JPH0479925B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to a cylindrical body turning machine used, for example, when performing an external appearance inspection of a cylindrical body such as a nuclear fuel pellet.

``Prior art'' Nuclear fuel pellets (hereinafter referred to as pellets) for light water reactors are produced by sintering a compact of uranium dioxide powder at high temperature to form a sintered body. After grinding the outer diameter and inspecting the outer circumference and end faces for cracks, chips, etc., the rods are filled into cladding tubes and used as fuel rods. The pellets are cylindrical bodies with an outer diameter of 8 to 13 mm and a length of 5 to 16 mm.

Conventionally, as a method for inspecting the appearance of such cylindrical pellets, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-93238, a wave-shaped pellet is placed on one side of a plurality of rotating rollers that rotate only in the same direction. A tray with a large number of pellets arranged and stored in a horizontal manner at the bottom is manually carried in and placed adjacent to each other, and a large number of pellets are transferred from this tray onto the plurality of rotating rollers, and the pellets are rolled on the rotating rollers. At the same time, while rotating in the same direction at a predetermined speed, pick out the outer periphery of these pellets one by one with tweezers and visually inspect the end faces. If you find defective pellets with cracks or chips, pick them out with tweezers, etc. There are known methods for removing it.

``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' The pellet appearance inspection method described above involves arranging a plurality of pellets on a rotating roller in a reclining manner along the axial direction of the pellets, rotating the rotating roller, and inspecting the appearance of the pellets. Although the visual inspection of the outer peripheral side of the pellets can be done quickly, it is possible to visually inspect a large number of pellets.
Since no means was provided to rearrange the pellets from arranging them along the axis to perpendicular to the axis, it was difficult to visually inspect the end faces of the pellets by arranging them on a rotating roller. There was a problem in that the pellets had to be picked out one by one with tweezers and visually inspected, which required a lot of effort for the inspection work.

Conventionally, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to facilitate visual inspection of the end faces of pellets, cylindrical bodies such as pellets are lined up along their axis, and then the cylindrical bodies are There was a strong need for a cylindrical direction changer that would change direction when the objects were lined up at right angles to the direction.

"Means for Solving the Problems" This invention provides a method for placing a cylindrical body whose direction is to be changed on a disc rotating within a plane, and moving the cylindrical body along a first guide extending in the circumferential direction of the disc. In a cylindrical body direction changing machine that conveys the cylindrical body and changes the direction of conveyance of the cylindrical body from a direction along the axis of the cylindrical body to a direction perpendicular to the axis, the peripheral edge of the disc is approached from the top surface to the bottom surface. A tapered part is formed whose diameter increases as the diameter increases, and an outlet of the first guide is provided above the tapered part to overlap with the outlet of the first guide, and a stopper is provided at a position spaced apart from the outlet in the circumferential direction of the disc. The cylindrical direction changing machine is characterized in that a second guide is provided facing the outlet and extending from the stopper in the radial direction of the disc at a side of the disc.

"Operation" When the disk is rotated and a cylinder whose direction is to be changed is placed on the disk, the cylinder is conveyed in the direction along the axis of the cylinder along the first guide extending in the circumferential direction of the disk. be done. Then, the cylindrical body is introduced from the outlet of the first guide into the tapered part formed on the peripheral edge of the disc, and its end face abuts against the stopper to stop the circumferential movement of the disc. Then, the cylindrical body rolls down along the inclination of the tapered part under its own weight with its peripheral surface in contact with the tapered part, enters the second guide, and is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical body. . As described above, according to the cylindrical body direction changing machine of the present invention, the conveyance direction of the cylindrical body can be easily and reliably changed from a direction along the axis of the cylindrical body to a direction perpendicular to the axis. It becomes possible.

Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 4 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a direction changer used for visual inspection of fuel pellets for a light water reactor.

