JP4585272B2 - Labeling method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a label sticking method for sticking and fixing a metal label describing information necessary for product management to a material such as a cast piece by spot welding, and a label sticking apparatus that can suitably carry out this method. It is.

The slab (material) obtained through the casting process, rolling process, etc. is designed to improve the efficiency of product management by attaching a label (metal label) with information such as numbers and standards on one end surface. ing. As this label, a thin rectangular metal plate having heat resistance is used, and is fixed to the slab by spot welding. In this way, as shown in FIG. 8, the label sticking device for sticking the label to the slab has a mechanism for adsorbing and holding the label 18 after printing predetermined items on the heat-resistant metal label 18. At the same time as pressing the label 18 held on the front surface by the pasting head 104 to the end face 10a of the slab 10 at a high temperature, welding is performed at a plurality of locations (at least two locations) of the label 18. A configuration in which the label 18 is fixed to the slab 10 by pressing the electrode 100 and performing spot welding has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 61-39218

  By the way, the plurality of welding electrodes 100 are configured such that all the electrodes 100 are integrally advanced by the air cylinder 102 toward the label 18 pressed against the end surface 10a of the slab 10 by the sticking head 104. Here, particularly when the end surface 10a of the slab 10 hits a cut end surface cut by saw cutting, shear cutting, or the like, the end surface 10a does not become smooth but is inclined (see FIG. 8) or uneven (see FIG. 9). May be. That is, in the welding electrode 100 in which everything advances integrally, a portion where the label 18 and the end face 10a do not contact each other during welding is generated and unwelded, and the label 18 can be reliably fixed to the cast piece 10. The fear of disappearing is pointed out. Further, the slab 10 that has been transported to the labeling position by a transport means such as a conveyor is roughly positioned by a position restricting means such as a stopper, but the slab itself is warped, tilted, twisted, or placed on the transport means. The position and posture (inclination) of the end face 10a are not necessarily directly opposed to the sticking head 104 and the plurality of welding electrodes 100 due to the positional deviation or the like. In this case, welding is fixed by all the welding electrodes 100. It will be impossible.

  Therefore, the label sticking device of Patent Document 1 is configured so that the position of the welding electrode 100 can be adjusted in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction with respect to the end surface 10a of the slab 10, but the slab 10 may be warped or tilted. The label 18 and the welding electrode 100 held by the sticking head 104 cannot be positioned corresponding to all modes such as twisting. In addition, by allowing the sticking head 104 to swing, the welding electrode 100 corresponds to the inclination of the end face 10a, but all the welding electrodes 100 move forward and backward integrally, so that the welding electrodes that are still not pressed against the label 18 can be obtained. There is a possibility that 100 may be generated and a part that cannot be welded is generated.

  That is, the present invention has been proposed to solve these problems inherently in the labeling method and apparatus according to the prior art, and is suitable for solving the positional deviation and inclination of the end face of the material. Then, it aims at providing the label sticking method and apparatus which can carry out the welding fixation of the metal label reliably to this end surface.

In order to overcome the above problems and achieve the intended purpose, the labeling method according to the present invention is:
After applying predetermined information to the metal label supplied from the label supply means by the information giving means, the metal label is delivered to and held by the label attaching means via the label delivery means, and is conveyed by the conveying means to the label attaching position. The label affixing means is advanced against the end face of the material waiting in the step to press the metal label that is being held, and a plurality of metal labels that are arranged so as to face a predetermined part of the metal label held by the label affixing means By advancing the welding means and spot welding, when attaching and fixing the metal label to the end face,
With respect to the end face of the material that has arrived at the labeling position, obtain the reference position of the end face area and the inclination of the end face area with the end face detection means,
Based on the determined reference position, the label sticking means and the plurality of welding means are integrally moved in the left-right direction and the up-down direction with respect to the end surface by a moving mechanism,
Based on the obtained inclination, the label attaching means and the plurality of welding means are integrated by a predetermined angle around an axis extending in the front-rear direction about the center of the metal label held by the label attaching means by a moving mechanism. After rotating the metal label and the plurality of welding means directly to the end face,
A plurality of welding means are independently urged toward the metal label by an electrode moving means provided individually until reaching a preset pressing pressure, and each welding means is pressed against the metal label for spot welding. It is characterized by that.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended purpose, a label sticking device according to another invention of the present application includes information giving means for giving predetermined information to a metal label received from a label supply means, and this information giving means The label sticking means that holds the metal label received from the label via the label delivery means and can move forward and backward with respect to the end face of the material that is transported by the transport means and is waiting at the label sticking position, and held by this label sticking means In a label sticking device comprising a plurality of welding means spot welding the metal label pressed against the end face of the material by the label sticking means, which is arranged so as to be able to move forward and backward while facing a predetermined part of the metal label,
With respect to the end face of the material that has arrived at the label attaching position, an end face detecting means for obtaining a reference position of the end face area and an inclination of the end face area;
The label sticking means and the plurality of welding means are integrally moved in the left and right direction and the up and down direction with respect to the end face of the material, and the substantial center of the metal label held by the label sticking means extends in the front and rear direction. A moving mechanism that integrally rotates around a predetermined axis by a predetermined angle,
Based on the reference position and inclination obtained by the end face detection means, the label attaching means holding a metal label and a plurality of welding means are configured to be moved by the moving mechanism so as to face the end face ,
The plurality of welding means are configured to be movable forward and backward with respect to the end surface of the material independently from each other by individually provided electrode moving means, and until each welding means is pressed against the metal label with a preset pressing pressure. It is characterized by being independently urged forward .

