JP6665017B2 - Accumulator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an accumulator that is disposed between a molding device and a cutting device and that can temporarily accumulate a resin sheet discharged from the molding device.

  From a resin sheet, a line for manufacturing products such as containers for storing foods, electric parts, daily necessities, medicines, etc., and lid materials for the containers, the resin sheet conveyed in a predetermined direction, a molded product by a molding device. In general, a molded product is separated from a resin sheet by a cutting device after thermoforming.

  FIG. 11 shows a conventional production line 101 in which a molding device 102 is arranged on the upstream side and a cutting device 103 is arranged on the downstream side. The molding apparatus 102 is configured by, for example, a vacuum pressure air molding apparatus, heats and softens the resin sheet S1 while conveying the resin sheet S1 in a predetermined conveyance direction, and forms a plurality of molded articles on the resin sheet S1 by a molding die. After forming, the resin sheet S1 is sent to the cutting device 103 on the downstream side. The resin sheet S1 sent from the molding device 102 enters the cutting device 103 while being slackened between the molding device 102 and the cutting device 103. The cutting device 103 punches out and separates the molded product from the resin sheet S1 using a cutting die having a cutting blade.

  The cutting device 103 is provided with a stacking device 104 for stacking and discharging a plurality of molded products. The stacking device 104 has a stackable table that can be raised and lowered, a discharge table for unloading molded products stacked on the stacking table, and a pusher that moves the molded product from the stacking table to the discharge table. When a predetermined number of molded articles are accumulated, the accumulation device 104 arranges the accumulation table on the discharge table and transfers a plurality of molded articles accumulated on the accumulation table by the pusher to the discharge table. In this operation, the cutting device stops the cutting die without conveying the resin sheet S1.

  In the conventional manufacturing line 101, while the stacking device moves the molded product from the stacking table to the discharge table, the cutting device 103 does not convey the resin sheet S1 and the cutting die stops, but the forming device 102 stops. The molding process is continued without any problems. Therefore, the slack amount of the resin sheet S1 between the molding device 102 and the cutting device 103 increases. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, a part of the resin sheet S1 is folded, whereby a molded product is deformed and a defective product may be generated.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an accumulator that accumulates suitably a resin sheet sent from a molding device so as not to be folded.

  The present invention relates to an accumulator for temporarily accumulating a resin sheet sent from a molding apparatus, comprising a support for supporting the resin sheet, a shaft member for supporting the support, and a column for supporting the shaft member. Wherein the support has a lifting drive mechanism for lifting and lowering the shaft member, and a rotation drive mechanism for rotating the shaft member.

  According to such a configuration, in a state where the resin sheet is supported by the support, the shaft member is lifted by the column drive mechanism, whereby the support lifts the resin sheet, and the resin fed from the molding device is lifted. Extra seats can be supported. Further, by rotating the shaft member by the rotation driving mechanism of the column, the resin sheet can be sent downstream. Therefore, the support can support the resin sheet in a well-balanced manner on the upstream side and the downstream side. As described above, the accumulator is configured to appropriately move the support and fold the resin sheet sent out from the molding device by a combination of the drive for raising and lowering the shaft member by the lifting drive mechanism and the rotation drive for the shaft member by the rotary drive mechanism. Accumulate so that they do not overlap. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the molded product formed on the resin sheet from being deformed.

  Further, it is desirable that the support is formed in a circular shape rotatable around its center. Thus, the support can support the molded article formed on the resin sheet without deforming the resin sheet, and can appropriately send out the resin sheet to the downstream side.

  The accumulator according to the present invention preferably includes a sensor for detecting the resin sheet sent from the molding device. By causing the sensor to detect the resin sheet when the amount of slack increases, the accumulation device can accumulate the resin sheet sent from the molding device so that the molded product is not deformed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the accumulation apparatus can accumulate | store suitably the resin sheet sent out from the molding apparatus so that it may not be folded.

It is a side view showing the whole composition of the manufacturing line concerning a first embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of a shaping | molding apparatus. It is a side view of an accumulation device. It is a front view of an accumulation apparatus. It is a side view which shows the principal part of an accumulation apparatus. It is a top view which shows the principal part of an accumulation apparatus. It is a side view for explaining operation of an accumulation device. It is a side view for explaining operation of an accumulation device. It is a side view which shows the principal part of a cutting device. It is a side view showing a part of manufacturing line concerning a second embodiment. It is a side view which shows a part of conventional production line. It is a side view which shows a part of conventional production line.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 9 show a first embodiment of a production line including an accumulator according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the production line 1 includes a feeding device 2, a forming device 3, an accumulating device 4, a cutting device (puncher, trimming device) 5, and a winding device (scrap winder) 6.

