CN111747193B - Bonding device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an adhesive bonding apparatus capable of suppressing a malfunction due to an erroneous operation of an operator. The CPU controls the drive mechanism in the first preprocessing and the second preprocessing according to a control procedure set in advance in a first preprocessing program and a second preprocessing program stored in the ROM. In the first preprocessing, the CPU swings the upper transport roller to the upper position to maximize the nozzle gap, and then, swings the upper transport roller to the transport position by reducing the nozzle gap. In the second pretreatment, the CPU swings the upper transport roller to the upper position to maximize the nozzle gap, and then swings the upper transport roller to the transport position to reduce the nozzle gap. The first pretreatment and the second pretreatment differ in the control sequence of the reduction control of the nozzle gap and the swing control of the upper transport roller to the transport position.

Description

Bonding device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a bonding apparatus.

Background

In the bonding apparatus disclosed in japanese patent application laid-open No. 199561 of 2018, the upper conveyance roller, the lower pinch roller, and the upper pinch roller are moved in accordance with a roller movement instruction which is an instruction to move various rollers before the top end coating process is performed. The nozzle is displaced to the first relative position by the nozzle displacement instruction, and the movable body and the upper support section are moved. Thereafter, an operator inputs an instruction to start the top end application, and the adhesive device applies the adhesive to the top end portion of the lower cloth. When the operator inputs an instruction to retract the upper support part after the end of the top end coating, the upper support part is rotated to the non-operating position, and the upper feed roller, the lower pinch roller, and the upper pinch roller are moved. The bonding apparatus starts the bonding process.

The operator needs to input a roller movement instruction, a nozzle displacement instruction, an instruction to start the tip end application, and an instruction to retract the upper support section in an appropriate order and at an appropriate timing while checking the state of the bonding apparatus. In some cases, the operator may give an erroneous operation in the instruction to the bonding apparatus. In this case, the adhesive device may malfunction to discharge the adhesive at an inappropriate timing.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The invention aims to provide a bonding device capable of restraining misoperation caused by misoperation of an operator.

The bonding apparatus according to claim 1 comprises: a nozzle having a discharge port from which the adhesive is discharged to the lower sheet; a lower support mechanism having a lower sheet support portion that supports the lower sheet below the discharge port, the lower support mechanism being capable of moving the lower sheet support portion in a vertical direction; a conveying mechanism having: a lower conveying unit that supports the lower sheet and an upper sheet that are overlapped with the adhesive therebetween at a position downstream of the nozzle in a conveying direction, the upper sheet being overlapped with the lower sheet from an upper side; and an upper conveying unit configured to nip the lower sheet and the upper sheet between the lower conveying unit and the upper conveying unit, wherein the conveying mechanism conveys the lower sheet and the upper sheet by a cooperative operation of the lower conveying unit and the upper conveying unit; a moving mechanism that moves the upper conveying portion between a conveying position at which the upper conveying portion sandwiches the upper sheet and the lower sheet between the upper conveying portion and the lower conveying portion and an upper position above the conveying position; an input unit that detects input of a predetermined instruction; a front control unit that controls a drive mechanism including the lower support mechanism and the moving mechanism to move the lower sheet support unit and the upper conveying unit when an instruction to execute the input unit is input; and an adhesion control unit that controls the driving mechanism and the discharge of the adhesive from the nozzle after the front control unit controls the driving mechanism, and bonds the upper sheet and the lower sheet together by pressing the upper sheet and the lower sheet while conveying the upper sheet and the lower sheet to the downstream side in the conveying direction, the front control unit including: a lifting control unit that controls the moving mechanism to lift the upper conveying unit from the conveying position to the upper position; a gap expansion control unit for controlling the lower support mechanism to expand a nozzle gap, which is a gap between the lower sheet support unit and the discharge port, to a predetermined size, which is larger than the size of the nozzle gap during bonding; a gap reduction control unit that controls the lower support mechanism to reduce the nozzle gap to the size of the nozzle gap during the bonding after the control of the gap expansion control unit; and a descending control unit that controls the moving mechanism to descend the upper transport unit from the upper position to the transport position after the control by the ascending control unit, wherein the bonding apparatus includes a setting acceptance control unit that accepts setting of a control procedure of the ascending control unit, the gap expansion control unit, the gap reduction control unit, and the descending control unit under the control of the ascending control unit and the gap expansion control unit prior to the control by the gap reduction control unit and the descending control unit, and the front control unit controls the drive mechanism in accordance with the control procedure set by the setting acceptance control unit.

The bonding apparatus receives the setting of the control procedure of the driving mechanism, and therefore, the operator can easily set the control procedure suitable for the current situation. Therefore, the adhesive device can suppress the erroneous operation of the input unit by the operator, and can suppress the erroneous operation due to the erroneous operation by the operator.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 2, the bonding apparatus may include: an arrangement member provided upstream of the nozzles in the conveying direction and arranged between the lower sheet and the upper sheet; an upper nip drive mechanism having an upper nip roller that is rotatable in an axial direction that is the conveyance direction, at a position above the placement member; an upper swing mechanism that swings the upper pinch roller between an upper pinch position at which the upper pinch roller pinches the upper sheet between the upper pinch roller and the placement member and an upper spaced position at which the upper pinch roller is spaced upward from the upper pinch position; a lower nip drive mechanism having a lower nip roller that is rotatable about the axis line in the transport direction at a position below the arrangement member; a lower swing mechanism that swings the lower grip roller between a lower grip position at which the lower grip roller grips the lower sheet between the lower grip position and the arrangement member and a lower spaced position at which the lower grip roller is spaced downward from the lower grip position; a detection section capable of detecting whether or not an upper specific end portion, which is one end portion of the upper sheet, and a lower specific end portion, which is the other end portion of the lower sheet, exist in a specific direction orthogonal to a vertical direction and the conveyance direction; and a nip roller control unit that controls the upper nip drive mechanism and the lower nip drive mechanism based on a detection result of the detection unit when the bonding control unit controls the bonding control unit, and controls a position of the upper specific end portion and the lower specific end portion overlapped in the vertical direction in the specific direction by rotating the upper nip roller and the lower nip roller, the drive mechanism including the upper swing mechanism and the lower swing mechanism, the front control unit including: an upper operation control unit for controlling the upper swing mechanism to swing the upper grip roller from the upper separated position to the upper grip position before the grip roller control unit performs control; and a lower operation control unit that controls the lower swing mechanism to swing the lower grip roller from the lower separated position to the lower grip position before the grip roller control unit performs control, wherein the setting acceptance control unit accepts setting of a control procedure of the elevation control unit, the gap enlargement control unit, the gap reduction control unit, the lowering control unit, the upper operation control unit, and the lower operation control unit under a restriction that is performed after the control of the elevation control unit and before the control of the lowering control unit by the upper operation control unit and the lower operation control unit. The operator can also set the control sequence of the swing control of the upper grip roller and the swing control of the lower grip roller. The bonding device can suppress erroneous operation of the upper swing mechanism and the lower swing mechanism due to erroneous operation of the input unit.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 3, the setting acceptance controller may receive an instruction to select one type from a plurality of types in which the order of the control of the elevation controller, the control of the gap enlargement controller, the control of the gap reduction controller, the control of the descent controller, the control of the upper operation controller, and the control of the lower operation controller is determined in advance, and thereby the setting acceptance controller may receive the setting of the control procedure. Since the control sequence is one of a plurality of predetermined types, it is not easy for the operator to set an erroneous control sequence. Therefore, the bonding apparatus can further suppress the erroneous operation of the input unit by the operator.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 4, the input unit may be a single switch. The bonding apparatus can simplify an input operation of an execution instruction by an operator.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 5, the switch may have a pedal for inputting an instruction. The operator can input an execution instruction while holding the lower sheet and the upper sheet by hand. Therefore, the bonding device is convenient to use.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 6, the bonding apparatus may include: an upper conveyance/return control unit that lowers the upper conveyance unit from the upper position to the conveyance position when an input of a return instruction to the input unit is triggered after the control by the ascending control unit and before the control by the descending control unit; and a gap reduction control unit that controls the lower support mechanism to reduce the nozzle gap to a set size when the reduction instruction is input to the input unit after the control by the gap expansion control unit and before the control by the gap reduction control unit, wherein the lift control unit executes the control again when the execution instruction is input to the input unit after the control by the upper conveyance reduction control unit, and the gap expansion control unit executes the control again when the execution instruction is input to the input unit after the control by the gap reduction control unit. The bonding apparatus is capable of reversing the control of the drive mechanism advancing along the control sequence. Therefore, the operator can easily perform the rework operation, and the bonding apparatus is convenient to use.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 7, the setting acceptance control unit may accept the setting of: and executing at least two controls, which are sequentially executed, among the control of the ascending control unit, the control of the gap expanding control unit, the control of the gap reducing control unit, and the control of the descending control unit, in accordance with the single execution instruction with respect to the input unit. The bonding apparatus sequentially controls at least two driving mechanisms according to a single execution instruction. Therefore, the execution instruction input to the input unit is small, and therefore, the adhesive device can further suppress the erroneous operation of the input unit by the operator.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 8, the bonding control unit may execute control in response to an operation of the pedal. The bonding device can perform a bonding operation in a state where an operator holds the lower sheet and the upper sheet by hand. Therefore, the bonding device is convenient to use.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 9, the pedal may be capable of a step-in operation and a step-back operation, and the switch may detect the execution instruction by the step-in operation and detect the restoration instruction by the step-back operation. The bonding device makes the pedal operation different between the time when the operator inputs the execution instruction and the time when the operator inputs the restoration instruction. Therefore, the bonding apparatus can suppress erroneous operation of the pedal by the operator.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 10, the bonding control unit may control the driving of the conveying mechanism and the discharge of the adhesive from the nozzle when the discharge enable information indicates that the adhesive can be discharged, and the bonding control unit may control the driving of the conveying mechanism when the discharge enable information indicates that the adhesive cannot be discharged, the discharge enable information indicating whether the adhesive can be discharged from the discharge port of the nozzle. The adhesive device discharges the adhesive from the nozzle only when the discharge enable/disable information indicates that the adhesive can be discharged. Therefore, improper discharge of the adhesive is less likely to occur, and therefore, the bonding apparatus is convenient to use.

