JP3708970B6 - Conveyor system with adjustable length - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the technology of a method and apparatus for adjusting the length of a conveyor system to compensate for changes in the length of the strip material caused by intermittent feeds and feed rate changes, and more In particular, it relates to a method and apparatus for supporting a strip material in principle in a horizontal position during length adjustment.
Traditionally, vertical loop suspension conveyors have been used to adjust the length of the conveyor system to compensate for the intermittent feed of the strip material to meet the changing requirements of the production side. However, when a vertical loop-type suspended conveyor is used, the strip material is not supported and is stretched by its own weight. Such stretching of the strip material is undesirable when assembling products such as tires. One such belt-like material conveyor is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,609 to Nakanome et al., Which discloses an automatic material feeder in a tire making machine. The machine is equipped with a traditional vertical loop suspension conveyor to support the accumulation of tire building materials. Although the conveyors 76 and 78 of EP-A-O 464 862 are movable, no loop suspension conveyor has been made for storing material. In US Pat. No. 5,451,011, a loop detecting means is provided for a strip-shaped steel material or an aluminum unwinding device, but support of the strip-shaped material is not essential.
If the strip material conveyor does not have the capability to compensate for the change in length of the strip material caused by intermittent feeding, for example, the extruder can be stopped or started to compensate for the feeding change. I had to do it. Such starting and stopping can cause undesirable changes in the strip material.
Applicants have recognized that there is a need to provide an adjustment device and adjustment method that does not stretch the strip and does not apply additional stress to the strip.
The present invention is a new for a conveyor system that is simple in design, effective in use, and overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks and other problems, yet provides overall better and more advantageous results. An improved adjustment method has been devised.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a new, improved, generally horizontal improved conveyor that compensates for length changes that occur in strip material conveyed as a result of intermittent feeding without changing the weight or shape of the strip material. Provided.
More specifically, the present invention comprises a first conveyor belt having a first conveyor belt and a first driving means for driving the first conveyor belt, which is fixed and receives and conveys the belt-like material. A conveyor assembly for transporting and containing a strip of material in a conveyor system comprising:
A central conveyor having a second conveyor belt and second drive means for driving the second conveyor belt, movable along a horizontal path, and receiving the strip material from the upper conveyor;
A length adjusting means for moving the central conveyor along the path;
A lower conveyor having a third conveyor belt and a third drive means for driving the third conveyor belt and being fixed and receiving the strip material from the central conveyor;
Have
The length adjustment means
A loop detecting means for detecting a loop of the belt-shaped material conveyed by the central conveyor;
And a servo mechanism for moving the central conveyor along the path in response to a signal from the loop detecting means.
The loop detection means has a proximity switch in contact with the strip material at the front end of the central conveyor,
Proximity switch
A roller in contact with the strip material;
A feed base that guides the roller to move into engagement with the strip;
A switch having a first switch contact and a second switch contact;
The first circuit is closed when contacted with the first switch contact, thereby actuating the servomechanism to move the central conveyor in the first direction and the second circuit when contacted with the second switch contact. Is closed, thereby actuating the servomechanism to move the central conveyor in the second direction, the first and second circuits being connected to the servomechanism connected to the roller and movable therewith. Metal contacts,
And at least one spring for biasing the roller and metal contact toward the first switch contact against the strip material biasing the roller and metal contact toward the second switch contact;
The metal contact is not capable of urging the roller so that the force applied to the roller by the strip material overcomes the at least one spring and allows the metal contact to contact the first switch contact. The contact contacts and activates the first circuit, and the metal contact contacts the second switch contact and activates the second circuit when at least one spring cannot overcome the strip material.
Furthermore, the loop detection means may have a second proximity switch arranged at the front end of the upper conveyor.
One advantage of the present invention is that the conveyor system can be adjusted to accommodate changes in the length of the strip material in the system caused by different feed rates and by different take-off speeds including stops at the take-off position.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the conveyor system is adjusted to accommodate changes in the length of the strip material in this system without changing the stress on the strip material.
