JP2002211776A - Double feeding preventing mechanism in sucking and transferring device for sheet material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent concurrent lifting of two or more sheet materials in a sucking and transferring device for the sheet materials sequentially sucking, lifting, and transferring plurally piled sheet materials. SOLUTION: The sucking and transferring device has a plurality of lifting suction pads, a turning suction pad for turning up a sheet material end part by sucking and lifting a portion near the sheet material end part, an air blowing device for blowing air on an end face of the sheet material and assisting the turning up of the uppermost sheet material end part, and a plural lifting detecting means detecting that two or more sheet materials have been lifted. The plural lifting detecting means is provided with a sensor support member with a U-shaped vertical cross section and a sensor detecting the number of sheet materials between an upper edge part and a lower edge part of the sensor support member. The sensor support member is composed so that the lower edge part can be resiliently rotated downward to allow a downward release of the sheet materials.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet material sucking and transferring apparatus for sucking and transferring a relatively soft sheet material such as an aluminum thin plate or a soft synthetic resin plate using a suction pad of a vacuum suction type. In particular, when a large number of sheet materials in a stacked state are sequentially sucked from the topmost one and lifted and transferred one by one, a double feed for preventing two or more sheet materials from being lifted and transferred at the same time. It relates to a prevention mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in processing an aluminum thin plate, a large number of aluminum thin plates are placed in an appropriate place in a state of being laminated in advance, and a suction pad is formed from the uppermost surface of the laminated sheet material. The vacuum suction method is used to suck and lift one sheet at a time, and then transfer it to a processing machine as it is, or transfer it separately to a conveyor or the like, and perform processing such as pressing or drawing one by one on the processing machine. Normal.

[0003]

However, in general, the aluminum sheet immediately after rolling often has rolling oil remaining on the surface, and when such aluminum sheets are laminated, the upper and lower aluminum sheets come into close contact with each other. Therefore, when the uppermost thin aluminum plate is sucked and lifted by the suction pad, two or more sheets may be lifted at the same time. Even when rolling oil does not remain, in the case of an aluminum sheet having a significantly smooth surface, the upper and lower aluminum sheets may adhere to each other in the laminated state, and in this case, the aluminum sheet on the uppermost surface is also moved from the laminated state. , Two or more sheets may be lifted at the same time.

[0004] As described above, when two or more aluminum thin plates are suctioned and lifted and transferred to a processing machine as they are, there is a risk that the processing machine will break down due to an overload or the like and the tool of the processing machine will be damaged. Yes, and at the same time, the lower one of the two or more aluminum sheets that have been sucked and lifted falls down during transportation, damaging peripheral equipment, and the dropped aluminum sheet itself is damaged and its commercial value May be damaged. Therefore, it is indispensable to lift and transfer one sheet at a time in a device that sucks and lifts and transports aluminum sheets in a stacked state, but in the conventional device, it is still necessary to lift and transfer two or more sheets at the same time. It was difficult to surely and stably prevent it.

That is, in this type of conventional adsorption transfer apparatus, in order to prevent two or more aluminum thin plates from being simultaneously sucked and lifted, for example, from the periphery of the laminated aluminum thin plate to the uppermost aluminum thin plate It has been proposed that air be sucked up from the side to the uppermost surface and the end surface of the aluminum thin plate thereunder to facilitate separation of the two at the time of sucking and lifting. However, it is still difficult to reliably prevent two or more aluminum thin plates from being simultaneously lifted by these means alone.