In the bonding apparatus according to claim 11, the bonding apparatus may include a lower sheet detecting unit that is provided upstream of the nozzle in the conveying direction and is capable of detecting whether or not the lower sheet is present, and the bonding control unit may include: a determination unit that determines whether or not the lower sheet is present based on a detection result of the lower sheet detection unit; and a discharge prohibition control unit that sets the discharge prohibition information to discharge prohibition when the determination unit determines that the lower sheet is not present. The bonding apparatus sets the discharge enable/disable information as non-discharge enable/disable information when the lower sheet is not present. At this time, the bonding apparatus does not discharge the adhesive from the nozzle. Therefore, the bonding apparatus can suppress an erroneous operation of discharging the adhesive to an object other than the lower sheet.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the bonding apparatus 1.

Fig. 2 is a left side view of the bonding apparatus 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the lower conveyance mechanism 50.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged left side view (partially sectional view) of the nozzle 11, the lower conveyor roller 64, and the upper conveyor roller 12.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lower conveyance drive section 60, the lower gripping mechanism 80, and the gap adjustment section 77.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower transport roller 64 and the nozzle lower roller 65.

Fig. 7 is a front view of the bonding apparatus 1.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the lower clamp mechanism 80 and the lower swing mechanism 81.

Fig. 9 is a right side view of the switch 10.

Fig. 10 is an electrical block diagram of the bonding apparatus 1.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart of the setting process.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart of the first preprocessing.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart following the first preprocessing of fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart following the first preprocessing of fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a left side view of the bonding apparatus 1 in an initial state.

Fig. 16 is a left side view showing a first state of the bonding apparatus 1 in accordance with the execution of the first preprocessing.

Fig. 17 is a left side view showing a second state of the bonding apparatus 1 in accordance with the execution of the first preprocessing.

Fig. 18 is a left side view showing a third state of the bonding apparatus 1 in accordance with the execution of the first preprocessing.

Fig. 19 is a left side view showing a fourth state of the bonding apparatus 1 according to the execution of the first preprocessing.

Fig. 20 is a flowchart of the lower edge control process.

Fig. 21 is a flowchart of the upper edge control processing.

Fig. 22 is a flowchart of the second preprocessing.

Fig. 23 is a flowchart following the second preprocessing of fig. 22.

Fig. 24 is a left side view showing a state of the bonding apparatus 1 in accordance with execution of the second preprocessing.

Fig. 25 is a flowchart of the bonding process.

Fig. 26 is a left side view of the bonding apparatus 1 in the bonding operation.

Fig. 27 is a left side view of the bonding apparatus 1 when the front end of the lower sheet 8 is conveyed to a position behind the end detector 545.

Fig. 28 is a left side view of the bonding apparatus 1 when the front end of the lower sheet 8 is conveyed below the nozzle 11.

Detailed Description

A bonding apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The following description uses the left and right, front and back, and up and down indicated by arrows in the drawings. The bonding apparatus 1 bonds the upper sheet 6 (see fig. 3) and the lower sheet 8 (see fig. 3) together with an adhesive Z (see fig. 26). The lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 are to be bonded in a sheet form, and are made of, for example, a flexible cloth. The upper sheet 6 overlaps the lower sheet 8 from the upper side. The bonding apparatus 1 bonds the lower specific end 8A, which is the right end of the lower sheet 8, and the upper specific end 6A, which is the left end of the upper sheet 6, together with the adhesive Z. The bonding apparatus 1 conveys the upper sheet 6 and the lower sheet 8 rearward.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the bonding apparatus 1 includes a base 2, a column 3, an arm 4, a head 5, and a conveyance mechanism 20. The base 2 is rectangular and fixed to the table. A support plate 51 is fixed to the left surface of the base 2. The pillar 3 is columnar and extends upward from the upper surface of the base 2. The arm portion 4 extends leftward from the upper end of the column portion 3. The front portion of the arm portion 4 has an operation portion 19. The nose portion 5 protrudes leftward from the left end portion of the arm portion 4. The conveyance mechanism 20 has a lower conveyance mechanism 50 and an upper conveyance mechanism 70. The lower conveyance mechanism 50 is provided on the support plate 51. The upper conveying mechanism 70 is provided in the nose portion 5.

As shown in fig. 3, the lower transport mechanism 50 extends in the front-rear direction and has a rear portion in an elongated cylindrical shape, and the lower transport mechanism 50 has a so-called cylindrical shape. For example, when producing a T-shirt, the operator sets one end side of the sheet 200 as the upper sheet 6 and the other end side of the sheet 200 as the lower sheet 8, and arranges the sheet 200 in the lower transport mechanism 50 so that the sheet 200 is cylindrical. Since the rear portion of the lower conveying mechanism 50 has an elongated cylindrical shape, the operator can wrap the sheet 200 around it by the rear portion of the lower conveying mechanism 50.

As shown in fig. 3 and 5, the lower conveyance mechanism 50 includes a housing 55, a lower conveyance drive unit 60, and the like. The frame 55 extends in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and is open upward in a box shape. The frame 55 houses the lower conveyance drive unit 60. A support plate 57 extending in the horizontal direction is provided at the upper end of the frame 55. The upper opening of the frame 55 is closed by a support plate 57. The rear end of the frame 55 is an opening 553 which opens rearward. The opening 553 is inclined rearward and downward. The rear end of the lower conveyance driver 60 protrudes rearward from the opening 553.

A fixed shaft portion 316 projecting upward is provided at the rear end right portion of the support plate 57. The rotation support portion 314 is supported by the fixed shaft portion 316. The rotation support portion 314 is a plate member having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The rotation support portion 314 is rotatable about the fixed shaft portion 316 between an operating position (see fig. 3) and a retracted position. The pivot support portion 314 in the operating position is located directly below the upper pinch roller 32 described below and directly above the lower pinch roller 76 described below (see fig. 4). The retracted position is a position where the rotation support portion 314 is rotated by about 90 ° in the counterclockwise direction in the plan view from the operating position. An upper reflection plate is provided on an upper surface 315 of the rotation support portion 314. A lower reflection plate is provided on a lower surface 317 of the rotation support portion 314.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the lower conveyance drive section 60 includes a support frame 61, a lower conveyance motor 63, a lower conveyance roller 64, a lower nozzle roller 65, a connecting belt, and the like. The support frame 61 extends in the front-rear direction, is open upward, and has a substantially U-letter shape. A nozzle plate 59 and a tip plate 56 are fixed to the upper rear end of the support frame 61. The nozzle plate 59 extends in the front-rear direction, and the lower sheet 8 is supported by the nozzle plate 59. The top end plate 56 extends downward rearward from the rear end of the nozzle plate 59. The nozzle plate 59 has an opening 591 opened in the vertical direction. The opening 591 is located directly below the rotation support portion 314 when in the operating position. A roller opening 592 is provided at a connecting portion between the nozzle plate 59 and the tip end plate 56. The roller opening portions 592 penetrate the nozzle plate 59 and the tip end plate 56 in the thickness direction, respectively.

The lower conveying motor 63 is fixed to the front right surface of the supporting frame 61. The drive shaft of the lower conveyance motor 63 protrudes leftward from the right portion of the support frame 61. The lower feed roller 64 is fixed to the rotation shaft 641, and the rotation shaft 641 is rotatably supported by the rear end portion of the support frame 61. The lower transport roller 64 protrudes outward from the roller opening 592. The lower conveying roller 64 supports the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 overlapped with the adhesive Z sandwiched therebetween. The lower nozzle roller 65 is fixed to the rotary shaft 651, and the rotary shaft 651 is rotatably supported by the support frame 61 at a position forward of the rotary shaft 641. The nozzle lower roller 65 protrudes upward from the opening 591. The coupling belt is provided on the inside of the support frame 61 and is stretched over the drive shaft of the lower conveyance motor 63, the rotation shaft 641, and the rotation shaft 651. The connecting belt transmits the driving force of the lower conveying motor 63 to the lower conveying roller 64 and the nozzle lower roller 65. Therefore, when the lower conveyance motor 63 is driven, the lower conveyance roller 64 and the nozzle lower roller 65 rotate about the horizontal direction as the axial direction.

Referring to fig. 5, the gap adjusting unit 77 will be described. The gap adjusting part 77 has the gap adjusting motor 68, the cam plate 69, the swing shaft 62, and a spring. The gap adjustment motor 68 is provided above the fixed plate 512 and below the lower conveyance motor 63. The fixed plate 512 extends leftward from the lower end of the support plate 51. A drive shaft 681 of the gap adjustment motor 68 protrudes leftward, and a cam plate 69 having a substantially circular shape in a left view is fixed to the drive shaft 681. The cam plate 69 is located inside a cam hole 631 provided in a lower right portion of the support frame 61, and the center of the cam plate 69 is eccentric with respect to a drive shaft 681 of the gap adjustment motor 68.

The swing shaft 62 extends in the left-right direction and is fixed to the housing 55 (see fig. 3). The swing shaft 62 rotatably supports a substantially central portion of the support frame 61 in the front-rear direction of the support frame 61. The spring biases the support frame 61 in a direction to swing the rear end portion side of the support frame 61 downward. Therefore, the cam plate 69 is in contact with the lower end portion of the cam hole 631. When the cam plate 69 is rotated by the driving of the gap adjustment motor 68, the support frame 61 swings about the swing shaft 62 in accordance with the rotation angle of the cam plate 69. The rear end of the support frame 61 is moved up and down (arrow Q) by the gap adjustment motor 68, and thereby the nozzle plate 59, the lower transport roller 64, and the nozzle lower roller 65 are integrally moved up and down. Therefore, the gap adjusting portion 77 can change a gap (referred to as a nozzle gap) between the discharge port 13 (see fig. 7) of the nozzle 11 and the lower nozzle roller 65, which will be described later. In fig. 4, the lower transport roller 64 and the lower nozzle roller 65 are shown by solid lines when the nozzle gap is the size in the bonding operation, and the lower transport roller 64 and the lower nozzle roller 65 are shown by two-dot chain lines when the nozzle gap is larger than the size in the bonding operation.

