JP3040534B2 - Inline buffer for work transfer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a work transfer in-line buffer provided between work processing apparatuses for transferring a work so as to be able to stay.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a work such as a sheet-like work is processed by a plurality of processing devices to produce a booklet such as a bankbook.

[0003] A conventional booklet manufacturing process will be described below. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of, for example, three to four, printed sheets of a predetermined shape are overlapped, and one side is attached to form a sheet-like work 1. In this case, the portion to which the ceiling is attached becomes the attachment portion 3. The sheet-like work 1 is initially piled up (FIG. 6A).

[0004] Next, the sheet-like work 1 composed of a plurality of printed sheets is conveyed one by one by a conveyor or the like, and the central portion of the sheet-like work 1 is subjected to sewing by a sewing machine which is one of processing devices. The sheets are combined to form the sewing thread portion 4 (FIG. 6B). Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, the cover 2 is attached to one surface, for example, the back surface of the sheet-like work 1 by a cover pasting machine. Next, after pressing the sheet-like work 1 in order to improve the adhesiveness of the cover 2, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1D, the top part 3 of the sheet-like work 1 is attached.
Is cut with a cutting blade 5 by a cutting device, or the top glue portion is peeled (separated) by manual operation of an operator or by ironing using a roller or the like. The ceiling attaching section 3 functions so that the printed sheets before sewing are not separated. However, after the printed sheets are combined with each other by the sewing, they become unnecessary and are cut.

[0006] Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (e), a creasing blade 6 is pressed against the sheet-like work 1 along the sewing thread portion 4 by a creasing two-folding machine to form a crease. Fold it in two so that 2 faces outward (FIG. 6 (f)). Further, the folded sheet-like work 1 is pressed and pressed, thereby producing the bankbook 8 as shown in FIG. 6 (g).

[0006]

As described above, a booklet such as a bankbook is sequentially processed by a processing device such as a sewing machine, a cover attaching machine, a cutting device, and a creasing / double folding machine. In addition, the sheet-like work 1 is transported by a worker between lots for each lot. Further, passbooks belonging to cash vouchers are processed in lot units, the number of members is extremely strictly controlled, and mixing with various types of works is not allowed.

[0007] When a plurality of turbulent processes are inlined in this way, it is conceivable to transport a sheet-like work by a transport conveyor between each processing apparatus. When the setup is changed, the processing equipment on the upstream side also needs to be stopped accordingly, and there is a problem that the overall operation rate is reduced. In addition, under the strict control of the number of workpieces, mixing with a variety of workpieces is not allowed. Therefore, the processing of a certain item is completed, and the processing of the next item cannot be started until the number of members has been confirmed.
That is, at the end of the item, the upstream processing device is in a halt state until the processing by the downstream processing device is completed, and at the time of starting the item, the downstream processing device starts processing even if the upstream processing device starts processing. The sheet-like work does not come to the processing apparatus, so that the processing apparatus is in a stop state, and the operation rate of the entire apparatus is significantly reduced. This tendency is more remarkable when the item is a small lot or when the processing tact time of the device is long.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and automatically transfers a work between processing apparatuses without lowering the operation rate of the entire manufacturing apparatus including a plurality of processing apparatuses. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-line buffer capable of preventing mixing of different types of items.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is provided between work processing apparatuses, and conveys a work in a stagnable manner, and outputs the type of work transferred from an upstream processing apparatus to a downstream processing apparatus. In the work transfer in-line buffer, a plurality of pockets are arranged continuously between the processing devices for processing the work, each of the pockets transports the work to the next pocket in a stagnable manner, and receives at least the most downstream pocket. A workpiece transfer device having a variable index indicator for displaying an index corresponding to the type of the workpiece, and wherein the lowermost variable index indicator outputs a change signal to a downstream processing device when the index is changed; For inline buffer.

[0010]

According to the present invention, when an apparatus located on the downstream side of the in-line buffer stops, the sheet-like work is retained in the in-line buffer while the operation of the apparatus on the upstream side is continued to recover the apparatus on the downstream side. You can wait. Further, when the item is switched, the fact is notified to the next process, so that mixing of different types of items can be prevented.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 are views showing an embodiment of a work transfer inline buffer according to the present invention.

First, an outline of a booklet manufacturing apparatus incorporating an in-line buffer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the booklet manufacturing apparatus 10 has a storage box 25 in which the sheet-like works 1 (see FIG. 6) are piled up. The sheet-like work 1 is formed by overlapping a plurality of (2 to 10) printed sheets 9 and attaching one side surface to the top.