Further, when the aluminum thin plate is lifted by suction from the stacked state, it is detected by a thickness sensor or the like that two or more sheets have been sucked and lifted at an early stage, and some measure is taken. Although it is conceivable that when this is actually applied, when the lower one of the two or more lifted aluminum thin plates falls, the dropped aluminum thin plate collides with a detector such as a thickness sensor and the like. The detector may be damaged, or the impact may damage the aluminum thin plate and impair its commercial value, so that its practical use has been difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and two or more sheets of a sheet material such as an aluminum sheet in a stacked state are sequentially sucked, lifted, and transported from the uppermost surface side by a vacuum suction method. To reliably and stably prevent the sheet material from being sucked and lifted at the same time,
Even if two or more sheet materials are lifted at the same time, it can be detected immediately so that it can be dealt with at an early stage, and the detecting means for that is damaged by dropping of the sheet material or the sheet material itself is damaged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of preventing the occurrence of a collision.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is basically based on a method in which a large number of laminated sheet materials are sucked from the uppermost one by a vacuum suction method. In a sheet material suction transfer device for lifting and transferring, a plurality of lifting suction pads for sucking and lifting the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials, and the lifting device in the uppermost sheet material. A suctioned pad for turning up and down, which can adjust the turning position for turning up the end of the uppermost sheet material by sucking and lifting a portion closer to the end than the suction position by the suction pad, and a stacked sheet Air was blown from the end face to the end of the sheet material at a position between the uppermost sheet material and the lower sheet material to assist in turning up the end of the uppermost sheet material. Air blowing device, and a plurality of sheet lifting detecting means for detecting a state in which two or more sheet materials have been sucked and lifted, and the plurality of sheet lifting detecting means comprises The end of the sheet material sucked and lifted by the suction pad and the flip-up suction pad is approached / separated from the side from the side, and when approaching, the vertical section inserted from the side to the edge of the sheet material is U-shaped. A sensor support member, comprising a sensor for detecting the number of sheet materials between an upper side and a lower side of the sensor support member having a U-shaped cross section, and the U-shaped sensor support member, The lower side is rotatable downward, and a spring member is provided to resist downward rotation of the lower side. When a load of the sheet material is applied to the lower side of the sensor support member, the lower side is rotated. Lower side elastic downward It is characterized in that the pivots are configured to permit withdrawal of the downward due to the weight of the sheet material.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0010]

1 to 3 show an example of the overall structure of a suction transfer device incorporating a double feed prevention mechanism according to the present invention.

1 to 3, a large number of sheet materials 1 are shown.
Are stacked and placed on the pallet 3, and the pallet 3
Are mounted on a horizontal mounting table 5. A movable frame 7 is horizontally disposed above the mounting table 5 (above a large number of the stacked sheet materials 1). The movable frame 7 is guided by a horizontal guide (not shown) and is driven by a drive (not shown). It is configured to be able to move in the horizontal direction by means.

On the movable frame 7, a plurality of main cylinders 11A to 11F composed of hydraulic cylinders such as hydraulic cylinders are provided.
Are mounted vertically, and these main cylinders 11A
Moving rods 11Aa to 11Fa of the movable frame 7
, And vertically protrudes downward, and further, at the lower ends of these reciprocating rods 11Aa to 11Fa,
A to 13F are mounted horizontally. Here, each of the main cylinders 11A to 11F is arranged in the length direction of the sheet material 1 (FIG. 1).
Are arranged at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction (see FIG. 2), and each of the lifting frames 13A to 13F is arranged in the width direction of the sheet material 1 (FIG. 2).
In the longitudinal direction). Further, from the lower surface side of each of the lifting frames 13A to 13F, a plurality of, for example, two lifting suction pads 15a, 15b are respectively suspended. Here, two lifting suction pads 15a and 15b are respectively provided for the lifting frames 13A to 13F.
Are provided at intervals in the width direction of the sheet material 1 (the front-back direction in FIG. 2). In addition, each lifting suction pad 15
a and 15b are respectively connected to a suction device such as a vacuum pump through an air hose (not shown).

Further, of the lifting frames 13A to 13F, a pair of long plate-shaped movable members is provided on the lifting frame 13A closest to one end (right end in FIG. 1) in the length direction of the sheet material 1. The support plates 17A and 17B are attached at intervals in the width direction of the sheet material 1. These movable support plates 17A, 1
7B is attached along the length direction of the sheet material 1, and can be moved in the length direction, and can be rotated in a horizontal plane.
9B. The movable cylinders 17A and 17B are provided at the distal ends with the main cylinder 1 described above.
The auxiliary cylinders 21A and 21B having an advance / retreat stroke relatively shorter than the strokes of 1A to 11F are fixed vertically. The reciprocating rods 21Aa, 21Ba of these sub-cylinders 21A, 21B are connected to the movable support plates 17A, 17B.
B is vertically projected below B, and at the lower end thereof, flip-up suction pads 23a, 23b having a smaller diameter than the lifting suction pads 15a, 15b described above are provided. The flip-up suction pads 23a and 23b are also connected to a suction device such as a vacuum pump via an air hose (not shown).

Further, similarly to the above, the lifting frame 13A closest to one end in the length direction of the sheet material 1 among the lifting frames 13A to 13F is substantially parallel to the movable support plates 17A and 17B and horizontally. A projecting support frame 25 is mounted horizontally, and an air blowing device 27 is suspended from the tip of the support frame 25 via a lifting drive device 26 such as an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, or a solenoid. The air blowing device 27 is for blowing air to the end of the sheet material 1 in order to promote separation of the uppermost one and the lower one of the stacked sheet materials 1. For example, the pair of nozzles 27 </ b> A and 27 </ b> B are disposed so that the tips thereof face the end surface of the sheet material 1 from the side. Furthermore, above these nozzles 27A and 27B,
A guide piece 28 is provided in contact with the upper surface of the end of the sheet material 1 to define the nozzle position.
Valves 29A and 29B for controlling the amount of air blown from the nozzles 27A and 27B are provided on the base end side of B. It is needless to say that the air blowing device 27 is connected to the not-shown air pressure feeding device by the valves 29A and 29B and the not-shown air hose.