As shown in fig. 5 and 8, the lower clamp mechanism 80 is housed in the housing 55 (see fig. 3). The lower clamping mechanism 80 can clamp the lower sheet 8 between the lower surface 317 (see fig. 4), and can change the position of the lower sheet 8 in the left-right direction. The lower clamp mechanism 80 includes a fixing seat 71, a lower clamp motor 72, a connecting shaft 910, a support arm 73, a transmission belt 74, a shaft 75, a lower clamp roller 76, and the like. The fixing seat portion 71 is substantially rectangular parallelepiped and fixed to the front inner side of the frame body 55 (see fig. 3). The fixing seat portion 71 has a through hole 711 formed in a circular shape in the front-rear direction, and the rotating portion 717 is rotatably held inside the through hole 711. The rotation center of the rotating portion 717 is an axis J extending in the front-rear direction.

The lower clamp motor 72 is fixed to the front surface of the rotating portion 717 and rotates integrally with the rotating portion 717. A pin 940 protruding upward is provided on the rear upper surface of the lower clamp motor 72, and the upper end of the spring 946 is fixed to the rear left surface of the lower clamp motor 72. The lower end of the spring 946 is fixed to the inside of the frame 55. The drive shaft of the lower clamp motor 72 is inserted into a through hole provided in the center of the rotating portion 717 and is connected to the connecting shaft 910. The support arm portion 73 is located behind the fixing seat portion 71 and fixed to the rear surface of the rotating portion 717. Accordingly, the support arm portion 73 rotates together with the rotating portion 717. The spring 946 always urges the lower clamp motor 72 counterclockwise in the front view. The rear end of the coupling shaft 910 is accommodated inside the support arm 73. The support arm portion 73 rotatably supports the tip end portion of the shaft portion 75. The belt 74 is mounted on the coupling shaft 910 and the shaft 75. The shaft 75 extends in the front-rear direction, and a rear end of the shaft 75 is positioned forward of the nozzle plate 59 (see fig. 5).

The lower pinch roller 76 is fixed to the rear end of the shaft 75 and is located below the upper pinch roller 32. When the lower clamp motor 72 is driven, the shaft 75 is rotated via the drive shaft of the lower clamp motor 72, the coupling shaft 910, and the transmission belt 74. Therefore, the lower pinch roller 76 rotates together with the shaft 75 around the shaft 75.

A plate 930, a cylinder 931, and a plate member 933 are provided on the upper portion of the fixing seat 71. The plate 930 is provided on the upper surface of the fixing seat 71 and extends in the left-right direction. Cylinder 931 is provided in the left portion of plate 930. An output rod 932 of the cylinder 931 extends rightward. The plate member 933 has an L-shape in front view, and is fixed to the right end of the output rod 932. The right end of the plate member 933 abuts against the pin 940 of the lower clamp motor 72.

When the output rod 932 advances rightward, the plate member 933 moves the pin 940 rightward. As the pin 940 moves, the lower clamp motor 72 swings around the axis J in the clockwise direction in the front view together with the support arm portion 73 against the biasing force of the spring 946. The shaft 75 moves downward, and the lower pinch roller 76 swings about the axis J to a downward spaced position. The lower separated position is a position to which the lower nip roller 76 swings after the upper end of the lower nip roller 76 is separated downward from the lower surface 317. In fig. 4, the lower grip roller 76 is shown in a two-dot chain line at the lower separated position.

When the cylinder 931 is driven and the output rod 932 moves leftward and moves away from the pin 940, the lower clamp motor 72 swings together with the support arm portion 73 in the counterclockwise direction in the front view about the axis J by the urging force of the spring 946. The lower nip roller 76 swings to the lower nip position centering on the axis J. The lower nip position is a position to which the lower nip roller 76 swings when nipping the lower sheet 8 between it and the lower surface 317. In fig. 4, the lower nip roller 76 is shown in the lower nip position by solid lines.

In the following description, the support arm portion 73, the spring 946, the plate portion 930, the cylinder 931, and the plate member 933 are collectively referred to as the lower swing mechanism 81. The lower swing mechanism 81 swings the support arm 73 about the axis J in accordance with the driving of the air cylinder 931, and swings the lower pinch roller 76 between the lower pinch position and the lower spaced position.

Referring to fig. 4, the lower detection unit 78 will be described. The lower detection portion 78 is located inside the support frame 61 and below the opening portion 591 of the nozzle plate 59. The lower detection unit 78 is an optical detector in which a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit are integrated. The light emitting section and the light receiving section are at the same height position with each other. The light emitting portion emits light toward the opening 591 of the nozzle plate 59. The light passing through the opening 591 is reflected downward by the lower reflection plate of the rotation support portion 314 when in the operating position. The reflected light reflected by the lower reflection plate passes through the opening 591. The light receiving unit can receive the reflected light transmitted through the opening 591.

When the lower specific end portion 8A of the lower sheet 8 is positioned above the opening portion 591 of the nozzle plate 59, the lower specific end portion 8A blocks the light emitted from the light emitting portion, and the light receiving portion does not receive the light emitted from the light emitting portion. When the lower specific end portion 8A is not located above the opening 591, light emitted from the light-emitting portion is reflected by the lower reflection plate, and the light-receiving portion receives the reflected light through the opening 591. Therefore, the lower detection unit 78 can detect whether or not the lower specific end portion 8A is at the lower detection position, which is a predetermined position in the left-right direction. The lower detection position is located on the right side of the position where the lower sheet 8 is nipped between the lower pinch roller 76 and the lower surface 317 and is located on the front side of the nozzle 11 described later.

The end detector 545 is provided on the rear side of the inside of the support frame 61 and is positioned on the front side of the nozzle 11 described later. The end detector 545 is located on the front left side of the lower pinch roller 76, which will be described later, and below a notch 57A (see fig. 3) formed in the rear end of the support plate 57. The end detector 545 is located below the pivot support 314 when in the operating position (see fig. 4). The end detector 545 is an optical detector. The end detector 545 has a light emitting section and a light receiving section. The light emitting section and the light receiving section are at the same height position with each other. The light emitting portion emits light toward the notch portion 57A. The light receiving unit can receive light emitted from the light emitting unit and reflected by the lower reflection plate of the rotation support unit 314 when the light emitting unit is in the operating position.

When the lower sheet 8 is positioned above the notch portion 57A, the lower sheet 8 blocks the light emitted by the light emitting portion. At this time, the light receiving section does not receive the light emitted from the light emitting section. When the front end (i.e., the end) of the lower sheet 8 is conveyed to a position behind the end detector 545 (see fig. 27), the lower sheet 8 is not positioned above the end detector 545. The light receiving section receives the light emitted from the light emitting section. Therefore, the end detector 545 can detect the presence or absence of the lower sheet 8.

As shown in fig. 2, the upper transport mechanism 70 includes an upper transport arm 16, an upper transport roller 12, an upper transport motor 112, a transmission mechanism, an air cylinder 122 (see fig. 10), and a link mechanism. The upper transfer arm 16 extends forward from the rear below the nose portion 5, and then extends forward and downward. The distal end portion 16A of the upper transport arm 16 supports the upper transport roller 12 in such a manner that the upper transport roller 12 is rotatable. The upper transport roller 12 is rotatable about the left-right direction as the axial direction. The upper transport motor 112 is provided on the upper transport arm 16, and the upper transport motor 112 is connected to the upper transport roller 12 via a transmission mechanism provided inside the upper transport arm 16. The transmission mechanism is, for example, a pulley or a belt. The upper feed roller 12 is rotated about the axis in the left-right direction by the power of the upper feed motor 112.

The cylinder 122 is provided in the nose portion 5 in a posture along the front-rear direction, and is connected to the upper transport arm 16 via a link mechanism. The upper transfer arm 16 is driven by the air cylinder 122 to swing in the up-down direction. The air cylinder 122, linkage mechanism, and upper transfer arm 16 are collectively referred to as a movement mechanism 130. The upper transport roller 12 is swung between the transport position (see fig. 4) and the upper position (see fig. 2) by the movement mechanism 130 by swinging the upper transport arm 16 by the air cylinder 122. The conveying position is a position to which the upper conveying rollers 12 swing when sandwiching the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 between them and the lower conveying rollers 64. The nipping position when the upper and lower conveying rollers 12, 64 nip the lower and upper sheets 8, 6 corresponds to the point P in fig. 4. The upper position is a position to which the upper conveying roller 12 swings after being separated upward from the conveying position.

Referring to fig. 7, the upper clamp mechanism 30 is explained. The upper clamp mechanism 30 can change the position of the upper sheet 6 in the left-right direction. The upper clamp mechanism 30 is provided below the arm portion 4. The upper clamp mechanism 30 has an upper support portion 34, an upper arm 31, a rotary shaft 33, an upper clamp roller 32, an upper clamp motor 38, a transmission mechanism, a spring 37, an air cylinder 39, and the like. The upper support portion 34 is fixed to the right side portion of the lower surface of the arm portion 4, and has a circular through hole opened in the front-rear direction. The upper rotating portion is rotatably supported at the through hole, and protrudes forward and rearward from the through hole of the upper supporting portion 34. The rotation axis of the upper rotating portion is an axis W extending in the front-rear direction. The upper arm 31 extends downward leftward from the upper rotating portion, and the upper arm 31 swings as the upper rotating portion rotates.

The upper arm 31 has a distal end portion 31A, and the distal end portion 31A rotatably supports a rotating shaft 33 extending in the front-rear direction. The upper nip roller 32 is fixed to a rotating shaft 33. The upper pinch roller 32 is rotatable about the longitudinal direction as the axial direction, and the upper pinch roller 32 is located above the lower pinch roller 76 and on the front side of the upper transport roller 12. The upper clamp motor 38 is a motor fixed to the rear portion of the upper rotating portion and capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions, and is capable of rotating together with the upper rotating portion. The drive shaft of the upper clamp motor 38 projects forward and enters the interior of the upper rotating portion. The transmission mechanism includes a shaft member extending in the front-rear direction inside the upper rotating portion, and a pulley, a belt, and the like provided at a front end of the shaft member. The transmission mechanism transmits the driving force of the upper nip motor 38 to the upper nip roller 32, and the upper nip roller 32 rotates in the forward and reverse directions.

The upper arm 31 swings about the axis W as the upper swing portion rotates. The upper nip roller 32 swings between an upper nip position (see fig. 4) and an upper spaced position (see fig. 7). The upper nip position is a position to which the upper nip roller 32 swings when the upper nip roller 32 nips the upper sheet 6 between the lower end thereof and the upper surface 315 of the rotary support portion 314. The upper separation position is a position to which the upper nip roller 32 swings after separating upward from the upper nip position.