Downstream of the storage box 25, there is provided a sewing machine (processing apparatus) 11 for sewing a central portion of the sheet-like work 1 and joining the sheets. Further, an inline buffer 12 according to the present invention is provided downstream of the sewing machine device 11, and a cover sticking machine 13 having a non-stop feeder 14 is provided downstream of the inline buffer 12. The in-line buffer 12 conveys the sheet-like work to the cover pasting machine 13 side, and
This is a part for storing the sheet-like work 1 when the processing on the side is stagnated. The non-stop feeder 14 continuously feeds the sheet-like work 1 to the cover attaching machine 13 side, and the cover 2 attaches the cover 2 to one surface of the sheet-like work 1 in the cover attaching machine 13. (Fig. 6
(C)).

A press cutting device 15 is provided downstream of the cover pasting machine 13, and an inline buffer 16 according to the present invention is provided downstream of the press cutting device 15. Is provided with a buckle folding machine 17 having a non-stop feeder 18. Among these, the press cutting device 15 presses the sheet-like work 1 and also cuts the top attaching portion 3 of the sheet-like work 1. Further, the creasing press folding machine 17 folds the sheet-like work 1 along the sewing thread portion 4 (FIG. 6C), and the sheet-like work 1 so that the cover 2 faces outward. It comprises a bent portion 17b to be bent (see FIG. 6 (f)).

Further, a stack portion 19 for storing the sheet-like work 1 and a pressing device 20 for pressing the bent sheet-like work 1 from the lateral direction are provided on the downstream side of the creasing machine 17. They are arranged sequentially. The sheet-like work 1 which has been pressed down by the pressing device 20 is discharged from the discharge unit 21.
Are sequentially discharged. Note that the entire booklet manufacturing apparatus 10 has three monitors 23a, 2
Monitoring of a failure or the like is performed by 3b and 23c.

Next, the inline buffer 12 according to the present invention
And 16 will be described. Inline buffer 12
And 16 have the same configuration,
Here, for convenience, FIG.
4 to FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the in-line buffer 12 is provided with a non-stop of the cover pasting machine 13 so that a predetermined amount of sheet-like works 1a and 1b sent in a bundle from the sewing machine 11 can be retained. It is transported to the feeder 14 side, and is configured by continuously arranging a plurality of pockets 30a to 30j. 1 and 3, reference numeral 1a indicates a sheet-like work of Bank A, and reference numeral 1b indicates a sheet-like work of Bank B.

Each of the pockets 30a to 30j is driven independently to receive a predetermined amount of the sheet-like work 1a, 1b and discharge it to the next pocket, and to retain the sheet-like work 1a, 1b as required. It has become.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, each of the pockets 30a to 30j has a sheet-like work 1 to be received.
It has variable index indicators 31a to 31j for displaying indices corresponding to the types a and 1b. Here, (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 2 correspond to (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 1, respectively. 4 (a), (b) and (c) correspond to (a) and (b) of FIG.
(B) and (c) are supported.

The variable index indicators 31a to 31j included in each of the pockets 30a to 30j display an index 0 when the sheet work 1a of the bank A is conveyed, and display the index 0 when the sheet work 1b of the bank B is conveyed. Index 1 is displayed. Each of the variable index indicators 31c to 31j except for the variable index indicators 31a and 31b has the following points (1) and (2).
The index is changed on condition (3). (1) The index of the variable index indicator is different from the index of the variable index indicator on the upstream side. (2) A sheet-like work has been sent from one upstream pocket into the pocket. (3) The sheet-like work was securely received in the pocket.

On the other hand, the variable index indicators 31a, 3
1b, the preparation of the processing of a different sheet-like work (for example, the preparation of the processing of the sheet-like work 1a into the sheet-like work 1b) for the upstream sewing machine 11 is completed, and the sheet-like work 1a previously processed is entirely discharged. The index is changed under the specified conditions.

Each of the pockets 30a-30j has a lamp 32a-3 for notifying the index displayed by the variable index display 31a-31j to the outside.
2j. The lamps 32a to 32j perform, for example, a blue display when the index is 0, and a yellow display when the index is 1.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described. First, as shown in FIG.
The sheet-like works 1 piled up inside are conveyed one by one to the sewing machine 11 side, and the sewing machine threading is performed on the central portion of the sheet-like work 1 in the sewing machine 11 to form the sewing thread portion 4. The sheet-like workpieces 1 on which the sewing has been performed are then bundled by a predetermined amount and conveyed from the in-line buffer 12 to the non-stop feeder 14 side of the cover attaching machine 13.

Next, the inline buffer 12 according to the present invention
The operation of will be described in detail. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, the sheet work 1a of Bank A is introduced from the sewing machine 11 into the in-line buffer 12 side, and is sequentially conveyed to the non-stop feeder 14 by the pockets 30a to 30j of the in-line buffer 12. Is done. Each of the pockets 30a to 30j is driven independently, and discharges the sheet-like work 1a to the next (downstream) pocket. In this case, as shown in FIG.
0j are all ready to transport the sheet work 1a of Bank A, so the variable index indicator 31a
31j indicate the index 0, and the lamps 32a-3
2j turns blue. Therefore, the external worker can confirm that all the pockets 30a to 30j are in a state of transporting the sheet-like work 1a.

Next, when the cover pasting machine 13 is stopped for some reason, the pockets 30a to 30j keep the sheet-like work 1a in order and wait for the cover pasting machine 13 to recover (FIG. 1B). In this case, as shown in FIG. 2B, all the variable index indicators 31a to 31j
Indicates the index 0 continuously.

Next, when the operation of the cover laminating machine 13 is restarted, each of the pockets 30a to 30j immediately discharges the sheet-like work 1a sequentially to the next pocket. 13 side. In this case, the processing capacity of the cover pasting machine 13 located on the downstream side (the number of processed sheet-like works per unit time) is made larger than the processing capacity of the sewing machine apparatus 11 located on the upstream side. 11 without stopping 11
3 can be restarted.

Next, when the processing of the sheet work 1a of Bank A is completed in the sewing machine 11, the processing of the sheet work 1b of Bank B is performed thereafter. In this case, the sewing machine 11 prepares for processing according to the shape of the sheet-like work 1b. Next, as shown in FIGS. 1C and 2C, the most variable index indicators 31a,
The index of 31b is changed from 0 to 1 under the condition that the preparation for processing is completed and the sheet-like work 1a is completely discharged.

When the preparation for machining the sewing machine 11 is completed,
The sheet-like work 1b is processed in the sewing machine 11 and the sheet-like work 1b is sequentially introduced from the sewing machine 11 into the in-line buffer 12 side. In this case, the variable index indicators 31c, 31d,... Downstream of the variable index indicators 31a, 31b sequentially change the index from 0 to 1 each time a new sheet-like work 1b is received. A change in the index is indicated externally by the lamp changing from blue to yellow (FIGS. 3 (a) and 4 (a)).

Next, the previously processed sheet-like work 1a
However, all the pockets 30a of the in-line buffer 12
It is discharged from 30j to the non-stop feeder 14 side of the cover bonding machine 13 (FIGS. 3B and 4B).

Variable index indicators 31a to 31j
The index is sequentially changed from 0 to 1 as described above, and as shown in FIG. 3C and FIG. 4C, the index of the variable index indicator 31j of the most downstream pocket 30j is 0 → 1. , A change signal is output from the most downstream variable index indicator 31j to the cover laminating machine 13 in the next step. And, based on this change signal,
The cover attaching machine 13 in the next step prepares for processing according to the shape and the like of the sheet-like work 1b. At this time, the supply of the sheet-like work 1b from the in-line buffer 12 to the non-stop feeder 14 is stopped without being performed.

Then, after the preparation for processing of the cover pasting machine 13 is completed,
The supply of the sheet-like work 1b from the in-line buffer 12 to the non-stop feeder 14 is started.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the sheet-like works 1a and 1b supplied to the non-stop feeder 14 are continuously supplied one by one to the cover pasting machine 13 side by the non-stop feeder 14. Then, in the cover attaching machine 13, the cover 2 is attached to one surface of the sheet-like works 1a, 1b.

Next, the sheet-like works 1a, 1b on which the cover 2 is glued are supplied to the press cutting device 15 side, and the sheet-like work 1
While a and 1b are pressed, the ceiling part 3 is cut. Next, the sheet-like workpieces 1a and 1b are supplied to a non-stop feeder 18 via an in-line buffer 16, and are continuously supplied one by one to the creasing folder 17 by the non-stop feeder 18.

Since the in-line buffer 16 has the same configuration as the in-line buffer 12 as described above, the sheet-like works 1a and 1b can stay in the in-line buffer 16 as desired. In this case, the processing capacity of the presser folding machine 17 is reduced by the press cutter 15.
By making it larger than the processing capacity of
Even if 7 stops, it is possible to wait for recovery of the presser folding machine 17 without stopping the press cutter 15. When a new type of sheet work, for example, the sheet work 1a of Bank A and the sheet work 1b of Bank B enter the in-line buffer 16, crimping is performed according to the shape of the sheet work 1b. The supply of the sheet-like work 1b to the non-stop feeder 18 is stopped until the preparation for processing the two-folding machine 17 is performed.

Next, the sheet-like works 1a and 1b introduced into the creasing folder 17 are scored along the mince thread portion 4 by the creasing portion 17a, and the cover 2 is bent by the bending portion 17b. Is turned outward. Thereafter, the sheet-like works 1a and 1b are temporarily stored in the stack section 19, and thereafter are pressed by the pressing apparatus 20 to be pressed. The sheet-like workpieces 1a and 1b that have been pressed by the pressing device 20 are then sequentially discharged to the outside from a discharge unit 21.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the cover attaching machine 13 or the creasing folder 17 located on the downstream side of the inline buffers 12 and 16 is stopped, the sheet-like work is stored in the inline buffers 12 and 16. 1a and 1b can be retained and the recovery of the cover attaching machine 13 or the creasing machine 17 can be waited. For this reason, it is not necessary to stop the sewing machine 11 or the press cutting device 15 located on the upstream side of the inline buffers 12 and 16, so that it is possible to prevent a reduction in the operation rate of the entire booklet manufacturing apparatus.

The lowermost variable index display 3
1j, a change signal is output from each of the pockets 30a to 30j of the inline buffer based on the change signal.
Stops the conveyance of the sheet-like work and promptly responds to the new sheet-like work because the cover laminating machine 13 in the next process prepares for processing according to the shape of the new sheet-like work. In addition to this, different types of workpieces can be continuously processed without mixing different types of workpieces.

In the present embodiment, the sheet-like work is sequentially discharged from the pressing device. However, when a processing device is further added downstream of the pressing device 20, for example,
It is conceivable to install an inline buffer as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 between the apparatuses. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, an inline buffer 41 including a plurality of pockets 40 a to 40 f is provided between the downstream side of the discharge unit 21 of the pressing device 20 and the next process. Also pocket 40
The sheet-like work 1 is stored in d to 40f.
As shown in FIG. 8, an inline buffer 41 including a plurality of pockets 40 a to 40 j is provided downstream of the discharge unit 21 of the pressing device 20.
Is connected to the next step via the discharge section 42 and the transport path 43. In FIG. 8, the sheet-like work 1 is stored in an upright state in each of the pockets 40 a to 40 j, and the sheet-like work 1 is stored sideways in the discharge path 42.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Pockets 40a to 40k on the downstream side of
Is provided, and the inline buffer 41 is connected to the next step. In FIG. 9, the sheet-like work 1 is stored in the pockets 40g to 40k.

In the inline buffer shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, each of the pockets 40a forming the inline buffer has a variable index (not shown).

Further, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the inline buffer is incorporated in a booklet manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a bankbook or the like. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Work other than the state work,
For example, an in-line buffer can be incorporated between processing devices for processing a work such as a plastic container.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the processing device located on the downstream side of the in-line buffer stops, the work can be sequentially retained in each pocket to wait for the recovery of the processing device on the downstream side. At the same time, when the index is changed, the variable index indicator in the most downstream pocket outputs a change signal to the downstream processing device, and based on this change signal, the downstream processing device displays a new type of work. In addition, it is possible to prepare for machining corresponding to the above, and there is no mixing of different kinds of workpieces.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a workpiece transfer inline buffer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a variable index indicator corresponding to a pocket of the in-line buffer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a work transfer inline buffer according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a variable index indicator corresponding to the pocket of the inline buffer shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an overall schematic diagram of a booklet manufacturing apparatus in which an in-line buffer is incorporated.

FIG. 6 is a process chart showing a general booklet manufacturing process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram in which an in-line buffer is incorporated in a discharge unit of the pressing device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram in which an in-line buffer is incorporated in a discharge unit of the pressing device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram in which an in-line buffer is incorporated in a discharge unit of the pressing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Booklet manufacturing apparatus 12 In-line buffer 16 In-line buffer 30a-30j Pocket 31a-31j Variable index display 32a-32j Lamp

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-58-34745 (JP, A) JP-A-64-64921 (JP, A) JP-A-2-253995 (JP, A) Jpn. 38084 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 60-172649 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B42C 19/00 B42C 19/08 B65G 47/29 B23Q 41/02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A work transfer in-line buffer provided between work processing devices for transferring a work so as to be able to stay therein and outputting the type of work transferred from an upstream processing device to a downstream processing device. , Equipped with a plurality of pockets arranged continuously between the processing devices that process the work, each pocket transports the work to the next pocket so that it can stay, and at least the lowermost pocket has an index corresponding to the type of work to be received And a variable index display that displays a change in the index, and outputs a change signal to a downstream processing device when the index is changed at the most downstream variable index display.