JPH1077145A - Method and device for inspecting sheet material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly and accurately discard an inferior product by leaving a cut end curl amount, corresponding to a cut end sag amount of a sheet material, left as previously stored in a memory means, reading the curl amount corresponding to a measured sag amount from the memory means, and discriminating the sheet material for whether it is good or bad. SOLUTION: When an output of a sheet tip end detector 54 is turned on, for only a fixed time, an output data from a sheet sag amount measuring device 56a to 56b is fetched by an arithmetic device. A stored sag amount data is used, the output data from the sag amount measuring device 56a to 56b is converted into a sag amount of a sheet material 12. From a stored sag amount data, a curl amount of the sheet material 12 is calculated. The calculated curl amount is compared for whether within a standard or not, when it is within the standard, this sheet material 12 is conveyed to an accumulating device side. On the other hand, in the case of separation from the standard, this sheet material 12 is conveyed to a discarding part side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for inspecting a sheet material, and more particularly, to a method for unwinding a rolled web and cutting it into a predetermined length to form a sheet such as a photosensitive lithographic printing plate. The present invention relates to a sheet material inspection method and apparatus for obtaining a material and inspecting the shape of the sheet material in a series of steps including this cutting step.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, PS plates for lithographic printing (Pre-Se
For example, 0.1 mm to
A thin metal plate such as an aluminum metal having a thickness of about 0.5 mm is used as a support (sheet material). The sheet material manufacturing apparatus usually includes a winding shaft on which the web is wound in a roll shape, and the web sent from the winding shaft is curled (curled) by a curling device such as a decurling device or a roller leveler. Is corrected and flattened. After cutting the web with a slitter, the web is cut into a predetermined length with a cutter to produce a sheet material from the web. The sheet material is conveyed to a stacking position by a conveyance mechanism such as a conveyor at a stage subsequent to the cutter, and is stacked in a bundle.

[0003] In the above-described sheet material manufacturing process, a sheet cut from a web is subjected to a shape inspection for detecting whether or not a curl or a shape defect exists. Conventional shape inspection methods include, for example, a method of extracting a sheet material cut by a cutter from a line as a sample and measuring the curl or shape defect of the sheet material off-line (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 1) or a special application. As disclosed in JP-A-4-205689, a method of calculating a curl amount by measuring a droop amount of a cut end of a cut sheet material at an exit of a conveyor as a transport mechanism (hereinafter, a conventional example) 2) is known.

[0004]

However, in the inspection method of the above-mentioned conventional example 1, since the sheet material on the line is extracted by the sampling device and the measurement is performed, the measurement operation takes a considerable amount of time and labor. is there. In addition, since the line cannot be operated until the measurement operation is completed, the operation efficiency of the line is reduced.

In the inspection method of the above-mentioned conventional example 2, after the sheet material is conveyed to the exit of the conveyor, the amount of sag of the sheet is measured. There are a plurality of sheets that result in a product defect, resulting in a problem that the product yield is reduced. In addition, when a curl exists in the sheet material, the operation of changing the setting conditions of the curl correction device usually depends on the experience of the operator, and the difference in the experience of the operator causes more product defects. I will. Furthermore, the amount of curl of the web wound on the winding shaft is different between the outer circumferential side of the roll and the vicinity of the winding shaft, and the setting conditions of the curl correcting device must be changed between the outer circumferential side and the vicinity of the winding shaft. At this time, the change of the setting conditions near the winding shaft is performed based on the experience of the worker, and thus places an excessive burden on the worker. In addition, when the setting conditions are not properly changed, accumulation defects such as the meandering of the sheet material on the conveyer increase, the product yield decreases, and the line operation rate decreases.

Further, when the web wound in a roll shape is rewound on the winding shaft and cut into a sheet material corresponding to the next web, the curl correcting device is operated under temporary setting conditions,
Based on the result of the curl inspection, the setting conditions of the curl correcting device are determined again. Therefore, since the line is operated under the tentative setting conditions until the normal operation conditions are determined, there is a disadvantage that the product yield is reduced. In addition, it is necessary to operate the line at a low speed in order to reduce a decrease in the yield until the formal setting conditions are determined.

Further, the cutter position and the amount of sag of the cut end of the sheet material are detected, and the curl amount is calculated in advance based on the product information including the thickness of the product and the sag amount of the web and the cutter position. There is a way. According to this method, it is possible to calculate and set the conditions of the curl correcting device for the next web, so that the setting conditions can be determined in a short time corresponding to webs of different materials. However, in this method, since the operator joins the end of the web of the previous product and the end of the web of the next product using a tape, if there is a joining failure, the tension applied to the web becomes uneven, When the curl of the web is corrected by the curl correcting device, there is a disadvantage that the curl in the web width direction becomes uneven and the curl cannot be corrected.

