KR20160086932A - Pre-preg sheet production device - Google Patents

Abstract

A prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus (1) for connecting a prepreg cut sheet on a prepreg fabric (P1). The apparatus includes a main conveying path 3, interval detecting portions 10 and 19 for detecting the distance between the front and rear prepreg cut sheets P2 and P2, and a prepreg fabric between the front and rear prepreg cut sheets. And a welded portion for disaster welding. The interval detecting portion has a downstream side pressing portion for pressing the rear end portion of the preceding prepreg cut sheet, an upstream side pressing portion for pressing the front end portion of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet, and an interval detecting sensor for detecting the interval between these prepreg cut sheets. The upstream side pressing portion guides the front end portion of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet to the lower side of the upstream side pressing portion and regulates the front end portion from rising.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus,

The present invention relates to a prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus.

The present application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-76057 filed on April 2, 2014, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Conventionally, CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) or GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic) using carbon fiber or glass fiber as reinforcing fiber is used as various members constituting an automobile or an aircraft because of its light weight and high durability. As a method for molding such CFRP or GFRP, a plurality of prepreg sheets made of reinforcing fibers and resin and having a thickness of several tens to several hundreds of micrometers are laminated to prepare a prepreg sheet laminate, There is known a method of forming a desired three-dimensional shape by superimposing a plurality of prepreg sheet laminated bodies.

The prepreg sheet laminate is produced by laminating a plurality of prepreg sheets. Although the prepreg sheet has a very high tensile strength and toughness in the fiber direction (longitudinal direction of the fiber), that is, in the orientation direction, the tensile strength and toughness are low in the direction orthogonal to the fiber direction (alignment direction) . ≪ / RTI > Therefore, in the prepreg sheet laminate, in order to alleviate the anisotropy of the prepreg sheet, prepreg sheets are laminated with different fiber directions.

For lamination of prepreg sheets having different fiber directions, prepreg fabrics having arbitrary fiber directions were fabricated from prepreg fabrics in which the fiber directions were aligned in the longitudinal direction, i.e., from the fabric having the fiber angle of 0 DEG, It is conceivable to laminate a prepreg sheet having a rectangular shape in which the prepreg fabric is cut in the width direction and a prepreg sheet having a rectangular shape obtained by cutting the prepreg fabric in an arbitrary fiber direction in the width direction.

At this time, for example, a method using a manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is known as a method of manufacturing prepreg fabrics in an arbitrary fiber direction. The prepreg manufacturing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a drawing device for mounting a prepreg fabric, a first feed device for drawing the prepreg from the fabric of the prepreg mounted on the drawing device by a predetermined length, A cutting device for cutting the prepreg drawn out by the cutting device at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction of the fiber, and a cutting device for cutting the prepreg piece cut by the cutting device in a direction different from the fiber direction of the prepreg pulled by the first feed device A rearranging device for sequentially arranging end portions along the fiber direction of the prepreg pieces pivoted by the pivoting device and a rearranging device for sequentially arranging the ends of the prepreg pieces pivoted by the pivoting device in the butt portion of the prepreg pieces, A pasting device for pasting an adhesive tape and a prepreg piece adhered to each other by a pasting device, The device consists of Guo nuchi takes 2 and the feed device comprising winding a prepreg to be sent from the second feed apparatus.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 2876244

In the prepreg manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the end portions of the prepreg pieces are arranged to be sequentially brought into contact with each other, and an adhesive tape is attached to the butt portions of the prepreg pieces. However, there is a case where one prepreg piece is overlapped on the other prepreg piece merely by simply abutting the ends of the prepreg piece sequentially.

However, it is somewhat acceptable that a gap is formed in the abutted portion of the prepreg piece. However, if the overlapped portion is formed in the abutted portion of the prepreg piece, not only the variation in strength but also the variation in thickness becomes large. Therefore, there is a problem in providing the prepreg fabric having such a superposed portion to the production of the prepreg sheet laminate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and has an object to provide a prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus capable of manufacturing a prepreg sheet by connecting a plurality of prepreg cut sheets cut in a front- to be.

The prepreg sheet producing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a prepreg sheet producing apparatus comprising a plurality of prepreg cut sheets cut and connected in the forward and backward directions on the prepreg front end to produce a prepreg sheet laminated on the prepreg, A main conveying path for running the prepreg cut sheet placed on the fabric of the prepreg and the prepreg cutter, and a gap detector for detecting the distance between the prepreg cut sheet preceding on the prepreg fabric and the succeeding prepreg cut sheet, And a welded portion between the rear edge of the preceding prepreg cut sheet and the front edge of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet by separating and welding the prepreg end. Further, the interval detecting portion includes: a downstream-side pressing portion that presses the rear end portion of the preceding prepreg cut sheet excluding the rear edge; an upstream-side pressing portion that presses the front end portion excluding the front edge of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet; And an interval detecting sensor for detecting a distance between the rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the upstream pressing portion and the front edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the upstream pressing portion, The front end portion of the prepreg cut sheet is guided to the lower side of the upstream side pressing portion and the front end portion is prevented from rising.

In a second aspect of the present invention, in the prepreg sheet producing apparatus according to the first aspect, in the upstream-side pressing portion, a front end portion of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet is provided on the upstream side of the main- A tapered guide portion guiding downward of the portion is provided.

In a third form of the present invention, in the prepreg sheet producing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the conveying / placing hand for carrying and aligning the prepreg cut sheet is provided.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the prepreg sheet producing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the gap detecting sensor is provided on the rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the downstream- And a sensor for detecting between one edge and the other edge of the interval between the front edges of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the first edge.

In a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the prepreg sheet producing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the distance between the rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet preceding the welded portion and the front edge of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet And a gap detecting sensor is provided so as to be movable between an upper side of the gap and an outer side of the gap.

According to the prepreg sheet producing apparatus of the present invention, the interval detecting section has the upstream side pressing section which presses the front end portion of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet excluding the front edge. When the upstream side pressing section is located at the predetermined height, And the front end portion of the cut sheet is guided to the lower side of the upstream side pressing portion. Therefore, the front edge of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet does not come up against the rear edge of the preceding prepreg cut sheet, and the interval can be detected by the interval detecting section in this state. Therefore, when the prepreg cut sheet is connected in the front-rear direction, the prepreg sheet can be manufactured by welding and bonding at the welded portion without forming the overlapped portion.

