JP2707386B2 - Sheet bundle transport device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying a sheet bundle formed by stacking sheet materials, and more particularly, to holding a sheet bundle placed on a conveying surface and sliding it on the conveying surface. And a sheet bundle conveying device for conveying the sheet bundle to a predetermined position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sheet bundle formed by stacking sheet materials is
2. Description of the Related Art Transporting a bundle while maintaining the state of the bundle is performed in many fields. When a sheet bundle is set on a cutting machine, for example, the sheet bundle is often conveyed to a predetermined position by sliding on a flat conveying surface. In order to convey the sheet bundle by sliding it on the conveying surface, the end of the sheet bundle is first grasped by grasping means having a pair of upper and lower grasping claws, and the grasping means is moved. General.

Conventionally, a notch is provided in a part of a flat conveying surface so that the gripper can grip the end of the sheet bundle as described above, and the gripper on the lower side of the gripper is provided with a notch. The gripping means is disposed near the end of the sheet bundle so as to enter the notch, and then both gripping claws are operated.

For example, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 60-132849, a large number of sheet materials are piled up in a mountain-like manner with a marker interposed between a predetermined number of sheet materials, and the sheet material is laterally spread from the sheet mountain. The wedge-shaped member is inserted between the sheet materials by using the protruding marker as a guide to create a gap, thereby holding a predetermined number of sheet materials separated upward from the lower sheet mountain as one bundle, and It is also considered to be transported by sliding.

[0005]

However, when notches are provided on the sheet bundle conveying surface as described above, there is a problem that it is difficult to cope with a change in the size of the sheet material. That is, since the position for gripping the sheet bundle end needs to be changed according to the size of the sheet material, the position of the notch also needs to be changed. It becomes very complicated.

If the notch as described above is formed on the sheet bundle conveying surface, depending on the conveying direction of the sheet bundle,
The corners and the notches interfere with each other, causing problems such as causing a conveyance failure and damaging the sheet material.

On the other hand, when the wedge-shaped member is caused to enter the piled sheet piles, the wedge-shaped member may damage the surface of the sheet material. Further, in this case, it is necessary to insert a marker between the sheet materials, and a troublesome work of removing the marker later is required. In addition, the marker may be erroneously mixed into the sheet bundle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a gap between a sheet bundle and a conveyance surface without damaging the sheet material, grips the sheet bundle, and reduces the size of the sheet material. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet bundle conveying device having a simple configuration capable of easily coping with a change.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet bundle conveying apparatus for conveying a sheet bundle placed on a conveying surface to a predetermined position by sliding the sheet bundle on the conveying surface as described above. In the apparatus, air blowing means for blowing air vertically toward the conveying surface of the sheet bundle to raise the end of the sheet bundle from the conveying surface, and gripping the end of the sheet bundle floating from the conveying surface from above and below. It is characterized by comprising gripping means and moving means capable of moving the gripping means along the transport surface and feeding the sheet bundle to the predetermined position.

[0010]

In the above arrangement, since the end of the sheet bundle is held by being lifted from the conveying surface by blowing air, it is necessary to provide a notch for gripping claw entry on the conveying surface. Absent. Therefore, the sheet material does not interfere with the notch and the sheet material is not damaged, and the conveyance failure does not occur.

Further, the position at which the air is blown to the end of the sheet bundle can be easily changed by changing the mounting position of the air blowing means, and even if the mounting position is not changed, the size is small. A sheet bundle that does not change can be floated at a commonly preferred gripping position (e.g., the center position in the width direction) , so that it is possible to easily cope with a change in the size of the sheet material.

As described above, since the end of the sheet bundle is floated from the conveying surface without contact, the sheet material is not damaged when the sheet bundle is floated.
Furthermore, it is not necessary to use special markers for separating the sheet bundle, so that the markers do not enter the sheet bundle, and the troublesome work of setting and removing the markers is also unnecessary. Become.

