JPS59190118A - Automatic film piler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To pile up films such as a fixing yeast film at a fixed position without damaging the films by stopping the downward movement of a main frame when the space between the main frame and film detach and attach means is below a fixed value. CONSTITUTION:When a main frame 1 is moved to a new film 8 supply position and lowered, and the lower surface of the film 8 retained by detach and attach means 5 mounted on the lower ends of suspension rods 4 is brought into contact with the upper surface of an already stored film 81 and landed thereon, the downward movement of a suspension portion comprising the suspension rods 4, a sub-frame 6 and the detach and attach means 5 is stopped by reaction force produced from the layer of films 81. On the other hand, the main frame 1 continues to move downward, and when the space between the lower surface of the main frame 1 and the lower surface of the detach and attach means 5 is below a fixed value, a near-by sensor mechanism 7 is operated. In response to the operation, a command is sent to an operation source of a piston rod 3 to stop the downward movement of the main frame 1, and release a vacuum of the detach and attach means 5, thereby separating the film 8 to be piled on the already stored film 81.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION OBJECTS AND BACKGROUND The present invention relates to an apparatus for stacking membranes, particularly fragile membranes such as immobilized yeast membranes, in position.

Increasing the efficiency of alcohol production through fermentation of renewable carbohydrate raw materials has been discussed as part of the development of liquid fuels to replace petroleum, and methods using immobilized yeast are attracting attention.

Although immobilized yeast can be used in the form of granules or pellets, the method of arranging a large number of membrane-shaped yeast in parallel and flowing the raw sugar solution between them has advantages such as low flow resistance. In order to arrange a large number of membranes in parallel in a fermenter, rather than placing the membranes directly in the fermenter, it is better to store a large number of membranes in parallel in cages of an appropriate size and place the cages in the fermenter. This method is more convenient in terms of workability. However, immobilized yeast membranes lack physical strength, so they must be handled with care; even when storing them in cages, it is prohibited to apply excessive force or drop them from high places; they must be piled up manually. I had no choice.

The device of the present invention was developed to stack immobilized yeast membranes in the correct position without applying pressure, bending, twisting, or impact in such cases, but it can be used not only for immobilized yeast membranes but also for other It can also be used when storing easily damaged membrane materials such as ion exchange membranes, reverse osmosis membranes, etc. in transportation cases or the like.

(Configuration) The automatic membrane stacking device of the present invention has a main frame that can be moved vertically and stopped at any position, and is suspended from the main frame and is -1 with respect to the main frame.
- The suspension rod attached so as to be slidable downward, the membrane attachment/detachment device attached to the bottom of the suspension rod, and the membrane attachment/detachment device that operate when the distance between the main frame and the membrane attachment/detachment device fall below a certain value. It consists of a proximity sensor mechanism that stops downward movement.

This will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of the apparatus of the present invention. The main frame 1 is supported by a cylinder 2 and a piston rod 3, and as the piston rod in the cylinder is moved up and down, the main frame can also be moved downward and stopped at any position. It is. As means for moving and stopping the main frame in the vertical direction, any mechanical means other than the illustrated combination of a cylinder and a piston rod can be used.

The main frame is provided with a guide hole 11 and a bearing 12, and by passing the suspension rod 4 through these, the suspension rod is suspended from the main frame and is attached to the main frame so that it can freely slide in the vertical direction. Numeral 41 is a stopper to prevent the suspension rod from falling off into the lower blade, and is fixed at an appropriate position on the upper part of the suspension rod, but it is better to allow the position to be moved as necessary. In other words, the number of stacked membranes is not always constant, and therefore the height of the edge of the cage in which it is stored also varies, so the fixing position of the stopper 41 is changed depending on the height to adjust the effective length of the suspension rod. By extending and retracting the piston rod, the downward stroke width of the piston rod during operation of this device can be kept to the necessary minimum, thereby reducing unnecessary movement and increasing work efficiency.

A membrane attachment/detachment tool 5 is attached to the lower part of the suspension rod. The attachment/detachment device may be attached directly to the lower end of the suspension rod, but
The figure shows a case where the lower ends of a plurality of suspension rods are connected by a subframe 6, and a membrane attaching/detaching tool 5 is attached via the subframe. In this case, a large number of attaching/detaching tools can be attached with a smaller number of suspension rods, and the holding force during transport of the membrane can be effectively dispersed to prevent local forces from being applied to the membrane. It is convenient to use a vacuum vat as the attachment/detachment tool 5. A plurality of attachment/detachment devices are arranged horizontally so that the holding force is evenly distributed over the peripheral and central portions of the membrane. By creating a vacuum inside the vacuum vat, the film can be attracted and held, and by releasing the vacuum, the film can be detached. Because the combined weight of the suspension rods, subframe, and attachment/detachment equipment is placed on the membrane at some point during the operating process of the present invention, it is desirable to keep it as light as possible by using aluminum or other light materials.

The fourth and final component of the device of the present invention is a proximity sensor that is activated to stop the main frame from moving downward when the distance between the main frame and the membrane attaching/detaching tool becomes less than a certain value. A mechanism 7 is provided. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the detachable tool 5 is suspended from the main frame 1 via the subframe 6 and the suspension rod 4 while holding the membrane 8, and the distance between the lower end of the main frame and the lower part of the detachable tool is l + (maximum value), the proximity sensor mechanism 7 is not operating. Note that 9 is a cage for housing the membrane, and 81 is a membrane that has already been housed.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the main frame 1 is lowered and the proximity sensor mechanism is activated.