1 is a plan view schematically showing an embodiment of a prepreg sheet producing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a side view schematically showing an embodiment of the prepreg sheet producing apparatus of the present invention. Fig.
3 is a schematic view for explaining a prepreg sheet laminate formed by a prepreg sheet producing apparatus.
4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a cutting apparatus.
5 is a schematic view for explaining the arrangement of the first prepreg cut sheet.
6A is a schematic diagram for explaining the interval detecting unit.
6B is a schematic diagram for explaining the position of the sensor.
6C is a schematic diagram for explaining the interval detector.
7A is a schematic diagram for explaining an operation of interval detection by a sensor.
7B is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the gap detection by the sensor.
7C is a schematic view for explaining the operation of welding by the welder.
7D is a schematic view for explaining the operation of welding by the welder.

Hereinafter, the prepreg sheet producing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. On the other hand, in the following drawings, the scale of each member is appropriately changed in order to make each member recognizable in size.

Fig. 1 is a plan view schematically showing one embodiment of the prepreg sheet producing apparatus of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a side view schematically showing one embodiment of the prepreg sheet producing apparatus of the present invention. In these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a prepreg sheet producing apparatus.

The prepreg sheet producing apparatus 1 is provided with a drawer 2 for pulling out the roll prepreg P1 and a main conveying path for running the prepreg fabric P1 drawn from the drawer 2 And a conveying device 4 for pulling the prepreg sheet laminate P5 running on the main conveying route 3 and sending the prepreg sheet laminate P5 to the downstream side further and a first prepreg sheet forming part 5, a second prepreg cut sheet forming portion 14, an interval detecting portion 10 for detecting an interval between prepreg cut sheets disposed before and after the sheet conveying path, an interval detecting portion 19, (11) and a welded portion (20).

The prepreg fabric P1 is formed by impregnating a reinforcing fiber (fiber) such as carbon fiber or glass fiber with thermoplastic resin or thermosetting resin and having a thickness of about 50 to 300 mu m, and the reinforcing fiber (fiber) As shown in FIG.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view for explaining the prepreg sheet laminate P5 formed by the prepreg sheet producing apparatus 1. Fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the prepreg fabric P1 is oriented so that the direction (longitudinal direction) of the reinforcing fibers F is substantially coincident with the reference direction, that is, the longitudinal direction of the prepreg fabric P1 . Therefore, the prepreg fabric P1 is a prepreg fabric having the orientation of the reinforcing fibers F of 0 DEG.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the drawing device 2 has a roller, and is configured to draw the prepreg tail P1 wound in a roll shape in the longitudinal direction thereof and to discharge it onto the main conveying route 3. Fig. In this case, the prepreg end P1 is drawn onto the main conveying path 3 by being pulled by the conveying device 4 to be described later.

As shown in Fig. 1, the main transport path 3 is a linear member (straight plate shape) having a width wider than the width of the prepreg fabric P1, and the prepreg fabric P1 is arranged on the upper surface Respectively. The upper surface of the main transport path 3 is formed as a smooth surface with a small frictional resistance so as to smoothly run the prepreg P1.

1 and 2, a pair of rollers 4a and 4a arranged vertically and a roller 4a of a pair of rollers 4a and 4a are provided on the downstream side of the main conveying path 3, And a conveying device 4 having a driving source 4b such as a motor for rotating the roller 4a. The conveying device 4 holds the prepreg sheet laminate P5 running on the main conveying route 3 between the pair of rollers 4a and 4a as described above, To pull the prepreg sheet laminate P5 to the downstream side by the rotation of the roller 4a by the rotation of the roller 4a. Thus, as described above, the drawing device 2 is capable of moving the prepreg sheet stack P5 pulled out by the driving of the conveying device 4 without sending the prepreg end P1 by its own driving To the main transport path (3).

3, the prepreg sheet laminate P5 which is drawn into the conveying device 4 is provided with a first prepreg cut sheet P2 on the prepreg fabric P1, A prepreg fabric P3, and a second prepreg cut sheet P4 are sequentially laminated. On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows that a fabric or a sheet is flowing on the main transport path 3 from the left to the right in the drawing, and also shows a state in which a fabric or a sheet is sequentially stacked from left to right have.

As shown in Fig. 1, a first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5 is disposed on the upstream side of the main transport path 3. As shown in Fig. The first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5 includes a delivery device 6 for delivering a roll prepreg material P1 and a feed device 6 for feeding the prepreg material P1 fed from the delivery device 6 A conveying path 7 and a cutting device 8 for cutting the prepreg tail P1 running on the sub conveying path 7 at a predetermined angle in the width direction. The prepreg end P1 delivered from the delivery device 6 is the same fabric as the prepreg fabric P1 that is pulled out onto the main transport path 3 by the take- That is, it is a prepreg fabric in which the orientation of the reinforcing fiber (F) is 0 DEG.

The delivery device 6 includes a delivery device 6a for delivering a roll prepreg material P1 and a roll type prepreg material P1 pulled out by the delivery device 6a to the sub conveyance path 7 (Not shown). The drawing device 6a is formed in the same manner as the drawing device 2 and is configured to send the prepreg fabric P1 rolled in the form of a roll in the longitudinal direction thereof to be fed onto the sub conveying path 7. [

The conveying device 6b is formed in the same manner as the conveying device 4 and includes a pair of rollers 6c and 6c arranged vertically and a pair of rollers 6c and 6c connected to one of the pair of rollers 6c and 6c And a drive source 6d such as a motor for rotating the sun roller 6c. The transfer device 6b holds the prepreg original P1 pulled out of the drawing device 6a between the rollers 6c and 6c and rotates the roller 6c by the driving source 6d, And is configured to draw the fabric P1 and send it to the downstream side of the sub conveying path 7.

The sub conveyance route 7 is disposed on one side of the main conveyance route 3 and is disposed so as to extend orthogonally to the main conveyance route 3. [ The sub conveying path 7 is also a linear member having a width wider than the width of the prepreg P1 in the same manner as the main conveying path 3, Respectively. The upper surface of the sub conveying path 7 is also formed as a smooth surface having a small frictional resistance so as to smoothly run the prepreg P1.

The cutting apparatus 8 cuts (cuts) the prepreg tail P1 running on the sub-carrier path 7 in the width direction at a preset angle. A schematic configuration of the cutting apparatus 8 in this embodiment is shown in Fig. The cutting device 8 includes a cutter 8a, a support bar 8b for movably supporting the cutter 8a and a pair of support portions 8c and 8c for supporting both ends of the support bar 8b . The cutter 8a is configured to be reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the support bar 8b by a driving means such as a motor or the like so that the prepreg tail P1 is cut by moving the forward path in particular, ) To return to the initial position and wait for a new cut.

