JP2009066818A - Conveying device of mandrel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively provide a conveying device of a mandrel capable of surely performing a conveying movement for a filament winding device without abutting on other peripheral matters. <P>SOLUTION: The conveying device includes a pair of conveyor units 7, 8 provided at a prescribed interval. Each conveyor unit 7 (8) comprises a drive pulley 16 for receiving a driving force from a motor 9, a driven pulley 17 disposed corresponding to the drive pulley 16, and an endless belt 18 wound between both pulleys 16, 17. A holding fixture 21 for supporting the mandrel M on both ends is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt 18 while holding a shaft-like mounting fixture 4 fixed to both ends in the axial direction of the mandrel M respectively. The holding fixture 21 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt 18 at an equal interval, and the mandrel M can be conveyed while maintaining a horizontal posture by synchronous rotation of the endless belts 18 of both the conveyors 7, 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport device that performs a mandrel supply operation to a filament winding apparatus and / or a mandrel unloading operation from the filament winding apparatus.

  In the field of the filament winding apparatus that performs the winding process of the fiber bundle around the mandrel, development of a fully automated system aimed at continuous production is in progress. In a filament winding apparatus compatible with such a fully automated system, a predetermined number of mandrels are stocked near the apparatus and are automatically supplied to the apparatus from there. Further, the mandrel for which the fiber bundle winding process has been completed is automatically carried out from the apparatus to the stock section of the finished product. For example, the mandrel surface before the winding process is subjected to various processes such as a degreasing process, a release process, and a coating process. For this reason, the conveying device is required to be able to convey the mandrel without coming into contact with other peripheral objects.

  As a known conveyance device, there is a continuous production system according to Patent Document 1 proposed by the present applicant. There, a transfer device is constituted by an articulated robot hand device, and one side end of a mandrel is gripped by a robot hand and transferred to a filament winding device.

JP 2000-334853 A (paragraph number 0012, FIGS. 2 and 4)

  When the transfer device is configured by the robot hand device as in Patent Document 1, the filament winding device can be used without teaching the mandrel to other peripheral objects by previously teaching a series of movements and posture positions of the robot hand. Or can be unloaded from the filament winding apparatus. However, the robot hand device is expensive, and as a result, the construction cost of the continuous production system is inevitably increased. Since it is necessary to strictly control the posture position of the robot hand in a one-dimensional, two-dimensional or three-dimensional manner, there is a disadvantage in that it takes time to teach the posture and speed of the robot hand. It is necessary to secure a turning space for the robot hand, and there is a disadvantage that the degree of freedom in designing the peripheral structure of the transfer device is reduced.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a mandrel conveying device that can reliably perform a conveying operation with respect to the filament winding device without touching other peripheral objects at a low cost. For the purpose.

  The present invention is directed to a transport device that performs a mandrel supply operation to the filament winding apparatus and / or a mandrel unloading operation from the filament winding apparatus. The transport device includes a pair of conveyor units installed at a predetermined interval. Each conveyor unit includes a driving pulley that receives a driving force from the driving machine, a driven pulley that is arranged corresponding to the driving pulley, and an endless belt that is wound around both pulleys. On the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt, there are provided holders for holding the mandrels in a cantilevered manner by holding shaft-like mounting jigs fixed to both ends of the mandrel in the axial direction. And the holding | maintenance tool is installed in the outer peripheral surface of an endless belt at equal intervals, and since the endless belt of both conveyors rotates synchronously, it can convey a mandrel, maintaining a horizontal attitude | position. Yes.

  It is possible to adopt a form in which a driving shaft that receives a driving force from the driving machine is provided, and driving pulleys of a pair of conveyor units are attached to the driving shaft.

  Both conveyor units are supported on a base, one of the conveyor units is a fixed conveyor unit fixed to the base, and the other conveyor unit is configured to be slidable in the horizontal direction. It is a movable conveyor unit, and it can be made to change the opposing space | interval distance between both conveyor units by slidingly moving a movable conveyor unit.

