JP2001158531A - Pneumatic conveying system for bar article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pneumatic conveying system for bar articles capable of preventing damage thereto caused by emergency shutdown of the system and smoothly restarting the system after recovering. SOLUTION: This pneumatic conveying system for a filter rod F is provided with a feeder 2, an air duct 4, a blower 6, and a receiver 8, and the filter rod F fed from the feeder 2 is conveyed through the air duct 4 by air flow. The filter rod F conveyed is sequentially received by the receiver 8 and stored in a rod hopper 9. When jamming occurs in the system, conveyance of the filter rod F is immediately stopped, and a solenoid valve 50 is opened to discharge compressed air while the compressed air is spouted out from a decelerating ejector 76 to a direction opposing to the conveying direction. An air stream to the direction opposing to the conveying direction is thereby generated from a near side of an inlet of the receiver 8 in the air duct 4, and movement of the filter rod F is promptly decelerated and stopped. When the system is restarted, the compressed air is spouted out in the conveying direction from an accelerating ejector 78 aside from the blower 6 to increase conveying force in the air duct 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pneumatic conveying system for conveying a bar-shaped article by an air flow, and more particularly to a filter cigarette manufacturing apparatus (filter mounting machine) in a filter cigarette manufacturing plant. The present invention relates to a bar-shaped article pneumatic conveying system suitable as a facility for conveying a bar-shaped article.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A transport system of this kind is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-245516 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-62446. Each of these known transport systems is provided with a supply device for rod-shaped articles, a receiving device and a transport pipe interconnecting them, and generates an air flow by compressed air from the supply device to the receiving device in the transport pipe, The rod-like article is transported in the axial direction through the transport pipe by the air flow.

[0003] In these known transport systems, for example, when a trouble occurs due to clogging of a bar-shaped article,
By immediately releasing the compressed air in the transport pipe to the atmosphere, the air flow is immediately stopped. In this case, it is considered that the transportation of the bar-shaped articles is stopped along with the stop of the air flow, and the situation where the rod-shaped articles collide with each other in the transport pipe can be avoided.

Further, in the former transport system, when the transport is resumed after the trouble is solved, first, a compressed air having a lower flow rate than usual is supplied to discharge the rod-shaped articles staying in the transport pipe, and then the normal flow rate is reduced. It is assumed that the conveyance is restarted by the compressed air. In this case, it is considered that the rod-shaped articles do not strongly collide with each other because an excessive transfer force does not work when the conveyance is restarted.

[0005]

However, even if the air flow is stopped immediately at the time of occurrence of the trouble as described above, the rod-shaped article moves in the pipeline by inertia force. It is difficult to completely stop a collision. In particular, since the pipeline is at a dead end just before the entrance of the receiving device, it can be said that there is a risk that a large number of damaged products may be generated in a chain as a result of the subsequent rod-shaped articles colliding one after another.

In the latter transport system, the transfer force in the transport pipe is extremely reduced when the flow rate of the compressed air at the time of resuming the transport is set low to prevent damage to the bar-shaped article. In such a situation, it is difficult to completely discharge the rod-shaped articles remaining in the pipe. On the other hand, if the flow rate is set high for the discharge, the transfer force becomes excessive and the rod-shaped articles are damaged. Invite you. Such a situation is particularly remarkable when a filter rod having a relatively heavy unit weight is conveyed or when the number of conveyed rods per time is set relatively large.

In view of the above problems, the present invention has means effective in preventing damage to a bar-shaped article in the event of an emergency stop of the system due to the occurrence of a trouble, and the system can be easily restored after the trouble is solved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic conveying system for rod-shaped articles.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object,
The bar-shaped article pneumatic conveying system of the present invention (Claim 1)
When a bar-shaped article is clogged in the transport path from the supply device to the receiving device, the transport of the bar-shaped article by the system is stopped, and an airflow is generated in the transport pipeline in the direction opposite to the transport direction to proactively operate. A deceleration force is applied to the rod-shaped article.

In the pneumatic conveying system of the present invention, a rod-shaped article continuously fed from a feeder is usually received in a conveying line, and is conveyed from one end of the conveying line by an air flow in the conveying line. Then, the rod-shaped articles discharged from the other end of the transport pipeline are sequentially received by the receiver. In such an air conveyance system, when a bar-shaped article is clogged in the receiver, the detecting means detects the clogging and outputs a detection signal. Stop the transport immediately.
At the same time, the decelerating means applies a deceleration force to the bar-shaped article in the transport pipeline, so that the bar-shaped article stops moving due to its inertial force, thereby avoiding damage due to collision of the bar-shaped article.

It is preferable that the above-mentioned structure of the deceleration means includes an ejection port capable of ejecting compressed air in a direction from the other end to the one end in the transport pipeline. In this case, since the deceleration force on the bar-shaped article works effectively in a region just before the entrance of the receiver, a continuous rear-end collision by the subsequent bar-shaped article is avoided. On the other hand, if the system is temporarily stopped due to the occurrence of a trouble, the bar-shaped articles are continuously accumulated in the transport pipeline. Therefore, in the pneumatic conveying system for a bar-shaped article according to the present invention (claim 3), prior to restarting the conveyance of the bar-shaped article after the system is stopped, the air pressure is increased by a speed increasing means from the middle of the conveying pipe to the receiver. Is supplied to generate a transfer force for the rod-shaped article in the transport pipe on the downstream side.

[0011] Generally, when the system is restarted, it is preferable to start transporting with compressed air having a lower flow rate than usual, in order to avoid damage to the rod-shaped articles that have stayed in the transport pipeline. May be insufficient. According to the present invention, when the system is restarted, a problem of such a shortage of the transfer force is solved by generating the transfer force in the middle of the transfer pipe separately from the blower. In this case, even if the conveyance is resumed with the compressed air having a low flow rate, the transfer force in the conveyance pipeline is relatively increased, so that the bar-shaped articles staying in the conveyance pipeline can be surely transported to the receiver. it can.

[0012] The above-mentioned structure of the speed increasing means may include an ejection port which is provided in the middle of the transport pipeline and which can inject compressed air toward the other end in the pipeline. Also,
The bar-shaped article pneumatic conveying system of the present invention (Claim 5)
The provision of the speed increasing means in addition to the above-described decelerating means can solve all the problems from the point of occurrence of the trouble to the restart of the operation after the recovery.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The pneumatic conveying system for rod-shaped articles of the present invention can take a preferred embodiment as, for example, a filter rod conveying device used for manufacturing a filter cigarette, an example of which is shown in FIG. ing. The air transfer system in FIG. 1 includes a feeder 2, a blower tube 4, a blower 6, a receiver 8, and the like. Regarding the functions of these devices, the feeder 2 stores a large number of filter rods F in the supply hopper 3 and continuously feeds out the filter rods F one by one. One end of an air supply pipe 4 is connected to the feeder 2, and the fed filter rod F is sequentially connected to the air supply pipe 4.
Is located on the same axis as the inlet. The blower 6 supplies compressed air toward one end of the blower tube 4 to generate airflow in the blower tube 4 in the direction of the receiver 8 so that the fed out filter rod F is passed through the blower tube 4 through the blower tube 4. It can be transported by flow.

The feeder 2 is usually located at a location remote from the cigarette making equipment, while the receiver 8 is arranged adjacent to a filter attachment (neither shown) of the cigarette making equipment. . As is clear from the figure, the other end of the air feeding pipe 4 is connected to the receiver 8, and the receiver 8 has a function of receiving the transported filter rod F and sending it into the rod hopper 9. .

The feeder 2 is equipped with a motor M1 for driving a supply drum (not shown), while the receiver 8 is provided with a motor for driving a receiving mechanism 10 and a direction changing mechanism 12, respectively. M2 and M3 are equipped. The receiving mechanism 10 of the receiver 8 has three pairs of rollers for transporting the filter rod F in the axial direction, and two pairs of these rollers from the upstream side are speed correcting rollers 14,
The pair at the most downstream side is the kicker roller 16. The function of these rollers is that each pair of speed correction rollers 14
Rotates in opposite directions at a constant peripheral speed, and clamps the filter rod F sent from the air pipe 4 from above and below, thereby correcting the transfer speed of the filter rod F to a specified speed and transferring the same. In addition, the pair of kicker rollers 16 rotate in opposite directions at a peripheral speed twice that of the speed correcting roller, whereby the filter rod F sent out between the downstream speed correcting rollers sandwiches the pair of kicker rollers 16. It is accelerated by the attachment and sent out to the direction changing mechanism 12. By such acceleration by the pair of kicker rollers 16, the filter rod F is separated from the subsequent filter rod F.

The direction changing mechanism 12 has two direction changing roller sets 20, 22, which are separated from each other in the direction in which the filter rod F is fed out. Each of the roller sets 20 and 22 includes an upper roller 24 and a lower roller 26 which are arranged vertically.
The upper and lower rollers 24, 26 rotate in directions opposite to each other in a direction transverse to the feeding direction of the filter rod F.

The filter rod F sent out from between the kicker rollers 16 of the receiving mechanism 10 has its both ends sandwiched between the upper and lower rollers 24, 26 of the direction changing roller sets 20, 22, and the transfer direction thereof is the rod hopper 9.
Converted to the side. Specifically, the direction changing roller sets 20 and 22 hold the filter rod F, and rotate the filter rod F by the rotation thereof to the rod hopper 9.
Send to.

The receiving device 8 has a stopper 3 at its entrance.
The stopper 30 can be opened and closed by a pair of chuck claws 32 of a clamp cylinder (not shown). The stopper 30 is normally open, and allows the filter rod F to pass from the other end of the air pipe 4 to the receiving mechanism 10. The pneumatic conveying system shown in FIG. 1 includes a filter rod F in a conveying path from the feeder 2 to the receiver 8.
And a sensor for detecting clogging. Specifically, a pass sensor 34 that detects the passage of the filter rod F is disposed in front of the pair of kicker rollers 16 described above. Proximity sensor 3 for detecting
6 are arranged. Further, the supply device 2 is provided with an abnormality detection sensor 37 for detecting the above-described abnormality of the supply drum.

The passage sensor 34 is usually provided with a filter rod F
A predetermined pulse signal is output intermittently as the filter rod F passes, but when the filter rod F is clogged, the output continues for a certain period of time and is output as a detection signal of the clogging. On the other hand, when the filter rod F is clogged at that position, the proximity sensor 36 is turned on by contact with the filter rod F, and outputs a predetermined detection signal. Further, the abnormality sensor 37 outputs a predetermined detection signal when its rotation operation becomes abnormal due to, for example, a clogging of the filter rod F in the supply drum.

The operation of the air transfer system shown in FIG. 1 is controlled by a controller (not shown). Specifically, the operation of each of the motors M1, M2, and M3 described above is controlled by a controller, and the detection signals from the passage sensor 34, the proximity sensor 36, and the abnormality sensor 37 are all transmitted to the controller. Has been entered. The blower 6 has an adjustment circuit 42 for adjusting the flow rate of the compressed air supplied from the air pressure source 40, and the operation of the adjustment circuit 42 is also controlled by the controller. Specifically, the adjustment circuit 42 is connected to the air pipe 4
In addition to changing the supply flow rate of compressed air to
It also has a function of completely stopping the supply, and switching of these functions is performed based on a command signal from the controller.

The pneumatic conveying system shown in FIG. 1 has various pneumatic devices in the middle of the air supply pipe 4, and a pneumatic breaker 44 is provided at the most upstream side thereof. More specifically, the compressed air breaker 44 has a casing 46 that covers the outer periphery of the air supply pipe 4, while the air supply pipe 4 is formed with a large number of communication holes (not shown) communicating with the inside of the casing 46. I have. The interior of the casing 46 is communicated with the atmosphere through an exhaust pipe 48.
Is inserted. The opening and closing operation of the electromagnetic on-off valve 50 is also controlled by the controller.

Downstream of the pneumatic breaker 44, for example, two stalls 52 are arranged at intervals, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show the stall 52 in detail. Stall 52
Has a cylindrical inner casing 54 and an outer casing 56 that cover the outer circumference of the air pipe 4 doubly.
Both the inner and outer casings 54, 56 are arranged concentrically with the air supply pipe 4. The inner and outer casings 54, 56 extend in the axial direction along the air supply pipe 4, and both ends are hermetically closed by a disk-shaped end plate 58. These end plates 58 have an insertion hole 60 at the center, are fitted to the outer periphery of the air supply pipe 4 through the insertion hole 60, and are fixed to the air supply pipe 4 by screwing a set screw 61 from the outer peripheral surface. I have. An inner peripheral groove 62 and an outer peripheral groove 64 are formed in the end plate 58 so as to be fitted to the end portions of the inner and outer casings 54 and 56, respectively, and the inner peripheral groove 62 is annular outside the insertion hole 60. Is formed.

On the other hand, a large number of communication holes 66 are formed in the air pipe 4 at portions covered by the inner and outer casings 54 and 56, and these communication holes 66 are formed in the circumferential direction and the axial direction of the air pipe 4. Are distributed at intervals. A plurality of openings 68, 70 are formed in the inner and outer casings 54, 56, respectively, at intervals in the circumferential direction, and each of the openings 68, 70 is a longitudinal member of the inner and outer casings 54, 56. Extending in the direction.

As is apparent from FIG. 3, both the communication hole 66 and the openings 68 and 70 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center. Specifically, the communication holes 66 of the air supply pipe 4 are arranged to face each other in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the openings 70 of the outer casing 56 are arranged vertically so as to face each other in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the inner casing 5
The four openings 68 are arranged so as to be opposed to the horizontal and vertical directions in an oblique direction. Therefore, the openings 68 are not arranged on the same line with respect to the communication hole 66 and the opening 70. The lower opening 70 of the outer casing 56 is closed by a cover plate 72, and the cover plate 72 is fastened to the outer surface of the outer casing 56 by bolts 74.

The above-mentioned stall gear 52 has a function of releasing the back pressure during the transfer and increasing the transfer force by discharging the compressed air in the air supply pipe 4 to the outside air. In this case, the wind pipe 4
The compressed air inside is always discharged through the communication hole 66 at a predetermined flow rate.
Is shielded by Therefore, the compressed air discharged from the air supply pipe 4 is deflected along the inner surface of the inner casing 54 and discharged through the opening 68. The compressed air discharged from the opening 68 is guided to the inner surface of the outer casing 56, and is discharged to the outside air through the upper opening 70.

At this time, even if, for example, the charcoal particles contained in the filter rod F are discharged together with the compressed air through the communication hole 66, the charcoal particles fall due to their weight and are separated from the above-described compressed air discharge path. Therefore, these charcoal particles are not discharged through the opening 70 of the outer casing 56 and finally stay at the bottom in the outer casing 56. The retained charcoal particles can be appropriately collected by removing the cover plate 72 described above.

As described above, on the outer periphery of the air pipe 4, an inner separation chamber communicating with the inside of the air pipe 4 through the communication hole 66 is formed so as to be partitioned. An outer separation chamber communicating with the inner separation chamber is defined and formed. Each of these separation chambers guides and captures dust such as charcoal particles contained in the discharged air in the falling direction by deflecting the discharge direction of the air flow.
The air flow is guided through the openings 68 and 70 to the outside air, that is, to the atmospheric pressure side, and is discharged.

The pneumatic conveying system shown in FIG. 1 further has a deceleration ejector 76 and a speed increasing ejector 78 in the middle of the blower pipe 4 as other pneumatic devices. Deceleration ejector 7
6 is a position before the entrance of the receiver 8 and a stall 52 on the downstream side.
Each of them is provided at a position closer to the front. On the other hand, the speed increasing ejector 78 is provided at a position ahead of the stall 52 on the upstream side.

These deceleration and speed-up ejectors 76, 78
Are connected to a pneumatic source 83 through pneumatic tubes 80 and 82, respectively.
It has branched to correspond to. In addition, these pneumatic tubes 8
Electromagnetic on-off valves 84 and 86 are inserted in 0 and 82, respectively, and the operation thereof is controlled by the above-mentioned controller.

FIG. 4 specifically shows the structure of the deceleration ejector 76, but the structure of the speed increasing ejector 78 is the same. However, the mounting directions of the deceleration ejector 76 and the speed increasing ejector 78 with respect to the air duct 4 are opposite. Hereinafter, the structure of the deceleration ejector 76 of FIG. 4 will be described as an example. As shown, the receiver 8
The deceleration ejector 76 at a position just before the entrance of the air pipe 4
And is interposed between the other end and the entrance piece 88 of the receiver 8. A flanged connector 90 is fitted to the end of the air pipe 4, while a slide connector 92 is attached to the inlet piece 88. In the case of the upstream deceleration ejector 76 and the speed increasing ejector 78, the inlet piece 88 is
, And the slide connector 92 is fitted to the end of the air supply pipe 4.

Each of the flanged connector 90 and the slide connector 92 has tapered holes 94 and 96 that expand toward the connection end, and the tapered hole 94 of the flanged connector 90 slides in the illustrated state. The connection end of the connector 92 is partially received. The connection end of the slide connector 92 is tapered at its leading edge in accordance with the taper angle of the tapered hole 94.
And a predetermined gap G is secured between them.

The flanged connector 90 and the slide connector 92 are held in a sleeve 98 and maintain a positional relationship with each other. Specifically, the sleeve 98 has a cylindrical body, and the flanged connector 90 is fitted into the sleeve 98 through one end opening thereof, and one end of the connector is closed at the flange portion. A bolt 99 shown only by a one-dot chain line in the figure is screwed into the flange portion, whereby the connector 9 with a flange is screwed.
0 is fastened to the sleeve 98. The space between the connection end of the flanged connector 90 and the inner surface of the sleeve 98 is hermetically sealed by an O-ring 100. The space between the flanged connector 90 and the outer surface of the air pipe 4 is also hermetically sealed by the O-ring 102.

The slide connector 92 is inserted through the other end opening of the sleeve 98, and in this state, the slide connector 92 can be displaced in the sleeve 98 in the axial direction. On the other hand, a stopper screw 104 is screwed into the sleeve 98 from the outer surface thereof.
The stopper screw 104 passes through the sleeve 98. Therefore, the displacement of the slide connector 92 described above is restrained by the tightening of the stopper screw 104. The slide connector 92 has a groove 106 that engages with the tip of the stopper screw 104. The space between the outer surface of the slide connector 92 and the inner surface of the sleeve 98 is hermetically sealed by an O-ring 100.

As shown in FIG.
The portion connected to the leading edge is smaller in diameter than the main body, and an annular space S is formed between the outer surface of the reduced diameter portion and the inner surface of the sleeve 98. Further, the annular space S communicates with the tapered hole 94 through the gap G described above. A pair of communication holes 108 are formed in the main body of the sleeve 98. These communication holes 108 penetrate the main body of the sleeve 98 in a direction orthogonal to the axis thereof, and the communication holes 10
Reference numeral 8 communicates with the annular space S described above. A pneumatic connector 110 is screwed into each communication hole 108, and
08 has a tapered female screw corresponding to the pneumatic connector 110. The above-described pneumatic tubes 80 (82) are distributed and connected to each pneumatic connector 110.

In the above-described deceleration ejector 76, when compressed air is supplied through the pneumatic tube 80, the compressed air is introduced into the annular space S through the pneumatic connector 110. Then, the introduced compressed air passes through the gap G between the leading edge of the slide connector 92 and the tapered hole 94 (jet port).
From the carrier pipe 4. The position of the slide connector 92 can be finely adjusted freely by the stopper screw 104. Therefore, the slide connector 92 is moved in the axial direction and the gap G between the slide connector 92 and the tapered hole 94 is adjusted.
Can be finely adjusted by adjusting.

[0036]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The operation of the pneumatic conveying system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to preferred embodiments. For example, in a cigarette manufacturing factory, a filter rod such as a desired charcoal filter or triple filter is transported to a filter attachment by a layout similar to that of the air transport system shown in FIG. The charcoal filter has a structure in which charcoal particles are distributed in acetate fibers. On the other hand, a triple filter is obtained by dividing an acetate chip in the axial direction and winding it by wrapping paper, and filling the chip with charcoal particles. When cut into one cigarette, its structure is 2. It has a three-layer structure of a divided acetate fiber layer and a charcoal-filled layer.

The transfer capacity of the system is, for example, 2200 per minute depending on the production capacity of the cigarette manufacturing apparatus.
Set to book. Further, the total length of the blower pipe 4 is set to, for example, 120 m in accordance with the layout of the factory. in this case,
It is preferable that the average moving speed of the filter rod F transferred in the air pipe 4 be set to about 10 m / s.

On the other hand, as for the arrangement of various pneumatic devices, for example, the pneumatic breaker 44 is disposed at a position of about 30 m from the entrance of the receiver 8, and about 2 m, about 6 m from the entrance of the receiver 8.
The stall 52 is arranged at each of the positions. The timing chart of FIG. 5 shows an example of the operation control of the air transfer system, and the controller of the system executes the control during normal operation according to the timing chart.

Further, the system of this embodiment is provided with operation switches for starting and stopping the feeder 2 and the receiver 8, respectively, and the controller performs control based on operation inputs to these switches. Execute. First, the start switch corresponding to the supply device 2 is operated from the completely stopped state of the system (time t ₀ ). At this time, a predetermined start signal is supplied to the controller, and thereafter, the controller shifts to the standby mode.

Next, when the start switch corresponding to the receiver 8 is operated (time t ₁ ), the start signal of the receiver 8 is supplied to the controller. At the same time, the controller
, The motor M2 for speed correction and the motor M3 for direction conversion are started up, and a predetermined request signal is output at the same time. At this time, the controller operates the electromagnetic switching valve 112 of the adjustment circuit 42 in the blower 6 in conjunction with the output of the request signal.
To start the supply of compressed air at a high flow rate.

When the controller executes the above operations almost simultaneously, the controller starts up the supply drum rotating motor M1 after a lapse of a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds). Thereby, the feeder 2
Of the filter rod F is started, and the fed filter rod F is sequentially conveyed in the air pipe 4 by an air flow. Further, the filter rod F that has reached the receiver 8 undergoes the above-described speed correction and direction conversion processing, and is sequentially stored in the rod hopper 9.

When the inside of the rod hopper 9 is full, the upper limit switch (not shown) is activated to output an upper limit signal to the controller due to the relationship between the transport capacity of the system and the production capacity of the cigarette manufacturing apparatus. (time t _2). When the controller receives the upper limit signal, it stops outputting the request signal to the supply device 2, whereby the operation of the supply drum rotating motor M1 is stopped.

Further, after a predetermined time (for example, 20 seconds) elapses from the output of the upper limit signal, the controller sets the speed correcting motor M
2 and the operation of the direction changing motor M3 are stopped. During this time, the supply of compressed air by the blower 4 is continuously performed, and the filter rods F in the blower pipe 4 are all received by the receiver 8. Thereafter, when the filter rod F in the rod hopper 9 is consumed and its storage becomes close to the lower limit, a lower limit sensor (not shown) operates to output a lower limit signal to the controller (time t ₃ ). When receiving the lower limit signal, the controller outputs a request signal to the feeder 2 and starts the speed correcting motor M2 and the direction changing motor M3. Similarly, two seconds after the output of the request signal, the supply drum rotating motor M1
Is started, and the normal feeding operation starts.

In order to stop the operation of the air transfer system, first, the stop switch corresponding to the receiver 8 is operated (time t ₄ ). At this time, a predetermined stop signal is supplied to the controller, and the controller stops outputting the request signal to the supply device 2. Thus, the operation of the supply drum rotating motor M1 is stopped, and the operation of the speed correcting motor M2 and the direction changing motor M3 is also stopped 20 seconds after that.

Thereafter, when the stop switch corresponding to the supply unit 2 is operated (time t ₅ ), the controller closes the electromagnetic opening / closing valve 112 and stops the supply of compressed air. The above is the normal operation control in the air transfer system. In the present embodiment, furthermore, the control at the time of the system abnormality and at the time of the system restart after the recovery is performed according to the timing chart of FIG.

When a trouble occurs due to clogging of the filter rod F in the feeder 2 or the receiver 8, a predetermined detection signal is output from the abnormality sensor 37, the passage sensor 34, or the proximity sensor 36 as described above. (Time t ₆ ). Upon receiving the detection signal, the controller immediately stops the operation of the supply drum rotation motor M1 and closes the stopper 30 of the receiver 8, and thereafter (for example, 0.5 seconds later), the speed correction motor M2 and the direction are stopped. The operation of the conversion motor M3 is stopped.

When the detection signal is output, the controller stops the supply of the compressed air at a high flow rate by the adjusting circuit 42, and switches to the supply of the compressed air at a low flow rate within a predetermined time (for example, 0.5 seconds). At this time, the solenoid on-off valve 112
Is closed, and the solenoid valve 114 on the low flow rate side is opened for 0.5 second instead. The reason why the controller performs such a flow rate control is to completely feed the fed filter rod F into the air supply pipe 4 and to protect pneumatic equipment by avoiding a sudden drop in supply pressure. The purpose is.

On the other hand, the controller activates the compressed air breaker 44 simultaneously with the output of the detection signal, and opens the electromagnetic on-off valve 50 to release the compressed air in the air pipe 4 to the outside air.
By the above control, the filter rod F in the system
Is stopped (stopping means), but the filter rod F in the air supply pipe 4 moves by its inertial force. Therefore, in this embodiment, the controller further performs the following control.

That is, at the same time as the operation of the compressed air breaker 44 described above, the controller opens the electromagnetic on-off valve 86 to eject compressed air from the deceleration ejector 76 into the air supply pipe 4. The ejection of the compressed air from the deceleration ejector 76 is continuously performed for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). During this time, an airflow is generated in the air supply pipe 4 in a direction opposite to the normal transport direction (deceleration means).

During the generation of the airflow in the opposite direction, the inertia force of the filter rod F in the air duct 4 is canceled and the movement of the filter rod F is stopped immediately. The situation of a strong collision is avoided beforehand.
At this time, before the inlet piece 88 of the receiver 8, the filter rod F is slightly pushed back in the air pipe 4 in the opposite direction, so that the filter rods F adjacent to each other in the air pipe 4.
Appropriate spacing is ensured between them. In such a state, even if the succeeding filter rod F collides with the preceding filter rod F, the collided filter rod F has room to move forward. Does not act strongly on the filter rod F on the other side.

Thereafter, the jam in the receiver 8 is removed.
When completing the return processing of the system and ON operation restart switch for system restart (time t _7). The controller starts up the speed correcting motor M2 and the direction changing motor M3 by operating the restart switch. After a lapse of a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds), the stopper 30 is opened, and the operation of the receiver 8 is restarted.

When the operation of the receiver 8 is restarted (time t ₈ ), the controller opens the electromagnetic on-off valve 114 to start supplying compressed air at a low flow rate and opens the electromagnetic on-off valve 86. Air blow pipe 4 from speed-up ejector 78
Spouts compressed air inside. As described above, the speed increasing ejector 7
Since the compressed air 8 is ejected toward the receiver 8 from a position in the middle of the blower tube 4, the transfer force in the blower tube 4 is relatively high even if the supply from the blower 6 is a low-pressure compressed air. To increase. Therefore, the filter rods F staying in the blower pipe 4 on the downstream side of the speed increasing ejector 78 are transferred to the receiver 8, and are sequentially received by the receiver 8 (speed increasing means).

The operation of the speed increasing ejector 78 continues for a predetermined period of time (for example, 5 seconds), and during this period, the discharging of the filter rod F staying downstream (between the speed increasing ejector 78 and the receiver 8) is completed. . In addition, the upstream side (supply machine 2
, The filter rod F staying in the space between the speed increasing ejector 78) is also sequentially transferred to the receiver 8 by low-pressure compressed air, and a predetermined time (for example, 1) from its supply start (time t ₈ ).
Within 0 seconds), the payout of all the filter rods F in the air pipe 4 is completed. Even if clogging occurs again during this time, the feeding by the feeder 2 has not been restarted yet, so that the filter rod F does not increase in the air supply pipe 4.

When the payout is completed (time t ₉ ), the controller switches the compressed air from the low flow rate to the high flow rate (time t ₁₀ ), and after a lapse of a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds), the controller starts the supply drum rotating motor M 1. increase. As a result, the feeding and transport of the filter rod F are started,
The system restart is completed. After that, the controller shifts to the normal operation control mode described above.

As described above, when the filter rod F is clogged in the system, the transport of the filter rod F is stopped, the deceleration is also performed by the air flow, and the filter moving in the air pipe 4 is stopped. The inertia force of the rod F is quickly eliminated. Therefore, the filter rod F is not damaged at the time of an emergency stop due to a system abnormality. In particular, in the case of the present embodiment, a triple filter is used as the filter rod F, and the unit weight of the triple filter is heavier than that of a single filter using only acetate fibers. Moreover, in the case of a triple filter, the charcoal-filled layer is not densely filled with charcoal particles, so the buckling strength of the rod is extremely reduced in the charcoal-filled layer,
It has the property of being easily deformed and damaged at the time of collision.
However, regardless of whether the filter is a triple filter or a single filter, the present embodiment was able to effectively prevent the damage.

When the system is restarted, the transfer force is insufficient only by the low flow pressure air by the blower 4 due to the heavy weight of the single unit of the triple filter. By supplying the compressed air from the middle of the feeding pipe 4, the problem of insufficient transfer force could be solved. Also, an increase in the transfer force due to such accelerated ejector 78 (time t ₈ ~t ₉₎ contributes to greatly reduce the occurrence of defective products in system restart.

When a charcoal filter or a triple filter is used as in the above-described embodiment, a large amount of charcoal particles fall off from the filter rod F into the air pipe 4 as the system operates for a long time. Conventionally, for example, the charcoal particles discharged through the communication hole 66 of the ventilation pipe 4 are simply dispersed to the outside air. However, in the stall 52 of the present embodiment, the charcoal particles are separated from the exhaust gas and the outer casing 56 is separated. Because it is collected inside, it can greatly contribute to hygiene management in the factory.

The above-described modification of the embodiment can be arbitrarily made in the configuration of the present invention. In particular, the specific configuration of the deceleration and speed-up ejectors 76 and 78 is not limited to the embodiment, and can be freely deformed while ensuring its functions. In the above embodiment, the deceleration ejector 76
Although the speed increasing ejector 78 and the speed increasing ejector 78 are separately provided, they may be structurally integrated.

