JPH11232421A - Sheet number confirming device for plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact structure having a small number of parts for a confirming device which is provided on a plate loader to confirm the number of sheets of plates. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a plate holding means 58 which holds a plate W and a confirming part 69 which confirms the number of sheets of plates W via the means 58. A position changing means 59 changes the means 58 between an advancing position where the means 58 holds the plate W and a retreating position where the means 58 holds no plate W. Then the means 58 is opened and closed by means of the position changing mechanism of the means 59 and is always biased in its holding direction of the plate W by a biasing means 66. Furthermore, a cam 67 is added to open the means 58 by retreating the means 58 via the means 59.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for confirming whether a lifted plate is a single plate when the plate is separated and lifted one by one from a plate stack stacked on a material carrier or the like. The present invention relates to an apparatus for checking the number of plate materials.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a plate material stacked on a material carrier is separated one by one by a plate material loader and transferred to a plate material processing machine, first, a separation pad provided on the plate material loader is used.
Suction and lift one side of the plate. The end portion of the lifted plate material is sandwiched by the number checking device, and it is confirmed whether or not the sheet material is a single sheet based on the sandwiched thickness. The above-described conventional sheet number checking device has a plate material holding mechanism for holding a plate material by a first holding portion and a second holding portion that rotate around one axis. The first holding portion and the second holding portion each have a portion in which the vertical relationship is reversed from the axis to the rear, and a sensor is attached to the tip of the portion, thereby increasing the thickness of the held plate material. Is measured indirectly.

[0003]

It is necessary to change the position of the entire sheet number checking device between a forward position for holding the plate material and a non-use position. Conventionally, since the drive mechanism for moving back and forth and the opening / closing drive mechanism of the holding mechanism are separately provided, the apparatus is large-scale.

One object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to provide an apparatus for confirming the number of plate members which can be made compact with a small number of parts. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to check the number of sheets in response to the inclination of the lifted plate material.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for checking the number of plate materials, comprising: a plate material holding means for holding the plate material; a checking unit for checking the number of plate materials based on the holding means; And a position changing means for changing the position between a forward position and a retracted position without the plate material. The plate material holding means is opened and closed by utilizing a change in the front-back position of the position changing means. According to this configuration, the number checking unit is advanced to the forward position by the position changing unit with respect to the plate material held by the plate material holding unit, and checks the number of plate materials. The confirmation of the number of plate materials by the confirmation unit is performed based on the clamping state of the plate material clamping means and the like. Since the thickness of the plate is known, the number of the plate can be confirmed from the sandwiching thickness and the like. In this case, the opening and closing of the plate holding means is performed by using a change in the front-rear position of the position changing means.
Therefore, there is no need to provide an opening / closing drive mechanism separately from the position changing means, and the number of components can be reduced accordingly, and a compact configuration can be achieved.

[0006] In the above structure, the plate material holding means includes:
A cam may be provided which is always urged by the urging means in the direction of pinching, and which opens the holding means by retreating the plate material holding means by the position changing means. In this configuration, the opening and closing of the plate holding means can be performed by the cam and the urging means, so that the mechanism for opening and closing can be simplified. Also,
The plate holding means is rotatable about a predetermined axis,
The cam may have a regulating function to prevent the plate material holding means from rotating excessively when the plate material holding means is moved forward to hold the plate material. In this configuration,
It is possible to cope with the inclination of the plate material sandwiched by the plate material holding means. When checking the number of sheets by lifting one end of a plate material and sandwiching the raised end, the one end is often inclined. The angle of inclination may vary in various ways depending on the size, thickness, and material of the plate material, or the state of each lifting. Even if the plate material is tilted in this way, the plate material holding means rotates and follows the inclination, so that no extra load acts on the plate material holding means in the opening direction, and the number of sheets can be accurately checked by the number checking unit. Can be done. In this case, if the plate material holding means rotates freely too much, there may be inconveniences in various aspects such as a return operation.However, since the plate material holding means is prevented from rotating too much by the cam, proper operation is maintained. You. In this case, since the cam for opening and closing the plate holding means is also used for preventing the excessive rotation, the plate holding means can be prevented from rotating too much without increasing the number of parts.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in a plan view in FIG. 5, a frame 3 of the plate material loader 2 is installed on a side of the plate material processing machine 1. The plate processing machine 1 comprises a punch press of a turret type or the like, and a work holder 5 for gripping a plate W on a work table 4 is moved by a carriage 6 which moves back and forth (Y direction).
Is mounted so as to be able to move laterally (X direction). At the side end of the work table 4, an end locator 7 made of a pin that can be protruded and retracted is provided. As shown in the front view of FIG. 4, a plate material table 8 made of a trolley is installed at a predetermined plate material placing position P below the frame 3 of the plate material loader 2 so that it can enter and exit. W is loaded. The plate material table 8 has a stopper 8a for aligning the edges of the plate material W.

A rail 10 is mounted on the frame 3 by the plate material processing machine 1.
The rail 1
The loader main body 11 is installed at 0 so that it can run freely. An elevating frame 12, which is a support member, is installed on the loader body 11 so as to be able to move up and down. The elevating frame 12 has a plurality of suction pads 14A to 14C for sucking the plate material W, and the plate material W lifted by the suction pads 14A and 14B. There is provided a number confirmation device 15 for confirming that the number is one. Each of the suction pads 14A to 14C is a vacuum suction pad connected to a vacuum source (not shown), but may be a pad that suctions with a magnetic force such as an electromagnet. Loader body 1
1 is installed on the rail 10 via a traveling roller 16 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the roller main body 11 is driven to travel by a traveling drive device 18 that rotationally drives a part of the traveling roller 16. . In addition, the loader body 11 is provided with a guide roller 17 for traveling guidance that is in contact with the lower surface of the rail 10. The lifting frame 12 is composed of a plurality of beams 13a to 13d as shown in FIG.
To 14C are attached to any of the beams 13a to 13d and are arranged in a matrix. The plurality of beams 13a to 13d include a main beam 12a along the traveling direction of the loader main body 11, and support beams 13b to 13d joined at a plurality of positions in the longitudinal direction of the main beam 12a orthogonal to the main beam 13a. .

The elevating frame 12 is covered by a skirt 11a provided at a lower portion of the loader main body 11 except for a part thereof in the ascending state shown in FIG. Elevating frame 12
Is guided to the loader main body 11 by a lifting guide 21 so as to be able to move up and down. The elevating guide 21 includes a pair of guide rods 19 erected on the elevating frame 12, and guide tubes 20, 20 in which the guide rods 19, 19 are respectively fitted so as to be able to move up and down. The guide cylinders 20 are erected downward at both ends in the width direction of the loader main body 11. The lifting guide 21 may be of a pantograph type.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lifting drive device 22 for the lifting frame 12 includes two flexible winding members 23,
23, guide rollers 24, 24, and take-up roller 2
5 and a driving motor 26 (FIG. 1). The motor 26 is installed on the loader main body 11, and a take-up roller 25 is attached to an output shaft thereof. The both wrapping members 23 are formed of a belt, a chain, a rope, or the like. One end of each of the winding members 23 is connected to one and the same winding roller 25, and the winding members 23 are wound around the winding roller 25 by the rotation thereof. The other ends of the winding members 23 are connected to both ends of the lifting frame 12. The guide rollers 24, 24 are provided around the intermediate portions of the winding members 23, 23 for guiding, and are rotatably installed on the upper surface of the loader main body 11.

Of the suction pads 14A to 14C provided on the lifting frame 12, the suction pads 14 for positioning are used.
Each of the suction pads 14A and 14B except for C
Urged downward. Among them, the three suction pads 14A ₁ , 14A ₂ , 14A _{3 on} the left side of FIG. 2 provided on the support beam 13b at the rear end in the traveling direction can be selectively raised and retracted by the upward movement selecting device 28. The upward movement selecting device 28 includes a link mechanism 29 and a motor 30 for driving the link mechanism 29. The link mechanism 29 is engaged with the cam plate 31 provided on the elevating frame 12 so as to be able to move laterally in the longitudinal direction, and is rotated by the motor 30 in the forward and reverse directions to engage with the engaging pins 32 of the cam plate 31. Each of the suction pads 1 is formed by a lateral movement of the cam plate 31 caused by the rotation of the rotation arm 33.
A cam follower 34 provided at the upper end of 4A ₁ , 14A ₂ , 14A ₃ is pushed up by the cam plate 31. Thus, the suction pads 14A ₁ , 14A ₂ , and 14A ₃ to be moved up and down according to the size of the plate material W to be conveyed are selected.

Among the remaining suction pads 14B ₁ and 14B ₂ in the support beam 13b of the lifting frame 12, the suction pad 14B located near the center of the support beam 13b.
₁ is set to a height at which the plate material W can always be adsorbed during the transfer of the plate material. The remaining suction pads 14B ₂ located at the right end of the support beam 13b, i.e. the suction pads 14B ₂ of a predetermined corner portion of the lift frame 12 is dedicated lifting means 35
Driven up and down. As shown in FIG. 3, the elevating means 35 includes a swing arm 38, a cam follower 39, an eccentric cam 40 acting on the cam follower 39, a motor 41 for rotating the eccentric cam 40, and the like. The swing arm 38 has one end pivotably supported via a pin 37 to the mounting member 36 of the support beam 13b, and the other end engages the upper end of the elevating rod of the suction pad 14B _2.
The cam follower 39 is provided at an intermediate portion of the swing arm 38. Other supporting beams 13c, the suction pad 14A for transporting provided 13d (FIG. 5) may be set to the plate material W during sheet conveyance always adsorbable height, also the suction pads 14A ₁ ~ similar to 14A _3, may be selectively made available raised by upward movement selecting means (not shown).

The two suction pads 14 for positioning described above.
C and 14C are for adsorbing and positioning the carry-in plate material W on the work table 4 of the plate material processing machine 1.
It is also used for transportation when transporting plate materials. These suction pads 14C for positioning can be horizontally moved by a reciprocating cylinder 42 in an oblique direction with respect to the transport direction. Each of the suction pads 14C is attached to the tip of an advance / retreat cylinder 42, and the advance / retreat cylinder 42 is
Is supported by a mounting member 43 fixed to the base member so as to be movable up and down. The lifting and lowering of the suction pad 14C is performed by a lifting and lowering device 44 provided on the support beam 14B. The lifting device 44 includes a lifting operation shaft 45 arranged along the support beam 14B,
A transmission mechanism 46 or the like for transmitting the rotating operation of the lifting operation shaft 45 to the suction pad 14C as a lifting operation is provided.
With the rotation of 5, both suction pads 14C move up and down integrally with the advance / retreat cylinder 42. Each suction pad 14 </ b> C is urged by a spring 47 toward the lower side. The rotation of the elevating operation shaft 45 is performed by transmitting the rotation of a motor 48 installed on the elevating frame 12 to the elevating operation shaft 45 via a cam mechanism (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 4, the frame 3 is provided with a movable roller table 51 at a position substantially at the lower surface of each of the suction pads 14A to 14C of the loader body 11. The movable roller table 51 is formed by connecting a large number of rollers 49 (FIG. 1) at both ends in a chain shape with a chain 50. The chain 50 is mounted on sprockets 52 at both ends of the frame 3, and is driven horizontally from the inside of the box 54 by driving the sprocket 52 at one end by a motor 53.

As shown in FIG. 1, the number confirmation device 15
Includes a confirmation unit 55 and an elevating unit 56 that moves the confirmation unit 55 up and down to a confirmation position and a retracted position. The lifting / lowering means 56 is composed of a lifting / lowering cylinder installed downward on a mounting member 57 erected on the lifting / lowering frame 12, and a confirmation means 55 is attached to the lower end of the lifting / lowering rod 56a.
By the driving of the elevating means 56, the checking means 55 moves up and down linearly.

As shown in FIG. 6, the checking means 55 includes a plate holding means 58 for holding the plate W, and a plate holding means 5 for holding the plate W.
A confirmation unit 69 for confirming the number of plate materials W based on 8 and a position change unit 59 for changing the position of the plate material holding unit 58 between a forward position where the plate material W is sandwiched and a retracted position where the plate material W is not sandwiched. The position changing means 59 is composed of a holding means support member 61 installed on a plate-shaped frame 60 via a guide rail 64 so as to be able to move forward and backward, and an advance / retreat cylinder 62 which is a drive source for moving the holding means support member 61 forward and backward. You. The moving direction of the holding means support member 61 is the same as the traveling direction of the loader main body 11 in plan view. The reciprocating cylinder 62 is installed on the upper side of the plate-shaped frame 60. The plate material holding means 58 is a scissors-like member in which an intermediate portion between a pair of holding pieces 58a, 58a is rotatably supported by a support shaft 63, and is provided on a holding means support member 61 via a support shaft 63 so as to be openable and closable. Have been. Rollers 65 are provided at the ends of the holding pieces 58a, 58a as contact portions so that the sheet material W can be held without damage. Both holding pieces 58a, 58a
The rear portions are connected to each other by a spring 66, which is a biasing unit that constantly biases the plate holding unit 58 in the holding direction. Further, the plate-shaped frame 60 has the position changing means 5.
A cam 67 is provided which acts on the plate holding means 58 which is retracted at 9 to open the plate holding means 58. The upper and lower surfaces of the cam 67 serve as cam surfaces. The pair of cam surfaces gradually expand from the top 67a at the front end to the rear, and portions behind the predetermined position are parallel to each other. On the upper and lower edges which are the cam surfaces of the cam 67,
The cam followers 68, 68 provided on the rear portions of both holding pieces 58a, 58a of the plate holding means 58 come into contact with each other. Rollers are used for the cam followers 68, 68. The confirmation section 69 is provided at the rear of one of the holding pieces 58a. The confirmation section 69 is composed of a sensor for detecting the degree of opening of the rear portions of both holding pieces 58a, 58a of the plate holding means 58. This sensor may be a non-contact type that detects a change in capacitance or magnetic flux, or may be a contact type. The degree of opening detected by the confirmation unit 69 composed of this sensor is compared with a set value by a determination means (not shown) composed of an electronic circuit element and a control device, and the number of plate materials W is confirmed. Note that the confirmation unit 69 may output a binary value that switches on and off depending on whether the degree of opening is larger or smaller than a predetermined value.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. Loader body 1
When lifting the plate material W on the plate material table 8 in step 1, the lifting frame 12 is lowered to a predetermined height with the loader main body 11 positioned on the plate material table 8 and the movable roller table 51 stored therein. Thereafter, the suction pad 14B ₂ provided in the corner portion of the lift frame 12, and lowered by driving the elevating means 35, the corner portion of the uppermost sheet material W on the plate stand 8 is adsorbed by the suction pad 14B ₂ It is turned up. After raising the turning, it is waving the plate material W by repeating the lifting of the suction pad 14B ₂ in driving of the elevating means 35. At this time, even if two sheets of the sheet material W are adsorbed in an overlapping state due to close contact between the sheet materials, the overlap is usually eliminated by the waving, and only the uppermost sheet material W is absorbed by the suction pad 1.
A state of being adsorbed by 4B _2.

Next, one row of suction pads 14A including the suction pad 14B ₂ provided on the lift frame 12,
One side including the corner portion of the uppermost plate material W is sucked by 14B. After this suction, the suction pads 14A, 14A
By raising B, the end of the plate material W is
As shown in (A), the confirmation means 55 is lowered to the confirmation position until the height thereof is opposed to the plate holding means 58. At this time, the plate holding means 58 is provided with the position changing means 5.
At 9, as shown in FIG. 6A, it is retracted, and is opened by the regulation of the cam 67 against the urging force of the spring 66. From this state, the plate holding means 58 is advanced by driving the position changing means 59. With this advance, the plate holding means 58 is closed by the urging force of the spring 66 according to the guide of the cam 67. When the plate holding means 58 has moved to the forward end, the plate holding means 58
6B, and becomes a closed state as shown in FIG. By closing the plate holding means 58 while moving forward, the end of the plate W which is lifted by the suction pads 14A and 14B is held by the plate holding means 58 as shown in FIG. 7B. In this sandwiching state, it is confirmed by the confirmation unit 69 provided in the plate material sandwiching means 58 that the number of sandwiched sheet materials W is one. After the confirmation, the plate holding means 58 is retreated again by the position changing means 59 and returned to the open state.

If it is detected by the confirmation section 69 that the number of sandwiched plate members W is two or more at the time of the above-described sandwiching, a control device (not shown) is provided after the plate member sandwiching means 58 is retracted according to the detection result. With this command, the suction of the plate material W by the suction pads 14A and 14B is released. After the work W is dropped onto the sheet table 8 in the suction released, the suction by the suction pad 14B ₂ of the corners, from rolled up, the plate separating operation to confirm the entrapment thickness by confirmation unit 69 starts over . When the plate material falls when the two sheets are sandwiched, in this plate material loader 2, the checking means 55 uses the suction pads 14A,
Since it is provided on the elevating frame 12 provided with 14B, the height from the uppermost plate W of the plate 8 to the confirmation position of the confirmation means 55 can be kept low. for that reason,
The falling height of the plate material W can be reduced, and the plate material W is prevented from deviating from the original position on the plate material table 8. On the other hand, the board 8
Is designed to place the plate material W so that it cannot be moved up and down, and thus is inexpensive, but as the carry-out of the plate material W proceeds, the height of the uppermost plate material W decreases. However, the confirmation means 55 is
Since it is installed on the elevating frame 12 on which the A and 14B are installed, even if the height of the uppermost plate W changes, the height from the uppermost plate W to the confirmation position of the confirmation means 55 becomes constant. I can do it. Therefore, even if the carry-out of the plate material W progresses and the height of the uppermost plate material W decreases, the plate material falling height for re-performing the plate material separation can be kept low, and the displacement of the plate material W at the time of dropping can be reduced. Is prevented.

Further, since the plate holding means 58 is rotatably supported by the holding means supporting member 61 by the support shaft 63, even if the inclination of the plate W is different at the time of holding the plate W, It can be clamped following the inclination of the plate material W. For this reason, it is prevented that an unnecessary opening force is applied to the plate material holding means 58 due to the inclination of the plate material W, and the confirmation unit 69 can accurately confirm the number of sheets. Further, in this embodiment, when the plate material holding means 58 is advanced by the position changing means 59 and the plate material holding means 58 is closed as shown in FIG.
A pair of cam followers 68 of the plate material holding means 58
The upper and lower cam surfaces 7 are not guided by the cooperation of the cam surfaces, but are kept from being completely removed from the top 67a of the cam 67. That is, the cam 67 has a pair of cam followers 6.
8 between them with play. for that reason,
When the plate holding means 58 rotates to some extent, the cam follower 68 comes into contact with the top 67a of the cam 67, and further rotation is restricted. Thus, the plate material holding means 58 is
It is possible to restrict excessive rotation while enabling rotation following the inclination of the plate material W.

When the number confirmation operation is performed as described above and the plate material W lifted by the suction pads 14A and 14B is confirmed to be one, the confirmation means 55 is moved to the upper standby position by the elevating means 56. It is raised and returned. The lifting and lowering between the checking position of the checking means 55 and the standby position is performed linearly, so that the lifting and lowering is performed while being rotated by a rotating arm or the like.
No extra space is required on the side of the plate material, and the plate material loader 2 can be made compact. After the confirmation means 55 has returned to the up position, as shown in FIG.
The movable roller table 51 is inserted below the plate material W lifted at 14B, and the lifted plate material W and the plate material table 8 are inserted.
Is completely separated from the remaining loading plate material W. The plate material W on the movable roller table 51 separated in this manner is in a horizontal state, and in this state, all the suction pads 14A to 14A
It is sucked and lifted at 14C. Thereafter, by moving the loader main body 11, the movable roller table 51 is moved.
Sliding on the plate material W on the work table 4 of the plate material processing machine 1
Is carried in. After being carried in, the suction by the suction pads 14A and 14B is released, and the suction pad 14C for positioning is moved obliquely by the reciprocating cylinder 42, whereby the plate material W is pressed against the work holder 5 and the end locator 7, and the work W is pressed. The origin is positioned on the table 4. When the origin positioning is completed, the plate material W is gripped by the work holder 5, and thereafter, the suction by the suction pad 14C is released, and the plate material loader 2 returns to the original retracted position.

FIG. 8 shows another example of the structure of the plate material holding mechanism 55 in the number checking device 15. This plate holding mechanism 55
In this embodiment, the cam 67 is provided with a closing restricting projection 67b having a constant thickness and extending forward from the top 67a. This restricting piece 67
With b, the rotation of the plate holding means 58 is reliably restricted in a state where the plate holding means 58 is advanced to the forward position by the position changing means 59. Other configurations are the same as the example of FIG.

[0023]

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for checking the number of plate materials, comprising: a plate material holding means for holding the plate material; a checking unit for checking the number of plate materials based on the holding means; and an advance position for holding the plate material. And a position changing means for changing the position to a retracted position where the plate material is not sandwiched, and the plate material holding means is opened and closed by using the change of the position of the position changing means in the front-rear direction. There is no need to provide a mechanism, the number of parts is reduced, and a compact configuration can be achieved. In the above configuration, the plate material holding unit is assumed to be urged in a direction of always holding by the urging unit,
And when a cam for opening the holding means is provided by retreating the plate holding means by the position changing means,
The opening and closing means of the plate material holding means can have a simple configuration. Also,
The plate holding means is rotatable about a predetermined axis,
When the cam is provided with a regulating function to prevent the plate material holding means from rotating excessively while the plate material holding means is moving forward and holding the plate material, the cam can freely cope with the inclination of the plate material. Moreover, it is possible to prevent the plate material holding means from rotating too much without increasing the number of parts.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a plate loader provided with a number checking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the plate loader.

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the plate loader.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a part of a plate processing line using the plate loader.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a part of the processing line.

FIG. 6A is a front view showing a state in which the sheet holding means of the number checking device is open, and FIG. 6B is a front view showing a state in which the sheet holding means of the apparatus is closed.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a plate material number confirmation operation by the same number confirmation device.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a modification of the plate material holding mechanism in the same number checking device.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference numeral 15: Number confirmation device 66: Spring (biasing means) 55: Confirmation means 67: Cam 58: Plate holding means 69: Confirmation part 59: Position changing means W: Plate 63: Support shaft

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B65H 7/02 B65H 7/02

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material holding means for holding a sheet material, a checker for checking the number of the sheet materials based on the holding means, and a position at which the plate material holding means is located at a forward position where the sheet material is sandwiched and a retreat position where the sheet material is not sandwiched. A position changing unit for changing the position of the plate, wherein the plate holding unit is configured to open and close by using a change in the front and rear position of the position changing unit. 2. A cam, which is urged by an urging means in a direction to always clamp the plate material holding means, and wherein the position changing means retreats the plate material holding means to open the holding means. An apparatus for checking the number of plate materials according to 1. 3. The plate material holding means is rotatable around a predetermined axis, and the cam rotates the plate material holding means excessively when the plate material holding means moves forward to hold the plate material. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a restriction function for preventing the number of sheets from being removed.