JP2024098640A - Conveying device and rubber sheet detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

A technique capable of detecting the position of the leading edge of a rubber sheet is provided.
[Solution] The conveying device 1 comprises a lower conveying belt 20 on whose upper surface 20a1 a rubber sheet G is placed, an upper conveying belt 26 having a clamping surface 26b1 that clamps the rubber sheet G between the lower conveying belt 20, an arm 40 that can swing around an axis 51 parallel to the width direction of the upper conveying belt 26, a roller 42 supported by the arm 40 and running on the opposite surface 26b2 of the clamping surface 26b1 of the upper conveying belt 26, a rod-shaped member 44 protruding from the arm 40, and a proximity sensor 46 that can detect a detectable protrusion 45c of the rod-shaped member 44.
[Selected figure] Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a conveying device and a rubber sheet detection device.

In the manufacturing process of pneumatic tires, a conveying device is used to supply rubber sheets such as apexes and treads to a molding device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Special table 2016-503734 publication

The present invention aims to provide a technology that can detect the position of the tip of a rubber sheet.

(1) The present invention is a conveying device for conveying a rubber sheet. This conveying device includes a lower conveying belt on whose upper surface the rubber sheet is placed, an upper conveying belt having a clamping surface for clamping the rubber sheet between the lower conveying belt, an arm that can swing around a swing axis parallel to the width direction of the upper conveying belt, a roller that is supported by the arm and runs on the side of the upper conveying belt opposite the clamping surface, a rod-shaped member protruding from the arm, and a proximity sensor that can detect the tip of the rod-shaped member.

According to the above configuration, when the rubber sheet is sandwiched between the lower conveyor belt and the upper conveyor belt, a bulge is generated on the upper conveyor belt. Therefore, when the roller running on the opposite side of the sandwiched surface of the upper conveyor belt rides on the bulge of the rubber sheet, it moves upward, causing the arm to swing upward. When the arm swings, the tip of the rod-shaped member also moves along an arc centered on the swing axis in response to the swing of the arm.
The movement of the tip of the rod-shaped member is detected by the proximity sensor 46. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the tip of the rubber sheet has reached the position of the roller based on the output of the proximity sensor 46. As a result, the position of the tip of the rubber sheet can be detected, and the rubber sheet can be transported with high precision.

(2) In the above-described transport device, the rod-shaped member may include a main body portion extending along the longitudinal direction of the arm so that the tip portion is positioned at a position protruding beyond the tip of the arm.
In this case, the amount of movement of the tip of the rod member when the arm swings is amplified more than the amount of movement of the tip of the arm.
As a result, even if the rubber sheet is relatively thin, it is possible to detect the position of the leading end of the rubber sheet.

(3) The conveying device may further include a drive unit that drives the lower conveying belt, and a control unit that controls the drive unit based on an output of the proximity sensor.
In this case, the transport length of the rubber sheet after the leading edge of the rubber sheet passes the position of the roller can be accurately determined based on the output of the proximity sensor and the amount of operation by the drive mechanism.

(4) Also, from another viewpoint, the present invention is a rubber sheet detection device that detects a rubber sheet transported by a lower conveying belt on whose upper surface a rubber sheet is placed, and an upper conveying belt having a clamping surface that clamps the rubber sheet between the lower conveying belt. This rubber sheet detection device includes an arm that can swing around a swing axis that extends in the width direction of the upper conveying belt, a roller that is supported by the arm and runs on the side opposite the clamping surface of the upper conveying belt, a rod-shaped member that protrudes from the arm, and a proximity sensor that can detect the tip of the rod-shaped member.

According to the present invention, the position of the tip of the rubber sheet can be detected.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a conveying device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the rubber sheet detection device portion in FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view showing a part of the rubber sheet detection device. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the proximity sensor and the detectable protrusion of the rod-shaped member, where Figure 4(a) shows a case where the conveying device is not conveying a rubber sheet, and Figure 4(b) shows a case where the conveying device is conveying a rubber sheet.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Overall configuration of the conveying device]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a conveying device according to an embodiment.
The conveying device 1 is a device for conveying a rubber sheet G such as an apex. The conveying device 1 is disposed, for example, between an extruder (not shown) and a molding device. The extruder is a device that molds the rubber sheet G. The molding device is a device that molds a pneumatic tire using the rubber sheet G. The rubber sheet G is strip-shaped and has a thickness of several to about 1 mm.