In the case where the sheet bundle is conveyed linearly and the size of the sheet material is changed only in the conveying direction, the moving means for moving the sheet bundle gripping means and the air blowing means must be moved in the conveying direction. What is necessary is just to be formed so that it can be moved one-dimensionally. On the other hand, when the sheet bundle is two-dimensionally moved on the conveyance surface, or when the sheet material size in the direction intersecting the sheet bundle conveyance direction is largely changed, the moving unit is formed to be two-dimensionally movable. Is desirable.

Further, only one moving means may be provided, or a plurality of moving means may be provided. When a plurality of the moving means are provided and each moving means is formed so as to be movable two-dimensionally, when a plurality of sheet bundles are placed on the delivery surface in a state of being adjacent to each other. (For example, in a cutting machine that cuts a large-size sheet bundle into a plurality of small-size sheet bundles, a plurality of strip-shaped sheets that have been once cut into strips are aligned in an adjacent state. When the sheet bundle is cut in a perpendicular direction and placed at the carry-out position from the cutting machine), the sheet bundles can be conveyed while being separated at a time without being damaged. Note that, in this case, even if the width dimension of each sheet bundle is changed, it is possible to move each gripping unit to a preferred gripping position adapted to the size of each sheet bundle to be gripped by each sheet. It is possible to easily cope with a change in the size of the bundle.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a sheet bundle conveying apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. The apparatus of this embodiment is for supplying a sheet bundle 11 placed on a transport table 10 to a cutter 12 as an example. The sheet bundle 11 is formed by stacking a predetermined number of square sheet materials 11a, and is placed at a predetermined position (a position indicated by an arrow A) on the transport table 10 by a known means.

The transport table 10 is formed so that the upper surface thereof is aligned with the upper surface of the sheet bundle placing table 13 of the cutting machine 12. The aligned upper surface of the two tables 10 and 13 becomes the sheet bundle transport surface 14. ing.

Connecting members 15 and 16 are fixed to the two tables 10 and 13, respectively.
Both ends of a gantry 17 extending in the direction in which the tables 10 and 13 are arranged (the left-right direction in FIG. 1) are fixed. The gantry 17 has two rails 18 and 19 fixed thereto.
18 and 19 are provided with gripping means 20 movably along them. The gripping means 20 includes a base 21 directly engaged with the rails 18 and 19, and a cylinder 23 such as an air cylinder mounted on the base 21 with the piston rod 22 facing downward.
And a pair of upper and lower gripping claws 24a, 24b attached to the tip of the piston rod 22. Here, in more detail, the lower claw 24b is directly fixed to the piston rod 22, and the upper claw 24a can be vertically moved relative to the lower claw 24b by driving means (not shown).

A positioning unit 29 that can change the position in the width direction of the sheet material 11a (perpendicular to the plane of the drawing) is fixed to the base 21, and the cylinder 23 is attached to the positioning unit 29.
Is fixed with screws. Therefore, by changing the position of this screwing, the position of the cylinder 23, that is, the gripping claws 24a, 24b in the sheet material width direction can be adjusted.

A cylinder 25 is mounted on the gantry 17 in parallel with the rails 18 and 19, and a base 21 of a gripping means 20 is fixed to a tip of a piston rod 26 of the cylinder 25. Therefore, when the cylinder 25 operates and the piston rod 26 extends and contracts, the gripping means 20 moves along the rails 18 and 19. Thus, in the present embodiment, the cylinder 25, the piston rod 26, the rails 18, 19
Thus, means for moving the gripping means 20 along the transport surface 14 is configured.

On the other hand, a lower end of a holding member 30 is fixed to the transport table 10, and another positioning unit member 31 capable of changing the position in the width direction of the sheet material 11a is fixed to the upper end of the holding member 30. ing.

A cylinder 34 is mounted on the positioning unit 31 in the width direction with the piston rod 33 facing downward. A sheet bundle pressing roller 35 made of soft rubber or the like is rotatably attached to the distal end of the piston rod 33 with the rotation shaft extending in the sheet material width direction. An air blowing nozzle 37 is attached via an L-shaped bracket 36 so as to face downward. The air blowing nozzle 37 is arranged at a position closer to the cutter 12 than the sheet bundle pressing roller 35. The air blowing nozzle 37 is connected via a hose 38 to a compressed air supply source.