[0008] If a defect such as a push flaw occurs on the web due to foreign matter such as metal powder adhering to the surface of the roller during web transport, the line is stopped, the tension of the web is loosened, and the foreign matter on the roller surface is removed. Is removed. In such a case, if the tension is relaxed, the web shifts from the steady position of the conveyance, so that the tension applied to the web becomes non-uniform. The curl becomes uneven.

For this reason, the operator operates the distribution device to discharge the sheet material to the defective product disposal section until the curl becomes uniform in the width direction. At this time, since the line is operated at a low speed for sorting the sheet materials, there is a problem that productivity is reduced. The present invention solves this kind of problem by detecting the curl amount of a sheet material online quickly and accurately, and in the case of a defective product, can discharge it to a disposal position and improve the product yield. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for inspecting a sheet material that can be performed.

[0010]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a rolled web is cut into a predetermined length to form a sheet material, and the shape of the sheet material is reduced. In the sheet material inspection method for inspecting and discriminating a non-defective product from a non-defective product, the curl amount of the cut end corresponding to the sag amount of the cut end of the sheet material is stored in the storage unit,
The sagging amount of the cut end of the sheet material to be inspected is measured by the measuring means, and the curl amount corresponding to the sagging amount obtained by the measuring means is read from the storage means, and the read curl amount is equal to or less than the allowable value. Is characterized in that the sheet material is determined as a non-defective product, and when the curl amount exceeds an allowable value, the sheet material is determined as a defective product.

According to the present invention, first, the curl amount of the cut end corresponding to the sag amount of the cut end of the sheet material is stored in the storage means in advance. Then, the sag amount of the sheet material to be inspected is measured by the measuring means, the curl amount corresponding to the measured sag amount is read out from the storage means, and the quality of the sheet material is determined based on the read curl amount. Do. Thereby, defective products can be quickly and accurately discarded.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a sheet material inspection method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sheet material manufacturing apparatus to which an inspection apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. This sheet material manufacturing apparatus is an apparatus for manufacturing a support for a PS plate from a web 10, and includes a rewinding device 16 having a winding shaft 14 around which the web 10 is wound, and a web 10 fed from the winding shaft 14. A cutter 28 for cutting the sheet material (the support for the PS plate) 12 by cutting the sheet material into a length.
Conveyor 22 that conveys sheet material 12 to stacking device 38
And a curl measuring device 30 for detecting the amount of sagging of the leading end (cut end) of the sheet material 12 and calculating the curl amount of the sheet material 12
And A decurling device 20 for correcting the curl of the web 10 fed from the winding shaft 14 is disposed between the rewinding device 16 and the inter-running cutter 28.

The rewinding device 16 has a rotary drive source (not shown) for rotating the winding shaft 14 in the direction of the arrow and sending out the web 10 in the direction of the arrow A.
The roller 18 is arranged in close proximity to. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the decurling device 20 arranged close to the roller 18 has a plurality of decurling rollers 21 a to 21 d.
1d are provided in order from the upstream side. These decal rollers 21a to 21d have a smaller diameter than the roller 18, and the diameter is set within a range of 30 mm to 80 mm.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, ball screw mechanisms 40a and 40b are provided at both ends of the decurling rollers 21b and 21c in the vertical direction, and upper ends of the ball screw mechanisms 40a and 40b are provided. In order to change the setting conditions of the decurling device 20, the decurling roller 21
A drive mechanism for moving the motors a and 21b in the vertical direction, for example, motors 42a and 42b are connected. Motor 42a,
42b includes a control mechanism 44a for individually controlling these,
44b are electrically connected.

In FIG. 1, a roller 18 and a pair of feed rollers 24, 24 are disposed downstream of the decurling device 20.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a web that is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow by a drive motor (not shown) to transport the web 10 in a direction indicated by an arrow A. As shown in FIG. 4, the slitter device 26 disposed downstream of the feed roller 24 includes a pair of slitter blades 46 that cut the web 12 into a predetermined width.

