JP2005231756A - Sheet material conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep flatness of a sheet material and to reduce the manufacturing cost by controlling the occurrence of flopping or irregularities in the sheet material to be conveyed. <P>SOLUTION: A conveying belt 10 for conveying paper 15 is suspended between a driving roller 5 and a driven roller 6 so that it contacts with a fixed plate 3 having many suction holes 3a. A suction fan 12 is disposed inside the fixed plate 3, and the conveying belt 10 is made of thin polyester with small rigidity and formed like a net. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet-like material conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet-like material having low rigidity, such as paper or a film-like sheet, in a state of being held flat.

  For example, when the quality of the printed surface of paper printed by a printing press or the quality of the paper itself is inspected by a camera, the paper fed one by one from the paper feeding unit is first checked in the vertical direction and left and right in the register unit. After aligning the direction, it is transported to the inspection section where the camera is installed, and inspected by the camera while being transported. In this case, if the transported paper flutters or the paper has irregularities, accurate inspection cannot be performed. Therefore, it is necessary to transport the paper while keeping the paper flat.

  4 and 5 show a conventional sheet-like material conveying apparatus, FIG. 4 is a plan view, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. In these drawings, the conventional sheet-like material conveying device 30 is provided with a pair of left and right frames 2 and 2 erected so as to face each other. The shaft loose insertion hole 2a is provided. Corresponding to these shaft loose insertion holes 2a, bearings 4a and 4b are respectively attached to the outer surfaces of the left and right frames 2 and 2 by screws.

  Reference numeral 5 denotes a drive roller. End shafts 5a and 5b that are integrally projected at both ends are rotatably supported by bearings 4a and 4b, and projecting end portions projecting from the bearing 4a of one end shaft 5a. Has a pulley 7 attached thereto. Reference numeral 6 denotes a driven roller, and end shafts 6a and 6b projecting integrally at both ends are rotatably supported by the bearings 4a and 4b. Between the drive roller 5 and the driven roller 6, a conveyor belt 20 formed endlessly by rubber is stretched, and the conveyor belt 20 has a number of suction holes 20a arranged in a matrix. Is provided.

  Reference numeral 21 denotes a tank provided on the inside of the conveyor belt 20, which is formed in a closed and elongated box shape so as to extend in the width direction of the conveyor belt 20, and is an upper plate attached to the back surface of the conveyor belt 20. Are arranged in a plurality of rows in a direction orthogonal to the arrow A direction so that the long holes 21 a extending in the arrow A direction correspond to the suction holes 20 a of the transport belt 20. One end of air pipes 22 and 22 led to the outside of the left and right frames 2 and 2 are connected to both ends of the tank 21, and a suction air source (not shown) is connected to the other end of the air pipes 22 and 22. ) Is connected. An inspection camera 13 is provided in an inclined state above the conveyance belt 20 and directs a predetermined position of the conveyance belt 20, and a light source 14 illuminates a position directed by the camera 13.

  Next, a method for inspecting the printed surface of the printed paper and the quality of the paper itself by the conventional sheet-like material conveyance device 30 configured as described above will be described.

  First, by driving a motor that is a drive source of the sheet-like material conveying device 30, a timing stretched between a pulley that is attached to the output shaft of the motor and the pulley 7 of the drive roller 5 described above. The drive roller 5 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 5 via a belt (none of which is shown). By the rotation of the driving roller 5, the conveyance belt 20 stretched between the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 travels in the direction of arrow A. At the same time, a suction air source (not shown) is activated to supply suction air into the tank 21 via the air pipes 22 and 22.

  After such a state, the sheet 15 is fed one sheet at a time from the sheet feeding unit provided on the upstream side of the sheet conveying apparatus 30 in the sheet conveying direction (the direction opposite to the arrow A) to the register unit by the soccer device. The paper is aligned in the vertical direction and the left-right direction by a registering device (none of which is shown) provided in the paper, and is fed onto the conveying belt 20 of the sheet-like material conveying device 30. When the paper 15 is fed onto the conveyor belt 20 and the paper 15 is brought into contact with the surface of the conveyor belt 20, the suction air supplied into the tank 21 causes the inside of the tank 21 to be in a negative pressure state. Adsorbed on the surface of the belt 20.

