JP3203964B2 - Pipe manufacturing method and pipe manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pipe manufacturing method and a pipe manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a pipe manufacturing method and a pipe optimal for manufacturing a moisture-permeable membrane hollow pipe used for a humidifier, a humidifier, and the like. It relates to a manufacturing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, pipe manufacturing techniques include:
A welding method has been used in which hot air is blown onto a tape which is a material of the pipe to melt both ends thereof, and the tape whose both ends are melted is spirally wound and formed into a pipe. However, in the method in which hot air is blown to the end of the tape, the heating efficiency is low and high-speed operation is difficult, so that the pipe conveying speed is 7 m / min. Processing could not be performed faster than this, and the adhesive strength was also low (about 5 kg / cm ² ).

For this reason, in recent years, there has been proposed a method or an apparatus in which a tape is spirally wound and an overlapped portion of the tape is bonded by an ultrasonic welding method (for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. HEI-5-205).
-18827). In that configuration, it comprises a mandrel along the inside diameter of the pipe to be manufactured, and a horn in close proximity to the mandrel, above the mandrel,
The tape is spirally wound with the parts overlapping,
The overlapping portion of the tape is conveyed between the two to be sequentially welded.

In order to transport the overlapped portion of the tape between the mandrel and the horn, in a conventional configuration, the wound tape is rotated by rotating the mandrel with the horn held at a fixed position. The mandrel was displaced relative to the horn in the axial direction.

[0005]

By the way, what is required in recent years for the technology for manufacturing pipes is that various properties such as mechanical strength (adhesive strength, tensile strength, etc.) and liquid tightness of a pipe to be manufactured are required. In a state where the tape is maintained at a high level, the tape is caused to run at a high speed (15 m / min or more at a pipe conveying speed), thereby shortening the manufacturing time.

However, with the above-described conventional configuration, it has been impossible to achieve both improvement in mechanical strength and liquid tightness of a product and reduction in manufacturing time. That is, in the above conventional configuration,
As the mandrel is rotated, the faster the mandrel rotates, the more unstable the clearance formed by the mandrel and the horn is affected by vibration and the like, and the more uniform the pressure of the horn pressing the tape is There was a problem that it did not become.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and is a pipe manufacturing method capable of shortening a manufacturing time while maintaining various properties such as mechanical strength and liquid tightness of a product at a high level. It is an object to provide a method and a pipe manufacturing apparatus.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a tape is spirally wound around a peripheral surface of a mandrel with its ends overlapping. In the pipe manufacturing method in which the overlapped portion of the wound tape is sandwiched between the horn and the mandrel and ultrasonically welded, the horn in a fixed position is opposed to the horn with a clearance in a state where the mandrel is stopped. And a method of driving the tape to supply an overlapping portion of the tape to the clearance.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mandrel for carrying a tape wound spirally with its ends overlapped, and a horn opposed to the mandrel with a clearance therebetween, and the tape overlaps. In a pipe manufacturing apparatus provided with an ultrasonic welding mechanism for ultrasonically welding by pressing a portion between a horn and a mandrel, and a tape supply mechanism for sequentially supplying an overlapping portion of the tape to the clearance, the ultrasonic welding is performed. The mechanism includes a fixing means for fixing the mandrel, and the tape supply mechanism drives the tape on the fixed mandrel.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pipe manufacturing apparatus of the second aspect, the clearance is set to a thickness of one tape.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the pipe manufacturing apparatus according to the second or third aspect, the horn partitions the clearance by a curved concave surface along an outer peripheral surface of the mandrel.

[0011] Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention,
5. The pipe manufacturing apparatus according to 3 or 4, wherein the tape supply mechanism further includes guide means for guiding an overlapping portion of the tape to the clearance. Further, the configuration according to claim 6 is based on claims 2, 3, 4,
Or the pipe manufacturing apparatus according to item 5, further comprising a cutting mechanism for cutting the welded tape to form a pipe.

[0012] Further, the configuration according to claim 7 is the same as that in claim 2.
3. The pipe manufacturing apparatus according to 3, 4, 5, or 6,
The mandrel is formed in a hollow shape and further includes an air cooling mechanism for supplying cooling air to the inside of the mandrel.

[0013]

According to the first or second aspect, the tape is driven while the mandrel is fixed, and the overlapping portions of the tape are sequentially welded. Further, by fixing the mandrel, the clearance defined between the mandrel and the horn is stabilized. Further, in the configuration according to the third aspect, the tape overlap portion is welded while being handled between the horn and the mandrel.

Further, according to the structure of the fourth aspect, the area for partitioning the clearance is increased. Further, in the configuration of the fifth aspect, the overlapping portion of the tape is reliably supplied into the clearance by the guiding means, and the angular deviation of the tape is prevented. In the configuration according to the sixth aspect, the welded tape is continuously cut and formed into a pipe.

[0015] In the structure of the seventh aspect, the heat conducted to the mandrel at the time of welding is absorbed by the cooling air.

[0016]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an enlarged schematic front view showing a main part of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a schematic configuration of a pipe manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the pipe manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a mandrel and a horn employed in the pipe manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a partly broken portion, and FIG. 2B is a side view.

The method or the apparatus of this embodiment is for producing a moisture-permeable membrane hollow tube used for a humidifier, a humidifier, or the like. For example, a tape T having a width of, for example, 30 mm and integrally formed by laminating a nonwoven fabric made of polyethylene terephthalate is used. First, referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the apparatus of the present embodiment includes an ultrasonic welding mechanism 10 for welding a tape T in a pipe shape by an ultrasonic welding method, and a tape T on the ultrasonic welding mechanism 10. A tape supply mechanism 20 for supplying, a cutting mechanism 30 for cutting the welded tape T into a predetermined length to form a pipe P, a stock mechanism 40 for stocking the cut pipe P, and an air cooling mechanism 50. Have.

The ultrasonic welding mechanism 10 has a mandrel 11 disposed substantially horizontally. Mandrel 11
Is a hollow stainless steel product having high rigidity, and its outer peripheral surface is formed in a circular cross-sectional shape that has been subjected to surface treatment such as polishing in order to improve sliding. The mandrel 11 of the present embodiment penetrates a fixing base 12 as fixing means, and is fixed in a non-rotatable position by three hexagon socket bolts 12A screwed from the upper surface of the fixing base 12 and both side surfaces. It is fixed to. The fixed base 12 is a column 14 erected on a base 13 that carries the entire ultrasonic welding mechanism 10.
Attached to. An operating device 15 for operating the entire apparatus is attached to the top of the column 14.

At a predetermined position of the mandrel 11, a horn 17 connected to a vibrator (not shown) is opposed.
As shown in the figure, a certain interval C is defined. FIG.
As shown in (A), the horn 17 of this embodiment has a curved concave surface 17A along the outer peripheral surface of the mandrel 11, and the curved concave surface 17A allows the clearance C to be increased.
Is partitioned. In this embodiment, the clearance C is set to a thickness of one tape T.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the tape supply mechanism 20 includes a belt device 21 provided on a base 13 supporting the ultrasonic welding mechanism 10 and a belt mechanism 21. An automatic tension adjusting device 22 for applying tension to the tape T to be conveyed upstream of the clearance C is provided. Referring to FIG. 1, the belt device 21 includes an endless belt 21A and an endless belt 21A.
Is wound, and a pair of pulleys 21B and 21C are provided.
0r. p. m. , And by the endless belt 21A,
By rotating on the mandrel 11 the welded tape T wound spirally in a partially overlapping state,
This is for sequentially transporting the overlapping portion T1 of the tape T to the clearance C and transporting the processed tape T to the cutting mechanism 30 downstream of the ultrasonic welding mechanism 10.

More specifically, the endless belt 2
1A has a width of 3 formed by laminating a rubber material and a cloth material.
A timing belt having a thickness of 0 mm and a thickness of 4 mm, which extends from one pulley 21B to the other pulley 21C, and further from the other pulley 21C around the pipe P on the mandrill 11 and returns to the one pulley 21B. It is.

Referring to FIG. 2, the tension adjusting device 22 includes a lifting pulley 22A and a lifting pulley 22A.
A moving pulley 22C that receives the lower surface of the tape T to be supplied in balance with the weight 22B on A, and a pair of fixed pulleys that receives the upper surface of the tape T upstream and downstream of the tape T wound on the moving pulley 22C. 22D and 22E, the tape T between the fixed pulleys 22D and 22E and the movable pulley 22C by changing the balance load and the balanced position of the weight 22B and the movable pulley 22C.
Is maintained at a predetermined value. Also,
By providing this tension adjusting device 22, the tape T
In this case, a constant tension is applied between the clearance C and the movable pulley 22C, and the direction of conveyance is regulated. Therefore, the tension adjusting device 22
To the clearance C. In addition, the tape supply mechanism 20 is provided with a tape T.
And a tape guide 23 for guiding the tape. The tape guide 23 stands on the base 13 and guides the tape T to the clearance C.

Next, the cutting mechanism 30 includes a servo motor 31
And a rotary cutter 32 rotated by a servomotor 31
When the belt device 21 conveys the welded tape T by a predetermined amount in conjunction with the tape supply mechanism 20, the tape T is cut and formed into a pipe P. Although not specifically shown, the cutting mechanism 30
Has a hand, and the cut pipe P is transported to the stock mechanism 40 by the hand.

The stock mechanism 40 includes an alignment conveyor 41 for aligning and transporting the pipes P transported by the hand, and a stock shelf 42 for storing the pipes P transported by the alignment conveyor 41. Referring to FIG. 4, the alignment conveyor 41 has a protrusion 41A.
The pipes P are aligned and transported to the stock shelf 42 by rotating an endless belt 41B having The stock shelf 42
The movable plate 42A and the movable plate 42
A vibrator 42B for vibrating A is provided, and the pipes P are aligned while the movable plate 42A is vibrated by the vibrator 42B so as to be stocked in the stock shelf 42.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mandrel 11 of the present embodiment is formed in a hollow shape as described above, and a cooling mechanism 50 is provided inside the mandrel 11.
Supplies cooling air. More specifically, the base 13 has a fan 51 capable of introducing air into the inside of the mandrel 11, an adjustment valve 52 for regulating the flow rate of the cooling air from the fan 51, and a regulated pressure of the cooling air. An anemometer 53 for measurement is also provided. These are communicated via the same pipe 54. Further, the pipe 54 communicates with the pipe 56 via a joint 55. The pipe 56 is fixed to the inside of the mandrel 11 by a hexagonal bolt 57 so that the mounting position can be changed in the axial direction. Thus, cooling air is supplied into the mandrel 11 by rotating the fan 51.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
According to the above configuration, the belt device 2 of the tape supply mechanism 20
1 is driven to supply the overlapping portion T1 of the tape T to the clearance C between the mandrel 11 and the horn 17, and the overlapping portion T1 of the tape T is clamped between the mandrel 11 and the horn 17. They are sequentially welded, and then conveyed to the cutting mechanism 30 by the belt device 21. Then, after being cut by the rotary cutter 32 of the cutting mechanism 30, the stock is stored on the stock shelf 42 of the stock mechanism 40.

As described above, in this embodiment, the fixed base 1
2, the mandrel 11 is fixed. In this state, the tape T is driven, and the overlapping portion T1 of the tape T is supplied to the clearance C. Therefore, the clearance C defined between the horn 17 and the mandrel 11 is stable, and the mechanical strength of the product at high speed (for example, at a speed of 15 m / min or more at a conveying speed of the bonded pipe P by the belt device 21). And liquid-tight adhesive performance can be obtained.

Further, since the clearance C is set to the thickness of one tape T, the overlapping portion T1 of the tape T is handled between the horn 17 and the mandrel 11 during the welding. It will be welded in the state where it was. The handling characteristics of the overlapping portion T1 of the tape T are further stabilized by fixing the mandrel 11. Therefore, also from this point, there is an advantage that the pressure between the horn 17 and the mandrel 11 is stabilized, and high adhesive performance can be obtained.

Further, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the horn 17 has a curved concave surface 17A along the outer peripheral surface of the mandrel 11.
Since the clearance C is defined by the above, the area for defining the clearance C is increased. Therefore, there is an advantage that the angular displacement of the welded portion can be prevented by the increase in the area. Moreover, in the present embodiment, the tension adjusting device 22 that applies tension to the tape T when supplying the tape T also acts as a guide unit that guides the overlapping portion T1 of the tape T to the clearance C. The tape T is surely supplied into the clearance C, and the tape T is prevented from being misaligned. Therefore, in this embodiment, from this point as well, there is an advantage that the angular deviation of the welded portion can be further prevented.

Further, in the configuration of this embodiment, the cutting mechanism 3
The value of 0 makes it possible to continuously form the welded tape T into the pipe P. Therefore, there is an advantage that the processing efficiency is further improved and a product can be manufactured at a high speed. In this embodiment, since the mandrel 11 is formed hollow and the cooling air is supplied to the inside of the mandrel 11 by the fan 51 of the air cooling mechanism 50, the heat conducted to the mandrel 11 at the time of welding is the cooling air. Will be absorbed. Therefore, in this embodiment, even when the above-described high-speed operation is performed, there is no possibility that the tape T is affected by heat, and from this point, the mechanical strength and liquid tightness of the product can be maintained. There are advantages.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the tape T can be run at a high speed while maintaining the mechanical strength and the liquid tightness of the product high, thereby shortening the manufacturing time. Has a remarkable effect. It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely examples of preferred specific examples of the present invention,
It goes without saying that various design changes are possible within the scope described in the claims.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the configuration described in (2), since the horn and the mandrel are fixed, the clearance defined between the horn and the mandrel is stabilized, so that the pressure between the horn and the mandrel, which is a performance factor of ultrasonic welding, even at high speed operation, is reduced. Stable results,
There is an advantage that the mechanical strength and liquid tight adhesive performance of the product can be obtained at high speed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the overlapping portion of the tape is welded while being handled between the horn and the mandrel. There is an advantage that the pressure between the horn and the mandrel is stabilized, and high adhesive performance can be obtained. Also,
According to the configuration of the fourth aspect, since the area for partitioning the clearance is widened, there is an advantage that the angular deviation of the welded portion can be prevented accordingly.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the overlapping portion of the tape is reliably supplied to the clearance by the guide means, and the tape is prevented from being misaligned. In addition, there is an advantage that the angle deviation of the welded portion can be prevented. Further, in the configuration of claim 6, since the welded tape can be continuously formed into a pipe by the cutting mechanism,
There is an advantage that the processing efficiency is further improved and a product can be manufactured at high speed.

In the structure according to the seventh aspect, the heat conducted to the mandrel during welding is absorbed by the cooling air.
Even when the tape is operated at a high speed, the tape is not likely to be affected by heat, and from this point, there is an advantage that the mechanical strength and liquid tightness of the product can be maintained. Therefore, according to the present invention, while maintaining high mechanical strength and liquid tightness of the product,
There is a remarkable effect that the tape can be run at a high speed and the manufacturing time can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged schematic front view showing a main part of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a schematic configuration of the pipe manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the pipe manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the pipe manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 2;

5A and 5B show schematic structures of a mandrel and a horn used in the pipe manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 5A is a partially cutaway front view, and FIG. 5B is a side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ultrasonic welding mechanism 11 Mandrel 17 Horn 17A Curved concave surface 20 Tape supply mechanism 22 Tension adjusting device (guide means) 30 Cutting mechanism 40 Stock mechanism 50 Air cooling mechanism C Clearance P pipe T Tape

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29C 53/60 B29C 65/08 B29D 23/00

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] A tape (T) is spirally wound around the peripheral surface of a mandrel (11) with its ends overlapping, and an overlapping portion (T1) of the wound tape (T) is horned. (17)
In the pipe manufacturing method in which ultrasonic welding is performed by sandwiching the mandrel and the mandrel (11), the mandrel (11) is opposed to the horn (17) at a fixed position, with the mandrel (11) being stopped with a clearance (C) therebetween. Let
Drive the above tape (T) to overlap the tape (T)
(T1) is supplied to the clearance (C). 2. A mandrel (11) carrying a tape (T) spirally wound with its ends overlapped, and a horn opposed to the mandrel (11) with a clearance (C) therebetween.
(17), an ultrasonic welding mechanism (10) for sandwiching the overlapping portion (T1) of the tape (T) between the horn (17) and the mandrel (11) and ultrasonic welding, and a tape (T ) In sequence (T1)
(C), the ultrasonic welding mechanism (10) includes a fixing means (12) for fixing a mandrel (11), and the tape supply mechanism (20). The mechanism (20) has a fixed mandrel (11)
A pipe manufacturing apparatus for driving a tape (T) above. 3. The pipe manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the clearance (C) is set to a thickness of one tape (T). 4. A pipe manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said horn (17) partitions said clearance (C) by a curved concave surface (17A) along an outer peripheral surface of a mandrel (11). It is. 5. A pipe manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said tape supply mechanism (20) guides an overlapping portion (T1) of said tape (T) to said clearance (C). Means (22)
Is further included. 6. A pipe manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a cutting mechanism (30) for cutting the welded tape (T) to form a pipe (P). It is. 7. The pipe manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the mandrel (11) is formed in a hollow shape and supplies cooling air to the inside of the mandrel (11). Air cooling mechanism (50)
Is further provided.