JPH0438318B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pellet extrusion device for extruding pellets on a pellet tray.

``Prior Art'' Conventionally, when inserting pellets on a pellet tray into a cladding tube using this type of pellet extrusion device, the pellet tray is first placed on a pellet tray holder, and the gap between the pellet tray and the cladding tube is removed. It is aligned with the pellet guide installed in the

This positioning work is necessary because a large number of pellet trays are used in sequence, and each pellet tray has a slightly different shape due to manufacturing errors, deformation, etc.

Next, the cladding tube is inserted from one side of the guide hole drilled in the pellet guide, and after positioning the cladding tube, the plurality of pellets aligned along the extrusion direction on the pellet tray are pushed with a hand pusher. The pellet is manually pushed through the pellet guide into the cladding tube from the other side of the guide hole of the pellet guide.

``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' The problem to be solved by the present invention is the conventional method of extruding pellets manually.

Furthermore, the pellet tray is normally transported in a horizontal state, but with this method of transport, the pellets move on the pellet tray due to vibrations during transport, and there is a gap between the pellets. A phenomenon occurs.

If such a gap occurs, there is a risk that the pellets will collide with each other when extruding the pellets, resulting in problems such as chipping.

For this purpose, a pellet stopper is provided at one end of the pellet tray, with which the pellets at the rear end in the extrusion direction are engaged, and the pellet tray is conveyed in an inclined state so that the front end in the extrusion direction is upward. Therefore, it is being considered to prevent the above-mentioned 〓 from occurring.

However, with such a method, the pellet stopper becomes an obstacle when the extrusion jig is brought into contact with the rearmost pellet during pellet extrusion, and smooth contact between the pellet and the extrusion jig is hindered. This is expected.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and
Pellets can be pushed out mechanically without relying on human hands, and the occurrence of gaps between pellets during transportation is prevented, and the pushing jig and pellets are securely in contact, allowing for smooth pushing operation. The object of the present invention is to provide a pellet extrusion device that enables the following.

``Means for Solving the Problems'' The present invention basically consists of a pellet tray holder that holds a pellet tray on which a plurality of rows of pellets are placed and a pellet stopper provided at one end, and a pellet tray holder that supports the pellet tray holder. a moving base provided on the moving base so as to be movable in the pellet extrusion direction and fixable at any position; a pellet extrusion mechanism attached to the mobile base; and a pellet extrusion mechanism for driving the mobile base. It consists of an extrusion drive mechanism.

In this, the pellet extrusion mechanism is located at the rear in the extrusion direction of the pellets,
A press plate member that is brought into contact with the pellet, a press plate holding block that supports the press plate member so as to be relatively movable in the pellet extrusion direction, and a press plate holding block that is interposed between the press plate holding block and the moving table. an actuator that moves the push plate holding block in the pellet extrusion direction; and an actuator that is interposed between the push plate holding block and the moving stage, and when the push plate holding block moves in the extrusion direction, The structure includes guide means for moving the press plate holding block in a direction away from the mounting surface of the pellet tray.

``Operation'' In the present invention, the pellet tray is carried in with the front end facing upward in the extrusion direction, and the pellets at the rearmost end are engaged with the pellet stopper, and each pellet is held by its own weight. are kept in contact with each other.

From this, when the actuator is driven to move the push plate member toward the rearmost pellet on the pellet tray, the guide means moves the push plate member in a direction away from the placement surface of the pellet tray. and by this,
The press plate member is brought into contact with a portion of the pellet at the rearmost end while avoiding contact with the pellet stopper.

After the press plate member has climbed over the pellet stopper and moved the pellet a predetermined distance, by operating the actuator in the opposite direction,
The push plate member is moved by the guide means toward the mounting surface of the pellet tray, thereby bringing the push plate member into complete contact with the pellets.

Next, by operating the extrusion drive mechanism, the pellet extrusion mechanism is moved, and the pellet extrusion operation is performed by the press plate member.

"Embodiment" Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 8.

1 to 3 are a perspective view, a plan view, and a side view showing the entire pellet loading device to which the pellet extrusion device of the present invention is applied.