That is, as the main frame 1 supported by the piston rod 3 continues to descend from the state shown in FIG. . At this point, the downward movement of the suspension portion consisting of the suspension rod 4, subframe 6, and attachment/detachment tool 5 is stopped due to the reaction force from the layer of membrane 81 that has already been accommodated. However, the main frame still continues to move downward, and when the distance between the lower surface of the main frame 1 and the lower surface of the detachable tool 5 is 2, the proximity sensor mechanism 7 is activated, and the piston rod 3
command to the operating source to stop the main frame from moving downward. In the figure, for ease of understanding, the proximity sensor mechanism 7 is shown to be activated when it comes into contact with the spring 41 of the suspension rod 4, but in reality, the method is not limited to this method, and any mechanical or electrical method can be used. Physical, magnetic, and optical means can be used. The difference between the length of standing 1 in the suspended state and the length of fL2 in which the proximity sensor is activated may be a minimum value within a range that does not cause malfunction. That is, the downward movement of the main frame may be stopped substantially immediately after the membrane 8 comes into contact with the membrane 81 already housed. If the attachment/detachment tool is connected directly to the main frame, there is a risk that due to this slight time lag and inertia, the weight of the main frame and the pressing force of the piston rod will be applied to the housing membrane and cause damage to the membrane. In this case, the suspension mechanism works effectively, so that only the weight of the suspension portion consisting of the suspension rod, subframe, and attachment/detachment device is applied to the membrane. Furthermore, by adjusting the descending speed of the main frame, the impact when the membrane 8 hits the already housed membrane 81 or the bottom of the empty cage can be suppressed to a level that does not cause damage to the membrane.

Although the above description has been made regarding the case where the membrane 8 is stored in the cage 9, the actual operation consists of a series of steps in which a membrane supplied to another location is picked up, moved to a certain position in the cage, and stored.

In order to carry out this series of steps, the main frame including a portion of the cylinder of the device of the present invention may be moved in the left-right direction or in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis to the new supply location. This is described in the order of steps as follows.

(1) Move the mainframe to the new theory supply location and lower it.

(2) The main frame is lowered until the attaching/detaching tool touches the membrane, and when the proximity sensor is activated, the vacuum butt of the attaching/detaching tool is activated to suction the membrane, and then the main frame begins to rise.

(3) When the main frame has finished rising, move the main frame to the cage position and start lowering.

(4) Lower the main frame until the membrane that has become wet touches the bottom of the cage or the membrane that has already been stored, and when the proximity sensor is activated, release the vacuum of the attachment/detachment tool and release the membrane. (5) Raise the main frame , and once it has finished rising, move the mainframe to the new theory supply location.

Again, this entire process can be easily automated.

In order to arrange a large number of immobilized yeast membranes in parallel at appropriate intervals, it is actually necessary to insert spacers alternately. Of course, a water device can also be used to insert the spacer.

Spacers may be supplied alternately with the new spacer to the new theory supply location, but the spacer supply location and the spacer supply location may be provided on the left and right sides of the cage location, and the device of the present invention may be moved alternately left and right. Good too.

However, what is even more efficient is to use two devices of the present invention next to each other.
This is a method in which a base is provided and each is used for the membrane and spacer. The series of steps will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. However, the apparatus is described in a simplified manner.

Two cylinders 2A and 2B are attached to a common carriage 22, and devices A and B of the present invention are installed on each cylinder, so that the cylinders can be moved together with the carriage in the left and right direction. In the figure, a supply location for the new theory 8 is provided on the right side of the cage 9, and a supply location for the spacer 10 is provided on the left side. Therefore, device A is used for spacers, and device B is used for membranes. When the cage 9 is empty, first move the carriage to the right as shown in FIG. 3, lower the main frame, and hold the membrane 8 by the device B. In this case, device A does not descend.

After the membrane 8 is held by device B, the main frame is raised A and then the carriage is moved to the left until it is in the state shown in FIG.

Next, when the main frame is lowered, it will become as shown in Figure 5. In this state, the device B separates the membrane and stores it in the cage 9.
The device A contacts the uppermost spacer 10 housed in the spacer box 13 and holds it by suction.

If you move the main frame again to the right and move the carriage to the right, it will be in the state shown in Figure 6. Next, when the main frame is lowered, the state shown in FIG. 7 is obtained, and the spacer 10 is placed on the membrane 8. Hereinafter, the work shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 will be repeated.

(Effects) As is clear from the following explanation, the apparatus of the present invention can (1) stack finished products in a predetermined position without damaging them;

(2) By changing the length of the suspension rod, it is possible to adjust the number of stacked sheets to reduce wasteful movement in the vertical stroke and improve work efficiency.

(3) The manufacturing cost is low because the structure is simple.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 show the basic configuration of the device of the present invention, with Figure 1 showing a state in which the membrane is held suspended, and Figure 2 showing a state in which the membrane is attached to the bottom and the proximity sensor is activated. It shows. Further, FIGS. 3 to 7 show the working steps when two apparatuses of the present invention are used as a set to alternately house membranes and spacers. 1 A B A B A B A B

Claims (1)

[Claims] ,L A main frame that can be moved downward and stopped at any position, a suspension rod that is suspended from the main frame and is attached to the main frame so that it can slide vertically, and a membrane that is attached to the bottom of the suspension rod. An automatic membrane stacking device comprising a membrane attachment/detachment tool, and a proximity sensor mechanism that is activated to stop the main frame from moving downward when the distance between the main frame and the membrane attachment/detachment tool falls below a certain value.