JP7805383B2 - Material feeding device, material feeding system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a material feeding device and a material feeding system.

The die casting method is well known, in which molten metal is injected into a cavity formed in a pair of openable and closable molds, and then cooled and hardened to form a die-cast product. In this type of die casting method, the solid die-cast metal is placed in a holding furnace, where it is melted into molten metal and held. The molten metal is then supplied from the holding furnace to the cavity; however, various materials are added to the molten metal in the holding furnace to improve the quality of the molten metal.

For example, when the molten metal is an aluminum alloy, strontium is added. By adding strontium to the molten aluminum alloy, the aluminum structure becomes finer when the molten metal cools and hardens, resulting in a hard, ductile aluminum alloy. However, strontium oxidizes and is depleted in the aluminum while it is held in a holding furnace, so it must be added continuously to the molten aluminum alloy.

Therefore, in the field of die casting, there is a need for a device that can continuously and sequentially add various materials to the molten metal in a holding furnace. A conventionally known material addition device is described, for example, in Patent Document 1 below. The material addition device disclosed in Patent Document 1 below discloses a mechanism for adding material to a holding furnace by horizontally extruding a block of material using an extrusion cylinder.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-224812

Strontium material comes in a variety of shapes in addition to the block-shaped material disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Document 1. For example, rod-shaped strontium is available as a material that is continuously added to molten aluminum alloy. However, conventional material feeding devices such as those disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot be used as is for rod-shaped strontium, and a new material feeding device suited to the rod-shaped strontium material shape must be developed.

The present invention was made in consideration of the problems present in the prior art described above, and its purpose is to provide a material charging device that can be used to charge rod-shaped materials into a holding furnace that holds metal for die casting. Another object of the present invention is to provide a material charging system that can optimally operate a material charging device that can handle rod-shaped materials.

The present invention will be described below. Note that, to facilitate understanding of the present invention, reference numbers in the accompanying drawings are added in parentheses, but this does not mean that the present invention is limited to the illustrated form.

The material feeding device (10) according to the present invention comprises a stage (11) having a loading surface on which a rod-shaped material (100) is placed and on which the rod-shaped material (100) moves; a ratchet gear (21) having a plurality of holding holes (23) for holding the rod-shaped material (100) in an upright position in the vertical direction on the loading surface of the stage (11); and a ratchet gear (21) having a plurality of ratchet teeth (22) formed on its outer periphery and rotatably mounted on the stage (11). The ratchet pawl (42, 52) engages with the ratchet teeth (22) formed on the ratchet gear (21). The ratchet pawl (42) is driven to rotate the ratchet gear (21) by a predetermined rotation angle in only one rotation direction, thereby rotating the stage (11). and a driving means (41) for moving the rod-shaped material (100) erected on the mounting surface of the stage section (11) by a predetermined distance on the mounting surface. The area (12) in which the rod-shaped material (100) moves on the mounting surface of the stage section (11) is formed with a single input hole (13) having an opening dimension large enough for the rod-shaped material (100) in the erected state to pass through. When the rod-shaped material (100) has been moved by the driving means (41) by a predetermined distance on the mounting surface of the stage section (11) to the position of the input hole (13), the rod-shaped material (100) falls downward from the input hole (13), thereby feeding the rod-shaped material (100) into a holding furnace in which die-casting metal is held.

In the material feeding device (10) of the present invention, the ratchet pawls (42, 52) of the driving means (41) can include a driving ratchet pawl (42) for driving the ratchet gear (21) to rotate, and a holding ratchet pawl (52) for determining the direction of rotation of the ratchet gear (21) and preventing the ratchet gear (21) from rotating.

In addition, in the material feeding device (10) according to the present invention, a material holding section (31) can be arranged above or below the ratchet gear (21), which has the same number of holding holes (33) as the holding holes (23) of the ratchet gear (21) and rotates together with the ratchet gear (21) when the ratchet gear (21) rotates relative to the stage section (11).

The material feeding device (10) according to the present invention may also be equipped with remaining number detection sensors (61, 62, 63) that detect the remaining number of rod-shaped materials (100) when the number of rod-shaped materials (100) held by the plurality of holding holes (23) of the ratchet gear (21) falls below a predetermined number.