In FIG. 1, the running cutter 28 includes an upper blade 28.
A and a lower blade 28B are provided, and the web 10 is cut into predetermined lengths by the upper blade 28A and the lower blade 28B to form the sheet material 12. The curl measuring device 30 includes a sheet leading edge detector 54 that detects the leading edge of the sheet material 12 and a sheet sagging amount measuring device that detects the amount of sagging of a cut end that is a free end of the sheet material as a distance to the surface of the sheet material 12. 56.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet sagging amount measuring device 56 comprises four sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d installed in the width direction of the sheet material 12. The sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a and 56d on both sides can move forward and backward in the width direction of the sheet material 10 via a ball screw mechanism 65 connected to a motor 66, and the motor 64 is controlled by a control device 66. The control device 66 is connected to an arithmetic device 70 via an input / output device 68 as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the inspection device 1 according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a sheet leading end detector 54 includes a light projecting portion and a light receiving portion, irradiates light from the light projecting portion, and detects light diffusely reflected on the sheet by the light receiving portion. Output on / off signal. The light to be projected is P
Infrared light is used for the S plate. A gate device 32 is provided in the middle of the conveyor 22 as means for determining the sheet material 12. Below the gate device 32, a defective product disposal section 39 is provided, and at the end of the conveyor 22, an accumulator 38 for stacking non-defective sheet materials 12 in a bundle is arranged.

The curl measuring device 30 calculates the amount of sag of the sheet material 12 based on signals output from the sheet leading edge detector 54 and the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d via the input / output device 68. Also, the curl measuring device 30
Is provided with an arithmetic unit 70 for calculating the curl amount of the sheet material 12 based on the calculation result, the sag amount data 74 shown in FIG. 5 and the product data from the product data storage unit 80.
The product data storage unit 80 stores data on the material, thickness, width, cut length, type, and the like of the sheet material 12 corresponding to various products.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the amount of sag is when the sheet material 12 is placed on the surface plate 90 and the cut end 12A of the sheet material 12 is projected 100 mm from the end 90A of the surface plate 90. From the surface 12B of the sheet material 12
Defined as height h up to 2A. The sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d are installed above a position 100 mm away from the end of the conveyor 22 corresponding to the surface plate in the horizontal direction. The curl measuring device 30 is configured to measure the distance D from the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d to the cut end 12A of the sheet material 12 to the previously stored sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d to the surface 12B of the sheet material 12. Is calculated by subtracting the distance d. On the other hand, the curl amount is, as shown in FIG.
12B of the sheet material 12 when placed upside down
From the cutting end 12A to the cut end 12A.

In FIG. 5, a memory 70 stores a line operation signal 76, a line operation condition 78 such as an operation condition of the inspection device 1, a calculated curl amount c, and a roller set value of the decurling device 20. 82, an output device 88 for outputting the calculation result to the display portion 84 and the alarm portion 86, and an input / output device 72 for inputting and outputting signals from the control devices 44a and 44b of the decurling device 20 are connected.

The sagging amount data 74 includes output data measured by the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d and a sagging amount h of the cut end 12A of the sheet material 12 measured in advance. The curl amount c of the sheet material 12 is obtained by using a relationship diagram (described later) with respect to h. Regarding the operation of the inspection apparatus 1 configured as described above, the relationship between the curl inspection method according to the first embodiment and the curl correction method will be described below.

First, as a support (sheet material) of the PS plate,
A web 10 of a thin aluminum plate (JIS alloy number 1050) having a thickness of 0.24 mm and a width of 1310 mm is used. As other conditions, the decurling roller 21 constituting the decurling device 20 sets the rewinding speed by the rewinding device 16 to two stages of 20 m / min and 90 m / min.
The diameter of a to 21d is set to 60 mm, the product width of the web 10 cut by the slitter device 26 is set to 1300 mm, and the cutting length of the sheet material 12 cut by the running cutter 28 is set to 1045 mm.

Then, a relationship diagram between the curl amount c of the selected sheet material 12 and the droop amount h of the cut end 12A of the sheet material 12 is created in advance. That is, as shown in FIG.
The sheet material 12 cut to a predetermined size is placed on the surface plate 90 with the coated surface facing upward, and the curl amount c of the sheet material 12
Is measured with a height gauge or the like. At that time, for example,
When the sheet material 12 in which the photosensitive material is applied to the upper surface of the web 10 wound in a roll shape is placed on the surface plate 90 so that the applied surface faces upward as shown in FIG.
When the cut end 12A of the sheet material 12 jumps upward, it is expressed as "(-) curl". Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the cut end 12 </ b> A jumps up when placed so that the application surface faces downward, “(+) curl”
It expresses.