The spring 37 biases the upper arm 31 in the clockwise direction in the front view about the axis W via another member. Therefore, the spring 37 biases the upper arm 31 in a direction of rotating from the upper clamping position toward the upper release position. The tip end 31A of the upper arm 31 is moved downward by the own weight of the upper arm 31, the upper pinch roller 32, and the like. Since the spring 37 biases the upper arm 31 upward, it is possible to suppress an excessive downward force of the upper nip roller 32 when the upper nip position is set. The cylinder 39 is fixed to the upper support portion 34. The cylinder 39 rotates the upper clamp motor 38 about the axis W by the fixing member 35 fixed to the right surface of the upper clamp motor 38. Therefore, the upper grip roller 32 swings from the upper grip position to the upper spaced position by the driving of the air cylinder 39.

The upper rotating portion, the upper arm 31, the spring 37, the fixing member 35, and the cylinder 39 are collectively referred to as an upper swing mechanism 40. The upper swing mechanism 40 swings the upper arm 31 about the axis W in accordance with the driving of the air cylinder 39, thereby swinging the upper grip roller 32 between the upper grip position and the upper spaced position. In the following description, the gap adjusting unit 77, the moving mechanism 130, the upper swing mechanism 40, and the lower swing mechanism 81 are collectively referred to as a driving mechanism.

The bonding apparatus 1 includes an upper detection unit 85 below the arm unit 4. The upper detection unit 85 is an optical detector in which a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit are integrated. The upper detection portion 85 is located between the upper conveying roller 12 and the upper pinch roller 32 in the front-rear direction. The light emitting section and the light receiving section are at the same height position with each other. The light emitting portion emits light from above toward an upper reflecting plate provided on the nozzle 11. The light emitted from the light emitting part can be reflected by the upper reflecting plate. The light receiving unit can receive the reflected light reflected by the upper reflecting plate.

When the upper specific end portion 6A of the upper sheet 6 is positioned above the upper reflection plate, the upper specific end portion 6A blocks the light emitted from the light emitting portion, and the light receiving portion does not receive the light emitted from the light emitting portion. When the upper specific end portion 6A is not located above the upper reflection plate, the light emitted from the light emitting portion is reflected by the upper reflection plate, and the light receiving portion receives the reflected light. Therefore, the upper detection portion 85 can detect whether or not the upper specific end portion 6A is at the upper detection position. The upper detection position is located on the left side in the left-right direction from the position where the upper sheet 6 is sandwiched between the upper nip roller 32 and the upper surface 315, and above the nozzle 11.

Referring to fig. 7, the nozzle swing mechanism 22 provided in the head unit 5 will be described. The nozzle swing mechanism 22 has a nozzle motor 113, a support shaft 9, a nozzle lever 18, and the like. The nozzle motor 113 is fixed inside the head unit 5. A drive shaft of the nozzle motor 113 extends forward, and a motor gear is fixed to the drive shaft. The support shaft 9 extends in the left-right direction above the drive shaft of the nozzle motor 113. A worm wheel 25 that meshes with an upper portion of the motor gear 15 is fixed to a central portion of the support shaft 9. The nozzle lever 18 is fixed to the left end of the support shaft 9 and extends downward from the support shaft 9. The nozzle 11 is connected to the lower end of the nozzle bar 18, and the nozzle 11 is located on the front side of the lower transport roller 64 and the upper transport roller 12. The nozzle 11 has a vertically extending portion extending downward from the nozzle bar 18 and a horizontally extending portion extending rightward from a lower end of the vertically extending portion. The horizontally extending portion has a discharge port 13 on the lower surface. The discharge port 13 is a plurality of circular holes arranged at substantially equal intervals in the left-right direction. The upper sheet 6 is located above the horizontally extending section. Therefore, the nozzle 11 can discharge the adhesive Z from the discharge port 13 to between the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6.

The driving force of the nozzle motor 113 is transmitted to the motor gear 15 and the worm wheel 25, so that the nozzle lever 18 rotates about the support shaft 9, and the nozzle 11 moves between the approach position (see fig. 2) and the retracted position (see fig. 15). When the nozzle 11 is in the close position, the discharge port 13 is positioned directly above the lower nozzle roller 65 and faces downward. The nozzle 11 in the retracted position is positioned on the front side of the upper nip roller 32. When the nozzle 11 is in the retracted position, the discharge port 13 faces forward and downward. When the rotation support 314 is at the retracted position, the nozzle 11 can move between the close position and the retracted position.

The nozzle 11 has a flow path 11A therein, and the nozzle bar 18 has a flow path 21 therein. The flow paths 11A and 21 are flow paths of the adhesive Z communicating with each other. The flow path 11A communicates with the discharge port 13. The nozzle bar 18 has a heater 132 (see fig. 10) therein. The heater 132 heats the adhesive Z flowing through the flow path 21.

As shown in fig. 1, the nose portion 5 has a fitting portion 41. The mounting portion 41 is provided at a substantially central portion of the nose portion 5, and includes a cover 41A, a housing portion, a cover 41B, and a heater 131 (see fig. 10). The cover 41A has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape and extends upward from the upper surface of the nose portion 5. The cover 41A is opened in the up-down direction. The housing portion is provided inside the cover 41A. The housing portion has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape and extends from the inside of the head portion 5 to the upper end of the cover 41A. The housing portion is opened upward. An inner container is detachably housed in the housing portion. The cover 41B is detachably provided on the upper side of the housing portion, and the cover 41B opens and closes the upper opening of the housing portion. The inner container contains a hot-melt adhesive Z. The adhesive Z becomes liquid at the melting temperature and becomes solid at a temperature lower than the melting temperature. The heater 131 is provided in the accommodating portion. That is, the heater 131 is provided in a supply path for supplying the adhesive Z to the nozzle 11. The heater 131 heats the inner container accommodated in the accommodating portion. The adhesive Z is heated by the heater 131 and then melted to become liquid. The operator can replace the inner container housed in the housing portion with another inner container by removing the cover 41B.

The arm section 4 also has a feed mechanism. The supply mechanism includes a pump motor 114 (see fig. 10) and a gear pump. The pump motor 114 is located inside the arm portion 4 on the front right side of the fitting portion 41. The drive shaft of the pump motor 114 extends leftward and is connected to the gear pump via gears. The gear pump is connected to the support shaft 9. The gear pump sucks the adhesive Z from the inner container by driving of the pump motor 114, and supplies the sucked adhesive Z to the flow path 11A of the nozzle 11 through the flow path 21 (see fig. 7) of the nozzle lever 18. Accordingly, the nozzle 11 discharges the adhesive Z from the discharge port 13.

Referring to fig. 9, a single switch 10 is illustrated. The switch 10 is an input unit for an operator to input various instructions. The switch 10 includes a pedal 7, a support shaft 97, a connecting lever 96, a support shaft 91, a rotating lever 92, a spring 93, a stopper 94, and a potentiometer 95. The pedal 7 is arranged on the ground. The pedal 7 is rotatable about the support shaft 97 by an operation of the foot of the operator. In this case, the pedal 7 rotates between the stepped-in position and the stepped-back position. The upper surface of the pedal 7 in the stepped-in position is indicated by a two-dot chain line Pb. The upper surface of the pedal 7 in the step-back position is shown by the two-dot chain line Pn. The pedal 7 is shown in solid lines in a neutral position between the step-on position and the step-back position. When the operator does not operate the pedal 7, the pedal is maintained at a neutral position. One end of the pedal 7 is connected to the distal end of the pivot lever 92 via a connecting rod 96.

The support shaft 91 rotatably supports a base end portion of the rotating lever 92. The support shaft 91 is fixed to the case 88 under the table. The spring 93 always biases the rotating lever 92 in the counterclockwise direction when viewed rightward. The rotation of the rotating lever 92 by the urging force of the spring 93 is restricted by the abutment of the stopper 94 with the rotating lever 92. When the operator pushes the pedal 7 in the neutral position back to the pushed-back position, the stopper 94 moves upward. When the operator depresses the pedal 7 at the neutral position toward the depressed position, the spring 93 extends. The proximal end portion of the rotating lever 92 is connected to a drive shaft of the potentiometer 95. The drive shaft of the potentiometer 95 rotates in synchronization with the rotating lever 92. In this case, the potentiometer 95 outputs a voltage detection value corresponding to the rotation angle of the drive shaft to the CPU101 (see fig. 10). Therefore, the switch 10 can detect which of the neutral position, the stepped-in position, and the stepped-back position the pedal 7 is in. Therefore, the switch 10 can detect a prescribed instruction for the pedal 7.

Referring to fig. 10, an electrical structure of the bonding apparatus 1 will be described. The bonding apparatus 1 includes a control device 100. The control device 100 has a CPU101, a ROM102, a RAM103, a storage device 104, a potentiometer 95, a drive circuit 105, and a drive circuit 106. The CPU101 comprehensively controls the operation of the bonding apparatus 1. The CPU101 is connected to the ROM102, RAM103, storage device 104, operation section 19, potentiometer 95, lower detection section 78, upper detection section 85, end detection section 545, drive circuit 105, drive circuit 106, heater 131, and heater 132.

The ROM102 stores programs for executing various processes. The ROM102 stores a first preprocessing program and a second preprocessing program. The first preprocessing routine is a routine for executing first preprocessing (see fig. 12 to 14) described later. The second preprocessing routine is a routine for executing second preprocessing (see fig. 22 and 23) described later. Both the first pretreatment and the second pretreatment operate the drive mechanism before the bonding apparatus 1 performs the bonding operation. The first preprocessing routine and the second preprocessing routine are different in the order of operation of the drive mechanism. The ROM102 stores programs for executing the setting process and the bonding process. The RAM103 temporarily stores various information. The storage device 104 is a nonvolatile storage device that stores various setting values and the like. The storage device 104 stores a discharge flag. When the discharge flag is 1, it indicates that the adhesive Z can be discharged from the discharge port 13. When the discharge flag is 0, it indicates that the adhesive Z cannot be discharged from the discharge port 13.

The operation unit 19 detects input of various information and outputs the detection result to the CPU 101. The potentiometer 95 is connected to the pedal 7, and outputs a voltage detection value corresponding to the rotational position of the pedal 7 to the CPU 101. The lower detector 78, the upper detector 85, and the end detector 545 output the detection results to the CPU 101.

