JP3911405B2 - Sheet take-out apparatus and sheet take-out method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet take-out apparatus and a sheet take-out method for separating and taking out the topmost sheet from a group of stacked sheets, and in particular, a simple and inexpensive mechanism for reliably separating only the topmost sheet. It relates to technology to be realized.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A steel plate supply apparatus has been developed that takes out the uppermost one pressing steel plate from a group of sheets laminated with pressing steel plates and supplies it to a press machine. This type of steel plate feeder includes a magnetic floater. The magnetic floater magnetizes one side of a plurality of laminated steel plates for pressing to the same pole and magnetically repels and separates them from each other. By this action, several steel plates for pressing are magnetically separated from the top. The uppermost steel sheet for pressing, which is magnetically separated from the laminated sheet group, is adsorbed by a transfer device such as a vacuum lifter and sent to the next process. At this time, if the two steel plates for pressing are not separated and are adsorbed in a stacked state, the magnetic floater will magnetically attract the lower steel plate and peel it off from the uppermost sheet. And
[0003]
Oil adheres to the steel sheet for press, and if the amount of the adherence is large, the attraction force by the oil becomes strong, and it becomes difficult to separate the two-ply press steel sheet with a magnetic floater. In some cases, the steel plate for pressing is attracted to the vacuum lifter in a stacked state and sent to the next process. Increasing the magnetic force of the magnetic floater increases the magnetic separation force and increases the effect of peeling the lower steel plate adsorbed in a two-ply state from the uppermost steel plate, but this time the press adsorbed by the vacuum lifter Steel plates for use may be attracted to the magnetic floater and tilt, which may hinder transport. In the magnetic floater, it is difficult to stably supply the steel plate while reliably preventing the adsorption of two sheets. In addition, magnetic floaters are expensive, and there is a demand to reduce equipment costs.
[0004]
Therefore, a separating means that does not use a magnetic floater has been proposed. In the “individual take-out mechanism of laminated thin plate material” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-67822, an upper air nozzle that blows compressed air partially from the vicinity close to the laminated thin plate material to the vicinity of the edge of the thin plate material; A side air nozzle that blows compressed air from the side is used near the boundary between the uppermost sheet material and the lower layer sheet material. In this separation device, the uppermost thin plate material is partially lifted by air injection from the upper air nozzle, and air is injected from the side air nozzle at the interval between the partially lifted portion and the lower thin plate material, so that Is separated from the underlying sheet.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, this individual take-out mechanism is not suitable for separating the uppermost one press steel plate from a stack (stack) of press steel plates or the like to which a relatively large amount of oil may adhere. The oil adhering to the upper surface of the press screen is blown away by the air jetted from the upper air nozzle, but the oil that enters between the press steel plates and adheres to the upper and lower press steel plates is not removed. The upper press steel plate and the lower press steel plate may not be separated. In addition, the upper air nozzle must be configured to be movable so as not to obstruct the transfer of the steel plate for pressing, and the equipment becomes complicated so that the cost reduction of the equipment cost is hindered.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to realize a sheet take-out apparatus that reliably separates and takes out the uppermost sheet from a group of stacked sheets with a simple configuration.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above-described problems are solved by the sheet take-out apparatus and the sheet take-out method having the configurations described in the respective claims.
The sheet take-out apparatus according to claim 1 is an apparatus for separating and taking out one uppermost sheet from the stacked sheet group, and ejects air in a substantially horizontal direction toward the stacked sheet group. Means for floating and separating one or more sheets from, a means for lifting and transferring the uppermost sheet by adsorbing means, and a predetermined air flow within a height range in which the uppermost sheet is lifted by the transferring means And a swinging means for causing flutter vibration on the uppermost sheet that is within the range while being sucked by the suction tool .
[0008]
In the sheet take-out device according to the first aspect, when air is ejected toward the sheet group in which the separating means are stacked, lift acts on the uppermost sheet by an air flow (jet) flowing along the upper surface of the uppermost sheet. Also, the air that collides with the side surfaces of the stacked sheet group tries to turn up the sheets, and if there is even a gap between the sheets, it enters deeply into the gap and pushes up the upper sheet. In this way, one or more sheets from the top separate from the stacked sheet group and float. Even if the sheet once lifted is lowered and overlapped with the lower sheet, air bubbles enter between the two sheets, and the sheet is easily separated.