An upstream-side conveying device 2 is disposed upstream of the conveying device 1. A downstream-side conveying device 3 is disposed downstream of the conveying device 1.
The rubber sheet G formed by the extruder is transported by the upstream-side transport device 2 and provided to the transport device 1. The transport device 1 provides the provided rubber sheet G to the downstream-side transport device 3. The downstream-side transport device 3 provides the provided rubber sheet G to a molding device.
In this manner, each of the conveying devices 1, 2, and 3 conveys the rubber sheet G along the first direction. The first direction, as shown in Fig. 1, is a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the conveying device 1, from the upstream conveying device 2 to the downstream conveying device 3. The opposite direction to the first direction is called the second direction.

The conveying device 1 includes a lower conveying section 6 , an upper conveying section 8 , and a rubber sheet detecting device 10 .
The lower conveying section 6 includes a frame 12, a driving roller 13, driven rollers 14, 15, 16, and 17, a lower conveying belt 20, a servo motor 21, and a control device 22 (control section).
The lower conveying belt 20 is an endless circular belt and is wound around a driving roller 13 and driven rollers 14, 15, 16, and 17.
Each of the rollers 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , and 17 is fixed to the frame 12 .
The frame 12 includes a frame body 12a and a guide plate 12b. The guide plate 12b is provided on an upper portion of the frame body 12a.

The guide plate 12b is a long plate-like member extending in the first direction.
The driven roller 15 is provided adjacent to the upstream end of the guide plate 12b. The driven roller 16 is provided adjacent to the downstream end of the guide plate 12b. Therefore, the upper portion 20a of the lower conveying belt 20 that is stretched between the driven rollers 15 and 16 runs on the upper surface 12b1 of the guide plate 12b.
A rubber sheet G is placed on an upper surface 20a1 of the upper portion 20a of the lower conveyor belt 20.

The servo motor 21 functions as a drive unit that drives the lower conveying belt 20. The servo motor 21 drives the driving roller 13 to rotate. When the driving roller 13 is driven by the servo motor 21, the driven rollers 14, 15, 16, and 17 are rotated via the lower conveying belt 20. This causes the lower conveying belt 20 to rotate. When rotating, the portion of the lower conveying belt 20 between the driven rollers 15 and 16 runs along the first direction.

The upper conveying section 8 has driven rollers 24 and 25, an upper conveying belt 26, a pressure roller 27, and an arm 28.
The upper conveying belt 26 is an endless circular belt. The upper conveying belt 26 is wound around the driven rollers 24, 25. The upper conveying belt 26 has an upper portion 26a stretched between the upper portions of the driven rollers 24, 25 and a lower portion 26b stretched between the lower portions of the driven rollers 24, 25.

The driven roller 24 is provided above the upstream end of the guide plate 12b. The driven roller 25 is provided downstream of the driven roller 16.
The lower portion 26 b of the upper conveyor belt 26 is disposed so as to face the lower conveyor belt 20 .
Therefore, when the rubber sheet G is placed on the upper surface 20a1 of the lower conveying belt 20, the rubber sheet G is sandwiched between the upper surface 20a1 and a lower surface 26b1 of the lower portion 26b. In other words, the lower surface 26b1 is a sandwiching surface that sandwiches the rubber sheet G between the lower conveying belt 20. In the following description, the lower surface 26b1 may be referred to as the sandwiching surface 26b1.

The pressure roller 27 is disposed between the upper portion 26a and the lower portion 26b. The pressure roller 27 is arranged so as to be able to run on the upper surface 26b2 of the lower portion 26b of the upper conveyor belt 26. The upper surface 26b2 on which the pressure roller 27 runs is the opposite surface to the clamping surface 26b1. In the following description, the upper surface 26b2 may be referred to as the opposite surface 26b2.

The arm 28 supports the pressure roller 27. The base end of the arm 28 is fixed to a bracket 29 provided on the side of the frame 12. The arm 28 is fixed by a shaft 30 provided on the bracket 29. The center of the shaft 30 is parallel to the width direction of both belts 20, 26. The arm 28 is fixed to the bracket 29 so as to be swingable around the shaft 30.
The pressure roller 27 is rotatably fixed to the tip of an arm 28 .
In the following description, the width direction of both belts 20, 26 will also be simply referred to as the width direction.

A spring 31 is provided between the arm 28 and the frame 12 .
The upper end of the spring 31 is fixed to the middle portion of the arm 28. The middle portion is the portion of the arm 28 between the base end and the tip end.
The lower end of the spring 31 is fixed to the frame 12. The spring 31 biases the pressure roller 27 downward.
The pressing roller 27 sandwiches the upper conveying belt 26 and the lower conveying belt 20 between itself and the guide plate 12b. Therefore, the upper conveying belt 26 travels in accordance with the travel of the lower conveying belt 20.

