JP4847935B2 - Cable protection chain breakage detection system and breakage detection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cable protection chain breakage detection system and a breakage detection method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, cable protection chains typified by Cableveyor (registered trademark) have been frequently used as protection members for cables and hoses connected to mobile devices. The cable protection chain has a structure in which unit units are connected to each other in a long chain shape so as to be rotatable with respect to each other, and a cable insertion space is formed inside (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-47441 JP 2004-32956 A

  Most of the unit unit's housing structure consists of a structure in which the left and right side plates are connected by upper and lower connecting plates, and the connecting structure between the plates is a simple uneven engagement system mainly from the viewpoint of assembly and economy. In many cases. For this reason, in the unit unit in the bent region where an excessive force is easily applied, there is a possibility that these engagement parts may be detached due to a problem of deterioration with time, and the shaft shape with the adjacent unit unit may be lost due to the collapse of the housing shape. The joints are also easily removed.

  If the work line continues to operate without noticing that the cable protection chain is broken, the broken portion of the cable protection chain may bite into the internal cable and damage the cable. Once a cable is broken, it takes a lot of labor and time to repair or replace the cable. Therefore, particularly in an automated work line, a technology that can instantaneously detect the breakage of the cable protection chain before the breakage of the cable is desired.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a cable protection chain breakage detection system and a breakage detection method capable of detecting breakage of a cable protection chain with a simple structure. .

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention is a cable protection chain breakage detection system in which unit units are connected in a long chain shape and a cable insertion space is formed therein, and the unit units along the cable protection chain An optical fiber cable fixed to the optical fiber cable, detection means for detecting the amount of light in the optical fiber cable, and determination means for determining that the cable protection chain is broken when the amount of light is less than a predetermined amount. A cable protection chain breakage detection system is provided.

  According to the cable protection chain breakage detection system, when the cable protection chain is broken, the optical fiber cable fixed to the cable protection chain is bent, bent, or disconnected. As a result, the amount of light in the optical fiber cable is less than a predetermined amount, and in particular in the case of a disconnection, the amount of light becomes zero. By detecting this amount of light, breakage of the cable protection chain is detected.

  In the present invention, the cable protection chain breakage detection system is characterized in that the optical fiber cable is fixed to at least all unit units included in the bent region.

  According to the cable protection chain breakage detection system, the breakage detection accuracy can be increased in a bent region where breakage is likely to occur.

  In the present invention, the cable protection chain breakage detection system is characterized in that the optical fiber cable is fixed to a side surface of the unit unit.

  According to this cable protection chain breakage detection system, the wiring state of the entire optical fiber cable can always be easily confirmed. In addition, attaching the optical fiber cable to the side surface of the unit unit does not interfere with maintenance of cables and hoses in the cable protection chain.

  The present invention is also a cable protection chain breakage detection method in which unit units are connected in a long chain shape to form a cable insertion space therein, and an optical fiber cable is connected to the unit unit along the cable protection chain. The cable protection chain breakage detection method is characterized in that the cable protection chain breakage is detected based on the detection result of the light quantity in the optical fiber cable.

  According to this cable protection chain breakage detection method, when the cable protection chain is broken, the optical fiber cable fixed to the cable protection chain is bent, bent, or disconnected. As a result, the amount of light in the optical fiber cable is less than a predetermined amount, particularly in the case of a disconnection, the amount of light becomes zero, and the breakage of the cable protection chain is detected based on the detection result of this amount of light.

  According to the present invention, since the breakage of the cable protection chain can be detected instantaneously, the occurrence of secondary troubles such as breakage of the cable can be prevented in advance, and the working efficiency of the work line can be prevented from being lowered.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a cable protection chain breakage detection system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an optical fiber cable attached to the cable protection chain. Reference numeral 2 denotes a cable protection chain in which unit units 3 are rotatably engaged with each other and connected in a long chain shape, and one end thereof is attached to a moving device 4 that reciprocally moves in an automobile parts production line or the like. . The moving device 4 is a work robot or the like.

  The unit unit 3 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin material. As an example of the housing structure, as shown in FIG. 2, the left and right side plates 3a are connected by upper and lower connecting plates 3b by uneven engagement with press-fitting. Examples of the cable and hose that are connected to the moving device 4 and pass through the inside of the cable protection chain 2 include a power supply cable, a control cable, and an air hose.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the breakage detection system 1 includes an optical fiber cable 5 fixed to the unit unit 3 along the cable protection chain 2, detection means 6 for detecting the amount of light in the optical fiber cable 5, Determination means 7 for determining that the cable protection chain 2 is broken when the amount of light is less than a predetermined amount.

