Environmental test apparatus

• US 5,610,344 A
• Filed: 01/05/1996
• Issued: 03/11/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippon Yusen Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Nippon Yusen Kaisha
• Inventors: Ishizuka, Masanori, Ueda, Ichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kwok, Helen C.
• Application Number:
  US08/583,529
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• Field of Search: 73/865.6, 73/431, 73/663, 73/662, 374/45, 374/57
• US Class Current: 73/865.6
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 7/02 Vibration-testing by means of a shake table
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/002 Thermal testing flaw detection G01N25/72

Abstract

An environmental test apparatus comprising a substrate on which a test specimen is mounted securely, a cover disposed on the substrate for housing the test specimen within a tightly closed space thereof, a temperature/moisture adjusting system for adjusting temperature and moisture in the tightly closed space, a memory for storing control data such as accumulated past data or various kinds of environment reproduing data, a control system for controlling the temperature/moisture adjusting system based on the control data stored in the memory and a data measuring system for measuring and recording various kind of data for environmental test. Since the test specimen is disposed in the tightly closed space and temperature and moisture in the space are controlled based on the control data such as the past accumulated data or various kinds of environment reproducing data, test, for example, on transportation, storage or accumulation can be conducted with no actual experience of such an environment but under simulated environmental conditions relevant thereto, so that the effects of the environmental conditions on the cargos can be specified scientifically and accurately.

Claims

1. An environmental test apparatus

a substrate on which a test specimen is placed;

means for securing the test specimen on the substrate;

a cover disposed on the substrate and having a tightly closed space at the inside thereof for housing the test specimen, wherein the cover includes a series of frames spaced apart from each other, a flexible membrane material covering and connecting each of the frames, and a skirt disposed to the circumferential edge at the lower end of the membrane material, said cover defining a closed specimen-housing space above the substrate, the cover being movable and extensible with respect to said substrate;

the lower end of the skirt being inserted into a sealing groove disposed adjacent to the substrate and filled with a liquid,

a temperature/moisture adjusting means for adjusting the temperature and moisture in said tightly closed space;

a memory means for storing real-life control data sets including a plurality of sets of actual environmental conditions which are recorded simultaneous with an occurrence of said actual environmental conditions;

a control means for controlling said temperature/moisture adjusting means by selecting one of the real life control data sets stored in said memory means; and

data measuring means for measuring and recording various kinds of data from an environmental test;

wherein the substrate comprises a floating foundation supported on a main foundation by way of a damping mechanism and a vibrational stand attached to said floating foundation by way of a vibration mechanism and applied with vibrations from the vibration mechanism, and the test specimen is placed and secured on said vibrational stand;

said vibration mechanism being controlled by the control means.

2. The test apparatus recited in claim 1, wherein an internal temperature/moisture adjusting means is disposed for adjusting the temperature and the moisture at the inside of the test specimen and said internal temperature/moisture adjusting means is controlled by the control means.

3. The test apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein a gas composition adjusting means is disposed for adjusting the composition of gases at the inside of the test specimen and said gas composition adjusting means is controlled by the control means.

4. The test apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said frames comprises a guide roller provided at an end thereof, said guide roller rolling along a rails provided on the substrate to thereby adjust the position of said cover.

5. The test apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the membrane material comprises a heat insulating material.

6. The test apparatus as defined in claim 1, said vibration mechanism has a degree of freedom for six axes including vertical direction, lateral direction, forward-to-backward direction, rolling direction, pitching direction and yawing direction.

7. The test apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the vibration mechanism comprises four sets of horizontal actuators disposed on the peripheral four sides of a vibrational stand in a flat rectangular shape, respectively, and four sets of actuators disposed on the lower surface of the vibrational stand.

8. An environmental test apparatus comprising:

a substrate on which a test specimen is placed;

means for securing the test specimen on the substrate;

a cover disposed on the substrate and having a tightly closed space at the inside thereof for housing the test specimen;

a temperature/moisture adjusting means for adjusting the temperature and moisture in said tightly closed space;

a memory means for storing real-life control data sets including a plurality of sets of actual environmental conditions which are recorded simultaneous with an occurrence of said actual environmental conditions;

a control means for controlling said temperature/moisture adjusting means by selecting one of the real life control data sets stored in said memory means; and

data measuring means for measuring and recording various kinds of data from an environmental test;

wherein the substrate comprises a floating foundation supported on a main foundation by way of a damping mechanism and a vibrational stand attached to said floating foundation by way of a vibration mechanism and applied with vibrations from the vibration mechanism, and the test specimen is placed and secured on said vibrational stand;

said vibration mechanism has a degree of freedom for six axes including vertical direction, lateral direction, forward-to-backward direction, rolling direction, pitching direction and yawing direction;

said vibration mechanism being controlled by the control means.

9. The test apparatus defined in claim 8, wherein the cover includes a series of frames spaced apart from each other and a flexible membrane material covering and connecting each of the frames, said cover defining a closed specimen-housing space above the substrate, the cover being movable and extensible with respect to said substrate.

10. The test apparatus recited in claim 8, wherein an internal temperature/moisture adjusting means is disposed for adjusting the temperature and the moisture at the inside of the test specimen and said internal temperature/moisture adjusting means is controlled by the control means.

11. The test apparatus defined in claim 8, wherein a gas composition adjusting means is disposed for adjusting the composition of gases at the inside of the test specimen and said gas composition adjusting means is controlled by the control means.