The material input system (200) of the present invention comprises any one of the material input devices (10) described above, a control unit (202) consisting of a computer (201) that controls the operation of the material input device (10), input amount setting buttons (204a, 204b) that set the input amount of the rod-shaped material (100) corresponding to the input amount of die-casting metal to be input into the holding furnace, and a display unit (203) that displays an input work schedule based on the input amount of the rod-shaped material (100) set by the input amount setting buttons (204a, 204b), and is characterized in that the control unit (202) consisting of the computer (201) executes drive control of the material input device (10) corresponding to the input work schedule.

The present invention provides a material charging device that can be used to charge rod-shaped materials into a holding furnace that holds die-casting metal. Furthermore, the present invention also makes it possible to realize a material charging system that can optimally operate a material charging device that can handle rod-shaped materials.

1 is a side view of the exterior of a material feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the left side. 1 is a top view showing the appearance of a material feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from above. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the stage portion that constitutes the material supply device of this embodiment, in which the partial view (a) in the diagram shows a top view, the partial view (b) in the diagram shows a right side view, and the partial view (c) in the diagram shows a rear view. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a ratchet gear constituting the material feeding device according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a top view and FIG. 1B is a right side view. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a material holding section constituting a material feeding device according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a top view and FIG. 1B is a right side view. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a material input system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a diagram showing an operation panel having a feeding amount setting button provided in the material feeding system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating table information showing instruction contents stored in a control unit of the material input system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an input work schedule displayed on a display unit provided in the material input system according to the present embodiment. FIG.

The following describes preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Please note that the following embodiments do not limit the inventions claimed in the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

First, the material feeding device 10 according to this embodiment will be described using Figures 1 to 5. Here, Figure 1 is an exterior side view of the material feeding device according to this embodiment when viewed from the left side, and Figure 2 is an exterior top view of the material feeding device according to this embodiment when viewed from the top side. Figure 3 is a diagram showing a stage portion that constitutes the material feeding device according to this embodiment, with (a) the top view, (b) the right side view, and (c) the rear view. Figure 4 is a diagram showing a ratchet gear that constitutes the material feeding device according to this embodiment, with (a) the top view and (b) the right side view. Figure 5 is a diagram showing a material holding portion that constitutes the material feeding device according to this embodiment, with (a) the top view and (b) the right side view.

For ease of explanation, the directions of the material feeding device 10 are defined in this specification as shown in Figures 1 and 2. However, these directions do not limit the directions of the material feeding device 10 according to this embodiment when in use. In other words, the directions of "front, back, up, down, left, and right" shown in Figures 1 and 2 have been determined solely for the sake of explanation.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rod-shaped material fed into a holding furnace (not shown) using the material feeding device 10 according to this embodiment is a round rod-shaped strontium billet 100 with a circular cross section.

The material feeding device 10 according to this embodiment has as its main components a stage unit 11, a ratchet gear 21, a material holding unit 31, and a driving means 41.

The stage 11 is a plate-like member that has a mounting surface on which the rod-shaped strontium billet 100 is placed, and along which the rod-shaped strontium billet 100 moves. As shown in Figure 3, a donut-shaped area 12 indicated by hatching on the top surface of the stage 11 is the area 12 along which the rod-shaped strontium billet 100 moves in an upright position on the mounting surface of the stage 11. This area 12 is formed with a single injection hole 13 having an opening dimension large enough to allow the rod-shaped strontium billet 100 to pass through in an upright position.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ratchet gear 21 is a gear member with multiple ratchet teeth 22 formed on its outer periphery. The ratchet gear 21 also has multiple holding holes 23 formed therein for holding rod-shaped strontium billets 100. By inserting the rod-shaped strontium billets 100 into the holding holes 23, the rod-shaped strontium billets 100 can be placed upright in the donut-shaped area 12 on the mounting surface of the stage 11. The ratchet gear 21 has the same number of holding holes 23 and ratchet teeth 22. In this embodiment, the ratchet gear 21 has 18 holding holes 23 and 18 ratchet teeth 22. This configuration means that a maximum of 17 rod-shaped strontium billets 100 can be set, excluding the portion overlapping with the insertion hole 13.

The ratchet gear 21 configured as described above is rotatably mounted on the upper surface of the stage 11, as shown in Figure 2. By inserting the rod-shaped strontium billet 100 into the multiple holding holes 23, it is possible to hold the rod-shaped strontium billet 100 in an upright position in the vertical direction on the mounting surface of the stage 11, as shown in Figure 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a material holding portion 31 is disposed above the ratchet gear 21, which rotates together with the ratchet gear 21 when the ratchet gear 21 rotates relative to the stage portion 11. As shown in FIG. 5, this material holding portion 31 is configured as a circular plate-shaped member having 18 holding holes 33, the same number as the holding holes 23 of the ratchet gear 21. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, two material holding portions 31 are disposed above the ratchet gear 21, and the holding holes 23 of the ratchet gear 21 and the holding holes 33 of the material holding portions 31 cooperate to stably erect and move the round bar-shaped strontium billet 100 in the area 12 on the mounting surface of the stage portion 11.

