JP2007332484A - Arrangement head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an arrangement head arranging a fiber bundle supplied from a bobbin in which the fiber bundle is wound so as to have a flat cross-section so as to suppress the reduction of the degree of flatness than a conventional method. <P>SOLUTION: The arrangement head 11 is formed in a rod form, a guide hole 12 for guiding a fiber bundle has a flat crosssectional shape and is extended from the base end to the front end of the arrangement head 11. The arrangement head 11 has a circular cross-section perpendicular to the length direction and the guide hole 12 is formed a flat rectangular form. The arrangement head 11 includes an arcuate projection part 11a at the front end when seen in a direction perpendicular to the flat side of the guide hole 12. The arrangement head 11 has a constant outer diameter, the cross-section area of the guide hole 12 is constantly formed except the end part and the base end part. The arrangement head 11 is formed symmetrically to a plane to divide the flat side of the guide hole 12 into two parts in a mutually divided state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an arrangement head, and more particularly, an arrangement is made such that a fiber bundle is engaged with a pin and folded in a range surrounded by the pins on a fiber bundle arrangement member on which pins are arranged at a predetermined pitch. The present invention relates to an arrangement head suitably used when forming a laminated fiber bundle group (laminated yarn group).

  Fiber reinforced composites are widely used as lightweight structural materials. Among fiber reinforced composite materials, those using a three-dimensional fabric (three-dimensional fiber structure) as a reinforcing material have extremely high strength, and carbon fibers having high specific modulus and high specific strength are used as reinforcing fibers. Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is considered to be used for aircraft structural materials by taking advantage of its excellent performance, and is partially used. As a method for producing a three-dimensional fiber structure used for a reinforcing material of such a fiber reinforced composite material, a laminated yarn group in which a plurality of yarn layers in which fiber bundles (yarns) are arranged in a folded shape are laminated to be at least biaxially oriented. There is a manufacturing method in which a (laminated fiber layer) is formed and the laminated yarn group is bonded with a thickness direction yarn arranged in a direction orthogonal to each yarn layer. As an arrangement head for guiding fiber bundles supplied from bobbins, a pipe having a circular cross-sectional shape of guide holes has been conventionally used.

  It is preferable from the viewpoint of physical properties of the finally obtained three-dimensional fiber structure that the fiber bundles forming the laminated yarn group are arranged in a state where the cross section of the fiber bundle is flat. In recent years, as carbon fiber bundles (carbon fiber yarns), the number of single fibers (number of filaments) is about 3000 to 24000, and untwisted flat yarns (fiber bundles) are commercially available in a state of being wound around a bobbin. ing.

  Further, there is a filament winding method as a method for efficiently forming a pipe made of FRP (fiber reinforced plastic). In order to manufacture a high strength FRP pipe by the filament winding method, it is necessary to increase the ratio (Vf) of the fiber to the entire FRP volume. In order to increase Vf, it is necessary to arrange thin fibers using a narrow pitch, and in order to arrange thin fibers at a narrow pitch, the fibers pass between positioning pins arranged at a narrow pitch at both ends of the mandrel. Therefore, a fiber feeding head capable of arranging the above is required. And when used for filament winding, there has been proposed a fiber supply head that can supply fiber bundles or yarns without damage, and can arrange fiber bundles or yarns through pins arranged at a narrow pitch (Patent Document). 1).

The fiber supply head disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes a support cylinder portion and a guide pipe that is rotatably supported at the tip thereof via a bearing. As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the guide pipe 31 is formed with a bulging portion 31b at one end of a cylindrical main body 31a. The bulging portion 31b is formed in a curved surface shape that has a cross-sectional area that is orthogonal to the axis of the guide pipe 31 toward the distal end side of the guide pipe 31 and whose inner surface is convex toward the inside. The bulging portion 31 b is formed flat, and its inner surface is formed such that a tangent at the tip of the guide pipe 31 extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the guide pipe 31. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, since the tip of the bulging portion 31b is formed flat, when the fiber bundle is drawn out, the fiber bundle cross section is easily arranged in a flat state.
JP 2000-108212 A