  In the present invention, a mandrel conveying device includes a pair of conveyor units including a driving pulley that receives a driving force from a driving machine, a driven pulley that is arranged corresponding to the driving pulley, and an endless belt that is wound around both pulleys. Configured. Such a transport device has a simple structure as compared with a conventional transport device configured with a robot hand device, and therefore can reduce the manufacturing cost and provide the transport device at low cost. There is no need for teaching unlike the robot hand device, which can contribute to cost reduction of the transport device.

  A pair of conveyor units are used to hold the mandrels in a doubly supported manner by holding the shaft-shaped mounting jigs fixed to both ends of the mandrel in the axial direction. Can be held in a shape. Thereby, the mandrel to which various processes such as a degreasing process, a mold releasing process, and a coating process have been performed can be transported without being brought into contact with other peripheral objects including the conveyor unit. This means that the occurrence of poor winding of the fiber bundle due to the contact of the mandrel can be suppressed, and therefore it can contribute to improving the reliability of the continuous production system including the conveying device.

  When the endless belts of both conveyor units are synchronously rotated, the mandrel can be conveyed in a horizontal position only by aligning the position of the endless belt in the initial state. According to this, since the weight of the mandrel can be equally supported by both the holding portions, it is possible to prevent the mounting jig from sliding from the holder and the mandrel from falling off the conveyor unit.

  When the driving pulley of the pair of conveyor units is attached to the driving shaft that receives the driving force from the driving machine, the endless belts of both conveyor units can be reliably rotated synchronously with a simple configuration. In addition, since the prime mover can be shared by the two conveyor units, there is an advantage that the number of prime movers can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the transfer device can be reduced as compared with a mode in which each conveyor unit has a dedicated prime mover.

  If the movable conveyor unit is slid relative to the base so that the opposing distance between the two conveyor units can be changed to a larger or smaller size, it can be used for various mandrels with different length dimensions. The mandrel can be supported in a doubly supported manner by giving an appropriate distance between the opposing spaces. That is, it is possible to cope with various mandrels having different lengths by simply sliding the movable conveyor unit, and the construction cost of a continuous production system including a transport device can be reduced.

1 to 11 show an embodiment of a mandrel conveying apparatus according to the present invention. The transport device according to the present embodiment transports (supplies) a mandrel M whose final product is a pressure vessel to a filament winding device (hereinafter referred to as FW device). The FW device includes a supply unit that supports a group of creels, and a winding device that winds the fiber bundle R fed from the supply unit around the mandrel M. Of these, the winding process is completed in the winding device. An attachment / detachment device for removing the mandrel M or loading a new mandrel M is provided. The conveyance apparatus of this embodiment supplies the mandrel M sequentially toward this attachment / detachment apparatus.
In the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 is defined as the left-right direction, and the direction orthogonal to the left-right direction and the horizontal direction is defined as the front-rear direction (see FIG. 2).

  The mandrel M is configured in a container shape with a metal material such as a high-strength aluminum material or stainless steel, or a resin molded product, and as shown in FIG. A continuous dome portion 2 and a mouth portion 3 projecting from the top of each dome portion 2 are integrally provided. A shaft-shaped mounting jig 4 is attached and fixed to each of the mouth portions 3. The fiber bundle R is made of, for example, a bundle of composite fibers obtained by mixing glass fibers and synthetic fibers. The fiber bundle R wound on the previous creel is impregnated with a thermosetting resin in advance. In addition, after impregnating the molten resin into the fiber bundle R fed out from the creel, it may be fed to the winding device.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the conveying device includes a base 6 installed on the floor, a pair of conveyor units 7 and 8 installed on the base 6 at a predetermined interval, and both conveyors. A motor (prime mover) 9 serving as a drive source for the units 7 and 8 and a drive shaft 10 for transmitting the drive force from the motor 9 to both conveyor units 7 and 8 are configured. Both conveyor units 7 and 8 support the mounting jigs 4 and 4 of the mandrel M in a cantilevered manner, and maintain the horizontal posture in which the mounting jigs 4 and 4 extend in the left-right direction, while using the mandrel M as an attachment / detachment device. Supply.