The driving means 41 has two ratchet pawls: a driving ratchet pawl 42 and a holding ratchet pawl 52. As shown in FIG. 2, the driving ratchet pawl 42 is connected to an air cylinder 43 and is capable of reciprocating movement in the direction indicated by the symbol α by the reciprocating driving force exerted by the air cylinder 43. The driving ratchet pawl 42 is also rotatable within an angular range of angle _θ1 around a fulcrum 42a. A coil spring (not shown) is disposed at the position of the fulcrum 42a, and the elastic force exerted by this coil spring (not shown) keeps the driving ratchet pawl 42 pressed toward the ratchet gear 21. In this state, the driving ratchet pawl 42 and the ratchet teeth 22 of the ratchet gear 21 are engaged with each other as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 2.

When the air cylinder 43 is activated to advance the drive ratchet pawl 42 diagonally forward and leftward from a state in which the drive ratchet pawl 42 is engaged with the ratchet teeth 22 of the ratchet gear 21, the drive ratchet pawl 42 will disengage from the engaged ratchet tooth 22 and attempt to engage with the adjacent (front) ratchet tooth 22. As this occurs, the drive ratchet pawl 42 slides over the wall surface of the adjacent (front) ratchet tooth 22, causing the ratchet tooth 22 to rotate away from the ratchet gear 21 against the elastic force of a coil spring (not shown) located at the fulcrum 42a. This rotational state is shown by the dashed line in Figure 2.

When the drive ratchet pawl 42 climbs over the wall surface of the adjacent (front) ratchet tooth 22 and engages with it, the air cylinder 43 is again driven to move the drive ratchet pawl 42 backward diagonally to the right, causing the drive ratchet pawl 42 to rotate the ratchet gear 21. In this embodiment, since the ratchet gear 21 has 18 ratchet teeth 22, the amount of rotation of the ratchet gear 21 caused by one rotation by the drive ratchet pawl 42 is 360°/18=20°, and the rotation direction is clockwise when viewed from above.

Furthermore, when the drive ratchet pawl 42 is advanced diagonally forward and leftward as described above, the drive ratchet pawl 42 attempts to overcome the wall surface of the adjacent (front) ratchet tooth 22 and slides against it, causing the ratchet gear 21 to receive a force that rotates it counterclockwise in a top view. However, unless the ratchet gear 21 is designed to rotate only clockwise in a top view, the drive ratchet pawl 42 will not be able to engage with the adjacent (front) ratchet tooth 22. Therefore, in this embodiment, a retaining ratchet pawl 52 is provided, which is configured so that the ratchet gear 21 rotates only clockwise in a top view and cannot rotate counterclockwise in a top view. In other words, the retaining ratchet pawl 52 in this embodiment is a component that determines the rotational direction of the ratchet gear 21 and prevents it from rotating.

As a specific configuration of the holding ratchet pawl 52, as shown in Fig. 2, the holding ratchet pawl 52 is immovably fixed to the upper surface of the stage portion 11. The holding ratchet pawl 52 is rotatable within an angular range of angle _θ2 around a fulcrum 52a. A coil spring (not shown) is disposed at the position of the fulcrum 52a, and the elastic force exerted by the coil spring (not shown) keeps the holding ratchet pawl 52 pressed toward the ratchet gear 21. In this state, the holding ratchet pawl 52 and the ratchet teeth 22 of the ratchet gear 21 are engaged with each other as shown by the solid lines in Fig. 2.

When the drive ratchet pawl 42 rotates the ratchet gear 21 clockwise in top view, the retaining ratchet pawl 52 separates from the engaged ratchet tooth 22 and slides against the wall surface of the adjacent (rear) ratchet tooth 22. At this time, the retaining ratchet pawl 52 is pushed by the wall surface of the adjacent (rear) ratchet tooth 22 while sliding against it, causing it to rotate away from the ratchet gear 21. The state in which the retaining ratchet pawl 52 is pushed and rotated away from the ratchet gear 21 is shown by the dashed line in Figure 2. As the ratchet gear 21 continues to rotate due to the drive ratchet pawl 42, the retaining ratchet pawl 52 climbs over the wall surface of the adjacent (rear) ratchet tooth 22 and engages with the adjacent (rear) ratchet tooth 22. At almost the same time, the drive ratchet pawl 42 meshes with the adjacent (front) ratchet tooth 22, and then the ratchet gear 21 rotates through a rotation angle of 20°.

