MANAGEMENT METHOD FOR A COILER APPARATUS AND CORRESPONDING DEVICE

Abstract

Method and device (10) to manage a coiler apparatus (11) associated with a distributor (15), in which there is at least an exit of the feeder (21) of hot or cold semi-worked metal products, and with a reel (16), both being respectively moved with suitable controlled movement and rotation means, able to manage the coiling obtaining coils with desired characteristics.

Claims

1. A management method for a coiler apparatus provided with a distributor, in which there is at least an exit of the feeder of semi-worked hot or cold metal products, a reel, and a management device comprising a video recording system focusing on said semi-worked metal product, said distributor and said reel being respectively moved by suitable controlled movement and rotation means, wherein said management method comprises: a step of inserting data in a control and command unit of said management device of the reference operating coiling parameters, said reference operating parameters being at least a desired angle of inclination (?.sub.SET.sup.i,l), and the equivalent diameter (D.sub.SET.sup.i,l) of said semi-worked metal product to the i-th rotation of said reel and to the l-th layer of the coil being formed, said angle of inclination (?.sub.SET.sup.i,l) being defined between the axis of said exit from the feeder and the instantaneous coiling point of said semi-worked metal product on said reel, a step of collecting the images from said video recording system during coiling, the collecting of the images being coordinated with the coiling speed; a step of processing the images and calculating continuously at least the operating parameters (?.sup.i,l, D.sup.i,l) by means of a processing and calculating unit of said management device, said operating parameters being at least said angle of inclination (?.sup.i,l) and said equivalent diameter (D.sup.i,l) of said semi-worked metal product; a step of comparing said operating parameters (?.sup.i,l, D.sup.i,l) obtained from the collection of images with said reference operating parameters (?.sub.SET.sup.i,l, D.sub.SET.sup.i,l) inserted in the control and command unit; a step of converting the possible differences between said reference operating parameters (?.sub.SET.sup.i,l, D.sub.SET.sup.i,l) and said operating parameters obtained (?.sup.i,l, D.sup.i,l), into coordinated variations (?V.sub.D.sup.FB, ?V.sub.R.sup.FB) of the speed of movement (V.sub.D) of said distributor and/or of the speed of rotation (V.sub.R) of said reel; a step of coordinated adjustment of the speed of movement (V.sub.D) of said distributor and of the speed of rotation (V.sub.R) of said reel.

2. The management method as in claim 1, and further comprising at least a step of calibrating said operating coiling parameters (?.sup.i,l, D.sup.i,l) with at least the speed of movement (V.sub.D.sup.i,l) of said distributor and the speed of rotation (V.sub.R.sup.i,l) of said reel for each rotation and each layer of the coiling.

3. The management method as in claim 1, wherein to control and/or adjust the speed of movement (V.sub.D) of said distributor and the speed of rotation (V.sub.R) of said reel at least one of the following functional relations are adopted:
V.sub.R=f.sub.1(V.sub.R.sup.i,l,?V.sub.R.sup.FB)
V.sub.D=f.sub.2(V.sub.D.sup.i,l?V.sub.D.sup.FB) where: f1 and f2 express two functional relations that link the speeds of movement of the distributor and of the reel; the index (i) and the index (l) respectively identify the i-th winding rotation and the l-th layer of the coil; V.sub.R is the speed of rotation of said reel; V.sub.D is the speed of the movement mean of said distributor; V.sub.R.sup.i,l is the speed of rotation of said reel corresponding to the i-th rotation of the l-th layer; V.sub.D.sup.i,l is the speed of the movement mean of said distributor corresponding to the i-th rotation of the l-th layer; ?V.sub.R.sup.FB is the variation in the speed of rotation of said reel proportional to the difference between the reference operating coiling parameters and the operating parameters detected; ?V.sub.D.sup.FB is the variation in the speed of the movement mean of said distributor proportional to the difference between the reference operating coiling parameters and the operating parameters detected.