That is, the relationship between the amount of curl c of the web 10 and the amount of droop h is the same as the relationship between the amount of jumping of the cut end 12A of the sheet material 12 and the amount of droop h, and as shown in FIG. The sheet material 12 is placed thereon such that the cut ends 12A protrude forward, and the amount of sag h from the upper surface of the surface plate 90 is measured by a height gauge, and at the same time, the output from the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d is measured. Remember. here,
The sheet material 12 has a thickness of 0.24 mm, and the amount of sag h is measured with the fulcrum at the inside of the cut end 12A of the sheet material 12 by 100 mm.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the curl amount c and the sagging amount h of the sheet material 12, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the sagging amount h and the output data from the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d. . As a result, in FIG. 10, the sagging amount h is calculated based on the output data from the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d, and the curl amount c is calculated from the sagging amount h as shown in FIG. For example, if the output data from the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d is 10 mm,
The sagging amount h is also about 10 mm, and the curling amount c is about 2.5 mm.

In the inspection apparatus 1 configured as described above, the distance between the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56b and 56c is set to 60 mm, and the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a and 56d are
The motors 96a and 9 are supplied from the input / output device 92 via the arithmetic unit 70 by the product data storage unit 80 and the line operation signal 76.
When the drive signal is introduced into 6b, the web 10 moves in the width direction of the web 10, and the distance is set to 1240 mm.

Next, when the web 10 is operated at a rewind speed of 20 m / min, the outputs of the sheet leading edge detector 54 and the sheet sagging amount measuring device 56a have the timing relationship shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, when the output of the sheet leading edge detector 54 is turned ON, the arithmetic unit 70 (see FIG. 5) takes in the output data of the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d for a fixed time. The output data of the sheet sagging amount measuring device 56 indicates that when the cut end 12A of the sheet material 12 traverses the light source of the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d, it suddenly rises. And the amount of droop h is calculated.

Then, the arithmetic unit 70 calculates the calculated droop amount h.
The curl amount c is calculated based on Further, the arithmetic unit 7
0, a signal is input from the control device 66 via the input / output device 68, and the calculated curl amount c of the sheet material 12 and the setting conditions of the decurling rollers 21a to 21d are as follows.
It is displayed on the display unit 84 via the output device 88. This allows the operator to check the curl amount c of the sheet material 12 and the setting conditions of the decurling rollers 21a to 21d, and to change the curl amount c of the sheet material 12 when changing the curl amount c. It is possible to change the setting conditions of the decurling rollers 21a to 21d while checking. Therefore, an effect is obtained that the curl amount c of the sheet material 12 can always be accurately adjusted within a certain range.

FIG. 12 shows the output of the sheet sagging amount measuring apparatus when the operation is started by joining the next web to start feeding to the web before feeding is completed. In FIG. 12, the left vertical axis indicates the sag amount h, and the right vertical axis indicates the curl amount c. The horizontal axis of the drawing indicates the number of sheet materials based on the joint between the previous product and the next product.

As described above, when the previous web approaches the web joint, the curl amount changes in the web width direction. When the curl amount deviates from the product standard (allowable value), the gate device 102 (see FIG. 5) is operated so as to prevent the sheet material 12 from being conveyed to the stacking device 38, and the sheet material 12 is rejected. While being conveyed to the disposal unit 39, the setting conditions of the decurling device 20 are changed. As a result, the sheet material 12 in which the curl amount c of the sheet is always within a certain range is conveyed to the stacking device 38, so that the effect of stabilizing the quality is obtained. Therefore, the sheet materials 12 having curls that do not conform to the standard are prevented from being erroneously accumulated, so that inspection and sorting are not required in a later process, and productivity is improved.

By arranging the curl measuring device 30 immediately after the exit of the cutter 28, it is possible to minimize product defects due to online changes in decurling conditions and to reduce the number of conveyor devices by one. Equipment costs.

[0033]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the output of the sheet leading edge detector 54 is turned on (step 100), the output data from the sheet dripping amount measuring devices 56a to 56d is taken into the arithmetic unit 70 via the input / output device 68 for a fixed time t (step 110).

The arithmetic unit 70 includes a sheet displacement measuring device 56
The threshold values of the outputs a to 56d are set for each material thickness, and in this embodiment, the threshold value is set to 23 mm. The measurement sampling period of the sheet displacement measuring devices 56A to 56d was set to 0.001 second, and the capturing time was set to 0.3 second (step 120). When the capture of the output result is completed, the arithmetic unit 70 compares the captured output result with the threshold value, and captures a point where the output result becomes smaller than the threshold value as the leading end of the sheet material (step 1).
30). From the stability of the output result, it is desirable that the fourth to tenth output results after the value becomes smaller than the threshold value be taken in as the output of the displacement of the leading end of the sheet material. Is taken as the amount of sag of the sheet material (step 140).