To explain the outline, a pellet extrusion means 2, a pellet tray holder 3, a pellet fragment removal means 4, and a pellet guide 5 are disposed in this order on a moving base plate 1, and the pellet extrusion means 2 is disposed in this order.
An extrusion detection means 6 is provided on the upper part of the pellet guide 5, and a cladding tube mounting table 7 is provided in front of the pellet guide 5 (left side in FIGS. 2 and 3).

The movable board 1 is horizontally moved by a rail 10 having a U-shaped cross section fixed to the base end side of the lower surface thereof and a rotatable roller 13 installed on the first horizontal surface 11a of the pedestal 11 via a floor plate 12. freely supported.

Then, the floorboard 12 passes from the first horizontal surface 11a to the vertical surface 11b connected thereto to the first horizontal surface 11.
It is laid in a portion reaching the end of the second horizontal surface 11c located one step higher than a.

Further, the tip of the rod 14a of the feed cylinder 14 disposed on the floor surface 12 of the first horizontal surface 11a and the lower surface of the tip of the movable board 1 are connected via a mounting member 15.

Then, the rod 14a of the feed cylinder 14
By moving forward until it hits the stopper 16 attached to the floor plate 12 on the vertical surface 11b,
The moving board 1 moves from right to left in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the pellet guide 5 receives the cladding tube c on the cladding tube mounting table 7.

The pellet extrusion means 2 is one of the main components of the pellet extrusion device of the present invention, and includes an extrusion drive mechanism 20, a moving table 21, a pellet extrusion mechanism 22, and first, second, and third position detectors. 24, 25, and 26.

In the extrusion drive mechanism 20, a pellet extrusion motor 20a installed on the moving board 1 is connected to a reduction gear 20c via a torque limiter 20b, and the reduction gear 20c is connected to a coupling machine 20e via a connection rod 20d. In addition, the speed reducer 20c and the coupling device 20e each include a moving board 1.
A pair of ball screws 20g supported by an upper support member 20f are connected.

Furthermore, the movable table 21 includes a support leg 21a screwed onto a ball screw 20g, and a movable plate 21b fixed on the support leg 21a.
By rotating the pellet extrusion motor 20a of the extrusion drive mechanism 20, the movable table 21 is moved back in the left-right direction (see FIGS. 2 and 3) along the ball screw 20g.

Furthermore, the pellet extrusion mechanism 22 includes a plurality of (25 in this embodiment) push plate members 23, which are arranged perpendicularly to the extrusion direction of the pellets P at the rear in the extrusion direction of the pellets P, and these push plate members 23. A pushing plate holding block 22d that supports the plate members 23, . The push plate member 2 is interposed between the plate holding block 22d and the plate holding block 22d.
3 in the extrusion direction of the pellet P, and an actuator.

The push plate member 23 is composed of a support shaft 23a disposed in the extrusion direction of the pellets P, and a push plate 23b for pressing the pellets P provided at the tip of the support shaft 23a in the extrusion direction.

A plurality of the support shafts 23a (25 in this embodiment) are bored through the push plate holding block 22d via elastic members 22h that elastically push the push plate member 23 in the direction toward the pellet P. hole 2
It is slidably inserted into 2d1.

The actuator is connected to the press plate holding block 22.
d in a vertical plane that includes the extrusion direction of the pellet P and is inclined at a certain angle with respect to the extrusion direction, and is composed of a push plate upper and lower cylinder 22a and a rod 22b, and the press plate upper and lower cylinder 22a The proximal end of the rod 22b is rotatably connected to the movable table 21 with a pin, and the connecting member 2 is connected to the tip of the rod 22b in the extrusion direction of the pellet P.
A push plate holding block 22d is attached via the push plate holding block 22c, and a roller 22e provided at the bottom of the push plate holding block 22d is fitted into a groove 22g of a push plate up and down guide 22f provided on the moving table 21. .

Then, the rod 22 of the press plate upper and lower cylinders 22a
By extending b, the roller 22e moves upward along the groove 22g of the push plate vertical guide 22f from the lower right to the upper left in FIG. 3, and the push plate 23b also moves upward from the lower right. It is designed to rise while moving forward to the upper left, and this groove 2
The push plate vertical guide 22f having a weight of 2g constitutes the guide means in this embodiment.

