JPH0788607B2 - Filament tensioner - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filament tensioning device, and more particularly to a filament tensioning device for efficiently tensioning filaments such as continuous glass fibers.

Conventional technology For example, as a method of molding FRP (Fiber Rainford Plastic) products, which are composite materials using unsaturated polyester resin and glass fiber, while cutting continuous glass fiber (roving), resin containing catalyst A so-called spray-up molding method, in which a resin containing an accelerator is simultaneously sprayed to obtain a desired molded article, has been widely known.

By the way, in recent years, along with the progress of various industrial robots and the increasing demand for FRP products, the above spray-up molding function is provided in, for example, an articulated industrial robot having a required degree of freedom. However, in order to realize this, there were problems to be solved particularly in the following points.

That is, continuous glass fibers fed from a roving drum around which filamentous glass fibers are wound must always be supplied in a good state to a glass fiber cutting machine provided at the tip of an arm of a robot. It was necessary to prevent the occurrence of slack due to the movement of the robot in the continuous glass fiber until it was guided to the cutting machine, mutual interference with the robot body, and cutting accidents. Therefore,
The present applicant has proposed an industrial robot described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-106366 in order to solve the above problem.

The industrial robot of this publication includes a cutting machine for cutting continuous glass fibers, a spray gun for spraying the glass fibers cut by the cutting machine together with a coating liquid, and a spray for spraying a curing accelerator for the coating liquid. The gun and the arm are provided at the tip of the arm, and a tension mechanism is provided to suppress the running of the continuous glass fiber and apply tension to the continuous glass fiber while the continuous glass fiber is being guided to the cutting machine. And
The tension mechanism functions as a filament tensioning device that blows compressed air into the passage from the outlet side of the passage of the pipe member through which the filamentous continuous glass fiber passes to apply tension to the glass fiber.

However, since the compressed air is blown from the outside of the pipe member through which the continuous glass fiber passes toward the outlet of the passage in the above tension mechanism, the efficiency is low and a large tension is applied to the glass fiber. Has to increase the pressure of the air to increase the discharge speed of the air flowing through the passage, and thus driving the compressor correspondingly increases energy consumption.

Further, in the industrial robot of the above publication, a pipe-shaped guide is provided between the tension mechanism and the robot body to guide the glass fiber mounted, but when the glass fiber passes through the guide, the pipe is introduced. The inner wall may come into sliding contact with the glass fiber, causing an unnecessary load on the glass fiber, as well as possibly damaging the outer cover of the glass fiber.

Further, in the device of the above publication, a detector for detecting glass fibers is provided separately from the filament tensioning device, and the detector is cumbersome to mount, which may hinder the work when it is installed in a narrow place. There are challenges.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a filamentous body tensioning device that solves the above problems.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is the filament tensioning device, wherein a nozzle port for blowing compressed air to the filament is provided on the inner circumference of the passage. or,
In the above device, an air flow guide portion that guides the air flow ejected from the nozzle port in one direction is provided on the inner wall of the passage near the nozzle port.

Further, in the above-mentioned device, detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the filaments is provided near the entrance or exit of the passage.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a support base for supporting the main body of the filament tensioning device at a predetermined height position on the floor surface, an arm portion extending from the support base in the traveling direction of the filamentous body, and a tip end of the arm portion. The guide member guides the traveling position of the filament.

Action In claim (1), the compressed air is blown in the pulling direction directly onto the filamentous body passing through the passage.

According to claim (2), the air jetted from the nozzle port is blown to the filament along the airflow guide portion, and the airflow causes a negative pressure in the passage to increase the air discharge speed in the passage.

According to claim (3), it can be detected near the entrance or exit of the passage that the presence or absence of the filament is supplied through the filament tensioning device.

In claim (4), the main body of the filament tensioning device is supported at a predetermined height position, and the traveling position of the filament is guided to stably supply the filament.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an articulated industrial robot. In the figure, 1 is a support base 2, a column 3,
The robot main body has an arm 4, a wrist 5, and the like, and the joints thereof provide the necessary degree of freedom. The robot body 1 is configured to execute necessary operations by the power unit 6 that supplies power to the robot body 1 and its ancillary equipment, and the control device 7 that controls the whole.

At the tip of the arm 4 of the robot body 1 through the wrist 5.
Equipped with a tip device 8 for FRP spray-up molding. The tip device 8 is a cutting machine 11 for continuously cutting continuous glass fibers (hereinafter referred to as running fibers) 10 as filaments fed from a roving drum 9, and cut into a predetermined length by the cutting machine 11. A spray gun 12 for spraying the glass fibers 10 'together with the coating liquid P and a spray gun 13 for spraying a curing accelerator C for the coating liquid P are provided.

The supply pipes 12a and 13a for the coating liquid P and the accelerator C to the spray gun 12 and the spray gun 13 are supplied to a spray pump unit 15 via a gun valve 14 provided near the base end of the arm 4. It is connected. In the embodiment, the cutting machine 11 is driven by an air motor (not shown), and its air supply pipe 11a is also connected to the pump unit 15 via the gun valve 14. .
The gun valve 14 is controlled to be opened and closed by the control device 7, and thereby the operation or stop of the tip device 8 is controlled.

On the other hand, the running fiber 10 fed from the roving drum 9 includes an L-shaped pipe guide 16, a filament tensioning device 17,
It is guided to the cutting machine 11 via a cushioning mechanism 18 and a take-in guide 19 provided upright on the top of the tip device 8.

The filament tensioning device 17 applies compressed air to the running fibers as described later.
The slack of the running fiber 10 in the vicinity of the robot body 1 is removed by spraying on the running fiber 10 and applying a tension in the direction opposite to the running direction of the running fiber 10 (direction of arrow A) to the running fiber 10. Further, a detector 20 for optically detecting the running fiber 10 is provided on the side surface of the main body 17a of the filament pulling device 17. The detector 20 detects the presence or absence of the running fiber 10 and outputs the detection signal to the control device 7.

Further, an air pipe 22 from an air tank 21 is connected to the filament pulling device 17, and an opening / closing valve 23 which is opened / closed by a control signal from the control device 7 is arranged in the air pipe 22. Further, the compressed air from the compressor 24 is accumulated in the air tank 21. The on-off valve 23 is the robot body 1
Is operated and the compressed air is supplied to the filament tensioning device 17 before the spray-up molding operation. And the on-off valve
The valve 23 remains open while the robot body 1 is operating.

Further, the buffer mechanism 18 is provided with a rod-shaped member 18a having an appropriate elasticity, such as a glass rod, and the rod-shaped member 18a with an appropriate interval in the length direction thereof, and the running fiber
It has a plurality of ring guides 18b for passing 10 and a support member 18c for supporting the base end portion of the rod-shaped member 18a on the base end of the arm 4. Further, the rod-shaped member 18a extends in parallel with the arm 4 so that its tip end is located above the intake guide 19 to the cutting machine 11.

Then, the control device 7 detects that the running fiber 10 is present by the detector 20, and outputs the operation command to the robot body 1 via the power unit 6 only when the detection signal is input, Is set to execute the work.

In the industrial robot according to the above embodiment, when the work robot is in the work execution state, the air A for the cutting machine, the coating liquid P, and the accelerator C from the spray pump unit 15 for the gun which is in the open state by the valve operating signal N. Via valve 14,
It is supplied to the corresponding cutting machine 11, spray gun 12, and spray gun 13, respectively. As a result, the cutting machine 11 takes in the running fibers 10 fed from the roving drum 9 by its rotation and continuously cuts them. At the same time, the coating liquid P is blown out from the spray gun 12 together with the cut glass fibers 10 ', and further the accelerator C is sprayed from the spray gun 13. Further, in parallel with these, the robot body 1 executes a predetermined operation to perform the FRP spray-up molding operation.

In such a work execution state, the traveling fiber 10 guided to the cutting machine 11 is restrained from traveling by the filamentous body tensioning device 17, so that tension is applied by the compressed air flow.

Here, details of the filament tensioning device 17 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the filament tensioning device 17 includes the main body 17a.
And a support base 17b for supporting the main body 17a at a predetermined height position,
It comprises arms 17c and 17d extending from the support 17b in the traveling direction of the traveling fiber 10 (direction of arrow A). Ring guides 17e _{1 to} 17e ₄ for guiding the traveling position of the traveling fiber 10 traveling in the main body 17a are provided at the tips of the arms 17c and 17d so as to project in the horizontal direction.

Support table 17b is more a fixing base 17b ₁ placed on a floor surface a pair of main body 17a on both sides, the pillars 17b ₂ assembled vertically movable relative to the fixed base 17b ₁ holds 17a. Therefore, the body 17a
The running fibers 10 supplied to the main body 17a and the running fibers 10 fed from the main body 17a are respectively the ring guides 17e ₁ and 17e _{2 in the} front-rear direction.
As a result, the traveling position is guided and the roving tram 9 is smoothly pulled out and stably supplied to the robot body 1. The column 17b ₂ may be moved up and down by an air pressure or hydraulic actuator, or may be mechanically moved up and down using a rack and a pinion. Further, in FIG. 2, a pair of main bodies 17a are held by a support base 17b, and one or two main bodies 17a are held as necessary.
The running fibers 10 of the book can be supplied to the robot body 1.

Next, the structure of the main body 17a of the filament tensioning device 17 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the main body 17a includes a base 25
And a box-shaped cover 26 (not shown in FIG. 3) that covers the base 25 and a tension mechanism 27 fixed on the base 25.
Have and. Also, the tension mechanism 27 is a U bolt 28a, 28b.
Tighten the nuts 29 that are screwed into the threaded parts on both sides of the base
It is fixed on 25. Further, on the base 25, a support portion that supports the ring guides 30a to 30d that guide the running fibers 10.
31 is standing up and the running fiber 10 is a ring guide on the inlet side.
It is guided into the tension mechanism 27 by 30a. The running fibers 10 that have passed through the tension mechanism 27 are connected to the ring guides 30b and 3b.
It is guided to pass in front of the detector 20 by 0c, is guided by the ring guide 30d, and is pulled out from the main body 17a.

It should be noted that the light-emitting elements forming the detector 20 are provided on both sides of the cover 26.
20a, L-shaped brackets 32a, 32b supporting the light receiving element 20b
Are fixed, and the light emitting element 20a and the light receiving element 20b are inserted into the cover 26 so that their tip portions face each other in close proximity to the running fibers 10.

Therefore, the light receiving element 20b receives the light from the light emitting element 20a when the running fiber 10 is exhausted, and outputs the detection signal to the control device 7. In that case, the controller 7 stops the operation of the robot 1 by the detection signal from the light receiving element 20b.

Here, the configuration of the tension mechanism 27 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the tension mechanism 27, the male screw portion 34a of the cylindrical male block 34 is screwed into the female screw 33a of the cylindrical female block 33, and the lock nut 35 is further tightened to the male screw portion 34a to be integrated. To be done. On the inner circumference of the female block 33, a large-diameter opening 33b provided with a male screw portion 34a and a central hole 33c having a smaller diameter than the opening 33b are provided. Further, air introducing holes 33d, 33e are formed on the side of the inner wall of the opening 33b, and L-shaped joints 36a, 36b to which the air pipe 22 is connected are screwed into the air introducing holes 33d, 33e. Has been done.

The male block 34 has a through hole 34a formed in the axial center thereof and has a through hole 3a.
The corners 34b ₁ and 34b ₂ of 4b are processed into an R shape. Further, on the outer circumference of the male block 34, a step portion 34c having a smaller diameter than the male screw portion 34a is formed.
Is provided.

Therefore, when assembling the tension mechanism 27, the front end 34d of the male block 34 is placed at the corner of the central hole 33c of the female block 33.
Male block 3 so that it is slightly spaced from 33f
4 is screwed into the female block 33 and then fixed by tightening the lock nut 35. As a result, an annular chamber 37 is formed between the opening 33b of the female block 33 and the step portion 34c of the male block 34, and between the front end 34d of the male block 34 and the corner portion 33f of the female block 33. An annular nozzle port 38 is formed.

Further, a passage 39 through which the running fiber 10 passes is formed by the through hole 34b and the central hole 33c. Therefore, a nozzle port 38 for ejecting air is provided on the inner wall of the passage 39, and the front end 34d of the male block 34 and the R-shaped corner portion 34b are provided on the inlet side of the nozzle port 38.
_An air flow guide portion 40 is formed by projecting ₁ inward.

Next, the operation of the tension mechanism 27 having the above structure will be described.

When the robot body 1 shown in FIG. 1 is operating to perform the spray-up molding operation, the opening / closing valve 23 is open,
The compressed air accumulated in the air tank 21 is supplied into the chamber 37 via the air pipe 22 and the joints 36a and 36b. in this way,
The compressed air is once stored in the annular chamber 37 and then the passage
It spouts from a nozzle port 38 formed on the inner circumference of 39.

The compressed air ejected from the nozzle port 38 is
Is vigorously sprayed along the axis of the passage 39.
As a result, a negative pressure is generated in the vicinity of the R-shaped airflow guide portion 40, and the air blown from the nozzle port 38 onto the running fiber 10 flows out to the inlet side. Therefore, the air in the passage 39 flows in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the traveling fiber 10 (direction of arrow A).

As a result, the traveling fiber 10 is given a tension in the direction opposite to the traveling direction due to the air resistance flowing in the passage 39 as described above. In addition, the nozzle port 38 runs from the entire circumference of the inner wall of the passage 39 to the running fiber 10
Air is blown onto the passage 39 to create a negative pressure in the passage 39
Since the flow velocity of the air flowing through is increased, the tension can be efficiently generated. Therefore, the consumption of compressed air can be suppressed, and the start-up time of the compressor 24 can be shortened to save energy consumption.

As described above, in the tension mechanism 27, sufficient tension is generated in the traveling fiber 10 by the air flow flowing in the passage 39,
Therefore, no matter what operation the robot body 1 performs, the running fiber 10 does not sag. Further, when the work execution is temporarily stopped, the inertia of the running fiber 10 itself tends to overrun the tip end of the rod-shaped member 18a to cause slack. Acts to effectively block.

Further, since the tip device 8 at the tip of the arm 4 makes various movements such as turning and turning due to the operation of the robot body 1 accompanying the work execution, the tension generated in the running fiber 10 changes greatly. The rod-shaped member 18a that constitutes the main body of the buffer mechanism 18 follows this change by its own elastic action, and effectively absorbs the change. Therefore, problems such as drooping of the running fiber 10 and cutting accidents do not occur. In addition,
Naturally, the tension mechanism 27 also exhibits the absorbing action of the change in tension of the running fiber 10. Further, a strong tension is applied to the running fiber 10 at the initial stage of the operation of the tip device 8, but the rod-shaped member 18a sufficiently follows and absorbs the change in the tension.

Here, if the running fiber 10 is cut, no matter where it is cut between the tension mechanism 16 and the cutting machine 11, the running fiber 10 is cut.
10 is pulled back to the roving drum 9 by the force of the compressed air blown out from the nozzle opening 38 of the tension mechanism 27. As a result, the fact that the running fiber 10 is cut is built in the main body 17a of the filament pulling device 17. Is reliably detected by the detector 20. When a detection signal for detecting the breakage of the running fiber 10 is input to the control device 7, the work execution command of the robot is stopped.

The tension mechanism 27, the buffer mechanism 18 and the ring guide 30a
Due to the action of ~ 30d, the running fiber 10 near the detector 20
Since the tension is always applied without being influenced by the movement and stop of the robot, and the robot does not meander, the detection of the presence or absence of the traveling fiber 10 by the detector 20 becomes more reliable.

In the above embodiment, the nozzle port 38 is formed by an annular slit provided on the entire circumference of the inner wall of the passage 39, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of holes communicating with the chamber 37 may be provided on the inner wall of the passage. Is also good. Further, in the above embodiment, the air flow guide portion 40 is formed into an R shape projecting into the passage 39, and any other shape may be adopted as long as the negative pressure is generated by the air ejected from the nozzle port 38. Is.

Further, although the above-mentioned thread tension device is described as applying tension to glass fibers, it is of course applicable to applications in which tension is applied to threads other than glass fibers. or,
The filament tension device is not limited to one that generates tension in the direction opposite to the running direction of the glass fiber as in the above embodiment, and may be used to apply tension in the running direction to the glass fiber to wind the glass fiber. good.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the filament tensioning device of the present invention, the compressed air can be directly blown to the filament in a narrow passage according to claim (1), so that the compressed air can efficiently flow. Tension can be generated.

Further, according to claim (2), a negative pressure can be generated in the passage to increase the air flow velocity in the passage to generate a large tension in the filamentous body, and the compressed air can be effectively used to generate a compressed air in a compressor or the like. The start-up time can be shortened and the energy consumption can be saved.

Further, according to claim (3), the detector for detecting the presence of the filamentous material in the apparatus does not get in the way, and the installation work on site can be simplified.

Further, according to claim (4), the filament tensioning device main body can be aligned with the height position of the filament feeding-out side or the winding side, so that the traveling state of the filamentous body is stable and the traveling resistance by the guide member is high. The feature is that the damage to the filaments can be reduced and the filaments can be reliably detected by the detector.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of a filament tensioning device according to the present invention and an industrial robot to which the device is applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the filament tensioning device, FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 5 is a plan view and a side view of the main body of the filament tensioning device, and FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the tension mechanism. 1 ... Robot body, 7 ... Control device, 8 ... Tip device, 9 ... Roving drum, 10 ... Glass fiber (running fiber), 11 ... Cutting machine, 17 ... Filiform tension device, 17a ...
… Main body, 18 …… Buffer mechanism, 20 …… Detector, 21 …… Air tank, 22 …… Air piping, 23 …… Control valve, 24 …… Compressor, 27 …… Tension mechanism, 33 …… Female block, 33
b …… Opening, 33c …… Center hole, 34 …… Male block, 34b
…… Through hole, 34c …… Step, 35 …… Lock nut, 37…
… Room, 38 …… Nozzle mouth, 39 …… Passage, 40 …… Air flow guide section.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A filament tensioning device for supplying compressed air to a passage in which a continuous filament is inserted to pull the filament in one direction, wherein a nozzle opening for blowing the compressed air to the filament is provided in the passage. A filamentous material tensioning device, which is provided on the inner circumference. 2. The filamentous tensioning device according to claim 1, wherein an air flow guide portion for guiding the air flow ejected from the nozzle port in one direction is provided on the inner wall of the passage near the nozzle port. A filamentous tension device. 3. The filament tensioning device according to claim 1, further comprising detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the filament near the entrance or the exit of the passage. Filament tensioner. 4. A support base for supporting a main body of the filament tensioning device according to claim 1 at a predetermined height position on a floor surface, and a filament of the filament from the support base. A filamentous material tensioning device comprising: an arm portion extending in a traveling direction; and a guide member provided at a tip of the arm portion for guiding a traveling position of the filamentous material.