JPH0434926B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention is directed to the cutting of elastomer strip material;
The present invention relates to an automatic elastomer material feeding device that can automatically transport cut material to a transfer/compression molding machine and also automatically load it into a material loading section.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, for example, when molding boots or the like using ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), materials were supplied as follows.

The belt-shaped material prepared by kneading and extrusion is cut into required lengths to obtain chip-shaped cut material. At this time, since EPDM has adhesive properties, it is usually kept cool in a cold storage room.

The above-mentioned chip-like material is placed in a container by an operator, transported to the molding machine in the required amount, and then manually placed one by one into the chute for the material loading section.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, the above method of supplying materials is mostly done manually in batches, which increases the number of man-hours, and when the material is sticky like EPDM, a special cold room is required. did.

<Means for solving the problems> In order to solve the above problems, the present inventors
As a result of intensive development efforts, we came up with an automatic elastomer material feeding device with the following configuration.

It consists of a cutting means for cutting an elastomer strip material, a material conveying means for conveying the cut material to a transfer molding machine or a compression molding machine, and a material loading means for loading the conveyed material into the material loading section of the molding machine. The cutting means consists of scissors interlocked with a driving member, forced feed rollers and a chute disposed above and below the scissors, respectively, and the material conveyance means includes a material feed hose connected to the lower end opening of the chute, and a material The material loading means includes a blower connected to the feed end of the feed hose, a loading chute rotatably connected to the feed end of the material feed hose, and a drive member for forcibly rotating the loading chute by a predetermined angle. It is characterized by consisting of.

<Example> Hereinafter, one example of the present invention will be described based on the illustrated example.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an example of application of the material feeding device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially sectional front view showing an example of the cutting means of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an example of the material loading means of the present invention. The front view shown in Fig. 4 is - of Fig. 3.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a molding apparatus to which the present invention is applied in a mold open state.

Note that since FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram, there are parts that do not necessarily match the concrete diagrams of FIGS. 2 to 5.

A material cutting means 3 that cuts the elastomer strip material 1a, a material conveying means 4 that conveys the cut material 1b to the transfer molding machine 5, and a material loading section (pot) of the molding machine 5 to transfer the cut material 1b that has been conveyed to the material loading section (pot) of the molding machine 5. and a material loading means 9 for loading the material into the container.

The cutting means 3 is provided with a cooling storage means 11 in this embodiment. This cooling storage means 11
consists of a cooling water tank 12 and a cooler 13.

The material cutting means 3 includes forcibly driven scissors 15;
It consists of scissors 15, a forced feed roller 16 and a material receiving chute 17, which are respectively disposed above and below. In the scissors 15, the rear ends of the pair of operation parts are coupled in a rotational manner to the tips of a pair of links 20, 20 which are pivotally supported by a connecting pin 19 at the tip of the slider 18, so that the slider 18 can move forward. It is designed to open and close in response to backing up. At this time, the material of the scissors 15 is preferably ceramic (ex. zirconia type) from the viewpoint of preventing the elastomer material from sticking and the durability of the blade. The slider 18 is guided by a rail 22 provided on the lower surface of the top plate of the pedestal 21, and is movable back and forth by an air cylinder 23. Also, a stopper plate 2 is provided on the lower surface of the slider 18.
4 are connected, and the stopper plate 24 moves forward and backward into the material receiving chute 17 in response to the advance and retreat of the slider 18, that is, in response to the opening and closing of the scissors 15. A photoelectric switch 25 is disposed at a height directly above the stopper plate 24 of the material receiving chute 17, and a signal from the photoelectric switch 25 is input to the control section to drive the motor 2 that drives the forced feed roller 16.
6 is stopped and the air cylinder 23 that drives the slider 18 is activated.

In addition, the cooling storage means 11 and the forced feed roller 16
A large guide roller 28 is arranged between the two. Further, a guide bush 30 is disposed on the lower surface of the top plate of the pedestal 21, directly above the blade portion of the scissors 15.

The material conveyance means 4 includes a material feed hose 31 connected to the lower end opening of the material receiving chute 17, a gate valve 33 connected to the inlet end of the material feed hose 31, and a gate valve 33 at the tip (ventilation port) of the blow pipe 32. It consists of a blower 35 equipped with. An optical fiber switch 39, which has faster response than other photoelectric switches, is attached to the tip (feeding end) of the material feed hose 31 for checking material currency. Further, it is desirable to use a material feed hose 31 whose inner surface is coated with urethane to prevent material from sticking.
The gate valve 33 is opened and closed by an air cylinder 34. The air cylinder 34 is operated by a signal from the photoelectric switch 25 via the control section. Also, although not necessarily
In this embodiment, an air hose 37 is branched into the air pipe 32 of the blower 35 and connected to the base of a molded product conveyance duct 36, which will be described later, so that the molded product conveyance duct 3 is always connected to the air hose 37.
It is said that air can be blown at 6.

