JP6006589B2 - Sheet-like member spreading device and spreading method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet-like member spreading device and a spreading method.

  An operation of taking out and extending one sheet at a time from a collection of a plurality of sheet-like members stacked in an unaligned state or in an entangled state (hereinafter also referred to as a spreading operation) is performed in, for example, a towel cleaning factory. . As a specific example, it is an operation of extending one sheet at a time from towels that are a plurality of sheet-like members that are entangled through a cleaning and drying process of cleaning. Depending on the work contents, a predetermined number of the extended towels are stacked and supplied to the next process in an aligned state.

  An example of an apparatus that automatically performs a part of such work is described in Patent Document 1 as a cloth piece aligning and laminating apparatus. According to this apparatus, “the wrinkles of the cloth pieces supplied one by one can be extended and the main surfaces thereof can be aligned and aligned and laminated (paragraph number 0038)”.

JP-A-11-011764

By the way, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is one in which an operator puts a piece of cloth (for example, a towel) into the gripping means at the beginning of the work. Therefore, it is desirable that the gripping means grip at least both side portions of one side of the cloth piece.
In addition, this apparatus may not be neatly spread unless the entire side to be thrown is extended in operation.

In human work, for example, from one of a plurality of towels tangled and overlapped after cleaning and drying, find one corner of one towel and pick up the vicinity of the corner with one hand Is relatively easy.
However, it takes time and effort to add another hand to the picked-up towel and pick it up with the other hand and extend it with both hands widened. In addition, since the time during which the towel is lifted also becomes longer, the load applied to the hand for a long time is not small.
For this reason, it has been desired that the human work for spreading is easy and less labor-intensive and less burdensome.
In addition, this request is not limited to the case where the sheet-like member is a towel, but is the same if the woven fabric such as a towel, non-woven fabric, or a soft resin sheet in a film form is used. It is similarly demanded in the work of.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a sheet-like member spreading device and a spreading method capable of easily spreading a sheet-like member.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration and procedure.
1) A device for spreading a sheet-like member for spreading a sheet-like member having no waist into a flat shape,
A first transport unit having the first transport direction as the transport direction;
A pair of feeding parts extending along the first conveying direction and being separated from each other; disposed below one side edge of the first conveying part; and sandwiched by the pair of feeding parts A delivery section that feeds further downward while sandwiching the delivery member;
A second transport unit disposed below the sending unit and having a second transport direction that intersects the first transport direction as a transport direction;
The first conveying unit is configured to provide the sheet-like member that is inserted at an end that is an upstream side in the first conveying direction so as to have a drooping portion that hangs down from the one side edge. Until it reaches the position
The delivery unit sends out the sheet-like member that has reached the predetermined position from the hanging portion side downward by the pair of sandwiching units,
The second conveying unit is configured to convey the sheet-like member sent out from the sending-out unit while being placed from the leading side thereof so as to be spread in a planar shape. It is a sheet-like member spreading apparatus.
2) Inclined so that it protrudes in the direction opposite to the first conveying direction on the one side edge side of the end portion of the first conveying portion, and is located on the lower side as the distance from the end portion increases. The sheet-like member spreading device according to 1), wherein a guide having a guide portion is provided.
3) The sheet-like member spreading device according to 1) or 2), wherein the pair of sandwiching portions is a pair of a driving roller and a driven roller.
4) A stacking unit that forms a stack by stacking the sheet-like members transported by the second transport unit is provided. This is a sheet-like member spreading apparatus.
5) A sheet-like member spreading method for spreading a sheet-like member having no waist into a flat shape,
An edge portion was inserted into the end portion on the upstream side in the first conveyance direction, which is the conveyance direction of the first conveyance unit, so as to have a hanging portion depending from one of the left and right sides in the conveyance direction. An input conveyance step in which the first conveyance unit conveys the sheet-like member to a predetermined position on the first conveyance unit;
A sending step in which a sending unit disposed below one side edge of the first conveying unit sends the sheet downward while sandwiching from the hanging portion side of the sheet-like member that has reached the predetermined position;
The second conveying unit disposed below the sending unit with the second conveying direction intersecting the first conveying direction as the conveying direction, the sheet-like member sent downward by the sending unit, A spread conveying step that conveys the sheet-like member while being placed from the front side , and spreads the sheet-like member on a plane;
It is the spreading method of the sheet-like member characterized by including.
6) The sheet feeding member spreading method according to 5), wherein the feeding step feeds downward with the hanging portion sandwiched between a driving roller and a driven roller.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an effect that the work of spreading the sheet-like member is facilitated.

It is a whole perspective view for demonstrating the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a front view for demonstrating the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a block diagram in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a top view which shows the example of a sheet-like member extended by the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a fragmentary perspective view for demonstrating the introduction operation | movement in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | work which throws in a sheet-like member to the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the drive system in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the conveyance operation in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a fragmentary perspective view explaining the modification in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the other modification in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a whole perspective view for demonstrating another modification in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a partial top view for demonstrating another modification in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating to the middle of the operation | movement of another modification in the Example of the sheet | seat member spreading apparatus of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the continuation of operation | movement of another modification in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the modification of the stacking part in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention. It is a block diagram of another modification in the Example of the spreading apparatus of the sheet-like member of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 16 by way of preferred examples and modifications.
First, a configuration of a sheet-like member spreading device 51 (hereinafter also simply referred to as a spreading device 51) according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 is an overall perspective view of the spreading device 51, FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet-like member spreading device 51 of the embodiment (hereinafter also simply referred to as the spreading device 51) is formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by combining metal frames. An upstream main body 52 and a downstream main body 53 are formed. The downstream main body 53 is formed shorter than the upstream main body 52.
Further, the spreading device 51 is functionally composed of roughly three units. That is, the sheet introduction unit U1 and the sheet feeding unit U2 provided in the upstream main body 52, and the sheet stacking unit U3 provided in the downstream main body 53.
In the following description, the vertical and horizontal directions of the spreading device 51 are defined by the directions shown in FIG.

The spreader 51 is a device that is installed on the floor surface FL, and when a sheet-like member W (see FIG. 5 or the like) without a waist is inserted, the spreader 51 is spread and spread (spread) while being transported. is there. In the conveyance, the sheet-like member W is moved from the front left side of the spreading device 51 to the left rear and then to the right.
First, the configuration will be described in order from the sheet introduction unit U1.

<About the seat introduction unit U1>
An introduction conveyor C <b> 1 is disposed on the upper surface of the upstream main body 52 with the front-rear direction as the transport direction.
The introduction conveyor C1 includes a motor M1 and an endless belt 1 that is stretched between a pair of rollers that are spaced apart in the front-rear direction.
The belt 1 circulates in the direction of the arrow DR1 by driving the motor M1 via the power transmission wheel 2. The rotation of the motor M1 is controlled by the control unit SG (see FIG. 3).
A general personal computer device can be used as the control unit SG. The control unit SG is installed outside the spreading device 51 or in the spreading device 51 itself.

On the front side of the upper surface 1 a of the belt 1, a pair of urging rollers 3 and 4, which are driven rollers that rotate in contact with the belt 1, are provided apart in the front-rear direction.
An optical sensor S1 is disposed in the vicinity of the left side on the rear side in the longitudinal direction of the introduction conveyor C1. The installation position of the optical sensor S1 in the vertical direction is on the lower side than the upper surface 1a of the belt 1.
A detection signal SN1 (see FIG. 3) including detection information is output from the optical sensor S1 to the control unit SG.

A guide 5 serving as a guide member for the sheet-like member is provided on the right side of the introduction conveyor C1 at a position close to the right edge of the belt 1.
The guide 5 is formed, for example, by bending a metal wire or bar, and is attached so as not to exceed the upper surface 1 a of the belt 1.
An example of the raw material of the guide 5 is a metal rod such as aluminum or stainless steel, but is not limited thereto, and may be a resin or the like.
The guide 5 is a straight portion 5a disposed along the right edge of the belt 1 and a portion protruding further forward from the front end 1t of the belt 1, and has a curvature that bends downward and inward. And an introduction part 5b.

Specifically, the introduction portion 5b is a portion that is inclined so as to be positioned on the lower side as it moves away from the front end portion 1t of the belt 1 in the anti-conveying direction, and bends gently downward from the straight portion 5a. The guide part 5b1 until the tangent line CL5 of the wire rod is in the vertical direction, and the guide part 5b2 in a posture toward the rear side as the tangent line CL5 is further directed downward from the guide part 5b1.
The guide portion 5b1 is in the range of angle θ1 (90 °) in FIG. 1, and the guide portion 5b2 is in the range of angle θ2 (90 ° or more).

The guide portion 5b1 has an arc shape, for example. As an example of the arc shape, the arc shape may have a predetermined radius R1 (see FIG. 1).
On the other hand, the end 5a1 on the rear side of the straight portion 5a is located on the rear side with respect to the optical sensor S1.

<About the sheet clamping unit U2>
The sheet nipping unit U2 is provided below the sheet introduction unit U1 in the upstream main body 52.
Below the introduction conveyor C1, more specifically below one side edge (in this example, the right edge) of the introduction conveyor C1, a driving roller 6 and a motor M2 having a rotational axis line in the front-rear direction are provided. . A plurality of ring ribs 6 a are provided on the surface of the drive roller 6 so as to improve the frictional force between the drive roller 6 and the sheet-like member W in the rotational axis direction.
The driving roller 6 is rotated in the direction of the arrow DR2 by driving the motor M2.
Further, the rightmost end position on the outer peripheral surface of the drive roller 6 is on the left side of the position P (see FIG. 2) of the rightmost end of the guide 5.

On the right side of the drive roller 6, the pressing portion 7 is supported and disposed on an angle 8 that integrally projects from the upstream main body portion 52.
An air cylinder 9 is attached to the angle 8 in a posture in which the operation direction is the left-right direction.
The rod 9a of the air cylinder 9 expands and contracts so as to enter and exit from the left end of the air cylinder 9, and a pressure roller 10 as a driven roller is attached to the tip of the rod 9a via a bifurcated bracket 9b. The pressing roller 10 is disposed such that its rotational axis is parallel to the rotational axis of the driving roller 6.
In the state where the air cylinder 9 is contracted with the rod 9a (the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), the leftmost end position of the outer peripheral surface of the pressure roller 10 is more than the position P of the rightmost end of the guide 5 in the left-right direction It is set to be on the right.
Further, with the rod 9a extended, the pressing roller 10 comes close to the drive roller 6 or close enough to sandwich the sheet-like member W. That is, the pressing roller 10 and the driving roller 6 are a pair of feeding parts that feed out while sandwiching the sheet-like member W.
The operation of the air cylinder 9 is controlled by the control unit SG.

Below the driving roller 6, a transport conveyor C <b> 2 having a transport direction in the left-right direction is provided.
The conveyor C2 includes a motor M3 and an endless belt 11 that is stretched between a pair of rollers that are spaced apart in the left-right direction. The belt 11 circulates and moves in the direction of the arrow DR3 when the driving force of the motor M3 is transmitted through the power transmission wheel 12 such as a chain. The rotation of the motor M3 is controlled by the control unit SG.
The position of the right end portion of the conveyor C2 is on the right side by a predetermined distance from the position P of the rightmost end of the guide 5.

<About the sheet stacking unit U3>
In the downstream main body 53, a set conveyor C3 is provided on the upper left side, and a stacking part SJ is provided on the upper right side.
The set conveyor C3 includes a motor M4, a pair of rollers 13 and 13 that are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, and a plurality of endless belts 14 that span the pair of rollers 13 and 13. The belt 14 circulates and moves in the direction of the arrow DR4 when the driving force of the motor M4 is transmitted to one roller 13 via a power transmission wheel 19 such as a chain.
The rotation of the motor M4 is controlled by the control unit SG.

The set conveyor C3 is disposed so that a part of the left side overlaps in the vertical direction below the conveyor C2. That is, the left end position of the set conveyor C3 is on the left side of the right end of the transport conveyor C2.
Therefore, the sheet-like member W conveyed to the right by the conveyor C2 is placed from the top side on the upper surface 14t of the belt 14 of the set conveyor C3, and is continuously conveyed rightward by the belt 14 of the set conveyor C3. It has become. That is, it conveys in the direction (in this example orthogonal) which cross | intersects the conveyance direction of the introduction conveyor C1. Details of this conveyance will be described later.
The plurality of belts 14 are arranged in parallel with each other with a gap S between adjacent belts 14.

The reversing shaft portion 15 is rotatably supported with the rotation axis CL15 extending in the front-rear direction between the set conveyor C3 and the stacking portion SJ at the approximate center of the upper portion of the downstream main body portion 53. ing.
A pinion 15 a is attached to the front end of the reversing shaft portion 15.
The reversing shaft portion 15 is provided with a plurality of flaps 15b that are spaced apart in the extending direction of the rotation axis CL15. The positions where the plurality of flaps 15b are respectively provided and the widths of the flaps 15b correspond to the positions of the gaps S and the widths of the gaps S by the plurality of belts 14, respectively. Specifically, the width of the flap 15b is a width that can pass through the gap S.
An air cylinder 16 that extends and contracts the rod 16 a in the left-right direction is provided on the upper front side of the downstream main body 53.
A rack 16b is attached to the tip of the rod 16a. The rack 16b meshes with the pinion 15a.

1 and 2, the rod 16a is extended, that is, the reversing shaft portion 15 rotates counterclockwise (in the direction of the arrow DR5 in FIG. 2), and the flap 15b extends to the left in a substantially horizontal posture. A state where the belt 14 is retracted below the upper surface 14t of the belt 14 is shown.
When the air cylinder 16 operates from this state and the rod 16a contracts, the reversing shaft portion 15 rotates at least 180 ° clockwise (in the direction of the arrow DR6 in FIG. 2).
The operation of the air cylinder 16 is controlled by the control unit SG.

The stacking portion SJ is provided with a space where the sheet-like member W to be processed by the spreading device 51 can be laid flat.
In the example shown in FIG. 1, a mounting plate 17 is placed on the stacking portion SJ, and a certain number of sheet-like members W are stacked on the stacking plate SJ. The vertical position of the upper surface 17a of the mounting plate 17 is set to be lower than the vertical position of the rotation axis CL15 of the reversing shaft portion 15.
Instead of the mounting plate 17, a substantially box-shaped storage case 25 (see FIG. 15) whose left and upper sides are opened may be mounted, and the sheet-like members W may be stacked therein. Details of the storage case 25 will be described later.

<Overall operation of the spreading device 51>
Next, the overall operation of the spreading device 51 will be described with reference mainly to FIGS.
In this description, the sheet-like member W has no waist, and a rectangular towel shown in FIG. 4 is used as an example (hereinafter also referred to as a towel W). Specifically, the towel W has a rectangular shape having a long dimension L and a short dimension D. An arbitrary corner portion thereof is referred to as a corner portion Wp, and two edge portions connected to the corner portion Wp are respectively edge portions We1. , We2.
Hereinafter, operations from the sheet introduction unit U1 to the sheet stacking unit U3 will be described in order along the movement of the towel W being conveyed.

  First, for example, the operator picks up one towel W from a plurality of towel groups that are entangled after cleaning and stacked in an unaligned state, and as shown in FIG. 5, the front end portion of the introduction conveyor C1 is picked up. Hang on. This near end is an end on the upstream side in the transport direction.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a place where the towel W is held and how to hold it.
One edge We1 connected to the corner Wp of the towel W is grasped with the left hand LH, and the other edge We2 connected to the corner Wp is grasped with the right hand RH. At this time, the right hand RH is prevented from entering a range of a predetermined distance L1 along the edge portion We2 from the corner portion Wp.
The predetermined distance L1 is a distance larger than the distance obtained by adding the width α of the left hanging portion of the towel W to the width L2 of the belt 1 and the guide 5 combined. In actual work, the predetermined distance L1 is not a major problem as a rough distance. Details of the width α will be described later.
The extent of extension of the range of the distance L1 at the edge portion We2 is sufficient as long as the towel W extends with such a degree that it does not overlap. Therefore, it is not always necessary to actively pull it so that it is spread with the left and right hands.

When the operator holds the towel W in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6, the edge We2 of the towel W is in the width direction of the belt 1 (the left-right direction of the spreading device 51 [direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the belt 1). ) In the horizontal direction so that the edge We1 of the towel W covers the belt 1 and the guide 5 as a position that protrudes to the left of the belt 1 by a certain width (this corresponds to the width α). Align the position of.
Next, the towel W is moved closer to the introduction conveyor C1 and placed on the introduction portion 5b of the guide 5, and further placed on the belt 1 while sliding on the introduction portion 5b. This state is shown in FIG.
Next, the worker steps on the start pedal S3 (see FIG. 6). As a result, the control unit SG drives the motor M1, the introduction conveyor C1 operates, and the belt 1 starts moving in the direction of the arrow DR1. Since the urging roller 3 is in close contact with the belt 1 while being urged to some extent, the towel W is nipped between the urging roller 3 and the belt 1 from the leading edge We2 side, and the nipping progress. As a result, the belt 1 is pulled up on the belt 1 and reliably moves rearward on the belt 1.

In this pulling up, the edge We3 side of the towel W facing the edge We1 is supported from the lower side by the introduction portion 5b of the guide 5 and does not enter the inner side (left side).
For this reason, only a part (range of distance L1) of the edge portion We2 of the towel W is introduced into the introduction conveyor C1, and the towel W is naturally drawn onto the belt 1 and conveyed. Is done.
The towel W in the middle of conveyance is indicated by a two-dot chain line as Wa in FIG.
The towel W is also sandwiched between the urging rollers 4 on the rear side and further moves rearward.

Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 7 is a view seen from the front side for explaining the outline of the drive system of the spreading device 51.
In FIG. 7, in the towel W being conveyed on the belt 1, a portion corresponding to the left side width α hangs down on the lower left side of the belt 1. This hanging part is defined as a left hanging part Ws1.
Further, the right side of the towel W hangs downward from the straight portion 5a of the guide 5 to the right side. This hanging part is referred to as a right hanging part Ws2.

Referring also to FIG. 5, the movement of the towel W toward the rear in the introduction conveyor C <b> 1 progresses, and after passing through the urging roller 4, reaches a predetermined position (position indicated by the towel Wb in FIG. 5), When the presence of Ws1 is detected by the optical sensor S1, the control unit SG stops the rotation of the motor M1 based on the detection signal SN1.
At this position, the size and arrangement position of each member are set in accordance with the size of the towel W so that the right hanging part Ws2 enters between the driving roller 6 and the pressing roller 10 separated from each other in the entire width in the front-rear direction. Has been.
Next, the control unit SG rotates the motor M2 to rotate the driving roller 6 in the direction indicated by the arrow DR2 in FIG. 2, and rotates the motor M3 to circulate and move the belt 11 of the conveyor C2 in the direction indicated by the arrow DR3. Is rotated to circulate and move the belt 14 of the set conveyor C3 in the direction of the arrow DR4.
Further, the air cylinder 9 is driven to push the pressing roller 10 toward the driving roller 6 (see arrow DR7 in FIG. 7).

Through these operations, the towel W is sandwiched between the driving roller 6 and the pressing roller 10 and the pull-down portion Ws2 is pulled down as the driving roller 6 rotates (see arrow DR8 in FIG. 7). 11 is carried on the right side.
The position of the towel W being conveyed by the belt 11 is indicated by a two-dot chain line as a towel Wc in FIG.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the pressing roller 10 rotates and pulls down the driving roller 6 while pressing the towel W, and conveys the leading side of the towel W that has reached the belt 11. It is shown.
The towel W conveyed on the belt 11 is further transferred onto the belt 14 of the set conveyor C3 and conveyed to the right.

  When the towel W reaches a predetermined position on the set conveyor C3, its presence is detected by the optical sensor S2 (see FIG. 3). Based on the detection signal SN2 output including this detection information, the control unit SG stops the rotation of the motor M4 and stops the transport of the towel W. This state is indicated by a solid line as a towel Wd in FIG.

Next, the control unit SG drives the air cylinder 16 to contract the rod 16a, and rotates the flap 15b by at least 180 ° in the direction of the arrow DR9 in FIG.
By this rotation, the flap 15b scoops up the towel W placed on the belt 11 through the gap S, and inverts the upper surface and the lower surface of the towel W and places it on the placing plate 17 (arrow DR10). reference).
Thereafter, the control unit SG drives the air cylinder 16 to extend the rod 16a and return the flap 15b to the original position.

The operator can put the next towel W into the introduction conveyor C1 after the towel W put in before is transferred from the introduction conveyor C1 to the transfer conveyor C2.
By repeating the above operations, the stacking apparatus 51 is used to unfold the sheets one by one from a plurality of towels W entangled in a non-aligned state, and stack them in alignment on the mounting plate 17. It can be ST.

The spreader 51 is not limited to the above-described woven fabrics such as towels and hand wipes, but can perform the above-described spread processing and stacking processing on sheet-like members such as nonwoven fabric, paper, and soft resin.
The dimensions of each member and the dimension between the members of the spreading device 51 may be appropriately set so as to be optimal according to the size and shape of the sheet-like member to be processed.

According to the sheet-like member spreading device 51 described above, the operator first needs to grasp both side portions of one side of the sheet-like member when manually holding the sheet-like member W into the introduction conveyor C1. There is no need to extend the entire one side, and it is possible to spread it neatly by only extending a part of one side including one corner.
That is, in the operation of loading the sheet-like member W into the spreading device 51, only one corner Wp is found and picked up from the non-aligned sheet-like member W, and the corner Wp and one side Ws2 therefrom. And a portion separated by a certain distance L1 along the left and right hands, and the belt 1 and the guide 5 may be covered with the introduction portion 5b of the guide 5 with their positions in the left-right direction being generally aligned.
Therefore, the work is not time-consuming and the time for lifting the sheet-like member W can be shortened, so the load on the hand is small and the work is very easy.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the configuration and procedure described above, and it goes without saying that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The guide 5 is not limited to one formed from a metal bar wire. It may be formed from a resin material or other materials. When the towel W is transferred from the introduction conveyor C1 to the transport conveyor C2 via the sheet feeding unit U2, the straight portion 5a is placed on the side of the belt 1 and comes into contact with the towel W from below to transfer the towel W. The material is not limited as long as it has an appropriate coefficient of friction and does not hinder the supply of the sheet-like member to the sheet feeding unit U2.
The straight part 5a may be formed separately from the introduction part 5b.
The form of the introduction part 5b is not limited to a rod-like form. For example, a plate-like introduction portion 5ba as shown in FIG. 9 may be used.
For example, in the case of the plate-like introduction portion 5ba, the guide portion 5ba2 from the base point P1 where the tangent line CL5a of the end surface 5ba1 is horizontal to the intermediate point P2 which is vertical, and the rear side as the tangent line CL5a goes downward from the intermediate point P2. And a guide portion 5ba3 up to the end point P3 of the lower tip.

Moreover, the introduction part 5b of the guide 5 may have only the guide part 5b1, as shown in FIG.
In this case, when the sheet-like member W is lifted from the bowl Y containing the non-aligned sheet-like member W and is put on the introduction conveyor C1 (the belt 1 and the guide 5), the lifted position is indicated by the aspect G1. If it is ahead of the front end of the guide 5, there is no problem at all. However, if it is behind the front end of the guide 5 as shown in the aspect G2, it will be caught inside the guide 5 and put into the introduction conveyor C1. May cause trouble. Therefore, in order to make the work easier, it is preferable to provide the guide portion 5b2 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 10B is a diagram for explaining the covering operation of the sheet-like member W when the guide 5 has the guide portion 5b2.
Even if the sheet-like member W is lifted rearward of the front end of the guide 5 as shown in the aspect G2, the sheet-like member W abuts on the guide portion 5b2, so that it is directly guided to the guide portion 5b2 and easily put on the introduction conveyor C1. be able to.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10B, the leading end side of the guiding portion 5b2 may be formed as an initial guiding portion 5b3 extending substantially vertically downward.
In this case, for example, if the work is performed with the bag Y containing the unaligned sheet-like member W placed on the front side of the initial guide part 5b3, the initial guide part from the point when the sheet-like member W is picked up from the bag Y. Since it can be guided by 5b3, the charging operation to the introduction conveyor C1 can be performed more reliably and extremely easily.
The guide part 5b2 and the initial guide part 5b3 may have a width also in the width direction (left-right direction) of the introduction conveyor C1.

  In the introduction conveyor C1, the optical sensor S1 is not limited to the one disposed so as to detect the left-left hanging portion Ws1 of the sheet-like member. You may arrange | position so that the site | part on the belt 1 of the right drooping lower part Ws2 or the sheet-like member W may be detected.

  When automatic stacking of towels W is not necessary at the final stage, the set conveyor C3 and the stacking part SJ1 may not be provided. In that case, it is preferable to lengthen the transport distance of the transport conveyor C2 so that the entire sheet-like member W is transported in a planar shape on the transport conveyor C2.

Each of the conveyors C1 to C3 may not be a so-called belt conveyor using an endless belt.
For example, a conveyance device (conveyance unit) in which a tray on which a sheet-like member is placed reciprocally moves on a linear track may be used. In this case, the sheet-like member W is not thrown in at an arbitrary timing, but is thrown in synchronism with the operation of the tray so that each tray and one sheet-like member correspond to each other. It is good to make it.

When the sheet-like member W is rectangular, one edge of the top of the loading is loaded so as to be orthogonal to the conveying direction of the introduction conveyor C1, and the conveying conveyor C2 is moved in the conveying direction corresponding to this orthogonal loading. It may be provided so as to be substantially orthogonal to the conveying direction of the introduction conveyor C1.
In the case of tilting in so as to incline at a predetermined angle θ3 with respect to the conveyance direction of the introduction conveyor C1 instead of orthogonal feeding, the conveyance direction of the conveyance conveyor C2 intersects the conveyance direction of the introduction conveyor C1 at an angle θ3. It is good to provide.
If the sheet-like member W is not rectangular, the conveyance direction of the introduction conveyor C1 and the conveyance direction of the conveyance conveyor C2 are appropriately set according to the shape, throwing angle (orthogonal throwing or tilting throwing), the desired form of spreading, and the like. You only have to set it.

The spreading device 51 of the embodiment may be a spreading device 351 of a modified example in which the sheet stacking unit U33 is used instead of the sheet stacking unit U3. The spreader 351 will be described next with reference to FIGS. 11 to 16. The sheet stacking unit U3 is a stack of the sheet-like members that are reversed. The sheet stacking unit U33 is a sheet-like member. Are stacked without inversion.

<About the sheet stacking unit U33>
The outline of the spreading device 351 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a spreading device 351 configured by replacing the sheet stacking unit U3 in the spreading device 51 with a sheet stacking unit U33.
Since the sheet introduction unit U1 and the sheet clamping unit U2 are common to the spreading device 51, the sheet stacking unit U33 will be mainly described.

In the downstream main body 53 of the spreading device 351, a set conveyor C33 is provided on the upper left side, and a stacking part SJ2 is provided on the upper right side.
The set conveyor C33 includes a motor M34, a pair of rollers 313 and 313 that are spaced apart in the left-right direction, and a plurality of endless belts 314 that are stretched over the pair of rollers 313 and 313. The belt 314 circulates in the direction of the arrow DR4 when the driving force of the motor M34 is transmitted to one roller 313 via a power transmission wheel 319 such as a chain.
The rotation of the motor M34 is controlled by the control unit SG (see FIG. 16).

The plurality of belts 314 is, for example, six, and the distance in the front-rear direction of each belt 314 is set so as to be wider than the other at two locations, the frontmost side and the rearmost side.
Specifically, in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, when each of the plurality of belts 314 is labeled 314a to 314f from the front side, the gap SP1 between the belt 314a and the belt 314b and the belt 314e and the belt 314f The gap SP2 is wider than the gap between other belts.

The set conveyor C33 is arranged so that a part on the left side overlaps in the vertical direction below the conveyor C2. That is, the left end position of the set conveyor C33 is on the left side of the right end of the transport conveyor C2.
Therefore, the sheet-like member conveyed to the right by the conveyor C2 is placed on the upper surface 314t of the belt 314 of the set conveyor C33 from the top side, and is continuously conveyed to the right by the belt 314 of the set conveyor 33. It has become. That is, it conveys in the direction (in this example orthogonal) which cross | intersects the conveyance direction of the introduction conveyor C1.

The downstream main body 53 is separated to the right with respect to the left beam 318a and the left beam 318a hung in the front-rear direction so as to straddle the upper side of the set conveyor C33 on the right end side of the set conveyor C33. And a right beam 318b hung similarly.
The electric cylinder 20 is installed on the left beam 318a and the right beam 318b in a posture along the conveying direction of the set conveyor C33. The electric cylinder 20 can reciprocate the block 20b in the direction of the arrow DR11 along the linear rail 20a.
The clamp part 22 is suspended and connected to the block 20b via connecting members 21a and 21b.
The clamp part 22 has a base bar 22a extending in the front-rear direction and a pair of clampers 22b provided on both ends of the base bar 22a.

Details of the pair of clampers 22b will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a partial top view showing the right side portion of the set conveyor C33 and the clamp portion 22. As shown in FIG. The electric cylinder 20 and the connecting members 21a and 21b are omitted.
FIG. 13 is an operation diagram for explaining the operation of the clamp portion 22 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 12, the pair of clampers 22b are disposed in the front-rear direction so as to correspond to the pair of gaps SP1 and SP2 formed in the set conveyor C33, respectively.
The clamp part 22 moves in the left-right direction integrally with the block 20b of the electric cylinder 20, and the leftmost position of the movement range is indicated by a solid line in FIG. 12, and the rightmost position is indicated by a two-dot chain line. In the following description, the leftmost position is also called a standby position, and the rightmost position is also called a retracted position. Moreover, in FIG. 11, the clamp part 22 has shown the state which moved to the right side from the leftmost position.

The clamper 22b has a main body portion 22b1, and an upper clamper 22b2 and a lower clamper 22b3 extending leftward from the main body portion 22b1.
The main body 22b1 includes an air cylinder 23 therein, and the operation of the air cylinder 23 allows the upper clamper 22b2 and the lower clamper 22b3 to be separated from each other in the vertical direction. By this separation / contact, an opening / closing operation between the open position and the closed position in the clamper 22b is performed.
In the closed position, the upper clamper 22b2 and the lower clamper 22b3 are in contact with each other or in close proximity to each other, and a sheet-like member such as a towel is placed between the upper clamper 22b2 and the lower clamper 22b3. When entering, the sheet-like member can be clamped satisfactorily.

A guide portion 22b3a that is gently inclined in a direction away from the upper clamper 22b2 is formed on the tip side of the lower clamper 22b3. The guide portion 22b3a functions as a guide that helps the sheet-like member to enter.
Therefore, when the sheet-like member is sandwiched, the position where the most clamping force can be applied to the sheet-like member is a portion of the guide portion 22b3a on the main body portion 22b1 side.
An optical sensor S22 is attached to the front end side of the upper clamper 22b2, so that when the upper clamper 22b2 and the lower clamper 22b3 are in the open state, it is possible to detect the presence of an entering object between the two members. It has become. Naturally, it is possible to detect whether or not an entering object exists between the two members in the closed state.
The optical sensors S22 provided in each of the pair of clampers 22b will be distinguished as the optical sensor S22a as the sensor of the front clamper 22b and the sensor of the rear clamper 22b as the optical sensor S22b, as necessary.

In the standby position, the clamper 22b is configured such that the upper clamper 22b2, the lower clamper 22b3, and the set conveyor C33 overlap in the left-right direction.
That is, the left ends of the upper clamper 22b2 and the lower clamper 22b3 are positioned to the left of the right end of the set conveyor C33.
In the vertical direction, the upper clamper 22b2 is positioned above the upper surface 314a of the belt 314 of the set conveyor C33, and the lower clamper 22b3 is below the upper surface 314a of the belt 314 and above the shaft 313a of the roller 313. Is located.

The spreading device 351 having the sheet stacking unit U33 having such a configuration can stack the sheet-like members sandwiched from the sheet feeding unit U2 without being inverted, as will be described below. .
Hereinafter, the sheet-like member will be described as a towel W with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a stacking process of sheet-like members succeeding FIG.
13 and 14, a stacking part SJ2 is disposed on the lower right side with respect to the set conveyor C33, and a stack ST on which a plurality of towels W are already stacked is placed on the stacking part SJ2. Is shown.

First, similarly to the spreading device 51, the towel W is transferred from the transport conveyor C2 to the set conveyor C33. In this state, the pair of clampers 22b are in the standby position.
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13A, when the towel W is conveyed rightward on the set conveyor C33 and reaches a predetermined position (a position where the leading end reaches the optical sensor S22 of the clamper 22b), the upper clamper The presence is detected by the optical sensor S22 (S22a, S22b) of 22b2, and a detection signal SN22 (SN22a, SN22b) including this detection information is output (see FIG. 16).

Upon receiving this detection signal SN22 (SN22a, SN22b), the control unit SG drives the pair of air cylinders 23 to close the pair of clampers 22b.
Here, the towel W may be transported in a tilted posture in which the leading edge Wet in the transport direction is not orthogonal to the transport direction, depending on the loading posture of the introduction conveyor C1. In this case, a significant time difference occurs in the timing at which the pair of optical sensors S22a and S22b detect the leading edge Wet.
Therefore, the control unit SG first drives the air cylinder 23 of the clamper 22b having the photosensor that has detected the leading edge Wet of the towel W first out of the pair of photosensors S22a and S22b, and then detects the preceding clamper. 22b is closed.
Thereafter, since the other optical sensor also detects the leading edge Wet with a delay, it is preferable to perform control such that the air cylinder 23 of the clamper 22b having the other optical sensor is driven to close the clamper 22b.
With this control, the leading edge Wet of the towel W conveyed in an inclined posture is clamped by the pair of clampers 22b in a posture orthogonal to the conveying direction, so that the conveying posture of the towel W is neatly arranged.
Of course, when the towel W is inserted so that the posture of the towel W is adjusted on the upstream side, the control unit SG simultaneously closes the pair of clampers 22b when both the pair of optical sensors S22a and S22b detect the leading edge Wet. You may control to be in a state.
When the clamper 22b is closed, the control unit SG then stops the motor M34 and stops the transport of the towel W by the belt 314.

By closing the pair of clampers 22b, the leading edge Wet side of the towel W is held between the pair of clampers 22b as shown in FIG. 13B.
In the clamping operation of the clamper 22b, the movement toward the upper clamper 22b2 of the lower clamper 22b3 (see arrow DR12) is larger than the movement toward the lower clamper 22b3 of the upper clamper 22b2 (see arrow R13). The clamping position of W is above the upper surface 314t of the belt 314. In other words, the towel W is lifted from the upper surface 314t of the belt 314 and sandwiched by the pair of clampers 22b.

  In this way, the clamper 22b lifts and clamps the leading edge Wet side of the towel W upward from the upper surface 314t of the belt 314, so that it is confirmed that the clamping has been reliably performed by an artificial determination by visual observation or an imaging device. It can be easily performed by automatic determination or the like by image processing based on the image obtained in (1).

The control unit SG drives the electric cylinder 20 after moving the pair of clampers 22b together, and moves the block 30b to the right. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 13C, the pair of clampers 22b connected to the block 30b moves to the right while holding the towel W (see arrow DR13).
Here, since the belt 314 has already stopped, the towel W moves while sliding on the upper surface 314t of the belt 314.

  When the movement of the clamper 22b to the right proceeds, as shown in FIG. 14A, the trailing edge side of the towel W in the transport direction is disengaged from the right end of the belt 314 and falls downward due to its own weight. Here, since the stacking portion SJ2 has a plane space in which the towel W can be placed and is disposed on the lower right side of the belt 314, the rear edge side of the towel W that has fallen off the belt 314 is dropped. Falls so as to be aligned and placed on the stack ST, and the leading edge Wet side of the towel W is sandwiched above the stack ST by the pair of clampers 22b.

The timing when this state is reached is determined by the control unit SG as to the shape information of the sheet-like member (towel W) to be conveyed, the time since the movement of the electric cylinder 20 to the right of the block 20b, or the time of the block 20b. It is grasped by the position in the left-right direction.
At this timing, the control unit SG operates the air cylinder 23 to open the clamper 22b (see arrows DR14a and DR14b), and further moves the block 20b to the rightmost retracted position (see arrow D15).

  When the clamper 22b is opened and retracted to the right, the towel W is free to fall with the leading edge Wet detached from the clamper 22b, and the entire towel W is loaded as shown in FIG. 14 (b). Aligned and placed on the heavy body ST.

Thereafter, the control unit SG drives the electric cylinder 20 to move the block 20b to the left standby position.
By the above operation, the towel W is stacked on the stacked portion SJ2 or the stacked body ST without being inverted.

The stacking part SJ2 for stacking the towels W is not limited to having a plane space in which the towels W can be simply placed, and as an example, the stacking part SJ3 having a configuration using a storage case as shown in FIG. It may be.
FIG. 15A is a perspective view, partly in section, for explaining the stacked portion SJ3.
For the set conveyor C33, only the belts 314d to 314f on the rear side are described in order to facilitate the understanding by avoiding overlapping drawing.
FIG. 15B is an overall perspective view of the storage case 25 showing a state in which towels W are stacked on the storage case 25.

As shown in FIG. 15B, the storage case 25 is formed on the lower side of the inner surface of the body portion 25a formed in a substantially U shape by metal or resin and the side wall portions 25b, 25b facing the body portion 25a. The inner plate is accommodated so as to be vertically movable between the pair of contact portions 25c and 25c protruding inward and the side wall portions 25b and 25b, and the downward movement is regulated by contacting the contact portion 25c. 25d.
The storage case 25 can load a plurality of towels W on the intermediate plate 25d.

The stacking portion SJ3 includes a mounting table 61 having a mounting surface 61a for mounting the storage case 25, an opening 61b provided at the center of the mounting surface 61a, and an opening 61b. And an elevating part 62 provided. The elevating part 62 is connected to an elastic member such as a coil spring, and is attached by the elastic member so as to push up the middle plate 25d to the highest position in a state where the empty storage case 25 is placed at a predetermined position on the placement surface 61a. Be forced. The middle plate 25d at this position is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
Each time the towel W is placed on the intermediate plate 25d, the elevating part 62 is lowered in position by the elastic member contracting due to its mass.
As a result, a predetermined maximum number of towels W can be stacked on the intermediate plate 25d. The maximum number of stacked sheets is the number of sheets that can be stacked at the lowest position where the middle plate 25d is in contact with the contact portion 25c.

  As shown in FIG. 15B, when a predetermined number of towels W are stacked as the stacked body WT, each storage case 25 can be supplied to the next process, and the stack ST can be easily handled. For example, you may provide the handle | steering-wheel 25e in the outer surface of a pair of side wall part 25b of the main-body part 25a.

  The above-described embodiments and modifications can be freely combined as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Belt, 1a Upper surface, 1t End part 2, 12, 19 Power transmission wheel 3, 4 Energizing roller 5 Guide 5a Straight part, 5a1 End part, 5b, 5ba Introduction part 5b1 Guide part, 5b2 Guide part, 5b3 Initial guide Part 5ba1 end face, 5ba2 guide part, 5ba3 guide part 6 driving roller, 6a ring rib 7 pressing part, 8 angle 9 air cylinder, 9a rod, 9b bifurcated bracket 10 pressing roller, 13,313 rollers 11, 14, 314, 314a to 314f Belt 14t, 314t Upper surface 15 Reverse shaft portion, 15a Pinion, 15b Flap 16 Air cylinder, 16a Rod, 16b Rack 17 Mounting plate, 17a Upper surface 19, 319 Power transmission wheel 20 Electric cylinder, 20a rail, 20b Block 21a, 21b Connection Member 22 Clamp part 22a Bar, 22b Clamper, 22b1 Main body part 22b2 Upper clamper, 22b3 Lower clamper, 22b3a Guide part 23 Air cylinder 25 Storage case 25a Main body part, 25b Side wall part, 25c Abutting part 25d Middle plate, 25e Handle 313a Shaft 318a Left beam, 318b Right beam 51,351 Sheet-like member spreading device (spreading device)
52 upstream side main body part, 53 downstream side main body part 61 mounting table, 61a mounting surface, 61b opening part, 62 lift part C1 introduction conveyor, C2 transport conveyor, C3, C33 set conveyor CL5 tangent, CL5a tangent, CL15 rotation axis D Short dimension, R1 to DR14a, DR14b, DR15 Direction FL Floor L Longitudinal dimension, L1 Distance LH Left hand, RH Right hand P position, P1 Base point, P2 Intermediate point, P3 End point R1 Radius, S, SP1, SP2 Gap S1, S2, S22, S22a, S22b Optical sensor SN1, SN2, SN22, SN22a, SN22b Detection signal S3 Start pedal SG control unit, SJ1-SJ3 stacking unit, SP1, SP2 gap ST Stacking unit M1-M4, M34 Motor U1 Seat introduction Unit U2 Sheet feeding unit U3, U33 Sheet stacking Knit W, Wa to Wd sheet-like member (towel), Wp corner We1~We3 edge, Ws1 left hanging parts, Ws2 right hanging portions Wet top edge Y cage, .theta.1, .theta.2 angle, alpha width

Claims (6)

A device for spreading a sheet-like member for spreading a sheet-like member without a waist in a planar shape,
A first transport unit having the first transport direction as the transport direction;
A pair of feeding parts extending along the first conveying direction and being separated from each other; disposed below one side edge of the first conveying part; and sandwiched by the pair of feeding parts A delivery section that feeds further downward while sandwiching the delivery member;
A second transport unit disposed below the sending unit and having a second transport direction that intersects the first transport direction as a transport direction;
The first conveying unit is configured to provide the sheet-like member that is inserted at an end that is an upstream side in the first conveying direction so as to have a drooping portion that hangs down from the one side edge. Until it reaches the position
The delivery unit sends out the sheet-like member that has reached the predetermined position from the hanging portion side downward by the pair of sandwiching units,
The second conveying unit is configured to convey the sheet-like member sent out from the sending-out unit while being placed from the leading side thereof so as to be spread in a planar shape. A spreading device for sheet-like members.   A guide that protrudes in a direction opposite to the first conveying direction on the side of the one end edge of the first conveying unit in an opposite direction to the first conveying unit, and is inclined to be positioned on a lower side as the distance from the end is increased. The sheet-like member spreading device according to claim 1, wherein a guide having a portion is provided.   The sheet-like member spreading device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of feeding portions is a pair of a driving roller and a driven roller.   4. The stacking unit according to claim 1, further comprising a stacking unit that stacks the sheet-like members transported by the second transport unit to form a stack. Sheet-like member spreading device. A method for spreading a sheet-like member for spreading a sheet-like member having no waist into a flat shape,
An edge portion was inserted into the end portion on the upstream side in the first conveyance direction, which is the conveyance direction of the first conveyance unit, so as to have a hanging portion depending from one of the left and right sides in the conveyance direction. An input conveyance step in which the first conveyance unit conveys the sheet-like member to a predetermined position on the first conveyance unit;
A sending step in which a sending unit disposed below one side edge of the first conveying unit sends the sheet downward while sandwiching from the hanging portion side of the sheet-like member that has reached the predetermined position;
The second conveying unit disposed below the sending unit with the second conveying direction intersecting the first conveying direction as the conveying direction, the sheet-like member sent downward by the sending unit, A spread conveying step that conveys the sheet-like member while being placed from the front side , and spreads the sheet-like member on a plane;
A method for spreading a sheet-like member, comprising:   6. The method for spreading a sheet-like member according to claim 5, wherein in the feeding step, the drooping portion is sandwiched between the driving roller and the driven roller, and the feeding portion is sent downward.

Images