  In FIG. 1, the left conveyor unit 7 is a fixed conveyor unit fixed on the base 6, whereas the right conveyor unit 8 is a movable conveyor that can slide in the left-right direction with respect to the base 6. Configured as a unit. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of front and rear rails 13, 13 are provided on the upper right side of the base 6 so as to run in the left-right direction, and along these rails 13, 13, the movable conveyor unit 8 is It is configured to be slidable in the horizontal direction on the left and right. By sliding the movable conveyor unit 8 in the left-right direction, the facing distance between the conveyor units 7 and 8 can be changed according to the length of the mandrel M and the mounting jig 4. In addition, the movable conveyor unit 8 is provided with a lock body (not shown) that fixes the movable conveyor unit 8 at an arbitrary position on the rail 13 so as not to move freely.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each conveyor unit 7 (8) includes a triangular unit frame 15, a driving pulley 16 mounted on the lower front side of the unit frame 15, and an upper rear side of the unit frame 15. The driven pulley 17 is mounted and an endless belt (hereinafter simply referred to as a belt) 18 wound around the pulleys 16 and 17. The belt 18 forms a conveyance path for the mandrel M that is inclined upward from the lower front side to the upper rear side on the upper side, and the inclination angle is set to about 45 degrees.

  The driving pulley 16 and the driven pulley 17 are toothed pulleys having a large number of teeth formed on the outer peripheral surface, and the belt 18 is a timing belt having a large number of teeth formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. By meshing the teeth of the belt 18 and the pulleys 16 and 17, the rotational power of the driving pulley 16 can be transmitted to the belt 18 without slipping.

  A plurality of holders 21 for holding the mounting jig 4 are provided on the outer surface of the belt 18 at regular intervals. Each holder 21 includes an engagement surface oriented in a direction orthogonal to the outer surface of the belt 18, and the mandrel M is received by receiving the mounting jig 4 on the two surfaces of the outer surface and the engagement surface. It can be kept incapable of falling off. The width dimension of the holder 21 is set to be approximately the same as the width dimension of the belt 18 (see FIG. 1). Further, on the inner surface of the upper side of the belt 18, a regulating plate 22 for supporting the belt 18 and regulating the depression of the belt 18 due to the weight of the mandrel M is disposed (see FIG. 3). The right and left ends of the restriction plate 22 are supported by the unit frame 15.

As shown in FIG. 1, the motor 9 is a motor with a speed reducer 23 and is fixed on the base 6 between the conveyor units 7 and 8. The output of the speed reducer 23 is connected to the driving shaft 10 via a winding transmission mechanism 24. The driving shaft 10 is rotatably supported by a pair of bearings 25 and 25 fixed to the left and right ends of the base 6, and the driving pulleys 16 and 16 of both conveyor units 7 and 8 are mounted on the driving shaft 10. Yes. A large number of gear teeth meshing with each other are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the driving shaft 10 and the inner peripheral surfaces of the two driving pulleys 16 and 16 (see FIG. 3).
That is, the driving force from the motor 9 is transmitted to both the driving pulleys 16 and 16 via the winding transmission mechanism 24 and the single driving shaft 10. As a result, the belts 18 and 18 of the both conveyor units 7 and 8 rotate synchronously.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the mandrel M transported to the vicinity of the attaching / detaching device is picked up from the transport path of the transporting device by the first chuck 29 and the second chuck 30 constituting the attaching / detaching device. The chucks 29 and 30 are configured to be movable in the front-rear direction. The mounting jigs 4 and 4 of the mandrel M are clamped by a pair of upper and lower clamping bodies 31 and 32 provided respectively, and the mandrel M is picked up from the conveyance path. An air cylinder 33 is provided on the lower side of the lower sandwiching body 32 so as to make contact with and separate from the upper sandwiching body 31, and the lower sandwiching body 32 is operated by operating the air cylinder 33. By being brought close to each other, each mounting jig 4 can be securely clamped between the both clamping bodies 31 and 32. Reference numeral 34 denotes a driving gear for transmitting rotational power to the mandrel M, and is provided only on the first chuck 29. The driving gear 34 is rotationally driven in response to the driving force of a motor 35 (see FIG. 6), and this rotational power is transmitted via a passive gear 36 (see FIG. 1) fixed to the tip of one mounting jig 4. , Transmitted to the mandrel M.