The support bar 8b is a thin and long prismatic member formed to have a length sufficiently larger than the width of the prepreg fabric P1 and is arranged across the width direction of the prepreg fabric P1 and above the prepreg fabric P1 do. Thus, the support bar 8b guides the cutter 8a in its longitudinal direction.

The pair of supports 8c and 8c movably support both ends of the support bar 8b such that the angle of the support bar 8b with respect to the prepreg tail P1 is a predetermined angle. In the present embodiment, the support bar 8b intersects the fiber bar direction (orientation direction) of the prepreg tail P1, that is, the longitudinal direction of the prepreg tail P1, (8b). Thus, by moving along the longitudinal direction of the support bar 8b, the cutter 8a cuts the prepreg tail P1 in its width direction at an angle of 45 [deg.].

Here, the sign "-" at -45 ° indicates that the longitudinal direction (orientation direction) of the reinforcing fibers F shifts in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG. Therefore, when shifted in the counterclockwise direction, the symbol " + "

4, the pair of supports 8c and 8c are configured to change the angle of the support bar 8b with respect to the prepreg tail P1 to an arbitrary angle. That is, the support bar 8b is configured so that the opposite ends of the support bar 8d directly support the support bar 8b to move in the direction in which the longitudinal direction of the support bar 8d is opposite to each other. As a result, the angle in the longitudinal direction of the prepreg tail P1 (longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fiber F) can be changed. Therefore, in the cutting device 8, for example, instead of performing the cutting angle of the prepreg fabric P1 at + 45 deg., The cutting device 8 cuts the material at + 30 deg. Or + 60 deg. . It is also possible to cut it to "-45 °".

On the other hand, the cutting device 8 is controlled so that the driving of the cutter 8a is interlocked with the operation of the transfer device 6b of the delivery device 6 by a control device not shown. That is, while the feed operation of the prepreg original P1 by the conveying device 6b is temporarily stopped, the cutter 8a is driven to cut the prepreg original P1 at a predetermined angle, A first prepreg cut sheet P2 of a parallelogram shape is formed. Here, in the sub conveying path 7 shown in Fig. 4, a first prepreg cut sheet P2 is formed at a position where the first prepreg cut sheet P2 formed by cutting at the downstream side of the support bar 8b is supported, P2 are provided to prevent the displacement of position caused by the lifting of the lifting plate P2.

When the driving of the cutter 8a is stopped, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 is picked up by the conveying / placing hand 9 described later. Thereafter, the prepreg tail P1 is again fed by the transfer device 6b. 3, the length of the side L1 is set to be a length of 2 times the width of the prepreg original P1, and the length of the side of the conveying device 6b And the driving of the cutter 8a are controlled.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, on the downstream side of the cutting apparatus 8, that is, on the main transport path 3 side of the sub conveying path 7, the first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5 A prepreg sheet P2 is cut and cut (cut) by a cutting device 8 onto a prepreg fabric P1 running on the main transport path 3 A transfer / seat 9 for transferring is provided.

As shown in Fig. 2, the conveying / placing hand 9 is provided with a supporting portion 9a for sucking and supporting the first prepreg cut sheet P2, and a supporting portion 9a, And a moving portion 9b for setting the direction (orientation) of the reinforcing fibers F of the sheet P2 in a predetermined direction. The support portion 9a is configured to support the first prepreg cut sheet P2 so as to be sucked / detached by reduced pressure suction. The movable portion 9b is formed by a robot arm and has a plurality of pivotal shafts and moves the support portion 9a in the X and Y directions on the horizontal plane and rotates around the vertical axis and also lifts the support portion 9a .

The conveying / placing hand 9 having such a configuration is constituted such that the first prepreg cut sheet P2 of the parallelogram shape cut by the cutting device 8 is supported by the support portion 9a, The cut sheet P2 is moved onto the main transport path 3 by the moving portion 9b and then removed from the support portion 9a so that the first prepreg cut sheet P2 is placed on the prepreg tail P1 Rest.

At this time, as shown in Fig. 3, the moving portion 9b is set so that the fiber direction (alignment direction) of the reinforcing fibers of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 is a predetermined direction, that is, The first prepreg cut sheet P2 is appropriately rotated so as to be placed on the prepreg fabric P1 so as to be an angle of +45 DEG which is different from the direction (orientation) of the reinforcing fibers F. [ Apart from this rotation, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 is moved to the downstream side of the main conveying path 3 along the upper surface of the prepreg tail P1 as described later.

The cut edges L2 and L2 of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 are aligned so as to be positioned on the side edges of the prepreg tail P1 respectively when the first prepreg cut sheet P2 is seated in this manner . Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 is seated on the prepreg fabric P1 without protruding from the prepreg fabric P1.

When the first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5 and the transfer and placing hand 9 are formed by the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2, As shown in Fig. 5, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 is pressed against the prepreg fabric P1 running on the main transport path 3, As shown in Fig. That is, with respect to the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2, the following first prepreg cut sheet P2 is arranged in a continuous state so as not to overlap by the interval S within a preset range.

However, variations in the shape and size of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 obtained therefrom are caused by variations in the width dimension of the prepreg fabric P1. Therefore, by merely disposing the first prepreg cut sheet P2 at a predetermined position, the gap S between the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 before and after the pre- . As a result, there is a possibility that the subsequent first prepreg cut sheet P2 is overlapped with the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the gap detecting portion 10 is disposed on the downstream side of the main transport path 3, which is slightly downstream of the sub transport path 7. [ The interval detecting unit 10 detects the interval between the first prepreg cut sheet P2 preceding the prepreg tail P1 running on the main transport path 3 and the succeeding first prepreg cut sheet P2 (S). The interval detecting section 10 is formed so as to be connected to and controlled by a not shown control device. In the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6A, the interval detecting sensor 31 composed of a pair of sensors 30, 30 . 7A to 7D, the interval detecting portion 10 includes a downstream side pressing portion 32 for pressing the rear end portion of the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2 except the rear edge thereof, And an upstream side pressing portion 33 for pressing the front end portion of the prepreg cut sheet P2 except for the front edge.

In the present embodiment, the sensor 30 is formed by a two-dimensional laser displacement sensor for detecting a step of a sheet, and as shown in Fig. 7B, the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the succeeding first prepreg When the leg cut sheet P2 reaches a predetermined position, it is positioned just above the gap S therebetween. On the other hand, as the sensor 30, an image sensor composed of a CCD camera or the like may be used instead of the two-dimensional laser displacement sensor.

One of the pair of sensors 30 and 30 is disposed on one side in the width direction of the first prepreg cut sheet P2, that is, on one side end of the gap S as shown in Fig. 6B, One is disposed just above the other side end of the gap S. Thus, each of the sensors 30 detects the interval S at the measurement position 30a immediately below the sensor 30.

6A, all of the pair of sensors 30, 30 are supported by the slider mechanism 34, and thereby, the position immediately above the gap S side end portion and the gap (S).

As shown in Figs. 7A to 7D, the downstream-side pressing portion 32 is formed in the first prepreg cut sheet P2 just above the trailing end of the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2, Like member arranged along the rear edge, which can be raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism (not shown). That is, the downstream-side pressing portion 32 is disposed at a predetermined position on the main conveying route 3 shown in Fig. 1, and is sufficiently longer than the width of the main conveying route 3, and thus the first prepreg cut sheet P2, As shown in FIG. As a result, the entire rear end portion of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 can be pressed along the longitudinal direction of the rear edge by the downstream side pressing portion 32. [ That is, the downstream push portion 32 is arranged at a predetermined angle (45 DEG) with respect to the main conveying route 3, like the interval detecting portion 10 shown in Fig.

The downstream side pressing portion 32 is configured to allow the first prepreg cut sheet P2 to travel (move) downward as it ascends and then descend to lower the rear edge of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 So that the rear end portion is removed. Therefore, as shown in Figs. 7A to 7D, the downstream side pressing portion 32 is disposed on the downstream side of the downstream side of the rear edge of the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2, for example, about 10 mm do.

As shown in Figs. 7A to 7D, the upstream side pressing portion 33 is formed in the first prepreg cut sheet P2 immediately above the front end of the succeeding first prepreg cut sheet P2, Like member that is disposed along the front edge to be movable up and down by an elevating mechanism (not shown). The upstream side pressing portion 33 is also located at a predetermined position on the main conveying route 3 shown in Fig. 1 and is sufficiently longer than the width of the main conveying route 3, and therefore the front side of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 Edge. As a result, the entirety of the front end of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 can be pressed along the longitudinal direction of the front edge by the upstream side pressing portion 33. [ That is, similarly to the interval detecting portion 10 shown in Fig. 1, the upstream-side pressing portion 33 is also arranged to be inclined at a predetermined angle (45 deg.) With respect to the main transport path 3. [

The upstream side pressing portion 33 is raised to a position as high as 0.5 mm or less from the upper surface of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 which is a predetermined height, that is, the seating surface, and the upstream side pressing portion 33 is stopped by the first prepreg cut The first prepreg cut sheet P2 is guided by allowing the sheet P2 to move and then lowered to press the front end portion of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 except for the front edge. Therefore, as shown in Figs. 7A to 7D, the upstream pressing portion 33 is disposed on the upstream side of the front edge of the following first prepreg cut sheet P2 on the upstream side, for example, about 10 mm do.

As shown in Figs. 7A and 7B, a guide portion 33a is formed on the upstream side of the upstream side pressing portion 33, that is, on the upstream side of the main transfer path 3. In the present embodiment, the guide portion 33a is formed by a tapered surface formed on the downstream side of the upstream side pressing portion 33. [ In other words, a tapered surface is formed from the substantially middle height on the upstream-side end surface of the upstream-side pressing portion 33 to the bottom surface, and the guiding portion 33a is constituted by the tapered surface.

By having such a guide portion 33a as described above, the upstream pressing portion 33 can move the succeeding first prepreg cut sheet P2 in the state of being raised to the above- And guided to the lower side thereof by the guide member 33a. That is, the first prepreg cut sheet P2, which is supported by the conveying / placing hand 9 and whose posture is adjusted so that the angle of the reinforcing fiber F is rotated by a predetermined angle to a preset angle, Side pressing portion 33 while maintaining the angle of the pressing portion F. At this time, even if the tip end of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 comes into contact with the guide portion 33a of the upstream side pushing portion 33, it is guided downward by the tapered surface, Slide into the bottom surface.

Therefore, the front end portion of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 slides toward the bottom surface of the upstream push portion 33 and is moved to a predetermined position by the conveying / placing hand 9, 1 adjacent to the rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet P2 at appropriate intervals. At this time, conventionally, there is a possibility that the following first prepreg cut sheet P2 is overlapped with the succeeding first prepreg cut sheet P2, but in the present embodiment, the upstream- The overlapping of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 following the bottom surface is restricted.

However, as described above, the gap S between the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 on the front and rear sides is permitted due to the variation in the width dimension of the prepreg tail P1. Range may be exceeded. 7A, the downstream end portion of the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2 is pressed by the downstream-side pressing portion 32, and then, in the interval detecting portion 10 of the present embodiment, The front end portion of the following first prepreg cut sheet P2 is caused to slide downward (on the bottom surface side) of the upstream pressing portion 33 and the pair of sensors 30 and 30 And detects the width of the interval S, respectively. At this time, as described above, since the upstream-side pressing portion 33 is located at a height of 0.5 mm or less from the upper surface of the first prepreg cut sheet P2, the lifting of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 is prevented .

When the intervals S detected by the pair of sensors 30 and 30 are all within the permissible range, the first prepreg cut sheet P2, the first prepreg cut sheet P2, It is judged that the interval S between them is proper, and the welding is performed as will be described later. On the other hand, when at least one of the intervals S exceeds the permissible range, the upstream pressing portion 33 is once raised so that the positioning can be performed again, and the conveying / The position of the leg cut sheet P2 is readjusted. At this time, in particular, when the spacing S between both sides detected by the pair of sensors 30 and 30 is greatly different, there is a difference in the angle of the first prepreg cut sheet P2. Therefore, And the angle difference is corrected by rotating the leg cut sheet P2. If the clearances S on both sides are substantially equal to each other, the clearance S is simply moved to the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2 so that the clearance S falls within the allowable range. On the other hand, the upper limit of the allowable range of the interval S is, for example, about several millimeters, and the lower limit is zero, that is, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2, If not, the state in which they are in contact is also within the permissible range.

After the positioning is performed again in this way, the width of the gap S is detected by the pair of sensors 30, The first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 on the front and rear sides are arranged so that the interval S between both sides detected by the pair of sensors 30, Respectively. That is, finally, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 before and after are not overlapped with each other, but are arranged continuously in front and rear with an interval S adjusted to a predetermined range.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6A, a welder (welded portion) 11 is provided in the gap detecting portion 10. The welder 11 is disposed just above the gap S formed between the downstream side pressing portion 32 and the upstream side pressing portion 33 and is provided with a heater S for heating the gap S and its vicinity A lifting mechanism 11b for lifting the heating section 11a and a moving mechanism 11c for moving the heating section 11a and the lifting mechanism 11b in the longitudinal direction of the gap S .

The heating section 11a is formed by an ultrasonic welder. The ultrasonic welder is disposed in the vicinity of the gap S, that is, at the rear end of the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the succeeding first prepreg cut sheet P2, Or they are heated by frictional heat. The heating section 11a melts the resin of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the prepreg fabric P1 therebelow and solidifies the resin to form the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the second prepreg cut sheet P2, The first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the prepreg tail P1 are welded together. On the other hand, as the heating section 11a, a structure in which a heated roller is rolled, or a structure in which the heater is strongly pressed by a heater wire having a long length may be adopted instead of the ultrasonic welding machine.

Here, the heating section 11a is lifted by the lifting mechanism 11b to heat it in contact with or away from the first prepreg cut sheet P2. That is, as shown in Fig. 7 (d), the heating section 11a descends to form the first prepreg cut sheet P2, the first prepreg cut sheet P2, Thereby heating them.

The heating section 11a is configured to be able to heat both the gap S and its vicinity by moving in the longitudinal direction of the gap S by the moving mechanism 11c as shown in Fig. 6C. At this time, if the pair of sensors 30 and 30 are positioned just above the gap S, the movement of the heating unit 11a is interfered. Therefore, when it is determined that the spacing S between the front and rear first prepreg cut sheets P2 and the first prepreg cut sheets P2 is appropriate as described above, the pair of sensors 30, As shown in Fig. 6C, the slider mechanism 34 does not interfere with the movement of the heating portion 11a by moving (moving) outwardly in the longitudinal direction of the gap S from just above the gap S by the slider mechanism 34. [

That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in Figs. 7A, 7B, and 6A, the pair of sensors 30, 30 are provided with the first prepreg cut sheet P2, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 6 (c), the pair of sensors 30, 30 are retracted from immediately above the gap S to the outside thereof (as shown in Fig. 6C) Movement). 7d, the heating portion 11a of the welder 11 is lowered to be spaced apart from the first prepreg cut sheet P2 by a predetermined distance S and the vicinity thereof are heated and melted and the entire space S is welded by moving in the longitudinal direction of the gap S. [ As a result, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 are bonded to the prepreg tail P1 together with the first prepreg cut P1, The sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 are welded together and integrated. At this time, since the positions of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 on the front and rear sides are fixed by the downstream side pressing portion 32 and the upstream side pressing portion 33 , And the interval S determined as appropriate is maintained. Accordingly, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 before and after these are fused together at a proper spacing S, thereby being well integrated.

On the downstream side of the welder 11 (the gap detecting portion 10), as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a delivery device (delivery portion) 12 is disposed. The dispenser 12 is disposed above the main transport path 3 and on the laminate of the prepreg fabric P1 running on the main transport path 3 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2, So as to send the leg fabric P3. The prepreg tail P3 delivered from the delivery device 12 is also drawn out onto the main transport path 3 by the take-out device 2 and is the same fabric as the prepreg fabric P1, (F) is 0 DEG.

2, the delivery device 12 includes a take-out device 12a for pulling out the roll prepreg end P3, a roll-like prepreg fabric 12a drawn out by the take-out device 12a, And a transfer device 12b for transferring the transfer sheet P3 to the main transport path 3. [ The drawing device 12a draws the prepreg tail P3 wound in the form of a roll in the longitudinal direction and is configured so as to be directed upward one time.

The conveying device 12b is constituted by a plurality of rollers 12c and a driving source (not shown) such as a motor for rotating the roller 12c by being connected to a roller 12c disposed on the downstream side of the rollers 12c do. The conveying device 12b conveys the prepreg tail P3 which is drawn out from the drawing device 12a and sent out upward one by one by a plurality of rollers 12c from below to move down the main conveying route 3, To the stack.

3, when the prepreg tail P3 is fed onto the laminate in this way, the both edges of the prepreg fabric P3 are folded in the first prepreg Is positioned on the cut sides L2, L2 of the leg cut sheet P2. Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, the prepreg tail P3 is seated on the first prepreg cut sheet P2 without protruding from the first prepreg cut sheet P2.

On the downstream side of the delivery device 12, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a welder 13 is disposed. Like the welder 11, the welder 13 has a heating section, and a prepreg fabric P3 as a top layer and the laminate as a lower layer thereof, that is, a prepreg fabric P1 and a first prepreg cut sheet (P2) are deposited and integrated. In the present embodiment, the heating portion is run in the width direction of the prepreg tail P3 shown in Fig. 3, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fiber F, and the prepreg tail P3 and the lower layer The resin of the laminate is melted and solidified, and the prepreg fabric (P3) and the laminate are then deposited.

On the downstream side of the welder 13, a second prepreg cut sheet forming portion 14 is disposed as shown in Fig. The second prepreg cut sheet forming portion 14 is constituted in substantially the same manner as the first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5 and includes a delivery device 15 for delivering the roll prepreg material P1, A sub conveying path 16 for running the prepreg original P1 sent out from the apparatus 15 and a prepreg tail P1 running on the sub conveying path 16 are cut in the width direction at a preset angle And a cutting device 17 for cutting (cutting) the wafer.

Here, the prepreg fabric P1 sent out from the delivery device 15 has the orientation of the reinforcing fibers F, as in the prepreg fabric P1 used in the first prepreg cut sheet forming section 5, 0 < / RTI >

The dispensing apparatus 15 is constructed in the same manner as the dispensing apparatus 6 of the first prepreg cut sheet forming section 5 and comprises a draw-out apparatus 15a for drawing the roll-like prepreg tail P1, And a transfer device 15b for transferring the roll-shaped prepreg material P1 drawn out by the transfer device 15a onto the sub conveyance path 16. [ The drawing device 15a is configured to draw out the prepreg fabric P1 rolled in the form of a roll in the longitudinal direction and to discharge it onto the sub conveying path 16. [

The conveying device 15b includes a pair of rollers 15c and 15c arranged vertically and a motor 15c connected to one roller 15c of the pair of rollers 15c and 15c to rotate the roller 15c And a driving source 15d. The conveying device 15b also holds the prepreg original P1 pulled out of the drawing device 15a between the pair of rollers 15c and 15c and by the rotation of the roller 15c by the driving source 15d Conveying the prepreg end P1 to the downstream side of the sub conveying path 16.