  As a wiring mode of the optical fiber cable 5, for example, one end thereof is taken out from the movable end 2 a side of the cable protection chain 2, the other end is taken out from the fixed end 2 b side of the cable protection chain 2, and both ends are connected to the detection means 6. . As other wiring, the optical fiber cable 5 is pulled in from one end side of the cable protection chain 2 and wired along the cable protection chain 2, folded back at the other end side, and again from the one end side. It can be pulled out.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, as the structure for fixing the optical fiber cable 5 to the unit unit 3, a mounting seat 8 having a hole 8 a through which the optical fiber cable 5 is inserted is fixed to the side plate 3 a. The optical fiber cable 5 is passed through the hole 8a, and the optical fiber cable 5 is fixed to each mounting seat 8 through a known binding band 9 through a through hole formed in the mounting seat 8 so as to cross the hole 8a. At least in each unit unit 3 in the bent region 10 (FIG. 1) of the cable protection chain 2, the optical fiber cable 5 is wired with a slight bending so that an excessive tension is not applied unless the cable protection chain 2 is damaged. It is fixed.

  An amplifier 11 is suitable as the detection means 6, detects the amount of light in the optical fiber cable 5, and outputs a detection signal to the control panel 12. The amplifier 11 can set a reference value that serves as a reference for determining whether or not the amount of light in the optical fiber cable 5 is normal. The control panel 12 constitutes the determination means 7, which displays, for example, that the cable protection chain 2 is broken on the display panel 12 a based on the abnormal signal from the amplifier 11 and automatically operates the equipment related to the moving device 4. Stop. Of course, it is possible to appropriately take measures to sound an alarm instead of stopping or to sound an alarm at the same time as stopping.

  According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, when the side plate 3a and the connecting plate 3b are detached and the unit units 3 adjacent to each other are disconnected, the optical fiber fixed to the unit unit 3 is fixed. The cable 5 is bent, bent, or disconnected at the same time. As a result, the amount of light in the optical fiber cable 5 is smaller than the reference value (predetermined amount) set by the amplifier 11, and when the wire is disconnected, the amount of light becomes zero, and the control panel is based on the abnormality detection signal output by the amplifier 11. 12 shuts down the equipment. As the breakage of the cable protection chain 2, the unit unit 3 may be broken or chipped due to deterioration over time as well as the case of the unit unit 3 being collapsed as described above.

  Thus, the optical fiber cable 5 fixed to the unit unit 3 along the cable protection chain 2, the detection means 6 for detecting the light quantity in the optical fiber cable 5, and the light quantity is less than a predetermined amount. In some cases, the damage detection system 1 includes a determination unit 7 that determines that the cable protection chain 2 is broken, or the optical fiber cable 5 is fixed to the surface of the cable protection chain 2 along the cable protection chain 2. However, if the damage detection method detects the breakage of the cable protection chain 2 based on the detection result of the amount of light in the optical fiber cable 5, the breakage of the cable protection chain 2 can be detected instantaneously. The occurrence of secondary troubles such as breakage of the air hose can be prevented in advance.

  Further, for example, every other optical fiber cable 5 may be fixed to the unit unit 3, and in some cases, it may be fixed at intervals of two or more. However, at least in the unit unit 3 included in the bent region 10 where damage is likely to occur, the optical fiber cable 5 is not selectively fixed in order to increase the detection accuracy of breakage, but all the unit units 3 are not fixed. It is desirable to fix.

  Further, if the optical fiber cable 5 is fixed to the side surface (side plate 3a) of the unit unit 3, the wiring state of the entire optical fiber cable 5 can always be easily confirmed. Further, it does not hinder the maintenance of the cables and hoses in the cable protection chain 2 by removing the connecting plate 3b.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. Of course, as the optical fiber cable 5, a bi-directional communication can be used. Another example of the structure for fixing the optical fiber cable 5 to the unit unit 3 is a method in which the optical fiber cable 5 is pressed against the unit unit 3 with a pressing piece, and the holding piece is fixed to the unit unit 3 with screws or the like. It is done.

  Furthermore, although the optical fiber cable 5 is attached to the outer surface of the unit unit 3 in the described embodiment, it can be attached to the inner surface of the unit unit 3. Also, a configuration in which a plurality of optical fiber cables 5 are attached, for example, the optical fiber cables 5 can be attached to the left and right side plates 3a, respectively. In addition, the design of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a block diagram of the breakage detection system of the cable protection chain which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the attachment state of the optical fiber cable with respect to a cable protection chain. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing when a cable protection chain is damaged.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cable protection chain breakage detection system 2 Cable protection chain 3 Unit unit 4 Moving device 5 Optical fiber cable 6 Detection means 7 Determination means 10 Bending area

Claims (4)

A cable protection chain breakage detection system in which unit units are connected in a long chain to form a cable insertion space inside,
An optical fiber cable fixed to the unit unit along the cable protection chain;
Detecting means for detecting the amount of light in the optical fiber cable;
A determination means for determining that the cable protection chain is broken when the light amount is less than a predetermined amount;
A breakage detection system for a cable protection chain, comprising:   2. The cable protection chain breakage detection system according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber cable is fixed to at least all unit units included in the bent region.   3. The cable protection chain breakage detection system according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber cable is fixed to a side surface of the unit unit. A method for detecting breakage of a cable protection chain in which unit units are connected in a long chain to form a cable insertion space therein,
Fix the optical fiber cable to the unit unit along the cable protection chain,
A breakage detection method for a cable protection chain, wherein breakage of the cable protection chain is detected based on a detection result of a light amount in the optical fiber cable.

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