  The device for winding the fiber bundle R around the mandrel M is mainly composed of a hoop winding head 40 for hoop-winding the fiber bundle R around the cylindrical portion 1 and a helical winding of the fiber bundle R around the cylindrical portion 1 and the dome portion 2. And a helical winding head 50. As shown in FIG. 4, the hoop winding head 40 includes a frame 42 having a circular opening 41 in the center, a plurality of bobbins 43 that are pivotally driven along the previous opening 41, and a guide groove that guides the bobbin 43 in a transitional manner. 44 and a drive mechanism for the bobbin 43 (not shown). The mandrel M is supported by the central portion of the opening 41 in a state orthogonal to the frame 42. Therefore, the fiber bundle R fed out from the bobbin 43 can be wound around the mandrel M by rotating the bobbin 43. Further, the winding position of the fiber bundle R around the mandrel M can be changed by reciprocating the frame 42 along the longitudinal direction of the base 60.

  In FIG. 5, the helical winding head 50 includes a gate-shaped frame 52 having a circular opening 51 at the center, a guide ring 53 disposed on the periphery of the opening 51, and a tension adjusting unit 54 disposed on both sides of the guide ring 53. Etc. Although not shown, a group of auxiliary guides are arranged around the guide ring 53, and an opening guide is provided on the inner surface of the guide ring 53 corresponding to the group of guide holes penetrating the guide ring 53. is there. The mandrel M is supported by the central portion of the opening 51 in a state orthogonal to the frame 52.

  The fiber bundle R fed from the supply unit is guided to be deflected by a guide roller disposed on the outer side of the frame 52, and given a predetermined tension by the tension adjusting unit 54, and then to the guide hole of the guide ring 53. Guided. The frame 52 is fixed to the central portion of the base 60 in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the fiber bundle R guided by the guide ring 53 can be wound along the longitudinal direction of the peripheral surface of the mandrel M by rotating the mandrel M by a predetermined angle while reciprocating.

  The attachment / detachment device is configured by combining the first and second chucks 29 and 30 described above and the third chuck 38 having the same structure as the second chuck 30 (without the driving gear 34). The second chuck 30 operates at the time of picking up the mandrel M from the conveying (supplying) device and delivering the mandrel M to the conveying (unloading) device, and the fiber bundle R is wound around the mandrel M. In the meantime, the mounting jigs 4 and 4 are supported by the first chuck 29 and the third chuck 38. Each chuck | zipper 29 * 30 * 38 is comprised so that a movement not only in the front-back direction but the left-right direction is also possible.

In the FW device shown in FIGS. 6 to 11, since two groups of mandrels M are alternately loaded into the winding device or removed from the winding device, two sets of attachment / detachment devices are provided in the winding device. . And the mandrel M is sequentially supplied with respect to each attachment / detachment apparatus by each arrange | positioning the conveying apparatus which concerns on this embodiment with respect to each attachment / detachment apparatus.
In each of the following drawings, the mandrel after winding the fiber bundle R is indicated by reference numeral RM in order to distinguish it from the mandrel M before winding. Moreover, in order to distinguish the 1st-3rd chuck | zipper of the attachment / detachment apparatus corresponding to the conveyance apparatus of the right side among 2 sets of attachment / detachment apparatuses from FIG. 129, 130, and 138.