4. The management method as in claim 3, wherein said speed of movement (V.sub.D.sup.i,l) and said speed of rotation (V.sub.R.sup.i,l) are mutually dependent, and said speed of movement (V.sub.D.sup.i,l) also depends on the distance (G.sub.S.sup.i,l) between said equivalent diameter (D.sup.i,l) and the previous equivalent diameter (D.sup.i-l,l).

5. The management method as in claim 4, wherein said distance (G.sub.S.sup.i,l) depends on said angle of inclination (?.sup.i,l).

6. A management device for a coiler apparatus provided with a distributor, in which there is at least one exit of a feeder of hot or cold semi-worked metal products, and a reel, respectively moved by suitable controlled movement and rotation means, said management device comprising a video recording system configured to acquire images of said semi-worked metal product, wherein said management device comprises: a processing and calculating unit configured to process said images and calculate continuously the equivalent diameter (D.sup.i,l) of said semi-worked metal product and the angle of inclination (?.sup.i,l) defined between the axis of said exit of the feeder and the instantaneous coiling point of said semi-worked metal product on said reel; a control and command unit configured to control said operating parameters (?.sup.i,l, D.sup.i,l) obtained with reference operating parameters (?.sub.SET.sup.i,l, D.sub.SET.sup.i,l) previously supplied, and to command in a coordinated manner said movement and rotation means of said distributor and said reel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] These and other characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of some embodiments, given as a non-restrictive example with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

[0053] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a management device for a coiler apparatus according to the present invention;

[0054] FIG. 2a is a view from above of FIG. 1 that shows a visual field of a management device for a coiler apparatus according to the present invention;

[0055] FIG. 2b is a view in section of FIG. 2a of a coiler apparatus associated with a management device according to the present invention;

[0056] FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram that shows the method to manage a coiler apparatus according to the present invention.

[0057] To facilitate comprehension, the same reference numbers have been used, where possible, to identify identical common elements in the drawings. It is understood that elements and characteristics of one embodiment can conveniently be incorporated into other embodiments without further clarifications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

[0058] With reference to FIG. 1, a management device 10 associated with a coiler apparatus 11 according to the present invention comprises at least a video recording system 12, a processing and calculating unit 13 and a control and command unit 14.

[0059] The coiler apparatus 11 comprises a rod distributor 15 associated and able to be coordinated with a reel 16.

[0060] The distributor 15 and the reel 16 are conformed and positioned in a known manner to be moved respectively with specific movement and rotation means, adjustable in a desired and controlled manner.

[0061] The reel 16 is associated, at its two ends, with containing elements 17, or flanges, cooperating with a mandrel 18, which not only contain and support the coil but also allow to define its sizes.

[0062] Furthermore, at least one of the containing elements 17 can be dis-assembled to remove the coil obtained.

[0063] Advantageously, in at least one of said containing elements 17 there is a suitable housing seating 19 associated with an attachment mean 20 of one end of the rod, to prepare the rod at start-of-coiling.

[0064] In this case, the distributor 15 can move parallel to the axis of the mandrel 18 along the lateral extension between the containing elements 17.

[0065] According to a variant, not shown, the distributor 15 is able to be positioned, on each occasion, also in relation to the specific layer being coiled.

[0066] In particular, the distributor 15 supplies rod continuously, and in a desired and controlled manner, from the exit of the feeder 21 to the reel 16, positioning the rod progressively on desired surfaces parallel to the axis of the reel 16.

[0067] According to the invention, the movement of the distributor 15 is performed keeping the exit of the feeder 21 facing toward the specific surface temporally affected during coiling.

[0068] The video recording system 12 cooperates with a processing and calculating unit 13 and a control and command unit 14 which can be located near to or far from the video recording system 12.

[0069] In particular, the processing and calculating unit 13 and the control and command unit 14 can be autonomous entities, dedicated to the control of the coiling system, or parts of a general control unit that also manages apparatuses disposed upstream and/or downstream of the coiler apparatus and interacting with it.

[0070] According to a variant, the video recording system 12 also cooperates with a source of structured light system 22 configured to emit one or more beams of structured light 23 intersecting the surface of the rod and/or the reel 16 and/or the distributor 15 and detectable by the video recording system 12.