  Accordingly, the paper 15 is transported following the traveling of the transport belt 20 in the direction of arrow A while being attracted to the surface of the transport belt 20, and the quality of the print surface of the paper 15 and the paper itself are transported by the camera 13 while being transported. Of quality and inspected. As a result of the inspection, the paper determined to be defective is stacked on a defective paper stacking unit provided on the downstream side (in the direction of arrow A) of the sheet conveyance device 30 in the paper conveyance direction. The paper is stacked on a regular paper stacking unit provided downstream of the defective paper stacking unit in the paper transport direction. Note that the above-described prior art is not publicly known as long as the applicant knows at the time of filing. Further, the applicant has not been able to find prior art documents related to the present invention by the time of filing. Therefore, prior art document information is not disclosed.

  In the conventional sheet-like material conveyance device described above, since the suction belt 20a is provided in the conveyance belt 20 that conveys the paper 15, the strength of the conveyance belt 20 itself increases as the number of the suction holes 20a is increased. Since it falls, the quantity of the suction hole 20a will be restrict | limited naturally. Accordingly, the suction force by the suction air cannot be sufficiently obtained, and the paper 15 flutters on the transport belt 20, or unevenness occurs without being attracted to the transport belt 20 in a state where the paper 15 is kept flat. Therefore, there is a problem that the camera 13 cannot perform an accurate inspection. Further, it is difficult to manufacture a large number of suction holes 20a in the conveyor belt 20 formed of rubber, and it is also difficult to manufacture the long holes 21a in the upper plate of the tank 21 formed in a box shape. Manufacturing costs were increasing.

  If the suction air source is increased in size and the amount of suction air is increased in order to increase the suction force to the transport belt 20, the transport belt 20 is attracted to the upper plate of the tank 21. Since a load is applied when traveling, the drive source for traveling the transport belt 20 must be increased in size, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost. Further, it is difficult to form the conveyor belt 20 in a flat shape, and the conveyor belt 20 is formed of rubber or the like having a relatively high rigidity. Therefore, the conveyor belt 20 is disposed between the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6. If the belt is to be stretched flat, the tension of the conveyor belt 20 increases. For this reason, a large load is applied to the bearings 4a and 4b supporting the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 to cause a failure of the apparatus, and a driving force for rotating the driving roller 5 must be increased. There was a problem of not becoming.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems. The object of the present invention is to make a sheet-like material flat by regulating the occurrence of fluttering or unevenness on the sheet-like material to be conveyed. And to reduce the manufacturing cost.

  In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is a fixed plate provided with a plurality of suction holes, and a conveyor belt formed in a mesh shape that moves on the fixed plate and attaches a sheet-like object. And air suction means provided inside the fixed plate.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt is formed in an endless shape, the conveyor belt is stretched between a driving roller and a driven roller, and both left and right side portions of the conveyor belt are provided. A pair of ridges extending in the traveling direction of the conveyor belt are provided, and an engagement groove for engaging the ridges of the conveyor belt is provided on the peripheral surfaces of the driving roller and the driven roller.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the amount of suction air passing through the conveyor belt is increased by forming the conveyor belt in a mesh shape, the sheet-like material is adsorbed to the conveyor belt with good adhesion. Therefore, it can be conveyed in a state where the sheet-like material is kept flat without unevenness. Moreover, since it is only necessary to drill a suction hole in the fixed plate, the manufacture becomes easy. In addition, since the conveyor belt is formed in a mesh shape, the conveyor belt is not attracted to the fixed plate, so that the conveyor belt is not loaded during traveling. A drive source can be reduced in size and manufacturing cost can be reduced.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the swinging of the transport belt in the left-right direction during transport can be restricted, it is possible to accurately transport the sheet-like object whose position is regulated in the left-right direction at the register. it can.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a plan view of a sheet-like material conveying apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 1B is a sectional view of a conveying belt, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. It is a top view for demonstrating the method to replace | exchange a conveyance belt similarly. In these drawings, the same or equivalent members described in the prior art shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

  In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, 3 is a fixed plate formed in a rectangular shape in plan view by a metal flat plate. Yes. The fixed plate 3 is attached to the left and right frames 2 and 2 via brackets (not shown) so as to be positioned between the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6.

  Engaging grooves 5c and 6c formed in a ring shape are provided on both ends of the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 over the entire circumference. Reference numeral 10 denotes an endless conveyor belt, which has a width in the left-right direction slightly smaller than the width of the fixed plate 3, and the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 so as to be in contact with the fixed plate 3. The tension roller 8 or 9 applies an appropriate tension. The transport belt 10 is formed in a mesh shape of about 25 / inch mesh with polyester having a small thickness and low rigidity, and extends on the back of the left and right sides in the running direction of the transport belt 10, that is, in the direction of arrow A. A pair of protruding strips 10a and 10a that are engaged with the engaging grooves 5c and 6c of the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 are integrally projected.