In these figures, numeral 1 is a turning machine. The direction changing machine 1 moves a circular plate 3 having a tapered part 2 formed on its peripheral edge with a tapered part 2 that narrows upward, and cylindrical pellets 4, 4... in a direction along the axial direction of the circular plate 3. The first guide 6 releases the pellets 4, 4, . It is composed of a second guide 7 that moves in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. A motor 8 is connected to the disc 3, and by driving the motor 8, the disc 3 can be rotated.
The first guide 6 is disposed close to the upper surface of the disk 3, and its inlet side 9 is connected to the conveyance path of a conveyor that conveys a large number of pellets 4, 4, etc. arranged along the axial direction. It is connected. 1st guide 6
The outlet side 10 of is arranged at a position where the pellets 4 that have moved in the axial direction within the first guide 6 are released to the direction changing portion 5 on the tapered portion 2 of the disc 3. The second guide 7 extends radially outward of the disk 3, and its entrance 11 is connected to the first guide 7.
It is opened at the outlet side 10 of the guide 6 and is arranged at a position where it can receive the pellets 4 that have rotated through the tapered section 2. At the entrance 11 of the second guide 7, there is provided a directional guide 12 in which a rectangular plate is rotatably fixed. 1st guide 6
The part between the outlet side 10 of the guide 7 and the inlet 11 of the second guide 7 is configured to move the pellets 4, which have been moving along the axial direction, in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. A direction changing section 5 for changing the direction is provided. The direction changing part 5 moves a blade guide (stopper) 15, which rotatably supports the corner of the L-shaped member 13 by a pin 14, from the outlet side 10 of the first guide 6 to the length of the pellet 4. They are arranged on the disk 3 at positions spaced apart by approximately the same length and adjacent to the top surface of the disk 3. The blade guide 15 is normally arranged in the state shown in FIG. When pushed and rotated around the pin 14 as shown in FIG. 4, the long side 17 pushes the pellet 4 in the direction of the second guide 7, ensuring that the pellet 4 is ejected from the disk 3 in the correct posture. It's becoming like that. The pin 14 of the blade guide 15 is arranged in an inclined manner so that the blade guide 15 returns under its own weight to the normal position shown in FIG. 3 after discharging the pellets.

The method of using the direction changer configured as described above is as follows. First, drive the motor 8,
The disk 3 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.
Next, the pellets 4, 4, . . . , which have been lined up on the rotating roller and whose outer peripheral side surfaces have been visually inspected, are carried into the entrance side 9 of the first guide 6 while being lined up in the axial direction. The pellets 4, 4, . . . come into contact with the rotating disk 3 and are conveyed within the first guide 6. The pellets 4 that have been conveyed to the outlet side 10 of the first guide 6 remain in the axial direction,
It is sent to the direction change section 5 from the outlet side 10 of the first guide 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the pellet 4 that has entered the direction changing section 5 comes into contact with the short side 16 of the blade guide 15 with its end surface, causing the blade guide 15 to rotate. When the pellet 4 that has entered the direction changing section 5 reaches the inlet 11 of the second guide 7, it passes through the blade guide 1.
The long side 17 of the pellet 4 presses against the outer circumferential surface of the pellet 4, and the center of gravity moves from the inside of the tapered part 2 of the disc 3 to the side of the tapered part 2, thereby causing the tapered part 2 to move. It rotates and is received by the second guide 7 as shown in FIG. Furthermore, since the pellets 4 that have arrived at the direction changing section 5 are rotating in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 2 by moving on the rotating disk 3, in,
The pellet 4 is in a state where rotational movement toward the tapered portion 2 is likely to occur. The pellet 4 that has rotated through the tapered portion 2 enters the entrance 11 of the second guide 7.
The pellet 4 enters the second guide 7 by pushing open the directionally adjustable guide 12 disposed in the second guide 7. At this time, the orientation of the pellet 4 is corrected so that it is conveyed straight inside the second guide. The pellets 4 that have passed through the directional guide 12 are conveyed while rolling within the second guide. Pellet 4 conveyed through second guide 7
Although not shown, they are aligned so that their axes are parallel to each other, and both exposed end faces are visually inspected.

