JPH09188414A - Conveyor and conveying method for work using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To convey a work without being damaged by rubbing the work with the under surface of a substance to be conveyed or stop it in a desired position and perform independent control of acceleration and deceleration of a conveyance unit. SOLUTION: To perform conveyance and a stop without rubbing the under surface of a work W with a conveyance roller, the length of a conveyor unit being a fundamental unit is set to a value higher than L+L1+L2 obtained by adding acceleration deceleration regions L1 and L2 of the conveyor unit to a length L of a minimum work W itself. This constitution performs a stop and conveyance without rubbing the work W in the arbitrary place of a conveyor to which a plurality of the conveyor units are coupled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conveyor and a method for conveying a work using the conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, many conveyors have been formed by connecting a plurality of conveyor units standardized to a certain size. The reason why such a conveyor unit is used is that if the conveyor unit is standardized, it is possible to arbitrarily connect the respective conveyor units to form a conveyor in various forms, and when using the conveyor as a buffer, This is because the transported object can be arbitrarily stopped on each conveyor unit. The size (length) of this conventional conveyor unit is set to be substantially equal to the length of the object to be conveyed in the conveying direction in order to make the conveyor unit and the entire device in which the conveyor units are connected together compact. Each conveyor unit independently has a motor as a drive source, and the driving force of this motor is transmitted as a rotational force to the conveying roller via the transmission belt.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the article being conveyed is stopped, the leading portion of the article may overrun to the adjacent conveyor unit side, and in order to prevent this overrun. By stopping the next conveyor unit while the previous conveyor unit is still operating, or by making a sudden stop at the moment when the article is transferred to the next conveyor unit, the lower surface of the conveyed article is removed. There was a problem that it was scratched by rubbing with the transport roller of the conveyor unit.

Further, even when the transportation of the stopped article is started, the lower surface of the article is rapidly accelerated and the lower surface of the article is damaged, or the article is transferred while the next conveyor unit is still accelerating. However, there is a problem that the lower surface of the article is rubbed by the transport roller and damaged due to the difference in the conveyor speed.

On the other hand, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned slips during acceleration and deceleration, it is possible to make the acceleration / deceleration control patterns of the front and rear conveyor units completely the same. It is very difficult to make the acceleration and deceleration control patterns exactly the same in addition to the steady-state speeds of the existing conveyor unit and the non-mounted conveyor unit, which leads to a cost increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to carry or stop at a desired position without rubbing the lower surface of an object to be carried with a carrying roller to damage it. The present invention is to provide a conveyor that enables independent acceleration / deceleration control of each conveyor unit, and a work transfer method using the conveyor.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the conveyor of the present invention has the following constitution. That is, in a conveyor in which a plurality of conveyor units are connected to each other, the length dimension along the transport direction of the transported object in the conveyor unit, the length dimension along the transport direction of the transported object, the conveyor The sum of the transport distance required until the transported object reaches a predetermined transport speed after the transport operation of the unit is started and the transport distance required until the transported object stops from the predetermined transport speed. It is set above.

The work transfer method using the conveyer of the present invention has the following features. That is, in the method of transporting a work using the conveyor, the work is sequentially subjected to a plurality of work processes, and the conveyor unit is independently provided for each work process, and the work is Of the conveyor unit of the first working process and the carrying speed of the conveyor unit of the second working process, the speed difference between the working process and the second working process is determined by a predetermined value. Below, it is determined whether or not the work has transferred from the conveyor unit of the first work process to the conveyor unit of the second work process, and when it is determined that the work has transferred, the work of the second work process is performed. The convey speed of the conveyor unit is reduced.

As described above, in the conveyor of the present invention, the length dimension of the conveyor unit along the conveying direction is the length dimension along the conveying direction of the conveyed object and the conveyor unit conveys the conveyed object. After the operation is started, it is set to be equal to or more than the sum of the transport distance required for the transported object to reach the predetermined transport speed and the transport distance required for the transported object to stop from the predetermined transport speed. Therefore, it is possible to control acceleration and deceleration of the transport speed in each conveyor unit, and when transporting the transported object between adjacent conveyor units, if the transport speed of each conveyor unit is the same speed, It is possible to eliminate rubbing between the lower surface and the conveyor unit, and further it is possible to reliably stop the conveyor unit on a predetermined conveyor unit.

Further, according to the work transfer method using the conveyor of the present invention, when the works sequentially provided for the plurality of work processes are transferred from the first work process to the second work process, the first work process is performed. Transport speed of the conveyor unit in the work process of
The speed difference between the transfer speed of the conveyor unit in the second work step is set to a predetermined value or less, and the transfer speed of the conveyor unit in the second work step is reduced when it is determined that the work has transferred. Therefore, at the time of transferring the transported object between the adjacent conveyor units, if the transport speed of each conveyor unit is the same speed, it is possible to eliminate rubbing between the lower surface of the transported object and the conveyor unit, and further It is possible to surely stop on the conveyor unit.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Construction of Conveyor Unit) First, the details of the conveyor unit constituting the conveyor according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, since the conveyor units CU1 to CU3 have the same structure, only the structure of one of the conveyor units will be described.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conveyor constituted by connecting three conveyor units in series as an embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

1 and 2, the conveyor of the present embodiment is a roller conveyor constituted by connecting a plurality of conveyor units as a basic unit. The drive motor 1 is provided to rotate and drive a plurality of transport rollers 2 provided in each of the conveyor units CU1 to CU3, and one drive motor 1 is mounted in each of the conveyor units CU1 to CU3. ~ CU
The three transport rollers 2 can be independently driven.
The transport roller 2 is provided to place a work W, which is an object to be transported, and transport the work W in a predetermined direction.
It is pivotally supported by the frames 5 located on both the left and right sides of the U1 to CU3 at right angles to the transport direction. The guide roller 3 is axially supported by the frame 5 separately from the transport roller 2, and is provided to guide the left and right sides of the workpiece W being transported along the transport direction. The guide roller 3 is axially supported by a mounting stay 4 of the guide roller 3 fixed to the frame 5, and the work W is guided by the rotational force of the plurality of transport rollers 2 while being guided by the guide roller 3 on its side surface. Is conveyed in the direction. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the work W is, in particular, a precision component such as a thin glass substrate that is not susceptible to rubbing or sliding.

The portion A shown in FIG. 2 shows a state in which the side cover 7 of the frame 5 of the conveyor unit CU1 which is a basic unit is removed. In the section A, an endless transmission belt 6 is wound around the drive pulley 2a rotatably attached to the end of the rotary shaft of each of the transport rollers 2.
The driving force of the drive motor 1 is transmitted to each of the transport rollers 2 via the through while being synchronized. The idle roller 9 is provided to apply an appropriate tension to the transmission belt 6.
The shaft 8 connects the transport rollers 2 located on the left and right sides in order to rotate the transport rollers 2 in synchronization with each other.

As described above, each conveyor unit CU1
The conveyance rollers 2 of the CU 3 to the CU 3 rotate in synchronization with each other by the transmission belt 6, so that the work W is conveyed to the conveyance rollers 2
By this, it is transported almost straight to the transport direction without slipping. A rear end detection sensor S2 is attached to a position of the conveyor unit CU2 close to a connecting portion with the conveyor unit CU1, and the rear end of the work W conveyed by the sensor S2 is detected to completely detect the work W. It is configured to detect the transfer from the CU1 to the conveyor unit CU2.

(Work Transfer Operation) Next, as a specific example of the work transfer operation by the conveyor according to the embodiment of the present invention, the work W is transferred from the conveyor unit CU1 to the conveyor unit CU2 and stopped on the conveyor unit CU2. The operation at that time will be described. 3 to 6
[Fig. 3] is a diagram for explaining the operation of the conveyor of Fig. 1. Also,
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of each conveyor unit.

In the following, description will be made in correspondence with FIGS. 3 to 6 and 7.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, from the state where the work W is stopped at substantially the center of the conveyor unit CU1 (speed V = 0), the conveying roller 2 of the conveyor unit CU1 is started.
Starts rotating at an acceleration that does not cause slippage with the work W, and the transport roller 2 of the conveyor unit CU2 also starts rotating (steps S2 and S4 in FIG. 7).

After that, the work W is gradually accelerated, and immediately before the leading portion of the work W is transferred to the conveyor unit CU2, the carrying speed V of the work W reaches a predetermined carrying speed V1, and the carrying speed of the conveyor unit CU2 also reaches V1. (Step S6 in FIGS. 4 to 5 and 7). Here, since the work W is a lightweight material such as a glass substrate, the outer diameters of the conveyor rollers 2 of the conveyor units CU1 and CU2 and the number of rotations of the motor 1 are made equal to each other, and the output of the motor 1 is set to be sufficiently large, so The rotational speed error of the two becomes small and both speeds V1 can be controlled to be substantially the same.

Further, in FIG. 3, the conveyor unit C
In U1, the distance L1 that the stopped work W moves before reaching the transport speed V1 is
The distance until the work W reaches the conveyance speed V1 is calculated and determined by the acceleration during acceleration. For example, the transport speed V1 = 100 mm / s, the acceleration a = 20 mm / s ^ 2 (“s ^
2 ”means the square of s), L1 = 100 × (100/20) × 0.5 = 250 mm. At this time, the conveyor unit CU2 is at the transport speed V1, and the conveyor units CU1 and CU2
Both transport speeds V are V1 and conveyor unit CU
By eliminating the speed difference between CU1 and CU2, the work W can be transferred from the conveyor unit CU1 to the CU2 without the conveyance roller 2 rubbing the lower surface of the work W (step S8 in FIG. 7).

Next, in order to stop the work W transferred on the conveyor unit CU2 on the conveyor unit CU2, after the work W is completely transferred to the conveyor unit CU2 at the transfer speed V1 (see FIG. 5), the work W is transferred. Need to slow down and stop. Here, the fact that the work W has completely transferred to the conveyor unit CU2 means that the rear end detection sensor S provided at a position close to the connecting portion of the conveyor unit CU2 with the conveyor unit CU1.
Detect at 2. When the rear end detection sensor S2 detects the rear end of the work W and it is determined that the work W has completely transferred to the conveyor unit CU2 (Y in step S10 of FIG. 7).
es), the transport roller 2 of the conveyor unit CU2 starts deceleration at a deceleration that does not cause slippage with the work W. Along with this, the work W is also decelerated (step 12 in FIG. 7). As the transport roller 2 of the conveyor unit CU2 decelerates, the transport roller 2 of the conveyor unit CU1 also decelerates (step S14 in FIG. 7). Here, the distance L2 from the time when the work W is completely transferred to the conveyor unit CU2 to the time when the work W is stopped is calculated by the deceleration during deceleration of the work W until the work W reaches the transport speed V1 to 0. To decide. For example, the transport speed V1 = 10
If 0 mm / s and deceleration a = 20 mm / s ^ 2, then L2 = 100 × (100/20) × 0.5 = 250 mm.

In step S8, the work W transferred to the conveyor unit CU2 is transferred to the conveyor unit C.
When the workpiece W is made to travel steadily without being stopped by the U2, the work W is completely conveyed at the conveyance speed V1 by the conveyor unit CU2.
Even if the trailing edge detection sensor S2 detects the trailing edge of the work W after the transfer to the sheet (see FIG. 5), the transport speed V1 of the transport roller 2 of the conveyor unit CU2 may be maintained.

As described above in detail, in this embodiment, the work W is conveyed without rubbing the lower surface of the work W with the conveyance rollers.
In order to stop, the length of the conveyor unit as a basic unit needs to be L + L1 + L2, which is the length L of the minimum work W itself plus the acceleration / deceleration regions L1 and L2 of the conveyor unit. Therefore, make the length of each conveyor unit L
By setting + L1 + L2 or more, the work W can be stopped and transported without rubbing at an arbitrary place on the conveyor in which a plurality of conveyor units are connected.

The present invention can be applied to a modified or modified version of the above embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, etc., as well as a roller conveyor.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to control the acceleration and deceleration of the conveyor speed in each conveyor unit, and if the conveyor speed of each conveyor unit is the same when transferring the conveyor object between adjacent conveyor units, the lower surface of the conveyor object and the conveyor It is possible to eliminate rubbing against the unit and dust and the like generated thereby, and it is possible to surely stop on a predetermined conveyor unit.

[0028]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conveyor configured by connecting three conveyor units in series as an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a work transfer operation by a conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a work transfer operation by a conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a work transfer operation by the conveyor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a work transfer operation by a conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the conveyor unit.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 ... Drive motor 2 ... Conveying roller 3 ... Guide roller 4 ... 5 ... Frame 6 ... Transmission belt 7 ... Side cover W ... Work

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A conveyor comprising a plurality of conveyor units connected to each other, wherein a length dimension of the conveyor unit in a transport direction is a length dimension of the transport object in a transport direction. , After the convey operation of the conveyor unit is started,
The transport distance required for the transported object to reach a predetermined transport speed and the transport distance required for the transported object to stop from the predetermined transport speed are set to be equal to or more than the sum of the transport distance. Conveyor to do. 2. The conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor unit includes a transfer unit for transferring the transported object and a drive unit for driving the transfer unit. 3. The conveyor according to claim 2, wherein the transfer means is a roller that is rotationally driven by the drive means. 4. The conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the transported object is a glass substrate whose surface is fragile. 5. The method of transporting a work by using the conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the work is sequentially subjected to a plurality of work steps, and the conveyor unit is independently provided for each work step. When the work is transported from the first working process to the second working process, the carrying speed of the conveyor unit of the first working process and the carrying speed of the conveyor unit of the second working process are provided. The speed difference between the two is set to a predetermined value or less, and it is determined whether or not the work is transferred from the conveyor unit of the first work process to the conveyor unit of the second work process, and it is determined that the work is transferred. The method of transporting a work, wherein the transport speed of the conveyor unit in the second working step is reduced. 6. The transport speed of the conveyor unit in the first working process and the transport speed of the conveyor unit in the second working process are set to be substantially constant.
The method of transporting the work described in. 7. The method of transporting a work according to claim 5, wherein the work is a glass substrate whose surface is fragile.