JP7384781B2 - Sheet separation device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet separating device that takes out stacked sheets while separating them.

2. Description of the Related Art A device is known that takes out only the topmost sheet one by one from a stack of sheets of paper, resin, or the like. Since the stacked sheets are electrically charged, they are attracted to each other by static electricity. Therefore, in such an apparatus, a method is used to separate a plurality of sheets that are attracted to each other by static electricity and take out only the uppermost sheet one by one.

Patent Document 1 discloses that a sheet take-out device that sequentially takes out the uppermost sheet from a sheet group in which a large number of sheets are stacked is supported to move up and down with respect to a main body, and a large number of sheet groups are placed thereon. a support member, an elevating member that raises and lowers the support member, and a support member that is movable up and down relative to the support member and that is provided so as to move toward and away from each other in the longitudinal direction of the sheet. A suction member that suctions each of the uppermost sheets of a group of sheets placed on a member, a vertical movement member that moves each suction member in the vertical direction, and a vertical movement member that moves each suction member toward and away from each other. an air injection member that injects air to at least an upper side surface of the sheet group placed on the support member; and a separation member that can be elastically deformed by coming into contact with an edge of the sheet held by the suction member. A sheet take-out device and a sheet take-out method are disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-47694

However, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to completely eliminate static electricity charged on the sheet. Therefore, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that the sheets that are attracted to each other due to static electricity are insufficiently separated from each other, so that the uppermost layer sheets may not be taken out one by one.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet separating device that can more reliably separate stacked sheets and take them out one by one. be.

A sheet separating device according to an embodiment includes a mounting section on which a sheet stack in which a plurality of sheets are stacked, and a mounting section that is movable toward or away from each other in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction of the sheets. At least two adsorption members adsorbing the uppermost sheet in the sheet stack and the adsorption members adsorbing the uppermost sheet at positions separated from each other approach each other, thereby causing the uppermost sheet to It has a static eliminator that eliminates static electricity in the space between the uppermost layer sheet formed by bending and the second layer sheet, and the placing part and the adsorption member are close to each other or close to each other in the stacking direction. The mounting part and the adsorption member are provided so as to be movable apart from each other, and after static electricity is removed, the mounting part and the adsorption member move in opposite directions relative to the static eliminator.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sheet separating device that can more reliably separate stacked sheets and take them out one by one.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a sheet separation device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the sheet separation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a mode in which static electricity between sheets is removed using the sheet separation device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a mode in which a top layer sheet is taken out using the sheet separation device shown in FIG. 1;

Embodiment 1
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Further, in order to clarify the explanation, the following description and drawings are simplified as appropriate.

First, with reference to FIG. 1, the configuration of a sheet separating apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a sheet separation device according to a first embodiment.

The sheet separating device according to the present embodiment includes a mounting section on which a sheet stack in which a plurality of sheets are stacked, and a mounting section that is movable toward or away from each other in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the sheets. At least two adsorption members adsorbing the uppermost sheet in the sheet stack and the adsorption members adsorbed to the uppermost sheet at positions separated from each other approach each other, causing the uppermost sheet to bend. and a static eliminator that removes static electricity in the space between the uppermost sheet formed by the uppermost sheet and the second layer sheet, and the placing part and the adsorption member are moved toward each other or away from each other in the stacking direction. After static electricity is removed, the mounting part and the adsorption member move in opposite directions relative to the static eliminator.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet separation device 1 includes a placement unit 10, a frame portion 20, a static eliminator 30, and a conveyance unit 40. The sheet separating device 1 is used to take out the uppermost sheet S one by one from a sheet stack L in which a plurality of sheets S are stacked and supply it to the next process.

An example of such a sheet S is to ensure insulation between the cells and the metal case when a plurality of cells are housed in a metal case to form a module in the manufacturing process of lithium-ion batteries for automobiles. Another example is a resin sheet placed between the two. Since such a sheet S has a smooth surface, static electricity is likely to be generated on the sheet S. Therefore, the stacked sheets S are attracted to each other by static electricity. As a result, when taking out the uppermost sheet S from the sheet stack L, the second layer sheet S or the lower layer sheet S including the second layer sheet S is attracted and the plurality of sheets S are overlapped. There may be cases.

