JP2004059288A - Belt conveyor device and belt conveyor system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve conveyance efficiency by keeping tension of a conveyor belt, in a belt conveyor device and a belt conveyor system, conveying a given carriage to a predetermined position by a conveyor belt. <P>SOLUTION: A tension roller 14 to adjust the tension of the conveyor belt 16 hung on at least two movable belt driving rollers 12, 13, is rotatively arranged on bearings 15A, 15B, one end of each energizing member 18 is attached to the bearings 15A, 15B, and the other end thereof is attached to a support 17 through a position sensor 19. The support 17 is moved to retain the length of the energizing member 18 according to the expansion and contraction of the conveyor belt 16, thereby the tension of the conveyor belt 16 by the tension roller 14 can be justified. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a belt transport device and a belt transport system that transport a predetermined transport body to a predetermined position by a transport belt.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a belt transport device that transports an intermediate product, a processed product, or a final product to a predetermined position by a transport belt is often used in a predetermined manufacturing device or processing device. This belt transport device suspends a transport belt around a belt drive roller, and it is desired that the tension of the transport belt be kept constant when the position of the belt drive roller is changed.
[0003]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a sheet-sheet or booklet processing apparatus, the conveyance between the paper feeding and the paper ejection of a processing machine is often performed by a conveyance belt suspended by at least two belt driving rollers. For example, a sheet or the like is placed on a conveyance belt and conveyed, or a sheet or the like is conveyed while being sandwiched between two conveyance belts. By the way, the height of the paper supply device, the processing machine, and the like may differ depending on the type and the manufacturer of the device. In such a case, the transport belt is provided to be inclined.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the belt driving roller is moved up and down to incline the transport belt, the tension state of the transport belt changes, making it difficult to keep the tension constant, and a problem that efficient transport cannot be performed. There is. Conventionally, there has been a method of adjusting the tension using the biasing force of a spring in the supply of continuous paper. There is a problem that it is not possible to maintain a constant tension differently and it is not possible to carry out the conveyance efficiently.
[0005]
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a belt transport device and a belt transport system that maintain the tension of a transport belt and improve transport efficiency.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, according to the invention of claim 1, a belt transport device that transports a predetermined transport body to a predetermined destination by a transport belt, wherein at least two belt driving rollers for suspending the transport belt, A roller moving unit that moves the belt driving roller in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, a belt driving unit that rotates at least the belt driving roller to drive the transport belt, and the belt driving roller. Tension adjusting means for adjusting the tension of the transport belt when the transport belt is suspended, and a biasing member provided to the tension adjusting means from a predetermined support member so as to maintain the length of the biasing member. Tension control means for moving the support member to make the tension adjustment means suitable for the transport belt. .
[0007]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the belt conveying system, a carrier supply unit that supplies a predetermined carrier, a carrier receiving unit that receives the supplied carrier, the carrier supply unit, and the carrier receiving unit And a transport unit that transports the transport body supplied from the transport body supply unit to the transport body receiving unit. .
[0008]
In the invention of claims 3 and 4, the “conveying means is arranged in a predetermined number so that the belt conveying device places and conveys the conveying body”.
The "transporting means has a predetermined number of the two-stage belt transport devices arranged so that the belt transport devices are arranged in two vertical stages and the transport body is sandwiched and transported."
[0009]
In this way, a biasing member is provided from the support member to the tension adjusting unit that adjusts the tension of the transport belt with respect to the transport belt suspended by the at least two movable belt drive rollers, and the biasing member is provided. By moving the support member to maintain the length, the tension of the transport belt by the tension adjusting means is optimized. That is, since the length of the urging member is maintained even when the belt driving roller is moved and the tension of the transport belt changes, the tension of the transport belt can be maintained, and the tension of the transport belt by the tension roller is reduced. This makes it possible to improve the transport efficiency.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a belt conveyance device according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating the principle of the belt transport device, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a tension control unit. In FIG. 1A, a belt transport device 11 has a configuration in which a transport belt 16 is suspended between belt driving rollers 12 and 13 and a tension roller 14. The belt drive rollers 12, 13 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 1B, the tension roller 14 is rotatably provided in bearings 15A and 15B such as bearings, and the tension roller 14 and the bearings 15A and 15B constitute a tension adjusting means. . The bearings 15A, 15B are provided with biasing members 18A, 18B such as coil springs, and the biasing members 18A, 18B are attached to a predetermined support member 17 via a position sensor 19. The position sensor 19 detects the length of the urging members 18A and 18B, and the detection signal is sent to a motor controller described later.