  According to the label sticking method and the device thereof according to the present invention, the end face detection unit obtains the reference position of the end face region and the inclination of the end face region with respect to the end face of the material arriving at the label sticking position, and based on the obtained reference position. The label attaching means and the plurality of welding means are integrally moved in the left and right direction and the up and down direction with respect to the end surface by the moving mechanism, and the label attaching means and the plurality of welding means are labeled by the moving mechanism based on the obtained inclination. The metal label and the plurality of welding means can be directly opposed to the end face by integrally rotating the metal label held by the sticking means by a predetermined angle around an axis extending in the front-rear direction. it can. In this state, when the label sticking means is advanced, the metal label fits in the end face region of the material and comes into contact therewith, so that a plurality of welding means are forwardly urged to press these welding means against the metal label. By performing spot welding in the state, the metal label can be reliably stuck and fixed to the end face. In other words, the position and orientation of the metal label and the plurality of welding means held by the label attaching means are adjusted in response to deviations in the position and orientation caused by defective cutting or warping of the end face of the material that has arrived at the label attaching position. Then, since the spot welding is carried out after the facing, the metal label can be securely fixed while avoiding poor welding. In addition, the plurality of welding means are configured to be urged forward toward the metal label independently by a separately provided electrode moving means until reaching a preset pressing pressure, so that the end face is inclined, uneven, etc. It is possible to more reliably fix the metal label by avoiding poor welding due to non-contact between the metal label and the end surface due to the above.

  Next, the label sticking method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by giving preferred embodiments. Here, as materials for attaching labels (metal labels), various steel materials such as slabs, billets, slabs, ingots, blooms, thick materials, fine materials, etc. are targeted. The case where a label is affixed will be described. Further, the front-rear direction (Z direction) in the present description means that the side facing the material that has arrived at the label applying position by the transfer conveyor (conveying means) in the label applying apparatus is the front side, and the side away from the material is the rear side The direction along the transport direction is the left-right direction (X direction). In addition, the label sticking method and apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to both hot and cold materials regardless of the temperature condition of the material at the time of label sticking.

  As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the label sticking apparatus 20 which concerns on an Example is a slab (material) of the square cross section cut | disconnected suitably in length in cutting equipment, such as a shear, through a continuous casting and rolling process, for example. 10 is installed in a state surrounded by a heat-resistant wall 12 on one side of a transport conveyor T as a transport means for transporting intermittently or continuously. An opening 12a is formed in the heat-resistant wall 12 facing the label sticking position T1 of the transport conveyor T, and a label sticking mechanism 50 (to be described later) of the label sticking apparatus 20 of the slab 10 arrived at the label sticking position T1. It faces the end face (cut end face) 10a through the opening 12a. Here, the slab 10 is placed on the transport conveyor T in a state where the long side extends in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. When the slab 10 arrives at the label sticking position T1, the end face on the short side is reached by the label sticking device 20. A label (metal label) 18 on which information such as a steel type, a management number, and various codes is described is attached to 10a. The transfer conveyor T is of a walking beam type, and has a crest shape having a hypotenuse at a predetermined angle, and a transfer surface is continuously formed in the transfer direction, and the slab is formed between the opposite hypotenuses (valley portions). 10 is conveyed in an inclined posture with the long side as an axis (see FIG. 4). The transport conveyor T is controlled by the transport control means CT for operations such as transport speed and stopping at the label sticking position T1, and the transport control means CT operates in conjunction with a control means C described later of the label sticking apparatus 20. It is supposed to be. A door 14 is disposed in the opening 12a of the heat-resistant wall 12, and the opening 12a can be opened and closed as necessary.