The CPU101 sends control signals to the drive circuit 105 to control the driving of the lower conveyance motor 63 and the upper conveyance motor 112 of the conveyance mechanism 20, the nozzle motor 113 of the nozzle swing mechanism 22, the pump motor 114 of the supply mechanism, the gap adjustment motor 68 of the gap adjustment portion 77, the lower grip motor 72 of the lower grip mechanism 80, and the upper grip motor 38 of the upper grip mechanism 30, respectively. The CPU101 controls the driving of the cylinder 39, the cylinder 122, and the cylinder 931 by sending control signals to the drive circuit 106, respectively. The CPU101 controls driving of the heaters 131 and 132. The heater 131 heats the adhesive Z in the inner container. The heater 132 heats the adhesive Z flowing toward the discharge port 13 in the flow path 21 inside the nozzle lever 18. The adhesive Z becomes liquid after being heated by the heater 131 and the heater 132.

The setting process is described with reference to fig. 11. The setting process is executed when the operation unit 19 receives an input of a setting instruction. The CPU101 receives the setting of the preprocessing (S11). The pretreatment is a first pretreatment and a second pretreatment. An instruction to select one of the first preprocessing and the second preprocessing is input to the operation unit 19 by the operator. The CPU101 receives either one of the first preprocessing and the second preprocessing. The CPU101 receives the setting of the nozzle gap in the bonding operation (S13). The CPU101 receives the setting of the nozzle gap during the bonding operation by inputting a desired nozzle gap during the bonding operation to the operation unit 19 by the operator. When bonding, the nozzle gap is smaller than the maximum nozzle gap. The CPU101 ends the setting process.

The first pretreatment will be described with reference to fig. 12 to 19. The first preprocessing is executed when the selection of the first preprocessing is received at S11 of the setting processing and the operation unit 19 receives the input of the operation instruction. In the first pretreatment, the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 are placed in the bonding apparatus 1 by the operator. At the start of the first pretreatment, the bonding apparatus 1 is in an initial state (see fig. 15). At this time, the nozzle 11 is at the retracted position, the nozzle gap is smaller than the maximum value, the upper conveyance roller 12 is at the conveyance position, the lower pinch roller 76 is at the lower separated position, the upper pinch roller 32 is at the upper separated position, the rotation support portion 314 is at the retracted position, and the pedal 7 is at the neutral position. At the start of the first pretreatment, the discharge flag is 0. In fig. 16 to 19, the nozzle 11 is partially shown by a two-dot chain line.

The CPU101 determines whether or not a nozzle displacement instruction is detected (S31). The nozzle displacement instruction is an instruction to displace the nozzle 11 between the retracted position and the approaching position, and the operator inputs the instruction to the operation unit 19. Until the CPU101 determines that the nozzle displacement instruction is detected (S31: no), the CPU101 stands by. When the CPU101 determines that the nozzle displacement instruction is detected (S31: YES), the CPU101 controls the nozzle motor 113 to move the nozzle 11 from the retracted position to the close position (S33). The nozzle 11 is positioned directly above the nozzle lower roller 65 (see fig. 16).

The CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is depressed (S35). Before the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is stepped on (S35: no), the CPU101 stands by. At this time, the operator rotates the rotation support portion 314 from the retracted position to the operating position (see fig. 16).

The CPU101 initiates the depression of the pedal 7 by the operator (YES in S35), and executes S37-S41. Specifically, the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 122 to swing the upper conveying roller 12 from the conveying position to the upper position (S37). The upper transport rollers 12 are spaced upward from the lower transport rollers 64 (see fig. 16). The CPU101 updates the discharge flag to 1 (S39). The CPU101 controls the gap adjustment motor 68 to set the nozzle gap to the maximum value (S41). The maximum nozzle gap has a predetermined size larger than the size of the nozzle gap during bonding. As S41 is executed, the nozzle plate 59 swings downward, and the space between the upper transport roller 12 and the lower transport roller 64 is widened (see fig. 16).

The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S43). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the depressed position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (S43: no), and stands by. The operator places the lower sheet 8 above the lower conveying roller 64, the lower nozzle roller 65, and the support plate 57 (see fig. 16).

When the operator returns the pedal 7 from the step-on position to the neutral position (yes in S43), the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is stepped on (S44). When the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not stepped on (S44: NO), the CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is stepped back (S45). When the operator does not step back the pedal 7 (S45: no), the CPU101 shifts the process to S44.

When the operator steps back on the pedal 7 (yes in S45), the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 122 to swing the upper transport roller 12 from the upper position to the transport position (S47), and controls the gap adjustment motor 68 to reduce the nozzle gap to the size at the time of the initial state (S49). The bonding apparatus 1 returns to the state before the operator steps on the pedal 7 at S35.

The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S51). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the step-back position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (S51: no), and the CPU101 stands by. When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S51: YES), the CPU101 shifts the process to S35. When the operator pushes the pedal 7 again (yes in S35), the upper pinch roller 32 swings to the upper position (S37), and the nozzle gap becomes the maximum size (S41). The operator can take out the lower sheet 8 from the bonding apparatus 1 or adjust the arrangement position of the lower sheet 8 by returning the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S43: yes). The bonding apparatus 1 is in the state shown in fig. 16.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the operator steps on the pedal 7 (YES in S44), the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 931 to swing the lower grip roller 76 from the lower separated position to the lower grip position (S61). The lower pinch roller 76 pinches the lower sheet 8 between it and the lower surface 317 of the rotary support 314 (see fig. 17). The CPU101 starts a lower edge control process (see fig. 20) described later (S63). At this time, the CPU101 updates the lower edge flag stored in the storage device 104 to 1. When the lower edge flag is 0, it indicates that the lower edge control processing is ended, and when the lower edge flag is 1, it indicates that the lower edge control processing is started. The lower pinch roller 76 starts rotating with the front-rear direction as the axial direction (see fig. 17).

The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S65). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the depressed position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (S65: no), and stands by. When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S65: yes), the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is depressed (S67). When the operator does not step on the pedal 7 (S67: NO), the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is stepped back (S69). When the operator does not step back the pedal 7 (S69: no), the CPU101 shifts the process to S67.

When the operator steps back on the pedal 7 (S69: YES), the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 931 to swing the lower grip roller 76 from the lower grip position to the lower separation position (S71). The CPU101 ends the lower edge control process (S73). At this time, the CPU101 updates the lower edge flag to 0, stops the rotation of the lower pinch roller 76, and returns the bonding apparatus 1 to the state in fig. 16. The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S75). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the step-back position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (S75: no), and waits. When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S75: YES), the CPU101 shifts the process to S44. When the operator pushes the pedal 7 again (yes in S44), the lower pinch roller 76 swings from the lower separated position to the lower pinch position (S61), and the lower pinch roller 76 starts to rotate (S63). The bonding apparatus 1 is in the state shown in fig. 17.

When the operator steps on the pedal 7 (YES in S67), the CPU101 controls the gap adjusting motor 68 to reduce the nozzle gap to the size at the time of the bonding operation (S77). The nozzle plate 59, the lower transport roller 64, and the lower nozzle roller 65 move upward integrally, and the nozzle gap is narrowed (see fig. 18). The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S79). When the operator maintains the pedal 7 at the step-in position (S79: no), the CPU101 stands by. The upper sheet 6 is arranged by the operator. The upper sheet 6 overlaps the lower sheet 8 from above (see fig. 18).

When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S79: YES), the CPU101 judges whether or not the pedal 7 is depressed (S81). When the operator does not step on the pedal 7 (S81: NO), the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is stepped back (S83). When the operator does not step back the pedal 7 (S83: no), the CPU101 shifts the process to S81.

When the operator steps back on the pedal 7 (YES in S83), the CPU101 controls the gap adjusting motor 68 to enlarge the nozzle gap to the maximum size (S85). The bonding apparatus 1 returns to the state shown in fig. 17. The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S87). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the step-back position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (S87: no), and waits. When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S87: YES), the CPU101 shifts the process to S67. When the operator pushes the pedal 7 again (S67: YES), the nozzle gap becomes the size at the time of the bonding operation (S77). The bonding apparatus 1 is in the state shown in fig. 18.

As shown in FIG. 14, when the operator steps on the pedal 7 (S81: YES), the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 39 to swing the upper pinch roller 32 from the upper separation position to the upper pinch position (S91). The upper nip roller 32 nips the upper sheet 6 between it and the upper surface 315 of the turn support 314 (see fig. 19). The CPU101 starts an upper edge control process (see fig. 21) described later (S93). At this time, the CPU101 updates the upper edge flag stored in the storage device 104 to 1. When the upper edge flag is 0, the upper edge control processing ends, and when the upper edge flag is 1, the upper edge control processing starts. The upper pinch roller 32 starts rotating with the front-rear direction as the axial direction (see fig. 19). The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S95). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the depressed position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (S95: no), and stands by.

When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S95: YES), the CPU101 judges whether or not the pedal 7 is depressed (S97). When the operator does not step on the pedal 7 (S97: NO), the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is stepped back (S99). When the operator does not step back the pedal 7 (S99: no), the CPU101 shifts the process to S97.

When the operator steps back the pedal 7 (yes in S99), the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 39 to swing the upper pinch roller 32 from the upper pinch position to the upper spaced position (S101). The CPU101 ends the upper edge control process (see fig. 21) described later (S103). At this time, the CPU101 updates the upper edge flag to 0, stops the rotation of the upper pinch roller 32, and returns the bonding apparatus 1 to the state shown in fig. 18. The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S105). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the step-back position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (no in S105), and waits. When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S105: yes), the CPU101 shifts the process to S81. When the operator pushes the pedal 7 again (yes in S81), the upper pinch roller 32 swings from the upper separation position to the upper pinch position (S91), and the upper pinch roller 32 starts to rotate (S93). The bonding apparatus 1 is in the state shown in fig. 19.

When the operator steps on the pedal 7 (yes in S97), the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 122 to swing the upper transport roller 12 from the upper position to the transport position (S107). The upper conveying rollers 12 sandwich the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 between them and the lower conveying rollers 64 (see fig. 4).

The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S108). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the step-in position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (no in S108), and stands by. When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (yes in S108), the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is depressed (S109). When the operator does not step on the pedal 7 (no in S109), the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is stepped back (S111). When the operator does not step back the pedal 7 (S111: no), the CPU101 shifts the process to S109.

