Method for measuring flatness of sheet material and method for manufacturing steel sheet using the same

• US 9,003,846 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2012
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (Nippon Steel Corporation)
• Inventors: Isei, Yoshito, Kato, Tomoya, Osugi, Masahiro, Takahashi, Hideyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Self, Shelley
• Assistant Examiner(s): BATTULA, PRADEEP CHOUDARY
• Application Number:
  US13/654,907
• Publication Number:
  US 20130098127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 72 71- 148, 722/01, 72/37, 700/154, 250/559.05, 250/559.07, 250/559.08, 348/135, 348/136, 348/143, 348/148, 348/149, 348/152
• US Class Current: 72/11.2
• CPC Class Codes: B21B 1/22 for rolling plates, strips, bands or sheets of indefinite length B21B1/42 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B21B 38/02 for measuring flatness or profile of strips
• CPC Class Codes: B21C 51/00 Measuring, gauging, indicating, counting, or marking devices specially adapted for use in the production or manipulation of material in accordance with subclasses B21B - B21F
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/2513 with several lines being projected in more than one direction, e.g. grids, patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/303 using photoelectric detection means
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/306 for measuring evenness

Abstract

Measuring sheet material flatness includes projecting a bright and dark pattern made up of bright parts and dark parts onto a sheet material surface travelling in a lengthwise direction, picking up an image of pattern with image pickup device to acquire a pattern image, with the pickup device having a field of view larger than a sheet material width. The acquired pattern image is analyzed, wherein a pattern in which a bright part is disposed at a predetermined set pitch respectively in longitudinal and lateral directions is formed by an LED light at a predetermined pitch respectively in the longitudinal and lateral directions. The pattern is projected onto the surface such that the longitudinal direction of the pattern lies along a lengthwise direction of the sheet material, and the lateral direction of the pattern lies along a width direction of the sheet material.

Claims

1. A method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material, comprising:

forming a bright and dark pattern made up of bright parts and dark parts, the bright parts being disposed at first and second pitches respectively in first and, second directions by light emitted from an LED light source including a plurality of LEDs disposed at third and fourth pitches respectively in the first and second directions;

projecting the bright and dark pattern onto a surface of the sheet material travelling in a lengthwise direction thereof such that the first direction of the bright and dark pattern lies along the lengthwise direction of the sheet material, and the second direction of the bright and dark pattern lies along a width direction of the sheet material;

picking up an image of the bright and dark pattern with an image pickup device to acquire a pattern image; and

analyzing the acquired pattern image by calculating a distribution of the first pitch of the bright parts along the first direction, calculating a surface shape of the sheet material along the first direction based on the calculated distribution of the first pitch, and measuring the flatness of the sheet material based on the calculated surface shape.

2. The method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material according to claim 1, wherein

the image pickup device is disposed at a location where the image pickup device can receive light of the bright and dark pattern specularly reflected at the surface of the sheet material, and

among current values to be applied to each LED included in the LED light source, the current value to be applied to an LED corresponding to a bright part resulting from specularly reflected light received by the image pickup device is set to be minimum.

3. The method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material according to claim 1, wherein

a two-dimensional camera with an electronic shutter which can set an exposure timing and an exposure time is used as the image pickup device, and

a lighting timing and a lighting time of the LED are respectively made synchronous with an exposure timing and an exposure time set in the two-dimensional camera with the electronic shutter.

4. The method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material according to claim 1, wherein

as the LED, an LED that emits light of a single wavelength different from a peak wavelength of radiant light emanating from the sheet material is used, and

a bandpass filter that passes only light having a wavelength of the emission wavelength of the LED and a wavelength close to the emission wavelength of the LED is disposed in front of the image pickup device.

5. A method for manufacturing a steel sheet, comprising rough-rolling a billet with a roughing-down mill, rolling the billet with a finish rolling mill train, and thereafter cooling the billet in a cooling zone to manufacture a steel sheet, wherein

a rolling condition of the finish-rolling mill train or a cooling condition in the cooling zone is controlled based on a result of measuring a flatness of a steel sheet as the sheet material by the method for measuring a flatness according to claim 1.

