rod 123 advances, i.e., the number of times the pressure rod 123 is pushed in.

The counter 131 counts the number of times the pressure rod 123 advances.
The threshold value storage unit 132 stores the threshold value used in the storage tank internal state determination unit 134 .
The solidified material thickness detection and determination unit 133 detects the thickness of the solidified material formed in the forming hole 122 based on the position of the pressure rod 123, and determines whether the detected thickness is within a specified range.
The storage tank internal condition determination unit 134 determines the condition inside the storage tank 11 using the number of times the pressure rod 123 has advanced, which is the count result in the counting unit 131 , and the threshold value stored in the threshold value memory unit 132 .
Here, the condition inside the storage tank 11 is the amount of dust inside the storage tank 11 .
The rod operation command generating unit 135 generates operation commands to the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124 .
Each component of the control unit 13 can be realized by a processor such as an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) and a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory and a magnetic disk.

<Operation of the dust solidification device>
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 13.
The process starts with the counting result cleared, and the counting unit 131 starts counting (S1).
The rod operation command generating unit 135 retracts the pressure rod 123 from the shaping hole 122 (S2), and as a result of this retraction, dust from the lower part of the storage tank 11 is introduced into the shaping hole 122 (S3).
The rod operation command generating unit 135 advances the pressure rod 123 into the shaping hole 122 in a state in which the dust has been introduced into the shaping hole 122 (S4).
As a result, the dust in the forming hole 122 is pressed and compressed by the pressure surfaces of the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124, thereby forming a pellet-shaped solidified material.
The solidified object thickness detection and determination unit 133 detects the thickness of the solidified object (S5), and determines whether or not the thickness of the solidified object is within a predetermined range (S6).
If the thickness is not within the specified range (S6: N), it is determined whether the number of pushes is equal to or exceeds the maximum number (S11).
If the number of pushing operations is not equal to or greater than the maximum number (S11: N), the process returns to S2, and the introduction of the dust into the forming hole 122 and compression are repeated.
If the thickness is within the specified range (S6: Y) or is greater than or equal to the maximum number of pushes (S11: Y), the solidified material held between the pressure rod 123 and the closing rod 124 is dropped into the discharge hole 125 and discharged (S7), and the counting unit 131 ends counting (S8).
The storage tank internal state determination unit 134 determines whether the counting result in the counting unit 131 exceeds a threshold value (S9).
If the counting result exceeds the threshold value (S9: Y), it is determined that the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small or that the storage tank 11 is empty, and the process ends.
If the counting result does not exceed the threshold value (S9: N), this means that a large amount of dust has been stored in the storage tank 11, so the counting result is cleared (S10), the process returns to S1, and the solidification process of the dust in the storage tank 11 continues.

Here, the predetermined range of thickness of the solidified material can be 7.5 mm to 8.5 mm, but the present invention is not limited to this range.

Next, the above-mentioned counting results will be explained.
In the dust solidification device 1 according to this embodiment, a rod repeatedly advances and retreats from the dust introduced into the forming hole 122, thereby forming a solidified material having a thickness within a specified range.
Here, when the amount of dust stored in the storage tank 11 is large and the dust introduced when the pressure rod 123 is retracted fills the forming hole 122, the thickness of the solidified material formed during compression is generally constant.
In other words, the thickness of the solidified material formed in one compression operation is generally constant.
Therefore, when the amount of dust stored in the storage tank 11 is large, the thickness of the solidified material formed by repeated compression is roughly proportional to the number of advances (compressions) made by the pressure rod 123 .
In other words, the number of compressions (pressing times) by the pressure rod 123 to make the solidified material have a thickness within the specified range is constant.
However, if the amount of dust stored in the storage tank 11 is small and the dust introduced when the pressure rod 123 is retracted does not fill the forming hole 122, the thickness of the solidified material formed during compression will be small.
Therefore, when the amount of dust is small, the number of advances (compressions) by the pressure rod 123 to make the solidified material have a thickness within the specified range is greater than when the amount of dust is large.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of solidified objects formed and the number of times the rod is pushed in until the thickness of each solidified object reaches a specified range when the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is large.
In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis indicates the cumulative number of solidified pieces formed, and the vertical axis indicates the number of times the rod was pushed.
As shown in FIG. 4, from the start of molding of the solidified material onwards, the number of times the rod is pushed in until the thickness reaches the specified range is constant at three times.
After that, although there is some variation, the number of times the rod is pressed in does not increase significantly until the thickness reaches the specified range up to about the 120th piece, and then it increases.
This means that the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is reduced at the time when approximately 120 pieces have been molded.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the maximum number of times the rod is pressed, the minimum number of times the rod is pressed, and the average number of times the rod is pressed until the thickness of the solidified material reaches a specified range from the third piece to the twelfth piece after the start of molding, which is the initial range for setting the threshold value excluding the period immediately after the start of molding, are stored.
If (maximum number of times)-(minimum number of times)<5, the threshold value is set as (threshold value)=(average number of times)+3.
When the number of pushing operations until the thickness of the solidified material reaches a specified range exceeds a threshold value, the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small, so the dust solidification device 1 is automatically stopped.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of solidified objects formed and the number of times the rod is pushed in until the thickness of each solidified object reaches a specified range when the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small.
When the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small from the beginning of the solidification process, there is variation in the number of times the rod is pushed in until the thickness of each solidified material reaches a thickness within the specified range, and due to this variation, from the third piece to the twelfth piece after the start of molding, (maximum number of times) - (minimum number of times) ≧ 5.
When (maximum number of times)-(minimum number of times)≧5, the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small, so the dust solidification device 1 is automatically stopped.