The sheet bundle pressing roller 35 is used to hold the sheet bundle 11
The sheet bundle 11 is arranged to be pressed, for example, at a position of about 100 mm from the end of the sheet bundle. Also, the air blowing nozzle 37
Is set at a position about 10 to 40 mm away from the bundle end face at the center position in the width direction of the sheet bundle 11.

When the sheet bundle 11 is placed at a predetermined position (position indicated by an arrow A) on the transport table 10, the cylinder 34 is operated to extend the piston rod 33 by a predetermined length, and the sheet bundle pressing roller 35 is moved. The sheet bundle 11 is pressed from above.
Next, an on-off valve (not shown) interposed in the middle of the hose 38
Is opened, for example, the air blow nozzle 37
Compressed air 40 having a pressure of about 5 kgf / cm ² is discharged. The compressed air 40 is blown vertically onto the conveying surface 14 and spreads along the conveying surface 14 in all directions.
It enters between 11 and vigorously. Therefore, the end of the sheet bundle 11 is lifted up from the conveying surface 14. At this time, since the sheet bundle 11 is pressed by the rollers 35, only the ends of the sheet bundle 11 are lifted, and the sheet bundle 11 does not move as a whole.

At this time, the upper claws 24a and the lower claws 24b of the gripping means 20
Is set to the position shown in FIG. 2 in a state where the upper claw 24a has been pulled up to the upper end position in advance. Then the cylinder
23 operates to extend the piston rod 22, whereby the claws 24a, 24b descend the path indicated by arrow B. Next, the cylinder 25 is actuated to contract the piston rod 26, whereby the claws 24a, 24b move laterally along the path indicated by the arrow C. Then, the lower claw 24b enters below the end of the floating sheet bundle 11, and the upper claw 24a is positioned above the end of the sheet bundle 11. Next, the upper pawl 24a is lowered, and the end of the sheet bundle 11 is gripped by both pawls 24a and 24b. The mounting position of the cylinder 23 with respect to the mounting member 29,
Both claws 24a and 24b are set so as to grip the center position of the sheet bundle 11 in the width direction.

Thereafter, when the cylinder 23 operates and the piston rod 22 contracts by a predetermined amount, the end of the sheet bundle 11 is pulled up a little. Next, the cylinder 25 is operated to extend the piston rod 26, whereby the sheet bundle 11 is conveyed by sliding on the conveying surface 14 rightward in the drawing. When the sheet bundle 11 is conveyed for a predetermined distance in this way, the upper claw 24
a is lifted, and the grip of the sheet bundle 11 by both claws 24a and 24b is released. Since the piston rod 26 is slightly extended thereafter, the claws 24a and 24b are completely separated from the sheet bundle 11 as shown in FIG.
It will be placed at a predetermined position (the position indicated by the arrow D in FIG. 1) on the 12 tables 13.

The conveyed sheet bundle 11 is subjected to a predetermined cutting process by a cutting machine 12 and then discharged from the table 13 by other known means. After releasing the conveyed sheet bundle 11 as described above, both claws 24a, 24
b is returned to the position shown in FIG. 2 to prepare for the conveyance of the next sheet bundle 11.

The air blowing by the nozzle 37 and the roller
It is desirable that the pressing of the sheet bundle 11 by 35 and the gripping of the sheet bundle 11 by both claws 24a and 24b be performed at the center position in the width direction of the sheet bundle 11. However, if the position of the right end or left end of the sheet bundle 11 is defined on the transport surface 14, if the width of the sheet material 11a constituting the sheet bundle 11 is changed, the center position in the width direction may be changed. become. In the present apparatus, it is possible to easily cope with the change in the sheet size by adjusting the positions of the positioning units 29 and 31.

If the length of the sheet material 11a, that is, the size in the sheet bundle conveyance direction can be changed, the roller 35 and the nozzle 37 can be adjusted in this direction and attached to the positioning unit 31 to change the size. Can be dealt with. When the length of the sheet material 11a is changed, it is necessary to change the sheet bundle gripping position in the length direction by the both claws 24a and 24b.
Can be dealt with by changing the setting of the initial position (the position shown in FIG. 2) or by changing the moving length in the path indicated by arrow C.