Further, in the same lifting frame 13A as described above,
As shown in detail in FIG. 4, a thickness detecting device 31 as a plurality of lifting detecting means is attached via a reciprocating rod 35A. That is, an advance / retreat drive device 35 such as a hydraulic cylinder, an air cylinder, or a solenoid is provided on the elevating frame 13A along the length direction of the sheet material 1.
The forward / backward rod 35A of the forward / backward drive device 35 extends horizontally, and the distal end of the forward / backward rod 35A is a downwardly hanging portion 35B. The thickness detecting device 31 is attached to the lower end of the downwardly hanging portion 35B. I have. This thickness detector 3
1 includes a sensor support member 31A attached to the apparatus main body portion 31B and having a U-shaped vertical cross section. The sensor support member 31A is close to the lower surface of the upper side 31Aa and the upper surface of the lower side 31Ab, respectively. Sensor 37A, 37B
Is provided. Here, the thickness detecting device 31
A sensor support member 31A having a U-shape is externally inserted from the side with respect to the end of the sheet material sucked and lifted, and the proximity of the sensor member 31A is determined based on the values (distance) obtained by the proximity sensors 37A and 37B. This is for calculating the thickness of the sheet material inserted between the sensors 37A and 37B. If the calculated thickness of the sheet material exceeds the thickness of one sheet material, two or more sheet materials are sucked. It is configured to determine that the object has been lifted. Further, the lower side 31Ab of the support member 31A
Is hingedly supported by a support shaft 39 so as to be rotatable downward, and is provided with a spring member 41 that resists downward rotation. The horizontal state is maintained by the force and the stopper 42 of the support member 31A.

Further, the movable frame 7 is provided with a suction lift detector 43 such as a limit switch for detecting the sheet material lifted by suction. The suction lifting detector 43 is provided with the above-described flip-up suction pad 23.
a, 23b (therefore, a position away from the end of the sheet material on the flip-up side).

Next, the operation of the suction transfer apparatus of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 to 9. In the following description, among the many stacked sheet materials 1, the uppermost sheet material is 1a, and the lower (second from the top) sheet material is 1b.

In an initial state, as shown in FIG. 1, a large number of sheet materials 1 such as aluminum
The pallets are stacked on the mounting table 5. The movable frame 7 is located above the mounting table 5 in advance, and furthermore, each of the main cylinders 11A to 11F and each of the reciprocating rods 11Aa to 11A of the sub cylinders 21A and 21B.
1Fa, 21Aa, and 21Ba are in the retreating state (that is, the ascending position), the reciprocating drive unit 35 of the thickness detecting device 31 keeps the advancing state (separated state), and the elevating drive unit 26 of the air blowing device 27 is It is in the retreat state (ascending state).

In starting the suction and lifting from the uppermost surface of the stacked sheet material 1 from the initial state shown in FIG. 1, first, the main cylinders 11A to 11F are started.
Is operated to advance (retreat) each of the reciprocating rods 11Aa to 11Fa, thereby lowering the elevating frames 13A to 13F. Along with this, each lifting suction pad 15
a, 15b are also lowered, and the leading ends (lower surfaces) are in contact with the upper surface of the uppermost sheet material 1a. The sub cylinders 21A, 21
B is operated to advance (retreat) each of the advance / retreat rods 21Aa and 21Ba.
3a and 23b are brought into contact with the surface of the portion near the end of the uppermost sheet material 1a. This state is shown in FIG. Simultaneously with or before or after these, the lifting suction pads 15a, 15b and the flip-up suction pads 23
The suction of the air by the a and 23b, that is, the suction of the uppermost sheet material 1a is started.