The sub conveying path 16 is disposed on one side of the main conveying path 3, that is, on the same side as the sub conveying path 7 of the first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5, As shown in FIG. The sub carrier path 16 is also formed in a straight shape (straight plate shape) having a width wider than the width of the prepreg fabric P1 and running on the upper surface of the prepreg fabric P1. The upper surface of the sub conveying path 16 is also formed as a smooth surface having a small frictional resistance so as to smoothly run the prepreg P1.

The cutting apparatus 17 cuts the prepreg tail P1 running on the sub conveying route 16 at a predetermined angle in a predetermined angle in the same manner as the cutting apparatus 8 of the first prepreg cut sheet forming unit 5, Direction. That is, the cutting device 17 includes a cutter 8a shown in Fig. 4, a support bar 8b for movably supporting the cutter 8a, and a pair of support portions 8b for supporting both ends of the support bar 8b. (8c, 8c).

However, the cutting device 17 of the second prepreg cut sheet forming portion 14 is arranged so that the cutting device 8 cuts the prepreg tail P1 in the width direction at an angle of + 45 degrees, The prepreg original P1 is cut at an angle of -45 degrees in the width direction to form the second prepreg cut sheet P2 shown in Fig. 3, which is different from the first prepreg cut sheet P2 shown in Fig. 3 ).

4, the direction of the support bar 8b for movably supporting the cutter 8a shown in Fig. 4 is different from that of the cutting device 8, and as shown in Fig. 1, the sub- 16 in the longitudinal direction. 3, the cut edge L4 of the second prepreg cut sheet P4 formed by cutting in the cutting device 17 is inclined at an angle of 45 DEG with respect to the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fiber F, . That is, inclined at an angle of 45 DEG in the opposite direction to the first prepreg cut sheet P2.

However, in the cutting apparatus 17, the angle of the support bar relative to the prepreg end P1 can be changed at an arbitrary angle like the cutting apparatus 8, and accordingly, the length of the prepreg tail P1 Direction (the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fibers F) can be changed. Therefore, in the cutting apparatus 17, for example, instead of performing the cutting angle of the prepreg tail Pl at -45 DEG, the cutting apparatus 17 cuts the cutting edge at, for example, -30 DEG or -60 DEG . On the other hand, it is also possible to cut to "+ 45 °".

The cutting device 17 is also controlled by a control device not shown so that the driving of the cutter is linked to the operation of the transfer device 15b of the delivery device 15. [ That is, while the feeding operation by the feeding device 15b is temporarily stopped, the cutter is driven to cut the prepreg tail P1 to a preset angle, and the second prepreg cut sheet (FIG. 3 P4) are formed. The sub conveying path 16 is also provided with a second conveying path P4 at a position where the second prepreg cut sheet P4 formed by cutting at the downstream side of the supporting bar 8b is supported, In order to prevent misalignment of the position caused by the rise of the prepreg cut sheet P4, a flotation preventing means such as a suction hole is provided.

When the driving of the cutter is stopped, the second prepreg cut sheet P4 is picked up by the conveying / placing hand 18 described later. Thereafter, the prepreg tail P1 is again fed by the feeding device 15b. At this time, when the interval to cut with the cutter is indicated by a side L3 in Fig. 3, the length of the side L3 is set to be a length of 2 times the width of the prepreg P1, Is controlled.

1 and 2, on the downstream side of such a cutting device 17, that is, on the main transport path 3 side of the sub conveyance path 16, the second prepreg cut sheet forming portion 14 is formed A prepreg sheet, that is, a second prepreg cut sheet P4 cut (cut) by the cutting device 17 shown in Fig. 3, is conveyed and placed on the stacked material running on the main conveyance route 3 Hand 18 is provided.

2, the conveying / placing hand 18 has the same constitution as the conveying / placing hand 9 and has a supporting portion 18a for sucking and supporting the second prepreg cut sheet P4, (Orientation) of the reinforcing fibers F of the second prepreg cut sheet P4 by rotating the first prepreg cut sheet 18a on the horizontal plane in a predetermined direction. The support portion 18a is configured to detachably support the second prepreg cut sheet P4 by reduced pressure suction. The moving portion 18b is formed by a robot arm and has a plurality of pivot shafts and moves the support portion 18a in the XY direction in the horizontal plane and rotates around the vertical axis and also lifts the support portion 18a .

The conveying / placing hand 18 having such a configuration is configured to support the second prepreg cut sheet P4 of the parallelogram shape cut by the cutting device 17 by the support portion 18a, The cut sheet P4 is moved onto the main transport path 3 by the moving portion 18b and then detached from the support portion 18a to remove the second prepreg cut sheet P4 from the prepreg tail P3 Water).

3, the supporting portion 18a is formed so that the direction (orientation) of the reinforcing fibers F of the second prepreg cut sheet P4 is in a predetermined direction, that is, the prepreg fabric P1 The second prepreg cut sheet P4 is pressed against the prepreg so that the angle of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and that of the prepreg tail P3 are different from the direction (orientation) And placed on the fabric P3 (laminate). Apart from this rotation, the second prepreg cut sheet P4 is moved to the downstream side of the main transport path 3 along the upper surface of the prepreg tail P1 as described later.

When the second prepreg cut sheet P4 is placed in this manner, the cut edges L4 and L4 of the second prepreg cut sheet P4 are positioned on the side edge of the prepreg tail P3, It is tailored. Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, the second prepreg cut sheet P4 is seated on the prepreg fabric P3 without protruding from the prepreg fabric P3.

When the second prepreg cut sheet forming portion 14 and the transfer and placing hand 18 are formed by the second prepreg cut sheet P4 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 formed and transported, The first prepreg cut sheets P2 are arranged (placed) in a continuous state without overlapping and without overlapping with respect to the laminate running on the main transport path 3.

Here, the running speed of the laminate running to the vicinity of the conveying / placing hand 18 via the first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5, the conveying / placing hand 9, the conveying device 12, The conveying / seating speed of the second prepreg cut sheet P4, which is placed on the laminate by the conveying / placing hand 18 via the conveying / mounting hand 16, may be different, and the timings may be shifted. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an accumulation rate portion (not shown) is provided between the welder 13 and the conveying / placing hand 18, for example by bending the laminate so as to eliminate the above-mentioned timing deviation, . Thus, the timing at which the second prepreg cut sheet P4 is seated by the conveying / placing hand 18 can be adjusted to the timing at which the laminated material travels.