The control device 22 has a function of controlling the servo motor 21 based on the output of the rubber sheet detection device 10 .
When the servo motor 21 drives and rotates the drive roller 13 under the control of the control device 22, the lower conveyor belt 20 runs.
Here, a rubber sheet G is provided from the upstream conveying device 2, and when the leading edge g1 of the rubber sheet G reaches the upper surface 20a1 of the lower conveying belt 20, the rubber sheet G is conveyed along the first direction by the lower conveying belt 20 and reaches the position of the upper conveying section 8.
When the rubber sheet G reaches the position of the upper conveying section 8, it is sandwiched between the upper conveying belt 26 and the lower conveying belt 20 and is conveyed by the lower conveying belt 20. At this time, the upper conveying belt 26, the lower conveying belt 20, and the rubber sheet G are pressed by a pressure roller 27. As a result, the rubber sheet G is sandwiched between the upper conveying belt 26 and the lower conveying belt 20, and slippage between the lower conveying belt 20 and the rubber sheet G can be suppressed.

The rubber sheet G is conveyed by the conveying device 1 while being sandwiched between the upper conveying belt 26 and the lower conveying belt 20 , and is provided to the downstream conveying device 3 .
The rubber sheet detection device 10 has a function of detecting the position of the leading end g1 of the rubber sheet G fed to the conveying device 1.

[Configuration of rubber sheet detection device]
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the rubber sheet detection device 10 in FIG.
The rubber sheet detection device 10 includes an arm 40, a roller 42, a rod-shaped member 44, and a proximity sensor 46.
The arm 40 is a member formed of a steel plate or the like, and extends in the second direction. The arm 40 is disposed to the side of the frame 12.

A first end 40a of the arm 40 is fixed to the frame 12 by a bracket 50. The bracket 50 is a plate-like member fixed to a side surface 12a1 of the frame body 12a. The first end 40a is an end of the arm 40 on the first direction side.
The arm 40 is fixed to the bracket 50 by a shaft 51 (swing shaft) provided on the bracket 50. The center of the shaft 51 is parallel to the width direction. The arm 40 is fixed to the bracket 50 so as to be swingable around the shaft 51.

Fig. 3 is a top view showing a part of the rubber sheet detection device 10. In Fig. 3, for ease of understanding, the upper portion 26a of the upper conveyor belt 26 is omitted.
2 and 3, a support shaft 53 is provided at the second end 40b of the arm 40. The support shaft 53 extends along the width direction. The support shaft 53 is disposed above the frame 12. The second end 40b is the end of the arm 40 on the second direction side.
The roller 42 is attached to a support shaft 53. The support shaft 53 supports the roller 42 so as to be rotatable.
The roller 42 is a cylindrical member and is supported by the arm 40 and the support shaft 53 so that the central axis of the roller 42 is parallel to the width direction.

The roller 42, like the pressure roller 27, is disposed between the upper portion 26a and the lower portion 26b of the upper conveyor belt 26. As described above, the arm 40 can swing around the shaft 51. Therefore, the roller 42 is supported by the arm 40 and the support shaft 53 so that it can run on the opposite surface 26b2 of the lower portion 26b.

A spring 54 is provided between the arm 40 and the frame 12 .
The upper end of the spring 54 is fixed to the middle portion of the arm 40. The middle portion is the portion of the arm 40 between the first end 40a and the second end 40b.
The lower end of the spring 54 is fixed to the frame 12. The spring 54 biases the roller 42 downward.
Similar to the pressure roller 27, the roller 42 holds the upper transport belt 26 and the lower transport belt 20 between itself and the guide plate 12b.

The rod-shaped member 44 is fixed to the upper surface 40c of the arm 40. The rod-shaped member 44 has a tip end 44a and a base end 44b. The base end 44b is the end that is fixed to the upper surface 40c.
The tip end 44 a protrudes from the base end 44 b in the second direction along the longitudinal direction of the arm 40 .
The base end 44b is fixed to an upper surface 40c of the arm 40 by welding or the like. Thus, the rod-shaped member 44 is fixed integrally to the arm 40. Therefore, the rod-shaped member 44 swings integrally with the arm 40.

The rod-shaped member 44 has a horizontal rod portion 45a, a main body portion 45b, and a detection projection 45c.
The horizontal bar portion 45a is a bar-shaped portion extending in the width direction. One end of the horizontal bar portion 45a is the base end portion 44b. Thus, the horizontal bar portion 45a protrudes from the arm 40 in the width direction.
The other end of the horizontal bar portion 45a is connected to the main body portion 45b via a bent portion 45d.