When the operator steps back the pedal 7 (yes in S111), the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 122 to swing the upper transport roller 12 to the upper position. The bonding apparatus 1 is in the state shown in fig. 19. The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S115). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the step-back position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (no in S115) and waits. When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S115: yes), the CPU101 shifts the process to S97. When the operator pushes the pedal 7 again (yes in S97), the upper pinch roller 32 swings to the transport position (S107), and the bonding apparatus 1 enters the state shown in fig. 4. When the operator steps on the pedal 7 (S109: YES), the CPU101 ends the first preprocessing.

Referring to fig. 20, the lower edge control process is explained. In the lower edge control processing, the CPU101 switches the rotation direction of the lower pinch roller 76 in accordance with the detection result of the lower detection unit 78, and controls the left-right direction position of the lower specific end portion 8A.

The CPU101 determines whether or not to start the lower edge control process (S161). The CPU101 stands by until the lower edge flag becomes 1 (S161: no). When the lower edge flag is set to 1 in S63 of the first preprocessing or S215 of the second preprocessing (see fig. 22) described later (yes in S161), the CPU101 determines whether or not the lower specific end portion 8A is at the lower detection position based on the detection result of the lower detection unit 78 (S163). When determining that the lower specific end portion 8A is at the lower detection position (yes in S163), the CPU101 controls the lower pinch motor 72 to rotate the lower pinch roller 76 in the first output direction (S165). The first feeding direction is a rotational direction of the lower pinch roller 76 when the upper end of the lower pinch roller 76 goes to the left. The CPU101 shifts the process to S169.

When determining that the lower specific end portion 8A is not at the lower detection position (S163: no), the CPU101 controls the lower grip motor 72 to rotate the lower grip roller 76 in the second output direction (S167). The second output direction is the reverse of the first output direction. The CPU101 shifts the process to S169.

The CPU101 determines whether or not the lower edge control processing is ended (S169). Until the lower edge flag becomes 0 in S73 of the first preprocessing or S323 of the later-described bonding processing (see fig. 25) (no in S169), the CPU101 shifts the processing to S163, and repeats S163 to S169.

When the lower edge flag becomes 0 (S169: yes), the CPU101 stops the driving of the lower clamp motor 72 (S171), shifts the process to S161, and then assumes a standby state.

Referring to fig. 21, the top edge control process is explained. In the upper edge control processing, the CPU101 switches the rotation direction of the upper pinch roller 32 in accordance with the detection result of the upper detection unit 85, and controls the left-right direction position of the upper specific end portion 6A.

The CPU101 determines whether or not to start the upper edge control process (S181). Before the upper edge flag becomes 1 (S181: NO), the CPU101 stands by. When the upper edge flag is set to 1 in S93 of the first preprocessing or S219 of the second preprocessing (see fig. 22) described later (yes in S181), the CPU101 determines whether or not the upper specific end portion 6A is at the upper detection position based on the detection result of the upper detection unit 85 (S183). When determining that the upper specific end portion 6A is at the upper detection position (S183: yes), the CPU101 controls the upper pinch motor 38 to rotate the upper pinch roller 32 in the third output direction (S185). The third feeding direction is a rotational direction of the upper pinch roller 32 when the lower end of the upper pinch roller 32 goes to the right. The CPU101 shifts the process to S189.

When determining that the upper specific end portion 6A is not at the upper detection position (S183: no), the CPU101 controls the upper pinch motor 38 to rotate the upper pinch roller 32 in the fourth output direction (S187). The fourth output direction is the reverse of the third output direction. The CPU101 shifts the process to S189.

The CPU101 determines whether or not to end the top edge control process (S189). Until the top edge flag becomes 0 in S103 of the first preprocessing or S323 of the later-described bonding processing (see fig. 25) (no in S189), the CPU101 shifts the processing to S183 and repeats S183 to S189.

When the upper edge flag becomes 0 (S189: YES), the CPU101 stops the driving of the upper clamp motor 38 (S191), shifts the process to S181, and then assumes a standby state.

The second pretreatment will be described with reference to fig. 22 to 24. The second preprocessing is executed when the selection of the second preprocessing is received at S11 of the setting processing and the operation unit 19 receives the input of the operation instruction. In the second pretreatment, the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 are placed in the bonding apparatus 1 by the operator. At the start of the second pretreatment, the bonding apparatus 1 is in the initial state (see fig. 15), and the discharge flag is set to 0.

The CPU101 determines whether a nozzle displacement instruction is detected (S201). S201 is the same as S31 of the first pretreatment. Until the CPU101 determines that the nozzle displacement instruction is detected (S201: no), the CPU101 stands by. When the CPU101 determines that the nozzle displacement instruction is detected (YES in S201), the CPU101 controls the nozzle motor 113 to displace the nozzle 11 from the retracted position to the close position (S203). S203 is the same as S33 of the first pretreatment. The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is depressed (S205). Before the operator steps back on the pedal 7 (S205: NO), the CPU101 stands by. At this time, the operator rotates the rotation support portion 314 from the retracted position to the operating position.

The CPU101 continuously executes the processes from S207 to S219 in response to the depression of the pedal 7 by the operator (YES in S205). Specifically, the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 122 to swing the upper conveyance roller 12 from the conveyance position to the upper position (S207). The CPU101 controls the gap adjustment motor 68 to enlarge the nozzle gap to the maximum size (S209). The CPU101 updates the discharge flag to 1 (S211). The CPU101 controls the air cylinder 931 to swing the lower grip roller 76 from the lower spaced position to the lower grip position (S213). The CPU101 starts the lower edge control process (S215). S215 is the same as S63 of the first pretreatment. The CPU101 controls the air cylinder 39 to swing the upper nip roller 32 from the upper spaced position to the upper nip position (S217). The CPU101 starts the upper edge control process (S219). S219 is the same as S93 of the first pretreatment.

The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S221). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the step-back position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (S221: no), and waits. The operator sequentially arranges the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 while maintaining the step 7 at the stepped position (see fig. 24).

When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (S221: yes), the CPU101 controls the air cylinder 122 to swing the upper transport roller 12 from the upper position to the transport position (S223). The upper conveying rollers 12 sandwich the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 therebetween and the lower conveying rollers 64 (see fig. 4). The CPU101 controls the gap adjustment motor 68 to reduce the nozzle gap to the size at the time of the bonding operation (S225). The lower transport roller 64 and the nozzle lower roller 65 are swung upward together with the nozzle plate 59 (see fig. 4).

The CPU101 determines whether the pedal 7 is depressed or not (S227). When the operator steps back on the pedal 7 (yes in S227), the CPU101 shifts the process to S207. The CPU101 swings the upper conveyance roller 12 from the conveyance position to the upper position (S207), and enlarges the nozzle gap to the maximum size (S209). The bonding apparatus 1 returns to the state in fig. 24. After executing S211 to S219, the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is at the neutral position (S221). When the operator holds the pedal 7 at the step-back position, the CPU101 determines that the pedal 7 is not at the neutral position (S221: no), and the CPU101 stands by. While the CPU101 is on standby (S221: NO), the operator can adjust the arrangement positions of the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6.

When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (yes in S221), the CPU101 swings the upper transport roller 12 from the upper position to the transport position (S223), and reduces the nozzle gap to the size at the time of the bonding operation (S225). When the operator does not step back the pedal 7 (no in S227), the CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is stepped on (S229). When the operator does not step on the pedal 7 (S229: no), the CPU101 shifts the process to S227. When the operator steps on the pedal 7 (yes in S229), the CPU101 ends the second preprocessing.

The bonding process will be described with reference to fig. 25 to 28. The bonding process is performed after the first or second pretreatment is completed. When the bonding process is performed, the lower edge control process (see fig. 20) and the upper edge control process (see fig. 21) are performed in parallel. When the bonding process is performed, the adhesive Z is already liquid by heating of the heaters 131 and 132.

The CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is depressed (S301). Before the operator steps on the pedal 7 (S301: NO), the CPU101 stands by. When the operator steps on the pedal 7 (S301: YES), the CPU101 judges the presence or absence of the lower sheet 8 based on the detection result of the end detecting section 545 (S303). When the end detecting section 545 detects the lower sheet 8 (S303: YES), the CPU101 determines whether or not the discharge flag is 1 (S305).

When the CPU101 determines that the discharge flag is 1 (S305: yes), the CPU101 controls the pump motor 114 to discharge the adhesive Z (S307). The supply mechanism supplies the adhesive Z to the discharge port 13 through the flow path 11A and the flow path 21 by driving the pump motor 114, and the nozzle 11 discharges the adhesive Z from the discharge port 13 toward the lower sheet 8 (see fig. 26). The CPU101 controls the lower conveyance motor 63 and the upper conveyance motor 112, and drives the lower conveyance roller 64 and the upper conveyance roller 12 (S309). The conveyance mechanism 20 conveys the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 to the rear side by the cooperative operation of the lower conveyance rollers 64 and the upper conveyance rollers 12 by the driving of the lower conveyance motor 63 and the upper conveyance motor 112 (see fig. 26).

The CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is depressed (S311). When the operator maintains the pedal 7 at the step-in position (S311: yes), the CPU101 shifts the process to S303. When the end detecting section 545 detects the lower sheet 8 (S303: YES) and the operator maintains the step 7 at the step-in position (S311: YES), the CPU101 repeats S303 to S311. At this time, the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 overlapped with the adhesive Z in between pass through the conveyance position (see fig. 26). At this time, the lower conveyor roller 64 and the upper conveyor roller 12 press-contact the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 together via the adhesive Z. Accordingly, the bonding apparatus 1 performs the bonding operation.

When repeatedly executing S303 to S311, the CPU101 also executes the upper edge control process (see fig. 21) and the lower edge control process (see fig. 20). The CPU101 rotates the upper and lower pinch rollers 32, 76, thereby controlling the left-right direction positions of the upper and lower specific end portions 6A, 8A overlapped in the up-down direction. Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can control the length in the left-right direction of the lower specific end portion 8A and the upper specific end portion 6A overlapped in the up-down direction within a certain range.

When the leading end (end) of the lower sheet 8 moves to a position behind the end detector 545 and in front of the lower pinch roller 76 (see fig. 27), the end detector 545 cannot detect the lower sheet 8 (S303: no). The CPU101 determines whether or not the pedal 7 is just stepped on (S315). Specifically, the CPU101 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the pedal 7 was depressed (S301: YES). The predetermined time is shorter than the time required from the conveyance start timing of the lower sheet 8 by the conveyance mechanism 20 until the leading end of the lower sheet 8 reaches the end detection section 545. When the CPU101 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed, the CPU101 determines that the pedal has not been depressed (S315: no).