  The molding device 3 conveys the resin sheet S1 sent from the feeding device 2 while heating the resin sheet S1, and at the same time, forms a multi-row, multi-row molded product M in one shot. As the molding device 3, a vacuum pressure molding device is exemplified, but the invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 2, the molding device 3 includes a conveying unit 7 for conveying the resin sheet S1, a heating device 8 for heating the conveyed resin sheet S1, and a molding die 9 (upper die 9a, lower die 9). 9b).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the accumulation device 4 is provided between the molding device 3 and the cutting device 5. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the accumulator 4 includes a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) supports 10 that support the resin sheet S <b> 1, a shaft member 11 that supports the support 10, and a shaft member 11. The apparatus includes a supporting frame 12 and a control device 13 for executing predetermined control.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the support 10 is formed in a circular shape rotatable around its center. The weight of the support body 10 is reduced, and the support body 10 includes a circular rim 10a, a hub 10b that can be fixed to the shaft member 11, and a plurality of spokes 10c that connect these. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the support 10 may be constituted by rollers or other rotatable mechanical elements.

  An elastic member such as rubber is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the rim 10a. Thereby, the support 10 supports the resin sheet S1 so as not to be damaged, and can send the resin sheet S1 downstream by a suitable frictional force. The hub 10b is provided with locking means 14 for fixing the support 10 to the shaft member 11. The position of the support 10 can be changed along the longitudinal direction of the shaft member 11 by releasing the fixation of the hub 10 b by the lock means 14.

  The shaft member 11 supports the plurality of supports 10 in a state of being separated at equal intervals, and the interval between the supports 10 can be appropriately set. Both ends of the shaft member 11 are supported by the frame 12. The shaft member 11 is configured to be able to reciprocate up and down while maintaining a horizontal state, and is configured to rotationally drive each support 10. The shaft member 11 has a positioning scale formed on the surface thereof along the longitudinal direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the frame 12 has a pair of columns 15 that support the shaft member 11 that supports the support 10 so as to be able to move up and down and rotate. The support 15 includes an elevating drive mechanism 16 that moves the shaft member 11 up and down, and a rotation drive mechanism 17 that rotates the shaft member 11.

  The lifting drive mechanism 16 is a linear actuator attached to both of the pair of columns 15 in the frame 12. The lifting drive mechanism 16 is configured as a servo mechanism (position control mechanism) that drives the ball screw mechanism by a stepping motor, but is not limited to this. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each lifting drive mechanism 16 has a slider 18 connected to a ball screw mechanism and capable of reciprocating up and down.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rotation drive mechanism 17 includes a pair of bearings 19 that support each end of the shaft member 11, and a motor (for example, a stepping motor) 20 that rotates the shaft member 11. Each bearing 19 is supported by each slider 18 of the pair of lifting drive mechanisms 16. The motor 20 is supported by one of the pair of sliders 18 via a bracket 21 fixed to the slider 18 of the lifting drive mechanism 16. The rotation shaft 20a of the motor 20 is connected to one end of the shaft member 11 via a pulley 20b and a drive belt 20c.

  As the control device 13 of the accumulation device 4, for example, a computer on which various hardware such as a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, a monitor, and an input interface are mounted, a programmable logic controller (PLC), and other various control devices can be used.

  The control device 13 executes a control program, and controls the drive of the shaft member 11 by the lifting drive mechanism 16 and the rotation drive mechanism 17. In particular, the control device 13 raises and lowers the shaft member 11 in a horizontal posture by executing synchronous control of the pair of lifting drive mechanisms 16. The control device 13 is connected to the molding device 3 and the cutting device 5. The control device 13 can receive a shot completion signal from the molding device 3 and a signal from the cutting device 5 by wire communication or wireless communication.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the accumulation device 4 will be described. The resin sheet S1 on which the molding M is formed by the molding device 3 is sent to the cutting device 5 via the accumulation device 4. In the cutting device 5, as described later, a plurality of molded products M are punched out from the resin sheet S1 one by one and are stacked vertically. The cutting device 5 stops cutting the molded article M when discharging the accumulated molded article M. At this time, the cutting device 5 transmits to the accumulation device 4 a discharge start signal to start discharging the accumulated molded articles M. Further, the cutting device 5 transmits a discharge completion signal to the accumulation device 4 when the discharge of the accumulated molded articles M is completed. Further, the cutting device 5 stops the cutting of the molded article M when an abnormality occurs, such as a defective cutting such as a slippage of the molded article M. In this case, the cutting device 5 transmits an error signal to that effect to the accumulation device 4.

  As described above, the cutting device 5 stops cutting the molded article M from when the discharge start signal is transmitted to when the discharge completion signal is transmitted, or while the error signal is transmitted. On the other hand, the molding device 3 is continuing the molding process. For this reason, the length of the resin sheet S1 between the molding device 3 and the cutting device 5 temporarily increases. When the length of the resin sheet S1 increases as described above, the accumulation device 4 temporarily accumulates a part of the resin sheet S1 so as not to be folded.

  When the control device 13 receives the discharge start signal or the error signal from the cutting device 5, the accumulating device 4 rotates and raises the support 10 at the standby position, as shown in FIG. 7. At this time, the control device 13 drives the shaft member 11 by the rotation drive mechanism 17 and drives the shaft member 11 by the elevation drive mechanism 16 to rotate the support body 10 clockwise, thereby raising the support body 10. That is, the support 10 moves upward while feeding the resin sheet S1 to the downstream side.

  When the support 10 arrives at a predetermined upper position, the control device 13 temporarily stops the lifting drive mechanism 16 and the rotation drive mechanism 17. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the resin sheet S <b> 1 is supported by the support 10 by the accumulation device 4 in a state where the resin sheet S <b> 1 is arranged in a well-balanced manner on the upstream side and the downstream side. The accumulation device 4 maintains this state for a certain period of time. Thereafter, when the ejection completion signal is received from the cutting device 5 or the error signal is no longer transmitted from the cutting device 5, the control device 13 of the accumulating device 4 controls the shaft member 11 by the lifting drive mechanism 16 and the rotation drive mechanism 17. The support 10 is driven and gradually lowered while rotating the support 10 clockwise.

  At this time, although the punching of the molded article M by the cutting device 5 has already started, the support 10 descends while feeding the resin sheet S1 to the downstream side, so that the resin sheet S1 has an appropriate slack without being strained. In the state maintained, it can be carried into the cutting device 5.

  The control device 13 of the accumulating device 4 receives the shot completion signal from the molding device 3, and controls the vertical movement and the rotational driving of the shaft member 11 according to the change in the conveying speed of the resin sheet S <b> 1 by the molding device 3. Such control is performed. That is, the accumulating device 4 can stop the support 10 or rotate and move up and down at a low speed when the conveying means 7 of the molding device 3 is stopped.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the cutting device 5 includes a cutting die 22, an accumulating device 23 for accumulating the molded products M, and a feeding mechanism 24 for the resin sheet S1. The cutting die 22 has an upper cutting die 22a as a male die and a lower cutting die 22b as a female die. The cutting die 22 is capable of individually punching out one row of the molded products M among the multi-row, double-row molded products M formed on the resin sheet S1 individually. It may be configured to be able to be cut by a. The stacking device 23 includes a stacking table 25 on which the molded articles M can be loaded, a discharge table 26 for unloading the plurality of molded articles M held by the stacking table 25, and a discharging of the stacked molded articles M from the stacking table 25. A pusher 27 for moving to the table 26. The feed mechanism 24 has a pinch roller 24a and a feed roller 24b. The feed mechanism 24 conveys the molded product M of the resin sheet S1 to the cutting die 22 at every one pitch (one row), and also feeds the scrap S2 to the winding device. Send to 6 side.

  FIG. 10 shows a second embodiment of the accumulator according to the present invention. The accumulation device 4 according to the present embodiment includes a sensor (level sensor) 28 that detects the resin sheet S1 sent from the molding device 3. The control device 13 executes the control related to the rotation drive and the elevation drive of the shaft member 11 based on the detection signal from the sensor 28.

  The sensor 28 is disposed upstream of the support 10 of the accumulation device 4. The sensor 28 detects when the length of the resin sheet S1 between the molding device 3 and the cutting device 5 increases while the cutting device 5 transfers the molded product M by the accumulating device 23. Can be. In addition, the sensor 28 can detect when the length of the resin sheet S1 between the molding device 3 and the cutting device 5 increases due to the stop of the cutting device 5 due to the occurrence of an abnormality. That is, as the length of the resin sheet S1 increases, the resin sheet S1 hangs downward as shown by the dashed line in FIG. The sensor 28 detects a hanging portion of the resin sheet S1 and turns on.

  When the sensor 28 is turned on, the control device 13 rotates and raises the support 10 as in the first embodiment. By the operation of the support 10, the hanging portion of the resin sheet S <b> 1 is sent to the downstream side of the accumulator 4 while being gradually lifted by the support 10. When the resin sheet S1 rises outside the detection range of the sensor 28, the sensor 28 is turned off, and the control device 13 stops the support 10.

  According to the present embodiment, since the operation of the support 10 can be controlled by the sensor 28, transmission and reception of control signals between the molding device 3 and the accumulator 4 in the first embodiment, and A configuration related to transmission and reception of a control signal to and from the cutting device 5 can be omitted. Thus, the configuration of the manufacturing line 1 can be further simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, nor is it limited to the above-described operation and effect. The present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 3 molding device 4 accumulator 11 shaft member 15 support 16 elevating drive mechanism 17 rotation drive mechanism 28 sensor

Claims (3)

A molding device for molding a molded product to the resin sheet by the forming mold, while being disposed between the cutting device for punching the molded product from the resin sheet by truncated, the resin sheet fed from the molding device An accumulator that temporarily accumulates in a relaxed state ,
A support that is positioned below the resin sheet and supports the resin sheet in a relaxed state, a shaft member that supports the support, and a support that supports the shaft member,
The struts possess the elevation driving mechanism for elevating the shaft member, and a rotation drive mechanism for rotating the shaft member,
When the length of the resin sheet between the molding device and the cutting device temporarily increases, the lifting member drives the shaft member to raise the shaft member. accumulation and wherein that you raised from the standby position while maintaining it state.   The accumulator according to claim 1, wherein the support is formed in a circular shape rotatable around its center.   The accumulator according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a sensor for detecting the resin sheet sent from the molding device.

Images