JP3463471B2 - Mandrel desorption device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mandrel mounting base for holding an unvulcanized or semi-vulcanized rubber preform in an extrapolated state and a mandrel for performing a vulcanizing operation in an aggregated state. And a mandrel attachment / detachment device for attaching / detaching the mandrel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally bent rubber bent tube has been widely used for automobile hoses and other applications. This kind of rubber bent pipe has been conventionally manufactured as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 45, a large number of mandrel 400 having a bent shape corresponding to the bent shape of the rubber bent pipe 404 (see FIG. 47) are assembled into a mandrel mounting base, specifically, a frame-shaped mandrel frame. 402
Then, the unvulcanized or semi-vulcanized rubber preform molded into a straight tube is inserted into each of the plurality of mandrels 400 held by the mandrel frame 402 and mounted. Then, the whole is inserted into a vulcanization can (vulcanization device) and heated and vulcanized for a predetermined time to form a curved shape corresponding to the mandrel 400, that is, a final product shape, and then the whole is vulcanized from After taking out, the rubber bent pipe 404 after vulcanization was taken out from the mandrel 400.

The rubber bending pipe 404 extracted from the mandrel 400 is then washed in a washing process to remove the release agent previously applied and, if necessary, thereafter to a predetermined position. It was finished with markings.

Here, as the mandrel frame, a cylindrical one or a plate-like one is used as shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, but in any case, the mandrel frame 40 is used.
Conventionally, an operator manually inserts the rubber preform into each mandrel 400 fixed to 2 and pulls out the rubber bent tube 404 from the mandrel 400 after vulcanization.

This is because the work of inserting the rubber preform into each mandrel 400 with the mandrel 400 attached to the mandrel frame 402 requires delicate control and is difficult to mechanize and automate.
In particular, the mandrel 400 having different shapes corresponding to the rubber bent pipes 404 of different types has the same mandrel frame 402.
When the rubber preform is fitted to the tip of the mandrel 400 and after vulcanization, the rubber bend pipe 404 is attached to the mandrel 40 in a mixed state.
Because it is difficult to extract from 0.

[0006]

However, the rubber preform must be inserted into the mandrel 400 in a densely mounted state on the mandrel frame 402, and the rubber bent tube 404 after vulcanization must be removed. Therefore, the following problems have conventionally occurred. That is,
Mandrel frame 402 and mandrel 40 during work
No. 0 was in a high temperature state due to heating in the vulcanizer, and the manual work in front of it was a work under high temperature, especially in summer.

Further, in the conventional manufacturing method, when the rubber bent pipe 404 after vulcanization is subjected to a necessary treatment, the rubber bent pipe which is extracted from the mandrel 400 and is not constrained in shape must be processed. Since it has to be done, the process may be troublesome and difficult.

For example, when marking a predetermined portion in the axial direction and the circumferential direction on the rubber bent pipe 404 after vulcanization, the rubber bent pipe 404 once pulled out from the mandrel 400 as shown in FIG. It is necessary to set along a jig (marking die) 406 having a corresponding shape, and use plate pieces provided at both ends of the marking die 406 as a ruler, and perform marking along this. However, there is a problem that the marking process requires a lot of trouble.

Therefore, the inventor of the present invention provides a mandrel at the end of the mandrel so that the mandrel can be attached to and detached from the mandrel mounting base together with the mounting base, and the mandrel can be mounted on the mandrel mounting base together with the mandrel. With the mandrel removed, insert the rubber preform into the mandrel in advance at a predetermined position, and then attach the mandrel to the mandrel attachment base.After performing the vulcanization operation in that state, remove the mandrel. Remove the vulcanized rubber bent pipe from the mandrel mounting base with the rubber bent pipe still attached, and at a predetermined mounting position away from the mandrel mounting base, draw out the vulcanized rubber bent pipe from the mandrel. I put it out.

In this way, at a position separated from the mandrel mounting base in a high temperature state, the rubber preform is inserted into the mandrel under a comfortable working space and the rubber bent pipe after vulcanization is removed from the mandrel. It becomes possible to perform the sampling work.

In addition, since the rubber preform is inserted and the rubber bent pipe after vulcanization is removed with the mandrel detached from the mandrel mounting base, these operations are facilitated by mechanical and mechanical operations. It can also be done automatically. Furthermore, the marking process for the bent rubber tube can be performed in the state of being mounted on the mandrel, and the marking process can be facilitated.

However, in this case, since the mandrel is relatively frequently attached to and detached from the mandrel mounting base,
It is required that such a mandrel can be easily attached to and detached from the mandrel mounting base, and it is particularly desirable that the attaching and detaching work can be performed mechanically and automatically.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Under the above circumstances, the present invention has been made in order to provide a mandrel attaching / detaching device capable of easily attaching / detaching a mandrel to / from a mandrel mounting base. Thus, the mandrel attachment / detachment device of the invention of the present application vulcanizes and molds an unvulcanized or semi-vulcanized rubber preform, and holds the mandrel that imparts a predetermined bending shape in an assembled state. A mandrel attachment / detachment device for attaching / detaching the mandrel to / from the mandrel mounting base, comprising: (a) an engagement protrusion provided on one of the mounted surface side of the mandrel and the mounting surface side of the mandrel mounting base. , (B) an insertion hole provided on the other side for inserting the engaging projection, and (c) an insertion hole provided on the mandrel mounting base, which engages with the engaging projection to prevent coming off from the mounting surface. And a lock member that is capable of advancing and retracting between the lock position and the lock release position that unlocks the engagement protrusion and allows the engagement protrusion to come off, and (d) a drive device that drives the lock member in the advancing and retracting direction. That The characters (claim 1).

The mandrel attaching / detaching device of another invention of the present application is
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided positioning means for defining a set position when the mandrel is attached to the attachment surface of the mandrel attachment base (the second aspect).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mandrel attachment / detachment device according to claim 2, wherein the positioning means is provided on one of the mandrel side and the mandrel mounting base side and on the other side. And a positioning hole that fits into the positioning protrusion (claim 3).

According to still another aspect of the present invention, in the mandrel attaching / detaching device, the mandrel mounting base is provided with a spring for urging the lock member toward the lock position. The driving device drives the locking member toward the unlocked position (claim 4).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mandrel attaching / detaching device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3 and 4, wherein the mandrel mounting base is of a rotary type, and the mandrel is attached along a circumferential surface. The lock member is held at a predetermined pitch, and the lock member is provided at each corresponding position, and the drive device for the lock member further comprises:
A rotation drive device is provided which is fixedly disposed at a position corresponding to a predetermined attachment / detachment position on the circumferential surface and which rotationally drives the mandrel mounting base in the circumferential direction by one mandrel pitch. (Claim 5).

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mandrel attaching / detaching device according to claim 5, wherein the mandrel mounting base has a plurality of mandrels as a unit for each mandrel unit having a plurality of mandrels and connecting means thereof. A plurality of mandrel units are arranged in the axial direction on the circumferential surface, and the lock member is common to the plurality of mandrel units arranged in the axial direction. The lock release positions are axially different from each other (claim 6).

[0019]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, one of the mandrel side and the mandrel mounting base side is provided with an engaging projection, and the other is provided with an insertion hole, and the engaging projection is provided in the insertion hole. The mandrel mounting base is provided with a lock member, and the mandrel mounting base is moved forward and backward between a lock position where the lock member is engaged with the protrusion to prevent the lock member from coming off and a release position where the lock is released. Therefore, according to the mandrel attaching / detaching device of the present invention, the mandrel can be easily attached / detached to / from the mandrel mounting base simply by driving the lock member forward and backward.

Therefore, for example, the mandrel is set in the mounting position on the mandrel mounting base or the mandrel is taken out from the mandrel mounting base by a robot hand or the like so that the mandrel can be attached to or detached from the mandrel mounting base. It is also possible to perform automatically mechanically.

Further, according to the present invention, since the mandrel can be detached and attached easily and promptly, the vulcanization facility is stopped when it is necessary to replace the mandrel for changing the type or for maintenance of the mandrel. It is possible to replace the mandrel without using the mandrel, which in turn makes it possible to improve the productivity of the bent rubber tube.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided positioning means for defining a set position when the mandrel is mounted on the mounting surface of the mandrel mounting base. According to the present invention, the mandrel is mounted on the mandrel mounting base. At this time, it can be easily and accurately attached to a predetermined position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the positioning is performed based on the fitting of the positioning protrusion provided on one of the mandrel side and the mandrel mounting base side with the positioning hole provided on the other side. According to the present invention, the positioning means can be simply constructed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a spring for urging the lock member toward the lock side is provided, and when the lock is released, the lock member is driven toward the lock release position by the drive device. However, according to the present invention, the drive device may be operated only when the mandrel is attached to and detached from the mandrel mounting base, and the lock member can be normally held in the lock position by the urging force of the spring. That is, the mandrel can be held in a fixed state with respect to the mandrel mounting base. Therefore, the mandrel and the mandrel mounting base can be moved to the vulcanizing device separately from the driving device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the mandrel mounting base is a rotating type, the mandrel is held at a predetermined pitch along the circumferential surface, and the lock member is provided at each corresponding position, and the circumferential surface is provided. The drive device for the lock member is arranged at a position corresponding to the above predetermined detachable position, and the mandrel mounting base is circumferentially mounted on the mandrel 1
According to the present invention, the mandrel mounting base is pitch-fed in the circumferential direction while the driving device drives the lock member forward and backward. Thus, the mandrels can be sequentially attached to the mandrel attachment base in the circumferential direction, or the mandrels held by the mandrel attachment base can be sequentially removed in the circumferential direction.

Here, it is desirable that the rotary drive device be connectable to and separable from the mandrel mounting base. With this configuration, the mandrel mounting base can be independently loaded into or unloaded from the vulcanizing device in a state where it is separated from the rotary drive device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the mandrel mounting base holds each mandrel unit formed by connecting a plurality of mandrels by a connecting means and a plurality of the mandrel units arranged in the axial direction of the circumferential surface. On the other hand, the lock member is common to the plurality of mandrel units, and the unlocking positions for the mandrel units are axially different positions. According to this, a plurality of mandrel units arranged in the axial direction of the circumferential surface can be fixed / locked at the mounting position by using a common lock member, and the unlocking position can be set for each mandrel unit arranged in the axial direction. Since the positions are different, when removing the mandrel unit from the mandrel mounting base, multiple mandrel units are sequentially It can be removed from the mandrel mounting base unlocked, that is, unlocking.

Therefore, when one of the mandrel units is attached or detached, it is possible to prevent the other mandrel units from coming off the mandrel mounting base.

That is, it is not necessary to simultaneously remove and attach a plurality of mandrel units arranged in the axial direction to the mandrel mounting base, and the mandrel units can be attached and removed one by one. Therefore, the mandrel can be easily attached by an automatic machine such as a robot hand. It can be detached from the mounting base. In this case, the mandrel unit may be provided with a handle for gripping it with a robot hand or the like.

[0030]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall and schematic configuration of a continuous apparatus for manufacturing a rubber bent pipe. In the figure, 10 is a vulcanizing device having a vulcanizing can 12, and a pair of mandrel frames 14A and 14B as bases for mounting a mandrel 48 (see FIG. 4) are arranged on both sides of the vulcanizing device.

Here, the mandrel frames 14A and 14B hold a large number of mandrels 48 in a gathered state, and move into and out of the vulcanization can 12 in that state. These mandrel frames 14
Mandrel attaching / detaching devices 16A, 16B for attaching / detaching the mandrel 48 to / from the mandrel frames 14A, 14B are provided on the respective sides of A, 14B.
It is arranged so as to form a pair with A and 14B.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a carrying device for carrying the mandrel unit 20 (see FIG. 4) in a form in which a plurality of mandrels 48 are connected in a unit along the circulating carrying path.
8 is a first conveyor device 22 arranged in parallel with each other,
The second conveyor device 24, the third conveyor device 26, the fourth conveyor device 28, and the first transfer conveyor device 30 and the third conveyor device 26 that transfer the second conveyor device 24 to the first conveyor device 22. Conveyor device 28
A second delivery conveyor device 32 for delivering the data to the third conveyor device 26, and a transfer device 34 for delivering the fourth conveyor device 28 to the second conveyor device 24. There is.

At the upper position in FIG. 1 of the fourth conveyor device 28, a main robot 38 is provided so as to be movable between an RA position and an RB position which are separated by a predetermined distance. As shown in FIG. 2, the main robot 38 includes an arm 52 and a chuck (hand) 54 at its tip.

A marking device 45 having a pair of marking robots 40 and 42 is disposed beside the third conveyor device 26 and the fourth conveyor device 28 (on the left side in FIG. 1). A cleaning device 44 having a cleaning tank is arranged on the conveyor device 26 at a position close to the marking robots 40 and 42. The cleaning device 44 is for cleaning and dropping the release agent adhering to the rubber bending pipe after vulcanization.

Further, cap extracting devices 46A and 46B for extracting the cap 82 (see FIG. 8) mounted on the mandrel 48 are arranged in the vicinity of the conveying path of the third conveyor device 26. Further, the mandrel tilting device 36 for tilting the mandrel 48 is incorporated in the first conveyor device 22.

The main robot 38 performs the following operations.
That is, in this example, for each mandrel 48 tilted by the mandrel tilting device 36 in the mounting station S1, that is, in the tilted posture, an unvulcanized or semi-vulcanized straight tubular rubber preform 50 (Fig. 8) is inserted and mounted.

When the rubber preform 50 is mounted, each mandrel 48 is returned to the original posture, that is, the posture in which it is erected substantially upward, and then conveyed by the first conveyor device 22 in the right direction in FIG. , Transfer device 34
Is handed over to.

The transfer device 34 which has received the mandrel 48 with the rubber preform 50 attached, specifically the mandrel unit 20, then conveys the mandrel 48 upward in FIG. 1, and then to the third conveyor device 26. And hand it over.

The third conveyor device 26 conveys the mandrel unit 20 to the left in FIG. 1, and when the mandrel unit 20 reaches the position of the mounting station S2A, the main robot 38 moves as shown in FIG. Grasp the mandrel unit 20 and attach it to the third conveyor device 2
Separated from 6, and brought to the mandrel frame 14A as a mandrel mounting base. At this time, the mandrel attachment / detachment device 16A operates to attach the mandrel unit 20 brought by the main robot 38 to the mandrel frame 14A.

Alternatively, when the mandrel frame 14A is inserted into the vulcanization can 12, the main robot 38 causes the mandrel unit 20 to move to the third conveyor device 2.
When the attachment station S2B on the left side in FIG. 1 is reached by 6, it is separated from the third conveyor device 26 and is moved to the mandrel frame 14B on the left side in FIG. It is brought and the corresponding mandrel attachment / detachment device 16B operates there to attach it to the mandrel frame 14B.

The main robot 38 has a mounting station S2.
At the removal station S3A or S3B at the same position as A or S2B, the mandrel unit 20 is held from the mandrel frame 14A or 14B that holds the vulcanized rubber bent pipe 261 (see FIG. 3) and is taken out from the vulcanization can 12.
To take out.

The main robot 38 which has taken out the mandrel unit 20 has a cap removing station S4A or S4.
4B, the mandrel unit 20 is continuously supplied to the cap extracting device 46A or 46B, and the cap 82 (see FIG. 8) attached to the tip of the mandrel 48 is extracted there. Thereafter, the mandrel unit 20 is placed on the third conveyor device 26 again.

The mandrel unit 20 taken out
Are again mounted on the third conveyor device 26. The mandrel unit 20 placed on the third conveyor device 26 is
It is again conveyed to the left in FIG. 1 by the third conveyor device 26, and after passing through the washing tank of the washing device 44, is brought to the marking station S5.

At the marking station S5, the rubber bending pipe 261 after vulcanization is subjected to predetermined marking by the marking robots 40 and 42. The marked rubber bend pipe 261 is delivered to the fourth conveyor device 28 together with the mandrel unit 20, and is subsequently conveyed by the fourth conveyor device 28 in the right direction in FIG.

The mandrel unit 20 is moved by the fourth conveyor device 28 to the rubber tube extracting station S6B or S6.
At A, the main robot 38 pulls out the rubber bend pipe 261 attached to each mandrel 48 of the mandrel unit 20 as shown in FIG. 3, and inserts it into a predetermined receiving box.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show a concrete structure of the mandrel unit 20, FIG. 7 shows a pallet for carrying the mandrel unit 20, and FIG. 8 shows a set in which the mandrel unit 20 is placed on the pallet. Each figure is shown. As shown in these figures, the mandrel unit 20 has a mounting base 56. The mounting base 56 includes a lower end plate 58 and a vertically oriented mounting block 60. On the upper surface of the mounting block 60, mounting holes are provided in a horizontal row, and the bent rubber tube 2 is provided there.
A plurality of bent mandrels 48 corresponding to the product shape of 61 are attached in a state in which they are aligned in the same direction in a horizontal row.

Here, the mandrel 48 includes a molding portion 62 for actually vulcanizing and molding the rubber preform 50 and the mounting base portion 5.
It is separated from the extension portion 64 on the 6 side, and a cap 66 is attached to the boundary portion thereof. The cap 66 regulates the length by contacting the axial end surface of the rubber preform 50, and includes a contact surface 68 as shown in FIG. In addition, the cap 66 has a rubber bent pipe 2 after vulcanization.
A notch 69 is formed for marking 61 on the mandrel 48 in a mounted state.

The mounting block 60 is provided with a display portion 72 consisting of a plurality of through holes 70 penetrating the mounting block 60 in the horizontal direction. The display 72 has a shape of the mandrel 48,
That is, the type of the rubber bent tube 261 is displayed, and the light from the light emitting portion of the automatic reading device having the photoelectric sensor is transmitted through the through hole 7
The display content is read by passing or blocking 0.

From the mounting block 60, a pair of handles 74 arranged at predetermined intervals extend obliquely forward.
The handle 74 is a portion held by the main robot 38, and the mandrel 48 has a uniform pitch P (see FIG. 4).
However, the pair of handles 7
4 are arranged at an interval of twice the pitch P. still,
The mandrels 48 have the same shape in the same mandrel unit 20, and the positions of their tips are also located at the same height and in the same line.

The mounting base portion 56 is also provided with a pair of positioning holes 76 into which positioning pins to be described later are fitted, and a pair of engagement pins 78 are provided on the lower surface side so as to project downward. It is provided.

The mandrel 48 is further provided with an abutting surface 80 (see FIG. 6) at the tip thereof, and the second cap 8 is provided.
2 is inserted and installed. The rubber preform 50 is formed by the cap 66 on the base end side and the cap 82 on the tip end side.
That is, the length of the rubber bend pipe 261 is regulated.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transfer pallet has a plate shape. A pair of positioning pins 86 are provided on the upper surface of the pallet 84 so as to project upward, and the pair of positioning pins 86 are fitted into the pair of positioning holes 76 in the mandrel unit 20 as shown in FIG. The mandrel unit 20 and the pallet 8
4 and 4 are positioned with respect to each other.

The pallet 84 is also formed with an insertion hole 88 for inserting the downward engaging pin 78 of the mandrel unit 20. Further, notches 90 for engaging stopper pins 153 (see FIG. 15) described later are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction.

At both ends of the pallet 84 in the width direction, display portions 94 are provided which are made up of a plurality of dogs (made of a magnetic material) 92 arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. The display unit 94 is for identifying the pallet 84, and the proximity switch in the automatic reading device described later operates based on the approach of the dogs 92 to read the contents of the display unit 94.

9 to 14 show a mandrel frame as a mandrel mounting base, and a detaching device for the mandrel 48, specifically, the mandrel unit 20. As shown in the figure, the mandrel frames 14A and 14B can rotate the rotating shaft 98 via a main body 95, disks 96 provided at both ends thereof, a rotating shaft 98 at the center, and a bearing 100. And a trolley 104 with wheels 102 that are supported by the vehicle. Thus, the driven portion 106 is provided at one end of the rotary shaft 98. The driven groove 106 has an engaging groove 108.
Are formed.

On the outside of the main body 95, a rod-shaped mounting member 11 is provided.
0s are densely arranged along the circumferential direction as shown in FIG. Both ends of the rod-shaped mounting member 110 in the longitudinal direction are fixed to the pair of discs 96, respectively.

Two pairs of positioning pins 112 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of each mounting member 110 so as to project toward the outer peripheral direction. These positioning pins 112 are fitted into the positioning holes 76 of the mandrel unit 20. (See FIG. 13). That is, the position of the mandrel unit 20 is determined based on the fitting of the positioning pin 112 and the positioning hole 76.
In this example, two mandrel units 20 are attached to the mandrel frames 14A and 14B in a state where two mandrel units 20 are arranged in the left-right direction in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, each mounting member 110 has an engagement pin 78 in the mandrel unit 20.
An insertion hole 114 for inserting the is formed.

Further, the lower side (inner peripheral side) of each mounting member 110.
Is fixed to the mounting member 110, that is, to the mandrel frames 14A and 14B,
Further, a plate-like lock member 116 for releasing the fixation is provided so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction (the horizontal direction in FIGS. 9 and 10). Here, the lock member 116 is movably held by a guide 118 (see FIG. 13) provided on the inner peripheral side of the mounting member 110.

As shown in detail in FIG. 10, the lock member 116 is provided with the spring bearing 120 in a state of protruding downward, and the spring bearing 124 is integrally provided also on the lower surface of the mounting member 110. And those spring supports 12
A spring 126 is interposed between 0 and 124. The spring 126 urges the lock member 116 to the left in FIGS. 9 and 10. The lock member 11
The left moving end of 6 has a guide member 118 and a spring bearing 12.
Specified by abutting 0.

As shown in FIG. 10, the lock member 116 has two kinds of lock holes 128, 130 on the left and right sides. These lock holes 128 and 130 are long holes in the left-right direction, and the lock hole 128 on the left side in the drawing has a large diameter portion 131 at the middle portion in the left-right direction, and the lock hole 130 on the right side is at the left end. It has a large diameter portion 131. Here, the large diameter portion 131 is sized to pass the tip end portion of the engagement pin 78 in the mandrel unit 20,
The other parts are sized not to allow the passage.

That is, in the mandrel unit 20, the engagement pin 78 has the lock holes 128, 13 in the lock member 116.
With the small diameter part of 0 inserted, it is prevented from coming off, and the large diameter part 1
It can be attached and detached in a state where 31 is inserted.

However, in this example, the right lock hole 13
0 and the lock hole 128 on the left side have different positions in the left-right direction of the large diameter portion 131. As a result, the mandrel unit 20 on the right side and the mandrel unit 20 on the left side in FIG. Frame 14A, 1
It can be attached to and detached from 4B.

That is, in this example, the lock member 116 is normally in the state shown in FIG. 12 (I) by the urging force of the spring 126, and from this state, the lock member 116 has a constant stroke as shown in (II). In the state of being pushed rightward, the insertion hole 114 of the mounting member 110 and the large diameter portion 131 of the lock hole 128 on the left side in the figure coincide with each other, and here, only the left mandrel unit 20 is the mandrel frames 14A and 14B. Can be detached.

Next, as shown in (III), when the lock member 116 is further pushed to the right, the large diameter portion 131 in the right lock hole 130 coincides with the insertion hole 114 in the mounting member 110. Then, the mandrel unit 20 on the right side becomes detachable here.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 132 denotes a drive device for the lock member 116. The drive device 132 is a drive cylinder 1 which is fixedly supported by a support frame 134.
Has 36. A holding portion 140 having a T-shaped engaging groove 138 in which both ends in the front-rear direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface) in FIG. 11 are opened is provided at the tip of the rod of the drive cylinder 136. The holding portion 140 holds the T-shaped holding end portion 142 of the lock member 116,
This is pushed to the right in the figure against the biasing force of the spring 126.

In FIG. 9, 144 is a mandrel frame 14.
A and 14B rotation drive device,
4 includes a drive shaft 148 rotatably supported by a support frame 146. A pulley 150 is provided at an end of the drive shaft 148, and is connected to a drive source via the pulley 150 and a conductive member wound around the pulley 150, so that the drive shaft 148 can be rotated. There is.

At the end of the drive shaft 148, the engaging projection 151 is formed.
Is provided, and the engagement protrusion 151 is
The driving force from the driving shaft 148 is engaged with the inside and is transmitted to the rotating shaft 98 in the mandrel frames 14A and 14B. The rotary drive device 144 feeds the mandrel frames 14A and 14B by one pitch in the circumferential direction, and brings the lock member 116 fixing the mandrel unit 20 into opposition to the drive device 132.

That is, by the rotation driving device 144 and the driving device 132 of the lock member 116, the mandrel unit 20 is set to the mandrel frames 14A and 14B in such a manner that they can be sequentially detached from the mandrel frames 14A and 14B one after another in the circumferential direction. Mandrel unit 20 brought by robot 38
Is attached to the mandrel frame 14A or is removed from the mandrel frames 14A and 14B.
Taken away from 4A, 14B.

Next, FIGS. 15 to 18 show specific configurations of the second conveyor device 24, the first delivery conveyor device 30, and the mandrel tilting device 36. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the second conveyor device 24 includes a roller conveyor chain 145 and a motor 147 for rotationally driving the chain.
The empty mandrel unit 20 and the pallet 84 are placed on the roller conveyor chain 145 and are conveyed leftward in the drawing.

The second conveyor device 24 is provided with a stopper cylinder 149, a stopper pin 153 which can be projected and retracted by the stopper cylinder 149, and a detection sensor 152 which detects the presence or absence of the empty pallet 84 and the mandrel unit 20. There is.

On the other hand, the first delivery conveyor device 30 includes the conveyor unit 154 and the conveyor unit 154 along the rail 156 in FIG.
6 Rodless cylinder 158 that moves back and forth in the vertical direction
It has and. The first delivery conveyor device 30 delivers the empty pallet 84 and the mandrel unit 20 carried by the second conveyor device 24 to the first conveyor device 22 as described above. A conveyor chain 160 that conveys the empty pallet 84 and the mandrel unit 20, a motor 147 that rotationally drives the conveyor chain 160, a stopper 164, and a detection sensor 152 are provided.

On the other hand, the first conveyor device 22 also includes a conveyor chain 160 and a motor 147 for rotating the conveyor chain 160.

The mandrel tilting device 36 includes a conveyor unit 168 which is a part of the first conveyor device 22. The conveyor unit 168 is a conveyor chain 1
60, a motor 147 for rotationally driving the motor 60, and a frame 170 for holding them.

A mounting plate 172 is attached to the frame 170.
(See FIGS. 17 and 18), a fixing claw 174 serving as a fixing unit, a positioning pin 175, a positioning cylinder 176 for driving the same up and down, and a stopper pin 153.
Further, a stopper cylinder 149 for driving the same up and down and a detection sensor 152 are provided.

Here, the positioning pin 175 is used for the pallet 8
No. 4 positioning hole 248 (see FIG. 7) to position the pallet 84 together with the mandrel unit 20.
Is for hooking and holding the downward engaging pin 78, and for keeping the mandrel unit 20 fixed together with the pallet 84 when the mandrel unit 20 is tilted. As shown in FIG. 16, the fixed claw 174 has a groove in which both ends in the carrying direction are open.

As shown in FIG. 17, the mandrel tilting device 36 has a traveling member 178 which travels along a rail 177 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the conveyor chain 160 extends, that is, a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and a traveling member 178. A rod 182 extending from the cylinder 180 is connected to the traveling member 178. Further, the traveling member 178 is rotatably connected to the frame 170 of the conveyor unit 168 via a rotating shaft 183.

As shown in FIG. 17, the mandrel tilting device 36 is provided with a guide plate 184 that is fixed in position.
have. The guide plate 184 is provided with a guide groove 186 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and in an obliquely vertical direction. Inside the guide groove 186, the frame 170 is provided.
A protrusion 190 as a guided portion, which is fixed to a protruding piece 188 that is integrally provided on the above, is fitted along the inside of the guide groove 186 so as to be relatively slidable.

In the mandrel tilting device 36,
When the empty mandrel unit 20 is sent from the first delivery conveyor device 30 together with the pallet 84, the mandrel unit 20 is conveyed rightward in FIG. 16 together with the pallet 84 by the conveyor chain 160, and in the middle of the mandrel unit 20. The downward engaging pin 78 of 20 is engaged in the groove of the fixing claw 174. Here, the mandrel unit 20 is fixed to the frame 170 of the conveyor unit 168 together with the pallet 84.

In the mandrel tilting device 36 of this embodiment, the positioning pin 175 is moved upward by the operation of the positioning cylinder 176 in this state, and is fitted into the positioning hole 248 of the pallet 84. This makes the pallet 8
4 and the mandrel unit 20 are correctly positioned at predetermined positions.

In this mandrel tilting device 36, the cylinder 180 then contracts in that state (see FIG. 17).
At this time, the protrusion 190 fitted in the guide groove 186 is guided by the guide groove 186 and relatively moves in the upper left direction in FIG. 17, and along with this, the conveyor unit 168 tilts to the right direction in FIG. 17 and is held on the conveyor chain 160. The empty mandrel unit 20 together with the pallet 84 is shown in FIG.
The tilted posture is as shown by the chain double-dashed line in 7.

At this time, the linear portion of the tip of the mandrel 48 is in a substantially horizontal or slightly downward state. Therefore, in this state, the straight tubular rubber preform 5 is formed.
The 0 can be easily inserted into the mandrel 48.

Now, when the rubber preform 50 and the cap 82 are inserted into the mandrel 48 in this manner, the traveling member 178 is then caused to travel rightward in FIG. 17 by the cylinder 180, and the conveyor unit 168 is moved along with this. It is returned to the original regular posture. That is, the mandrel unit 20 is returned to the normal posture in which it is erected substantially upward.

Then, the mandrel unit 20 which has returned to the normal posture is positioned with the pallet 84 and the positioning pin 175.
After the positioning by the is released, the conveyor chain 1
It is sent to the right in FIG. 16 by 60, is transferred to the conveyor chain 160 on the downstream side of the first conveyor device 22, and is then transferred to the transfer device 34. As shown in FIG. 19, the first conveyor device 22 is provided with a stopper 185 at the right end in the figure, and the pallet 84 conveyed rightward and the mandrel unit in which the rubber preform 50 is mounted. Twenty
It is stopped here once.

20 and 21 show the mandrel unit 2
The structure of the transfer device 34 that receives the 0 and the pallet 84 from the first conveyor device 22 and transfers them to the third conveyor device 26 is shown. As shown in the figure, the transfer device 34 is provided with a carriage 192 that rotates wheels 189 by a mounted motor 187 and travels along a rail 191. A stanchion 194 and a rodless cylinder 196 are erected on the carriage 192, and the rodless cylinder 196 allows the lifting arm 198 to move up and down.

A rotary table 200 is provided on the upper surface of the elevating arm 198. As shown in FIG. 21, the rotary table 200 is connected to a motor 204 via a transmission shaft 202, and by the motor 204. The rotary table 200 can be rotated 180 °.

The rotary table 200 is provided with a through-hole locating hole 208 into which the downward engaging pin 78 of the mandrel unit 20 is fitted. A pair of detection sensors 152 for detecting the presence or absence of the mandrel unit 20 by detecting the engaging pins 78 are provided on the upper surface of the elevating arm 198.

In the transfer device 34 of this example, the pallet 84 mounted on the first conveyor device 22 and the mandrel unit 20 are put on standby below the lifting arm 198 and the rotary table 200, which are rodless cylinders. It is received on the rotary table 200 by moving upward by 196.

Subsequently, the elevating arm 198 is moved upward in FIG. 1 while almost elevating it to the ascending end, and when the position of the third conveyor device 26 is reached, the elevating arm 198 is lowered again and placed on the rotary table 200. The held pallet 84 and mandrel unit 20 are transferred to the third conveyor device 26.

22 to 29 show the structure of the third conveyor device 26. As shown in FIG. 22, in the third conveyor device 26, a reading device (automatic reading device) 210 that reads the display parts 72 and 94 of the mandrel unit 20 and the pallet 84 along the conveyance path is separated by a predetermined distance. Two
One is provided. This reading device 210 uses the pallet 8
4 and the display parts 72 and 94 of the mandrel unit 20.
Read and match each other to relate them.

As shown in FIG. 24, the third conveyor device 26 has a guide frame 220 on a table 218. The guide frame 220 is provided with guide rails 222 and 224 vertically in two stages, and the roller conveyor chain 145 can be moved along the guide rails 222 and 224. The roller conveyor chain 145 has a chain 228 connected to each other, a traveling roller 230 that travels on the guide rails 222 and 224, and a support roller 232 that supports the pallet 84.

A side plate 234 is attached to the outer side surface of the guide frame 220, and an introduction guide plate 236 opened upward in a V shape with respect to the side plate 234.
Is attached. Further behind (left side in FIG. 23)
A pallet retainer 238 is attached to the.

25 and 26 show the configuration of the reading device 210. As shown in the figure, the reading device 210 is provided with a plurality of photoelectric sensors 240 provided on both sides of the photoelectric sensor in a facing state along a conveyance path and a proximity switch 242 arranged on one side of the photoelectric sensor 240 at a predetermined interval. The reading unit including the photoelectric sensor 240 functions to read the type of the mandrel unit 20, and the light emitting unit irradiates the through hole 70 in the mandrel unit 20 with light to irradiate them, as shown in FIG. The contents of the display portion 72 of the mandrel unit 20 constituted by the through holes 70 are read.

On the other hand, the reading section including the proximity switch 242 reads the display section 94 of the pallet 84. The reading section operates the proximity switch 242 by the dog 92 provided on the pallet 84 to display the display content. read. As shown in FIG. 26, the photoelectric sensor 240 is supported by a column 244, and the proximity switch 242 is supported by a bracket 246 in a cantilever manner.

Downstream of the reader 210, that is, the stations S2A, S3A, S4A and S2B, S3B,
The sectional structure of the third conveyor device 26 in S4B is shown in FIG.
7 and 28. As shown in the figure, in these stations, a positioning pin 175 and a positioning cylinder 176 for vertically moving the positioning pin 175 are provided on the third conveyor device 26. The stopper pin 153 is stopped at the station based on the push-up operation of the stopper pin 153 by the cylinder 149, and then the positioning pin 175 is used to position the positioning hole 2
The pallet 84 is fitted into the mandrel unit 20 so that the pallet 84 is positioned with the mandrel unit 20.
Incidentally, reference numeral 152 in FIG. 27 is a detection sensor.

Thus, in the above station,
With the pallet 84 and the mandrel unit 20 stopped and positioned, the main robot 38 removes the mandrel unit 20 from the pallet 84 and brings it to a predetermined position, or the mandrel unit 20 carried by the main robot 38. Are placed on the pallet 84.

FIG. 30 shows the cap removing device 46A, 4 described above.
The structure of the main part of 6B is shown. As shown in the figure, the cap removing devices 46A and 46B are
It has an upper fixed claw 252 attached to 50, a lower movable claw 254, and a claw drive cylinder 256 that drives the movable claw 254 to open and close. Here, the upper fixing claw 252
The lower movable claw 254 and the lower movable claw 254 both have a plate shape in the horizontal direction, and the movable claw 254 can be opened and closed in the vertical direction about the axis 260 of FIG. .

The cap extracting devices 46A and 46B are
The cap 82 attached to the tip of the mandrel 48 is grasped and withdrawn from the mandrel 48. The fixed claw 252 and the movable claw 254 have a plurality of caps 8.
Recessed cap holding portion 2 for gripping 2 at a time
58 are provided in a horizontal row.

The cap extracting devices 46A and 46B work as follows. That is, the main robot 38 removes the mandrel unit 20 from the pallet 84 on the third conveyor device 26 in a state where the rubber bent pipe 261 and the cap 82 after vulcanization are mounted, and the fixing claw 252 in the cap extracting devices 46A and 46B. It is brought to a position between the movable claw 254 and in a substantially horizontal direction (see FIG. 31 (I)).

At this time, the movable claw 254 is in an open state, and the cap 82 is fixed by the fixed claw 252 and the movable claw 254.
The movable claw 254 is closed by the claw drive cylinder 256 when the gripping position of the pair of claws 25 is reached.
2, 254 holds a plurality of caps 82 arranged in a horizontal row.

In this state, the arm 52 of the main robot 38 pulls in the rightward direction in FIG. 31 while holding the handle 74 of the mandrel unit 20. Cap 8 at this time
2 remains as it is held by the pair of claws 252 and 254, and the cap 48 is pulled out from the mandrel 48 here (see FIG. 31 (II)). That is, in this example, the main robot 38 uses the cap removing device 46A,
It constitutes a part of 46B.

Next, the second delivery conveyor device and the marking device will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 32 to 38. First, the second delivery conveyor device 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 32 and 33. As shown in these drawings, the second delivery conveyor device 32 includes a roller conveyor chain 145, and a conveyor unit 264 including a motor 147 for rotating the roller conveyor chain 145 and a frame 162.

The conveyor unit 264 further includes
A stopper pin 153, a stopper cylinder 149 for raising and lowering the stopper pin 153, a detection sensor 152, and a pallet pressing cylinder 266 for pressing the pallet 84 on both sides of the roller conveyor chain 145 are provided so as to move integrally.

Further, one roller conveyor chain 145
A reading device (automatic reading device) 212 dedicated to the pallet is provided along the line. This reading device 212
Includes a plurality of proximity switches 242 arranged at predetermined intervals in the transport direction. The reading device 212 detects the dog 92 on the pallet 84 by the proximity switch 242 in the same manner as described above, and thereby identifies and specifies the type of pallet.

In the reading device 210, the display portion 94 of the pallet 84 and the display portion 72 of the mandrel unit 20 are both read and collated, so that the pallet reading device 212 displays the pallet 84 display portion 94.
The product type of the mandrel unit 20 on the pallet 84 can also be specified and identified only by reading.

The conveyor unit 264 is also shown in FIG.
Locating pin 1 for pallet 84 as shown in FIG.
75 and a positioning cylinder 176 for driving the same up and down are provided. These locating pins 175 are fitted into the locating holes 248 of the pallet 84 so that the pallet 84
Position. The conveyor unit 264 is integrally provided with a fixed pawl 174 having the same structure as the fixed pawl 174 of the mandrel tilting device 36.

The fixing claw 174 is for fixing the mandrel unit 20 when performing the marking operation on the rubber bending pipe 261 mounted on the mandrel 48, and together with the roller conveyor chain 145, the marking device 45. The holding means of the mandrel unit 20 in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 33, in the second delivery conveyor device 32, the entire conveyor unit 264 is supported by the slide base 268 so as to be rotatable by 180 ° about the rotation shaft 270. A pinion gear 272 is fixed to the rotary shaft 270 so as to rotate integrally with the rotary shaft 270.

On the other hand, a rail 274 is attached to the slide base 268.
A traveling member 276 that travels along the rail 274 and a rodless cylinder 278 that drives the traveling member 276 are provided. Thus, the rack member 280 is attached to the traveling member 276.
Is fixed, and the rack gear 280 is meshed with the pinion gear 272.

That is, in this device, the slide base 26
8 the traveling member 276 is connected to the rodless cylinder 27.
Vertical direction in Fig. 32 by 8 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in Fig. 33)
When the vehicle is driven to the position, the rotary shaft 270 is rotated based on the meshing of the rack gear 280 and the pinion gear 272, whereby the conveyor unit 264 is rotated 180 °. Where the conveyor unit 264 is 1
The mandrel unit 20 received from the third conveyor device 26 is rotated by 80 ° in the direction of 180 degrees.
This is because it is rotated and delivered to the fourth conveyor device 28.

The slide base 268 is also slidable along the rail 281 in a direction perpendicular to the third conveyor device 26 and the fourth conveyor device 28 by the rodless cylinder 282.

On the other hand, the marking device 45 includes a frame 284 and a first marking robot 40 and a second marking robot 42 movable along a rail 286 fixed to the frame 284 as shown in FIG. Have Each of the marking robots 40 and 42 includes an arm 288 that is movable in the three-dimensional direction and a chuck (hand) 290 at the tip thereof as shown in an enlarged view in FIG.

Here, one of the marking robots 40 is
The rubber bending pipe 261 mounted on the mandrel 48 is marked, and the other marking robot 42 holds the mandrel 48 at this time (see FIG. 37). However, these marking robots 40 and 42 have the same configuration,
Any of the marking robots 40 and 42 can bend the rubber bending pipe 26.
The marking operation for 1 and the pressing operation of the mandrel 48 can be performed.

The frame 284 is provided with a marking pen storage rack 292, in which a plurality of types of marking pens 294 and pen-shaped backup members 296 are arranged in a line as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. It is placed and stored in the state in which it was installed. Here, in the storage shelf 292,
As shown in FIG. 36, an insertion hole 298 is provided, and each of the marking pens 294 is held in the insertion hole 298 so that its tip portion is inserted.

As shown in FIG. 36, each marking pen 294 is provided with a holder 300 and an arm 302 extending in a direction perpendicular to the holder 300. This arm 30
A cross-shaped gripping groove 304 is formed on the side surface of the No. 2 side.

On the other hand, the hand 290 of each of the marking robots 40 and 42 has a cross-shaped protrusion 306 corresponding to the inner surface thereof. As a result, the hand 290 can hold the marking pen 294 held in the vertical position in that state, or can hold the marking pen 294 held in the horizontal position in the horizontal position. The frame 284 is also provided with a holding portion 308 (see FIG. 35) for holding the marking pen 294 in such a horizontal posture.

On the other hand, the backup member 296, as shown in FIG. 38, has an arm 302 having a cross-shaped holding groove 304 on its side surface, similar to the marking pen 294. Further, a pressing portion 312 having a mortar-shaped recess 310 is provided at the tip portion. This pressing portion 312 is
The tip of the mandrel 48 is pushed into the inside of the mandrel 48 to hold it down.

The second delivery conveyor device 32 and the marking device 45 work as follows. That is, the mandrel unit 20 placed on the third conveyor device 26 with the rubber bend pipe 261 after vulcanization attached and the cap 82 removed is passed through the inside of the cleaning tank of the cleaning device 44, and there in advance. After the applied release agent is removed,
32, it is placed on the conveyor unit 264 of the second delivery conveyor device 32 standing by at the lower position, that is, at the position facing the third conveyor device 26, standing by at the lower side.

The conveyor unit 264 carrying the mandrel unit 20 conveys it to the left in FIG. 32, and stops its movement by the stopper pin 153 at the left end in FIG. After that, the positioning pin 175 is projected and operated by the positioning cylinder 176, is fitted into the positioning hole 248 in the pallet 84, and positions the pallet 84. In this state, the reading device 212 reads the content of the display section 94 on the pallet 84.

At this time, the pallet pressing cylinder 26
6 works to hold the pallet 84 from both sides. Further, the mandrel unit 20 is in a state in which the downward engaging pin 78 of the lower end thereof is inserted into the groove of the fixed claw 174, and is fixed by the fixed claw 174 so that the mandrel unit 20 is not separated from the conveyor unit 264. Becomes

In this state, the conveyor unit 264 is moved upward in FIG. 32 under the guide of the rail 281 by the rodless cylinder 282, and is rotated at 180 ° after being stopped at the position of the fourth conveyor device 28. To be made. FIG. 34 (A) shows that state.

In this state, the pair of marking robots 4
0 and 42 work, on the other hand, specifically, in this example, the first marking robot 40 selects a specific one of the plurality of types of marking pens 294 stored in a single row on the storage shelf 292. While holding the other, the other second marking robot 42 holds the backup member 296, and as shown in FIG. 37, the second marking robot 42 holds the tip of the mandrel 48,
The other marking robot 40 makes a predetermined marking on the rubber bend pipe 261 after being vulcanized and attached to the mandrel 48.

The rubber bending pipe 2 is used for marking in this example.
It is applied to the upper end and the lower end of 61. Therefore, the cap 66 attached to the base side of the mandrel 48 has a notch 6
9 is provided, and the marking robot 40 performs marking on the lower end of the rubber bending pipe 261 exposed at the notch 69.

At this time, since the mandrels 48 are arranged in a horizontal row and at equal pitches, the mandrels 4 are further
Since all 8 have the same shape and the tips are aligned at the same height, the marking robot 40 uniformly marks the rubber bending pipes 261 arranged in a horizontal line by a constant operation. be able to.

When the marking is completed in this way, the conveyor unit 264 in the second transfer conveyor device 32 releases the fixing of the pallet 84 and transfers the mandrel unit 20 to the fourth conveyor device 28.

39 to 41 show the main structure of the fourth conveyor device 28. The fourth conveyor device 28 has a transport structure basically similar to that of the third conveyor device 26, and as shown in FIG.
20 and a roller conveyor chain 145 (not shown) that moves along the guide frame 220,
The mandrel unit 20 is conveyed together with the pallet 84.

As shown in FIG. 39, the fourth conveyor device 28 includes two main conveyors 38 separated from each other.
A reading device 212 having a plurality of proximity switches 242 is provided at a position along the transport path on the upstream side of each of the one work position RB and RA. In addition, those reading devices 21
Stopper cylinders 149 are provided at the positions corresponding to 2, and the pallet 84 and the mandrel unit 20 are temporarily stopped, and the reading device 21 and
The type of the pallet 84 can be read according to 2.

The work positions RB, RA of the main robot 38
As shown in FIG. 40, the positioning pin 175, a positioning cylinder 176 for vertically moving the positioning pin 176, and a fixing means for gripping and holding the downward engaging pin 78 at the lower end of the mandrel unit 20 as shown in FIG. Fixed claws 174 are provided respectively.

In this example, the mandrel unit 20 together with the pallet 84 is attached to the mandrel unit 20 with the rubber bend pipe 261 attached.
Middle second delivery conveyor device 32 to fourth conveyor device 28
39, and is subsequently conveyed to the right in FIG. 39 by the fourth conveyor device 28. And RB of FIG. 39,
At any position of RA, the rubber bend pipe 261 after vulcanization is extracted from the mandrel 48 by the main robot 38. At this time, the main robot 38
Depending on the content read by the reading device 212,
That is, a predetermined drawing operation is performed according to the shape and type of the mandrel 48 in the mandrel unit 20, that is, the kind of the rubber bending pipe 261.

Therefore, even when the mandrel units 20 and the rubber bending pipes 261 of different types are mixedly sent on the fourth conveyor device 28, the rubber bending pipes 261 of various types are accurately and correctly provided. Is extracted from the mandrel 48 having various shapes.

The mandrel unit 20 and the pallet 84, which have been emptied by the rubber bent pipe 261 being pulled out in this way, are conveyed as they are to the right end position shown in the lower stage of FIG. 39 on the fourth conveyor device 28, and are further continued. Then, it is rotated again by 180 ° by the transfer device 34 and then transferred to the above-mentioned second conveyor device 24, and thereafter, through the second conveyor device 24 and the first transfer conveyor device 30, the straight tubular rubber preform 50 is transferred. It is transported to the mounting station S1.

As described above, in the present example, the mandrel unit 20 is circulated in the circulation conveyance path while being placed on the pallet 84. And at a predetermined position on the circulation path, that is, in FIG.
At the mounting station S1 in FIG. 1, the unvulcanized or semi-vulcanized rubber preform 50 preliminarily molded in a straight tube shape is inserted and mounted on each mandrel 48 of the mandrel unit 20.

At this time, the mandrel unit 20 is in a state of being inclined by the mandrel tilting device 36, and therefore the rubber preform 5 is attached to each mandrel 48.
0 can be easily inserted. The mounting work may be performed manually by an operator, or may be mechanically or automatically performed.

The mandrel unit 20 on which the rubber preform 50 is mounted is conveyed by the first conveyor device 22 together with the pallet 84, and then transferred to the transfer device 34. The transfer device 34 includes the mandrel unit 20 to which the rubber preform 50 is attached.
And the pallet 84 to transfer the third conveyor device 26
Hand over to. Then the mandrel unit 20
It is further transported to the downstream side by the third conveyor device 26.

The mandrel unit 20 is attached to the mandrel frame 14A or 14B at the mounting station S2.
Upon reaching A or S2B, the mandrel unit 20 is once stopped there, and then the main robot 38 holds the mandrel unit 20 at the RA or RB position.
After removing from the pallet 84 by grasping 4,
The mandrel unit 14 is brought to the mandrel frame 14A or 14B, and the mandrel unit 20 is attached to the mandrel frame 14A or 14B by the mandrel attachment / detachment device 16A or 16B.

By the way, the mandrel frame 14A or 14B holding the mandrel 48 with the rubber preform 50 attached thereto in an aggregated state is then inserted into the vulcanization can 12 in the vulcanizing apparatus 10, where the rubber preform 50 is It is heated and vulcanized for a predetermined time. Here, an unvulcanized or semi-vulcanized rubber preform 50 is vulcanized and molded into a final shape.

After being heated and vulcanized for a predetermined time in the vulcanizing apparatus 10, the mandrel frames 14A and 14B are taken out from the inside of the vulcanizing can 12. Then, when the mandrel frame 14A or 14B reaches a predetermined position, the mandrel attachment / detachment devices 16A and 16B are activated again to release the fixation of the mandrel unit 20 attached to the mandrel frames 14A and 14B.

Then, the main robot 38 grips the handle 74 at the RA or RB position, whereby the mandrel unit 20 to which the rubber bend pipe 261 after vulcanization is attached is attached.
Is taken out from the mandrel frames 14A and 14B. Then, the main robot 38 subsequently supplies the mandrel unit 20 to the cap extracting device 46A or 46B, and the cap 8 attached to the tip of each mandrel 48 there.
After the 2 is removed, the mandrel unit 20 is mounted again on the third conveyor device 26 via the pallet 84.
Then, the mandrel unit 20 holding the rubber bend pipe 261 after vulcanization is carried leftward in FIG. The mandrel unit 20 uses the cleaning device 4 during the transportation process.
4, the release agent is washed off there.

Subsequently, the mandrel unit 20 reaches the marking station S5, where a predetermined mark is made on the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the rubber bending pipe 261 by the pair of marking robots 40 and 42. The mandrel unit 2 where the marking is made in this way
0 is then transferred to the fourth conveyor device 28, which is shown in FIG.
Sent to the center right direction, and the rubber tube extraction station S6
It is advanced or stopped in A or S6B.

Subsequently, at the RA or RB position, the main robot 38 pulls out the vulcanized rubber bending pipe 261 mounted on the mandrel unit 20 from each mandrel 48 and inserts it into a predetermined receiving box. Then, the mandrel unit 20 and the pallet 84 which have become empty are transferred from the fourth conveyor device 28 to the transfer device 34, and brought to the original mounting station S1 again,
Subsequently, a predetermined process is performed while being transported along the transport path in the same procedure as described above.

As described above, according to this example, the lock member 1
The mandrel 48 together with the mandrel unit 20 can be easily attached / detached to / from the mandrel frames 14A and 14B by simply moving the 16 forward and backward. Moreover, this desorption work can be performed mechanically and automatically.

Also, in this example, the mandrel frame 14
While the positioning pins 112 are provided on the A and 14B in a protruding manner, the positioning holes 76 are provided on the side of the mandrel unit 20 so that they are fitted to each other. When it is attached to, it can be accurately attached to a predetermined position.

In this example, the lock member 116 is replaced by the spring 1.
Since it is biased in the lock direction by 26, even if the lock member 116 is not continuously pressed in the lock direction by the predetermined drive device 132, the mandrel unit 20 is firmly fixed to the mandrel frames 14A and 14B. Can be fixed and therefore mandrel 4
Mandrel frames 14A, 14B holding 8 in the assembled state
Can be independently inserted into and removed from the vulcanization can 12.

The mandrel attachment / detachment device of this embodiment is provided with a rotary drive device 144 for rotationally driving the mandrel frames 14A, 14B, and the lock member 116 is provided at each attachment point of each mandrel unit 20 in the circumferential direction. Therefore, even if each lock member 116 is not provided with a dedicated drive device 132, a single or a small number of drive devices 132 can be used as a common one for each lock member 116, and the mandrel frame 14A, 14
It is possible to continuously attach and detach the mandrel unit 20 while feeding B in the circumferential direction by one pitch.

Further, in this example, the mandrel frames 14A, 14
B is supposed to be able to hold a plurality of mandrel units 20 arranged in the axial direction, so that it is possible to hold a large number of mandrel units 20 on the circumferential surface and to arrange the lock members 116 in the axial direction. Since it is common to the mandrel unit 20, the number of lock members 116 can be small, and the structure of the detaching device can be simplified.

Moreover, although the lock member 116 is commonly used for the plurality of mandrel units 20 arranged in the axial direction, the unlocking positions are different from those of the mandrel units 20 arranged in the axial direction. Since the mandrel units 20 are arranged at different positions, the two mandrel units 20 arranged in the axial direction can be sequentially unlocked and fixed, and therefore the mandrel units 20 can be sequentially attached to and detached from the mandrel frames 14A and 14B.

Next, FIG. 42 shows another example of the mandrel and the mandrel unit. The mandrels 48A, 48B, and 48C in these mandrel units 20A, 20B, and 20C are all the original molding parts 62.
It has A, 62B, 62C and extension parts 64A, 64B, 64C, and a cap 66 is attached to the boundary part thereof.

These mandrel units 20A, 20
Mandrels 48A, 48B, 48 at B and 20C
In each of C, the tip end portion and the base end portion are linearly formed, and their axial centers are located at the same axial center point.

The mandrel 48 for vulcanization molding of the rubber bent tube 261 is usually formed in various three-dimensionally bent shapes corresponding to the shape of the rubber bent tube 261. In this case, usually, the axial centers of the base end portion and the tip end portion of the mandrel 48 do not coincide with each other. In this case, as shown in FIG. 43, the mandrel 48D is attached to the mounting base portion 56D. When the mounting angle changes, the position of the tip of the mandrel 48D also changes accordingly.

As described above, in the mandrel unit 20, when the mandrels 48 are arranged in a line and the above-described processing is automatically performed simultaneously and simultaneously for each mandrel 48D, various positions of the mandrel 48 are aligned. It is essential to keep

If the positions of the tips of the mandrels 48 are not aligned, for example, when the tip 54 of the rubber bend pipe 261 after vulcanization is held by the hand 54 of the main robot 38, the rubber is moved by a constant motion of the robot arm 52. Bent tube 261
It is not possible to properly hold the tip of the
There arises a problem that the mistaken removal of 61 occurs or the mandrel 48 itself is damaged.

Therefore, when the mandrel 48D is attached to the attachment base 56D, it is necessary to strictly attach the mandrel 48D in the same direction. However, the work involves a great deal of labor and difficulty.

However, as described above, the mandrel 48A,
If the tip end and the base end of 48B and 48C are linear and their axes are aligned with each other, the mandrel 48
Regardless of the mounting angle of A, 48B, and 48C, the position of the tip of the mandrel can be reliably positioned at a predetermined position.

The mandrel of FIG. 42 is also provided with a height correction unit for adjusting the heights of different mandrels 48A, 48B, 48C and the like. This height correction unit can be provided in various forms. By changing the height (length) of the extension 64A, as in the mandrel 48A, for example,
The height of the tip of the mandrel 48A may be the same as that of various other mandrels, or, as in the case of the mandrel 48B, a block 314 for height correction is provided in the extension portion 64B and the mandrel 314 is provided by the block 314. The height of the tip at 48B may be the same as the height of the tip of other various mandrels.

Alternatively, the height of the mandrel 48C, that is, the mounting block 60C in the mandrel unit 20C can be changed according to the shape of each mandrel, so that the height of the tip thereof can be matched with the height of other various mandrels. . The height can be adjusted by other means.

By thus adjusting the height position of the tip of the mandrel by the height correction unit, even when different types of mandrels are flown in a continuous production line in a mixed flow state, the mandrel is used in a robot or the like. Various operations can be properly performed by a fixed operation. In other words, by adjusting the height of the tip of the mandrel in this way, it is possible to automatically perform various processes by a simple automatic machine without using a complicated robot, and the manufacturing equipment for rubber bend pipes. It is possible to reduce the cost required for.

In the above embodiment, the rubber bend pipe 261 after vulcanization is used.
The tip of the robot is directly grasped by the hand 54 of the main robot 38 and pulled out from the mandrel 48.
As shown in FIG. 44, as a method for removing the rubber bending tube 261 from the mandrel 48, a force is applied to the rubber bending tube 261 from the base end side of the mandrel 48 in the extrusion direction to temporarily remove the rubber bending tube 261. After extruding from the distance mandrel 48, the tip of the rubber bending tube 261 can be grasped and pulled out from the mandrel 48.

The rubber bending tube 261 vulcanized and molded while being mounted on the mandrel 48 is in a state of closely adhering to the mandrel 48, and therefore the rubber bending tube 261 is particularly pulled out from the mandrel 48 at the beginning. At this time, a large resistance force is generated between the rubber bending pipe 261 and the mandrel 48. Moreover, a rubber bent tube 261 having elasticity
Is elastically deformed in the direction of diameter reduction when the user grasps the tip of the mandrel and tries to pull it out, that is, elastically deforms in the direction of tightening the mandrel 48, so that it is difficult to pull it out from the mandrel 48 and it is difficult to pull it out. Need power.

However, once the rubber bend pipe is attached to the mandrel 48,
When a force is applied in the pushing direction from the rubber bending pipe 261, the rubber bending pipe 261 elastically deforms in the radial direction, so that the rubber bending pipe 261 that is in close contact with and attached to the mandrel 48 can be easily separated from the mandrel 48. . Therefore, when the distal end of the rubber bent pipe 261 is gripped and the pulling operation is performed thereafter, the rubber bent pipe 261 can be easily pulled out from the mandrel 48. Therefore, by using such an extracting method, the rubber bending tube 261 can be extracted from the mandrel 48 with a small force. As a result, a small robot having a small force can be used for extracting the rubber bend pipe 261 and the equipment cost can be reduced.

As a method of applying a force to the curved rubber tube 261 from the mandrel 48 in the extrusion direction, it is convenient to apply a force to the cap 66 on the base side of the mandrel 48 in the extrusion direction.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example, and the present invention can be configured in a form in which various modifications are made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of a continuous manufacturing apparatus for a curved rubber tube.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic side configuration of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the main robot of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mandrel unit transported by the transport device of FIG.

5 is a front view of a main part of the mandrel unit of FIG.

6 is a side view of the mandrel unit of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a pallet transported by the transport device of FIG.

8 is a view showing the mandrel unit of FIG. 4 and the pallet of FIG. 7 assembled together.

9 is a diagram of the mandrel frame and the mandrel attaching / detaching device in FIG.

10 is an explanatory view of the operation of the mandrel attaching / detaching device in FIG.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the mandrel attaching / detaching device in FIG. 9.

12 is an explanatory view of the action of a lock member in the mandrel attaching / detaching device of FIG.

13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of the mandrel frame in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a main part of the mandrel frame of FIG. 9 together with a procedure for mounting the mandrel unit.

15 is a diagram showing a second conveyor device and a first delivery conveyor device in FIG. 1. FIG.

16 is a plan view showing the mandrel tilting device in FIG. 1 together with the device in FIG.

17 is a diagram showing a side surface configuration of the mandrel tilting device of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a front configuration of the mandrel tilting device of FIGS.

19 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a first conveyor device 22 of FIG.

20 is a front view of the transfer device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 21 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the transfer device shown in FIG. 20.

22 is a diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of a third conveyor device 26 in FIG. 1. FIG.

23 is a diagram showing a starting end portion of the third conveyor device 26 of FIG. 22 together with a transfer device 34. FIG.

FIG. 24 is a transverse sectional view of a starting end portion of the same third conveyor device.

FIG. 25 is a plan view showing the reading device of FIG. 22 and its peripheral portion.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of the reading device of FIG. 25 and a peripheral portion thereof.

27 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an intermediate portion of the third conveyor device 26 of FIG.

28 is a cross-sectional view of the portion shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 25.

30 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the cap removing device in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 31 is an operation explanatory view of the same cap extracting device.

32 is a plan view of the second delivery conveyor device in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 33 is a front view of the device shown in FIG. 32.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of the marking device in FIG. 1.

FIG. 35 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the marking device shown in FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 is an enlarged view showing a further main part of the portion shown in FIG. 35.

FIG. 37 is an operation explanatory view of the marking device shown in FIG. 34.

38 is a view showing the main parts of the marking device shown in FIG. 34 together with the operation.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of a fourth conveyor device in FIG. 1.

FIG. 40 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main parts of the fourth conveyor device of FIG. 39.

41 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the device shown in FIGS. 39 and 40. FIG.

FIG. 42 is a view showing a mandrel unit used in another embodiment of the present invention together with a mandrel.

43 is a comparative example diagram for explaining the advantages of the mandrel of FIG. 42. FIG.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of a method for extracting a rubber bent tube attached to a mandrel.

FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the background of the present invention.

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional mandrel frame having a different form from the mandrel frame shown in FIG. 45.

FIG. 47 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional marking method.

[Explanation of symbols]

14A, 14B mandrel frame 16A, 16B mandrel attachment / detachment device 20 Mandrel unit 48 mandrels 50 rubber preforms 56 Mounting base 58 plates 76 Positioning hole 78 Engagement pin 110 Mounting member 112 Positioning pin 114 insertion hole 116 Lock member 120,124 Spring bearing 126 spring 128,130 Lock hole 131 Large diameter part 132 Drive 136 drive cylinder 144 rotary drive

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI B29L 23:00 B29L 23:00 (56) References JP-A-3-153317 (JP, A) JP-A-7-688660 (JP , A) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29C 33/00-33/76 B29C 35/00-35/18

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mandrel-attaching base body for vulcanizing and molding an unvulcanized or semi-vulcanized rubber preform, wherein the mandrel for imparting a predetermined bending shape is held in an assembled state. A mandrel attachment / detachment device for attaching / detaching a mandrel, comprising: (a) an engagement projection provided on one of the attached surface side of the mandrel and an attachment surface side of the mandrel attachment base; and (b) provided on the other, An insertion hole through which the engaging protrusion is inserted, and (c) a lock position which is provided in the mandrel attachment base and which engages with the engaging protrusion to prevent the engaging protrusion from coming off from the attachment surface, and a lock position, A mandrel attachment / detachment device comprising: a lock member that can be moved back and forth between a lock release position that allows the engagement projection to be removed; and (d) a drive device that drives the lock member in a forward / backward direction. 2. The mandrel attachment / detachment device according to claim 1, further comprising positioning means for defining a setting position when the mandrel is attached to the attachment surface of the mandrel attachment base. 3. The positioning means according to claim 2, wherein the positioning means includes a positioning projection provided on one of the mandrel side and the mandrel mounting base side, and a positioning hole provided on the other side and fitted into the positioning projection. A mandrel attachment / detachment device characterized by being configured. 4. The mandrel mounting base according to claim 1, wherein the mandrel mounting base is provided with a spring for urging the lock member toward the lock position, and the drive device locks the mandrel. A mandrel attaching / detaching device, characterized in that the member is driven toward the unlocked position. 5. The mandrel mounting base according to claim 1, wherein the mandrel mounting base is a rotary type,
The mandrel is to be held at predetermined pitches along the circumferential surface, and the lock members are provided at the corresponding positions, and the drive device for the lock member has the circumferential surface. A rotation drive device is provided which is fixedly disposed at a position corresponding to the above predetermined attachment / detachment position and which rotationally drives the mandrel mounting base body by one pitch of the mandrel in the circumferential direction. Mandrel attachment / detachment device. 6. The mandrel mounting base according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of mandrels are used as a unit, and a plurality of mandrels having the plurality of mandrels and connecting means are arranged in the axial direction on the circumferential surface. In this state, the lock member is common to the plurality of mandrel units arranged in the axial direction, and the lock release positions for the mandrel units are different from each other in the axial direction. A mandrel attachment / detachment device characterized in that it is positioned.