6. The method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup device is provided with a field of view larger than a width of the sheet material.

7. The method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material according to claim 1, wherein calculating the surface shape of the sheet material includes calculating a distribution of an inclination angle of the surface of the sheet material, based on a preliminarily determined relationship between the first pitch and the inclination angle of the surface of the sheet material.

8. A method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material, comprising:

forming a staggered bright and dark pattern made up of bright parts and dark parts in which the bright parts are disposed at first and second pitches respectively in first and second directions by light emitted from an LED light source including a plurality of LEDs disposed in a staggered manner at third and fourth pitches respectively in the first and second directions, and projecting the staggered pattern onto a surface of the sheet material such that the first direction of the staggered pattern lies along a lengthwise direction of the sheet material, and the second direction of the staggered pattern lies along a width direction of the sheet material;

acquiring a pattern image by picking up an image of the staggered pattern with an image pickup device disposed at a location where the image pickup device can receive light in which the staggered pattern is specularly reflected at the surface of the sheet material;

setting a shape measurement line extending along the first direction of the staggered pattern at a predetermined location in the acquired pattern image;

averaging pixel densities on a straight line which passes pixels on the shape measurement line and extends in the second direction of the staggered pattern, and which has a length not less than twice the second pitch of the bright parts and calculating an average pixel density;

calculating a distribution of the average pixel density along the shape measurement line; and

calculating a surface shape of the sheet material along the shape measurement line based on the calculated average pixel density distribution, and computing a flatness of the sheet material based on the calculated surface shape.

9. The method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material according to claim 8, wherein the image pickup device is provided with a field of view larger than a width of the sheet material.

10. A method for manufacturing a steel sheet, comprising rough-rolling a billet with a roughing-down mill, rolling the billet with a finish rolling mill train, and thereafter cooling the billet in a cooling zone to manufacture a steel sheet, wherein

a rolling condition of the finish-rolling mill train or a cooling condition in the cooling zone is controlled based on a result of measuring a flatness of a steel sheet as the sheet material by the method for measuring a flatness according to claim 8.

11. A method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material, comprising:

forming a bright and dark pattern made up of bright parts and dark parts, the bright parts being disposed at first and second pitches respectively in first and second directions by light emitted from an LED light source including a plurality of LEDs disposed at third and fourth pitches respectively in the first and second directions;

projecting the bright and dark pattern onto a surface of the sheet material travelling in a lengthwise direction thereof such that the first direction of the bright and dark pattern lies along the lengthwise direction of the sheet material, and the second direction of the bright and dark pattern lies along a width direction of the sheet material;

picking up an image of the bright and dark pattern with an image pickup device to acquire a pattern image; and

analyzing the acquired pattern image to measure the flatness of the sheet material, wherein

a two-dimensional camera with an electronic shutter which can set an exposure timing and an exposure time is used as the image pickup device, and

a lighting timing and a lighting time of the LED are respectively made synchronous with an exposure timing and an exposure time set in the two-dimensional camera with the electronic shutter.

12. A method for measuring a flatness of a sheet material, comprising:

forming a bright and dark pattern made up of bright parts and dark parts, the bright parts being disposed at first and second pitches respectively in first and second directions by light emitted from an LED light source including a plurality of LEDs disposed at third and fourth pitches respectively in the first and second directions;

projecting the bright and dark pattern onto a surface of the sheet material travelling in a lengthwise direction thereof such that the first direction of the bright and dark pattern lies along the lengthwise direction of the sheet material, and the second direction of the bright and dark pattern lies along a width direction of the sheet material;

picking up an image of the bright and dark pattern with an image pickup device to acquire a pattern image; and

analyzing the acquired pattern image to measure the flatness of the sheet material, wherein

as the LED, an LED that emits light of a single wavelength different from a peak wavelength of radiant light emanating from the sheet material is used, and

a bandpass filter that passes only light having a wavelength of the emission wavelength of the LED and a wavelength close to the emission wavelength of the LED is disposed in front of the image pickup device.