Other benefits and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts upon reading and understanding the following detailed description.
[Brief description of the drawings]
The present invention is embodied in several parts and component arrangements, one preferred embodiment of which is described in detail herein below, and some of the parts formed are as follows: This is illustrated in the drawings. That is,
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a conveyor assembly embodying the present invention with a central conveyor in a retracted position;
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the conveyor of FIG. 1 with the central conveyor in the drawer position;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial view of a portion of the central conveyor showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention using proximity switches, and FIG. 4 shows one proximity switch at each of the central conveyor terminal and the upper conveyor terminal. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the conveyor assembly of FIG.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Several drawings will be described below, but the representation is merely for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a conveyor assembly 10 embodying the system of the present invention. The conveyor assembly 10 preferably has an upper conveyor 16, a central conveyor 22 and a lower conveyor 28. A strip of rubber or other deformable material 34 is removed from a feed location 40, such as from an extruder, through a path 44 to feed the strip of material to a device, such as a strip material processing section. Transported to position 46. The belt-shaped material 34 is conveyed on the upper conveyor 16 from the supply position 40 in the direction of arrow A by the conveyor belt 52 driven by the first servo motor 58. The strip 34 is then transferred to the central conveyor 22 by preferably descending over one end 60 of the upper conveyor 16 onto the central conveyor, where the strip is reversed as indicated by arrow B. Moved in the direction. The strip 34 is turned upside down and conveyed on the central conveyor 22 on a conveyor belt 64 driven by a second servomotor 70. At the front end 72 of the central conveyor 22, the strip material 34 is further transferred to the lower conveyor 28, preferably by dropping over the end of the central conveyor 22 onto the lower conveyor, where the strip material reverses direction. It is moved again in the direction of arrow A and turned upside down, returning to the same position as on the upper conveyor 16. The lower conveyor 28 carries the belt-like material 34 in the direction of arrow A to the take-out position 46 on the conveyor belt 76 driven by the third servomotor 82.
The upper conveyor 16 conveys the strip material 34 at an upper conveyor speed S 1 equal to the speed at which the strip material is being applied at the supply location 40. The lower conveyor 28 conveys the strip material 34 at a lower conveyor speed S2 equal to the speed at which the strip material 34 is removed at the removal position 46. When the speed S1 is equal to the speed S2, the central conveyor 22 conveys the strip material 34 at a speed S3 equal to the speed S1 and the speed S2. When the required amount of the strip material 34 at the take-out position 46 is decreasing, such as when the feed of the strip material processing portion is intermittent or decreasing, the speed S2 is decreased. If the speed S1 of the upper conveyor 16 cannot be adjusted to compensate for the reduction in speed S2, the strip material 34 will be jammed in the conveyor assembly 10. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer 94 is used to control a servo motor 70 that drives a central conveyor belt 64. The central conveyor 22 can also be supported on a frame attached to a servomechanism 100, such as a belt driven linear actuator, which actuator moves back and forth substantially horizontally between the frame and the supported central conveyor. It has a servo motor that moves in the directions of arrows A and B. If the speed S1 is different from the speed S2, then the computer 94 instructs the servo motor 70 to center the speed S3 equal to the average value of the speeds S1 and S2, i.e. half the sum of the speeds S1 and S2. The conveyor belt 64 is rotated. The computer 94 is also connected to the servomechanism 100 to move the central conveyor 22 at a speed S4 equal to one half of the difference between the speed S3 and the speed S2. If the speed S3 is greater than the speed S2, the central conveyor 22 is moved in the direction of arrow B. If the speed S2 is greater than the speed S3, then the central conveyor 22 is moved in the direction of arrow A. The speed S4 at which the central conveyor 22 is moved is determined in advance with respect to a condition when the speed S2 is between zero and the feeding speed of the belt-shaped material 34 and a condition when the speed S2 is greater than the speed S1. . Further, when the speed S2 of the lower conveyor 28 is smaller than the speed S1 of the upper conveyor 16, the tension of the belt-like material 34 is reduced, and when the computer 94 does not correct for such tension drop in the belt-like material, An optical sensor 88 is installed in the vicinity of the front end 72 of the central conveyor 22 in order to detect whether or not the loop 90 indicated by the dotted line is formed by this tension drop. When such a loop 90 is detected, the computer 94 receives a signal from the optical sensor 88 and in response instructs the servo mechanism 100 to capture the slack in the band material 34 to reduce the length of the band material 34. The central conveyor 22 is moved in the direction of arrow B for a predetermined time to adjust.