The material loading means 9 includes a loading chute 41 rotatably connected to the delivery side end of the material feeding hose 31.
and a drive member 43 for forcibly rotating the loading chute 41 by a predetermined angle. The driving member 43 includes a pinion 45 coaxially fixed to the base of the loading chute 41, a rack 46 that engages with the pinion 45, and an air cylinder 4 that advances and retreats the rack 46.
It consists of 7. In this embodiment, the material loading means 9 is self-propelled with the following configuration so as to be able to load materials into each pot 7 of a plurality of transfer molding machines 5.

That is, on the material loading means 9 side, the lower base 48
and the main sprocket 50 via the frame 49.
And sub sprockets 51, 51 are attached to both sides of the main sprocket 50, and the main sprocket 50
is adapted to be rotated in forward and reverse directions by a motor 52, and is further provided with a guide catch 53. On the other hand, a roller chain 55 and a guide rail 56 are fixed along the front side of the molding machines 5, 5, . Molding machine 5, 5...
A material loading means 9 is movable left and right along the front side. Further, the left and right movement of the loading means 9 is achieved by coefficient processing the mold opening signal (usually based on the molding time completion signal) sent from each molding machine in the control section, and sending a forward/reverse rotation signal to the motor 52. This is done by inputting the information. And material loading means 9
A micro switch 54 provided in each molding machine 5 is used to stop the molding machine 5 at a fixed position. The basic structure of the molding machine 5 is the same as that of a general transfer molding machine; an upper frame 61 and a lower frame 58 are connected by two tie rods 63, a plunger 65 is fixed to the upper frame 61, and , Prajia 65
Below the floating plate 66 is a floating plate 66, and below the floating plate 66 a movable plate 67 is guided by tie rods 63 and held slidably. A pot 7 is fixed to the upper side of the floating plate 66, an upper mold 68 is fixed to the lower side, and a lower mold 69 is fixed to the movable platen 67. A core 72 connected to an ejector pin 71 is attached to the center of the lower die 69. In addition, the movable plate 6
7 is connected to a piston rod 75 of a hydraulic cylinder 74 fixed to the lower frame 62. Atsupa frame 61, floating board 66, and floating board 66
and the movable platen 67 are provided with tie rods 6 and 67, respectively.
Coil springs 77 and 78 are attached via 3 and 63.

The molding machine 5 is further equipped with a take-out jig 82 which is rotated by a rotary actuator 81 operated by air. This actuator 81 is adapted to be moved up and down by an air cylinder 84. The take-out jig 82 is
For example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-35461, compressed air is flowed between the core 72 and the molded product 2 while the molded product 2 is vacuum-adsorbed.
A device having a mechanism for generating a repulsive force between the core 72 and the core 72 to release the mold is used.

Further, a molded product receiving chute 85 is formed in the molded product conveying duct 36 at the forward rotating position of the take-out jig 82 in each molding machine 5 . This molded product receiving chute 85 is equipped with a photoelectric switch 86 for checking whether the product has fallen, and if the product does not fall, a warning of poor fall is issued by means of a lamp display or the like.

Next, how the above embodiment is used will be explained.

The molding machine 5 in the mold open state after taking out the molded product,
The control section searches for signals sent from the molding machine 5 and inputs a control signal to the self-propelled motor 52 so that the material loading means 9 moves to the molding machine 5.

When the material loading means 9 moves to the molding machine 5 and stops at the fixed position, the control section receives a signal from the micro switch 54, operates the air cylinder 47, and then starts the loading chute via the rack 46 and pinion 45. 41 by a predetermined angle to position the outlet of the loading chute 41 directly above the pot 7.

Next, the motor 26 of the forced feed roller 16 of the material cutting means 3 is driven to move the strip material 1a a certain distance (that is, until it comes into contact with the stopper plate 24). Then, the controller receives an off signal from the photoelectric switch 25 and operates the air cylinder 23, and as the slider 18 retreats, the scissors 15 closes via the links 20, 20, and the strip material 1a is cut. At the same time, the stopper plate 24 also retreats, so that the chip-shaped cut material 1b falls within the material receiving chute 17.

At this time, the control section receives an ON signal from the photoelectric switch 25, operates the air cylinder 34, and opens the gate valve 33. Since the blower 35 is continuously operated, the cut material 1b passes through the material feeding hose 31 of the material conveying means 4, is fed into the loading chute 41 of the material loading means 9, and is further fed into the forming machine 5.
It is loaded into the pot 7 of.

This material loading is detected by the optical fiber switch 39, and the air cylinder 47 is actuated by a signal from the control section, so that the loading chute 41 escapes from above the floating plate 66 and returns to the normal position, and then the hydraulic cylinder 74 is actuated. Then, the movable platen 67 rises, and the mold is closed (in a pressurized state). In this state for a fixed period of time (usually 2
~3 minutes), the hydraulic cylinder 74 is activated, the movable platen 67 is lowered, the mold is opened, and the molded product 2
is ejected while being held by the core 72. Then, the take-out jig 82 is rotated to a position directly above the core 72 by the operation of the rotary actuator 81.
The molded product 2 is lowered by the operation of the air cylinder 83, then ascended after being released from the mold to take out the molded product 2, returned to its original position by the operation of the actuator 81, and dropped into the molded product receiving chute 85. The molded product 2 that has fallen into the molded product receiving chute 85 is
The molded product is transported through the molded product transport duct 36 by the air constantly pumped from the molded product transport duct 3.
The cargo is collected into a container or the like placed at the end point of No. 6.

By repeating the above, the strip material 1a is cut and automatically supplied to a plurality of parallel forming machines 5,
Furthermore, the molded product 2 is also automatically taken out and automatically collected.

Of course, the apparatus of the present invention can be applied when the molding machine is a compression molding machine or when there is only one molding machine.

Further, the device of the present invention may be implemented in various forms without departing from the scope of the claims.

For example, if the elastomer material is not sticky, the cooling storage means 11 is not required. Also,
When cutting the material with the loading chute 41 rotated above the pot 7 as in the above-mentioned mode of use, the gate valve 33 is not necessary; In the case of upward rotation, the gate valve 33 is necessary, but the gate valve 33 may be placed behind the material receiving chute 17 (provided that the material does not have adhesive properties). . Further, the driving member of the loading chute 41 is not limited to the rack-and-pinion type, and may of course be a rotary accumulator similar to the take-out jig. Alternatively, the band-shaped rubber material may be directly supplied from an extruder through an accumulator or the like.

<Operations and Effects of the Invention> The automatic elastomer material feeding device of the present invention is capable of cutting materials, which is composed of forcibly driven scissors, forced feed rollers and material receiving chute which are respectively disposed above and below the scissors; connected to the material receiving chute. a material conveying means comprising a material feeding hose, which is connected to the material feeding hose, and a blower connected to the insertion side end of the material feeding hose; and a loading chute, which is rotatably connected to the feeding side end of the material feeding hose; By being composed of a material loading means consisting of a drive member that is forcibly rotated at a predetermined angle, it is possible to cut elastomer strip material, transfer the cut material to the compression molding machine, and further load it into the material loading section. can be done automatically and without human intervention. Further, even if the elastomer material is adhesive like EPDM, large-scale equipment such as a cold storage room is not required, and a cooling water tank equipped with a simple cooler is sufficient.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an example of application of the material supply device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially sectional front view showing an example of the cutting means of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an example of the loading means of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front view, FIG. 4 is an end view taken along the line -- in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a molding apparatus to which the present invention is applied in a mold open state. 1a...Band-shaped material, 1b...Cut material, 3...
Material cutting means, 4... Material conveying means, 5... (Transfer) molding machine, 7... Pot (material loading section), 9... Material loading means, 15... Scissors, 16...
...forced feed roller, 17...material receiving chute,
31...Material feed hose, 35...Blower, 41
... Loading chute, 43 ... Drive member, 45 ...
Pinion, 46...easy.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A material cutting means for cutting an elastomer strip material, a material transporting means for transporting the cut material to a transfer molding machine or a compression molding machine, and a material transporting means for transporting the cut material to a molding machine. a loading means for loading the material into the material loading section, the material cutting means comprising forcibly driven scissors, and a forced feed roller and a material receiving chute disposed above and below the scissors, respectively; the material conveying means comprises a material feeding hose connected to the material receiving chute, and a blower connected to the feeding side end of the material feeding hose, and the material loading means is rotatably connected to the feeding side end of the material feeding hose. A loading chute that can be connected freely,
An elastomer material automatic supply device comprising: a drive member that forcibly rotates the loading chute by a predetermined angle.