The roller 35 and the nozzle 37 are gripped by
If the sheet bundle 11 is formed so as to be movable together with the sheet bundle 20, the sheet bundle 11 cut by the cutting machine 20 can be gripped and conveyed to another position.

As described above, in this apparatus, the lower nail
Since it is not necessary to provide a notch on the transport surface 14 to allow the 24b to enter the lower side of the sheet bundle 11, this notch and the sheet bundle
There is no possibility that the sheet material 11a will be damaged due to interference with the sheet material 11 or a conveyance failure will not occur. Also, the sheet bundle 11 is transported on the transport surface without contact.
Since the sheet material 11a is lifted from the member 14, it is possible to prevent the sheet material 11a from being damaged by the member that floats the sheet bundle 11.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a sheet bundle conveying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing an enlarged main part thereof.

As an example, the sheet bundle conveying device 52 of this embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is cut by a cutting device 54 and placed on a sheet bundle mounting table 56 of the cutting device 54 in a state of being adjacent to each other. The plurality of sheet bundles 58 are conveyed at a time to a predetermined position (the position indicated by the arrow M) on the conveyance table 60 while separating them.

The transport table 60 is formed so that the upper surface thereof is aligned with the upper surface of the sheet bundle placing table 56 of the cutting machine 54, and the aligned upper surface of the two tables 56, 60 becomes the sheet bundle transport surface 62. ing.

The width direction of the tables 56 and 60 (FIG. 3)
Above both edges, horizontal frames 64, 66 extending in the direction in which the two tables 56, 60 are arranged (the left-right direction in FIG. 4) are provided above the cutting machine 54 and the right edge of the transfer table 60 in the drawing. Between the horizontal mount 6 and the vertical mount 70 provided on the floor 68 near the floor.
Rails 72 and 74 are fixed to 4 and 66, respectively. And, on both these rails 72, 74,
A transfer means 76 is mounted between the rails 72 and 74 and is movable along the rails 72 and 74 by a drive means (not shown).

The transport means 76 has a base 78 directly engaged with the rails 72 and 74, and the rail 7 below the base 78.
A shaft member 80 provided along a direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3) substantially orthogonal to 2, 74,
And a plurality of gripping units 82 attached to the shaft member 80 so as to be movable along.

As best shown in FIG. 5, the grip unit 82
A body 84 directly engaged with the shaft member 80;
A driving means 85 such as a servomotor attached to 84 for moving the main body 84 along the shaft member 80;
A cylinder 88 such as an air cylinder attached to the main body 84 with the 86 facing downward, and a support 90 attached to the tip of the piston rod 86 are provided. Then, at the leading end of the support body 90, with the rotation axis extending in the width direction of the sheet bundle,
A sheet bundle pressing roller 92 made of soft rubber or the like is rotatably mounted. Further, an air blowing nozzle 94 is attached to the support 90 so as to face downward. The air blowing nozzle 94 is connected to a compressed air supply source via a hose 96. Further, the support 90 includes an upper nail 98a.
Are vertically movable relative to the lower claw 98b by driving means (not shown).
b is attached to the support 90 by a driving means (not shown) so as to be relatively movable in the left-right direction in the figure.

Each gripping unit 82 constructed as described above
Is moved along the shaft member 80 when the sheet bundles 58 are placed at predetermined positions (positions indicated by arrows N in FIGS. 3 and 4) on the sheet bundle placing table 56 in a state of being adjacent to each other after cutting. At the same time, the base 78 of the conveying means 76 moves along the rails 72 and 74, and stands by at a desired position near each sheet bundle. When each gripping unit 82 moves to a desired position, as shown in FIG.
When 88 is operated, the piston rod 86 is extended by a predetermined length, and the sheet bundle pressing roller 92 presses each sheet bundle 58 from above. Next, compressed air 99 flows from the air blowing nozzle 94 to the transfer surface.
The sheet bundle 58 is vertically sprayed onto the sheet 62, and the end of each sheet bundle 58 is lifted up from the conveying surface 62. Then, the pair of gripping claws 98a and 98b of each gripping unit 82 are moved from the position shown in FIG. 5 to grip the floating end of each sheet bundle 58.