The main body 45b is a rod-shaped portion extending in the second direction. One end of the main body 45b is connected to the bent portion 45d. The other end of the main body 45b is provided with a detection projection 45c.
The detectable projection 45c is a member that projects from the other end of the main body portion 45b. The detectable projection 45c constitutes the tip portion 44a of the rod-shaped member 44. The detectable projection 45c is a projection that is detected by the proximity sensor 46.
The position of the detection projection 45 c is a position that projects further in the second direction (upstream side) than the second end 40 b , which is the tip of the arm 40 .
In other words, the main body portion 45 b extends along the longitudinal direction of the arm 40 so that the position of the detection projection 45 c projects beyond the tip of the arm 40 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the other end of the horizontal bar portion 45a and the bent portion 45d are located at approximately the center in the width direction of both belts 20, 26 when viewed from above. Therefore, the main body portion 45b is located at approximately the center in the width direction of both belts 20, 26 and extends along the second direction.

The proximity sensor 46 is a non-contact sensor that detects the approach of the detection target protrusion 45c. The proximity sensor 46 may be of any type, including induction type, capacitance type, ultrasonic type, and magnetic type. The proximity sensor 46 is connected to the control device 22. The output of the proximity sensor 46 is provided to the control device 22.

The proximity sensor 46 is fixed to the frame 12 by a bracket 56. The bracket 56 is a member fixed to the side surface 12a1 of the frame body 12a. The bracket 56 supports the proximity sensor 46 above the upper conveyor belt 26, at the center of the width of both belts 20, 26.

The proximity sensor 46 is provided at a position where it can face the detection protrusion 45c. More specifically, the proximity sensor 46 is provided at a position where the detection surface 46a of the proximity sensor 46 and the tip surface 45c1 of the detection protrusion 45c can face each other.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing the positional relationship between the proximity sensor 46 and the detection target protrusion 45c of the rod-shaped member 44, and FIG. 4A shows a case where the conveying device 1 is not conveying the rubber sheet G.
As described above, the roller 42 holds the lower portion 26b of the upper transport belt 26 and the upper portion 20a of the lower transport belt 20 between itself and the guide plate 12b.
At this time, the main body 45b of the rod member 44 is substantially parallel to both the belts 20, 26 and the guide plate 12b.
Further, the detection surface 46a of the proximity sensor 46 and the tip surface 45c1 of the detection projection 45c are disposed opposite to each other with a small gap therebetween.
At this time, the proximity sensor 46 detects the presence of the detection target protrusion 45c and provides the control device 22 with an output indicating that the detection target protrusion 45c has been detected.
Therefore, in this case, the control device 22 can recognize that the conveying device 1 is not conveying the rubber sheet G.

FIG. 4B shows a case where the conveying device 1 is conveying a rubber sheet G.
When the rubber sheet G is provided from the upstream conveying device 2, the rubber sheet G is sandwiched between the lower conveying belt 20 and the upper conveying belt 26. Then, an upward bulge by the thickness of the rubber sheet G is generated on the upper conveying belt 26.

The rubber sheet G sandwiched between the belts 20 and 26 is transported, and when the leading end g1 of the rubber sheet G reaches the position of the roller 42, the roller 42, which runs on the opposite side 26b2 of the upper transport belt 26, moves upward when it rides up on the bulge of the upper transport belt 26 caused by the rubber sheet G, causing the arm 40 to swing upward.

As described above, the rod-shaped member 44 swings integrally with the arm 40. Therefore, when the arm 40 swings, the detection projection 45c of the rod-shaped member 44 also moves along an arc centered on the axis 51 (FIG. 2) in response to the swing of the arm 40.
When the detection projection 45c moves due to the swelling of the upper transport belt 26 caused by the rubber sheet G, the tip surface 45c1 of the detection projection 45c moves to a position away from the detection surface 46a as shown in FIG. 4B.

At this time, the proximity sensor 46 does not detect the detection target protrusion 45c and provides the control device 22 with an output indicating that the detection target protrusion 45c has not been detected.
Therefore, while the tip g1 of the rubber sheet G has not yet reached the position of the roller 42, the proximity sensor 46 provides an output to the control device 22 indicating that it has detected the detectable protrusion 45c, and when the tip g1 reaches the position of the roller 42, it provides an output to the control device 22 indicating that it has not detected the detectable protrusion 45c.
More specifically, the proximity sensor 46 provides the control device 22 with a signal of a predetermined voltage (e.g., 0 V) as an output indicating that the detection target protrusion 45c has not been detected. Also, the proximity sensor 46 provides the control device 22 with a signal of a voltage other than the predetermined voltage as an output indicating that the detection target protrusion 45c has been detected.