[0071] In particular, the beam or beams of structured light 23, which by way of non-restrictive example can be laser beams, leds or other type, are associated with the surface of the rod and/or the distributor 15 and/or a surface of the reel 16, and specifically are advantageously associated with at least an external surface 24 of at least one of said containing elements 17.

[0072] The source of structured light system 22, cooperating with at least the video recording system 12, allows the management device 10 to define the reference spatial coordinates useable for processing the images collected by the video recording system 12. With this, it is also possible to associate the management device 10 with existing coiler apparatuses 11 which have both the reel 16 in a horizontal position and also in a vertical or inclined position.

[0073] The video recording system 12 incorporates image capturing means such as, for example, a charge-coupled image detector (CCD) or other similar device.

[0074] In order to have a visual field suitable to detect operating coiling parameters, the video recording system 12 focuses on the rod at least at exit from the feeder 19 to the reel 16.

[0075] Furthermore, the video recording system 12 is able to collect the images at a speed coordinated with the desired coiling speed.

[0076] The processing and calculating unit 13, for example consisting of integrated circuits and/or microprocessors, processes the images collected by the video recording system 12 to acquire one or more operating coiling parameters thereof.

[0077] According to a variant, the processing and calculating unit 13 is able to measure point-by-point, on the plane that comprises the axis of the distributor 15, at least the angle of inclination ? of the rod.

[0078] The angle of inclination ? is defined between the axis of the feeder of the distributor 15 and the instantaneous coiling point on the reel 16 with respect to nominal zero.

[0079] According to a variant, the processing and calculating unit 13 is able to measure point-by-point the equivalent diameter of the section of the rod during coiling.

[0080] The control and command unit 14, for example consisting of integrated circuits and/or microprocessors cooperating with suitable actuators, is associated by the movement and rotation means respectively with the distributor 15 and the reel 16 by means of specific connections and/or remote command systems (not shown).

[0081] Furthermore, once the operating coiling parameters have been processed, the control and command unit 14 is able to verify that they are the ones desired, according to the specific coiling moment.

[0082] If there is discordance between the control operating parameters and the desired parameters, the control and command unit 14 adjusts the operating speeds of the distributor 15 and the reel 16 in a coordinated manner.

[0083] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method corresponding to the management device 10 for a coiler apparatus 11 comprises at least: [0084] a step of positioning the management device 10 in relation to the coiler apparatus 11, disposing the video recording system 12 so that it focuses on the rod at least in the space comprised from the exit of the feeder 21 to the reel 16; [0085] a possible step of aligning the source of structured light system 22 so as to define the orientation of the video recording system 12 with respect to the distributor 15 and/or the reel 16; [0086] a possible step of initial positioning and clamping the rod from the distributor 15 in the housing seating 19 associated with the attachment mean 20; [0087] a step of inserting data in the control and command unit 14 of the desired reference operating coiling parameters; [0088] a step of collecting images from the video recording system 12 during coiling, the collecting being coordinated with the coiling speed; [0089] a step of processing the images and calculating the operating parameters thus obtained by means of the processing and calculating unit 13; [0090] a step of controlling by comparing the operating parameters obtained with the reference operating parameters previously inserted in the control and command unit 14; [0091] a possible step of converting the possible differences between the desired operating coiling parameters with those detected in suitable and coordinated variations of the movement of the distributor 15 and/or of the speed of rotation of the reel 16.

[0092] According to the invention, the management method uses an algorithm to calculate the speed of the movement mean of the distributor 15 and the speed of rotation of the reel 16, necessary point-by-point during coiling, depending on the desired position of the spiral and the layer of the coil.