As shown in Fig. 1, an interval detecting portion 19 is arranged on the slightly downstream side of the sub conveying path 16 in the main conveying route 3. [ The interval detecting unit 19 detects the interval between the second prepreg cut sheet P4 preceding the prepreg tail P1 running on the main transport path 3 and the succeeding second prepreg cut sheet P4 (S), and is connected to a control device (not shown) and controlled thereby.

That is, the interval detecting section 19 also has the interval detecting sensor 31 composed of the pair of sensors 30 and 30 shown in FIG. 6A similarly to the interval detecting section 10, Side pressing portion 32 for pressing the rear end portion of the preceding prepreg cut sheet excluding the rear edge and an upstream pressing portion 33 for pressing the front end portion of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet except for the front edge .

Therefore, the interval detecting portion 19 operates in the same manner as the interval detecting portion 10, so that the second prepreg cut sheet P4 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 are not overlapped with each other, And are spaced apart from one another by a predetermined distance S,

2, a welder (welded portion) 20 is also disposed in the gap detecting portion 19, like the gap detecting portion 10 described above. 6A and 6C, the welder 20 has a heating section 11a, a lifting mechanism 11b for lifting and elevating the heating section 11a, And a moving mechanism 11c for moving the heating section 11a and the elevating mechanism 11b in the longitudinal direction of the gap S. [

Therefore, the welder 20 operates in the same manner as the welder 11, whereby the second prepreg cut sheet P4 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 are welded to each other, The leg cut sheet P4 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 and the laminate (prepreg fabric P1) beneath them are welded and integrated. At this time, since the positions of the second prepreg cut sheet P4 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 in the front and rear directions are fixed by the downstream side pushing portion 32 and the upstream side pushing portion 33 , And the interval S determined as appropriate is maintained. Therefore, the second prepreg cut sheet P4 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 before and after these are melted together at an appropriate interval S, thereby being favorably integrated.

On the downstream side of the welder 20, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a welder (welder) 21 is disposed. The welder 21 has a heating unit as well as the welder 13 and has a heating means for heating the laminate which is welded and integrated in the welder 20, that is, the second prepreg cut sheet P4 of the uppermost layer, Re-weld. At this time, the welder 21 runs the heating part in the width direction of the second prepreg cut sheet P4 shown in Fig. 3, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the cut side L4, and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 And the resin of the laminate as a lower layer thereof are melted and then solidified, thereby melting the second prepreg cut sheet (P4) and the laminate. That is, by welding at an angle different from that of the welder 20, the resulting laminate is firmly integrated. As a result, a prepreg sheet laminate P5 is formed as shown in Fig.

The prepreg sheet laminate P5 thus formed is pulled by the conveying device 4 and travels to the downstream side of the main conveying route 3 as described above.

On the downstream side of the conveying device 4, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a cut portion 22 is disposed.

The cut portion 22 has a cutter similar to the cutting device 8 and the cutting device 17 and has a prepreg sheet laminate P5 in its width direction, that is, a prepreg fabric P1 shown in Fig. 3, Is cut in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fiber (F) of the leg fabric (P3) to form a rectangular prepreg sheet laminate (P6) as shown in Fig.

2, the prepreg sheet laminate P6 thus formed is accommodated in a receiving box 23 disposed downstream of the main conveying route 3 and is provided to the next process. In the next step, the prepreg sheet laminate P6 is cut into a desired shape, and a plurality of pieces of the obtained prepreg sheet laminate P6 are further superimposed to form a desired three-dimensional shape.

Various members constituting an automobile or an aircraft, for example, are members formed in a plane symmetry so as to be disposed on the left and right sides. In the case of manufacturing a member having such a plane symmetry, it is necessary that the strength also has a surface symmetry. Therefore, the fiber direction (alignment direction) of the reinforcing fibers of the prepreg sheet constituting the prepreg sheet laminate also needs to be plane symmetry in the right and left members.

More specifically, in order to impart plane symmetry to the prepreg sheet laminate P6 formed from the prepreg sheet laminate P5 shown in Fig. 3, the prepreg sheet laminate P5 shown in Fig. The first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 are changed to produce a prepreg sheet laminate.

That is, the angle of the support bar 8b of the cutting device 8 in the first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5 shown in Fig. The angle of the support bar 8b of the cutting device 17 in the second prepreg cut sheet forming portion 14 is changed to be the angle of the support bar 8b of the first prepreg cut sheet 17, The angle of the supporting bar 8b of the cutting device 8 in the forming portion 5 is changed. As a result, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 in the prepreg sheet laminate P5 shown in Fig. 3 can be easily changed. Therefore, for the prepreg sheet laminate P6 formed of the prepreg sheet laminate P5, the prepreg sheet laminate having surface symmetry in terms of strength can be easily formed by the same prepreg sheet producing apparatus 1 Can be manufactured.

The prepreg sheet producing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is characterized in that the interval detecting section 10 (the interval detecting section 19) is constituted by the following first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg cut sheet P4) Side pressing portion 33 that presses the front end portion of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 except for the front edge of the second prepreg cut sheet P2, (P4) is guided to the lower side of the upstream pushing portion (33), and the front end portion is restrained from rising. For this reason, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (the second prepreg cut sheet P4 (the first prepreg cut sheet P4), the second prepreg cut sheet P4 ) Are adjacent to each other so that the front edge of the front edge does not rise, and the interval S can be detected by the interval detecting section 10 (interval detecting section 19) in this state. Therefore, when the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (the second prepreg cut sheet P4) is connected in the front-rear direction, it is welded to the welder 11 (welder 20) Whereby a sheet laminate P5 (prepreg sheet) can be produced.

Since the tapered guide portion 33a is provided on the upstream side of the upstream side pressing portion 33, the front end of the succeeding first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg cut sheet P4) Side pushing portion 33, as shown in Fig. Therefore, it is possible to reliably regulate that the front end portion rises.

The prepreg sheet producing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a conveying / placing (conveying) mechanism for supporting and moving the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg cut sheet P4) And a hand 9 (a conveying and placing hand 18) is provided in the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg sheet 18) by the conveying / placing hand 9 (conveying / The leg cut sheet P4) is placed below the upstream push portion 33, the alignment can be easily performed.

The interval detecting sensor 31 is provided with a sensor 30 for detecting between one edge of the interval S between the front and rear first prepreg cut sheets P2 (second prepreg cut sheets P4) And a sensor 30 for detecting between the other edge. Therefore, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg cut sheet P4), which is followed by the first prepreg cut P4, is separated from the preceding first prepreg cut sheet P4 by the deviation (difference) It is possible to easily determine whether or not the angle of the sheet P2 (the second prepreg cut sheet P4) is shifted. Therefore, when the angle is shifted, the angle of the succeeding first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg cut sheet P4) by the conveying / placing hand 9 (conveying / placing hand 18) The first prepreg cut sheet P2 (the second prepreg cut sheet P4) before and after the first prepreg sheet can be satisfactorily connected.

