JP7720274B2 - Lead button processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lead button processing device.

The dry assay method is known as a method for trace analysis of precious metals such as Au and Ag. In the dry assay method, the sample is mixed with lead(II) oxide and a flux to prepare a molten sample, which is then melted in a crucible to capture the precious metal in a lead block and separate it from other sample components. This lead block is then molded to create a lead button, which is then cupellated to soak the lead into an ashtray, and the precious metal is then extracted and quantified (Non-Patent Document 1).

Japanese Industrial Standard M8111 "Quantitative method for gold and silver in ores"

According to the Japanese Industrial Standard M8111 procedure, the cupellation process for lead buttons begins by preheating multiple cupells installed inside the cupellation furnace. Next, the lead button is held with metal tongs or similar and dropped onto the multiple cupells installed inside the cupellation furnace, causing the lead button to melt.

However, placing a lead button on a preheated cupell in a cupellation furnace poses the risk of burns to workers. Furthermore, placing a lead button on an inappropriate cupell can also lead to analytical errors.

Therefore, an object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a lead button processing device that can safely, reliably, and efficiently place lead buttons on a cupel.

The inventors conducted extensive research to solve the above problem and discovered that the problem could be solved by using a lead button processing device that is configured to remove multiple cupels preheated in a cupellation furnace from the furnace and then place the lead buttons to be processed on the multiple cupels all at once.

The present invention, which was completed based on the above findings, is defined by the following (1) to (7).
(1) a lead button placement section having a plurality of lead button placement holes, each of which is open at the top and bottom, for placing a plurality of lead buttons to be processed; and
a plate-like portion provided below the lead button arrangement portion so as to be freely inserted and removed and constituting the bottom surface of the lead button arrangement portion;
A lead button processing jig having
an arm portion configured to support the lead button processing jig and move the lead button processing jig in a horizontal direction, and a main body portion equipped with a handle for moving the arm portion in a vertical direction;
A lead button processing device comprising:
(2) A lead button processing device as described in (1), in which the lead button placement holes are aligned vertically and horizontally in the lead button placement section.
(3) A lead button processing device as described in (1) or (2), in which the plate-shaped portion has a plurality of elongated openings formed so as to extend in parallel with each other.
(4) A lead button processing device described in any one of (1) to (3), wherein the main body has a cart mechanism.
(5) A lead button processing device described in any of (1) to (4), wherein the main body further has a positioning guide portion into which a positioning jig fixedly provided on the outside of the lead button processing device is inserted.
(6) A lead button processing device described in any one of (1) to (5), further comprising a support base for supporting a cupel arrangement member on which a plurality of cupels are arranged.
(7) A lead button processing device as described in (6), in which the support base has a groove portion configured to accommodate the arm portion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a lead button processing device can be provided that allows lead buttons to be placed on a cupel safely, reliably, and with good work efficiency.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a lead button processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a lead button processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic view of the appearance of a plate-shaped portion 15 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an arm support part 21 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a lead button processing device 10 and a positioning jig 29 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a support base 35 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a lead button processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a lead button processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a photograph showing the appearance of a cubic lead button 42 placed in a cupel 43 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Configuration of lead button processing device]
1 and 2 are schematic external views of a lead button processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The lead button processing device 10 comprises a main body 13 equipped with a lead button processing tool 11 and an arm 12. Fig. 1 shows the lead button processing tool 11 not attached to the arm 12, while Fig. 2 shows the lead button processing tool 11 attached to the arm 12. The materials of each component constituting the lead button processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be selected appropriately from the viewpoints of heat resistance, corrosion resistance, strength, etc.

The lead button processing jig 11 comprises a lead button placement portion 14 and a plate-shaped portion 15. The lead button placement portion 14 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape with a predetermined thickness. The thickness of the lead button placement portion 14 is not particularly limited as long as it is thick enough to accommodate the lead buttons to be processed, but can be, for example, 5 to 20 mm. The length and width of the lead button processing jig 11 are not particularly limited and can be designed appropriately depending on the internal dimensions of the cupellation furnace being used, the number of cupellations to be processed at one time, the size of the cupells, etc. The outer shape of the lead button placement portion 14 is not limited to a rectangular flat plate, and can be designed appropriately as other polygonal, circular, or elliptical flat plates, etc.