As described above, the driving means 41, which has two ratchet pawls, a driving ratchet pawl 42 and a holding ratchet pawl 52, drives the two ratchet pawls to rotate the ratchet gear 21 in only one direction (clockwise when viewed from above) by a predetermined rotation angle (20°), thereby moving the round bar-shaped strontium billet 100 erected on the mounting surface of the stage section 11 by a predetermined amount on the mounting surface.

When the driving means 41 described above moves the rod-shaped strontium billet 100 standing on the mounting surface of the stage portion 11 by a predetermined distance on the mounting surface, one strontium billet 100 moves to the position of the input hole 13 formed in the stage portion 11 and falls downward from the input hole 13. This state is shown by the dashed line in Figure 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the material charging device 10 of this embodiment, the loading surface of the stage unit 11 is disposed at an angle relative to the ground surface G. That is, the loading surface of the stage unit 11 according to this embodiment is disposed at an angle relative to the surface of the molten metal held in the holding furnace. Therefore, when the bar-shaped strontium billet 100 falls downward from the charging hole 13, the bar-shaped strontium billet 100 is charged at an angle relative to the surface of the molten metal in the holding furnace. This makes it less likely that the bar-shaped strontium billet 100 will impact the surface of the molten metal, allowing the bar-shaped strontium billet 100 to be charged smoothly into the molten metal.

Furthermore, if the mounting surface of the stage portion 11 were positioned horizontally relative to the ground surface G, the bar-shaped strontium billet 100 would be located directly above the molten metal held in the holding furnace, and the bar-shaped strontium billet 100 would be subject to the thermal effects of the molten metal. However, as in this embodiment, if the mounting surface of the stage portion 11 is positioned at an angle relative to the ground surface G, the thermal effects of the molten metal on the bar-shaped strontium billet 100 can be reduced or avoided, which is preferable.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the material feeding device 10 of this embodiment can be equipped with a remaining number detection sensor 61 that detects the remaining number of round-bar-shaped strontium billets 100. The remaining number detection sensor 61 shown in FIG. 1 can detect that the remaining number of strontium billets 100 is two or less when the number of round-bar-shaped strontium billets 100 held by the multiple holding holes 23 of the ratchet gear 21 falls below three. Furthermore, the remaining number detection sensor 61 can be combined with an alarm device to notify the operator of the material feeding device 10 that the remaining number of strontium billets 100 is low.

Note that the remaining number detection sensor 61 shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 is positioned so that it can detect that the number of remaining strontium billets 100 held by the multiple holding holes 23 of the ratchet gear 21 falls below three, but the remaining number detection sensor of the present invention can be installed in various positions. For example, like the remaining number detection sensor 62 shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2, it may be positioned so that it can detect that the number of remaining strontium billets 100 is zero when the number of remaining strontium billets 100 held by the multiple holding holes 23 of the ratchet gear 21 falls below one. Furthermore, like the remaining number detection sensor 63 shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2, by being positioned so that it can detect a strontium billet 100 located at the insertion hole 13, it can also be used as a sensor to detect abnormalities or the number of strontium billets 100 being inserted.

The material feeding device 10 of this embodiment has been described above with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Next, with reference to Figures 6 to 9, an example configuration of a material feeding system 200 that can be configured using the material feeding device 10 of this embodiment will be described.

Here, Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a material input system according to this embodiment. Also, Figure 7 is a diagram showing an operation panel with an input amount setting button provided in the material input system according to this embodiment. Also, Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of table information showing instruction contents stored in the control unit provided in the material input system according to this embodiment. Furthermore, Figure 9 is a diagram showing an input work schedule displayed on the display unit provided in the material input system according to this embodiment.

The material input system 200 according to this embodiment is configured to include the material input device 10 according to this embodiment described above, and a computer 201 and an operation panel 204 that are wirelessly connected to this material input device 10 via a line connection device 205. In this embodiment, the line connection device 205 that wirelessly connects the material input device 10 with the computer 201 and the operation panel 204 uses, for example, a network repeater, but the connection means for the various devices that make up the material input system 200 may be wired or wireless. Any connection means, such as a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) connection or a Bluetooth (registered trademark) connection, can also be used for the wireless connection.

