JP2006199379A - Work conveying device provided with work separation function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suck a plurality of rectangular works formed by cutting a sheet-like work by using a vacuum sucker and to certainly and individually separate and convey them while suppressing deformation. <P>SOLUTION: The rectangular work W1 is sucked by the vacuum sucker 35 while a deflection plate 30 is held horizontal. A piston rod 34 of a cylinder 33 is projected and a central part of the deflection plate 30 is downwardly projected to deflect the deflection plate 30. In the vacuum sucker 35, a difference is generated in inclination of its axis L by difference of a deflection amount of the deflection plate 30 according to a distance from the center of the deflection plate 30 to the respective vacuum sucker 35, the position of a suction surface 36 is spread and the rectangular work W1 sucked to the suction surface 36 is pulled in a plane direction to be separated from a cut part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer device that individually sucks and transfers a plurality of rectangular workpieces formed by cutting a sheet-like workpiece with a cutter.

  Patent Literature 1 describes a sheet-like workpiece cutting machine that cuts a sheet-like workpiece such as a ceramic green sheet with a lifting cutter into a plurality of small-sized rectangular workpieces. In the cutting machine described in Patent Document 1, a single sheet-like workpiece W is cut into a plurality of rectangular workpieces W1 with a perimeter cut, for example, as shown in FIG. And an unnecessary portion W2 between them is cut. As shown in FIG. 7B, a vacuum suction pad a corresponding to each of the rectangular workpieces W1 is provided to suck the rectangular workpieces W1 from the upper side and is not necessary for taking out the rectangular workpieces W1 from such a cutting machine. Only the portion W2 is vacuum-sucked from the lower side, and in this state, the vacuum suction pad a is moved upward in the sheet thickness direction to separate the rectangular workpiece W1 and the unnecessary portion W2, and only the rectangular workpiece W1 is vacuum-sucked on the upper side. What is adsorbed by the pad a and carried to the next process is put into practical use.

As a similar technique, in Patent Document 2, a plurality of green sheet pieces that are in close contact with each other are vacuum-sucked by suction pads, and the suction pads are moved in this state to increase the spacing between the plurality of green sheet pieces. Individually separated ones are known.
Patent Document 3 discloses a sheet-like workpiece conveyance device provided with a flexible suction pad. Patent Document 4 discloses a plate material conveying apparatus having a plurality of suction pads.
JP 2001-113520 A JP 2000-123959 A JP-A-5-246565 JP 2001-310834 A

In the method of separating and conveying a rectangular workpiece that is practically used, only the rectangular workpiece W1 is moved in the sheet thickness direction and separated from the unnecessary portion W2, so that separation from the unnecessary portion W2 is caused by the frictional resistance of the cut surface. However, the rectangular workpiece W1 is pulled by the unnecessary portion W2 remaining on the lower side and deformed in the thickness direction. Moreover, since the rectangular workpiece W1 and the unnecessary portion W2 are separated with the relative distance in the plane direction unchanged, there is a problem that the roughness of the cut surface is deteriorated by rubbing the cut surfaces.
The thing of patent document 2 isolate | separates the green sheet piece by the surface direction by adsorb | sucking the green sheet piece which was closely_contact | adhered individually, and widening the mutual space | interval, However, there is no place regarding the mechanism which expands a space | interval. . Patent Documents 3 and 4 adsorb large-sized sheet-like works and plate materials one by one, and do not adsorb a plurality of rectangular works individually.
The present invention provides a conveying device with a separation function that sucks a plurality of rectangular workpieces formed by cutting a sheet-like workpiece using a suction pad, and can reliably separate and convey them while suppressing deformation. It is to provide.

  The workpiece conveyance device of the present invention is a workpiece conveyance device that individually sucks and conveys a plurality of rectangular workpieces formed by cutting a sheet-like workpiece with a cutter, and a bending plate is formed on the adsorption base that is conveyed and moved. A plurality of vacuum suction pads corresponding to each of the rectangular workpieces cut to the opposite side of the suction base are attached to the flexible plate so that the flexible plate can be bent in the direction. By bending the suction pad to the side where the suction pads are attached, the axes of the plurality of vacuum suction pads are tilted so that the relative positions between the suction surfaces of the vacuum suction pads are widened. Specifically, the bending plate is circular, and the bending generating means is attached to the suction base, and the advance / retreat member of the bending generating means is connected to the center of the surface of the bending plate. The flexible plate is preferably supported by the suction base in a replaceable manner.