In the following description, the stacking direction of the sheet S is the Z direction, orthogonal to the Z direction, the long side direction of the sheet S having a substantially rectangular shape is the X direction, orthogonal to the X direction and the Z direction, and the short side direction of the sheet S is is the Y direction.

The mounting unit 10 includes a mounting section 11, a pressing section 12, and an elevation drive mechanism 13. The placing section 11 is a stand on which the sheet stack L is placed. The mounting section 11 includes a guide member 11a for positioning the sheet stack L. A plurality of guide members 11a are provided upright in the Z direction from the upper end surface of the mounting portion 11, and are provided at positions spaced apart from each other along the outer periphery of the sheet stack L. The guide member 11a is preferably arranged so as not to obstruct the flow of the charged air so that the charged air generated by the static eliminator 30, which will be described later, can be blown to a desired position.

Further, the placing portion 11 is provided with an elevating drive mechanism 13 such as a fluid pressure cylinder via a pressing portion 12 . The elevating drive mechanism 13 is configured to operate in the Z direction. The pressing portion 12 extends downward in the Z direction from the lower end surface of the placing portion 11 . For example, the piston rod of the elevating drive mechanism 13 and the pressing portion 12 are connected together by a connecting member 12a extending in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the Z direction. Therefore, as the elevating drive mechanism 13 operates, the pressing portion 12 moves up and down in the Z direction. Thereby, the pressing section 12 can push up the placing section 11 from below. That is, the mounting section 11 is movable up and down in the Z direction in accordance with the operation of the up/down drive mechanism 13.

The frame portion 20 includes a bottom portion 21 extending in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the Z direction below the mounting portion 11, and a pair of support frames 22 erected in the Z direction at both ends of the bottom portion 21 in the Y direction. . The support frame 22 is a member having a dimension in which the length in the Z direction is sufficiently longer than the combined length of the mounting section 11 and the sheet stack L stacked on the mounting section 11 in the Z direction. The internal space of the frame section 20 can accommodate the mounting section 11 and the sheet stack L placed on the mounting section 11.

A detector (not shown) such as a photosensor or a limit switch for detecting the position of the sheet stack L is provided at a predetermined position on the inner wall surface 22s of the support frame 22. Such a detector is disposed, for example, on the upper part of the support frame 22 and detects the upper end of the sheet stack L placed on the placing section 11. The sheet separating device 1 operates so that when the upper end of the sheet stack L is no longer detected due to the removal of the uppermost sheet S, the placing unit 11 is raised to a position where the detector can detect it. do. Thereby, the sheet separating device 1 can always adjust the upper end of the sheet stack L placed on the placing section 11 to a constant height position.

The static eliminator 30 electrically neutralizes and eliminates static electricity generated on the sheet S, and can use, for example, an ionizer. In this embodiment, a space G is formed between the top layer sheet S and the second layer sheet S, and air charged to a required charge is blown from the static eliminator 30 toward the space G. Eliminate static electricity generated in G.

Further, the static eliminator 30 is provided at a predetermined height position on the inner wall surface 22s of the support frame 22 so that the charged air can be blown to a targeted position. Furthermore, it is preferable that the ejection port 30a of the static eliminator 30 that ejects charged air is arranged along the X direction. The static eliminators 30 are arranged so that the two static eliminators 30 face each other in the Y direction that is perpendicular to the moving direction (X direction) of the adsorption member 43a, which will be described later. The details of this static eliminator 30 will be explained from FIG. 2 onwards.

The transport unit 40 includes an elevating drive mechanism 41, an elevating member 42, and a suction section 43. The conveyance unit 40 can take out the sheets S one by one from the top of the sheet stack L and supply the taken out sheets S to a predetermined position.