[0012]
The support member 17 is moved up and down by a movable motor 20. As an example, a pinion 21 is attached to a tip end of a rotation shaft of the movable motor 20 and is engaged with the pinion 21. The rack 22 is provided in a vertical direction and one end is fixed to the support member 17. The support member 17 is moved up and down. The rotation of the movable motor 20 is controlled by a motor controller 23. The motor controller 23 controls the amount of rotation of the movable motor 20 based on a detection signal from the position sensor 19. That is, the support member 17, the urging members 18A and 18B, the position sensor 19, the movable motor 20, the pinion 21, the rack 22, and the motor controller 23 constitute a tension control unit. Although the tension roller 14 is moved up and down by a rack-and-pinion method, other mechanical methods may be used.
[0013]
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the operation principle of the belt drive roller in FIG. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a roller moving unit and a belt driving unit for moving each roller in the vertical direction, and FIG. 2B is a conceptual diagram of belt driving by the belt driving unit. 2A and 2B, each of the belt driving rollers 12, 13 is rotatable with respect to the movable shafts 12A, 13A by, for example, a bearing or the like. In other words, the conveying angle of the conveying body, which will be described later, is determined by the angle of the conveying belt 16 based on the angle between the belt driving rollers 12 and 13, and the tension of the conveying belt 16 suspended between the belt driving rollers 12 and 13 is determined. The tension roller 14 is suitable.
[0014]
As described above, when an angle is provided between the belt drive rollers 12 and 13, each roller is moved and moved in the vertical direction. For example, the movement of the belt driving roller 12 is moved up and down by a movable motor 31A, and although not shown, the belt driving roller 13 is also moved up and down by a movable motor 32A. That is, a pinion 41A is attached to the end of the rotating shaft of the movable motor 31A, and engages with the pinion 41A. The belt driving roller is provided by a rack 43A provided in a vertical direction and having one end fixed to the operating shaft 12A. 12 is moved up and down.
[0015]
Although not shown, the belt drive roller 13 is similarly moved up and down by the movable motor 32A, the pinion 42A, and the rack 44A. The movable motors 31A and 32A, the pinions 41A and 42A, and the racks 44A and 45A constitute roller movable means.
[0016]
The roller moving means may be of a mechanical type other than the rack and pinion type as described above, and may be manually moved up and down by appropriately providing a lever and a lock mechanism, for example. It is good.
[0017]
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a drive belt 53 is suspended between the belt drive rollers 12 and 13, the tension roller 14, and the rotation shaft 52A (52B) of the belt drive motor 51. That is, by rotating the belt drive motor 51, the belt drive rollers 12, 13 and the tension roller 14 are rotated, and the transport belt 16 suspended by these is rotated. Note that the drive belt 53 can also rotate the transport belt 16 by suspending it at least on the belt drive rollers 12 and 13 only.
[0018]
Subsequently, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the belt tension adjustment in the belt transport device of FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 3A, the belt driving rollers 12, 13 are in a horizontal state, and accordingly, the transport portion of the transport belt 16 is also in a horizontal state. At this time, the tension roller 14 is pressed by the urging force of the urging member 18A (18B) whose length is maintained at the predetermined length (L) by the position sensor 19, and causes the transport belt 16 to be appropriately tensioned. ing.
[0019]
Therefore, in order to set the transport portion of the transport belt 16 to a predetermined angle (inclined upward to the right), for example, the belt drive roller 12 is left as it is, and the belt drive roller 13 is raised upward by a predetermined amount so that the transport portion becomes a predetermined angle. Then, the tension roller 14 is raised by the conveyor belt 16, and the urging member 18A (18B) is compressed by the amount of the rise, and the length becomes, for example, "L1".
[0020]
The length "L1" of the urging member 18A (18B) is detected by the position sensor 19, and the motor controller 23 makes the urging member 18A (18B) the initial length "L" based on the detection signal. Then, the movable motor 20 is rotated by a rotation drive amount that raises the support member 17 (the lift amount “L−L1”). That is, when the urging member 18A (18B) has the initial length "L", an urging force corresponding to the length "L" is applied to the tension roller 14, and thereby the tension of the transport belt 16 is initially reduced. It is the same as the tension.
[0021]
Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the belt drive roller 12 is left as it is, for example, by keeping the belt drive roller 12 as it is so as to set the transport portion of the transport belt 16 to a predetermined angle (downward inclined to the right) from the initial state of FIG. When the roller 13 is lowered downward by a predetermined amount so that the transport portion is at a predetermined angle, the tension roller 14 is lowered by the transport belt 16, and the urging member 18A (18B) is extended by the lowered amount and the length is reduced. Becomes, for example, “L2”.
[0022]
The length "L2" of the urging member 18A (18B) is detected by the position sensor 19, and the motor controller 23 sets the urging member 18A (18B) to the initial length "L" based on the detection signal. Then, the movable motor 20 is rotated by a rotational drive amount for lowering the support member 17 (a lowering amount “L2−L”). That is, when the urging member 18A (18B) has the initial length "L", an urging force corresponding to the length "L" is applied to the tension roller 14, and thereby the tension of the transport belt 16 is initially reduced. It is the same as the tension.
[0023]
Next, FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic explanatory diagrams of an example of a single-piece sheet conveyance processing system to which the belt conveyance device according to the present invention is applied. In FIG. 4, the single-piece sheet conveying and processing system 61A is provided with a sheet supplying device 63 as a conveying unit supplying means for supplying a sheet, for example, a sheet 62. A sheet (sheet sheet) group 62A, which is a predetermined number of conveyers, is stacked on the sheet supply device 63, and the sheet 62 is supplied by the supply roller 64 one by one. In this case, for example, when one sheet 62 is supplied, the remaining sheet group 62A rises to keep the supply position constant. On the other hand, there is provided a processing device 65 such as a folding device, which is a carrier receiving means for processing the sheet 62. The processing device 65 includes a transport portion 65A and a processing portion 65B as appropriate.
[0024]
One belt transport device 11 shown in FIG. 1A is disposed as a transport unit between the sheet supply device 63 and the processing device 65. In this case, assuming that the feeding position of the sheet 62 in the sheet feeding device 63 and the sheet receiving position of the feeding section 65A in the processing device 65 are at the same height, the feeding portion of the feeding belt 15 of each belt feeding device 11 is horizontal. The belt driving rollers 12 and 13 are also set in a horizontal position with respect to each other. The transport belt 16 is set in a suitable tension state by the tension roller 14. Therefore, the sheets 62 sequentially supplied by the supply rollers 64 from the sheet supply device 63 are placed on the transport belt 16 by the belt transport device 11 and sequentially transported, and are discharged onto the transport unit 65 of the processing device 65. Thus, predetermined processing is performed in the processing section 65B of the processing device 65.
[0025]
In FIG. 5, when the height of the conveyance unit 66A of the processing device 66 is higher than the height of the sheet supply device 63, for example, the single-piece sheet conveyance processing system 61B In order to set the conveying portion of the conveying belt 16 at a predetermined angle (inclined to the right) up to the height of the conveying portion 66A, the belt driving roller 13 is moved upward so that the conveying portion is at a predetermined angle. By raising the fixed amount and raising the supporting member 17 in response to this, the tension of the transport belt 16 is set to the initially set tension.
[0026]
That is, in order to transport the sheet 62 from the supply position of the sheet supply device 63 to the transport portion 66A of the processing device 66, the tension of the transport belt 16 is initially set even when the belt drive roller 13 is raised (the urging members 18A and 18B). (Initial length). Then, the sheet 62 supplied from the sheet supply device 63 is placed on the belt transport device 11 and transported, and is discharged onto the transport portion 66A of the processing device 66.