  Below the fixed plate 3, that is, inside the fixed plate 3, four suction fans 12 are installed so as to face substantially the entire surface of the fixed plate 3. Therefore, when the suction fan 12 is operated, the air staying above the conveyor belt 10 is sucked into the fixed plate 3 between the mesh of the conveyor belt 10 and through the suction holes 3a of the fixed plate 3. The

  With this configuration, the drive roller 5 is driven to cause the conveyor belt 10 to travel in the direction of arrow A, and the suction fan 12 is operated in the same manner as in the conventional case described above. Paper is fed onto the conveyor belt 10. As described above, the air staying above the conveyor belt 10 is sucked into the fixed plate 3 between the mesh of the conveyor belt 10 and through the suction holes 3a of the fixed plate 3. The paper 15 attached to the surface of the belt 10 is adsorbed on the surface of the conveyance belt 10. Accordingly, the paper 15 follows the travel of the transport belt 10 in the direction of arrow A and is transported so as to be in contact with the surface of the fixed plate 3. Quality is inspected.

  At this time, since the amount of suction air passing through the conveyor belt 10 is increased by forming the conveyor belt in a mesh shape, the sheet 15 is adsorbed to the conveyor belt 10 with good adhesion. Therefore, since the sheet-like object 15 can be transported in a flat state without any irregularities, the inspection by the camera 13 can be performed accurately. In addition, since the conveyor belt 10 is formed in a mesh shape, the conveyor belt 10 itself is not attracted to the fixed plate 3, so that no load is applied to the conveyor belt 10 during traveling. The drive source for running the conveyor belt 10 can be reduced in size, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Further, since it is only necessary to punch the suction hole 3a in the fixed plate 3 formed in a flat plate shape, the manufacture is easy, and an inexpensive fan 12 can be used as the suction means, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Can do. In addition, since the conveying belt 10 is formed of a member having low rigidity, when the tension between the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 is stretched, a large tension is not generated in the conveying belt 10. As a result, a large load is not generated in the bearings 4a and 4b that support the drive roller 6, and the drive source that drives the drive roller 5 can be reduced in size.

  Here, if it is necessary to replace the conveyor belt 10, as shown in FIG. 3, the fixing between the one end shaft 5b, 6b of the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 and the inner ring of the bearings 4b, 4b is released, The other bearings 4 a and 4 a are removed from the frame 2. Thereafter, the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 are moved in the axial direction, one end shafts 5b and 6b of the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 are removed from the bearings 4b and 4b, and the end shafts 5b and 6b and the frame 2 are removed. The conveyor belt 10 is removed from the gap.

  In the present embodiment, the conveyor belt 10 is stretched between the driving roller 5 and the driven roller 6 and the conveyor belt 10 is caused to travel by rotating the driving roller 5. You may make it drive | work with the conveyance chain which drive | works in the same direction as this travel direction. Although the suction fan 12 is used as the suction means, a suction pump may be used, and various design changes are possible. Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the sheet-like material conveyance device 1 is applied to an apparatus for inspecting the paper 15 by the camera 13 has been described. However, the sheet-like material conveyance device 1 may be applied to other devices, You may use only as a sheet-like material conveyance apparatus which controls blow. Further, although the cross section of the fixed plate 3 is formed to be slightly curved, if the paper 15 does not adhere to the fixed plate 3 due to the thickness of the paper 15, it may be formed appropriately flat, and various design changes may be made. Is possible.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of the sheet-like material conveying apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view of the conveying belt. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line in Fig.1 (a). FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining a method of replacing the conveyor belt in the sheet-like object conveyor according to the present invention. It is a top view of the conventional sheet-like material conveyance apparatus. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sheet-like material conveyance apparatus, 3 ... Fixed plate, 3a ... Suction hole, 5 ... Drive roller, 5c ... Engagement groove, 6 ... Driven roller, 6c ... Engagement groove, 10 ... Conveyance belt, 10a ... Projection body 12 ... Suction fan, 13 ... Camera, 15 ... Paper.

Claims (2)

  A fixed plate provided with a number of suction holes, a transport belt formed on a mesh that moves on the fixed plate and attaches a sheet-like material, and an air suction means provided inside the fixed plate A sheet-like article conveying apparatus characterized by the above. In the sheet-like article conveyance device according to claim 1,
The conveyor belt is formed in an endless shape, the conveyor belt is stretched between a driving roller and a driven roller, and a pair of ridges extending in the traveling direction of the conveyor belt are provided on both left and right sides of the conveyor belt. In addition, the sheet-like article conveying apparatus is characterized in that an engaging groove is provided on a peripheral surface of the driving roller and the driven roller to engage with a convex body of the conveying belt.

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