In the apparatus of the present application, each of a plurality of rectangular workpieces is vacuum-sucked by a vacuum suction pad, and in that state, the bending plate is bent to tilt the axes of the plurality of vacuum suction pads so that the relative positions between the suction surfaces of the vacuum suction pads are Since the rectangular workpieces attracted by the respective suction pads are pulled in the surface direction of the workpiece and reliably separated at the cut portion, and the workpiece is not pulled in the thickness direction, deformation of the workpiece can be suppressed.
Further, in the invention according to claim 2, since the advancing / retreating member of one bending generating means is connected to the center of the surface of the circular bending plate and the bending plate is bent, the structure is simple.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a flexible plate having a vacuum suction pad corresponding to the distribution of various rectangular workpieces is prepared in advance and replaced with a flexible plate corresponding to the distribution pattern of the cut rectangular workpiece. The rectangular workpiece cut into various distribution patterns can be separated and removed.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a cutting machine for a ceramic green sheet (sheet-like workpiece) W, and the work table 2 is supported by the base 2A so as to be rotatable about a central axis in the vertical direction by 90 °. The base 2A is moved back and forth by a screw feed mechanism (not shown) between a machining position P1 where the upper surface of the work table 2 faces the cutter 3 and a workpiece take-out position P2 in front of it. The work table 2 includes a feed roll 5 around which a discharge sheet 4 that functions as a chip removing device is wound, and a take-up roll 6 that winds up the discharge sheet 4. The discharge sheet 4 passes through the upper surface of the work table 2 from the delivery roll 5 and is taken up by the take-up roll 6. As shown in FIG. 5, the ceramic green sheet W is attached to a holding frame 8 having a rectangular hole 7 in the center by an adhesive tape 9, and the holding frame 8 is positioned on the work table 2 to clamp the unillustrated clamping device. And fixed on the discharge sheet 4. With respect to the ceramic green sheet W placed on the work table 2 in this way, a plurality of cuts are made in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction by the up-and-down movement of the cutter 3 and the back-and-forth feed movement at the processing position P1 of the work table 2. Thereafter, the work table 2 is rotated by 90 ° to make a plurality of cuts perpendicular to the cuts, leaving the periphery in a frame shape as shown in FIG. 7 (a), and a plurality of inner areas (here, vertical 4 and horizontal 4). Are divided into rectangular (square) workpieces W1 and vertical and horizontal unnecessary portions W2 between the rectangular workpieces W1. The lower end height of the cutter 3 when cutting the workpiece is set so that only the ceramic green sheet W is cut and the discharge sheet 4 is not cut. Note that the cutting machine may cut a single ceramic green sheet W or a stack of a plurality of sheets.

  Frames 10 and 10 are erected on the left and right sides orthogonal to the moving direction of the work table 2, and the upper part is connected by a horizontal plate 11. A linear guide rail 12 and a well-known rodless cylinder 13 are juxtaposed on the horizontal plate 11 in the left-right direction. A guide 14 guided by the linear guide rail 12 is fixed to the rear surface of the L-shaped transport base 16 and an outer moving body 15 of the rodless cylinder 13 is connected. Moves along the straight guide rail 12 in the left-right direction. A suction base 18 is guided to the transport base 16 by a lifting guide rod 17 so that the suction base 18 can be moved up and down, and the suction base 18 is moved up and down by a lifting cylinder 19. Rods 20 having a predetermined length are fixed to the lower surface of the four corners of the suction base 18. A ring-shaped upper plate 21 and a ring-shaped lower member 22 whose center is a stepped hole 23 are integrally attached to the lower end of the rod 20 by bolts 24. The diameter of the center hole 25 of the upper plate 21 is smaller than the large diameter part 23 a of the stepped hole 23 and larger than the small diameter part 23 b of the stepped hole 23. A circular groove 26 is formed by the upper plate 21 and the stepped hole 23, and a disk-like flexible plate 30 is formed in the circular groove 26 on the outer periphery (peripheral portion) with elastic bodies 31 such as rubber on both sides in the thickness direction. The elastic body 31 is inserted between the outer circumferences of the annular elastic body 31 by lightly pressing in the thickness direction with the push screws 32 so that the elastic body 31 does not come off, and the outer circumference of the flexible plate 30 is sandwiched between the elastic bodies 31. It is supported so that it can move in the direction of the surface in a tilted state. A piston rod 34 (advancing / retracting member) of a cylinder 33 as a bending generating means is connected to the center of the surface of the bending plate 30. The cylinder 33 is fixed to the suction base 18.

  Corresponding to the distribution position of the plurality of rectangular workpieces W1 after cutting, the upper end portion of the vacuum suction pad 35 is located on the flexible plate 30 at a position corresponding to each rectangular workpiece W1 positioned at the workpiece take-out position P2. The axes L of the vacuum suction pads 35 are connected to each other at right angles to the flexible plate 30. The vacuum suction pad 35 has a suction surface 36 at the lower end protruding downward from the flexible plate 30 by a predetermined length. The vacuum suction pad 35 communicates with a vacuum suction source (not shown) to create a vacuum on the suction surface 36 to individually suck the rectangular workpieces W1. To do. On the side of the workpiece removal position P2, a removal table 37 for the rectangular workpiece W1 is provided.

  As described above, when the work table 2 is positioned at the processing position P1 of the cutting machine 1 and the ceramic green sheet W on the work table 2 is cut vertically and horizontally, and the work table 2 is moved to the work take-out position P2, Each suction pad 35 of the suction conveyance device that has been waiting is vertically opposed to each rectangular workpiece W1 that has been cut. The suction base 18 is lowered toward the upper surface of the work table 2 while keeping the flexible plate 30 horizontal without causing the piston rod 34 of the cylinder 33 to protrude, and each rectangular work W1 is vacuum suctioned by the corresponding vacuum suction pad 35 at the lower end. Is done.

  Next, when the suction base 18 is raised, the unnecessary portion W2 is not sucked by the vacuum suction pad 35, so that there are some that remain on the work table 2 as they are, but as shown in FIG. 6A, they are lifted together with the rectangular work W1. Things also occur. When the suction base 18 is raised, the piston rod 34 of the cylinder 33 is protruded, and the center of the flexible plate 30 is protruded downward. Then, the periphery of the bending plate 30 slightly moves in the surface direction and bends as shown in FIG. Since the vacuum suction pad 35 is fixed so that the upper end of the vacuum suction pad 35 is perpendicular to the deflection plate 30, the deflection plate 30 has a length corresponding to the distance from the center of the deflection plate 30 (portion protruding downward) to each vacuum suction pad 35. Due to the difference in the amount of deflection, a difference occurs in the inclination of the axis L of the vacuum suction pad 35 (those with a longer distance has a larger inclination). As a result, the position of the suction surface 36 is widened and the rectangle that has been attracted to the suction surface 36 The workpiece W1 is pulled in the surface direction (surface spreading direction) to be separated from the cut portion, and the unnecessary portion W2 is separated. It may also be repeated several times to ensure separation. The separated unnecessary portion W2 falls onto the discharge sheet 4 of the work table 2, and the unnecessary portion W2 that has dropped is discharged by winding the discharge sheet 4 by a certain amount.

  In this way, the rectangular workpiece W1 from which the unnecessary portion W2 has been cut is sucked by the corresponding suction pad 35, and the transport base 16 is transported in the direction of the take-out table 37 by the operation of the rodless cylinder 13, and stops above the take-out table 37. The plurality of rectangular workpieces W1 are lowered and placed on the take-out table 37 to release the suction.

  In the embodiment described above, the suction pads 35 are arranged on the flexible plate 30 in an arrangement corresponding to the cutting distribution pattern that is the rectangular work W1 of 4 in length and 4 in width, but other cutting distribution patterns, for example, the width of the unnecessary portion W2 When the height is reduced to 5 or 5 in the horizontal direction or 6 or 6 in the horizontal direction, it is assumed that the flexible plate 30 having the suction pad 35 is prepared in advance. Then, the bolt 24 is removed, the upper plate 21 and the lower member 22 are removed, the flexible plate 30 corresponding to the cutting distribution pattern is selected, and the elastic plate 31 is sandwiched between the upper plate 21 and the lower member 22 to change the setup. By doing so, it is possible to respond quickly to various cutting distribution patterns.

It is a front view of the state which combined this application conveying apparatus with the cutting machine. FIG. 2 is a II view of FIG. 1. It is the III-III line expanded sectional view of FIG. It is the IV-IV line expanded sectional view of FIG. It is the VV line expanded sectional view of FIG. It is an operation explanatory view. (A) is a perspective view showing a cut ceramic green sheet, (b) is a diagram showing a conventional separating and conveying apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

3 Cutter 18 Adsorption base 30 Deflection plate 33 Cylinder (deflection generating means)
34 Piston rod (advance / retreat member)
35 Vacuum suction pad 36 Suction surface L Axis of vacuum suction pad W Ceramic green sheet (sheet-like workpiece)
W1 rectangular work

Claims (3)

A workpiece conveying device that individually sucks and conveys a plurality of rectangular workpieces formed by cutting a sheet-like workpiece with a cutter, so that a bending plate can be bent in a thickness direction on a sucking base that is conveyed and moved. A plurality of vacuum suction pads corresponding to each of the rectangular workpieces cut to the opposite side of the suction base are attached to the flexible plate, and the flexible plate is bent to the side on which the vacuum suction pad is attached. A workpiece transfer device having a workpiece separation function configured to tilt the axes of the plurality of vacuum suction pads so that the relative positions between the suction surfaces of the vacuum suction pads are widened. 2. A workpiece transfer apparatus having a workpiece separation function according to claim 1, wherein the deflection plate is circular, a deflection generating means is attached to the suction base, and an advance / retreat member of the deflection generation means is connected to the center of the surface of the deflection plate. . 3. The work conveying apparatus having a work separating function according to claim 2, wherein the flexible plate is supported by the suction base in a replaceable manner.

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