  The label 18 is a rectangular metal plate that is appropriately heat-treated according to the temperature of the slab 10 to be attached, and is set to be smaller than the end surface 10a of the slab 10. By carrying out spot welding at the corners, the end face 10a is set to be fixed at four points (see FIG. 4).

  The label affixing device 20 stocks unprinted labels 18 and supplies them continuously or intermittently, label supplying means 40 for supplying predetermined information to the unprinted labels 18, and conveying A label attaching mechanism 50 for attaching the printed label 18 to the end face 10a of the slab 10 which is conveyed by the conveyor T and arrives at the label attaching position T1 and is waiting; and an information applying means 42 and a label attaching mechanism 50 The reference position of the end face region with respect to the label delivery means 46 for transferring the printed label 18 from the information giving means 42 to the label sticking mechanism 50 and the end face 10a of the slab 10 at the label sticking position T1. And end face detection means 48 for obtaining the posture (tilt) (see FIG. 1). The label sticking device 20 includes a moving mechanism 21 that moves the label sticking mechanism 50 to an arbitrary position. The label sticking mechanism 50 is moved in the left-right direction based on the position and orientation detection result of the end face 10a by the end face detecting means 48. (X direction), up and down direction (Y direction), front and rear direction (Z direction), or an axis extending in the front and rear direction Z through the approximate center of the label 18 held by the label sticking means 52 described later The label sticking mechanism 50 can be moved to a position and a posture facing the end face 10a of the slab 10 by rotating around.

  The label sticking device 20 is based on a base 22 installed on the floor, and is spaced apart on the base 22 in the front-rear relationship, and extends along the transport direction of the transport conveyor T. A traverse base 24 is slidably installed above the base 22 via 22a and 22a (see FIG. 2). The traverse base 24 can be reciprocated in the left-right direction X with respect to the base 22 by a left-right drive means 26 that transmits the rotation of the motor by a rack and pinion mechanism, for example. A pair of vertical drive means 30, 30 are disposed on the upper surface of the traverse base 24 so as to be separated from each other in the front-rear direction. The lift table 28 is supported by the vertical drive means 30, 30 and above the traverse base 24. Is arranged. As each vertical drive means 30, a cylinder mechanism, a jack mechanism, or the like is adopted, and the vertical drive means 30, 30 is urged to raise or lower the elevation table 28 along the vertical direction Y. The lift table 28 is provided with main mechanisms constituting the label applying device 20 such as the label supply means 40, the information giving means 42, the label attaching mechanism 50, and the label delivery means 46, and the right and left driving means 26 and By energizing the vertical drive means 30, 30, these mechanisms can move in the horizontal direction X and the vertical direction Y.

  Further, of the main mechanisms of the label sticking device 20, the label sticking mechanism 50 is installed on a tilting table 32 disposed so as to be movable in the front-rear direction Z with respect to the lifting table 28, and the front side thereof is the opening 12a. It is set to face. The tilting table 32 is slidably mounted on a pair of vertical rails 28a and 28a that are spaced apart in the left-right direction X and extended in the front-rear direction Z on the lifting table 28 (see FIG. 3). The front / rear drive means 34 such as an air cylinder installed on the elevating table 28 is configured to move forward and backward along the front-rear direction Z. Furthermore, the label sticking mechanism 50 is rotatable with respect to the tilting table 32 about an axis extending in the front-rear direction Z through the approximate center of the label 18 held by the label sticking means 52. The label attaching mechanism 50 can be rotated by a predetermined angle by urging the tilting drive means 36 supported and connected to the rear end of the label attaching mechanism 50. That is, the label sticking mechanism 50 moves in the left-right direction X and the up-and-down direction Y along with the movement of the lifting table 28, the forward / backward movement in the front-rear direction Z accompanying the movement of the tilting table 32, and the tilt direction θ by the tilt driving means 36. It can move three-dimensionally in the four directions. That is, the moving mechanism 21 includes a left / right driving means 26 for moving or rotating the label sticking mechanism 50, a vertical driving means 30, a front / rear driving means 34, and a tilting driving means 36. These means are connected to the control means C. (See FIG. 5), the labels constituting the label attaching mechanism 50 are driven under the control of the control means C on the basis of the position and orientation detection results on the end face 10a of the slab 10 by the end face detection means 48. The label 18 held by the sticking means 52 and the plurality of welding means 58 are moved to an appropriate position and posture so as to face each other at a predetermined interval with respect to the end face 10a.

  Next, the main mechanism of the label sticking device 20 placed on the lift table 28 will be described along the flow of the label 18. The label supply means 40 stocks unprinted labels 18 in a stacked state, sequentially feeds them one by one under the control of the control means C, and supplies them to the information giving means 42 via a transfer means 41 such as a conveyor. Configured to be able to. The information adding means 42 includes a printing device 42a using a laser and an index table 44 that is horizontally rotatable and regulates the position of the unprinted label 18 installed below the printing device 42a. This index table 44 is circular in plan view, and includes a plurality of (four in the embodiment at four intervals of 90 °) regulating portions 44a spaced apart by a predetermined interval along the circumferential direction. The restricting portion 44a is positioned at the transfer end of the transfer means 41 and receives the unprinted label 18, and another restricting portion 44a faces the receiving position of the label delivery means 46 and is printed by the printing device 42a. Can be delivered. Between the transfer end of the transfer means 41 and the receiving position of the label transfer means 46, the unprinted label 18 whose position is restricted by the restriction portion 44a is located below the printing device 42a, and the process computer PC Based on the information input to the control means C, predetermined information is written on the label 18 by the printing device 42a (see FIG. 1). In the embodiment, a laser is used as the printing device 42a. However, the printing device 42a is not particularly limited, and may be a stamp or other means.

  The label delivery means 46 for delivering the printed label 18 to the label sticking mechanism 50 is disposed on the front side of the information providing means 42 so as to be rotatable on the main body 46a erected on the lifting table 28 and on the upper part of the main body 46a. A cylinder 46b provided, an arm 46c that protrudes laterally from the cylinder 46b and can be moved forward and backward by the cylinder 46b, and a holding portion 46d disposed at the tip of the arm 46c (see FIG. 3). ). The cylinder 46b has a regulating portion 44a at a receiving position in an index table 44 located on the rear side of the main body portion 46a with the main body portion 46a as an axis, and a label affixed on the lateral side of the main body portion 46a. It rotates horizontally by 90 ° between the tip of the means 52 and a sticking head 54 described later. As the holding portion 46d, for example, a chucking mechanism is used, which moves as the arm 46c moves forward and backward due to the urging of the cylinder 46b. In the process of receiving and moving with the rotation of the cylinder 46b, the holding portion 46d itself rotates about the horizontal line, and is delivered to the sticking head 54 with the label 18 reversed. The main body 46a is configured to be movable up and down so that the position of the holding portion 46d in the vertical direction Y can be adjusted. That is, in the process of being transferred by the label delivery means 46, the label 18 changes from a state in which the printing surface is directed upward to a state in which it is directed to the front end surface (rear side) of the bonding head 54. Configured to hold the side. The holding portion 46d is not particularly limited as long as it can transport the label 18 that is a thin metal plate, and for example, a magnetic means or a means using air suction may be employed.

  The label sticking mechanism 50 receives the label 18 from the label delivery means 46, advances in a state of holding the label 18 and presses it against the end face 10a of the slab 10, and the superimposed label 18 and end face 10a and a plurality of (four in the embodiment) welding means 58, which can be integrally rotated by the tilting drive means 36. The label sticking means 52 holds the label 18 by a sticking head 54 having an air suction mechanism (not shown) provided at the tip, and the sticking head 54 is casted by a head moving means 56 such as an air cylinder. It is comprised so that it can advance / retreat along the front-back direction Z with respect to 10 end surfaces 10a. The label sticking means 52 is disposed above the welding means 58 in a state extending in the front-rear direction Z, and is disposed between welding electrodes 60 (described later) disposed in parallel corresponding to the corners of the label 18. The sticking head 54 is positioned so as to hang down from above, and is configured to move forward and backward in parallel with these welding electrodes 60. And the said sticking head 54 hold | maintains the label 18 in the state which substantially aligned the center part of the label 18 with the center part. The sticking head 54 is not particularly limited as long as it can hold the label 18, which is a thin metal plate. For example, a magnetic means or a means using a chucking mechanism may be employed.

  Each welding means 58 includes a welding electrode 60 disposed on the front side facing the end surface 10a of the slab 10, an air cylinder disposed on the rear side, and moving the welding electrode 60 forward and backward along the front-rear direction Z. Electrode moving means 62. These welding electrodes 60 are arranged to extend in the front-rear direction on the tilting table 32 so that the tips thereof face the corners of the label 18, respectively, and are in a parallel positional relationship. Further, the plurality of welding electrodes 60 are configured to be movable forward and backward independently from each other with respect to the label 18 (end surface 10a of the cast piece 10) held by the sticking head 54 by the electrode moving means 62 provided individually. Are set such that each welding electrode 60 can press the corresponding corners with equal force. That is, each welding electrode 60 is set to be urged forward by the electrode moving means 62 until it reaches a predetermined pressing pressure set in advance after contacting each corner of the label 18, and the predetermined pressing pressure is It is set to such an extent that it can be ensured that the label 18 and the end face 10a are in close contact with each other. Each welding electrode 60 is connected to a power source (not shown), and a current is passed between the pair of electrodes 60 and 60 while pressing the label 18 with each welding electrode 60, so that the corners of the label 18 are aligned. Each of the end faces 10 a of the slab 10 is spot-welded, and the label 18 is fixed to the slab 10.

  As described above, in the label sticking mechanism 50, the sticking head 54 and the plurality of welding electrodes 60 are respectively provided to advance or retreat with respect to the end surface 10a of the slab 10 as the tilting table 32 advances and retreats. These moving means 56 and 62 are configured so that each of them can move forward and backward independently. The label attaching means 52 and the plurality of welding means 58 are integrated by the tilt driving means 36 around an axis extending in the front-rear direction Z through the center portion of the attaching head 54 (center portion of the label 18). And can be adjusted in the tilt direction θ according to the tilt state of the end surface 10a of the slab 10 that is placed on the transport conveyor T in a posture inclined with respect to the transport surface and transported. It has become. That is, the sticking head 54 and the plurality of welding electrodes 60 are also moved in the left-right direction X, the up-down direction Y, and the front-rear direction even when the moving mechanism 21 moves in the left-right direction X, the up-down direction Y, the front-rear direction Z, and the tilt direction θ. The relative positional relationship in the direction Z is not changed, and the tip of each welding electrode 60 is always configured to be opposed to the corner of the label 18 held by the sticking head 54. On the other hand, each welding electrode 60 can change the positional relationship of the front-back direction Z with respect to the end surface 10a of the slab 10 independently by the back-and-forth movement by the bias of each electrode moving means 62.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the operation of the label supply means 40, the information giving means 42 and the label delivery means 46 is controlled by the control means C, and the label 18 is delivered between them at an appropriate timing. Necessary information is printed on the label 18. The head moving means 56 and each electrode moving means 62 are also controlled by the control means C and set so as to sequentially operate in accordance with the timing of arrival of the slab 10 at the label sticking position T1, etc. Control is performed so that the corresponding electrode moving means 62 is urged forward until the electrode 60 presses the label 18 with a preset pressing pressure.