The welder 11 (welder 20) has the heating portion 11a moving along the longitudinal direction of the gap S and the gap detecting sensor 31 is spaced apart from the upper portion of the gap S by the distance S, As shown in Fig. Therefore, when the heating section 11a is moved along the longitudinal direction of the gap S, the gap detecting sensor 31 is moved to the outside of the gap S, It is possible to prevent interference with the movement of the movable member 11a. The first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (the second prepreg cut sheet P4) are formed by the downstream side pressing portion 32 and the upstream side pressing portion 33, After the gap S is detected by the gap detection sensor 31 in a state in which the first prepreg cut sheet P4 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 are fixed, . For this reason, the first prepreg cut sheet P2, the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (the second prepreg cut sheet P4, the second prepreg cut sheet P2, Sheet P4) can be welded together, and these can be integrated well.

The main transport path 3 runs the prepreg tail P1 and stacks the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg cut sheet P4) on the prepreg tail P1 . Therefore, instead of simply connecting the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg cut sheet P4) to produce a prepreg sheet, the prepreg sheet P1 may be laminated on the prepreg sheet P1, Water can be produced.

The prepreg sheet producing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the first prepreg cut sheet forming portion 5 (the second prepreg cut sheet forming portion 14) P2) (the second prepreg cut sheet P4) onto the prepreg tail P1 (prepreg tail P3) running on the main transport path 3, And a transfer / placing hand 9 (transfer / placing hand 18) for placing the transfer material P on the prepreg end P1 (prepreg end P3) in such a manner that the direction of the transfer destination F is in a predetermined direction. Therefore, by the prepreg fabric P1 (prepreg fabric P3) and the first prepreg cut sheet P2 (second prepreg cut sheet P4) placed on the prepreg fabric P1 (prepreg fabric P3) ) Can be obtained by laminating the prepreg sheet laminate (P6) with other prepreg sheets. Therefore, the prepreg sheet laminate P6 can be easily manufactured.

On the other hand, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the laminate having the four-layer structure is produced as the prepreg sheet to be produced is described. However, for example, the main conveyance route 3, the first prepreg cut sheet forming section 5, The conveying / placing hand 9, the gap detecting portion 10 and the welder 11, a single prepreg sheet can be manufactured by connecting the first prepreg cut sheet P2.

In the above embodiment, the orientation angle of the reinforcing fibers F of the first prepreg cut sheet P2 and the second prepreg cut sheet P4 is set at +45 or -45 degrees, For example, + 30 ° (-30 °) or + 60 ° (-60 °) by adjusting the angle of the support bar of the cutting device 17.

≪ Industrial Availability >

It is possible to provide a prepreg sheet producing apparatus capable of manufacturing a prepreg sheet by connecting a plurality of cut prepreg cut sheets in a front-rear direction without forming an overlapping portion.

1 prepreg sheet manufacturing apparatus
3 main return path
4 Feeding device
5 First prepreg cut sheet forming portion
6, 12, 15 Delivery device (delivery part)
7, 16 Sub-
8, 17 cutting device
8a cutter
8b support bar
9, 18 Feed · Settling hand
10, 19 interval detector
11, 20 welder (welded part)
11a heating section
11c Moving mechanism
14 Second prepreg cut sheet forming portion
20 welder (welded part)
22 Cutting section
30 sensors
31 Interval detection sensor
32 Downstream push portion
33 upstream press portion
33a,
34 slider mechanism
F reinforcing fiber
S interval
P1, P3 prepreg fabric
P2 First prepreg cut sheet
P4 second prepreg cut sheet
P5 prepreg sheet laminate
P6 prepreg sheet laminate

Claims (9)

A prepreg sheet producing apparatus for producing a prepreg sheet laminated on a fabric of a prepreg by connecting a plurality of cut prepreg cut sheets in a front-rear direction on a fabric of a prepreg,
A main transport path for traveling the prepreg fabric and the prepreg cut sheet seated on the prepreg fabric,
An interval detecting unit that detects an interval between a preceding prepreg cut sheet preceding the original prepreg and a subsequent prepreg cut sheet;
And a welded portion between the rear edge of the preceding prepreg cut sheet and the front edge of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet by opening and welding the prepreg,
Wherein the gap detecting portion includes: a downstream side pressing portion for pressing a rear end portion of the preceding prepreg cut sheet excluding a rear edge; an upstream side pressing portion for pressing a front end portion excluding a front edge of a subsequent prepreg cut sheet; And an interval detection sensor for detecting a distance between a rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the upstream side pressing portion and a front edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the upstream side pressing portion,
Wherein the upstream side pressing portion is configured to guide the front end portion of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet to below the upstream side pressing portion while restricting the front end portion from rising. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the upstream side pressing portion is provided with a tapered guide portion for guiding the front end portion of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet to below the upstream side pressing portion on the upstream side of the main conveying path. The method according to claim 1,
And a conveying / placing hand for carrying and positioning the prepreg cut sheet by supporting and moving the prepreg cut sheet. 3. The method of claim 2,
And a conveying / placing hand for carrying and positioning the prepreg cut sheet by supporting and moving the prepreg cut sheet. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the gap detection sensor includes a sensor for detecting between one edge of a gap between a rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the downstream side pressing portion and a front edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the upstream side pressing portion And a sensor for detecting between the other edge. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the gap detection sensor includes a sensor for detecting between one edge of a gap between a rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the downstream side pressing portion and a front edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the upstream side pressing portion And a sensor for detecting between the other edge. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the gap detection sensor includes a sensor for detecting between one edge of a gap between a rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the downstream side pressing portion and a front edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the upstream side pressing portion And a sensor for detecting between the other edge. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the gap detection sensor includes a sensor for detecting between one edge of a gap between a rear edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the downstream side pressing portion and a front edge of the prepreg cut sheet pressed by the upstream side pressing portion And a sensor for detecting between the other edge. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The fused portion has a heating portion that moves above the gap between the rear edge of the preceding prepreg cut sheet and the front edge of the succeeding prepreg cut sheet along the longitudinal direction thereof,
Wherein the gap detecting sensor is provided movably between an upper side of the gap and an outer side of the gap.

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