Furthermore, the first position detector 24 detects the forward limit position of the moving table 21, and the second position detector 25
is the operation of the press plate upper and lower cylinders 22a,
Further, the third position detectors 26 detect the backward limit positions of the movable base 21, and are respectively installed at appropriate positions on the movable board 1.

Further, the extrusion force detection means 6 is another main component of the pellet extrusion device of the present invention, and is attached to the upper part of the holding block that constitutes a part of the present invention. .

That is, the extrusion force detection means 6 includes a guide shaft 61 which has one end fixed to the upper part of the push plate 23b and is slidably provided on a fixing member 60 fixed to the push plate holding block 22d, and this guide shaft. 61
The first and second detection bodies 62, which are provided at appropriate positions,
63, and first and second extrusion force detectors 64, 65 (limit switches) attached to the upper part of the fixing member 60.

When the push plate 23b is overloaded, the elastic member 22
When the first detecting body 62 moves backward toward the pushing mechanism 22 against the
The first set extrusion force is detected by contacting the actuator of the second extrusion force detector 65, and then, the second detection body 63 contacts the actuator of the second extrusion force detector 65, whereby the extrusion force is greater than the first set extrusion force. The second set extrusion force is detected.

In the pellet tray holding base 3, one end of the pellet tray holding plate 30 is rotatably connected to the movable base plate 1 with a pin, and the other end is connected to the pellet tray upper and lower cylinders 31 on the movable base plate 1 and to the pellet tray upper and lower cylinders 31. A pellet tray holding cylinder 33 for holding the pellet tray T on the pellet tray holding plate 30 is installed on the pellet tray holding plate 30 and supported by the connected upper and lower cams 32. On the grooved guide plate 34 and the support plate 35,
The pellet tray T is placed on the pellet tray holding plate 30 by aligning the legs Ta.

In addition, pellets P are placed at one end of the pellet tray T.
A pellet stopper Tb is provided to prevent pellets from falling.

The pellet tray T is formed in a corrugated shape, and a plurality of rows (in this embodiment, 25 rows) of pellets P are placed in the grooves of the corrugated pellet tray T.

Also, the interval between each row of pellets P and each push plate 2
3b are arranged to match.

The pellet guide 5 has a plurality of (25 in this embodiment) guide holes 50, and both openings of the guide holes 50 are connected to the cladding tube mounting table on the second horizontal surface 11c of the pedestal 11, respectively. The pellet guide 5 is tapered to facilitate insertion of the cladding tube C placed on the pellet tray T and the pellet P on the pellet tray T, and a pellet receiving tray 51 is provided on the end surface of the pellet guide 5 on the cladding tube mounting table 7 side. It is said to be composed of

Further, the pellet fragment removing means 4 includes a plurality of round bar rails 40 supported horizontally between the pellet guide 5 and a support member 41 on the side of the pellet tray holder 3. P is the center of the guide hole 50 and the pellet flow groove 42 formed by each round rod rail 40 so that the pellet is supported by two round rod rails 40 and smoothly guided to each guide hole 50. It's starting to match.

Further, a chip receiving tray 43 is installed below the round bar rail 40 to receive fragments of pellets P or other unnecessary substances falling downward from the pellet flow groove 42.

Next, the operation of the pellet loading device configured as described above will be explained.

With the pellets P arranged on the pellet tray T having 25 rows of equally spaced grooves, the pellet tray T is placed on the pellet tray holding plate 3.
Put it on top of 0.

Next, the pellet tray holding cylinder 33
is activated to hold down the pellet tray T and firmly hold it on the pellet tray holding plate 30.

Next, the pellet tray upper and lower cylinders 31
is driven to rotate the upper and lower cams 32, thereby lowering the tip of the pellet tray holding plate 30 (ie, the front end in the extrusion direction).

As a result, the pellet tray T is conveyed in an inclined state until it is attached to the pellet tray holding plate 30, and each pellet P placed on the upper surface is engaged by the pellet stopper Tb at its rear end. Since each pellet P is held in a contact state by its own weight, it is prevented from falling off from the pellet tray T.

Further, the feed cylinder 14 is driven to move the movable substrate 1 until the tip of the rod 14a of the feed cylinder 14 hits the stopper 16.

As a result, the guide hole 5 of the pellet guide 5
Each cladding tube C on the cladding tube mounting table 7 is inserted into the cladding tube 0 and positioned.