As a result, the control device 22 can recognize that the leading edge g1 of the rubber sheet G has reached the position of the roller 42 based on the timing at which the output from the proximity sensor switches.

In this way, according to this embodiment, the movement of the detectable protrusion 45c can be detected by the proximity sensor 46, and based on the output of the proximity sensor 46, it can be determined whether the tip g1 of the rubber sheet G has reached the position of the roller 42. As a result, the position of the tip g1 of the rubber sheet G can be detected. As a result, it is possible to know how much of the rubber sheet G has been transported since the tip g1 passed, and it becomes possible to transport the rubber sheet G with high precision.

That is, the control device 22 controls the servo motor 21 based on the output of the proximity sensor 46. Therefore, the control device 22 can accurately grasp the conveying length of the rubber sheet G after the leading edge g1 passes the position of the roller 42 based on the output of the proximity sensor 46 and the operation amount of the servo motor 21.
This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of supplying the rubber sheet G.

In addition, the rod-shaped member 44 in this embodiment includes a main body portion 45b extending along the longitudinal direction of the arm 40 so that the position of the tip portion, the detectable protrusion 45c, is located at a position protruding further than the second end portion 40b of the arm 40.
Therefore, the amount of movement of the detection projection 45 c of the rod-shaped member 44 when the arm 40 swings is amplified more than the amount of movement of the tip of the arm 40 , for example.
As a result, even when the rubber sheet G is relatively thin, such as 1 mm, the position of the tip g1 of the rubber sheet G can be detected.

For example, in FIG. 2, if the distance L1 between the shaft 51 and the roller 42 in the longitudinal direction of the arm 40 is 115 mm, it is preferable that the distance L2 between the shaft 51 and the tip surface 45c1 of the detection projection 45c in the longitudinal direction of the arm 40 is 250 mm or more.
By doing this, for example, even if the thickness of the rubber sheet G is about 1 mm, the position of the tip g1 of the rubber sheet G can be detected.

〔others〕
It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive.
The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not by the meaning described above, and is intended to include all modifications having a meaning equivalent to the claims and within the scope thereof.

1 Conveying device 2 Upstream conveying device 3 Downstream conveying device 6 Lower conveying section 8 Upper conveying section 10 Rubber sheet detection device 12 Frame 12a Frame body 12a1 Side surface 12b Guide plate 12b1 Upper surface 13 Drive roller 14 Driven roller 15 Driven roller 16 Driven roller 17 Driven roller 20 Lower conveying belt 20a Upper portion 20a1 Upper surface 21 Servo motor 22 Control device 24 Driven roller 25 Driven roller 26 Upper conveying belt 26a Upper portion 26b Lower portion 26b1 Clamping surface (lower surface)
26b2 Opposite side (upper surface)
27 Presser roller 28 Arm 29 Bracket 30 Shaft 31 Spring 40 Arm 40a First end 40b Second end 40c Top surface 42 Roller 44 Rod-shaped member 44a Tip portion 44b Base end portion 45a Horizontal bar portion 45b Main body portion 45c Detectable projection 45c1 Tip surface 45d Bent portion 46 Proximity sensor 46a Detection surface 50 Bracket 51 Shaft 53 Support shaft 54 Spring 56 Bracket G Rubber sheet g1 Tip

Claims (4)

A conveying device for conveying a rubber sheet,
a lower conveyor belt on which the rubber sheet is placed;
an upper conveyor belt having a clamping surface for clamping the rubber sheet between the upper conveyor belt and the lower conveyor belt;
an arm that is swingable about a swing axis that is parallel to the width direction of the upper conveying belt;
a roller supported by the arm and running on the opposite side of the upper conveyor belt to the nipping surface;
A rod-shaped member protruding from the arm;
A conveying device comprising: a proximity sensor capable of detecting the tip of the rod-shaped member. The transport device according to claim 1 , wherein the rod-shaped member includes a main body portion extending along the longitudinal direction of the arm such that the tip portion is positioned at a position protruding beyond the tip of the arm. A drive unit that drives the lower conveying belt;
The conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a control unit that controls the driving unit based on an output of the proximity sensor. A rubber sheet detection device for detecting a rubber sheet conveyed by a lower conveying belt on an upper surface of which a rubber sheet is placed, and an upper conveying belt having a clamping surface for clamping the rubber sheet between the lower conveying belt, comprising:
an arm that is swingable about a swing axis extending in a width direction of the upper conveying belt;
a roller supported by the arm and running on the opposite side of the upper conveyor belt to the nipping surface;
A rod-shaped member protruding from the arm;
a proximity sensor capable of detecting the tip of the rod-shaped member.

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