JPH08151118A - Precise supply and conveying device for glass rod - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable efficient cleaning and coating process by supplying and conveying stably at an accurate interval a plurality of glass rods with a simple mechanism to convey the glass rods precisely arranged in order to the next process. CONSTITUTION: A device is provided with a rotary grooved drum 10, a rough supply part 12 and further first ans second tape traveling mechanisms 14, 16. The rotary drum is formed on the outer peripheral surface with a plurality of shallow grooves groved uniformly parallel to the rotary axis to receive glass rods in a structure rotated with constant speed. The rod rough supply part locates the tip edge near the top of the rotary drum and has a rod supply plate 26 inclined to elevate the base end side and a vibrational device 28 to vibrate the rod supply plate 26 for smoothly supplying the glass rods. A plurality of the glass rods recieved in the shallow grooves are pinched and conveyed through the magnetic attraction or adhesion by first and second tapes 32, 34.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for precisely feeding brittle glass rods at predetermined intervals. This technique is useful in the field of manufacturing a light converging rod lens array used in an optical system such as a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A light converging rod lens array is an optical component in which a large number of minute gradient index rod lenses are aligned and arranged to form a single continuous erecting equal-magnification real image. Since the optical path length is short and the reversing mirror is unnecessary, the device can be downsized. Therefore, it is most suitable for optical systems for scanning systems such as facsimiles and printers, and has already been put to practical use.

In order to manufacture such a rod lens array, it is necessary to accurately align a large number of gradient index glass rods at predetermined intervals. In order to automate alignment and fixing, glass rods must be precisely supplied. The glass rod supplied here has an elongated shape with a diameter of 1 mmφ and a length of 300 mm, for example. As a conventional technique for accurately supplying such a linear body, there is a configuration in which the linear body is roughly supplied by vibrating or the like and finally supplied by a pusher at regular time intervals.

[0004]

However, since the glass rod is a brittle material and has a thin and long shape, when the setting on the pusher is inclined, the glass rod is broken due to an oblique force. It is easy to occur.
In addition, the apparatus itself and the operation become complicated, which makes the apparatus expensive.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device which can inexpensively and stably supply and convey a large number of glass rods at precise intervals. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of efficiently carrying out cleaning and coating treatment of glass rods by transporting glass rods precisely aligned to the next step.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a grooved rotary drum having a plurality of shallow grooves for accommodating glass rods formed uniformly on the outer peripheral surface thereof in parallel with the axis of rotation so as to rotate at a constant speed. A glass rod is supplied to the shallow groove one by one, having a rod supply plate located rearward of the rotation of the rotary drum and inclined so that the base end side is higher, and a vibrating device for vibrating the rod supply plate. A glass rod precision supply / conveyance device comprising a rod rough supply section.

Further, according to the present invention, a large number of shallow grooves for accommodating glass rods are uniformly formed on the outer peripheral surface in parallel with the rotation axis, and concave portions are provided all around the outer peripheral surface in the circumferential direction to rotate at a constant speed. A glass rod having a grooved rotary drum, a rod supply plate whose tip edge is located on the rear side of rotation relative to the top of the rotary drum and inclined so that the base end side is higher, and a vibrating device for vibrating the rod supply plate. And a rod rough supply part for supplying the tapes to the shallow groove one by one, and a first tape is made to pass through the concave part of the rotary drum to run below the glass rod at a speed corresponding to the grooved rotary drum. Glass, and a second tape running mechanism that runs a second tape facing the first tape above the glass rod at a speed corresponding to the grooved rotary drum. rod A precision feeding and conveying device. Here, one of the first tape and the second tape is a magnetic tape,
The other is a magnetic metal tape, or both are magnetic tapes, or one of the first tape and the second tape is an adhesive tape, and the other is a tape having good adhesiveness to the first tape. Hold the aligned glass rods with a second tape.