Next, by driving the pellet extrusion motor 20a, the respective push plates 23b are simultaneously advanced toward the cladding tube C side.

At this time, the press plate 23b is connected to the press plate upper and lower cylinders 22.
a and the groove 22g of the push plate upper and lower guide 22f, the push plate 23b is placed in the raised position by the action of the groove 22g of the push plate upper and lower guide 22f. It hits the end face (see the two-dot chain line in Figure 6A).

As the push plate 23b moves to the left, the pellets and P are pushed out, and the pellets stop.
When the push plate 23b advances to a position approximately 5 cm away from Tb, the second position detector 25 is activated and the rod 22b of the push plate upper and lower cylinders 22a moves backward.

Therefore, the push plate 23b descends while retreating to the right with respect to the movable plate 21b.

During this time, the pellet extrusion motor 20a continues to drive the push plate 23b in the forward direction (to the left), but the push plate 23b is moved back to the right with respect to the moving plate 21b by the push plate up/down cylinder 22a. As the pushing plate 23b descends, the pushing plate 23b temporarily separates from the pellet, and after completing its descent to the bottom of the groove of the pellet tray T, it hits the pellet P again and pushes out the pellet P (see FIGS. 6 and 7).

Therefore, the press plate 23b is brought into contact with the pellet P after avoiding contact with the pellet stopper Tb.

When the push plate 23b advances to the most extreme position, the pellets P are completely pushed out from the pellet tray T.

When the first position detector 24 detects that the push plate 23b has come to the most extreme position, the pellet extrusion motor 20a is reversely rotated to release the push plate 23b.
begins to retreat.

When the push plate 23b has completely retreated to the position where the third position detector 26 is activated, the pellet tray upper and lower cylinders 31 and the upper and lower cams 32 cause the tip of the pellet tray T to rise and return to the pellet tray receiving position.

Then, this pellet tray T is carried out, and a new pellet tray T carrying pellets P is placed on the pellet tray holding plate 30.

By the way, if the load becomes excessive for some reason during the extrusion operation of the pellet P, the support shaft 23a of the pushing plate member 23 will be excessively pushed against the elastic member 2.
2h and pull it into the push plate holding block 22d.

For this reason, the first detection body 62 acts as an actuator of the first push-out force detector 64 or the second detection body 6
3 corresponds to the actuator of the second extrusion force detector 65.

In this case, a control device (not shown) knows the operation of the first push-out force detector 64 or the second push-out force detector 65 and stops the operation of the push plate upper and lower cylinders 22a depending on the situation, and all the push plates 23
Stop the extrusion operation of b.

That is, in the first step, when inserting the pellets P into the first half of the cladding tube C (for example, three pellet trays T), the first extrusion force detector 64
If the extrusion force detector 65 is activated, it is determined that there is an abnormality, and in the second step, when the pellets P are inserted into the latter half of the cladding tube C (for example, for seven pellet trays), the second extrusion force detector 65 is activated. It is judged as abnormal. This means that the cladding tube C is approximately
Since the length of the pellet is 3.8 m, and the insertion resistance increases as the amount of pellet inserted increases (normal insertion force is 0 to 2.5 kg), two types of extrusion force settings are determined in two stages, the first half of insertion and the second half, and the insertion force is adjusted accordingly. This is to detect excess and early detection of abnormalities.

Note that the number of detection bodies 62, 63 or push-out force detectors 64, 65 is not limited to this embodiment, and may be one or three or more. By continuously detecting the position of 23b, the extrusion force may be continuously measured and compared with the number of pellets P filled to determine an abnormality.

In this way, when the control device detects an abnormal extrusion force, only the cladding tube C clogged with the relevant pellets P is removed, and then the pellet filling operation is restarted.

On the other hand, the pellets P pushed out from the pellet tray T pass through a pellet flow path groove 42 constituted by a round bar rail 40.

Furthermore, the pellets P are forced into the cladding tube C through the pellet guide 5. And about
In order to fill the 3.8 m long cladding tube C with a predetermined amount of pallets P, pellets P for eight pellet trays T7 are required, so the above operations are repeated.