Further, the arrangement of the deceleration and speed-up ejectors 76 and 78 shown in the embodiment is only an example, and the length of the air pipe 4 and the supply air pressure in the transport system, the specifications of the rod-shaped articles to be transported, etc. Needless to say, the arrangement and the number of these units can be changed appropriately.

[0060]

As described above, the remarkable effect of the pneumatic conveying system for rod-shaped articles of the present invention (Claim 1) is as follows.
In the emergency stop of the system, the rod-shaped article can be actively decelerated to avoid damage. This effect is particularly effective for a triple filter or the like having a relatively heavy unit weight and a large inertial force at the time of transfer, or a rod-shaped article having a structure that is easily deformed.

Further, if the compressed air is blown out from a place where the conveying pipe reaches a dead end (claim 2), the impact received by the bar-shaped article is greatly reduced, which is effective in preventing the damage. On the other hand, the pneumatic conveying system of the present invention (claims 3 and 4)
According to this, the restart operation after the system recovery can be performed smoothly, and the rod-shaped article is not damaged at this time.

Further, the pneumatic conveying system provided with the deceleration means and the speed increasing means (Claim 5) can perform all the operations from the emergency stop due to the abnormality of the system to the restart thereof smoothly, and the system operation rate can be reduced. It greatly contributes to improvement.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an entire pneumatic conveying system.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view specifically showing the structure of a stall gear.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view specifically showing a structure of a deceleration ejector.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart illustrating an example of normal operation control of the air transfer system.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing an example of operation control at the time of system abnormality and at the time of restart.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 feeder 4 air blower pipe (conveyance pipeline) 6 blower 8 receiver 34 passage sensor (detection means) 36 proximity sensor (detection means) 44 compressed air breaker (stopping means, deceleration means) 76 deceleration ejector (deceleration means) 78 Speed increasing ejector (speed increasing means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] A feeder for continuously feeding a bar-shaped article;
One end is connected to the feeder, and a conveying pipe capable of receiving the fed rod-shaped article and guiding it in the axial direction, and supplying compressed air toward one end of the conveying pipe, and supplying the bar-shaped article through the conveying pipe. In a rod-shaped article air transport system, comprising: a blower that transports the transported bar by an air flow; and a receiver that is connected to the other end of the transport pipeline and receives the transported rod-shaped article. Detecting means for detecting clogging of the bar-shaped article in the transport path of the bar-shaped article, and outputting a detection signal thereof; and when a detection signal is output from the detecting means, the bar-shape of the feeder, the blower, and the receiver is provided. Stop means for stopping the transfer of the article, When the transfer of the bar-shaped article is stopped by the stop means,
A bar-shaped article pneumatic conveying system, comprising: a speed-reducing means for generating a flow of air in a direction opposite to a conveying direction in the conveying channel to apply a decelerating force to the bar-shaped article. 2. The pneumatic conveying system for rod-shaped articles according to claim 1, wherein the deceleration means includes an ejection port capable of ejecting compressed air in a direction from one end to the other end in the conveying conduit. 3. A feeder for continuously feeding a bar-shaped article,
One end is connected to the feeder, and a conveying pipe capable of receiving the fed rod-shaped article and guiding it in the axial direction, and supplying compressed air toward one end of the conveying pipe, and supplying the bar-shaped article through the conveying pipe. In a rod-shaped article air transport system, comprising: a blower that transports the transported bar by an air flow; and a receiver that is connected to the other end of the transport pipeline and receives the transported rod-shaped article. Detecting means for detecting clogging of the bar-shaped article in the transport path of the bar-shaped article, and outputting a detection signal thereof; and when a detection signal is output from the detecting means, the bar-shape of the feeder, the blower, and the receiver is provided. Stopping means for stopping the conveyance of the article; increasing the pressure of the rod-shaped article in the conveyance pipeline downstream by supplying compressed air toward the receiver from the middle of the conveyance pipeline. Speed Air transport system of the rod-shaped article, characterized by comprising a stage. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the speed-increasing means is provided in the middle of the transport pipeline, and includes an ejection port capable of injecting compressed air toward the other end in the transport pipeline. Pneumatic conveying system for rod-shaped articles. 5. The bar-shaped article pneumatic conveying system according to claim 1, further comprising a speed increasing means according to any one of claims 3 and 4.