  As described above, the moving mechanism 21 that moves the label sticking mechanism 50 to the position and posture facing the end face 10a of the slab 10 is based on the detection result of the reference position and inclination of the end face area in the end face 10a by the end face detecting means 48. Drive control. In the vicinity of the front side of the label sticking mechanism 50, the end face 10a of the slab 10 that has arrived at the label sticking position T1 as it is transported by the transport conveyor T at a position that does not interfere with the forward and backward movement of the sticking head 54 and the welding electrode 60. The first imaging device 48a of the end face detecting means 48 for detecting the position of the slab 10 in the left-right direction X, the up-down direction Y and the posture in the tilt direction θ is disposed (see FIG. 1). A second imaging device 48b is disposed above the slab 10 at a position where the end surface 10a of the slab 10 can be photographed, and the amount of the slab 10 entering and exiting in the front-rear direction Z located at the label attaching position T1. The amount of protrusion from the reference line at the end face 10a of the slab 10 is detected. The image of the end face 10a of the slab 10 photographed by the first imaging device 48a and the second imaging device 48b is recognized by the image processing means 48c and binarized, and the result of this binarization processing is the computing means 48d. Is input. In this calculation means 48d, the position on the end surface 10a of the slab 10 is obtained by determining the reference position (center of gravity) of the slab 10 based on the result of the binarization process, and the boundary line of the end surface region is calculated. The slope can be obtained. Then, according to the reference position and inclination of the end face 10a of the slab 10, the positional relationship between the application head 54 and the plurality of welding electrodes 60 that are currently located, and the inclination of the label 18 that is held by the application head 54, By driving the driving means 26, 30, 34, and 36 constituting the moving mechanism 21 by the control means C, the position and posture until the label 18 held on the sticking head 54 is opposed to the end face 10a at a predetermined interval. Configured to adjust. The image processing unit 48c and the calculation unit 48d are incorporated in the control unit C (see FIG. 5).

(Effects of Example)
Next, the operation of the label sticking apparatus according to the embodiment will be described in relation to the label sticking method. The unprinted labels 18 stocked in the label supply means 40 are taken out one by one and supplied to the index table 44 of the information giving means 42 via the transfer means 41, and predetermined information is transferred to the labels 18 by the printing device 42a. Printed. The printed label 18 is delivered by the label delivery means 46 from the information giving means 42 to the sticking head 54 of the label sticking means 52 in the label sticking mechanism 50, and preparation for label sticking to the slab 10 is completed. At this time, the sticking head 54 and each welding electrode 60 are in a state of being retracted rearward from the opening 12 a, and the opening 12 a is closed by the door 14.

  When the slab 10 arrives at the label sticking position T1 by the transport conveyor T, the end surface 10a of the slab 10 is photographed by the first imaging device 48a and the second imaging device 48b of the end surface detection means 48, and image processing means. The reference position and inclination of the left-right direction X, the up-down direction Y, the front-rear direction Z, and the inclination direction θ in the end face region of the end face 10a are obtained by 48c and the calculation means 48d. And while the door 14 which closed the opening part 12a is open | released, the movement mechanism 21 is driven, and the position and attitude | position of the label sticking mechanism 50 are adjusted. That is, the left and right drive means 26 is driven under the control of the control means C according to the positional relationship between the end face 10a, the pasting head 54 and the plurality of welding electrodes 60 that are in the retracted state in the heat-resistant wall 12. As the gantry 24 moves, the elevating table 28 is moved, and the label 18 held by the sticking head 54 is moved by a required distance in the left-right direction X, whereby the position of the end face 10a in the left-right direction X and the left-right direction of the label 18 are increased. The position in the direction X is adjusted. Further, the vertical drive means 30 is driven under the control of the control means C, and the label 18 held by the sticking head 54 is moved by a required distance in the vertical direction Y as the elevating table 28 moves, so that the end face 10a. The position in the vertical direction Y is aligned with the position in the vertical direction Y of the label 18. Further, the tilt driving means 36 is driven under the control of the control means C in accordance with the posture of the label 18 being held on the sticking head 54, and the label 18 held on the sticking head 54 is moved in the tilt direction θ by a required angle. By rotating, the inclination of the end face 10a and the inclination of the label 18 are matched. The movement of the label attaching mechanism 50 by the moving mechanism 21 in the left-right direction X, the up-down direction Y, and the tilt direction θ may be simultaneous or sequentially driven. Then, the front / rear driving means 34 is driven under the control of the control means C, and the label 18 held by the sticking head 54 is moved in the front / rear direction Z by a required distance in accordance with the movement of the tilting table 32, whereby the label 18 The sticking head 54 and the plurality of welding electrodes 60 holding the protrusion protrude from the opening 12a, and the label 18 is disposed at a predetermined position close to the end face 10a.