The computer 201 is configured with a control unit 202 that controls the operation of the material feeding device 10, and a display unit 203 that displays the processing details and instructions of the control unit 202. The control unit 202 is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculations within the computer 201, and also stores table information showing instructions to the material feeding device 10, as shown in Figure 8. The display unit 203 displays a feeding schedule for the round bar-shaped strontium billet 100, as shown in Figure 9.

On the other hand, the operation panel 204 is provided with a plurality of input amount setting buttons 204a, 204b for setting the input amount of round bar-shaped strontium billet 100 corresponding to the input amount of solid die-casting metal to be fed into a holding furnace (not shown). In this embodiment, of the multiple input amount setting buttons 204a, 204b arranged on the operation panel 204, the input amount setting buttons 204a arranged in a vertical line of three on the right side are input amount setting buttons for "return material," and the input amount setting buttons 204b arranged in a vertical line of three on the left side are input amount setting buttons for "ingot."

The amount of strontium billet 100 charged using the material charging system 200 according to this embodiment varies depending on the type of solid die-casting metal being charged into the holding furnace. For example, as illustrated in the table information shown in FIG. 8 , the amount of strontium billet 100 charged varies depending on whether the solid die-casting metal being charged into the holding furnace is a virgin "ingot" or a recycled "return material." In other words, with regard to "natural loss," the strontium content of the molten metal held in the holding furnace naturally decreases over time due to oxidation. Therefore, by charging one strontium billet 100 every 180 minutes, for example, the amount of strontium in the molten metal held in the holding furnace can be maintained within a predetermined reference value. Regarding "ingots," if 100 kg of new aluminum ingots are replenished into the holding furnace, the amount of strontium in the molten metal held in the holding furnace can be maintained within a predetermined standard value by adding one strontium billet 100 after 40 minutes, for example. The 40 minutes in this case represent the time it takes for the ingots to melt. Regarding "returned material," if scrap metal, which is inevitably generated during die casting, is reused, the recycled returned material already contains strontium. In this case, if 150 kg of returned material is replenished, for example, adding one strontium billet 100 after 30 minutes can maintain the amount of strontium in the molten metal held in the holding furnace within a predetermined standard value.

To explain the operation method of the material feeding system 200 according to the present embodiment, when the solid die-casting metal fed into the holding furnace is a virgin aluminum ingot that does not contain strontium, the operator of the material feeding device 10 sets the amount of "ingot" by pressing the feeding amount setting button 204b located on the left side of the operation panel 204 according to the weight of the aluminum ingot. For example, if the amount of "ingot" is 300 kg, the operator can set 50 kg + 100 kg + 150 kg = 300 kg by pressing the three feeding amount setting buttons 204b arranged in a vertical row on the left side of Figure 7. Information indicating that the amount of "ingot" set in this way is 300 kg is transmitted to the control unit 202 via the line connection device 205. Based on pre-stored table information (see FIG. 8), the control unit 202 calculates that 300/100 = 3 strontium billets 100 will be charged in 40 minutes, and displays the details of this charging work schedule on the display unit 203 (see FIG. 9), while issuing an operation command to the material charging device 10. Based on the operation command signal from the control unit 202, the material charging device 10 operates in accordance with the charging work schedule displayed on the display unit 203, thereby maintaining the amount of strontium in the molten metal held in the holding furnace within a predetermined reference value.

Furthermore, when the solid die-casting metal fed into the holding furnace is recycled "return material," the operator of the material feeding device 10 sets the amount of "return material" by pressing the feed amount setting buttons 204a arranged in a vertical row on the right side of the operation panel 204 according to the weight of the "return material" being fed. For example, if the amount of "return material" is 300 kg, the operator can set the "return material" to 50 kg + 100 kg + 150 kg = 300 kg by pressing the three feed amount setting buttons 204a arranged in a vertical row on the right side in Figure 7. Information that the amount of "return material" set in this way is 300 kg is transmitted to the control unit 202 via the line connection device 205. Based on pre-stored table information (see FIG. 8), the control unit 202 calculates that 300/150 = two strontium billets 100 will be charged in 30 minutes, and displays the details of this charging schedule on the display unit 203 (see FIG. 9), while issuing an operation command to the material charging device 10. Based on the operation command signal from the control unit 202, the material charging device 10 operates according to the charging schedule displayed on the display unit 203, thereby maintaining the amount of strontium in the molten metal held in the holding furnace within a predetermined reference value.