[0027]
Although FIG. 5 shows the case where the sheet 62 is conveyed in the upward right direction, the same applies to the case where the sheet 62 is conveyed in the downward right direction. Further, the transport belt 16 can be rotated in the reverse direction. Furthermore, in the above example, one belt transport device 11 is arranged between the sheet feeding device 63 and the processing device 66, but the number may be increased or decreased depending on the distance between these devices or the transport trajectory. You can do it.
[0028]
Thus, even if the belt driving roller 13 is moved and the tension of the transport belt 16 changes, the length of the urging members 18A and 18B is maintained, so that the tension of the transport belt 16 can be maintained, and the tension can be maintained. The tension of the transport belt 16 by the rollers 14 is optimized, and the transport efficiency can be improved.
[0029]
By the way, although the above-described sheet (sheet-fed paper) is shown as the transporting body 62, a booklet, an IC card, an IC form (a state before being regarded as an IC card), a film, a card, a plastic product, and the like may be used. The present invention is applicable to a system in which a carrier supply device that supplies these carriers is provided as the above-described system, and a printing device or a stacker that performs predetermined processing or stacking at a discharge destination is provided. Is what you can do.
[0030]
Next, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of another configuration in the single-piece sheet transport processing system. FIG. 6A shows the transfer state of the belt transfer device corresponding to FIG. 4, and FIG. 6B shows the transfer state of the belt transfer device corresponding to FIG. The belt conveying device shown in FIG. 6A has a configuration in which the belt conveying mechanism (belt conveying device 11) shown in FIG. 4 faces the conveying portions of the conveying belt 16 at a predetermined interval (interval of the thickness of the sheet 62). This is disposed between the sheet supply device 63 and the processing device 66. Here, the upper and lower belt conveyance devices 11 are configured by the same elements, and are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0031]
Each of the belt conveying devices 11, 11 is in a suitable tension state by the tension rollers 14, 14 being urged by a constant urging force from the urging members 18A, 18B (18A, 18B). . That is, in the example of FIG. 4, the sheet 62 supplied from the sheet supply device 63 is conveyed by being sandwiched between the conveyance belts 14 of the belt conveyance devices 11, 11, and is conveyed to the conveyance section 64 A of the processing device 64. Is to be discharged.
[0032]
Further, in the belt transport device shown in FIG. 6B, the belt transport mechanism (belt transport device 11) in FIG. 5 causes the transport portions of the transport belt 16 to face each other at a predetermined interval (interval of the thickness of the sheet 62). This is arranged between the sheet feeding device 63 and the processing device 66. Here, the upper and lower belt conveyance devices 11 are configured by the same elements, and are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0033]
In this case, each of the belt transporting devices 11 and 11 is configured by raising the belt driving rollers 13 and 13 of the belt transporting devices 11 and 11 shown in FIG. , 14 are biased by the biasing members 18A, 18B (18A, 18B) to a suitable tension state. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, the sheet 62 supplied from the sheet supply device 63 is clamped between the transport belts 14 of the belt transport devices 11, 11 so that the sheet 62 is positioned higher than the sheet supply position of the processing device 66. It is transported to the transport section 66A.
[0034]
As shown in FIGS. 6 (A) and 6 (B), even in the case where the conveyor is conveyed while being sandwiched between the conveyor belts 16, 16, the belt drive rollers 13, 13 are moved and the conveyor belt 16 is moved in the same manner as described above. Since the lengths of the urging members 18A and 18B (18A and 18B) are maintained even when the tension of the transfer belts 16 and 16 changes, the tension of the transport belts 16 and 16 can be maintained and the transport by the tension rollers 14 and 14. The belts 16, 16 are properly tensioned, so that the transport efficiency can be improved.
[0035]
Next, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of another configuration of the belt transport device according to the present invention. 7 (A) to 7 (C) has the same basic configuration as the belt conveying device 11 of FIG. 1 (A), but the belt driving rollers 12 and 13 (only one may be used). Can be moved in the horizontal direction, and the tension roller 14 (the support member 17, the urging members 18A and 18B and the position sensor 19) can be moved in the vertical direction. The horizontal movement of the belt driving rollers 12 and 13 in this case may be arranged, for example, to move the rack and pinion system shown in FIG. 2A in the horizontal direction.
[0036]
That is, as shown in FIG. 7B, for example, when the belt drive roller 12 is moved in the horizontal direction, the tension roller 14 is raised by the transport belt 16, and the urging member 18A (18B) is compressed by the amount of the rise. Is done. Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, the length of the urging member 18A (18B) is detected by the position sensor 19, and the motor controller 23 initially moves the urging member 18A (18B) based on the detection signal. By rotating the movable motor 20 by a rotational drive amount that raises the support member 17 in order to make the length, the urging member 18A (18B) becomes the initial length, and the urging force corresponding to this is applied to the tension roller 14. Will be added.
[0037]
Thereby, the tension of the conveyor belt 16 can be maintained at the initial tension. The same applies to the case where the belt driving roller 12 is horizontally moved in the direction in which the urging members 18A and 18B are extended. On the other hand, the same applies to the case where the belt driving roller 13 is horizontally moved.
[0038]
The above configuration is particularly effective when the distance between the sheet supply device 63 and the processing devices 65 and 66 is changed due to a problem in the installation space in the single-piece sheet conveyance processing systems 61A and 61B shown in FIGS. . The belt driving rollers 12 and 13 may perform both the horizontal movement as described above and the vertical movement as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a case where the conveying body is nipped and conveyed as shown in FIG.
[0039]
By the way, in the above embodiment, the case where the length change of the urging members 18A and 18B due to the movement of the belt driving rollers 12 and 13 is detected by the position sensor 19, but the change of the urging members 18A and 18B is For example, it can also be realized by detecting with a pressure sensor. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where two belt driving rollers are used in addition to the tension roller in configuring the belt conveying device 11 has been described. However, it is needless to say that the belt conveying device 11 may be configured with three or more belt driving rollers. It is.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the urging member attached to the support member is provided for the tension adjusting means for adjusting the tension of the transport belt with respect to the transport belt suspended by at least two movable belt drive rollers, By moving the support member to maintain the length of the urging member, the tension of the transport belt is maintained, and the tension of the transport belt by the tension roller is always optimized, so that the transport efficiency can be improved. Things.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a belt conveyance device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation principle of a belt driving roller in FIG.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of belt tension adjustment in the belt transport device of FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view (1) of an example of a single-piece sheet conveying and processing system to which the belt conveying device according to the present invention is applied;
FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view (2) of an example of a single-sheet sheet transport processing system to which the belt transport device according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of another configuration in the single-piece sheet transport processing system.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of another configuration of the belt transport device according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Belt conveyance device 12, 13 Belt drive roller 14 Tension roller 15 Bearing 16 Transport belt 17 Support member 18 Energizing member 19 Position sensor 20, 31, 32 Movable motor 61 Single piece sheet transport processing system

Claims (4)

A belt transport device that transports a predetermined transport body to a predetermined destination by a transport belt,
At least two belt drive rollers for suspending the transport belt;
Roller moving means for moving the belt driving roller in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction,
Belt driving means for rotating at least the belt driving roller to drive the transport belt,
Tension adjusting means for adjusting the tension of the transport belt when the transport belt is suspended on the belt drive roller,
An urging member is provided to the tension adjusting means from a predetermined supporting member, and the supporting member is moved so as to maintain the length of the urging member, and the tension adjusting means is appropriately tensioned with respect to the transport belt. Control means;
A belt transport device comprising: Carrier supply means for supplying a predetermined carrier,
Carrier receiving means for receiving the supplied carrier,
A belt conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined number of the belt conveyance devices are arranged between the conveyance body supply means and the conveyance body reception means, and the conveyance body supplied from the conveyance body supply means is provided to the conveyance body reception means. Conveying means for conveying,
A belt transport system comprising: 3. The belt transport system according to claim 2, wherein a predetermined number of the transport units are arranged so that the belt transport device places and transports the transport body. 4. 3. The belt conveying system according to claim 2, wherein the conveying means comprises a predetermined number of the belt conveying devices arranged in two stages, and the predetermined number of the two stages of belt conveying devices for holding and conveying the conveying member. A belt transport system, wherein the belt transport system is disposed.

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