JP4042233B2 - Sheet material separation and supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet material separation and supply apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Sheet material is often supplied as a stack of sheet material stacked on an edge.
For example, a prepreg used in the production of a copper clad laminate is impregnated with a thermosetting resin varnish into a continuous belt-like fiber base material, heated with a dryer to cure the thermosetting resin to the B stage, and then After cutting, the sheet material is supplied to the next constituent step as a sheet material deposit stacked with the edges aligned.
[0003]
A constituent process is a process of combining constituent materials of a copper clad laminate. For example, in the case of a double-sided copper-clad laminate, two copper foils and a predetermined number of prepregs (the number changes depending on the thickness) are used as constituent materials, and one copper foil is placed on the end plate. Then, a predetermined number of prepregs are placed on top of each other, one copper foil is placed thereon, and an end plate is placed thereon.
[0004]
As means for separating and supplying the prepreg from the sheet material deposit to the constituent steps, a means for lifting and feeding the prepreg to one sheet by a suction tool using a suction cup is widely used.
However, since a plurality of prepregs are often used at the same time, the construction process can be shortened if two prepregs can be stacked and simultaneously supplied separately. Therefore, the sheet material deposits that are stacked with the edges aligned are made into a stacked sheet material deposit 42 that is restacked so that the edges are shifted in units of two sheets, and the gaps generated by shifting the edges are stacked. A sheet material separation and supply device has been proposed and put into practical use, in which a gripping tool 6 is inserted and gripped, and separated and supplied by pulling up on a moving table 45 having an inclined portion 43 and a horizontal portion 44 (see FIG. 4).
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, such a sheet material separating and supplying apparatus requires a step of stacking the stacked sheet material stacks with the edges aligned so as to overlap each other in units of two sheets, and further, the edges are shifted. In order to enlarge this gap, it was necessary to press the sheet material under the two sheet materials to be gripped downward to widen the gap. Even in such a case, there are cases where the two sheet materials cannot be reliably gripped by the gripping tool 6, and this tendency is particularly remarkable when the remaining sheet material deposit 42 is reduced.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet material separation and supply device that can reliably separate and supply two sheets to the next step without reloading the stacked sheet material stacks with the edges aligned. .
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention operates in such a manner that the first adsorber 3 that operates to lift the end of the sheet material 2a from the sheet material deposit 1 and the upper end of the sheet material 2b that moves upward from the sheet material deposit 1 are operated. 2 an adsorbing tool 4, an end of the first sheet material 2a by the first adsorbing tool 3, comprising a sheet material receiving tool 5 and a gripping tool 6 which are inserted under the sheet material 2b whose end is lifted upward. Next, the end of the second sheet material 2b is lifted by the second adsorbing tool 4, and the sheet material holder 5 is inserted under the end of the second sheet material 2a, 2b that has been lifted. After that, the suction of the first suction tool 3 and the second suction tool 4 is released, and the two sheet materials 2a and 2b are overlapped with each other and received by the sheet material receiver 5 and stacked by the gripping tool 6. Holding the two sheet materials 2a and 2b A sheet material separator feeder comprising configured to release feed.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0009]
A structure of an example of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The first suction tool 3 that operates so as to turn up the end of the sheet material 2a from the sheet material deposit 1 includes a main body 3a and a suction cup 3b attached to the tip of the main body 3a. As the suction cup 3b, a known saddle type suction cup made of a soft elastic body can be used, and there is no particular limitation. When applied to the separation and supply of prepreg, it is preferable to use a silicone rubber-based material with a diameter of 20 to 30 mm because it can be reliably adsorbed without scratching the prepreg.
A mechanism for releasing the suction by the suction cup 3b is incorporated in the main body 3a.
Examples of the mechanism for releasing the suction by the suction cup 3b include a known mechanism, for example, opening a solenoid valve operated by an electric signal to release the suction cup 3b to atmospheric pressure.
The main body 3 a of the first suction tool 3 is supported so as to be rotatable by a shaft 3 c that can be moved up and down by an up-and-down mechanism 7.
[0010]
The second suction tool 4 that operates to lift the end of the sheet material 2b upward from the sheet material deposit 1 is composed of a main body 4a similar to the main body 3a of the first suction tool 3 and a suction cup of the first suction tool 3. A suction cup 4b similar to 3b is provided, and supported by a support rod (not shown) so as to be vertically movable.
[0011]
The sheet material receiver 5 is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of receiving the sheet material from below. For example, a sheet material receiver including a receiver main body 5a and an arm 5b attached to the receiver main body 5a so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction can be given.
[0012]
The gripping tool 6 is not particularly limited as long as it can grip the two sheet materials 2a and 2b at the end, and examples thereof include a gripping tool in which two upper and lower collars 6b and 6b are attached to the gripping tool body 6a. A plurality of gripping tools 6 are preferably used if necessary depending on the size and weight of the sheet material.
[0013]
Next, an example of operation | movement is demonstrated about the apparatus which becomes embodiment of this invention demonstrated above.
[0014]
First, the vertical mechanism 7 is operated to bring the first suction tool 3 close to the upper surface of the sheet material deposit 1 and press the suction cup 3b of the first suction tool 3 against the first sheet material 2a. The position of pressing the suction cup 3b of the first suction tool 3 is preferably 25 mm to 30 mm from the corner of the first sheet material 2a because the end of the first sheet material 2a can be easily turned up. By this operation, the suction cup 3b expands, and subsequently, the return operation of the suction cup 3b of the first suction tool 3 causes a reduced pressure between the suction cup 3b and the first sheet material 2a, so that the sheet material 2a becomes the suction cup of the first suction tool 3. Adsorbed to 3b.