Assuming that the material thickness is 0.24 mm from the product information, FIG. 10 is selected as the sagging amount data of this embodiment, and the output data from the sheet sagging amount measuring devices 56a to 56d is converted into the sag amount of the sheet material (step 150). ). Then, the curl amount of the sheet material is calculated by selecting FIG. 9 from the sag amount data (step 160). Then, it is compared whether or not the calculated curl amount is within the standard (step). If the curl amount is within the standard, the gate device is switched to the closing side, and the sheet material is conveyed to the stacking device side (step 180). Then, the curl amount is displayed (step 190), and the next sheet material is waited for (step 200).

On the other hand, if the calculated curl amount deviates from the standard, the gate device is switched to the open side, and the sheet material is conveyed to the disposal unit side (step 210). Then, after changing the condition of the decurling device so that the curl amount falls within the standard (step 220), a warning is issued to notify that the curl amount is out of the standard (step 230). Then, the curl amount is displayed as described above (step 190), and the next sheet material is waited for (step 200). By repeating the control from step 100 to step 220, the inspection of the sheet material is performed smoothly.

In this embodiment, the upper and lower limits of the sagging amount are calculated from the data of the upper and lower limits of the material thickness and the curl amount in the product information and the sagging amount data. Are compared and displayed, the curl amount of the sheet material can be managed without calculating the curl amount every time the sheet material is measured.

[0038]

As described above, according to the method and apparatus for inspecting a sheet material according to the present invention, the amount of sag of the cut end of the sheet material and the product information including the material and thickness of the web are used for the sheet material. By calculating the curl amount and allocating the sheet material based on the calculated result, it is possible to efficiently calculate the curl on-line and perform the distribution. In addition, there is no need for sampling, the raw materials can be used effectively, there is no need to operate the line at a low speed during the condition setting or sorting operation, and sheets with curl defects do not mix at the product accumulation position. There is no need to perform inspection and sorting in a later process, thereby improving productivity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a sheet material manufacturing apparatus to which a sheet material inspection apparatus is applied.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a decurling apparatus applied to the sheet material manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the decurling device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration near a sheet sagging amount measuring device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system of the sheet material manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram used to define a sag amount of a sheet material.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram used to define a curl amount of a sheet material;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram used to define a curl amount of a sheet material;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a sag amount and a curl amount.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the output of the sheet sagging amount measuring device and the sagging amount.

FIG. 11 is a drive timing chart of a sheet leading edge detector and a sheet sagging amount measuring device.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the amount of sagging, the amount of curl, and the quality of the sheet material at the joint thereof.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a sheet material manufacturing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Web 12 ... Sheet material 20 ... Decal device 22 ... Conveyor 26 ... Slitter 28 ... Cutter 32 ... Distributing device 38 ... Stacking device 39 ... Disposal unit 54 ... Sheet leading edge detector 56 ... Sheet dripping amount measuring device 70 ... Computing device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method of inspecting a sheet material for cutting a web wound in a roll into a predetermined length to form a sheet material and inspecting the shape of the sheet material to determine a non-defective product and a non-defective product. In the above, the curl amount of the cut end corresponding to the sag amount of the cut end of the sheet material is stored in the storage means, and the sag amount of the cut end of the sheet material to be inspected is measured by the measuring means. The curl amount corresponding to the sag amount obtained in the step is read from the storage unit. If the read curl amount is equal to or smaller than the allowable value, the sheet material is determined to be good and the curl amount exceeds the allowable value. In this case, the sheet material is identified as a defective product. 2. A sheet material inspection apparatus for cutting a web wound in a roll into a predetermined length to form a sheet material, and inspecting the shape of the sheet material to discriminate between a good product and a defective product. A storage unit storing a curl amount of the cut end corresponding to a sag amount of the cut end of the sheet material; a measuring unit for measuring a sag amount of the cut end of the sheet material to be inspected; and the measuring unit Reading means for reading from the storage means a curl amount corresponding to the measured sag amount; comparing the curl amount read by the reading means with a previously stored allowable value to determine whether the curl amount is Control means for discriminating the sheet material as non-defective when the value is equal to or less than the value, and discriminating the sheet material as defective when the curl amount exceeds an allowable value. Material inspection equipment. 3. The sheet material inspection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a curl correcting means for correcting the curl of the web before the step of cutting the web.