  Next, under the control of the control means C, the head moving means 56 is urged forward, whereby the label 18 held by the sticking head 54 is pressed against the end face 10 a of the slab 10. At this time, since the label 18 faces the position facing the end face 10a by the moving mechanism 21, the label 18 pressed against the end face 10ab by the sticking head 54 is located at a substantially central portion of the end face 10a, and the slab Each side constituting the ten end faces 10a and each side of the label 18 can be in a parallel relationship. Then, under the control of the control means C, the respective electrode moving means 62 are urged forward, so that the corresponding welding electrodes 60 respectively press the corners of the label 18 pressed against the end face 10a by the sticking head 54. The welding electrode 60 is urged forward until the pressing pressure reaches a preset value, and the welded portion of the label 18 and the end face 10a come into contact with each other. In this state, by applying to a plurality of welding electrodes 60, the label 18 and the end face 10a of the cast piece 10 are spot-welded and fixed to each other at the contact portion of each welding electrode 60 with respect to the label 18. It should be noted that the label supply means 40, the information giving means 42, and the label delivery means 46 are controlled under the control of the control means C in accordance with the state of conveyance of the slab 10 by the conveyance conveyor T and the situation of application of the label 18 by the label application mechanism 50. It operates continuously or intermittently at appropriate timing.

  When the label 18 is welded and fixed to the end face 10a of the slab 10, the air suction by the air suction mechanism of the sticking head 54 is stopped, the label 18 is released, and the head moving means 56 and each electrode moving means 62 are retracted. By being energized, the sticking head 54 and each welding electrode 60 are separated from the slab 10. At the same time, the moving mechanism 21 is driven so that the label sticking mechanism 50 is retracted from the opening 12a and prepared for delivery by the label delivery means 46.

  In this way, the position and orientation of the slab 10 that has arrived at the label application position T1 is detected by the end face detection means 48 to obtain the reference position and inclination of the end face area, and the label application means 52 is based on the obtained result. The plurality of welding means 58 are moved in the left-right direction X, the up-down direction Y, and the front-rear direction Z with respect to the end surface 10a of the slab 10 by the moving mechanism 21, and substantially the center of the label 18 held by the sticking head 54 The label 18 held on the sticking head 54 is corrected to a position facing the end face 10a according to the position and orientation of the end face 10a by rotating around the axis extending in the front-rear direction Z. Since spot welding is performed on the end face 10a, the label 18 can be firmly fixed while avoiding poor welding. That is, the center point of the label 18 is always substantially aligned with the center point in the end face region of the end face 10a by adjusting the position following the positional deviation, warpage or twist of the slab 10. The corners of the label 18 with which the welding electrodes 60 come into contact are located in the end face region and can be reliably fixed to each other with spot welding. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the stop of the conveyor T and the occurrence of rework caused by poor welding of the label 18 to the end face 10a, so that the production efficiency can be improved. In addition, the label 18 does not need to be set small relative to the end face 10a in anticipation of the positional deviation of the slab 10, and the label 18 can be set relatively large. As a result, the increase in the amount of information to be described and the discriminability are improved, and the management efficiency can be improved.

  The plurality of welding means 58 are configured to be independently forward biased by the electrode moving means 62 provided individually until the pressing force of each welding electrode 60 against the label 18 reaches a preset pressure value. Prior to spot welding, the welded portion (corner corner) of the label 18 and the end face 10a can be reliably brought into contact with each other. That is, when the end face 10a of the slab 10 is inclined due to cutting or the like (see FIG. 6) or in an uneven state (see FIG. 7), the corners of the corners can be simply pressed by the sticking head 54. There exists a possibility that the site | part which does not contact the end surface 10a may arise. However, in the embodiment, the set pressure is not reached until the back surface of the label 18 comes into contact with the end surface 10a due to the pressing of the welding electrode 60, and the corresponding welding electrode 60 is further urged forward to tilt the label 18 (FIG. 6). (See FIG. 7) or by deforming (see FIG. 7) and pressing until the corner corners of the label 18 that is the welded part contact the end face 10a, the set pressure is reached and the forward bias is stopped. In this way, the label 18 is tilted in accordance with the inclination of the end face 10a, or the label 18 is deformed so as to come into contact with the concave end face 10a. Therefore, the spots are always in contact with each other following the end face 10a. By welding, it can be securely fixed.

  Each mechanism constituting the label sticking device 20 is controlled by the control means C, and the operation status of each mechanism can be grasped. For example, when a certain mechanism is abnormally operated or does not operate, the transport control for controlling the transport conveyor T is performed. The conveyance conveyor T is stopped by the means CT, and the slab 10 to which the label 18 is not affixed can be prevented from being conveyed downstream, thereby avoiding adverse effects on management. That is, since the label sticking device 20 can be operated according to the transport speed, the transport interval, and the like by the transport conveyor T, it is possible to automate, reduce the labor of the work, and improve the efficiency of the sticking work. The pasting operation can be performed on the high-temperature cast slab 10 without manual intervention.