An ultrasonic cleaning device and a dip coating device are provided at the subsequent stage of the glass rod precision feeding and conveying device, and the glass rod held by the first tape and the second tape is continuously guided to the cleaning tank. The glass rod may be configured to pass through to wash the glass rod, or the glass rod held by the first tape and the second tape may be continuously introduced into the coating tank and passed through to coat the glass rod. It can also be configured.

[0009]

The glass rods are fed one by one from the rough rod feeding section to the shallow grooves of the rotary drum. Since the shallow grooves are formed uniformly (at regular intervals) and the rotary drum is rotating at a constant speed, the glass rods contained therein are precisely supplied at regular time intervals.

When a large number of glass rods precisely supplied as described above are held by tapes from both sides by using magnetic attraction or adhesion, the precision alignment state is maintained and automatically conveyed to the next step. it can. If the next step is an ultrasonic cleaning device, it can be continuously cleaned by passing it through a cleaning tank, and if the next step is a dip coating device, it can be continuously processed by passing it through a coating tank. It can be carried out.

[0011]

1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a glass rod precision supply / conveyance apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a main portion thereof. This apparatus mainly comprises a grooved rotary drum 10 and a rough rod supply unit 12. Further, the apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a first tape running mechanism 14 and a second tape running mechanism 16 for holding the aligned glass rods in a fixed state. Here, the glass rod 20 has a diameter of 1 mm, for example.
It is an elongated gradient index glass rod having a diameter of about φ and a length of 300 mm.

The grooved rotary drum 10 has a large number of shallow grooves 22 in which the glass rods 20 are housed in parallel with the rotation axis on the outer peripheral surface thereof (at a constant pitch), and a driving mechanism such as a motor in the direction of the arrow. It is a structure that rotates at a constant speed by (not shown). Here, the shallow groove 22 has an inverted triangular shape in cross section, and is dimensioned so that the upper half or more (approximately 2/3) of the cross section of the glass rod 20 is exposed. Further, the grooved rotary drum 10 is provided with two recesses 24 each having a shallow cross section and having a shallow cross section along the entire circumference in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface thereof.

The coarse rod supply section 12 vibrates the rod supply plate 26, which is inclined so that the tip edge thereof is located on the rear side of the rotation of the rotary drum 10 and the base end side is higher than the top portion of the rotary drum 10. And a vibrating device 28 for smoothly supplying the glass rod 20. The position of the tip edge of the rod supply plate 26 is specifically set at a position where the angle θ formed by the line connecting the tip edge position and the center of the rotary drum and the vertical line is about 30 degrees. The glass rod 20 fitted in the shallow groove 22 is temporarily lifted and conveyed by the rotation of. The rough rod supply unit 12 includes glass rods 20 one by one in the shallow groove 2 of the grooved rotary drum 10.
Fulfills the function of supplying A hopper 30 for storing a large number of glass rods 20 is provided at the base end of the rod supply plate 26.

The first tape running mechanism 14 allows the first tape 32 to pass through the concave portion 24 of the grooved rotary drum 10 so that the lower portion of the aligned glass rods 20 corresponds to the speed of the grooved rotary drum 10. It is supplied by and run. Further, the second tape running mechanism 16 causes the second tape 34 to face the first tape 32, and supplies and runs above the aligned glass rods 20 at a speed corresponding to the grooved rotary drum 10. Is. These first and second tape running mechanisms 14 and 16 are used for the tape supply roll 3
The first and second tapes 32 and 34 are fed out and guided by 6, 38 and the guide roll 40. In this example,
The first tape 32 is a magnetic metal (for example, iron) tape,
The second tape 34 is a magnetic tape, and is made of a thin and flexible material. The first and second tape running mechanisms 14 and 16 may be configured to run the first and second tapes 32 and 34 endlessly.

While rotating the grooved rotary drum 10 at a constant speed, the glass rod 20 is moved to 1 by the rod rough supply unit 12.
By supplying the glass rods 20 to the shallow groove 22 one by one,
Are supplied at predetermined time intervals. Then, together with the glass rod 20 rotating in the aligned state, the first tape 32 and the second tape 34 running along the upper and lower sides thereof are magnetically attracted, and as shown in FIG. Tape 3
The glass rods 20 are held together by 2, 34 and transported to a predetermined position while maintaining their aligned state. When the glass rods 20 that have been aligned and conveyed are subjected to cleaning treatment or coating treatment, it is necessary to provide an appropriate gap between the glass rods.
The pitch of the shallow grooves 22 formed on the rotary drum 10 may be set to an appropriate value.

Although the first tape 32 is a magnetic metal tape and the second tape 34 is a magnetic tape in the above embodiment, conversely, the first tape 32 is a magnetic tape and the second tape 34 is a magnetic metal tape. Alternatively, both the first and second tapes may be magnetic tapes. Alternatively, either one of the first tape and the second tape may be an adhesive tape, and the other may be a tape having good adhesiveness to it (of course, both may be adhesive tapes). In any case, as mentioned above, the tape should be flexible,
Its width is arbitrary. It may be thin or wide,
When the tape is conveyed to a cleaning device or a dip coating device in the next step, the tape tends to hinder cleaning and coating, and thus it is preferable that the tape is as thin as possible. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the glass rod is held in two places by clinging, and this constitution is preferable. However, depending on the tape width and the clinging / holding state, it may be held in only one place or may be held in three or more places. . It may be held at the intermediate portion of the glass rod or at the end of the glass rod. Further, the concave portion formed in the rotary drum with grooves includes not only the shallow groove as in the above embodiment but also a stepped portion formed at the end of the rotary drum.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
Since the main body of the glass rod precision feeding / conveying device is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment, the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The cleaning tank 50 of the ultrasonic cleaning device is provided at the subsequent stage of the main body of the glass rod precision supply / conveyance device, and the glass rods 20 held in alignment by the guide roll 40 are continuously transferred to the cleaning tank 50. The glass rod 20 is guided and passed to be washed.

In the case of cleaning a large number of glass rods, in the prior art, a small number of glass rods are placed in a cleaning container and the cleaning container is cleaned through the steps of preliminary cleaning → main cleaning → drying. are doing. However, when the number of glass rods placed in one container is increased, the glass rod located in the center of the bundle is hard to be washed. On the contrary, if the number of containers to be put in one container is reduced in order to improve the cleaning degree, the number of containers becomes large and the cleaning time becomes long, resulting in poor efficiency. In this apparatus, since the glass rods can be continuously introduced into the cleaning tank 50 at regular intervals, cleaning can be performed without passing through the shadow of ultrasonic waves, and a large amount of cleaning can be stably performed with a high cleaning degree.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the cleaning tank of the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus is connected in series, but instead of this, or in the subsequent stage of the cleaning tank, the coating tank of the dip coating apparatus may be provided. In that case also, the glass rods held in the aligned state by the guide rolls are continuously introduced into the coating tank and passed therethrough to coat the surface of the glass rods.

In the case of dip coating a large number of glass rods, in the conventional technique, a small number of glass rods are put in a carrier. However, if a large number of glass rods are put in one carrier, the glass rods come into contact with each other and become non-uniform. On the other hand, if the number of carriers in the carrier is reduced, the efficiency becomes poor. Since a large number of rods are processed at one time, it is possible to insert them one by one into a carrier such as punching metal and put them in a coating tank, but it is difficult to carry out because the elongated glass rod is easily broken. With this device,
Since the glass rods can be continuously charged into the coating tank at regular intervals, the glass rods do not come into contact with each other, and the coating treatment can be performed efficiently.

When the aligned glass rods are conveyed to a cleaning device or a dip coating device and processed as they are, the portion of the glass rod held by the tape is difficult to wash or coat. Therefore, although it is a somewhat large-scaled device, if the above device is configured in two stages so that the tape holding position of the glass rod is different between the first stage and the second stage, the entire glass rod is washed or coated. can do.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the glass rods are supplied one by one to the shallow grooves of the grooved rotary drum that rotates at a constant speed as described above. Therefore, the glass rod supply time interval is the rotational speed of the rotary drum and the shallow groove. Since it is accurately determined only by the pitch, the glass rod, which is a brittle material, can be supplied and conveyed at accurate time intervals without breaking. Moreover, since the mechanism and the operation are simplified, the device can be constructed at low cost. In addition, the glass rods that have been supplied at precise time intervals and are aligned and held by tape can be easily transported to the desired position, so that the cleaning and coating processes in the subsequent steps can be carried out continuously and automatically. It becomes possible to do well.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a glass rod precision supply / conveyance apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a main part thereof.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a transported state of aligned glass rods.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Rotating Drum with Groove 12 Rod Rough Feeding Part 14 First Tape Running Mechanism 16 Second Tape Running Mechanism 20 Glass Rod 22 Shallow Groove 24 Recessed 26 Rod Supply Plate 28 Vibrating Device 32 First Tape 34 Second Tape 40 Cleaning tank

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A rotary drum with a groove in which a large number of shallow grooves for accommodating glass rods are uniformly formed on an outer peripheral surface in parallel with a rotation axis, and a tip edge is rotated more than a top portion of the rotary drum. A rod supply plate located on the rear side and inclined so that the base end side becomes higher,
And a rod rough feed unit that feeds glass rods to the shallow groove one by one, having a vibrating device that vibrates the rod feed plate.
A glass rod precision feeding and conveying device equipped with. 2. A plurality of shallow grooves for accommodating glass rods are formed uniformly on the outer peripheral surface in parallel with the axis of rotation, and concave portions are provided all around the outer peripheral surface in the circumferential direction, with a groove rotating at a constant speed. A rotating drum; and a rod supply plate whose tip edge is located rearward of rotation relative to the top of the rotating drum and is inclined so that the base end side is higher.
It has a vibrating device for vibrating the rod supply plate and is arranged so as to pass the glass rod one by one to the shallow groove and the first tape through the concave portion of the grooved rotary drum. A first tape running mechanism for running the lower part of the glass rod at a speed corresponding to a grooved rotary drum, and a second tape facing the first tape so that the upper part of the aligned glass rod is provided with the grooved part. A second tape running mechanism that runs at a speed corresponding to the rotating drum, wherein one of the first tape and the second tape is a magnetic tape, the other is a magnetic metal tape, or both are magnets. A precision feeding / conveying device for a glass rod, which is a tape and holds a glass rod aligned with a first tape and a second tape. 3. A plurality of shallow grooves for accommodating glass rods are formed uniformly on the outer peripheral surface in parallel with the axis of rotation, and recesses are provided all around the outer peripheral surface in the circumferential direction, with a groove rotating at a constant speed. A rotating drum; and a rod supply plate whose tip edge is located rearward of rotation relative to the top of the rotating drum and is inclined so that the base end side is higher.
It has a vibrating device for vibrating the rod supply plate and is arranged so as to pass the glass rod one by one to the shallow groove and the first tape through the concave portion of the grooved rotary drum. A first tape running mechanism for running the lower part of the glass rod at a speed corresponding to a grooved rotary drum, and a second tape facing the first tape so that the upper part of the aligned glass rod is provided with the grooved part. A second tape running mechanism that runs at a speed corresponding to the rotating drum, wherein one of the first tape and the second tape is an adhesive tape, and the other is a tape having good adhesiveness to it. And a glass rod precision feeding / conveying device for holding the glass rods aligned with the first tape and the second tape. 4. The glass rod according to claim 2, wherein the glass rod held by the first tape and the second tape is continuously introduced into a cleaning tank of an ultrasonic cleaning device and passed therethrough to clean the glass rod. apparatus. 5. The glass rod, which is held by the first tape and the second tape, is continuously introduced into a coating tank of a dip coating device and passed therethrough to coat the surface of the glass rod. 4. The device according to 4.