JPS61101343A - Method and apparatus for conveying stretched cloth - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide possibility of supplying cloth always to a fixed processing position by adding tension to cloth caught along its one end to get rid of the stack of cloth during conveyance of the cloth in the caption. CONSTITUTION:The pad 24 of cloth sucking up devices 20, 22 are lowered until they press the upper surface of cloth to a certain extent, and then the cloth on the top is adsorbed and sucked up by the power of a vacuum pump 58 so that said cloth may be separated from the cloth positioned underneath. Vertical cylinders 46, 48 and rocking cylinders 34, 36 are operated thereafter and fingers 50, 52 are guided below the pads 24. Then, vertical cylinders are contracted to have the cloth 88 held between the pad 24 and fingers 50, 52. Subsequently, an opening cylinder 54 is operated so as to have a righthand arm 16 turned clockwise around a shaft 18 and to have a right hand pad-finger separated from a lefthand pad-finger to add tension to the cloth to such extent that the cloth is allowed to make relative slip between the pad and finger. The stack of cloth is perfectly eliminated in this way so that the cloth can be conveyed to the processing position easily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to gripping fabric, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for tensioning a fabric by applying tension between gripping portions of the fabric.

Until now, when sewing fabrics, for example, when feeding a layered fabric from the top to a buttonhole, button attachment, or other processing position, a short needle or pad was used to feed the fabric at the top of the laminate from the top. It was picked up, lifted vertically upwards, and then transported to a predetermined processing position. However, in such a method, in the case of a long fabric, the fabric 3 becomes slack between the needles or pads 1 and 2, as shown in FIG. This has become a major problem in fully automatic sewing operations. In order to solve this problem of sagging, we tried arranging the needle so that it was directed diagonally outward, but due to the cutting shape, fabric material, and other factors, the looseness of the fabric was inconsistent, making it difficult to completely absorb this sagging. I couldn't do it.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for applying tension to the gripped fabric so as to eliminate the slack in the fabric during conveyance and to always feed the fabric to a constant processing position.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of the device 10 of the present invention. The central main arm 12 is attached to, for example, an A4020P robot manufactured by Hitachi, and supports the device 10 so as to be movable vertically and rotatably. The main arm 120 is provided with one end of left and right curved side arms 14 and 16.

The hole left arm 14 is attached to the left end of the main arm 12 so that its attachment position can be adjusted freely by dropping or the like. On the other hand, the cloth side arm 16 is attached to the right end of the main arm 12 at 5 so that it can rotate around one axis 18.

The other ends of both arms 14.16 are bent forward and a fabric wicking device 20.22 is attached to the end thereof in the vertical direction of the device 10 (the first
It is installed so that it extends (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in the figure) (see Figure 3). Both fabric wicking devices 20 and 22 have the same structure, with a conical rubber knot 24 at the bottom end.
, a block 26 with a suction joint is attached to the upper end, and a suction pipe N
A thrust collar 28 is provided in the central portion, which is connected to the core block 26 via a. Putt 24 is block 2
6 to a vacuum source 58 and also to a collar 28.
The distal ends of the side arms 14 and 16 are respectively fixed.

The thrust collar 28 and pad 24 are constantly biased in opposite directions by a spring 30. This spring 30 is the cover 3
2 is protected.

The side arms 14 and 16 each have a swinging series of 34.360".
The rear end is rotatably mounted by known means.

The front end 35,37 of the cylinder is preferably a ball and socket joint. This front end is pivoted to an L-shaped swing lever C144 which is pivoted at one end to the side arm 14.16 by a pin/38.40. A vertical cylinder 46.48 is attached to the other end of the lever 42.44, and a stepped finger 50.52 is fixed to the lower end of the cylinder.

Further, an opening cylinder 54 is fixed to the right end of the main arm 12 via a fixture 53. Link 5 from cylinder 54
6 extends pivotably through a length-adjustable joint 51, and the other end of the link 56 is pivotally attached to the right arm 16 via a fitting 55.

In addition, in Fig. 1, 58 is a vacuum pump, 60.62
are pump outlets connected to the fabric wicking devices 20.22, 64 are pump air ports, 66 are solenoid valves, 68.70.7
2゜74 (sensor angle 76.78 is the main arm installation port, 8
0.82 is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of cloth, 84 is a height detection sensor, and 86 is a cylinder air port.