Thereafter, the blowing of the compressed air 99 is stopped, and at the same time, the cylinder 88 operates and the piston rod 86 contracts by a predetermined amount, so that the end of the sheet bundle is pulled up a little. Each holding unit holding each sheet bundle 58
82 moves along the shaft member 80 and transport means
By moving the base of 78 along the rail in the transport direction, each sheet bundle 58 is slid and transported on the transport surface 62 while being separated. When each sheet bundle 58 is conveyed a predetermined distance in this way, the grip of the sheet bundle 58 by the grip claws 98a and 98b is released, and each sheet bundle 58 is moved to a predetermined position on the conveyance table 60 (indicated by an arrow M in FIGS. 3 and 4). Position).

Each conveyed sheet bundle 58 is discharged from the convey table 60 by other known means. After releasing each transported sheet bundle 58 as described above, each gripping unit 82 prepares for transporting the next sheet bundle 58.

As described above, in the present apparatus, it is not necessary to provide a notch on the conveying surface 62 for gripping the sheet bundle 58, so that the notch interferes with the sheet bundle 58 to damage the sheet material. And no transport failure occurs. Further, since the sheet bundle 58 is floated from the conveying surface 62 without contact, the sheet material is prevented from being damaged by the member that floats the sheet bundle 58. Further, a plurality of gripping units 82
Are provided so as to be two-dimensionally movable along the transport surface 62, so that each sheet bundle 58 placed adjacent to each other is
Can be conveyed at a time while separating them, and even when the size of each sheet bundle 58 is changed, by changing the standby position of each gripping unit 82,
Since a and 98b can hold a preferable holding position according to the size of each sheet bundle 58, it is possible to easily cope with a change in the size of the sheet bundle 58.

The sheet bundle conveying device 52 according to the present embodiment
Is applicable to a sheet bundle cutting system as shown in FIG. 6, for example. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of a cutting system to which the sheet bundle conveying device according to the present embodiment is applied.

The cutting system 102 shown in FIG. 6 converts a large sheet bundle 106a supplied to a supply station S1 on the right side of the drawing on a table 104 formed in a crank shape into a small sheet bundle 106b of a desired size. A series of cutting operations from cutting to unloading from the unloading station S2 on the left side of the drawing are automated. In this cutting system 102, the large-sized sheet bundle 106a is evacuated by the air bleeding mechanism M1, then first cut into strips by the cutting mechanism M2, and then cut into small pieces in a direction orthogonal to the middle cutting direction. O2 sheet bundle 106b in S2
Are placed adjacent to each other.

Accordingly, the sheet bundle conveying device according to the present embodiment
If the sheet bundles 52 are installed in the unloading station S2, the sheet bundle 106b of each oval cut and placed on the table 104 in a state adjacent to each other can be transported at a time while being separated from each other. It can be performed smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a main part of the apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the apparatus according to the other embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view showing a main part of the apparatus of the other embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of a cutting system to which the above-mentioned other embodiment apparatus is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 60 Transport table 11, 58, 106a, 108b Sheet bundle 14, 62 Sheet bundle transport surface 18, 19, 72, 74 Rail 20, 76 Transport means 22, 26, 33, 86 Piston rods 23, 25, 34, 88 Cylinders 24a, 24b, 98a, 98b Gripping claws 29, 31 Positioning unit 35, 92 Sheet bundle holding roller 37, 94 Air blowing nozzle 38, 96 Hose 40, 99 Compressed air

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet bundle conveying device that slides a sheet bundle placed on a conveying surface and conveys the sheet bundle to a predetermined position on the conveying surface, wherein air is blown vertically toward a conveying surface of the sheet bundle. Air blowing means for lifting the edge of the sheet bundle from the transport surface; gripping means for gripping the edge of the sheet bundle floated from the transport surface from above and below; moving the grip means along the transport surface. A sheet bundle conveying device, comprising: a moving unit that can move the sheet bundle to the predetermined position.