[0093] The algorithm can be summarized in the following functional expressions:

V.sub.R=f.sub.1(V.sub.R.sup.i,l,?V.sub.R.sup.FB)

V.sub.D=f.sub.2(V.sub.D.sup.i,l?V.sub.D.sup.FB)

[0094] where: [0095] f1 and f2 express two functional relations that link the speeds of movement of the distributor 15 and of the reel 16; with the parameters between round brackets [0096] the index i and the index l refer respectively to the i-th winding rotation and the l-th layer of the coil; [0097] V.sub.R is the speed of rotation of the reel 16; [0098] V.sub.D is the speed of the movement mean of the distributor 15; [0099] V.sub.R.sup.i,l is the speed of rotation of the reel 16 corresponding to the i-th rotation of the l-th layer; [0100] V.sub.D.sup.i,l is the speed of the movement mean of the distributor 15 corresponding to the i-th rotation of the l-th layer; [0101] ?V.sub.R.sup.FB is the variation in the speed of rotation of the reel 16 proportional to the difference between the desired operating coiling parameters inserted and the operating parameters detected; [0102] ?V.sub.D.sup.FB is the variation in the speed of the movement mean of the distributor 15 proportional to the difference between the desired operating coiling parameters inserted and the operating parameters detected.

[0103] According to the invention, for every desired coiling there is at least one specific relation between the spiral in the i-th position and the layer in the l-th position and at least one operating parameter, for example the angle of inclination ? of the rod.

[0104] Said relation is defined by the data inserted in the control and command unit 14 and can be determined by a suitable calibration.

[0105] The parameter V.sub.D.sup.i,l depends, at rotation i and at layer 1, on the parameter V.sub.R.sup.i,l and the equivalent diameter D.sup.i,l distanced from the previous one by a length G.sub.S.sup.i,l.

[0106] According to the invention there is a relation between the parameter G.sub.S.sup.i,l and the speeds of the movement mean of the distributor 15 (V.sub.D) and the speed of rotation of the reel (V.sub.R).

[0107] Consequently, since there is a relation between the speeds V.sub.R and V.sub.D and the angle of inclination ? of the rod, the parameter G.sub.S.sup.i,l which determines the desired position of the spirals can be controlled. The control of the parameter G.sub.S.sup.i,l is obtained by measuring the angle of inclination ?. Possibly, the parameters G.sub.S.sup.i,l can be modified, in correspondence with every rotation i and/or every layer 1, intervening on the speeds of the movement mean of the distributor 15 and the reel 16.

[0108] The variations in speed ?V.sub.R.sup.FB and ?V.sub.D.sup.FB are determined continuously during coiling, so as to prevent imperfections and/or residual tensions and to have a desired positioning of the spirals with every rotation i and with every layer 1.

[0109] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram that gives an example of the management method for a coiler apparatus 11 according to the present invention.

[0110] In this example, the angle of inclination ?.sub.SET.sup.i,l and the equivalent diameter D.sub.SET.sup.i,l of the semi-worked product to the i-th rotation and to the l-th layer are inserted as operating reference coiling parameters.

[0111] The method shown in a simplified manner in FIG. 3 provides initially a step of inserting the desired reference operating parameters in the control and command unit 14.

[0112] The video recording system 12 acquires the images during coiling and sends them to the processing and calculating unit 13.

[0113] The processing and calculating unit 13 calculates continuously the operating parameters and sends them to the control and command unit 14.

[0114] The control and command unit 14 compares the parameters obtained with the reference operating parameter previously inserted.

[0115] If there is a difference between the reference operating parameters and the operating parameters obtained, the control and command unit 14 converts the differences into suitable and coordinated variations in the movement of the distributor 15 and/or the speed of rotation of the reel 16 (?V.sub.R.sup.FB, ?V.sub.D.sup.FB).

[0116] The control and command unit 14 possibly commands the distributor 15 and/or the reel 16, varying respectively their speeds of movement and of rotation.

[0117] The process is repeated for each i-th rotation and each l-th layer until the coil is completed.

[0118] It is clear that modifications and/or additions of parts may be made to the management device for a coiler apparatus, and the corresponding method, as described heretofore, without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

[0119] It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to some specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of management device for a coiler apparatus, and the corresponding method, having the characteristics as set forth in the claims and hence all coming within the field of protection defined thereby.