The lead button placement section 14 has multiple lead button placement holes 16 for accommodating multiple lead buttons to be processed. The lead button placement holes 16 are open at the top and bottom, with lead buttons to be processed being inserted from the top and lead buttons being dropped from the bottom as described below. The lead button placement holes 16 are formed to be rectangular when viewed in a plan view. The outer shape of the lead button placement holes 16 is not limited to this rectangular shape, and can be appropriately designed to be any other polygonal, circular, elliptical, etc. when viewed in a plan view.

The length and width of the lead button placement holes 16 when viewed in plan are not particularly limited, as long as they are large enough to accommodate the lead buttons to be processed, and can be designed appropriately depending on the size and arrangement of the cupels. For example, if cupels with a diameter of 30 mm are arranged without any gaps, the length and width can be 20 to 30 mm each. The number of lead button placement holes 16 can be designed appropriately depending on the number of samples, the internal dimensions of the cupellation furnace to be used, the size of the cupels, etc.

It is preferable that multiple lead button placement holes 16 are aligned vertically and horizontally in the lead button placement section 14. This configuration allows more lead button placement holes 16 to be arranged in the lead button placement section 14. Furthermore, as described below, when dropping a lead button from above the cupel, it becomes easier to drop it accurately into the targeted cupel. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, a total of 49 lead button placement holes 16, each rectangular in plan view, are aligned vertically and horizontally in the lead button placement section 14, with seven holes 16 each.

The lead button placement section 14 is provided with a hook section 17 made of a plate-shaped member with a bent section at approximately 90 degrees. A total of four hook sections 17 are provided at the end of the lead button placement section 14, with each pair facing each other. The pair of hook sections 17 are provided with their bent tips facing each other, and can be attached to the arm section 12 by hooking the bent tips as described below.

The plate-shaped portion 15 is retractably mounted below the lead button placement portion 14 and forms the bottom surface of the lead button placement portion 14. In other words, when the plate-shaped portion 15 is mounted below the lead button placement portion 14, the plate-shaped portion 15 blocks the lower portion of the lead button placement hole 16 in the lead button placement portion 14, allowing lead buttons to be placed in this space. While the shape of the plate-shaped portion 15 is not particularly limited, it is preferable that its external shape in a plan view be the same as that of the lead button placement portion 14. With this configuration, when mounted below the lead button placement portion 14, the plate-shaped portion 15 and the lead button placement portion 14 form a compact, plate-like laminate, making handling easier. The lead button placement portion 14 and the plate-shaped portion 15 have holes that penetrate through them in the thickness direction when stacked together, and fixing pins 18 can be inserted into these holes to fix them to each other. The thickness of the plate-shaped portion 15 is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, 1 to 5 mm.

When stacked on the lead button placement section 14 and viewed in plan, the plate-shaped section 15 has an engagement section 19 that protrudes from the end of the lead button placement section 14. The engagement section 19 has a cylindrical protrusion, and by hooking the hook rod 20 (described below) onto this protrusion and sliding it, the plate-shaped section 15 can be easily shifted or pulled out below the lead button placement section 14.

As shown in FIG. 3, the plate-shaped portion 15 may have multiple elongated openings 44 formed so that they extend in parallel. With this configuration, when the plate-shaped portion 15 is positioned below the lead button placement portion 14, the lead buttons can be supported by portions of the plate-shaped portion 15 other than the openings 44. On the other hand, when pulling the plate-shaped portion 15 out from below the lead button placement portion 14, there is no need to pull out the entire plate-shaped portion 15. Simply sliding the multiple elongated openings 44 in parallel by one row and moving it below the lead button placement holes 16 causes the lead buttons placed in the lead button placement holes 16 to lose support from the bottom surface and fall. This allows multiple lead buttons to fall quickly and almost simultaneously, improving processing efficiency.

The arm unit 12 is attached to the main body 13 of the lead button processing device 10 so that it can move horizontally. A pair of arms 12 are provided, extending parallel to each other at a predetermined distance. The arm unit 12 is configured to support the lead button processing jig 11 while being able to move the lead button processing jig 11 horizontally. The mechanism for moving the arm unit 12 horizontally is provided in the main body 13 and will be described later.

The length and width of each arm portion 12 are not particularly limited as long as they are long enough and wide enough to support the lead button processing jig 11, but can be, for example, 10 to 100 cm long and 2 to 10 cm wide.

One end of the arm portion 12 is supported by the arm portion support portion 21. As shown in Figure 4, the arm portion support portion 21 has multiple fitting grooves 41 into which the arm portions 12 are fitted to support them. By fitting the arm portions 12 into an appropriate one of these fitting grooves 41, the distance between the two arm portions 12 can be adjusted.

The main body 13 includes an arm movement unit 22 to which the arm 12 is attached and slides, and a platform 23 on which the arm movement unit 22 is placed. The main body 13 includes a lifting mechanism that moves a lifting shaft 24 connected to the arm 12 up and down by turning a lifting handle 25. The lifting mechanism of the lifting handle 25 is not limited to this configuration, and any known lifting mechanism can be used. The arm movement unit 22 includes a slide mechanism that moves a slide shaft 26 connected to the arm 12 laterally (in the direction in which the arm 12 extends). The slide shaft 26 is configured to move laterally by moving a slide handle 27 horizontally. The slide mechanism of the arm movement unit 22 is not limited to this configuration, and any known slide mechanism can be used. When moving the lead button processing device 10 using casters 28, the arm 12 is secured by locking the slide handle 27, preventing the arm 12 from sliding sideways and enabling safe movement.

The mounting base 23, on which the arm moving unit 22 is placed, is configured to stably support the arm moving unit 22. In this embodiment of the present invention, it has a cart mechanism with casters 28. The mounting base 23 has a cart mechanism, which makes it easy to move the lead button processing device 10.

The lead button processing device 10 is preferably operated near the entrance of the cupellation furnace for efficient processing of lead buttons. In this case, if it is fixed in an appropriate position relative to the cupellation furnace, the trouble of searching for the appropriate position for the lead button processing device 10 each time processing is performed is eliminated. From this perspective, as shown in Figure 5, it is preferable to fix a positioning jig 29 to the outside of the lead button processing device 10. The positioning jig 29 may be installed, for example, at a predetermined position on a support or wall surface near the entrance of the cupellation furnace. The positioning jig 29 has a fixing part 30 for fixing the device to a predetermined external position, such as a support or wall surface of the cupellation furnace, and a guide rail 31 that protrudes horizontally from the fixing part 30 and guides the main body 13 of the lead button processing device 10.

The main body 13 of the lead button processing device 10 preferably includes a positioning guide 32 on the mounting base 23. The positioning guide 32 is configured with guide rollers so that it can be placed on the guide rail 31 of the positioning jig 29 and pressed in to secure it. Figure 1 shows the positioning guide 32 placed on the guide rail 31 of the positioning jig 29 and pressed in to secure it. The positioning guide 32 of the lead button processing device 10 is configured with guide rollers to match the structure of the guide rail 31 of the positioning jig 29, but the form is not limited to this and can be appropriately designed to match the structure of the positioning jig 29 so that it can be stably fixed to the positioning jig 29.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the external appearance of the lead button processing device 10 when a cupel placement member 34 containing multiple cupels is placed on a support base 35. The support base 35 supports the cupel placement member 34 within the cupellation furnace. The cupel placement member 34 constitutes a container with an open top and is large enough to accommodate the desired number of cupels. The multiple cupels placed on the cupel placement member 34 are aligned vertically and horizontally to correspond to the arrangement of the multiple lead buttons provided on the lead button processing jig 11 attached to the arm portion 12 of the main body 13, as described below. In the example shown in Figure 7, seven cupels are arranged in a row vertically and horizontally within the cupel placement member 34 to correspond to the lead button processing jig 11, which has seven lead buttons arranged in a row vertically and horizontally.

Figure 6 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the support base 35. The support base 35 has grooves 40. Two grooves 40 are formed to extend parallel to each other, and are configured so that two parallel-extending arm units 12 can be lowered into the grooves 40 from above to accommodate them, or the arm units 12 can be slid in and inserted from the side to accommodate them. The grooves 40 on the support base 35 allow the arm units 12 to place the cupel placement member 34 on the support base 35, and also allow the cupel placement member 34 on the support base 35 to be lifted and moved.

[Lead button]
9 is an external observation photograph showing an example of a cupel 43 containing a lead button 42. In this example, the lead button 42 is formed into a cube. The composition and shape of the lead button 42 to be processed by the lead button processing device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately prepared and designed using known methods. For example, a method for manufacturing the lead button 42 involves first placing a sample to be analyzed in a crucible, followed by adding lead (II) oxide and a flux. Next, the sample, lead (II) oxide, and flux in the crucible are stirred and mixed.

The sample to be analyzed is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, ore containing valuable metals, recycled raw materials, or samples containing valuable metals generated during the processing process from a flash furnace to an electrolytic cell in the smelting of non-ferrous metals such as copper. The sample may also contain precious metals such as Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, and Ir.

The flux is prepared by estimating the precious metal content from the rough sample composition, determining the reducing and oxidizing power of the weighed sample, and then mixing the appropriate amount to form a predetermined amount of lead button from the weighed sample. Examples of fluxes that can be used include borax, silica sand, sodium carbonate, oxide ores such as manganese oxide, sulfide ores, and potassium nitrate. Furthermore, flour, starch, iron materials, etc. can be used as reducing agents, if necessary.

After preparing a crucible containing a prepared sample containing lead(II) oxide and a flux in this way, the sample inside the crucible is coated with salt or the like. The crucible is then placed in a melting furnace and the sample is melted. Melting conditions can be set appropriately depending on the composition or amount of the sample inside the crucible, the number of crucibles, the desired processing efficiency, etc.; for example, melting can be performed at 880-1100°C for 100 minutes.

After melting, the crucible is removed from the melting furnace, and the sample in the crucible is poured into individual molds. The poured samples are then molded into the desired shape to produce lead buttons. The lead ingots produced by the pouring process are then removed from the molds and molded into the desired shape, such as a cube, rectangular parallelepiped, or cone, to produce lead buttons.

[Method for treating lead buttons using a lead button treatment device]
Next, a method for processing lead buttons using the lead button processing device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
<1. Carrying cupell placement components into the cupellation furnace>
First, a cupel placement member 34, which has a predetermined number of empty cupels arranged in parallel lengthwise and widthwise, is placed on the two arms 12 of the lead button processing device 10. At this time, if a positioning guide or the like is provided at a predetermined position on the lead button processing device 10, the cupel placement member 34 can be quickly placed in the correct position by abutting the positioning guide.
Next, the main body 13 is pushed and the positioning guide portion 32 of the main body 13 is placed on the guide rail 31 of the positioning jig 29 attached beside the cupellation furnace and pressed in to be fixed. At this time, the main body 13 is installed in a position adjacent to the support stand 35.
Next, the lifting handle 25 is turned to adjust the height of the arm unit 12 to match the height of the groove 40 of the support base 35. Next, the slide handle 27 is turned to slide the arm unit 12 toward the support base 35, and the arm unit 12 is inserted and accommodated in the groove 40. At this time, the lifting handle 25 may be turned to adjust the height of the arm unit 12 to a position higher than the support base 35, the slide handle 27 may be turned to slide the arm unit 12 above the support base 35, and then the lifting handle 25 may be turned to lower the arm unit 12 and accommodate the arm unit 12 in the groove 40. After accommodating the arm unit 12 in the groove 40, the lifting handle 25 is turned to lower the height of the arm unit 12 and move it away from the cupel placement member 34. As a result, the cupel placement member 34 is supported only by the support base 35 (the schematic diagram in FIG. 7 shows this state).
Next, the slide handle 27 is turned to pull the arm portion 12 out of the groove portion 40 .
Next, the support stand 35 on which the cupell placement member 34 is placed is carried into the cupellation furnace.

2. Preheating the cupell in the cupellation furnace
Next, the cupel in the cupel placement member 34 placed in the cupellation furnace is preheated as described above. The preheating temperature of the cupel in the cupellation furnace is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to preheat it to a temperature of 790°C to 950°C from the viewpoint of sufficiently removing impurities and moisture adhering to the surface of the cupel in advance.

<3. Removal of cupellated components from cupellation furnace>
After the cupellation preheating is completed, the support base 35 is removed from the cupellation furnace and returned to its original position (adjacent to the main body 13).