S11 in FIG. 3 shows the operation when the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small and the thickness of the solidified material does not reach the specified range even if the rod is repeatedly pushed in.
Even if the thickness of the solidified material does not reach the specified range even when the number of rod thrusts is 10 or more, the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small, so the dust solidification device 1 is automatically stopped.

Note that the values set here are merely examples, and if the earliest number of times after molding begins is rounded down, the maximum number of times the rod is pushed, the minimum number of times the rod is pushed, and the average number of times the rod is pushed from the fifth to the tenth pieces may be stored.
Also, the determination based on the difference between the maximum number of times and the minimum number of times may be set to 3.
The threshold value may also be set as (threshold value)=(average number)+4.

As described above, according to the dust solidification device 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to automatically stop the device when the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small, without having to provide a level meter, weight meter, etc. for measuring the amount of dust in the storage tank 11.
Therefore, the introduction cost of the dust solidification device 1 that can automatically stop when the amount of dust in the storage tank 11 is small can be reduced.
Furthermore, according to the dust solidification device 1 of this embodiment, since it is possible to automatically stop the operation when the amount of dust is small, the operating costs of the dust solidification device 1 can also be reduced.
Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to realize the solidification of dust while reducing both the introduction cost and the operation cost.

In this embodiment, the dust amount is determined based on the number of times the rod is advanced and retreated, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the compression rate of the solidified material can be determined based on the number of times the rod is advanced and retracted.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Dust solidification device 11 Storage tank 110 Inclined side wall 12 Dust solidification section 121 Forming member 122 Forming hole 1221 First opening 1222 Second opening 123 Pressurizing rod 124 Closing rod 125 Discharge hole 126 Pressurizing cylinder 127 Closing cylinder 13 Control section 131 Counting section 132 Threshold value storage section 133 Solidified material thickness detection and determination section 134 Storage tank internal state determination section 135 Rod operation command generation section

Claims (6)

A dust solidification device comprising: a storage tank for storing dust; a molding member disposed in a lower portion of the storage tank and having a molding hole through which the dust in the storage tank flows; and a rod that is driven to advance into and retreat from the molding hole,
When the rod is withdrawn from the molding hole, the dust in the storage tank flows into the molding hole, and when the rod advances into the molding hole, the dust in the molding hole is compressed and solidified. This is repeated until the thickness of the solidified dust falls within a predetermined range.
A state detection method for a dust solidification device, comprising the steps of: detecting a state inside the storage tank based on a thickness of the dust to be solidified and the number of times the rod advances. Setting a threshold value for the number of times the rod advances;
2. The method for detecting a state of a dust solidification device according to claim 1, further comprising: determining that the amount of dust in the storage tank is small or that the storage tank is empty when the number of times the rod advances exceeds the threshold value. 3. The method for detecting the state of a dust solidification device as described in claim 2, wherein the threshold value is a value based on the maximum, minimum and average number of times the rod advances until the thickness of the molded solidified material reaches a specified range in an initial range for setting the threshold value excluding immediately after the start of molding. The dust solidification device includes a first rod and a second rod,
the molding hole of the molding member is a through hole that penetrates a first opening and a second opening,
driving the first rod to advance and retreat through the first opening into the molding hole, while driving the second rod to advance and retreat through the second opening into the molding hole;
4. The state detection method for a dust solidification device according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: advancing the second rod a certain distance into the forming hole and stopping it; and advancing the first rod into the forming hole, thereby compressing and solidifying the dust in the forming hole between the first rod and the second rod. a storage tank for storing the dust;
a molding member disposed at a lower portion of the storage tank and having a molding hole through which dust in the storage tank can flow;
a rod that is driven to advance into and retreat from the molding hole, and that advances into the molding hole to compress and solidify the dust in the molding hole;
a control unit that controls the operation of the rod based on the thickness of the dust to be solidified and the number of times the rod advances. The control unit is
A counting unit that counts the number of times the rod advances;
a threshold value storage unit that stores in advance a threshold value for the number of times the rod advances;
6. The dust solidification device according to claim 5, further comprising: a storage tank internal state determination unit that determines a state inside the storage tank based on the counting result of the counter and the threshold value.

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