The elevating drive mechanism 41, which is composed of a fluid pressure cylinder or the like, is configured to operate in the Z direction. The elevating drive mechanism 41 is connected to the elevating member 42 . The elevating member 42 is provided so as to be movable in the Z direction by the operation of the elevating drive mechanism 41. Further, a suction section 43 is provided at the lower end of the elevating member 42 .

The suction section 43 includes at least two suction members 43a, and the number of shaft portions 43b and horizontal drive mechanisms 43c corresponding to each suction member 43a. The suction member 43a is a member capable of suctioning the sheet S, and for example, a vacuum pad can be used. The vacuum pad is connected to a vacuum pump or the like through a pipe, and attracts the sheet S by the suction force generated by the vacuum.

In this embodiment, the transport unit 40 will be described as having four suction members 43a. Two of the four suction members 43a are provided at positions symmetrical to the center line of the sheet S that extends in the Y direction through the center position of the sheet S. The two suction members 43a on the same side with the center line in between are defined as one set, and the two suction members 43a are spaced apart from each other in the X direction.

Note that the suction members 43a may be provided so as to be movable toward or away from each other in the X direction, and the number of suction members 43a is appropriately designed according to the size and shape of the sheet S. For example, two suction members 43a may be provided one each at symmetrical positions with respect to the center line of the sheet S.

The horizontal drive mechanism 43c is provided on the lower end surface of the elevating member 42. The horizontal drive mechanism 43c is composed of, for example, a fluid pressure cylinder. The horizontal drive mechanism 43c supports each suction member 43a via each shaft portion 43b extending in the Z direction, and can also reciprocate in the X direction. A suction member 43a is provided at the lower end of the shaft portion 43b, and an upper end of the shaft portion 43b is connected to a horizontal drive mechanism 43c. In this embodiment, each suction member 43a is provided on an individual horizontal drive mechanism 43c via a shaft portion 43b. Thereby, the two sets of suction members 43a are movable such that the suction members 43a located at symmetrical positions across the center line of the sheet S move toward or away from each other along the X direction.

That is, in the conveyance unit 40 having the above configuration, the two sets of suction members 43a are movable up and down in the Z direction in accordance with the operation of the elevating drive mechanism 41, and are movable in accordance with the operation of the horizontal drive mechanism 43c. Accordingly, they are movable toward or away from each other along the X direction.

Next, referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the operation of taking out the sheet S using the sheet separating device 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the sheet separating device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a mode in which static electricity between sheets is eliminated using the sheet separating device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a mode in which the uppermost layer sheet is taken out using the sheet separating device shown in FIG. 1.

Note that FIGS. 3 and 4 are views of the main parts of the sheet separating device 1 shown in FIG. 22 and the static eliminator 30 are shown with broken lines, and are shown so that what is disposed on the back side is seen through. Further, FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to steps S3 to S4 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to step S5 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 2.

When taking out the sheet S, the sheet stack L is set on the placing section 11. The placing unit 11 rises to a position where the upper end of the set sheet stack L is detected by the detector. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the suction member 43a is lowered to the suction position (step S1). In step S1, the sheet separating device 1 lowers the suction unit 43 from the standby position by operating the elevating drive mechanism 41. The suction section 43 descends to a suction position where the suction member 43a comes into close contact with the uppermost sheet S. As a result, the adsorption member 43a adsorbs to the uppermost sheet S (step S2). In step S2, the two sets of suction members 43a suction the uppermost sheet S at positions separated from each other by a required interval in the X direction.

Subsequently, the suction members 43a approach each other to form a space G between the sheets S (step S3). In step S3, by the operation of the horizontal drive mechanism 43c, the two sets of suction members 43a adsorbed to the uppermost sheet S, which are located at symmetrical positions with the center line of the sheet S in between, are mutually moved. It moves back and forth in the direction of approach and the direction of separation. This reciprocating movement is performed a plurality of times to bend the uppermost sheet S. As shown in FIG. 3, after the two sets of suction members 43a move back and forth, the two sets of suction members 43a move to a position closer to each other than the initial position, causing the uppermost sheet S to bend upward. A space G penetrating in the Y direction is formed between the uppermost sheet S and the second sheet S that are bent upward.

Subsequently, charged air is blown from the static eliminator 30 between the sheets S (step S4). As shown in FIG. 3, in step S4, the static eliminator 30 generates charged air and blows out the charged air from the jet port 30a. The charged air is blown toward the space G formed in step S3 and between the uppermost and second sheet S. As a result, static electricity generated between the sheets S and in the space G is eliminated. Note that the operation of blowing charged air from the static eliminator 30 is performed at least in the process of step S3, but it may be performed continuously during the operation of taking out the sheet S (steps S1 to S5).

In order to effectively eliminate static electricity generated between the top layer sheet S and the second layer sheet S, the top layer sheet S and the second layer sheet S stacked on the mounting section 11 are It is preferable to blow charged air toward the boundary. Therefore, the ejection port 30a of the static eliminator 30 is preferably disposed at a position corresponding to the boundary on each inner wall surface 22s of both support frames 22.

Furthermore, although the spout 30a is provided along the X direction and across the boundary, it is preferably provided at least between two sets of suction members 43a that are close to each other. Thereby, charged air can be blown toward the space G. The charged air blown in this way flows in the Y direction. By eliminating the static electricity generated in the space G, the adhesion due to static electricity between the uppermost sheet S and the second layer sheet S is more reliably reduced, and their separation from each other is facilitated.

Thereafter, the suction member 43a rises, and at the same time, the mounting section 11 descends (step S5). As shown in FIG. 4, in step S5, after the static electricity is removed in step S4, the sheet separating device 1 raises the suction section 43 by operating the elevating drive mechanism 41. Accordingly, the suction member 43a rises from the suction position toward the standby position.

At this time, in the sheet separation device 1, the suction member 43a lifts the uppermost sheet S upward, but the uppermost sheet S has a second layer S or a plurality of sheets including the second layer. A plurality of sheets S may be lifted while the sheets S are electrostatically attracted.

This is thought to be because it is difficult to completely remove the static electricity generated between the sheets S using the static eliminator 30. Therefore, the sheets S attract each other due to the static electricity that remains even after the static electricity is removed. In this way, if the sheets S that are attracted to each other are insufficiently separated from each other, a problem arises in that the uppermost sheets S cannot be taken out one by one.

Therefore, when the suction member 43a is raised, the sheet separation device 1 lowers the placing section 11 by operating the elevating drive mechanism 13. Note that a sufficient gap is formed between the mounting portion 11 and the bottom portion 21 of the frame portion 20 so that the mounting portion 11 can be lowered. Then, in step S5, it is preferable that the operation of raising the adsorption member 43a and the operation of lowering the placement part 11 are controlled to be performed almost simultaneously.

Here, the amount of static electricity between the top layer sheet S and the second layer sheet S is set as C1, and the second layer sheet S and the sheet S lower than the second layer (remaining on the mounting section 11) The amount of static electricity between the sheet laminate L) and the sheet laminate L) is defined as C2. In the following description, an example will be described in which the second layer sheet S is adsorbed to the top layer sheet S and two sheets are taken. However, the sheet S that is adsorbed to the top layer sheet S and taken out is not limited to only the second layer sheet S, but a plurality of lower layer sheets S including the second layer sheet S may be taken out in a stacked manner.

When comparing the charge amount C1 and the charge amount C2 in step S5, the charge amount C2 is larger than the charge amount C1 because the charge amount C1 has decreased due to the static elimination performed in step S4. In this state, the mounting portion 11 and the adsorption member 43a move in opposite directions with respect to the static eliminator 30.

Under the condition where the amount of charge C1<the amount of charge C2, the adsorption member 43a lifts the top layer sheet S upward, while the second layer sheet S, which is taken up by adsorption to the top layer sheet S, is It is attracted to the side of the sheet stack L remaining on the mounting portion 11 with a larger amount of charge. In FIG. 4, the direction in which the second layer sheet S is attracted by static electricity is shown by a white arrow, and the difference in the size of the arrow represents the magnitude of the attraction force.

Further, in the sheet separation device 1, the sheet stack L remaining on the placement portion 11 is moved away from the static eliminator 30 as the placement portion 11 is lowered. This movement can suppress the static eliminating action of the charged air from reaching the sheet stack L side when viewed from the second layer sheet S.

Here, a case will be described in which, for example, the mounting portion 11 does not descend when the suction member 43a ascends. In this case, there is a possibility that charged air for eliminating static electricity may remain between the second layer sheet S and the sheet stack L remaining on the mounting section 11. When the charged air acts on the sheet stack L side as viewed from the second layer sheet S, the charge amount C2 decreases. When the charge amount C2 decreases and the difference from the charge amount C1 becomes smaller, the force for attracting the lifted second layer sheet S toward the sheet stack L side decreases. As a result, the separation between the top layer sheet S and the second layer sheet S becomes insufficient, and there is a possibility that the second layer sheet S is stacked on top of the top layer sheet S while remaining stuck to the top layer sheet S.

On the other hand, in the sheet separating device according to the present embodiment, after the static electricity between the uppermost sheet S and the second layer sheet S is removed, the adsorption member 43a and the placing section 11 are moved in the direction in which they are separated from each other. It has a moving configuration. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the static eliminating action of the charged air from reaching the sheet stack L side. Therefore, when the sheet S is taken out, the charge amount C2 is not easily reduced, and the second layer sheet S is attracted toward the sheet stack L side with a stronger force.

In addition, in the sheet separation device according to the present embodiment, the uppermost sheet S is bent by the horizontal reciprocating movement of the adsorption member 43a, and a space G between the sheets S is formed, for eliminating static electricity. Blows charged air. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the charge amount C1 and adjust the charge amount C2 to be larger.

When the amount of charge is adjusted, the second layer sheet S is pulled from the top layer sheet S using the static electricity generated between the second layer sheet S and the sheet stack L remaining on the mounting section 11. It can be peeled off and pulled toward the sheet laminate L side. Thereby, overlapping when taking out the uppermost sheet S from the sheet stack L can be suppressed.

Therefore, according to the sheet separating device according to the present embodiment, the uppermost layer sheet and the second layer sheet can be reliably separated by using the difference in the amount of charge, and the uppermost layer sheets can be taken out one by one. Can be done. Furthermore, since the sheets can be separated from each other without contact, damage to the sheets can be suppressed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit. For example, the sheet separation device according to this embodiment can be applied to sheets made of any material such as paper, metal, silicone, etc., not just resin sheets, as long as stacked sheets can generate static electricity. .

Further, in the embodiment described above, an example was shown in which the static eliminator was fixed to the frame portion, but the manner in which the static eliminator is installed is not limited to this. The static eliminator may be configured to be able to supply a charge for removing static electricity between the uppermost sheet and the second layer sheet.

1 Sheet separation device 10 Placing unit 11 Placing part 11a Guide member 12 Pressing part 12a Connection member 13, 41 Lifting drive mechanism 20 Frame part 21 Bottom part 22 Support frame 22s Inner wall surface 30 Static eliminator 30a Spout 40 Conveyance unit 42 Lifting member 43 Suction part 43a Adsorption member 43b Shaft part 43c Horizontal drive mechanism G Space L Sheet laminate S Sheet

Claims (1)

a loading section on which a sheet laminate formed by laminating a plurality of sheets is placed;
at least two suction members that are movable toward or away from each other in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the sheets and that suction the sheet located in the uppermost layer of the sheet stack;
The sheet of the uppermost layer is formed by bending the sheet of the uppermost layer when the suction members adsorbed to the sheet of the uppermost layer approach each other at positions separated from each other, and the sheet located in the second layer. a static eliminator that removes static electricity in the space between the
has
The mounting section and the adsorption member are movably provided so as to approach or separate from each other in the stacking direction, and after the static electricity is removed, the mounting section and the adsorption member are moved toward the static eliminator. Sheet separation device that moves almost simultaneously in opposite directions.

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