In FIG. 2, the central conveyor 22 is moved to the right and the length of the path 44 to accommodate the increased length of the strip material 34 as the strip material is moving through the conveyor assembly 10. A schematic diagram of a conveyor assembly 10 that acts as a length adjustment conveyor by increasing is shown. In FIG. 2, the servo mechanism 100 moves the central conveyor 22 in the direction of arrow B after an instruction from the computer 94 or after the optical sensor 88 detects the loop 90. This movement increases the length of the path 44 to compensate for the increased length of the strip material 34 in the system, and the conveyor assembly 10 supports the strip material 3 without increasing the tension of the strip material. Make it possible. This is particularly important for materials such as extruded rubber that are easily deformed when tension is applied.
Returning again to FIGS. 1 and 2, when 90 is detected by optical sensor 88 in communication with computer 94, central conveyor 22 is preferably at speed S4, which is one half of the difference between speed S3 and speed S2. Is signaled from the computer to the servomechanism 100. If speed S2 is less than speed S3, central conveyor 22 is moved in the direction of arrow B, and if speed S2 is greater than speed S3, central conveyor 22 is moved in the direction of arrow A. When the optical sensor 88 no longer senses the loop 90 in the strip 34, the computer 94 sends a signal to the servomechanism 100 to move the central conveyor 22 in the direction of arrow A. If again the optical sensor 88 detects a loop 90 in the strip 34, the computer 94 will once again send a signal to the servomechanism 100 to move the central conveyor in the direction of arrow B. This process of moving the central conveyor 22 back and forth keeps the conveyor assembly 10 in an equilibrium position and keeps the tension on the strip 34 substantially constant.
In FIG. 3, a preferred embodiment of a sensor for the loop 90 is shown, with a proximity switch 106 located at the front end 72 of the central conveyor 22 for sensing the loop 90 in the strip material 34. Proximity switch 106 includes a roller 108 attached to metal contact 112. The rollers 108 are guided by feed bases 114, 116 located on the side surfaces 120, 122 of the central conveyor 22. The roller 108 is pulled in the direction of arrow A by the tension of the belt-shaped material 34 and in the direction of arrow B by springs 132 and 134 connected to the roller. The metal contact 112 forms a switch by moving back and forth between the two contacts 124 and 126. When the speed S1 is equal to the speed S2, the proximity switch 106 is kept in a balanced position and the metal contact is between the two contacts 124, 126 and is not acting. When the speed S1 is greater than the speed S2, a loop 90 is formed around the proximity switch 106 and the tension applied to the roller 108 is reduced so that the springs 132, 134 can pull the roller and the metal contact 112 is The contact 124 is brought into contact, so that the circuit including the power supply 118 and the sensing device 140 is closed. The sensing device 140 then activates the servomechanism 100 (see FIG. 2), and the servomechanism 100 increases the length of the strip material path to adjust the path 44 of the strip material 34 at a speed S3. The central conveyor 22 is moved at a speed S4 equal to one half of the difference from S2. If the speed S2 is greater than the speed S1, a large tension is applied to the roller. When the tension on the roller 108 exceeds the pulling force of the springs 132, 134 and the metal contact 112 contacts the contact 126, the circuit including the power supply 118 and the sensing device 142 is closed. The sensing device 140 then activates the servomechanism 100 (see FIG. 2), which relaxes the tension applied to the strip material 34 due to the previous movement of the central conveyor and causes the path 44 of the strip material 34 to To reduce the length, the central conveyor 22 is moved in the direction of arrow A at a speed S4 equal to one half of the difference between speeds S3 and S2, as shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 shows the conveyor assembly 10 with a proximity switch 106 at the front end 72 of the central conveyor 22. In addition, a second proximity switch 106 ′ is arranged at the terminal 60 of the upper conveyor 16. This second proximity switch 106 ′ further allows the conveyor assembly 10 to detect a change in tension in the strip 34 by sensing a loop 152 formed around the terminal 60 of the upper conveyor 16. To do. The second proximity switch 106 ′ also has a roller 108 ′ and contacts 124 ′ and 126 ′ and is connected to a servomechanism 100 that controls the speed S 4 of the central conveyor 22.
With continued reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the conveyor assembly 10 is adapted to accommodate the change in length of the strip material 34 caused by intermittent feeding of the strip material at the removal position 46. Two or more central conveyors 22 can be used to improve the performance. Each central conveyor 22 may be provided with either an optical sensor 88 or a proximity switch 106, respectively, to detect a loop 90 of strip material 34 at the end of the respective central conveyor 22. The strip material 34 can also be fed through the conveyor assembly 10 along the path 44 in the opposite direction to the feed position 40. In order to control the movement of the plurality of central conveyors during the intermittent operation of the lower conveyor 28, a plurality of servo mechanisms 100 of the plurality of central conveyors 22 may be connected to one computer.
While several representative embodiments and details thereof have been presented to illustrate the present invention, it should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention. It will be obvious to experts who are skilled in technology.
This is the end of the description of the present invention. Claims are described below.

Claims (3)

A first conveyor belt, and a first driving means for driving the conveyor belts of the first and are fixed, and a top conveyor for conveying receiving the strip material, the conveyor belt-like material Oite conveyor assembly for conveying and and accommodated in the system,
A second conveyor belt, and a second driving means for driving the conveyor belts of the second, Ri movable der along a horizontal path, and a central conveyor for receiving said strip material from said upper conveyor ,
A length adjusting means for moving along the central conveyor into the path,
A third conveyor belt, and a third driving means for driving the conveyor belts of the third, and is fixed, a lower conveyor for receiving said strip material from said center conveyor,
Have
The length adjusting means is
Loop detecting means for detecting a loop of the belt-shaped material conveyed by the central conveyor;
A servomechanism for moving the central conveyor along the path in response to a signal from the loop detection means;
A conveyor assembly characterized by comprising: The loop detection means has a proximity switch in contact with the strip material at the front end of the central conveyor,
The proximity switch is
A roller in contact with the strip material;
A feed base that guides the roller to move into engagement with the strip material;
A switch having a first switch contact and a second switch contact;
When contacting the first switch contact, the first circuit is closed, thereby actuating the servomechanism to move the central conveyor in the first direction and when contacting the second switch contact. The roller being closed, thereby actuating the servomechanism to move the central conveyor in a second direction, the first and second circuits being connected to the servomechanism; A metal contact that is connected with and movable with it,
At least one spring for biasing the roller and the metal contact toward the first switch contact against the strip material biasing the roller and the metal contact toward the second switch contact When
Have
The metal contact cannot urge the roller so that a force applied to the roller by the strip material overcomes the at least one spring, and the metal contact can contact the first switch contact. The first switch contact and actuate the first circuit, and the metal contact contacts the second switch contact when the at least one spring cannot overcome the strip of material. And operating the second circuit;
The conveyor assembly according to claim 1. The conveyor assembly according to claim 2, wherein the loop detection means includes a second proximity switch disposed at a front end of the upper conveyor.

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