Subsequently, the uppermost sheet that has become separable from the lower sheet due to air bubbles entering between the sheets is adsorbed and lifted by the adsorber of the transfer means. Since the lifted sheet passes through the region subjected to the action of the airflow created by the swing-off means, flutter vibration (vibration caused by self-excited vibration) occurs when passing through the region. If a large amount of oil enters between the uppermost sheet and the next layer sheet and the adhesion between the sheets is high, it may be lifted in a two-ply state, but even if it is lifted in a two-ply state, Since flutter vibration occurs in the two stacked sheets, the lower sheet is reliably shaken off, and only the uppermost sheet can be reliably taken out.
[0009]
In the sheet take-out device according to the second aspect, the separating unit is mainly configured by the first nozzle that injects air from the laterally adjacent position of the uppermost sheet, and the air is mainly disposed above the first nozzle to discharge the air. The second nozzle for spraying constitutes a swing-down means.
In this apparatus, one or a plurality of sheets are lifted from the top mainly by air injection from the first nozzle, while an air flow is generated mainly for causing flutter vibration to the sheet by air injection from the second nozzle. The first and second nozzles can be configured separately and can be set so as to perform optimum air injection.
[0010]
In the sheet take-out apparatus according to claim 3, the second nozzle is disposed at a position behind and above the first nozzle, the second nozzle injects air in substantially the same direction as the first nozzle, and the second nozzle The air injection pressure is set lower than the air injection pressure of the first nozzle.
[0011]
The present inventor has obtained the following knowledge in the process of completing the present invention. That is, as the separating means, when a distant nozzle is additionally disposed slightly behind the proximity nozzle (see FIG. 2), compared to when the proximity nozzle is disposed close to the upper edge of the stacked sheet group (see FIG. 1). ) Can increase the lift of the sheet. Further, when several sets of nozzles combined in front and rear are used, it is much more effective than when the same number of nozzles are distributed in a horizontal row (left and right). Empirically speaking, the air injected from the front adjacent nozzle penetrates deeply into the gap between the uppermost sheet and the lower layer sheet and separates it from the lower layer sheet over a wide range of the uppermost sheet, while the rear side nozzle The air from the far nozzle is effectively converted into a force that further pushes up the uppermost sheet (increases the lifting amount). At this time, even if the air injection pressure of the distant nozzle is set lower than the air injection pressure of the proximity nozzle, the effect of increasing the floating amount can be sufficiently obtained, so that air can be saved.
[0012]
That is, the second nozzle as defined in claim 3 is disposed behind and above the first nozzle based on the above knowledge, and as shown in FIG. 3, from the second nozzle (distant nozzle). A part of the exiting jet acts on the upper end portion of the stacked sheet group to further increase the lift of the sheet that is lifted by the jet of the first nozzle (proximity nozzle). At the same time, a part (upper part) of the jet flow from the second nozzle creates an air flow for causing flutter vibration to the sheet in the height range exceeding the floating height when the uppermost sheet is lifted. Can do.
[0013]
In the invention according to claim 4, air is jetted toward the stacked sheet group so that one or a plurality of sheets can be separated from above, and then the uppermost sheet is lifted by an adsorber and transferred. At this time, a predetermined air current is applied to the sheet lifted by the suction tool to cause flutter vibration on the uppermost sheet sucked by the suction tool .
According to this method, even when two sheets separated from the stacked sheet group are lifted in close contact with each other, the lower sheet is shaken off by causing flutter vibration to the sheets. Only one uppermost sheet can be reliably taken out.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining the nozzle arrangement of the sheet take-out apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a front view showing the main part of the take-out apparatus. As shown in both drawings, a stack S in which a plurality of pressing steel plates (hereinafter simply referred to as “steel plates”) P are stacked on a mounting table 1 formed to be movable up and down. In this example, a rectangular steel plate P having a thickness of 0.4 to 4 mm and a side length of about 2 m is used as a target workpiece. A round bar-shaped stacking guide 2 is provided on the side of the mounting table 1 (not shown in FIG. 5), and positioning of the stacking S by four stacking guides 2 (as will be described later, several steel plates from above) The horizontal position of the steel plate in the floating state is also regulated by the lamination guide 2). On both sides of the upper end of the stack, two pairs of first nozzle A and second nozzle B are arranged on one side. In addition, it is preferable to increase / decrease a nozzle pair suitably according to the magnitude | size of the steel plate P. FIG.
[0015]
The first nozzle A, which is a proximity nozzle arranged close to the stack S, and the second nozzle B, which is a distant nozzle installed at a position slightly above and behind the first nozzle A, are connected to an air supply device (not shown). , The supplied compressed air is sprayed horizontally from the nozzle tip. As shown in FIG. 6, the first nozzle A and the second nozzle B are provided with a large number of nozzles 4 in the housing 3 and can inject air over a predetermined range. In this example, the overall height of the housing 3 is 40 mm. The stacking height (initial height) of the stack S is set so that the stack upper end is located 20 mm below the upper end of the first nozzle A.
[0016]
The planar positional relationship of each nozzle is 10 mm from the edge of the upper end of the stack to the tip of the first nozzle A, and 150 mm from the edge of the upper end of the stack to the tip of the second nozzle B. The pitch between adjacent first nozzles A is 350 mm, and the paired first nozzle A and second nozzle B are arranged with a 50 mm offset in the lateral direction. The second nozzle B is disposed so as to be 20 mm higher than the first nozzle A in the height direction. As described above, the first nozzle A and the second nozzle B are slightly offset from each other in the injection direction, but as schematically shown in FIG. 3, the jet of the first nozzle A is changed to the jet of the second nozzle B. Are provided close to each other so as to almost wrap up.
The air injection pressure of the first nozzle A was set to 0.5 MPa, and the air injection pressure of the second nozzle B was set to 0.3 MPa.
In the present invention, the separating means is composed of the first nozzle A and the second nozzle B, and the swinging means is composed of the second nozzle B.
[0017]
A robot 6 having a vacuum cup 5 is provided as a transfer means at a position above the mounting table 1, and the separated uppermost steel plate P can be adsorbed and transferred to the next process such as a press machine. It is like that. The mounting table 1 is raised every time a predetermined number of steel plates P are taken out, and is driven so as to maintain the height position of the upper end of the stack at an appropriate height to receive the action of the jet.
Actually, the height of the upper end of the stack is maintained within a range 20 to 30 mm lower than the upper end of the first nozzle A. If the thickness of the steel sheet P is 1 mm, 10 sheets are taken out from the state where the height of the upper end of the stack is 20 mm lower than the upper end of the first nozzle A, so that the height of the upper end of the stack is equal to that of the first nozzle A. The position is 30 mm lower than the upper end. At this time, the mounting table 1 is raised 10 mm, and the height of the upper end of the stack is returned to a position 20 mm lower than the upper end of the first nozzle A. The height of the upper end of the stack varies between 20 mm, 21 mm,... 30 mm lower than the upper end of the first nozzle A.
The robot 6 corrects the descending height in accordance with the height change of the upper end of the stack, and sucks it while maintaining the positional relationship with respect to the upper end of the stack constant. The adsorption force is kept constant regardless of whether the stack top end height is high or low.
For this reason, the robot 6 can stably adsorb the vacuum cup 5 by touching the steel plate P softly, and can adsorb the uppermost steel plate without strongly pressing the steel plate below it. Further, the vacuum cup 5 can be softly applied to the steel plate P while moving the robot 6 at high speed.
[0018]
Now, when using the sheet take-out apparatus configured as described above, the stack S having a predetermined height is placed on the placing table 1 by an appropriate carrying-in means, and then the robot 6 is driven and retracted. The placed vacuum cup 5 is moved directly above the stack S.