  FIG. 6 shows a state where the winding process for one mandrel RM has been completed. In this state, the end portion of the fiber bundle R drawn out from each hoop winding head 40 and the end portion of the fiber bundle R drawn out from the helical winding head 50 are wound around the delivery ring 63, respectively. Another delivery ring 64 is disposed between the delivery ring 63 and the mouth 3 of the mandrel RM. By cutting the fiber bundle R between the delivery rings 63 and 64 with a cutter 65, The delivery ring 63 on the distal end side of the mounting jig 4 is separated from the mandrel RM.

  7 to 9 show a procedure from the removal of the mandrel RM from the winding device to the loading of a new mandrel M. At present, since the mandrel RM is gripped and held by the chucks 129 and 138 of the right attachment / detachment device, the left attachment / detachment device is used to load a new mandrel M. The first chuck 29 and the second chuck 30 of the left attachment / detachment device pick up the mandrel M waiting at the most downstream position of the conveyance path of the corresponding conveyance device in the above-described procedure. At this time, the first chuck 29 clamps the tip of the mounting jig 4 to which the passive gear 36 is fixed, and the second chuck 30 clamps the side of the mounting jig 4 near the mouth 3. In this state, the mandrel M is positioned at the winding center, and the side ends of the mounting jig 4 of the mandrel RM after winding are brought into contact with each other, and both mandrels M and RM are simultaneously moved rightward toward FIG. Move slightly.

  Next, as indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 8, one mounting jig 4 of the mandrel RM in a state where the winding is finished is held by the second chuck 130, and the chuck 138 that has held the mounting jig 4 until then is held. Are separated as indicated by arrow b. Then, by manipulating both mandrels M and RM in the direction of arrow c at the same time, the mandrel RM that has been wound is moved to a delivery position for the unillustrated unloading device, and one attachment jig 4 of the new mandrel M is moved. However, it passes through the openings 41 and 51 of the hoop winding head 40 and the helical winding head 50. At this time, the delivery ring 63 separated from the mandrel RM after winding is held in a non-movable position by a holder (not shown), so that the delivery ring 63 is attached to the attachment jig 4 on the new mandrel M side. It can be transferred. That is, the winding start end of the fiber bundle R fed out from the heads 40 and 50 can be passed to the new mandrel M side. The mandrel RM delivered to the carry-out device is fed to the heating process, where the resin impregnated in the fiber bundle R is cured.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a new delivery ring 64 is fitted on the mounting jig 4 of the new mandrel M that has passed through the openings 41 and 51 of the heads 31 and 32. Further, after the side end of the mounting jig 4 is gripped by the chuck 38 as indicated by an arrow d, the chuck 30 for replacement is separated from the mounting jig 4 as indicated by an arrow e. Thereafter, the mandrel M is moved in the direction of the arrow f, and the delivery rings 63 and 64 are adjacent to the mouth 3 (see FIG. 10).

  As described above, the preparation for winding the fiber bundle R around the new mandrel M is completed. Thereafter, the fiber bundle R is wound around the hoop winding head 40 and the helical winding head 50 as shown in FIG. A reinforcing layer is formed around the periphery. When the reinforcing layer is completed, the fiber bundle R is wound around the delivery ring 64, and the winding operation is completed. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11, the fiber bundle R between the delivery rings 63 and 64 is cut with a cutter 66, so that the delivery ring 64 on the side that becomes the winding start end of the next new mandrel M becomes the mandrel. Disconnected from RM. The delivery of the mandrel RM to the carry-out device by the right attachment / detachment device is completed before the delivery ring 64 is detached. After the ring 64 is detached, the first chuck 129 and the second chuck 130 of the right attachment / detachment device are completed. Thus, a new mandrel M is picked up from the transport device. Thereafter, a blank body of the pressure vessel can be continuously produced by repeating the above procedure.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the driving pulley 16 that receives the driving force from the motor 9, the driven pulley 17 that is arranged corresponding to the driving pulley 16, and the endless belt that is wound around the pulleys 16 and 17. The mandrel M conveying device is configured by a pair of conveyor units 7 and 8 including the unit 18. Such a transport device has a simple structure as compared with a conventional transport device configured with a robot hand device, and therefore can reduce the manufacturing cost and provide the transport device at low cost.