Next, the lifting drive 26 of the air blowing device 27 is operated to guide the guide piece 28 to the uppermost sheet material 1.
The air blowing device 27 is lowered until it comes into contact with the upper surface of the end of “a”. Then, the air blowing device 27 is operated in a state where the guide piece 28 is in contact with the end surface of the uppermost sheet material 1a, and the uppermost sheet material 1 is discharged from the nozzles 27A and 27B.
Air is blown from the side to the end face near the position between the sheet material 1a and the sheet material 1b below it. And the sub cylinders 21A, 2
1B to turn up the suction pads 23a,
3b lifts (turns up) the end of the uppermost sheet material 1a. At this time, the uppermost sheet material 1a is separated from the lowermost sheet material 1b by blowing air to the sheet material end surface by the air blowing device 27 as described above, and thus the uppermost sheet material 1a is separated. Only one edge can be turned up. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the end of the uppermost sheet material 1a is turned up in this way.

Subsequently, the main cylinders 11A to 11F are sequentially operated from those close to the flip-up suction pads 23a, 23b, and the lifting suction pads 15a, 15b are operated.
Are sequentially raised from those close to the flip-up suction pads 23a and 23b. Thereby, the top sheet material 1
a is a flip-up suction pad 15 as shown in FIG.
a and 15b are sequentially lifted. Here, the sheet material 1 on the uppermost surface is lifted sequentially from the side close to the flip-up suction pads 15a and 15b.
a and the sheet material 1b thereunder can be promoted. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the uppermost sheet material 1a
Is lifted, the sheet material 1a comes into contact with the suction lifting detector 43 such as a limit switch, and thereby each of the main cylinders 11A to 11F and the sub-cylinders 21A and 21A.
The raising operation of B is stopped.

At the stage where the uppermost sheet material 1a is entirely lifted in this way, the advance / retreat drive device 35 of the thickness detecting device 31 as a plurality of lift detecting means operates (start of the retreat operation). As shown in FIG. 9, a U-shaped sensor support member 31A of the thickness detecting device 31 is externally inserted from the side to the end of the lifted sheet material 1a. Therefore, the upper side 31Aa of the sensor support member 31A and the proximity sensor 37A are located above the end of the sheet material 1a, and the lower side 31Ab and the proximity sensor 37b are located below the end of the sheet material 1a. Becomes This state is shown by a chain line in FIG. In this state, the distance between each of the proximity sensors 37A and 37B and the upper and lower surfaces of the end portion of the sheet material located therebetween is detected, and the thickness of the lifted sheet material is calculated based on the detection result. If the thickness at this time exceeds the thickness of one sheet, it is determined that two or more sheets have been lifted, and an alarm is issued or the operation thereafter is stopped. Alternatively, the sheet material sucked and lifted is returned to the original stacked state again by the operation opposite to the suction lifting operation described above.

Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, when two or more sheet materials 1a and 1b are simultaneously sucked and lifted, a U-shaped sensor support member 31A is inserted at the end thereof. In this state, the sheet material 1b on the lower surface side of the two or more sheet materials may peel off and fall, but the lower side 31Ab of the sensor support member 31A is elastically rotatable downward. Then, when the sheet material 1b on the lower surface side starts falling and a load of the sheet material is applied to the lower side 31Ab, the lower side 31A is caused by the load as shown by a chain line in FIG.
b rotates downward, allowing the sheet material 1b to separate downward, and alleviating the impact at the time of a drop collision. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the proximity sensor 37B provided on the lower side 31Ab from being broken by an impact, and to prevent the falling sheet material 1b itself from being damaged by the collision with the lower side 31Ab.

After the uppermost sheet material is sucked and lifted as described above, and it is confirmed that only one sheet material is lifted, the suction state is maintained.
The movable frame 7 moves as a whole, and the lifted sheet material can be transferred to an appropriate place, for example, to a transfer means such as another conveyor or a processing machine.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned suction pad 23 for turning up is used.
a, 23b, the movable support plate 17 for supporting them.
Since the A and 17B can be rotated and adjusted forward and backward in a horizontal plane, the turning-up suction pads 23a and 23b can be as large as possible in accordance with the dimensions of the sheet material 1 to be sucked and lifted. It is adjusted in advance so as to be located near the end (corner) of the first. With such an adjustment, the sheet material 1a on the uppermost surface can be turned up more smoothly from the end.

In the above-described embodiment, the proximity sensor is used as the thickness detecting device 31 as the plural-sheet lifting detecting means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the sheet material is a translucent material, It is also possible to detect the intensity of the transmitted light in the vertical direction. In this case, a light source may be provided on one of the upper side 31Aa and the lower side 31Ab of the U-shaped support member 31A, and an optical sensor may be provided on the other.