It is a schematic plan view which shows the label sticking apparatus which concerns on the suitable Example of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a front view of the label sticking apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the sticking condition of the label by the label sticking apparatus of an Example. It is a control block diagram of the label sticking apparatus of an Example. It is a schematic side view which shows the sticking condition of the label by the label sticking apparatus of an Example, Comprising: The case where an end surface is inclined is shown. It is a schematic side view which shows the sticking condition of the label by the label sticking apparatus of an Example, Comprising: The case where the end surface is uneven is shown. It is the schematic which shows the label sticking mechanism of the conventional label sticking apparatus, Comprising: The case where the end surface of a slab inclines is shown. It is the schematic which shows the label sticking mechanism of the conventional label sticking apparatus, Comprising: The case where the end surface of slab is uneven is shown.

Explanation of symbols

10 slab (material), 10a end face, 18 label, 21 moving mechanism, 40 label supply means,
42 information giving means, 46 label delivery means, 48 end face detecting means,
52 label attaching means, 58 welding means, 62 electrode moving means,
T transport conveyor (transport means), T1 label affixing position

Claims (2)

After giving predetermined information to the metal label (18) supplied from the label supply means (40) by the information giving means (42), the metal label is attached to the label attaching means (52) via the label delivery means (46). (18) is delivered and held, and the label applying means (52) is advanced with respect to the end surface (10a) of the material (10) that is conveyed by the conveying means (T) and is waiting at the label applying position (T1). The metal label (18) being held is pressed and a plurality of welding means (58) arranged to face a predetermined part of the metal label (18) held by the label attaching means (52) are advanced. Spot welding, when attaching and fixing the metal label (18) to the end face (10a),
With respect to the end surface (10a) of the material (10) that has arrived at the labeling position (T1), the end position detection means (48) obtains the reference position of the end surface region and the inclination of the end surface region,
Based on the determined reference position, the label attaching means (52) and the plurality of welding means (58) are moved integrally in the left and right direction and the up and down direction with respect to the end face (10a) by the moving mechanism (21). ,
Based on the determined inclination, the label attaching means (52) and the plurality of welding means (58) are moved about the approximate center of the metal label (18) held by the label attaching means (52) by the moving mechanism (21). After the metal label (18) and the plurality of welding means (58) are directly opposed to the end surface (10a) by integrally rotating around the axis extending in the front-rear direction by a predetermined angle,
A plurality of welding means (58) are independently forwardly urged toward the metal label (18) by the individually provided electrode moving means (62) until reaching a preset pressing pressure, and each welding means (58) A method of applying a label, comprising pressing the metal label (18) and spot welding. Information giving means (42) for giving predetermined information to the metal label (18) received from the label supply means (40), and metal label received from the information giving means (42) via the label delivery means (46) Label attaching means (52) that holds (18) and is movable forward and backward with respect to the end face (10a) of the material (10) that is conveyed by the conveying means (T) and is waiting at the label attaching position (T1). The metal label (18) held by the label attaching means (52) is disposed so as to be able to move forward and backward, and is pressed against the end surface (10a) of the material (10) by the label attaching means (52). In a labeling device comprising a plurality of welding means (58) for spot welding a metal label (18),
With respect to the end face (10a) of the material (10) that has arrived at the label attaching position (T1), an end face detecting means (48) for obtaining a reference position of the end face area and an inclination of the end face area,
The label attaching means (52) and the plurality of welding means (58) are integrally moved in the left-right direction and the up-down direction with respect to the end face (10a) of the material (10), and the label attaching means (52) A moving mechanism (21) that integrally rotates a predetermined angle around an axis extending in the front-rear direction about the substantially center of the held metal label (18),
Based on the reference position and inclination obtained by the end face detection means (48), the label attaching means (52) holding the metal label (18) and the plurality of welding means (58) are opposed to the end face (10a). Configured to be moved by the moving mechanism (21) ,
The plurality of welding means (58) are configured to be movable back and forth with respect to the end surface (10a) of the material (10) independently of each other by individually provided electrode moving means (62), and each welding means ( The label sticking device, wherein 58) is independently urged forward until it is pressed against the metal label (18) with a preset pressing pressure .

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