Furthermore, even if the amount of strontium in the molten metal held in the holding furnace is temporarily set within a predetermined reference value, the amount of strontium in the molten metal will naturally decrease. To account for this natural decrease, the control unit 202 calculates the amount of strontium billet 100 to be added every 180 minutes based on pre-stored table information (see FIG. 8), displays the details of this addition schedule on the display unit 203 (see FIG. 9), and issues an operation command to the material addition device 10. Based on the operation command signal from the control unit 202, the material addition device 10 operates in accordance with the addition schedule displayed on the display unit 203, thereby constantly maintaining the amount of strontium in the molten metal held in the holding furnace within the predetermined reference value.

The above describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. Various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above-described embodiment of the material feeding system shown in Figures 6 to 9, the rod-shaped material according to the present invention is described as a round rod-shaped strontium billet 100, but the shape of the strontium billet 100 may be a shape other than a round rod. For example, it may be a square rod-shaped strontium billet with a square cross section, or a rod-shaped strontium billet with a polygonal cross section other than a square.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the mounting surface of the stage unit 11 was disposed at an angle relative to the ground surface G, but the mounting surface of the stage unit 11 may also be horizontal relative to the ground surface G.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the material holding portion 31 has the same number of holding holes 33 as the ratchet gear 21 and rotates together with the ratchet gear 21 when the ratchet gear 21 rotates relative to the stage portion 11. However, the material holding portion of the present invention may also be positioned below the ratchet gear 21.

It is clear from the claims that such modifications and improvements are also included within the technical scope of the present invention.

10 Material feeding device, 11 Stage section, 12 Area, 13 Feeding hole, 21 Ratchet gear, 22 Ratchet teeth, 23 Holding hole, 31 Material holding section, 33 Holding hole, 41 Driving means, 42 Driving ratchet pawl, 42a Fulcrum, 43 Air cylinder, 52 Holding ratchet pawl, 52a Fulcrum, 61, 62, 63 Remaining quantity detection sensor, 100 (round bar-shaped) strontium billet (rod-shaped material), 200 Material feeding system, 201 Computer, 202 Control section, 203 Display section, 204 Operation panel, 204a Feeding amount setting button (for returned material), 204b Feeding amount setting button (for ingots), 205 Line connection device, G Ground surface.

Claims (5)

a stage unit having a placement surface on which a rod-shaped material is placed and on which the rod-shaped material moves;
a ratchet gear having a plurality of holding holes for holding the rod-shaped material in an upright position on the mounting surface of the stage, and having a plurality of ratchet teeth formed on its outer periphery, the ratchet gear being rotatably installed relative to the stage;
a driving means having a ratchet pawl that engages with the ratchet teeth formed on the ratchet gear, and driving the ratchet pawl to rotate the ratchet gear by a predetermined rotation angle in only one rotation direction, thereby moving the rod-shaped material erected on the mounting surface of the stage section by a predetermined amount on the mounting surface;
A material input device comprising:
a feed hole having an opening dimension that allows the rod-shaped material in an upright state to pass through is formed in an area where the rod-shaped material moves on the mounting surface of the stage section;
A material feeding device characterized in that when the rod-shaped material is moved a predetermined amount on the loading surface of the stage section by the driving means and reaches the position of the feeding hole, the rod-shaped material falls downward from the feeding hole, thereby feeding the rod-shaped material into a holding furnace in which metal for die casting is held. The material feeding device according to claim 1,
The ratchet pawl of the driving means is
a driving ratchet pawl for rotating the ratchet gear;
a retaining ratchet pawl that determines the rotation direction of the ratchet gear and prevents the ratchet gear from rotating;
A material feeding device comprising: The material feeding device according to claim 1,
A material feeding device characterized in that a material holding section is arranged above or below the ratchet gear, the material holding section having the same number of holding holes as the ratchet gear and rotating together with the ratchet gear when the ratchet gear rotates relative to the stage section. The material feeding device according to claim 1,
A material feeding device characterized by having a remaining number detection sensor that detects the remaining number of rod-shaped materials when the number of rod-shaped materials held by the multiple holding holes of the ratchet gear falls below a predetermined number. The material feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
a control unit including a computer that controls the drive of the material feeding device;
a charging amount setting button for setting the charging amount of the rod-shaped material according to the charging amount of the die-casting metal to be charged into the holding furnace;
a display unit that displays a feeding operation schedule based on the feeding amount of the rod-shaped material set by the feeding amount setting button;
and
A material input system, characterized in that the control unit, which is made up of a computer, executes drive control of the material input device in accordance with the input work schedule.