Next, when the compressed air from the air supply device is ejected simultaneously from the first nozzle A and the second nozzle B, a plurality of steel plates P are lifted from above by the action of the above-described jet and separated from the stack S (FIG. 3). reference). The vacuum cup 5 is lowered onto the uppermost steel plate P that has become separable in this manner and is adsorbed. When the vacuum cup 5 is lowered, the floating steel plate P is pushed down and returned to the stack S. However, once the steel plate P has floated, air bubbles are interposed between the upper and lower steel plates even if it is lowered. Can be separated. Next, the robot 6 is driven to lift the steel plate P to which the vacuum cup 5 is adsorbed. When the steel plate P enters a predetermined region F (see FIG. 3) mainly created by a jet (airflow) from the second nozzle B, the steel plate P flutters and flutters. Therefore, when the two steel plates P that have been lifted are in a stacked state, the lower one is shaken off here, so that only one steel plate P can be transferred to the next process without changing it. It becomes possible. When a predetermined number of steel plates P are taken out and the upper end of the stack is lowered, the mounting table 1 is raised at an appropriate timing. Since the 2nd nozzle B is provided in the position higher than the 1st nozzle A, the height F (refer FIG. 3) which raise | generates flutter vibration to the steel plate P can fully be ensured, and 2 sheets are piled up The lower steel plate can be reliably shaken off.
[0019]
By repeating the above operation, the steel plates P can be taken out one by one from the stack S and supplied to the press machine in the next process.
[0020]
In this example, air injection is started immediately before the steel plate is adsorbed by the vacuum cup 5, and the air injection is stopped immediately after the height F (see FIG. 3) that causes flutter vibration to the steel plate P is raised. However, instead of this, when the steel plate is pushed down with the vacuum cup 5, the air injection may be temporarily stopped, and the air injection may be resumed at the same time as lifting the steel plate with the vacuum cup 5. Alternatively, the air injection may be started only after the vacuum cup 5 is attracted to the uppermost steel plate P.
In this sheet take-out apparatus, the separation means and the swing-down means are constituted by the fixed first and second nozzles A and B, so that the whole structure is simple and can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.
In addition, although the above-mentioned example demonstrated the case of the steel plate for press, even if it applies to the sheet | seat which consists of other raw materials, such as aluminum, the same effect is obtained.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to simply configure the sheet take-out apparatus, and it is possible to reliably separate and transfer only one uppermost sheet from the stack.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams for explaining how a sheet is lifted by air injection from a proximity nozzle. FIG. 1A shows before injection, and FIG.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams for explaining a state in which a sheet is lifted by air injection from a pair of a proximity nozzle and a remote nozzle. FIG. 2A shows before injection, and FIG.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams for explaining a state in which a sheet is lifted by air injection from a pair of a proximity nozzle and a remote nozzle. FIG. 3A shows before injection, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating nozzle arrangement of the take-out device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing a main part of the take-out device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an enlarged appearance of a nozzle.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: mounting table 2: stacking guide 5: vacuum cup A: first nozzle B: second nozzle P: steel plate for pressing (sheet)
S: Laminated

Claims (4)

An apparatus for separating and taking out one uppermost sheet from a group of stacked sheets, and injecting air in a substantially horizontal direction toward the stacked sheet group to float one or more sheets from above. A means for separating and separating the top sheet, a means for lifting and transferring the uppermost sheet by an adsorbing tool, and a state in which a predetermined air flow is created within the height range where the uppermost sheet is lifted by the transferring means and being adsorbed by the adsorbing tool A sheet take-out device comprising a swing-off means for causing flutter vibration to the uppermost sheet within the range.   The separation means is mainly composed of a first nozzle that injects air from a laterally adjacent position of the uppermost sheet, and the shake-off means is mainly disposed above the first nozzle and injects air. The sheet take-out apparatus according to claim 1, comprising two nozzles. The second nozzle is disposed behind and above the first nozzle, the second nozzle injects air in substantially the same direction as the first nozzle, and the air injection pressure of the second nozzle is the air injection pressure of the first nozzle. The sheet take-out apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sheet take-out apparatus is set to a lower value. Air is ejected from the side of the stacked sheet group so that one or more sheets can be separated from the top, and then the uppermost sheet is lifted by the suction tool and then lifted by the suction tool. A sheet take-out method characterized in that a predetermined air current is applied to a given sheet to cause flutter vibration on the uppermost sheet adsorbed by an adsorbing tool .

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