[0027]

According to the mechanism for preventing double feed in the sheet material sucking and transferring apparatus of the present invention, the end of the uppermost one of the stacked sheet materials is turned up by the turning up suction pad and then lifted up. In addition to the pad being lifted as a whole, in order to facilitate the separation of the upper and lower sheet materials by blowing air from the side to the end surface of the sheet material on the flip-up side when turning up, two or more sheet materials are simultaneously Since the number of sheets lifted by suction is detected by a plurality of sheet lifting detecting means, even if two or more sheets are simultaneously lifted, the subsequent operations may be stopped. Or, by returning to the original state, it is possible to reliably prevent two or more sheet materials from being simultaneously transferred. It is possible to effectively prevent the above-mentioned sheet materials from being supplied at the same time and to break down the processing machine or damage the processing tool, and that the lower surface side of the two or more sheet materials falls during the transfer. There is little possibility that peripheral devices may be damaged or the sheet material itself may be damaged by the impact of the drop, thereby impairing the commercial value. Furthermore, in the double feed prevention mechanism of the sheet suction and transfer device of the present invention, the lower side of the U-shaped sensor support member of the plurality of lifting detecting means can be elastically rotated downward, so that the If the sheet material on the lower surface side falls when the sheet material is lifted and the number of sheets is detected, the impact at the time of collision between the sheet material and the sensor support member is reduced, and the sheet material is damaged by the impact. It is possible to effectively prevent a situation in which the sensor or the like installed on the lower side of the sensor support member is damaged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view showing a part of a multiple-sheet lifting detecting means in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining an operation state at the time of suction lifting in the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, wherein the lifting suction pad and the flip-up suction pad are lowered, and these are stacked in a sheet material; FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a state in which it is brought into contact with the upper surface of a slab.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an operation state at the time of suction lifting in the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and following the state of FIG. 5, the lifting suction pad is raised to remove the uppermost sheet material; It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which is turning up the end part.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation state at the time of suction lifting in the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and is a schematic illustration showing a state in which the lifting suction pad is sequentially raised after the state of FIG. 6; It is.

8 is a schematic view showing an operation state of the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 at the time of suction lifting, and is a schematic illustration showing a state where the entire sheet material is lifted subsequent to the state of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operation state at the time of suction lifting in the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and is a schematic illustration showing a state in which a plurality of lifting detecting means is operated following the state of FIG. It is.

10 is a front view showing, in an enlarged manner according to FIG. 4, a situation in which two or more sheet materials are simultaneously sucked and lifted in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stacked sheet material 1a Uppermost sheet material 1b Lower sheet material 15A, 15B Lifting suction pad 23a, 23b Turn-up suction pad 27 Air blowing device 31 As a plurality of sheet detecting means Thickness detecting device 31A Sensor support member 31Ab Lower side 37A, 38B Proximity sensor

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 15, 2001 (2001.3.1.1)
5)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All figures

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

FIG. 5

FIG. 10

FIG. 4

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

FIG. 8

FIG. 9

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F048 AB05 AB07 AB09 BA13 BB02 BC03 EA02 EB13 EB14 3F343 FA10 FB17 FC01 GA01 GB01 GC04 GD04 JB02 JB17 JB27 JB28 JD28 JD40 KB05 LA04 LA12 LA14 LB02 LC20 MA03 MA14 MA22

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material suction and transfer device for sucking and transporting a plurality of stacked sheet materials from a top surface side by a vacuum suction method and lifting and transferring the stacked sheet materials. A plurality of lifting suction pads for sucking and lifting the sheet material, and a portion closer to the end than the suction position of the lifting suction pad on the uppermost sheet material is suctioned and lifted to thereby raise the uppermost surface. The sheet is positioned at a position between the uppermost sheet material and the lower sheet material among the stacked sheet materials, and a flip-up suction pad for turning up and down the end of the sheet material. An air blowing device for blowing air from the end surface side to the end of the sheet material to assist in turning up the end of the uppermost sheet material, and a state in which two or more sheet materials are sucked and lifted. And a plurality of sheet lifting detecting means for detecting the number of sheets. The plurality of sheet lifting detecting means is provided at an end of the sheet material sucked and lifted by the lifting suction pad and the flip-up suction pad. A sensor support member having a U-shaped vertical cross section which is extrapolated from the side to the end of the sheet material when approaching / separating from the side, and an upper side portion and a lower side portion having a U-shaped cross section of the sensor support member And a sensor for detecting the number of sheets between the U-shaped sensor support members, and the U-shaped sensor support member has a lower side rotatable downward and a lower side of the lower side rotatable. A spring member against movement is attached, and when a load of the sheet material is applied to the lower side of the sensor support member, the lower side elastically rotates downward and the lowering of the sheet material due to its own weight causes the lowering of the sheet material. Configured to tolerate A double feed prevention mechanism in a sheet material suction transfer device, characterized in that: