JP2006290555A - Vacuum conveyor and belt for vacuum conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum conveyor and a belt for the vacuum conveyor generating sufficient suction force even for a workpiece of large spring-back. <P>SOLUTION: A lot of sucking holes 7b of a bottomed channel shape are recessedly provided in a sucking surface 7a of the conveyor belt 7, extended in the crossing direction to the conveyance direction of the belt. The sucking holes 7b are recessedly provided at every given distance in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt 7 and totally form a streak-like pattern on an outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 7. Through-holes 7c, 7c perforated in the respective sucking holes 7b are formed with an inner diameter smaller as compared with the sucking holes 7b and are respectively perforated one each for the end parts in the width direction of the conveyor belt 7, or at longitudinal both ends of the sucking holes 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum conveyor and a vacuum conveyor belt that can generate a sufficient suction force even for a workpiece having a large spring back.

  2. Description of the Related Art In a production line for automobiles, a conveyer that sucks sheet-like workpieces to be pressed one by one and supplies them to a processing machine is used. In such a conveyor, an intake hole is formed in a traveling belt (conveyor belt), and an intake chamber is provided in an inner peripheral portion of the traveling belt. For example, according to the transport conveyor described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-315147, an intake hole (corresponding to an “intake port” in the same publication) formed in the traveling belt is formed in a perfect circle, The central portion of the traveling belt is perforated at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction, and the diameter of the traveling belt is enlarged on the outer peripheral surface side.

  According to such a conveyor, a suction action is generated in the suction hole of the traveling belt by suctioning the suction chamber by suction by an intake device such as a vacuum pump, and the work is adsorbed to the outer peripheral surface of the traveling belt. Let Then, the traveling belt is moved with the workpiece W adsorbed, and the workpiece is conveyed to the processing machine.

Here, as described above, when the work is attracted to the traveling belt by the intake action, it is important to ensure sufficient airtightness between the traveling belt and the work. Therefore, it is desirable that the work conveyed by the traveling belt is a flat work with less waviness. For this reason, when there is a undulation in the workpiece, the workpiece is flattened by a leveler in advance.
JP 2004-315147 A

  In recent years, non-magnetic materials such as tough and lightweight aluminum alloys have been used for automobile bodies from the viewpoint of improving safety and fuel consumption. For example, an aluminum alloy such as 5000 series or 6000 series duralumin. However, since such an aluminum alloy work has a very large spring back, there is a problem that it is very difficult to process it flat by a leveler. Therefore, in order to ensure that even a workpiece with undulation remains attracted to the traveling belt, an improvement in the attracting force of the traveling belt is required.

  However, in the above-described conveyor, since the intake hole of the traveling belt has a large-diameter round shape, air leakage is likely to occur when a workpiece having a large spring back is swelled and attracted to the traveling belt. There is a problem that the force (adsorption power) is likely to decrease. On the other hand, in order to suppress such air leakage, the diameter (inner diameter) of the intake hole may be reduced, but if the intake hole is reduced in diameter here, it is now proportional to the inner diameter of the intake hole. This causes a problem that the suction force is reduced.

  Further, although it is possible to increase the output of the intake device in order to increase the suction force, this results in an increase in the frictional resistance acting between the traveling belt and the intake chamber, increasing the driving force of the traveling belt, There is a problem that it is necessary to increase the mechanical strength of the entire apparatus. On the other hand, in order to prevent air leakage while ensuring the suction force required for the workpiece suction, as shown in FIG. 5, the circular intake holes 201 are arranged in a staggered manner in the running belt 200 (see FIG. 5). It is also possible to increase the number.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view of a conventional conveyor belt (running belt) 200. The conveyor belt 200 includes a suction surface 201, an intake hole 202, and a timing belt tooth portion 203, and the intake hole 202 is shown in FIG. The suction surface 201 side is enlarged.

  However, in such a case, since the belt thickness in the engraved portions of the timing belt teeth existing at both ends in the width direction of the traveling belt is reduced, the internal stress acting on the traveling belt becomes uneven. As a result, the outer peripheral surface of the traveling belt (surface on which the workpiece is attracted) cannot be maintained flat, and the airtightness between the traveling belt and the workpiece, and between the traveling belt and the intake chamber is significantly reduced, so that the desired suction is achieved. This causes the problem that force cannot be generated.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum conveyor and a vacuum conveyor belt that can generate a sufficient suction force even for a workpiece having a large spring back. It is said.

  In order to achieve this object, a vacuum conveyor according to claim 1 is formed between an endless annular belt wound around a pair of pulleys and transported and moved in a predetermined transport direction, and adsorbs a work formed on the outer peripheral surface of the belt. A suction surface and an intake chamber that is disposed on an inner peripheral portion of the belt and communicates with an intake device. The suction surface of the belt has a bottomed groove shape that extends in a direction intersecting the belt conveyance direction. A large number of air intake holes are formed in a streak shape with a gap in the belt conveying direction, and the bottoms of the many air intake holes penetrate to the inner peripheral surface of the belt and communicate with the air intake chamber. In addition, at least one through hole having an inner diameter smaller than that of the intake hole is formed.

  The vacuum conveyor according to claim 2, wherein the vacuum conveyor according to claim 1 includes timing belt teeth respectively engraved at both ends in the width direction on the inner peripheral surface of the belt, and the plurality of intake holes. Is recessed inward in the width direction of the belt with respect to the engraved portion of the timing belt tooth portion.

  The vacuum conveyor according to claim 3 is the vacuum conveyor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the through-holes are located in two locations, one at each of the bottom portions of the intake holes from both ends in the width direction of the belt. Has been drilled.

  The vacuum conveyor according to claim 4 is the vacuum conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the perforated plate is a bottom plate of the intake chamber and faces the inner peripheral surface of the belt, and the perforated plate. A pair of magnets disposed on both sides in the width direction of the intake chamber along the conveying direction of the belt disposed opposite to each other, a housing surrounding the pair of magnets and the intake chamber, and an attachment to the housing And a vacuum cup formed so as to be vertically movable with respect to the housing.

  The vacuum conveyor belt according to claim 5 is an endless annular belt that is wound between a pair of pulleys and transported and moved in a predetermined transport direction, and has a suction surface that is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the belt and sucks a workpiece. The suction surface is provided with a plurality of bottomed groove-like intake holes extending in a direction intersecting the belt conveyance direction, and a plurality of streaks are recessed in the belt conveyance direction at intervals. At least one through hole penetrating to the inner peripheral surface of the belt is formed in the bottom of the intake hole.

  According to the vacuum conveyor or the vacuum conveyor belt of the present invention, the belt is transported in a predetermined transport direction by the rotation of a pair of pulleys. When air in the intake chamber is sucked by the intake device and the intake chamber becomes negative pressure, air in a large number of intake holes is sucked through the through holes. Then, an airflow flowing toward each intake hole is generated, and the work is adsorbed on the adsorption surface of the belt. The work sucked on the suction surface in this way is transported from the upstream side in the transport direction to the downstream side along with the transport movement of the belt.

  According to the vacuum conveyor or the vacuum conveyor belt of the present invention, the suction surface of the belt is provided with a plurality of bottomed groove-like intake holes extending in a direction intersecting the belt conveying direction and spaced in the belt conveying direction. Therefore, the number of intake holes existing per unit area of the suction surface can be increased as compared with the conventional product having a true circular intake hole. In other words, the suction surface of the present invention can have a larger number of intake holes than the conventional product, so that there are some intake holes that cause air leakage between the workpiece and the remaining waviness. However, there is an effect that the work can be sufficiently adsorbed by the remaining intake holes.

  In addition, since the intake holes have a groove shape extending in a direction intersecting the belt conveyance direction, a large number of intake holes can be provided so as to be arranged in a line shape in the belt conveyance direction. For this reason, even if the opening area of a single suction hole is smaller than that of the conventional product, is the sum of the opening areas of the plurality of suction holes recessed per unit area of the suction surface equivalent to that of the conventional product? Or more. Therefore, even if a groove-like air intake hole is employed as in the belt of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to avoid a decrease in adsorption force due to the intake hole.

  According to the vacuum conveyor of the second aspect, since the many intake holes are recessed in the inner peripheral surface of the belt avoiding the timing belt teeth, the intake holes are recessed in the rear side of the engraved portion of the timing belt teeth. Thus, it is possible to prevent the belt thickness from becoming extremely thin partially, and to prevent the suction surface from being distorted due to an imbalance in the stress distribution of the belt. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the airtightness between the work and the suction surface from being lowered due to the distortion of the suction surface, and to produce a desired suction force.

  Moreover, since each intake hole is recessed inwardly from both ends in the width direction of the belt, even if the work is bent by its own weight and peeled from both ends in the width direction of the belt (see FIG. 2), There is an effect that airtightness between the adsorbing surfaces can be sufficiently secured.

  According to the vacuum conveyor of the third aspect, since the through holes are formed one by one at the positions from both ends in the width direction of the belt at the bottom of each intake hole, at the positions from both ends in the width direction of the belt. The suction force can be increased, and there is an effect that the airtightness between the workpiece and the suction surface in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction of the belt can be improved.

  According to the vacuum conveyor of the fourth aspect, regardless of whether or not the work is a magnetic material, there is an effect that the work can be attracted to the belt suction surface and transported regardless of whether it is a metal or a non-ferrous metal. In addition, since the suction cup housing is provided with a vacuum cup, the suction operation of the workpiece by the vacuum cup and the transfer operation of the workpiece already attracted to the suction surface can be performed in parallel. There is an effect that the carry-out speed can be increased.

  In addition, there is an effect that the conveyance of the non-magnetic workpiece and the conveyance of the magnetic workpiece can be performed at the same speed. Furthermore, there is also an effect that the work carry-out speed can be further increased by using both the work attracting action of the pair of magnets and the work attracting action of the intake device.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vacuum conveyor 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a lifter 2 that is driven to extend upward each time the workpieces W are picked up one by one is installed on the floor surface. Magnet separators 3 and 3 supported by the frame are arranged one by one. Above the magnet separators 3 and 3 and the lifter 2, a belt conveyor 4 is supported and disposed by a machine frame (not shown).

  The belt conveyor 4 is provided with a driving pulley and a magnet pulley 5 formed of a permanent magnet on the front end side (left side in FIG. 1), and a driven pulley 6 is disposed on the rear end side (right side in FIG. 1). It is installed. Also, according to the belt conveyor 4, an endless annular conveyor belt 7 is wound around the pair of pulleys 5 and 6, and the pair of pulleys 5 and 6 rotate clockwise in FIG. The outer peripheral surface (suction surface 7a) on the lower side of the belt 7 is conveyed and moved in the direction of arrow X (left side in FIG. 1).

  In addition, a suction unit 8 that generates a suction force for sucking the workpiece W on the lower side of the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 7 is disposed along the lower side of the conveyor belt 7 on the inner peripheral portion of the conveyor belt 7. Yes. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, a pair of belt conveyors 4 are provided side by side in the width direction of the conveyor belt 7 (perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1).

  A pair of vacuum cups 9 and 9 are attached beside the suction unit 8. The vacuum cups 9 and 9 are supported by a machine frame (not shown), and are arranged substantially perpendicular to the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) of the suction unit 8 and spaced from each other. Moreover, the vacuum cups 9 and 9 are arrange | positioned with respect to the belt conveyor 4 so that raising / lowering is possible to a perpendicular direction (FIG. 1 up-down direction).

  The vacuum cups 9 and 9 are connected to a vacuum pump 10 through a conduit (not shown), and can receive the work W by receiving an intake operation by the vacuum pump 10. The vacuum pump 10 is an intake device that applies suction force for attracting the workpiece W to the vacuum cups 9 and 9 and is connected to the suction unit 8 via the conduit 11. A pair of pinch rollers 12 and 12 for supplying the workpiece W to the processing machine are disposed outside the magnet pulley 5 of the belt conveyor 4.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyor belt 7 is a running belt whose outer peripheral surface (lower side in FIG. 2) functions as a suction surface 7 a of the workpiece W via the suction unit 8. An intake hole 7b is recessed in the suction surface 7a of the conveyor belt 7. The intake hole 7b is a bottomed groove-shaped recess, and a pair of through holes 7c and 7c that penetrates to the inner peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 7 are formed at the bottom of the intake hole 7b.

  By the way, the conveyor belt 7 functions as a so-called timing belt. Timing belt teeth are provided at both ends in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) on the inner peripheral surface (upper side surface in FIG. 2) of the belt 7. Each part 7d is engraved. The timing belt teeth 7d and 7d are both continuous in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt 7 (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2). The intake hole 7b is recessed inward in the width direction of the belt 7 from the engraved portions of the timing belt teeth 7d and 7d.

  The suction unit 8 mainly includes a magnet rail 13, a housing 14, a perforated plate 15, an intake chamber 16, and skids 17 and 17. The magnet rail 13 is a permanent magnet disposed inside the suction unit 8 and is provided in the entire front-rear direction (perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2 or the left-right direction of FIG. 1) of the suction unit 8.

  The magnet rail 13 is formed in a gate shape having a substantially inverted concave shape in cross-sectional view, and its lower side portion is opened. Specifically, the magnet rail 13 includes a horizontal piece 13a extending in the width direction of the conveyor belt 7 (left and right direction in FIG. 2) and a vertical direction from both ends of the extending direction of the horizontal piece 13a (left and right direction in FIG. 2). And vertical pieces 13b and 13b extending downward (downward in FIG. 2).

  The opening of the magnet rail 13 is provided between the above-described vertical pieces 13 b and 13 b, and this opening is opposed to the inner peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 7 disposed below the suction unit 8. The housing 14 is a case body that surrounds the outside of the magnet rail 13, and has a cross-sectional shape that is substantially similar to the magnet rail 13. A perforated plate 15 having a large number of small holes (or slits) formed therein is disposed on the lower end surfaces of the magnet rail 13 and the housing 14.

  The perforated plate 15 is fixed to the housing 14 so as to close the opening on the lower side of the magnet rail 13. The perforated plate 15 is surrounded by the perforated plate 15 and the magnet rail 13 above the perforated plate 15. An intake chamber 16 having a rectangular shape in cross section is provided. The suction chamber 16 is an internal space of the suction unit 8 with the perforated plate 15 as a bottom plate, and the vertical pieces 13b and 13b of the magnet rail 13 described above are disposed on both sides of the suction chamber 16 in the width direction. . Further, the bottom surface of the bottomed plate 15 is opposed to the inner peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 7 so as to be opposed thereto, and the intake chamber 16 is communicated with the through hole 7 c of the conveyor belt 7 through the perforated plate 15.

  Further, connection communication ports 13c and 14a communicating with the intake chamber 16 are formed in the side portions of the magnet rail 13 and the housing 14, and the conduit 11 is connected to the connection communication ports 13c and 14a. Further, both ends of the housing 14 in the front-rear direction (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2 or the left-right direction in FIG. 1) are extended to the lower end surface of the magnet rail 13, and both end portions in the front-rear direction of the magnet rail 13 are sealed. (See FIG. 1).

  A pair of skids 17 and 17 are attached to both ends of the housing 14 in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2). The pair of skids 17 and 17 are continuously provided in the front-rear direction of the housing 14 (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2 or a left-right direction of FIG. 1) with its lower end protruding downward from the lower end surface of the housing 14. ing.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 7. As shown in FIG. 3, the suction surface 7 a, which is the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 7, has a bottomed groove shape that extends in a direction intersecting the belt conveyance direction (arrow X direction) that is the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt 7. A number of the intake holes 7b are recessed. The large number of intake holes 7 b are recessed at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt 7, and a streak pattern is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 7 as a whole.

  These intake holes 7b are not made substantially parallel to the width direction of the conveyor belt 7 in order to enlarge the opening area of the intake holes 7b as much as possible by taking a large groove length (see FIG. 4). The belt 7 is recessed so as to be slightly inclined with respect to the width direction of the belt 7. The through holes 7c and 7c formed in each intake hole 7b have a smaller inner diameter than the intake hole 7b, and are located at both ends of the conveyor belt 7 in the width direction (both ends in the longitudinal direction of the intake hole 7b). 1) in each part.

  Next, operation | movement of the vacuum conveyor 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated. First, a gap between the workpieces W is opened by the magnet separator 3, and the workpieces W at the uppermost stage are attracted to the vacuum cups 9, 9 one by one. It is lifted up to just below the conveyor belt 7.

  At this time, if the workpiece W is made of a magnetic material, the workpiece W is attracted to the attracting surface 7 a of the conveyor belt 7 by the magnetic force of the magnet rail 13. On the other hand, if the workpiece W is made of a non-magnetic material, when the air in the intake chamber 16 is sucked through the conduit 11 by the vacuum pump 10 and the air pressure in the intake chamber 16 becomes negative, the perforated plate 15 and A suction action is developed in each intake hole 7b through the through hole 7c, and the work W is sucked onto the suction surface 7a of the conveyor belt 7. If necessary, the suction force of the vacuum pump 10 can also be used for the magnetic workpiece W.

  When the workpiece W is attracted to the suction surface 7a of the conveyor belt 7, the conveyor belt 7 is stepped by one pitch in the predetermined conveying direction (arrow X direction in FIG. 1) via the pulleys 5 and 6, and the workpiece W is moved. The sheet is conveyed from the position above the lifter 2 to the intermediate position W ′ in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt 7 (two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). When the workpiece W is fed to a position W ″ between the pair of pinch rollers 12 and 12 by the next step feed, the workpiece W is turned to a processing machine (not shown) by the rotation of the pair of pinch rollers 12 and 12. Sent.