  In addition, the pair of conveyor units 7 and 8 support the mandrel M in a doubly supported manner by holding the shaft-like mounting jigs 4 and 4 fixed to both ends of the mandrel M in the axial direction. Therefore, the mandrel M itself can be held between the conveyor units 7 and 8 in an erected shape. Thereby, the mandrel M on which various processes such as a degreasing process, a mold releasing process, and a coating process are performed can be transported without being brought into contact with other peripheral objects including the conveyor units 7 and 8.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the mandrel M is supplied to the attachment / detachment device using the conveyance device according to the present invention has been described, but the supply target is not limited to the attachment / detachment device. Moreover, it can be used also when carrying out the mandrel M, and the supply path and carrying-out path of the mandrel M can be provided in one conveyance apparatus depending on the case. The conveyance path of the conveyance apparatus is inclined upward from the upstream side to the downstream side, but is not limited to this, and can be a downward inclination or a flat conveyance path as shown in FIG. In this case, it is preferable that the mounting jig 4 is held by a pair of front and rear holders 21 and 21 to restrict inadvertent rolling of the mounting jig 4 (mandrel M). The inclination angle is not limited to 45 degrees and can be set freely. When the inclination angle is greater than 45 degrees and close to vertical, it is preferable to provide a hook or a holder 21 having a similar shape. The conveying device may be configured such that one of the driving pulley 16 and the driven pulley 17 can be swung and displaced with respect to the other, and the angle of the conveying path can be arbitrarily changed. The base 6, the motor 9, and the driving shaft 10 can be shared by a plurality of conveying devices.

It is a front view of a conveying apparatus. It is the sectional view on the AA line in FIG. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of a conveying apparatus and an attachment / detachment apparatus. It is a side view which shows a hoop winding head. It is a side view which shows a helical winding head. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 1st process of the manufacturing process of a winding product. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd process of the manufacturing process of a winding product. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 3rd process of the manufacturing process of a winding product. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 4th process of the manufacturing process of a winding product. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 5th process of the manufacturing process of a winding product. It is explanatory drawing which shows the last stage process of the manufacturing process of a winding product. It is a figure which shows another embodiment of a conveyor unit.

Explanation of symbols

4 Mounting jig 7 (fixed) conveyor unit 8 (movable) conveyor unit 9 prime mover (motor)
10 Driving shaft 16 Driving pulley 17 Driven pulley 18 Endless belt 21 Holder M Mandrel

Claims (3)

A transport device that is responsible for mandrel supply operation to the filament winding device and / or mandrel unloading operation from the filament winding device,
The transport device has a pair of conveyor units installed at a predetermined interval,
Each conveyor unit includes a driving pulley that receives a driving force from a prime mover, a driven pulley that is arranged corresponding to the driving pulley, and an endless belt that is wound around both pulleys,
On the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt, a holding tool is provided for holding the mandrel in a doubly supported manner by holding shaft-like mounting jigs fixed to both ends of the mandrel in the axial direction.
The holding device is installed on the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt at equal intervals, and the endless belts of both conveyor units are configured to rotate synchronously.   The mandrel conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a driving shaft that receives a driving force from the driving machine, and a driving pulley of a pair of conveyor units is attached to the driving shaft. Both conveyor units are supported on the base,
One of the conveyor units is a fixed conveyor unit fixed to the base, and the other conveyor unit is a movable conveyor unit configured to be slidable in the horizontal direction,
3. The mandrel transport device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the opposing conveyor units can be changed by sliding the movable conveyor unit. 4.

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