  Since the conventional array head is configured by a pipe having a circular cross-sectional shape of the guide hole, even if a fiber bundle wound around a bobbin in a flat state is supplied to the array head, the fiber bundle remains in the guide hole of the array head. While passing through, it deforms along the inner surface of the guide hole, and the flatness becomes small. The guide pipe 31 described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a bulging portion 31b at the distal end and the tip of the bulging portion 31b is formed flat. The flatness of the cross section of the fiber bundle in a small state slightly recovers when the tip of the bulging portion 31b hits the flat portion and moves. However, the width of the flat portion is smaller than the inner diameter of the guide pipe 31, and the flatness is smaller than the state wound around the bobbin.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its purpose is to reduce the degree of flatness of a fiber bundle supplied from a bobbin wound in a state where the cross section of the fiber bundle is flat. An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement head that can be arranged in a more suppressed state than before.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an arrangement head for arranging fiber bundles in a state where the cross section thereof is flat, and is formed in a rod shape, and the guide hole for guiding the fiber bundles includes: The cross-sectional shape is flat and the cross-sectional shape is formed to extend from the base end to the tip end of the array head while maintaining the flat state.

  When arranging the fiber bundle wound around the bobbin in a flat state using the arrangement head of the present invention, unlike the conventional arrangement head having a circular cross-sectional guide hole, the fiber bundle has the guide hole of the arrangement head. While passing, it is suppressed that the flatness of the cross section of the fiber bundle is reduced. Therefore, the fiber bundle supplied from the bobbin wound in a state where the cross section of the fiber bundle is flat can be arranged in a state in which the degree of the flatness is reduced more than in the conventional case. Here, “the state in which the cross section of the fiber bundle is flat” means that the yarn width / yarn thickness ratio is 2 or more, and is preferably 10 to 70.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the arrangement head is formed in a shape in which a tip protrudes in an arc shape when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the flat side of the guide hole. ing. Here, “the flat side of the guide hole” means, for example, the long side when the cross-sectional shape of the guide hole is rectangular, and the side facing the long axis when the cross-sectional shape of the guide hole is elliptic. means.

  When the array head of the present invention is used, the fiber bundle guided to the leading end of the array head by being guided by the guide holes is in a state where one flat side is entirely pressed by a portion protruding in an arc shape of the array head Move with. And since the part which protruded in circular arc shape gives the effect | action which expands a fiber bundle cross section to a fiber bundle, a fiber bundle cross section becomes a flatter state and is arranged.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the peripheral edge portion of the guide hole is formed in an arc surface. In the present invention, the fiber bundle can be guided without hindrance even when a fiber bundle that is likely to generate fluff such as carbon fiber is used as the fiber bundle.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the arrangement head passes through the center of the guide hole and the flat sides of the guide hole are separated from each other. It is formed symmetrically with respect to the plane divided into two. For example, when the cross-sectional shape of the guide hole is rectangular, it is divided symmetrically with respect to the plane passing through the centers of the two short sides, and when the cross-sectional shape of the guide hole is elliptical, it is symmetric with respect to the plane including the long axis. It is divided into. In this invention, when arranging the fiber bundle so as to be folded by engaging with the pin, the fiber bundle can be arranged smoothly without rotating the arrangement head by 90 degrees or 180 degrees at the position corresponding to the pin. It becomes possible.

  According to the present invention, the fiber bundle supplied from the bobbin wound in a state where the fiber bundle cross section is flat can be arranged in a state in which the degree of flatness is reduced more than in the conventional case.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the array head 11 is formed in a rod shape and is formed from the base end to the tip end so that the guide hole 12 for guiding the fiber bundle extends in a flat state. As shown in FIG. 1B, the array head 11 has a circular shape in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and the guide hole 12 is formed in a flat rectangular shape. As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (c), the arrangement head 11 has a tip (an exit side end of the fiber bundle) protruding in an arc shape when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the flat side of the guide hole 12. It is formed in the shape. That is, the array head 11 includes an arcuate protrusion 11a. In this embodiment, the flat side of the guide hole 12 is a rectangular long side. The arrangement head 11 has a constant outer diameter, and the cross-sectional area of the guide hole 12 is constant except for the distal end portion and the proximal end portion. The array head 11 is formed symmetrically with respect to a plane that bisects the flat side of the guide hole 12 through the center of the guide hole 12, that is, a plane that passes through the centers of the two short sides of the rectangle. . The array head 11 is made of metal or ceramic.