The CPU101 determines whether or not the lower sheet 8 is conveyed by a specific conveyance distance from the non-detection timing, which is the timing when the end detecting section 545 cannot detect the lower sheet 8 (S317). The specific conveyance distance is a distance in the front-rear direction from the position where the end detection unit 545 detects the lower sheet 8 to the position of the discharge port 13, and corresponds to the dimension I in fig. 27 and 28. The determination as to whether or not the lower sheet 8 is conveyed by the specific conveyance distance may be determined based on whether or not a certain time has elapsed from the non-detection timing, or may be determined based on whether or not the lower conveyance motor 63 has driven by a predetermined driving amount from the non-detection timing.

When the CPU101 determines that the lower sheet 8 is not conveyed by the specific conveyance distance (S317: no), the CPU101 shifts the process to S305 to continue the bonding operation. When the CPU101 determines that the lower sheet 8 is conveyed by the specific conveyance distance (S317: yes), the leading end of the lower sheet 8 is below the discharge port 13 of the nozzle 11 (refer to fig. 28). The CPU101 updates the discharge flag to 0(S319), and shifts the process to S305.

The CPU101 judges that the discharge flag is not 1 (S305: NO), and executes S309 without executing S307. Therefore, at a timing when the leading end of the lower sheet 8 passes directly below the discharge port 13, the nozzle 11 stops discharging the adhesive Z, and the conveying mechanism 20 continues conveying the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 (S309).

When the operator returns the pedal 7 to the neutral position (no in S311), the CPU101 determines whether or not there is an operation to turn off the power supply (S313). When the CPU101 determines that the operator has not turned off the power of the bonding apparatus 1 (S313: no), the CPU101 returns the process to S301. After the operator rotates the rotation support portion 314 from the operating position to the retracted position, the power of the bonding apparatus 1 is turned off (S313: yes). At this time, the CPU101 executes initialization processing (S323). Specifically, the CPU101 controls the nozzle motor 113 to displace the nozzle 11 from the close position to the retracted position, updates the lower edge flag and the upper edge flag to 0, respectively, ends the lower edge control processing and the upper edge control processing, and controls the air cylinder 39 and the air cylinder 931 to swing the upper pinch roller 32 to the upper spaced position and the lower pinch roller 76 to the lower spaced position. The bonding apparatus 1 returns to the initial state (see fig. 15), and the CPU101 ends the bonding process.

When there is no lower sheet 8 at the start of the bonding process, the CPU101 determines that there is no lower sheet 8 immediately after the operator has stepped on the pedal 7 (S301: yes) (S303: no). At this time, since the predetermined time has not elapsed since the pedal 7 was depressed, the CPU101 determines that the pedal has just been depressed (S315: yes). The CPU101 updates the discharge flag to 0(S319), and shifts the process to S305. The CPU101 determines that the discharge flag is not 1 (S305: no), and starts driving of the upper transport rollers 12 and the lower transport rollers 64 without executing S307 (S309). Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can suppress an erroneous operation in which the nozzle 11 discharges the adhesive Z when the lower sheet 8 is not present.

As described above, the CPU101 can set any one of the first preprocessing and the second preprocessing (S11). The first preprocessing controls the drive mechanism according to a control sequence preset in the first preprocessing routine, and the second preprocessing controls the drive mechanism according to a control sequence preset in the second preprocessing routine. The first pretreatment swings the upper transport roller 12 to an upper position (S37), and after the nozzle gap is maximized (S41), the nozzle gap is narrowed (S77) and the upper transport roller 12 is swung to a transport position (S107). The second pretreatment is to swing the upper transport roller 12 to an upper position (S207), and after the nozzle gap is maximized (S209), swing the upper transport roller 12 to a transport position (S223) to reduce the nozzle gap (S225). In both the first and second pretreatments, the first constraint is satisfied. The first limitation is that: the swing control of the upper transport roller 12 to the upper position and the maximization control of the nozzle gap precede the reduction control of the nozzle gap and the swing control of the upper transport roller 12 to the transport position. In the first and second pretreatments, the control procedure of the reduction control of the nozzle gap and the swing control of the upper transport roller 12 to the transport position are different. Therefore, the operator can easily set the control procedure of the drive mechanism to a control procedure suitable for the current situation by setting the first preprocessing and the second preprocessing. Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can suppress erroneous operation due to erroneous operation by the operator.

In the first pretreatment, after the upper transport roller 12 is swung to the upper position (S37), the lower pinch roller 76 is swung to the lower pinch position (S61), the nozzle gap is narrowed (S77), the upper pinch roller 32 is swung to the upper pinch position (S91), and the upper transport roller 12 is swung to the transport position (S107). In the second pretreatment, after the upper feed roller 12 is swung to the upper position (S207), the lower pinch roller 76 is swung to the lower pinch position (S213), the upper pinch roller 32 is swung to the upper pinch position (S217), the upper feed roller 12 is swung to the feed position (S223), and the nozzle gap is reduced (S225). In both the first preprocessing and the second preprocessing, the second constraint is satisfied. The second limitation is that: the swing control of the upper pinch roller 32 to the upper pinch position and the swing control of the lower pinch roller 76 to the lower pinch position are both after the swing control of the upper transport roller 12 to the upper position and before the swing control of the upper transport roller 12 to the transport position. In the first and second pretreatments, the control procedure of the control for swinging the upper nip roller 32 to the upper nip position and the control for reducing the nozzle gap are different. The operator can set the control procedure of the swing control of the upper pinch roller 32 to the upward pinch position and the control of the nozzle gap reduction simply by selecting the first pretreatment and the second pretreatment. Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can suppress erroneous operation of the upper swing mechanism 40 due to erroneous operation of the pedal 7 by the operator.

The first preprocessing routine and the second preprocessing routine are both determined in advance in a predetermined order. The predetermined sequence is a control sequence of the swing control of the upper feed roller 12 to the upward position, the expansion control of the nozzle gap, the reduction control of the nozzle gap, the swing control of the upper feed roller 12 to the feed position, the swing control of the upper pinch roller 32 to the upward pinch position, and the swing control of the lower pinch roller 76 to the downward pinch position. The CPU101 receives an instruction to select one of two predetermined orders determined in advance by receiving the setting of the first preprocessing or the second preprocessing (S11). Therefore, the operator is less likely to input to the pedal 7 in a wrong order. Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can further suppress the erroneous operation of the pedal 7 by the operator.

The switch 10 is a single switch. The operator operates the pedal 7 of the switch 10 to input an instruction, and the CPU101 advances the control of the drive mechanism according to a predetermined sequence. Since the pedal 7 to which the operator inputs an instruction is a single switch, the bonding apparatus 1 can simplify the input operation of the instruction by the operator for controlling the propulsion drive mechanism.

The switch 10 has a pedal 7 capable of inputting instructions by foot operation. In this case, the operator can input an execution instruction, which is an instruction for controlling the propulsion drive mechanism, to the pedal 7 while holding the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 with hands. Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 is convenient to use.

In the first preprocessing, the CPU101 controls the driving mechanism in the reverse order to the predetermined order when the operator steps back on the pedal 7. That is, the operator pushes back the pedal 7 to input a return instruction for controlling the drive mechanism. After the return is executed, the CPU101 controls the driving mechanism again in a predetermined order when the operator inputs the pedal 7. Therefore, the operator can easily perform the rework operation, and the bonding apparatus 1 is convenient to use.

In the second preprocessing, the CPU101 sequentially executes control of swinging the upper transport rollers 12 upward (S207) and control of enlarging the nozzle gap (S209) in response to depression of the pedal 7 by the operator. The bonding apparatus 1 sequentially executes control of at least two driving mechanisms in accordance with input of a single instruction to the pedal 7. Therefore, the instruction to the pedal 7 is small, and therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can further suppress the erroneous operation of the pedal 7 by the operator.

In the adhesion process, the CPU101 executes S307 and S309 when the operator steps on the pedal 7 (S301: yes). The bonding apparatus 1 can perform a bonding operation in a state where an operator holds the lower sheet 8 and the upper sheet 6 by hand. Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 is convenient to use.

The pedal 7 can be operated to be stepped in and stepped back. When the operator depresses the pedal 7, the switch 10 detects an instruction to execute the propulsion process. When the operator pushes the pedal 7 back, the switch 10 detects a return instruction to return the process. The bonding apparatus 1 makes the operation of the pedal 7 different between when the operator inputs the execution instruction and when the operator inputs the return instruction. Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can suppress the erroneous operation of the pedal 7 by the operator.

In the bonding process, the CPU101 executes S307 and S309 when the discharge flag is 1 (S305: YES), and executes S309 without executing S307 when the discharge flag is 0 (S305: NO). The CPU101 discharges the adhesive Z from the nozzle 11 only when the discharge flag is 1. Therefore, improper discharge of the adhesive Z is less likely to occur, and therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 is convenient to use.

In the adhesion process, the CPU101 updates the discharge flag to 0(S319) immediately after the operator has stepped on the pedal 7 (S301: yes), and when there is no sheet 8 left (S303: no). At this time, the CPU101 executes S309 instead of S307. That is, the CPU101 does not discharge the adhesive Z from the nozzle 11. Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can suppress an erroneous operation of discharging the adhesive Z to an object other than the lower sheet 8.

The nozzle lower roller 65 is an example of the lower sheet supporting portion of the present invention. The gap adjusting part 77 is an example of the lower support mechanism of the present invention. The lower conveying roller 64 is an example of the lower conveying portion of the present invention. The upper conveying roller 12 is an example of an upper conveying unit of the present invention. The pivot support portion 314 is an example of the arrangement member of the present invention. The upper clamp mechanism 30 is an example of an upper clamp driving mechanism of the present invention. The lower clamp mechanism 80 is an example of the lower clamp driving mechanism of the present invention. The support arm portion 73 is an example of the lower arm of the present invention. The upper detection unit 85 and the lower detection unit 78 are examples of the detection unit of the present invention. The end detector 545 is an example of the lower sheet detector of the present invention. The discharge flag is an example of information that can be discharged according to the present invention.