With the sheet material 2a adsorbed to the suction cup 3b of the first adsorber 3, the main body 3a of the first adsorber 3 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. By this operation, the end of the first sheet material 2a is turned up.
[0015]
Next, the second suction tool 4 is lowered onto the upper surface of the second sheet material 2b exposed by turning up the end of the first sheet material 2a, and the suction cup 4b of the second suction tool 4 is moved to 2 Press against the second sheet material 2b. Since the position of pressing the suction cup 4b of the second suction tool 4 facilitates the insertion of the arm 5b of the sheet material holder 5 under the second sheet material 2b, the corner of the second sheet material 2b is used. A position of 25 mm to 30 mm is preferred. By this operation, the suction cup 4b is expanded, and subsequently, the suction action of the suction cup 4b of the second suction tool 4 causes a reduced pressure between the suction cup 4b and the second sheet material 2b, so that the sheet material 2b becomes the suction cup of the second suction tool 4. Adsorbed to 4b.
And the main-body part 4a of the 2nd suction tool 4 is raised in the arrow B direction of FIG. 1 in the state which the sheet material 2b adsorb | sucked to the suction cup 4b of the 21st suction tool 4. FIG. By this operation, the end of the second sheet material 2b is lifted.
[0016]
With the end of the first sheet material 2a turned up and the end of the second sheet material 2b lifted, the sheet material receiver 5 is brought closer and the arm 5b of the sheet material receiver 5 is moved in the direction of arrow C And is inserted under the second sheet material 2b (see FIG. 1).
[0017]
Next, the sheet material holder 5 is moved in the direction of arrow D to the position shown in FIG. 2 while maintaining the state where the arm 5b of the sheet material holder 5 is inserted under the second sheet material 2b.
Next, when the suction of the first suction tool 3 and the second suction tool 4 is released, the sheet material 2a and the sheet material 2b are in a state where the first sheet material 2a overlaps the second sheet material 2b. It is received by the arm 5b of the sheet material receiver 5.
[0018]
Next, the gripping tool 6 is advanced in the direction of arrow E, and the sheet material 2a and the sheet material 2b are gripped by the flange 6b (see FIG. 2).
The sheet material receiver 5 is further moved in the direction of arrow D to a position that does not hinder the movement of the sheet material 2a and the sheet material 2b. Then, the moving table 45 is brought closer (see FIG. 3).
Thereafter, the sheet material 2a and the sheet material 2b are placed on the moving table 45 by the gripping tool 6 as in the conventional apparatus (see FIG. 4), the gripping by the gripping tool 6 is released, and the moving table 45 is moved. The sheet material 2a and the sheet material 2b are moved to predetermined positions.
[0019]
Thereafter, the first suction tool 3, the second suction tool 4, and the sheet material receiving tool 5 are returned to the initial positions, and the series of operations is completed.
A series of these operations can be automatically performed by a known control device.
The gripping tool 6 is not particularly limited as long as it can grip two sheet materials together. The moving table 45 is not particularly limited as long as two sheet materials can be moved in a stacked manner. You may make it move to a predetermined position, holding the sheet material with the holding tool 6, without using the moving stand 45. FIG.
[0020]
【Example】
Example 1
Glass material base epoxy resin prepreg with a thickness of 0.1 mm and length and width of 1000 mm (manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd., using GEA-67N (trade name)), stacked with the edges aligned, and a sheet material deposit It was.
When the sheet material separation and supply apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used to separate and supply the prepreg from the sheet material deposit to the laminate forming step in units of two sheets, the sheet material deposit is accurately 2 We were able to supply separately by the unit addressed to the sheet.
The suction cups of the first and second suction tools used in the sheet material separating and feeding apparatus are both 28 mm in diameter and made of a silicone rubber material. When sucked from the corner of the prepreg. The center was positioned about 30 mm.
[0021]
Comparative Example 1000 sheets of the same prepreg as in Example 1 were reloaded, and a sheet material deposit was formed by shifting 70 mm from the end every two sheets.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the prepreg is separated and supplied in units of two sheets from the sheet material deposit as shown in FIG. 4, it is 485 sets that can accurately separate and supply the two sheets. Supply became impossible when the remaining material deposits reached 30 sheets.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since two sheet materials can be separately supplied from the sheet material deposit, the shifting and stacking step can be omitted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an operating state of a sheet material separating and supplying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a state in which two sheet materials are gripped.
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a state before two sheet materials are gripped and placed on a movable table.
FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a conventional sheet material separation and supply apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet material deposit 2a, 2b Sheet material 3 1st suction tool 3a Main body part 3b Suction cup 3c Shaft 4 Second suction tool 4a Main body part 4b Suction cup 5 Sheet material receiver 5a Receiver main body 5b Arm 6 Grip tool 6a Grip tool main body 6b Hook 7 Vertical mechanism 42 Shifted sheet material deposit 43 Slope 44 Horizontal 45 Moving platform

Claims (1)

A first adsorber that operates to lift the end of the sheet material from the sheet material deposit; a second adsorber that operates to lift the end of the sheet material from the sheet material deposit; It consists of a sheet material holder and a gripping tool that are inserted under the lifted sheet material. The end of the first sheet material is turned up by the first suction tool, and then the second sheet is picked up by the second suction tool. After lifting the end of the sheet material and inserting the sheet material holder under the end of the second sheet material that has been lifted, the suction of the first suction tool and the second suction tool is released and two sheets are released. A sheet material separating and supplying apparatus configured to receive a sheet material with a sheet material holder in a state where the end portions of the sheet material are stacked, and to grip and supply two stacked sheet materials with a gripping tool.

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