  According to the vacuum conveyor 1 described above, when a workpiece W having a large spring back such as a 5000-series or 6000-series duralumin is sucked and conveyed by an intake action, the conventional conveyor belt has a workpiece W that has warped by about 2 mm or more. In contrast to the fact that the suction and transfer could not be performed, the use of the conveyor belt 7 of this embodiment enables the suction and transfer of the workpiece W even if the workpiece W is warped by about 6 mm. In addition, the capacity of a drive motor (not shown) for rotating the magnet pulley 5 can be reduced by about 40% compared to a conventional conveyor.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be easily made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can be guessed. For example, in the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a press stacker has been described, but the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and is also applicable to a sheet piler for blanking lines, etc. can do.

  Further, in this embodiment, two through holes 7c are drilled in one intake hole 7a. However, the number of drill holes is limited to two in one intake hole. Instead, for example, if a sufficient suction force can be secured, only one through hole may be drilled for one intake hole, or if one suction hole is insufficient, Three or more through holes may be formed.

  In this embodiment, the suction holes 7b are recessed in the suction surface 7a of the conveyor belt 7 so that the longitudinal direction of the suction holes 7b is slightly inclined with respect to the width direction of the conveyor belt 7. For example, FIG. As shown, the suction hole 107b may be recessed in the suction surface 107a of the conveyor belt 107 so that the longitudinal direction of the suction hole 107b is substantially parallel to the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 4) of the conveyor belt 107. . FIG. 4 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the conveyor belt.

It is a block diagram of the vacuum conveyor which is one Example of this invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. It is the top view which expanded the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt. It is the top view and sectional drawing which show the modification of a conveyor belt. It is the top view and sectional drawing of the conventional conveyor belt.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vacuum conveyor 5 Magnet pulley (pulley)
6 Driven pulley (pulley)
7,107 Conveyor belt (belt, belt for vacuum conveyor)
7a, 107a Adsorption surfaces 7b, 107b Intake holes 7c, 107c Through holes 7d Timing belt teeth 9 Vacuum cup 10 Vacuum pump (intake device)
13b, 13b Vertical pieces of magnet rail (a pair of magnets)
14 Housing 15 Perforated plate 16 Air intake chamber

Claims (5)

An endless annular belt wound around a pair of pulleys and transported in a predetermined transport direction, a suction surface formed on the outer peripheral surface of the belt for attracting a workpiece, and an intake air disposed on the inner peripheral portion of the belt In a vacuum conveyor having an air intake chamber communicated with the apparatus, a suction groove having a bottomed groove extending in a direction intersecting with the belt conveying direction is spaced apart in the belt conveying direction on the suction surface of the belt. Many streaks are recessed,
At least one through hole is formed at the bottom of each of the plurality of intake holes so as to penetrate to the inner peripheral surface of the belt and communicate with the intake chamber and have an inner diameter smaller than that of the intake hole. A vacuum conveyor characterized by Timing belt teeth provided respectively at both ends in the width direction on the inner peripheral surface of the belt,
2. The vacuum conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of intake holes are recessed inward in the width direction of the belt with respect to the engraved portion of the timing belt teeth. 3. The vacuum conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the through-holes are formed at a total of two locations, one at each position from both ends of the belt in the width direction at the bottom of each intake hole. . A perforated plate which is the bottom plate of the intake chamber and faces the inner peripheral surface of the belt;
A pair of magnets respectively disposed on both sides in the width direction of the intake chamber along the conveying direction of the belt disposed opposite to the perforated plate;
A housing surrounding the pair of magnets and the intake chamber;
The vacuum conveyor according to claim 1, further comprising a vacuum cup attached to the housing and formed so as to be movable up and down in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the housing. In an endless annular belt that is wound between a pair of pulleys and transported and moved in a predetermined transport direction, the belt for a vacuum conveyor having a suction surface that is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the belt and sucks a workpiece.
On the suction surface, a plurality of bottomed groove-like intake holes extending in a direction intersecting the belt conveyance direction are recessed in a line shape with a gap in the belt conveyance direction,
A vacuum conveyor belt, wherein at least one through-hole penetrating to the inner peripheral surface of the belt is formed at the bottom of each of the plurality of intake holes.

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