The CPU101 executing S307 and S309 is an example of the adhesion control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 executing S37 and S207 is an example of the rise control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 executing S41 and S209 is an example of the gap enlargement control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 executing S77 and S225 is an example of the gap reduction control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 when executing S107 and S223 is an example of the descent control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 when executing S11 is an example of the setting acceptance control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 for executing S163 to S167 and S183 to S187 is an example of the nip roller control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 executing S91 and S217 is an example of the upper operation control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 executing S61 and S213 is an example of the lower operation control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 executing S47 is an example of the upper conveyance reduction control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 when executing S49 is an example of the backlash reducing control unit of the present invention. The CPU101 when executing S303 is an example of the determination unit of the present invention. The CPU101 when executing S319 is an example of the discharge prohibition control unit of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. In both the first and second pretreatments, the nozzle gap is maximized after the upper conveyor roller 12 is swung upward. In the first and second pretreatments, the order of the swing control of the upper conveyor roller 12 to the upper position and the maximization control of the nozzle gap may be different between the first and second pretreatments on the premise of the first restriction. Instead of storing the first preprocessing routine and the second preprocessing routine in advance in the ROM102, the operator may set the control procedure of the drive mechanism to a desired procedure in S11 of the setting process. Instead of starting the lower edge control process and the upper edge control process in the first and second pre-processes (S63, S93, S215, S219), the CPU101 may start the lower edge control process and the upper edge control process when the pedal 7 is pressed in during the bonding process (S301: yes).

In the first and second pretreatments, the control sequence of the swing control of the upper grip roller 32 to the upper grip position and the swing control of the lower grip roller 76 to the lower grip position may be different between the first and second pretreatments on the premise of the second restriction. In this case, the operator can set the order of the swing control of the lower pinch roller 76 to the lower pinch position and the swing control of the upper pinch roller 32 to the upper pinch position simply by selecting the first preprocessing and the second preprocessing (S11). Therefore, the bonding apparatus 1 can suppress erroneous operations of the upper swing mechanism 40 and the lower swing mechanism 81 due to an erroneous operation of the pedal 7 by the operator.

The ROM102 may store a third preprocessing program in addition to the first preprocessing program and the second preprocessing program. The third preprocessing routine specifies a predetermined order different from the first preprocessing routine and the second preprocessing routine. In this case, the CPU101 receives an instruction to select one of three predetermined orders determined in advance (S11). The CPU101 may advance the first preprocessing at S35 and thereafter and the second preprocessing at S205 and thereafter by the operator operating the operation unit 19 other than the pedal 7.

In the second preprocessing, when the operator steps on the pedal 7 (yes in S205), S223 may be executed in addition to S207 and S209. In this case, the operator can arrange the upper sheet 6 and the lower sheet 8 by setting a predetermined time after S219 after S209 is executed and before S223 is executed. Instead of the lower transport roller 64 and the nozzle lower roller 65, the transport mechanism 20 may have a transport belt. The conveyor belt is disposed below the nozzles 11. In this case, the conveyor belt is an example of the lower conveying section of the present invention. The lower conveying mechanism 50 may not have the nozzle lower roller 65. In this case, the vertical distance between the nozzle plate 59 and the discharge port 13 is a nozzle gap. The nozzle plate 59 is an example of the lower sheet supporting portion of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. A bonding apparatus comprising:

a nozzle (11) having a discharge port from which the adhesive is discharged to the lower sheet;

a lower support mechanism (77) having a lower sheet support portion (65) that supports the lower sheet below the discharge port, the lower support mechanism being capable of moving the lower sheet support portion in the vertical direction;

a conveyance mechanism (20) having: a lower conveying unit (64) that supports the lower sheet and an upper sheet that are superimposed on each other with the adhesive interposed therebetween, at a position downstream of the nozzle in the conveying direction, the upper sheet being superimposed on the lower sheet from above; and an upper conveying unit (12) that sandwiches the lower sheet and the upper sheet between the lower conveying unit and the upper conveying unit, and that conveys the lower sheet and the upper sheet by the cooperative operation of the lower conveying unit and the upper conveying unit;

a moving mechanism (130) that moves the upper conveying portion between a conveying position at which the upper conveying portion sandwiches the upper sheet and the lower sheet between the upper conveying portion and the lower conveying portion and an upper position above the conveying position;

an input unit (10) that detects input of a predetermined instruction;

a front control unit (101) that controls a drive mechanism including the lower support mechanism and the moving mechanism to move the lower sheet support unit and the upper conveying unit when an instruction for execution is input to the input unit; and

an adhesion control unit that controls the driving mechanism and the discharge of the adhesive from the nozzle after the front control unit controls the driving mechanism, and bonds the upper sheet and the lower sheet together by pressing the upper sheet and the lower sheet while conveying the upper sheet and the lower sheet to a downstream side in the conveying direction,

the front control unit includes:

a lifting control unit that controls the moving mechanism to lift the upper conveying unit from the conveying position to the upper position;

a gap expansion control unit for controlling the lower support mechanism to expand a nozzle gap, which is a gap between the lower sheet support unit and the discharge port, to a predetermined size, which is larger than the size of the nozzle gap during bonding;

a gap reduction control unit that controls the lower support mechanism to reduce the nozzle gap to the size of the nozzle gap during the bonding after the control of the gap expansion control unit; and

a descending control unit that controls the moving mechanism to descend the upper transport unit from the upper position to the transport position after the control of the ascending control unit,

the bonding apparatus is characterized in that,

the bonding apparatus includes a setting acceptance control unit configured to accept the setting by receiving, by an operation unit, an input of a setting instruction indicating setting of a control procedure of the elevation control unit, the gap enlargement control unit, the gap reduction control unit, and the lowering control unit under restriction that the control of the elevation control unit and the gap enlargement control unit precedes the control of the gap reduction control unit and the lowering control unit,

the front control unit controls the drive mechanism in accordance with the control procedure set by the setting acceptance control unit.

2. Bonding device according to claim 1,

the bonding device comprises:

an arrangement member (314) that is provided upstream in the transport direction relative to the nozzles and is arranged between the lower sheet and the upper sheet;

an upper nip drive mechanism (30) having an upper nip roller that is rotatable in the axial direction, the upper nip roller being located above the arrangement member;

an upper swing mechanism (40) that swings the upper nip roller between an upper nip position at which the upper nip roller nips the upper sheet between the upper sheet and the arrangement member and an upper spaced position at which the upper nip roller is spaced upward from the upper nip position;

a lower nip drive mechanism (80) having a lower nip roller that is rotatable about the axis in the transport direction at a position below the arrangement member;

a lower swing mechanism (81) that swings the lower grip roller between a lower grip position at which the lower grip roller grips the lower sheet between the lower grip position and the arrangement member and a lower separated position at which the lower grip roller is separated downward from the lower grip position;

detection units (85, 78) that can detect whether or not there is an upper specific end portion, which is one end portion of the upper sheet, and whether or not there is a lower specific end portion, which is the other end portion of the lower sheet, in a specific direction orthogonal to the vertical direction and the conveyance direction; and

a nip roller control section that controls the upper nip drive mechanism and the lower nip drive mechanism based on a detection result of the detection section when the bonding control section controls the bonding section, and controls the positions of the upper specific end portion and the lower specific end portion overlapped in the vertical direction in the specific direction by rotating the upper nip roller and the lower nip roller,

the driving mechanism comprises the upper swing mechanism and the lower swing mechanism,

the front control unit includes:

an upper operation control unit for controlling the upper swing mechanism to swing the upper grip roller from the upper separated position to the upper grip position before the grip roller control unit performs control; and

a lower operation control unit for controlling the lower swing mechanism to swing the lower grip roller from the lower separated position to the lower grip position before the grip roller control unit performs control,

the setting acceptance control unit accepts setting of a control procedure of the ascending control unit, the gap enlarging control unit, the gap reducing control unit, the descending control unit, the upper operation control unit, and the lower operation control unit under a restriction that the control of the upper operation control unit and the lower operation control unit is after the control of the ascending control unit and before the control of the descending control unit.

3. Bonding device according to claim 2,

the setting acceptance control unit accepts setting of the control procedure by receiving an instruction to select a certain type from a plurality of types in which the order of control by the ascending control unit, control by the gap expanding control unit, control by the gap reducing control unit, control by the descending control unit, control by the upper operation control unit, and control by the lower operation control unit is determined in advance.

4. The bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the input portion is a single switch.

5. Bonding device according to claim 4,

the switch has a pedal for inputting instructions.

6. Bonding device according to claim 5,

the bonding device comprises:

an upper conveyance/return control unit that lowers the upper conveyance unit from the upper position to the conveyance position when an input of a return instruction to the input unit is triggered after the control by the ascending control unit and before the control by the descending control unit; and

a gap reduction control unit that controls the lower support mechanism to reduce the nozzle gap to a predetermined size when the reduction instruction is input to the input unit after the control of the gap expansion control unit and before the control of the gap reduction control unit,

the ascending control unit executes control again when the execution instruction is input to the input unit after the control by the upper conveyance reduction control unit,

the gap enlargement control unit executes control again in response to input of the execution instruction to the input unit after control by the gap restoration control unit.

7. Bonding device according to claim 6,

the setting acceptance control unit accepts setting of: and executing at least two controls, which are sequentially executed, among the control of the ascending control unit, the control of the gap expanding control unit, the control of the gap reducing control unit, and the control of the descending control unit, in accordance with the single execution instruction with respect to the input unit.

8. Bonding device according to claim 6,

the adhesion control unit executes control in response to an operation of the pedal.

9. Bonding device according to claim 6,

the pedal is capable of a step-in operation and a step-back operation,

the switch detects the execution instruction through the stepping-in operation, and detects the reduction instruction through the stepping-back operation.

10. Bonding device according to claim 6,

the adhesive control unit controls the driving of the conveying mechanism and the discharge of the adhesive from the nozzle when the discharge enabling information indicates that the discharge is enabled, and controls the driving of the conveying mechanism when the discharge disabling information indicates that the discharge is disabled, the discharge enabling information indicating whether the adhesive can be discharged from the discharge port of the nozzle.

11. Bonding device according to claim 10,

the bonding apparatus comprises a lower sheet detecting unit (545) which is provided upstream of the nozzles in the conveying direction and is capable of detecting the presence or absence of the lower sheet,

the adhesion control unit includes:

a determination unit that determines whether or not the lower sheet is present based on a detection result of the lower sheet detection unit; and

and a discharge prohibition control unit that sets the discharge prohibition information to discharge prohibition when the determination unit determines that the lower sheet is not present.

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