  The guide hole 12 has a flat rectangular short side, for example, about 0.5 mm. As shown in FIG. 1D, the array head 11 is formed with a curved surface whose inner surface is convex inward at the tip. Moreover, as shown in FIG.1 (c), in the front-end | tip part of the guide hole 12, the part corresponding to a rectangular short side is also formed in the curved surface by which the inner surface is convex inside. That is, the peripheral edge portion of the guide hole 12 is formed in an arc surface.

  Next, the operation of the arrangement head 11 configured as described above will be described. The arrangement head 11 is used by being attached to the fiber bundle arrangement portion of the fiber bundle arrangement apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, the fiber bundle arranging device includes a base portion 21 and a fiber bundle arranging portion 22. The base portion 21 supports a frame body 23 as a fiber bundle array member. The frame body 23 is formed in a rectangular shape, and the pins 24 are arranged on the upper surface of the frame body 23 at a predetermined pitch (for example, a pitch of several mm). Each pin 24 is detachably fixed to the frame body 23 so as to protrude vertically above the frame body 23.

  The fiber bundle array portion 22 is provided so as to be movable relative to the base portion 21 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction. In this embodiment, the X direction means a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the frame body 23 fixed to the base portion 21, and the Y direction is a direction orthogonal to the X direction in a plane parallel to the upper surface of the base portion 21. Z direction means a direction perpendicular to the X direction and the Y direction.

  The fiber bundle array part 22 includes a support part 25 extending in the vertical direction, and the array head 11 is supported at the tip thereof. The support portion 25 is fixed to a robot arm 26 that can be arbitrarily moved in the X, Y, and Z directions and that can rotate with respect to a vertical axis. The fiber bundle F is supplied to the fiber bundle arrangement unit 22 from a fiber bundle supply unit (not shown) including a bobbin wound with the fiber bundle F in a flat state. The thread width is 6.5 mm, the thread thickness is 0.15 mm, and the flatness is 43) so that the thread is pulled out from the tip of the array head 11 through the support portion 25 and the array head 11 and arranged in a flat state. It has become.

  Prior to the arrangement of the fiber bundle F, the fiber bundle F fed out from a bobbin (not shown) is guided to a support portion 25 via a tension adjusting device, a guide portion, etc. (not shown), inserted into the guide holes 12 of the arrangement head 11, and the fiber bundle The end portion FE of F is pulled out from the tip of the arrangement head 11. Then, the robot arm 26 is driven to place the arrangement head 11 at the arrangement start position at one corner of the frame body 23, and the tip of the fiber bundle F is fixed to a predetermined position outside the frame body 23. The fiber bundle F is fixed using, for example, an adhesive tape (not shown). From this state, the robot arm 26 is driven, and the support portion 25 is moved in a state where the support portion 25 is held perpendicular to the arrangement surface. And the fiber bundle F drawn out in a flat state from the bobbin is drawn out from the arrangement head 11 in a state where an appropriate tension is applied by the tension adjusting device and is surrounded by the pins 24 on the frame body 23. The pins 24 are arranged in a state of being engaged and folded back.

  When the arrangement head 11 is moved to the outside of the pin 24 on the other end side in the X direction of the frame body 23, the robot arm 26 temporarily stops, and then moves in the Y direction by one pitch of the pin 24, and then X The fiber bundle F is arranged by moving in the opposite direction. In the same manner, after the arrangement of one layer of the fiber bundle F in the X direction is completed, the arrangement of the fiber bundle F in the Y direction is performed. Then, after the arrangement of the fiber bundles F in the Y direction for one layer is completed, the fiber bundles F are arranged in the bias direction that forms an angle of ± 45 ° with respect to the X direction and the Y direction.

  When arranging the fiber bundles F in the bias direction, the robot arm 26 is rotated and the arrangement head 11 is arranged so that the flat side of the guide hole 12 forms an angle of 45 ° with respect to the X direction and the Y direction. Is done. In this state, the robot arm 26 is moved at the same speed in the X direction and the Y direction, and the arrangement head 11 is moved at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the X direction and the Y direction to arrange the fiber bundles F in the bias direction. Is done. After the arrangement of the fiber bundles F in the bias direction of 45 ° for one layer, the arrangement of the fiber bundles F in the bias direction of −45 ° for one layer is performed.