<4. Inserting the lead button into the cupel of the cupel placement component>
Next, the lead button processing jig 11 is attached to the arm portion 12. The attachment of the lead button processing jig 11 is preferably performed while the cupel is being preheated in the cupellation furnace. By performing the attachment at this time, the lead buttons can be quickly introduced into the preheated cupel. Lead buttons to be processed are pre-placed in each of the multiple lead button placement holes 16 of the lead button processing jig 11. The lead button processing jig 11 may be attached to the arm portion 12 with the lead button to be processed placed in the lead button placement holes 16 of the lead button processing jig 11, or the lead button to be processed may be placed in the lead button placement holes 16 of the lead button processing jig 11 after the lead button processing jig 11 is attached to the arm portion 12.
Next, the lifting handle 25 is turned to adjust the height of the arm 12 to a predetermined height above the cupel placement member 34 on the support base 35. Next, the slide handle 27 is turned to slide the arm 12 to a position above the cupel placement member 34 on the support base 35 (the schematic diagram in FIG. 8 shows this state).
Next, the hook rod 20 is hooked onto the engaging portion 19 of the plate-shaped portion 15, and the plate-shaped portion 15 is slid. At this time, the plurality of parallel, elongated openings 44 formed in the plate-shaped portion 15 are slid by one row, and the openings 44 are moved to below the lead button arrangement holes 16, and the lead buttons arranged in the lead button arrangement holes 16 lose support from the bottom surface and fall into the cupel all at once.
Next, the plate-like portion 15 is returned to its original position, and the slide handle 27 is turned to slide the arm portion 12 back toward the lifting shaft 24 .

<5. Carrying the cupellated parts containing lead buttons into the cupellation furnace>
Next, the support stand 35 on which the cupel placement member 34 into which the lead button has been inserted is placed is carried into the cupellation furnace.

＜6. Cupellation of lead buttons＞
Next, the lead buttons placed in the cupells in the cupell placement member 34 installed in the cupellation furnace as described above are melted. The melting conditions are not particularly limited and can be set appropriately depending on the constituent material of the lead buttons. For example, the melting can be carried out by heating at 790 to 950°C for 20 to 60 minutes.
Next, air is introduced into the cupellation furnace to cupellate the molten lead button in the cupell to create a bead.

<7. Removal of cupellated components from the cupellation furnace after cupellation>
After the cupellation process is completed, the support 35 is removed from the cupellation furnace and returned to its original position (adjacent to the main body 13). In this way, the molten lead button in the cupellation furnace can be cupelled to produce a bead.

[effect]
According to the lead button processing device of the present invention, it is possible to remove a plurality of cupels preheated in a cupellation furnace from the furnace and then insert the lead buttons to be processed into the cupellation furnace all at once. This eliminates the need to insert the lead buttons into the cupellation furnace one by one, improving the safety of work in front of the cupellation furnace. It also reduces the occurrence of analytical errors caused by placing lead buttons in the wrong cupell.

10 Lead button processing device 11 Lead button processing jig 12 Arm portion 13 Main body portion 14 Lead button placement portion 15 Plate-shaped portion 16 Lead button placement hole 17 Hook portion 18 Fixing pin 19 Engagement portion 20 Hook rod 21 Arm portion support portion 22 Arm portion moving portion 23 Placement base 24 Lifting shaft 25 Lifting handle 26 Slide shaft 27 Slide handle 28 Caster 29 Positioning jig 30 Fixing portion 31 Guide rail 32 Positioning guide portion 34 Cupel placement member 35 Support base 40 Groove portion 41 Fitting groove 42 Lead button 43 Cupel 44 Opening

Claims (6)

a lead button placement section having a plurality of lead button placement holes, each of which is open at the top and bottom, for placing a plurality of lead buttons to be processed;
a plate-like portion provided below the lead button arrangement portion so as to be freely inserted and removed , constituting a bottom surface of the lead button arrangement portion, the plate-like portion having a plurality of elongated openings formed so as to extend in parallel with each other;
a lead button processing jig having
an arm portion configured to support the lead button processing jig and move the lead button processing jig in a horizontal direction, and a main body portion equipped with a handle for moving the arm portion in a vertical direction;
A lead button processing device comprising: The lead button processing device described in claim 1, wherein the lead button placement holes are aligned vertically and horizontally in the lead button placement section. The lead button processing device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the main body has a carriage mechanism. 4. The lead button processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the main body further comprises a positioning guide portion into which a positioning jig fixedly provided on the outside of the lead button processing device is inserted. 5. The lead button processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising a support base for supporting a cupel arrangement member on which a plurality of cupels are arranged. The lead button processing device according to claim 5 , wherein the support base is provided with a groove configured to accommodate the arm portion.