JP7204708B2 - Conveyor and its control method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a conveying apparatus and a conveying method provided with pinch rollers for conveying a billet in its axial direction. The present invention relates to a conveying device and a conveying method capable of suppressing deterioration.

Various conveying devices have been proposed for conveying a rod-shaped billet with its axial direction as the conveying direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration of a conveying device that includes pinch rollers arranged to face each other in the vertical direction and that conveys a billet to an induction heating furnace by means of the pinch rollers.

Since a gap is formed in front of and behind the pinch roller in the billet conveying direction, there has been a problem that the billet falls into this gap. There was a problem that the front end or the rear end of the billet fell into the gap between the pinch rollers, making it impossible to feed the billet with the pinch rollers. Especially when the billet is relatively short in the axial direction, it is easy to fall into the gap.

The front end of the billet sometimes fell into the gap between the pinch rollers and the rear end floated up. Since the billet tilted, there was a problem that the trailing billet was caught under the raised trailing edge of the billet. There was a problem that the leading billet fell from the conveying device due to the collision of the trailing billet.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-107419

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a conveying apparatus and a conveying method that can suppress a decrease in conveying efficiency by preventing a billet from falling into a gap between pinch rollers in the conveying direction. to provide.

A conveying device for achieving the above object is a conveying device comprising a pinch roller that rotates in contact with the lower surface of a rod-shaped billet to convey the billet in the conveying direction in the axial direction of the billet, wherein the pinch roller has a groove formed on the circumferential surface along the circumferential direction, and has a guide member extending along the conveying direction and having a part thereof disposed in the groove.

A conveying method for achieving the above object is a conveying method in which the billet is conveyed in the conveying direction in the axial direction of the billet by rotating pinch rollers in contact with the bottom surface of a bar-shaped billet, wherein the pinch rollers A groove portion is previously formed on the peripheral surface along the circumferential direction, and a guide member is previously arranged, a part of which is arranged in the groove portion and which extends along the conveying direction, and the pinch roller in the conveying direction. It is characterized in that the billet, which is likely to fall into the front and rear gaps, is conveyed while being supported by the guide member.

According to the present invention, the billet that is likely to fall into the gap between the pinch rollers in the conveying direction can be conveyed while being supported by the guide members. Therefore, the conveying device can prevent the billet from falling into the gap. This is advantageous for suppressing a decrease in billet transport efficiency.

It is explanatory drawing which illustrates a conveying apparatus by the side view. It is explanatory drawing which expands and illustrates the circumference|surroundings of a guide member. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating FIG. 2 in plan view; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the pinch roller in FIG. 2 as viewed from the arrow AA; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a billet is in contact with the pinch rollers of FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a modification of the pinch roller of FIG. 4; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a modification of FIG. 2;

Hereinafter, a conveying apparatus and a conveying method will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings. In the drawing, the billet transport direction is indicated by an arrow x, the width direction perpendicular to the billet transport direction is indicated by an arrow y, and the vertical direction is indicated by an arrow z.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the conveying device 1 has a pinch roller 3 that feeds the billet 2 in the axial direction by rotating while being in contact with the lower surface of the rod-shaped billet 2 . The billet 2 is formed in, for example, a columnar shape or a prismatic shape. In this embodiment, the conveying device 1 has a pair of pinch rollers 3 spaced apart in the vertical direction z. The pinch roller 3 is configured to rotate around a central axis extending in the width direction y by using a motor or the like (not shown) as a power source.

In this embodiment, the transport device 1 has a chain conveyor 4 that transports the billet 2 toward the pinch rollers 3 . In addition to the chain conveyor 4, the conveying device 1 may have another configuration such as a belt conveyor. The conveying device 1 only needs to have at least the pinch rollers 3 that come into contact with the lower surface side of the billet 2, and the chain conveyor 4 is not an essential requirement. The conveying device 1 has a structure for conveying the billet 2 to the induction heating furnace 5 . In the drawing, the direction in which the billet 2 moves is indicated by an outline arrow for explanation.

The induction heating furnace 5 is provided with a skid rail 6 extending in the conveying direction x from the rear side (left side in FIG. 1) in the moving direction of the billet 2 to the inside. The skid rail 6 is formed of a pair of rod-like members extending in the transport direction x and spaced apart in the width direction y. The structure of the skid rail is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-238647.

A gap 7 is formed before and after the pinch roller 3 in the transport direction x. A gap 7 is formed between the chain conveyor 4 and the pinch roller 3 and between the pinch roller 3 and the skid rail 6, respectively.

The conveying device 1 has a guide member 8 arranged to close the gap 7 . The guide member 8 is composed of, for example, a cylindrical rod member. The guide member 8 may be composed of a prism-shaped rod-like member, or may be composed of a plate-like member. The guide member 8 extends in the transport direction x. It can also be said that the guide member 8 extends in front and behind the pinch roller 3 . The guide member 8 is arranged such that the upper end of the guide member 8 is lower than the upper end of the pinch roller 3 arranged on the lower side in the vertical direction z.

The guide member 8 is supported by a support member 9 as illustrated in FIGS. The support member 9 extends, for example, in the width direction y, and has a configuration for supporting the guide member 8 from below. The support member 9 is fixed at its end to a wall-like member or the like that constitutes the conveying device 1, for example. The configuration of the support member 9 is not limited to the above, and may have a configuration capable of supporting the guide member 8 .

The rear end of the guide member 8 is not in contact with the chain conveyor 4 and is desirably positioned as close as possible. By adjusting the installation position of the guide member 8 in the conveying direction x or by adjusting the length of the guide member 8, the approaching arrangement to the chain conveyor 4 can be realized.

Since the guide member 8 can be arranged close to the chain conveyor 4, the gap 7 behind the pinch roller 3 (left side in FIG. 2) can be easily closed.

It is desirable that the front end of the guide member 8 is positioned so as not to contact the skid rail 6 and as close as possible. As illustrated in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, a guide member 8 is arranged at a position between a pair of skid rails 6 spaced apart in the width direction y in plan view. A portion of the guide member 8 overlaps the skid rail 6 in the transport direction x.

Since the guide member 8 overlaps the skid rail 6 in the transport direction x, the gap 7 formed between the pinch roller 3 and the skid rail 6 is completely closed.

As illustrated on the left side of FIG. 4, the pinch roller 3 has grooves 10 formed on the circumferential surface along the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, a groove 10 is formed substantially in the center of the circumferential surface of the pinch roller 3 in the width direction y. That is, the groove portion 10 is formed substantially in the center of the pinch roller 3 in the axial direction. For the sake of explanation, a conventional pinch roller 3X without the groove portion 10 is shown on the right side of FIG.

The guide member 8 is arranged such that at least a portion thereof is accommodated in the groove portion 10 . In this embodiment, a portion of the guide member 8 is arranged in the groove portion 10 in the vertical direction z. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a part of the guide member 8 is arranged in the groove portion 10 in the transport direction x. The guide member 8 passes through the groove portion 10 in the transport direction x. The guide member 8 may be placed in contact with the pinch roller 3, but it is desirable that it be placed out of contact. The rotation of the pinch roller 3 can prevent the guide member 8 and the groove portion 10 from being worn.

It is desirable that the guide member 8 be arranged at a central portion of the pinch roller 3 in the width direction y. The central portion is a concept that includes not only the position at the center of the pinch roller 3 in the width direction y, but also the position shifted from the center in the width direction y. It is sufficient that the entire guide member 8 is positioned inside both ends of the pinch roller 3 in the width direction y.

In FIG. 4, the peripheral surface of the pinch roller 3 in the width direction y is composed of an inclined surface 11 expanding from the central portion toward both sides. The pair of inclined surfaces 11 are configured to approach each other toward the groove portion 10 . The billet 2 is conveyed while being in contact with the inclined surface 11 as illustrated in FIG. At this time, it is desirable that the billet 2 does not come into contact with the guide member 8 . It is possible to prevent the efficiency of conveying the billet 2 from deteriorating due to friction with the guide member 8 .

In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the groove portion 10 formed by the surface defined by the up-down direction z and the width direction y is a quadrilateral. The cross-sectional shape of the groove portion 10 is not limited to this. As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the cross-sectional shape of the groove portion 10 may be formed in a triangular shape that protrudes toward the central axis of the pinch roller 3 .

A guide member 8 supports the billet 2 which is about to fall into the front and rear gaps 7 in the conveying direction x of the pinch rollers 3 . Since it is possible to prevent the billet 2 from falling into the gap 7 , the transport device 1 can suppress a decrease in transport efficiency of the billet 2 .

Since the billet 2 can be supported by the guide member 8, the conveying device 1 can suppress the inclination of the billet 2 with the width direction y as the central axis. This is advantageous in avoiding the problem that the trailing end of the billet 2 floats, the following billet 2 collides with the billet 2, and the billet 2 drops from the conveying device 1. - 特許庁

Conventionally, when a billet 2 relatively short in the conveying direction x is conveyed, the billet 2 falls into the gap 7 or the trailing end of the billet 2 floats, resulting in a decrease in the conveying efficiency of the billet 2 . Even such a billet 2 can be efficiently conveyed by the conveying device 1 .

A gap 7 in front of and behind the pinch roller 3 is closed by a guide member 8 . Therefore, even if the pinch roller 3 is worn and the gap 7 is enlarged, the billet 2 can be prevented from falling into the gap 7 .

Since the guide member 8 is composed of a rod-like member that does not interfere with the pinch rollers 3, alignment with the chain conveyor 4 and the skid rail 6 is easy. The guide member 8 can close most of the gap 7 in the transport direction x.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the conveying device 1 may be configured to include two sets of pinch rollers 3 arranged side by side along the conveying direction x. In this embodiment, a guide member 8 is arranged so as to pass through two pinch rollers 3 that support the lower surface of the billet 2 in the conveying direction x.

The gap 7 between the chain conveyor 4 and the pinch roller 3, the gap 7 between the two pinch rollers 3, and the gap 7 between the pinch roller 3 and the skid rail 6 are filled with guide members extending in the conveying direction x. 8 is closed.

In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the support member 9 formed by the surfaces defined by the vertical direction z and the transport direction x is formed into a triangular shape that protrudes downward. This support member 9 closes most of the gap 7 between the two pinch rollers 3 .

If it were attempted to close the gap 7 between the two pinch rollers 3 only with this supporting member 9, high accuracy would be required for positioning the supporting member 9 with respect to the pinch rollers 3. FIG. Even if the positioning of the support member 9 is performed with high accuracy, the gap 7 may newly occur as the pinch roller 3 wears. In particular, when the pinch roller 3 has an inclined surface 11, higher accuracy is required for alignment.

On the other hand, since the conveying device 1 has the guide member 8 arranged in a state of penetrating the groove 10 of the pinch roller 3, the alignment of the guide member 8 can be easily performed. Even if the pinch roller 3 has the inclined surface 11, the gap 7 can be reliably closed by the guide member 8. - 特許庁Even if the pinch roller 3 is worn, the guide member 8 can prevent the gap 7 from being newly generated.

The support member 9 may be provided with an adjusting portion that adjusts the position of the guide member 8 in the transport direction x. The alignment of the guide member 8 makes it easier to adjust when the guide member 8 is arranged closer to the chain conveyor 4 or the like.

The adjustment section may have a configuration for adjusting the position of the guide member 8 in the vertical direction z. Positioning in the vertical direction z makes it easy to reliably close the gap 7 .

In order to adjust the slack of the chain of the chain conveyor 4, the sprocket 4a may be moved in the conveying direction x. At this time, by simultaneously adjusting the position of the guide member 8 by the adjusting portion, the gap 7 can be reliably closed without bringing the guide member 8 into contact with the chain conveyor 4 .

1 Conveyor 2 Billet 3 Pinch Roller 4 Chain Conveyor 4a Sprocket 5 Induction Heating Furnace 6 Skid Rail 7 Gap 8 Guide Member 9 Support Member 10 Groove 11 Inclined Surface x Conveying Direction y Width Direction z Vertical Direction

Claims (6)

A conveying device comprising a pinch roller that rotates in contact with the lower surface of a rod-shaped billet to convey the billet in the conveying direction in the axial direction of the billet,
The pinch roller has a groove formed on the peripheral surface along the circumferential direction, and has a guide member extending along the conveying direction and partly arranged in the groove. Conveyor. 2. A conveying device according to claim 1, wherein said guide member is arranged at a position corresponding to the center of said pinch roller in the width direction perpendicularly crossing the conveying direction. 3. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral surface of the pinch roller is composed of a pair of inclined surfaces approaching each other from both sides in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction toward the groove. It has two pinch rollers arranged side by side along the conveying direction, and is arranged in the entire range from the groove of one pinch roller to the groove of the other pinch roller in the conveying direction. 4. The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the guide member has a The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an adjusting portion that supports the guide member and adjusts the position of the guide member in at least one of the conveying direction and the vertical direction. In a conveying method for conveying the billet with the axial direction of the billet as the conveying direction by rotating a pinch roller while contacting the lower surface of the rod-shaped billet,
A groove portion is previously formed on the peripheral surface of the pinch roller along the circumferential direction, and a guide member is previously arranged so that a part thereof is arranged in the groove portion and extends along the conveying direction,
A conveying method, wherein the billet is conveyed while being supported by the guide member, the billet being likely to fall into the gap between the pinch rollers in the conveying direction.

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