When a predetermined amount of pellets P are inserted into the cladding tube C, it is detected by a pellet fullness detector (not shown) installed at one end of the cladding tube C, and the pellet extrusion operation in this device is stopped.

Next, the feeding cylinder 14 is driven to move the moving substrate 1 backward, and the entire feeding device is moved to the cladding tube C.
away from.

The cladding tube C into which a predetermined amount of pellets P have been inserted is carried out to the next step, and the next empty cladding tube C is loaded onto the cladding tube mounting table 7.

Subsequently, the entire feeding device is moved to the feeding cylinder 14.
The pellet guide 5 moves to the cladding tube C side, and the cladding tube C is inserted into the pellet guide 5 and positioned.

Next, the extrusion operation is continued by restarting the present device, which had been stopped during the previous extrusion into the cladding tube C.

``Effects of the Invention'' The pellet extrusion device of the present invention comprises: a pellet tray holder for holding a pellet tray on which a plurality of rows of pellets are placed and a pellet stopper provided at one end; a movable substrate for supporting the pellet tray holder; a moving base provided on a moving board so as to be movable in the extrusion direction of the pellets and fixable at any position; a pellet extrusion mechanism attached to the movable base for pressing and moving the pellets from the pellet stopper side; an extrusion drive mechanism that moves the moving table, and the pellet extrusion mechanism includes a push plate member positioned at the rear in the extrusion direction of the pellets and brought into contact with the pellets; a press plate holding block that supports the press plate holding block relatively movably in the pellet extrusion direction; an actuator that is interposed between the press plate holding block and the moving table and moves the press plate holding block in the pellet extrusion direction; , is interposed between the press plate holding block and the moving table, and when the press plate holding block moves in the extrusion direction, the press plate holding block is moved in a direction away from the loading surface of the pellet tray. It is characterized by being equipped with a guide means for moving the pellets, so that the pellet extrusion work when filling the cladding tube with pellets can be relieved from manual labor, and a series of these works can be performed mechanically.

Therefore, significant labor savings and cost reductions can be achieved.

In addition, since the pellet tray can be carried in and carried out in an inclined state, the pellets placed on the pellet tray can be transported and pushed out while being in contact with each other and being prevented from falling. This makes it possible to carry out reliable conveyance and to significantly reduce damage to pellets during conveyance and extrusion operations.

Furthermore, even when the above-mentioned drop prevention structure is adopted, the pushing plate member is brought into contact with the pellet by the guide means while avoiding the fall prevention structure, so the pushing operation can be carried out reliably. be able to.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 8 show one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire device, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 3 is a side view of the same, and FIG. Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the pellet tray and the round bar rail, Fig. 6 A and B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the initial state of pellet pushing operation, and Fig. 7 A and B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the normal pellet pushing operation. The explanatory diagrams in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are explanatory diagrams illustrating the operation of the extrusion force detection means. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Moving board, 2... Pellet extrusion means, 3... Pellet tray holding stand, 4... Pellet fragment removal means, 5... Pellet guide, 6...
Extrusion force detection means, 20... Extrusion drive mechanism, 21... Moving table, 22... Pellet extrusion mechanism, 22a... Push plate upper and lower cylinders (actuator), 22b... Rod (actuator), 2
2d...Press plate holding block, 22h...Elastic member, 23...Press plate member, C...Coating tube, T...Pellet tray, P...Pellet.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A pellet tray holder that holds a pellet tray on which a plurality of rows of pellets are placed and a pellet stopper is provided at one end, a moving board that supports this pellet tray holder, and a pellet tray that supports the pellet tray on this moving board. a pellet extrusion mechanism that is attached to the movable base and presses the pellets from the pellet stopper side to move the pellets; The pellet extrusion mechanism includes a push plate member positioned rearward in the extrusion direction of the pellets and brought into contact with the pellets, and a push plate member that moves the push plate member in the extrusion direction of the pellets. a press plate holding block that supports the press plate holding block relatively movably; an actuator that is interposed between the press plate holding block and the moving table and moves the press plate holding block in a pellet extrusion direction; and the press plate holding block and a guide means which is interposed between the pellet tray and the moving table and moves the push plate holding block in a direction away from the loading surface of the pellet tray when the push plate holding block is moved in the extrusion direction. A pellet extrusion device comprising: