JPH11947A - Method and apparatus for supply of sheet material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve positional discrepancy by a method wherein after positioning a sheet material at a specific position with a positioning mechanism inside a carrying table, a carrying mechanism is driven to cast the carrying table into a molding die. SOLUTION: A lightening part 16 is formed at a specific position, and a cylinder 17 is fixed thereto. A suction board 19 is fitted to a tip of a piston rod 17a of the cylinder 17, and a vacuum pipe 20 making a vacuum pressure act is arranged thereto. Further, the cylinder 17 is fitted by being inclined at 45 deg. angle to reference axes in an X-direction and in a Y-direction, and a guide pin 21a positioning in the X-direction and a guide pin 21b positioning in the Y-direction are provided at respective two positions, i.e., at total four positions. In order to reduce slide friction force between the carrying table 11 and the sheet material in positioning, an air diffuser 23 is provided at a plurality of positions, which is communicated to an air supply pipe line. After completion of positioning, the carrying mechanism is driven, and the carrying table is casted into mold press molding top and bottom molds.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet material supplying method and a sheet supplying apparatus capable of accurately supplying a sheet material stacked on a carriage to a molding die.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a typical automotive interior part is an automobile door trim. As shown in FIG. 12, a door trim 1 is provided with a skin material 3 having excellent decorativeness and feel on a surface of a resin core material 2 formed into a required curved shape.
In recent years, in consideration of mass productivity, a mold press molding method has been used to set the skin material in the mold in advance, and fill the cavity with the molten resin. To form the resin core material 2 into a required shape,
The skin material 3 is integrated.

Conventionally, the method and apparatus shown in FIG. 13 have been used as a sheet material supply method and a supply apparatus for setting a sheet material such as the skin material 3 in a mold. That is, the sheet materials S stacked on the cart 4
Is taken out by the vacuum chuck 5, set on the transfer table 6, and the transfer table 6 is loaded into the molding dies 8 (upper die 8 a and lower die 8 b) by the transfer mechanism 7, and is provided on the transfer mechanism 7 for the vertical operation. The transport table 6 is raised by the cylinder 7a, the sheet material S is pierced into the set pins 8c of the upper die 8a, and the sheet material S is set on the press upper die 8a. 7
From the mold 8.

[0004]

As described above, conventionally, in order to supply the sheet material S stacked on the carriage 4 into the molding die 8, the transfer table 6 driven by the transfer mechanism 7 is used. However, as a problem at this time, when the sheet material S is supplied into the molding die 8, a positional deviation is likely to occur, and the outer dimensions of the sheet material S are set large in anticipation of the positional deviation. It has been pointed out that a large amount of offcuts are generated after molding, which leads to material loss and deterioration of yield.

The following are conceivable causes of the above-mentioned positional deviation. . Position shift when setting the cart 4. Position shift when the sheet material S is loaded on the carriage 4. Position shift when the sheet material S is sucked by the vacuum chuck 5 and set on the transport table 6. The transfer table 6 is driven by the transfer mechanism 7 to form the forming die 8.
Misalignment of sheet material S when conveyed inside

According to the present invention, by eliminating the above-mentioned misalignment, the sheet material stacked on the carriage is accurately supplied into the molding die, thereby reducing the material loss and dramatically improving the yield. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sheet material supply method and a supply device that eliminate molding defects.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a sheet material feeding method according to the present invention takes out a sheet material on a carriage, sets it on a transfer table, and sets a positioning mechanism in the transfer table. After the sheet material is positioned at a predetermined position, the transport mechanism is driven to drive the transport table into the molding die.

Here, as a method of positioning the sheet material set on the transport table at an appropriate position, for example, the sheet material is held by a suction disk, and this suction disk is driven in the X and Y directions by a cylinder. Then, the sheet material is moved, and the sheet material collides with the guide pins in the X direction and the Y direction, thereby performing positioning in the X and Y directions. After the sheet material collides with the guide pins, the suction plate is moved to the sheet material. Sliding on the lower surface of, performs empty swing up to the maximum stroke.

[0009] At this time, it is preferable to perform the operation in a state where the sheet material is lifted upward by air blow so that the sheet material can move on the transport table with a small load. In addition, as a means for transferring the sheet material stacked on the carriage to the transfer table, a vacuum chuck, a needle chuck, or the like is used.

Further, the sheet material, which has been positioned on the transport table, is loaded into a molding die by the operation of the transport mechanism supporting the transport table, and the transport table is moved by a cylinder provided in the transport mechanism. Ascending, the sheet material is set on the upper mold of the molding die, but at this time, the sheet material positioned on the transport table is preferably held on the transport table until it is set on the molding die, The positioned sheet material is sucked and held on the transfer table by the suction table of the transfer table, and after the setting of the sheet material in the molding die is completed, the holding state between the transfer table and the sheet material may be released.

Next, the sheet material supply device according to the present invention takes out the sheet material from the cart, sets it, and positions it at a predetermined position by an internal positioning mechanism, and puts the transport table into a molding die. And a cylinder for moving the transport table up and down in order to set the sheet material on the mold surface.

[0012] The positioning mechanism incorporated in the transport table comprises a suction disk for holding the sheet material, a cylinder for operating the suction disk, and a guide pin having a stopper function in the XY directions. Is preferably set in an oblique direction so that a single cylinder drives in the X and Y directions.

When the sheet material is slid on the transport table, an air blow mechanism is provided on the table to reduce the sliding frictional force between the table surface and the sheet material, and the sheet material is moved upward by air blow. It is preferable to perform positioning in a state of being levitated. Further, the guide pins are loaded by a spring so that the guide pins are spring-biased so as not to interfere with the mold when the conveying table is put into the forming mold and the sheet material is set on the upper mold. When the sheet material is set in the mold, the sheet material is preferably configured to be able to advance and retreat so as to be pressed by the mold and immersed in the table.

As is apparent from the above configuration, the sheet material on the carriage is taken out, set on the transfer table, and the sheet material is positioned at an appropriate position on the transfer table by the positioning mechanism. When the sheet material is inserted into the trolley, it is possible to eliminate the positional deviation of the carriage, the positional deviation when stacking the sheet material on the carriage, and the positional deviation when setting the sheet material on the transport table.

Further, after the sheet material is positioned at an appropriate position on the transfer table, the sheet material is suctioned by the suction plate of the transfer table.
If the conveyance table is put into the molding die while holding the sheet material, and the sheet material is set in the molding die, the positional deviation of the sheet material when the conveyance table is conveyed into the molding die can be eliminated. . When positioning the sheet material at an appropriate position on the transfer table, air is blown out from air outlets provided at a plurality of positions on the transfer table, and the sheet material is floated upward to perform positioning. And the frictional force between them can be reduced, and the load on the drive cylinder can be reduced.

As described above, even if the position of the carriage or the set position of the sheet material to be stacked on the carriage varies somewhat, it can be positioned at an appropriate position on the transfer table.
The sheet material can be accurately supplied into the molding die.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a sheet material supply method and a supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 6 show a sheet material supply apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the supply apparatus, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the supply apparatus, and FIGS. FIGS. 7 to 11 are explanatory diagrams showing a sheet material supply method according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a sheet material supply device 10 is provided with a transfer table 11 on which the sheet material is set and positioned, and a transfer table 11 for transferring the transfer table 11 from a standby position to a molding die. It comprises a transport mechanism 12 and a cylinder 13 for moving the transport table 11 up and down by a predetermined stroke in order to set a sheet material in the molding die in the molding die.

The feeding apparatus 10 according to the present invention is characterized by the structure of the transport table 11 on which the sheet material is set. That is, the transfer table 11 is configured such that a plate-shaped pad 15 of appropriate thickness such as styrene foam is attached to the upper surface of a base plate 14 made of a honeycomb resin board or the like, and a table body is formed. Built-in mechanism.

More specifically, the pad 15
A lightening portion 16 is formed at a predetermined position, and a cylinder 17 is fixed to the base plate 14 via a bracket 18 in this space, and a suction disk 19 is attached to the tip of a piston rod 17a of the cylinder 17,
A vacuum tube 20 for applying a vacuum pressure to the suction disk 19
Is plumbed.

Further, the sheet material is shown in FIG.
It is necessary that positioning be performed in the X and Y directions.
A guide pin 21a for positioning in the X-direction and a guide pin 21b for positioning in the Y-direction are provided at four positions, each of which is inclined at an angle of 5 °. Pin 21
In order to avoid interference with the mold when the sheet material is set in the mold, a and 21b are provided with a spring 22 inside the pad 15 and the guide pin 21 is always moved upward by the spring 22. When the guide pin 21 is urged and the guide pin 21 is pressed from above, the guide pin 21 is immersed in the pad 15 and can be advanced and retracted. Transfer table 1 of the above sheet material
In order to reduce the sliding frictional force between the transfer table 11 and the sheet material when positioning on the surface of the sheet 1, air outlets 23 are provided at a plurality of locations. Is in communication with

The sheet material supply apparatus 10 according to the present invention is configured as described above. Next, a method for positioning the sheet material S will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the sheet material S is unloaded from a trolley (not shown) by a vacuum chuck, and
Set on 1. At this time, the sheet material S does not need to be set at an accurate position, and may be set at a rough position. When the sheet material S is set, the cylinder 17 is in a contracted state.

Then, as shown in FIG.
After the setting, the air is supplied from the air supply pipe 24, and an air pressure of about 0.2 kg / cm ² is applied upward from the air outlet 23 (when the sheet material S is a sheet with PEP), so that the sheet material S Rises upward, and is vacuum-sucked through the vacuum tube 20, the suction plate 19 holds the back surface of the sheet material S, and the cylinder 17 starts extending operation.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the sheet material S collides with both the guide pin 21a for regulating the X direction and the guide pin 21b for regulating the Y direction.
Is completed. At this time, the stroke amount of the cylinder 17 is a. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the cylinder 17 extends to the maximum stroke b even after the positioning of the sheet material S is completed.
Means that the back surface of the sheet material S is slid, the supply of air from the air supply pipe 24 is stopped upon detecting that the cylinder 17 has extended to the maximum stroke b. The above is the sheet material S in the transport table 11
This is the positioning step.

Next, FIGS. 7 to 11 show each step of the sheet material supply method according to the present invention. First, FIG. 7 shows a step of setting the sheet material S on the transport table 11, and FIG. The sheet material S stacked thereon is held by the vacuum chuck device 26 and set on the transport table 11 of the sheet feeding device 10 at the standby position. Then, the sheet material S placed on the transport table 11
Is obtained by the above-described positioning process shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 8, the suction plate 1 is positioned at an appropriate position.
9.

Next, when the positioning step is completed, the transport mechanism 12 is driven to enter the upper and lower mold dies 27 and 28 in the mold open state as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the cylinder 13 is driven, the transport table 11 is raised by a predetermined stroke, and the sheet material S positioned at an appropriate position on the transport table 11 is set on the set pin 29 of the upper mold 27 for mold press molding. And the setting of the sheet material S on the upper die 27 is completed. At this time, the vacuum action on the suction plate 19 is released, and the sheet material S is set on the upper press die 27 accurately and reliably. . Thereafter, the cylinder 13 is operated, and the transfer table 11 is moved down. As shown in FIG.
Avoid from inside 7, 28 to the standby position.

Therefore, in the method of the present invention, after the sheet material S is set from the carriage 25 on the transfer table 11 of the supply device 10, accurate positioning on the transfer table 11 is performed. It is possible to absorb the positional deviation when loading the sheet material S on the trolley and the positional deviation when setting the sheet material on the transport table, and as in the conventional case, the sheet material S is slightly larger in anticipation of the positional deviation. There is no need for trim cutting, yield is improved, and scraps are reduced, and material loss can be minimized.

Further, according to the present invention, the sheet material S positioned at an appropriate position
1 is supplied into the molding dies 27 and 28 while being held by the holding means such as the suction disk 19, so that it is conventionally possible to eliminate the displacement of the sheet material caused by the feeding operation of the supply device to the molding dies. It is possible to perform more severe positioning.
When the sheet material S is pierced into the set pin 29 of the upper mold 27 for mold press molding, the guide pins 21 a and 21 b provided on the transfer table 11 are immersed downward against the spring pressure of the spring 22. There is no interference with the upper mold 27.

As described above, according to the method of the present invention, the sheet material S is supplied from the carriage 25 to the molding die 2 via the supply device 10.
7, 28, which can improve the yield and reduce material loss as described above, eliminate molding defects, and greatly increase productivity. There are advantages.

In the present embodiment, the upper and lower dies 27 for mold press molding are used as molding dies on the supply side of the sheet material S.
28, and the set pin 29 is used as the holding means for the sheet material S. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the holding means may be held on the mold surface by a vacuum suction force. It may be applied to a molding method other than the method.

[0031]

As described above, the present invention has the following special functions and effects.

(1) According to the first, fourth, and fifth aspects of the present invention, after the sheet material placed on the transport table is positioned at an appropriate position by the positioning mechanism built in the transport table, Since it is supplied to the molding die, displacement of the position of the carriage, displacement of the sheet material on the carriage, displacement of the sheet material set on the transfer table, etc. can be eliminated, and the sheet material can be trimmed larger in anticipation of the displacement. Therefore, the yield is improved, material loss can be significantly reduced, and the occurrence of defective products can be suppressed as much as possible.

(2) According to the second aspect of the present invention, when positioning the sheet material on the transport table, the sheet material is positioned while being floated on the transport table by the action of air blow. There is an effect that the positioning of the sheet material can be performed smoothly without being restricted by the size and weight of the material.

(3) According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sheet material, which has been positioned on the transport table, is supplied to the molding die while being held on the transport table via a holding means such as a suction disk. Therefore, there is no conventional problem that the sheet material is displaced during the feeding operation of the feeding device, and the more accurate sheet material can be supplied to the molding die with higher accuracy. Having.

(4) According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since a single cylinder is disposed obliquely and positioned in the X and Y directions by extending the cylinder, efficient sheet material positioning is achieved. Is achieved.

(5) According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when positioning the sheet material on the transport table, air at a predetermined pressure is blown from a plurality of air outlets provided on the transport table, and the sheet material is discharged. Since the positioning is performed while floating above the table, there is an effect that the sliding friction force between the sheet material and the table is not affected, and the load on the cylinder can be reduced.

(6) According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the guide pin as a positioning reference of the sheet material is always urged upward by the spring by the spring, and when setting the sheet material in the mold, the table pin is set. There is no interference with the mold because it is buried inside, and the set pin penetrates into the pad after piercing the sheet material.However, since the set pin is made of an elastic material such as polystyrene foam, This has the effect that the sheet material can be smoothly delivered to the mold without being damaged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a sheet material supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a sheet material supply device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a positioning step of a transport table in the supply device shown in FIG. 1 and showing a setting state of a sheet material.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an initial operation state of a cylinder in a transfer table positioning step.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state at the time of completion of positioning in a positioning step of the transfer table.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which a maximum stroke of a cylinder is extended in a transfer table positioning step.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a step of supplying a sheet material to a supply device in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a step of positioning a sheet material on a transport table in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a step of transporting a supply device to a molding die in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a step of setting a sheet material in a mold in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a step of avoiding a supply device from a molding die to a standby position in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a conventional automobile door trim.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of a conventional sheet material supply method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 supply device 11 transfer table 12 transfer mechanism 13 cylinder 14 base plate 15 pad 17 cylinder 19 suction plate 20 vacuum tube 21 guide pin 22 spring 23 air outlet 24 air supply pipe 25 cart 26 vacuum chuck 27, 28 molding die 29 set pin S sheet material

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material (S) on a carriage (25) is taken out, set on a transfer table (11), and the sheet material (S) is set at a predetermined position by a positioning mechanism in the transfer table (11). After positioning, the transport mechanism (12)
Drives the transfer table (11) to the molding die (2).
7, 28). A method for feeding a sheet material, wherein 2. The sheet material (S) is blown on the transfer table (11) by an air blow action on the table (11).
2. The sheet material supply method according to claim 1, wherein the positioning is performed by floating from a surface. 3. The sheet material (S) is transferred to a transfer table (1).
1) After positioning at a predetermined position on the upper side, the sheet material (S)
Is charged into the molding dies (27, 28) while being held by suction on the surface of the transfer table (11). When the setting of the sheet material (S) on the mold surface of the mold (27) is completed, the transfer table 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the holding of the sheet material (S) with respect to (11) is released. 4. A sheet material supply apparatus for taking out a sheet material (S) from a carriage (25) and supplying the sheet material (S) into a molding die (27, 28), wherein the supply apparatus comprises: A transfer table (11) for taking out and setting S) and positioning it at a predetermined position by an internal positioning mechanism, and a transfer mechanism (12) for loading the transfer table (11) into the molding dies (27, 28). , Sheet material (S) and mold (27)
A sheet material supply device, comprising: a cylinder (13) for vertically moving a transfer table (11) for setting the sheet material on a surface. 5. A positioning mechanism for the transfer table (11), a cylinder (17) for sucking and holding the sheet material (S) and moving the sheet material (S) in the XY directions, and a suction disk (19) provided on the cylinder (17). The sheet material feeding device according to claim 4, further comprising a guide pin (21) for regulating movement of the sheet material (S) and stopping at a predetermined position. 6. A cylinder (17) used for positioning the transfer table (11) is a single cylinder of XY
The sheet material supply device according to claim 5, wherein the sheet material supply device is set to be oblique so as to be able to be driven in the direction. 7. The transport table (11) is used for positioning the sheet material (S) in a floating state.
7. The sheet material supply device according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of air outlets (23) are provided. 8. A pad (15) having elasticity is located on the front side of the transfer table (11), and the guide pin (21) is spring-biased upward by a spring (22) to form a sheet material. 8. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the guide pin (21) retreats into the transport table (11) when the (S) is set on the forming die (27).