  Similarly, when a predetermined number of X-direction aligned fiber bundle layers, Y-direction aligned fiber bundle layers, and bias direction aligned fiber bundle layers are stacked, the arrangement of the laminated fiber bundle groups is completed. Then, the frame body 23 is removed from the base portion 21 together with the laminated fiber bundle group, and a binding yarn (thickness direction yarn) is inserted by a known method to form a three-dimensional fiber structure. In FIG. 2, a gap is provided between adjacent fiber bundles F in order to represent the arranged fiber bundles F in an easy-to-understand manner. However, the ends of the adjacent fiber bundles F are actually arranged in an overlapping state. ing.

  The fiber bundle F is wound around the bobbin with the same width as the distance between the centers of the pins 24, and the arrangement head 11 has the same outer diameter as the distance between the adjacent pins 24. When passing through the head 11, the width becomes narrower. In the arrangement head 11 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the cross-sectional shape of the guide hole 12 is rectangular, so that the fiber bundle F passes through the guide hole 12 with its width slightly narrowed, It is drawn out from the outlet of the guide hole 12 and arranged on the frame body 23. Even if the tips of the array heads 11 are flat, if the cross-sectional shape of the guide holes 12 is a flat rectangular shape, the fiber bundle F that has passed through the guide holes 12 in a state where the width is slightly narrowed is the tip of the array heads 11. When it is pulled out, it returns to its original state.

  Since the arcuate protrusion 11a is formed at the tip of the array head 11 of this embodiment, the fiber bundle F drawn from the guide hole 12 is pulled out while being pressed by the arcuate protrusion 11a. The arc-shaped protruding portion 11a acts so as to widen the width of the fiber bundle F, and the fiber bundle F is arranged with a width equal to or larger than the width when wound around the bobbin.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the cross-sectional shape of the guide holes 12 is circular as in the conventional arrangement head, the fiber bundle F is centered along the inner surface of the arrangement head 11 constituting the guide holes 12. It will be in a close-up state, and the flatness will become smaller and head for the exit. Further, when the arrangement head 11 moves to engage the fiber bundle F at the position corresponding to the pin 24 and turn it back, the fiber bundle F may be twisted in the guide hole 12. Further, even when the guide hole 12 is flat, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the cross-sectional shape of the guide hole 12 is curved so that the long side of the rectangle is convex inward, the fiber There is a possibility that the bundle F approaches the end.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The array head 11 is formed in a rod shape, and is formed from the proximal end to the distal end so that the guide hole 12 for guiding the fiber bundle F extends in a flat state. When the fiber bundle F wound around the bobbin in a flat state is supplied to the arrangement head 11 to arrange the fiber bundle F, the fiber bundle F is arranged unlike the conventional arrangement head having a guide hole having a circular cross section. While passing through the guide hole 12 of the head 11, it is suppressed that the flatness of the cross section of the fiber bundle F becomes small. Therefore, the fiber bundle F supplied from the bobbin wound in a state where the cross section of the fiber bundle F is flat can be arranged in a state in which the degree of the flatness is reduced more than in the conventional case.

  (2) The guide hole 12 has a flat cross-sectional shape, that is, the cross-sectional shape is a shape having a pair of parallel long sides. Therefore, the fiber bundle F moves along a plane, and even if the cross-sectional shape is flat, the flatness of the cross-section of the fiber bundle F is not reduced as compared with the case of a shape including an arc, that is, the fiber It is possible to guide the bundle F without reducing its width.

  (3) The array head 11 is formed in a shape in which the tip protrudes in an arc shape when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the flat side of the guide hole 12. Accordingly, the fiber bundle F guided by the guide hole 12 to the tip of the array head 11 is pressed against the portion of the array head 11 that protrudes in an arc shape (the arc-shaped protrusion 11a). Move in the state that was done. And since the circular arc-shaped protrusion part 11a gives the effect | action which expands the cross section of the fiber bundle F to the fiber bundle F, the fiber bundle F is arranged in the flat state, ie, the state where the width was expanded.