The above-mentioned direction changer 1 moves a disk 3 having a tapered portion 2 on its peripheral edge with a tapered portion 2 that narrows upward, and a pellet 4 in a direction along the axial direction of the disk 3. Taper part 2 of disk 3
A first guide 6 opens to the upper direction changing section 5, and a second guide 7 opens at the direction changing section 5 and moves the pellet 4 rotated through the tapered section 2 in a direction perpendicular to its axial direction. It is configured to change the direction of the pellets 4 from a state where they are arranged along the axial direction to a state where the pellets 4 are arranged at right angles to the axial direction and then send them out. Therefore, the procedure for inspecting the appearance of the pellets 4 can be such that the pellets 4 whose outer peripheral side surfaces have been inspected are rearranged to expose the end surfaces of the pellets 4, and then the appearance inspection of the end surfaces is performed. The number of steps required for visual inspection of the pellets 4 can be greatly reduced. Further, since the pellets 4 can be rearranged automatically, the appearance inspection work of the pellets 4 can be standardized.

In this embodiment, the pellet 4 is used as the cylindrical body, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be used to inspect any cylindrical pipes and rods such as steel bars, steel pipes, and ceramics.

In addition, in this embodiment, pin 1 of the blade guide 15
4 is tilted so that the blade guide 15 returns to the normal position by its own weight. However, it goes without saying that the tilt of the pin 14 can be set at an appropriate angle to achieve the above purpose. It is very preferable to provide the blade guide 15 at an angle opposite to the direction in which the pellets 4 are conveyed, since the blade guide 15 can be stably returned to the normal position shown in FIG. 3.

Further, in this embodiment, the blade guide 15 of the direction changing part 5 is configured to return to the normal position by its own weight at the end of rotation, but the blade guide 15
5 to return to its normal position by the action of a spring, etc.
It may be configured to return to the normal position by other means.

"Effects of the Invention" A tapered part whose diameter increases as it approaches from the upper surface to the lower surface is formed on the peripheral edge of the disc, and the exit of the first guide is provided above the tapered part to overlap with the exit of the first guide. A stopper is provided opposite the outlet at a position spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the disk, and a second guide is provided on a side of the disk that extends from the stopper in the radial direction of the disk. Because there are
The cylindrical body placed on the disk and conveyed in the direction along the axis of the cylindrical body is thrown into the tapered part formed on the peripheral edge of the disk, and the end surface of the cylindrical body abuts against the stopper and conveyance is carried out. At the same time, the cylindrical body rolls down along the slope of the taper part under its own weight with its peripheral surface in contact with the tapered part, enters the second guide, and rolls down in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical body. transported. In this way, by dropping the cylindrical body along the inclination of the tapered part, the transport direction of the cylindrical body can be easily and reliably changed from a direction along the axis of the cylindrical body to a direction perpendicular to the axis. I can do it. Therefore, the procedure for visual inspection of cylindrical bodies is as follows:
After the outer peripheral side surface has been inspected, the cylinders can be rearranged to expose the end faces of the cylinders, and then the end faces can be visually inspected, which greatly reduces the amount of time and effort required for the external appearance inspection of the cylinders. can be reduced. Further, since the cylindrical bodies can be rearranged automatically, it is possible to standardize the appearance inspection work of the cylindrical bodies.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 are views showing one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of the direction changer, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are views of a pellet It is an enlarged plan view of the principal part of a direction change machine showing a state at the time of a direction change. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Direction changer, 2... Taper part, 3... Disk, 4... Pellet (cylindrical body), 6... First guide, 7... Second guide, 10... Exit side, 1
5... Feather guide (stoppa).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A cylindrical body whose direction is to be changed is placed on a disk that rotates within a plane, and the cylindrical body is conveyed along a first guide extending in the circumferential direction of the disk, and the conveying direction of the cylindrical body is set according to the direction of the cylindrical body. In a cylindrical direction changer that changes direction from a direction along the axis of the disc to a direction perpendicular to the axis, a tapered part whose diameter increases from the top to the bottom is formed at the peripheral edge of the disc, and the taper An outlet of the first guide is provided above the part, and a stopper is provided opposite to the outlet at a position spaced apart from the outlet in the circumferential direction of the disc, and a stopper is provided on the side of the disc. A cylindrical direction changing machine, characterized in that a second guide is provided at the stopper and extends in the radial direction of the disc.