In the present invention, the gripping device 10 is guided onto the laminated fabric 88 (FIG. 3) by a known robot (not shown) K. The fabric wicking device 20.22 has a height detection sensor 8.
4, the knot 24 of the device 20.22 is connected to the spring 30.
resists the elastic force of the fabric and descends to a position where it presses the surface of the fabric to some extent. A vacuum is then created within pad 24 by force from vacuum pump 58 to attract the top fabric. Suction device 2
As the 0.22 rises, pad 24 separates the top fabric from the fabric of the T and lifts it upward. Next, the vertical cylinder 46.48 of the swinging lever 42.44 is actuated to extend and the finger 50.52 is moved to the pad 2 by 5 as shown in FIG.
It descends to a position below the cloth that is attracted to 4. Next, the swing cylinders 34 and 36 operate in the extension direction, and the swing lever 4
2.44 around pin 38.40 and finger 50.
52 to a position below the sculptor pad 24 shown in FIG. After that, the vertical cylinders 46 and 48 are operated to reduce the fabric 88.
is held between the pad 24 and the fingers 50 and 52. After the vacuum supply to the pad has ceased, the fabric 88 is now fully held by the pair of pad fingers. If the cloth is carried to the processing position in this state, the cloth will sag as shown in Figure 8. Then, in the gripping device 10 of the present invention, the opening cylinder 54 is activated. As the cylinder 54 expands, the right arm 16 rotates clockwise around the shaft 18. Therefore, the right para)-finger moves away from the left para-finger.

A predetermined tensile force is applied to the cloth 8 from this point K. However, this tensile force varies depending on the material of the fabric, the shape of the cut, etc., but experiments have shown that the optimal effect can be obtained when the tensile force is applied to a strength that causes the fabric to slide between the pad and the finger. The results are clear.

According to this device, sagging of the fabric during conveyance can be completely prevented by simply setting the operating distance of the opening cylinder 54 to a predetermined value that is greater than the amount of sagging of the fabric and that allows the pad and finger to slide on the fabric surface. I can do it.

This is due to the fact that a certain amount of optimal tension is imparted to the fabric.

When the fingers 50, 52 are removed from the fabric surface after the fabric is carried to the processing position under such tension, the fabric will easily fall to the work surface without sagging since no vacuum is now applied to the pad. . In this case, if necessary, another gripping device can be provided at the processing position to forcibly transfer the cloth. After separating the fabric, the apparatus 10 returns to the position of FIG. 3 and repeats the cycle.

According to the present invention, there is no slack in the fabric at all when the fabric is conveyed, and therefore the feeding position R of the fabric can be easily controlled. Therefore, the present invention is particularly useful in cases where it is necessary to feed laminated fabric one by one to a predetermined position without causing any slack, such as when feeding to a working unit for button stitching or button hole forming. be.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device of the present invention, Figure 2 is I-1 in Figure 1.
Fig. 2A is a view taken from the ■-■ arrow in Fig. 1, Figs. 3 to 6 are operational diagrams of the apparatus of the present invention, and Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the state of the conveyed cloth by the apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows the seventh part in the known device.
FIG. Explanation of symbols 10: Device of the present invention 2: Main arm 14: Left arm 16: Right arm 18: Axis
20, 22: Fabric suction device 24: Rubber pad 26: Block 27: Suction pipe
28: Collar 30: Spring 32: Cover 34. 36: Swing cylinder 35. 37: Front end 38.
40: Pin 4λ44: Swing lever 46.4
8: Vertical cylinder 50: Stepped finger 51: Joint
50.52: Stepped finger 53.55:
Fixture 56: Link 58: Vacuum pump
60.62:,t? Pump outlet 64: Pump air port
66: Solenoid valve 68. 70. 72, 74: Sensor amplifier 76. 78: Main arm installation port 80. 82: Cloth, detection sensor 84: Height detection sensor 86: Cylinder air port 88: Cloth (5 people outside) Figure 3. Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A method for conveying fabric without causing sagging, which involves pressing a pair of vacuum pads onto the surface of the fabric, sucking both ends of the fabric with the vacuum pads, lifting the pads together with the fabric, and guiding the fingers of the cloth below the cloth adsorbed by the pair of pads, sandwiching the upper and lower surfaces of the cloth between the pads and fingers, and separating the pads and fingers of one pad and fingers from the other pads and fingers. pulling the cloth between the pads and fingers; further separating one pad and finger from the other until the cloth held between the pads and fingers slips between them; and pulling the cloth into position. to convey;
A fabric tension conveyance method comprising: (2) a pair of vertically movable fabric suction devices having a pad connected to a vacuum source at the lower end, and a finger supporting the fabric vacuum-adsorbed to the pad from below while opposing the pad; A device for moving the finger above and below the pad and to a position below the pad and away from the pad, left and right side arms to which the fabric suction device and the finger moving device are respectively attached, and both side arms. The main arm is attached to the left and right ends and is connected to the conveying means, the separating device that allows one side arm to be separated from the other side arm, and the pads and fingers that hold the cloth are placed on the cloth surface. and a separating device for separating one arm from the other arm until sliding occurs.