  (4) The tip peripheral edge portion of the guide hole 12 is formed in an arc surface. Therefore, the fiber bundle F can be guided without hindrance even when a fiber bundle F that easily generates fluff, such as carbon fiber, is used as the fiber bundle F. Further, the action of expanding the fiber bundle F by the arcuate protrusion 11a formed at the tip of the arrangement head 11 is smoothly performed.

  (5) The array head 11 is formed symmetrically with respect to a plane that bisects the flat side of the guide hole 12 so as to pass through the center of the guide hole 12 and separate from each other. Therefore, when arranging the fiber bundle F so as to be folded by engaging with the pin 24, the fiber bundle F can be smoothly arranged without rotating the arrangement head 11 by 90 degrees or 180 degrees at the position corresponding to the pin 24. It becomes possible to do.

  (6) The array head 11 is formed in a rod shape having a constant outer diameter and a circular cross section. Therefore, as compared with the case where the outer shape of the arrangement head 11 is made flat corresponding to the shape of the guide hole 12, the arrangement head 11 is engaged when the arrangement head 11 is engaged with the pins 24 when the fiber bundle F is arranged. Is difficult to deform.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, and may be embodied as follows, for example.
The guide hole 12 of the arrangement head 11 is not limited to a rectangular shape with a flat cross-sectional shape. For example, a trapezoidal shape having a pair of parallel long sides, a shape in which the long sides of a flat rectangle are curved, or an elliptical shape may be used. However, in the case of a shape having curved long sides instead of a pair of parallel long sides, the fiber bundle F passes through the guide hole 12 as compared to a shape having a pair of parallel long sides. Since the flatness of the cross section of the fiber bundle F tends to be small, it is preferable to form the arcuate protrusion 11 a at the tip of the array head 11.

The array head 11 only needs to have a flat cross-sectional shape of the guide hole 12, and the tip of the array head 11 may be a flat end surface without providing the arcuate protrusion 11a at the tip.
The array head 11 may not be formed symmetrically with respect to a plane passing through the center of the guide hole 12. For example, you may provide only one side, without providing a pair of circular-arc-shaped protrusion parts 11a.

  The arrangement head 11 may be formed in a flat cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. Moreover, as shown in FIG.4 (b), the resin part 14 may be provided in the outer side of the flat cylindrical pipe 13, and cross-sectional shape may form in a rod shape. The pipe 13 is less likely to be broken when the metal is made than the ceramic, and can be easily manufactured.

  ○ The fiber bundle F to be arranged by the fiber bundle arranging device is not limited to carbon fiber, and uses, for example, inorganic fiber such as boron fiber, silicon carbide fiber, glass fiber, or organic fiber such as polyaramid fiber or ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber. Also good.

The following technical idea (invention) can be understood from the embodiment.
(1) In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the array head is formed in a rod shape having a circular cross section.

  (2) In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the technical idea (1), the guide hole has a shape in which a cross-sectional shape has a pair of parallel long sides.

1A is a schematic perspective view of an arrangement head, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the arrangement head taken along a plane perpendicular to the flat surface of the guide hole. The model perspective view which shows the arrangement | sequence state of a fiber bundle. (A), (b), (c) is a schematic cross section explaining the effect | action by the difference in the cross-sectional shape of the hole in an arrangement | sequence head. (A), (b) is a schematic cross section of the arrangement head in another embodiment. (A), (b) is a schematic diagram which shows a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

  F ... Fiber bundle, 11 ... Arrangement head, 12 ... Guide hole.

Claims (4)

  An array head that arranges fiber bundles in a flat cross section, and is formed in a rod shape, and the guide holes for guiding the fiber bundles have a flat cross section and a flat cross section. An array head characterized by being formed so as to extend from the base end to the tip end of the array head.   The arrangement head according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement head is formed in a shape in which a tip protrudes in an arc shape when viewed from a direction perpendicular to a flat side of the guide hole.   The array head according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral edge portion of the guide hole is formed in an arc surface.   The said arrangement | positioning head is symmetrically formed with respect to the plane divided into 2 in the state which passes along the center of the said guide hole, and the flat side of the said guide hole is mutually separated. The array head described in 1.

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