TW202237517A - Automatic transfer system for saving time and efforts - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic transfer system and a ball core forming and manufacturing method using the same. The ball core forming and manufacturing method includes a material extruding step, an alignment step, and a transfer step. In the material extruding step, the rubber material is formed into a plurality of rubber blocks through an extruder, and the plurality of rubber blocks will fall down into a material guide unit. In the alignment step, each rubber block rolls downward along a plurality of guide plates until it falls on a conveyor, and at this time, the main axis of the rubber block is parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor. In the transfer step, the conveyor conveys the rubber blocks onto a transfer belt one at a time, and a plurality of material pushing mechanisms horizontally push out the rubber blocks, respectively, so that the rubber blocks may be transferred onto a robotic arm, and the robotic arm then transfers the rubber blocks to the positioning slots of a plurality of carrying trays.

Description

Automated transfer system and ball center molding manufacturing method using it

The present invention relates to a transfer system and a manufacturing method, in particular to an automatic transfer system of a golf ball and a manufacturing method for forming a center of a golf ball using it.

The manufacturing process of the center of a general golf ball is: Extrude the rubber material into cylindrical rubber blocks with an extruder, and then transfer these sticky rubber blocks with an outer diameter of only 25mm to 33mm to the carrier plate (commonly known as the tray), and put it in the corresponding slot. Finally, batches of these carrier trays are sent to a thermocompression molding machine, so that each rubber block is thermocompressed into a ball center. However, in the above-mentioned manufacturing process, it is necessary to manually move the rubber blocks formed by the extruder to the slots of the carrier tray one by one, which is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. In addition, it is difficult for small-sized rubber blocks to be aligned with the slot through human eyes, and more than 100 rubber blocks are often placed on each carrier plate, and the operator is prone to work speed reduction due to fatigue or missing rubber blocks in the slot, etc. question.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a time-saving and labor-saving automatic transfer system.

Therefore, the automatic transfer system of the present invention includes a material guide unit, a transfer unit, and a transfer unit. The material guide unit includes a main body that surrounds and defines a space extending along a height direction, and a plurality of guide plates that are spaced apart from each other along the height direction and are arranged in the space, each guide plate extends obliquely downward, and any two Adjacent guide plates face each other and overlap up and down along the height direction. The transfer unit includes a conveyor belt connected to the bottom of the material guide unit along the height direction, a transfer belt connected to the conveyor belt and arranged vertically to the conveyor belt, and a plurality of conveyor belts at the end of the conveyor belt that can hold objects horizontally Pushing push mechanism. The moving unit includes a mechanical arm connected to the material pushing mechanisms, and a carrier plate with multiple positioning slots recessed on the surface for the mechanical arm to place materials.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method for forming a ball center using the aforementioned automatic transfer system.

Therefore, the manufacturing method of the center of the present invention includes an extrusion step, a series of steps, and a transfer step. In the extruding step, the rubber material is continuously extruded through an extruder to form a plurality of cylindrical rubber blocks, and the rubber blocks fall down into the space of the material guide unit. In this alignment step, each rubber block rolls down along the guide plates until it falls on the conveyor belt. At this time, the main axis of the rubber block is parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt, and the rubber blocks are The conveyor belt is lined up. In the transfer step, the conveyor belt transports the rubber blocks to the transfer belt one at a time, and when several rubber blocks reach the end of the transfer belt, the pushing mechanisms respectively push the rubber blocks The blocks are pushed out horizontally, so that the rubber blocks are transferred to the mechanical arm, and the mechanical arm transfers the rubber blocks to the positioning grooves of the supporting plates.

The effect of the present invention is that the rubber blocks fall due to gravity in the main body of the material guide unit, and roll along the guide plates that extend downwards obliquely. During the rolling process, the axis of each rubber block The line is in the same direction as the conveying direction of the conveyor belt, and then the rubber blocks can be placed on the positioning grooves of the carrier plates through an automated process through transfer and movement. The process can be fully automated without human intervention, avoiding The loss caused by human factors achieves the effect of saving time and effort.

Referring to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, one embodiment of the automatic transfer system of the present invention includes a material guide unit 1, a transfer unit 2 for receiving the material guide unit 1, and a transfer unit 3 for connecting the transfer unit 2 . The material guide unit 1 includes a main body 11 surrounding and defining a space 111 extending along a height direction A, and a plurality of guide plates 12 arranged in the space 111 along the height direction A at intervals. Each guide plate 12 extends horizontally downwards, and any two adjacent guide plates 12 extend toward each other and overlap up and down along the height direction A. The inclination angles of these guide plates 12 are not necessarily the same, which can be seen It depends on the requirements. What is disclosed in FIG. 1 is that the guide plates 12 have two different inclination angles according to the installed positions, but it is not limited thereto. It should be noted that Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram, so it is not configured according to the actual installation direction.

The transfer unit 2 includes a conveyor belt 21 connected to the bottom of the material guide unit 1 along the height direction A, a transfer belt 22 connected to the conveyor belt 21 and perpendicular to the conveyor belt 21, and a plurality of The pusher mechanism 23 at the end of the belt 22 can push the object along the horizontal direction B. These pusher mechanisms 23 may be push rods driven by air pressure or hydraulic pressure, but may also be other mechanisms with similar functions, not limited thereto. It should be noted that the transfer belt 22 can be arranged on a horizontal plane (that is, perpendicular to the conveyor belt 21 and the height direction A) as required, or can extend upwards along the height direction A. If the latter design is adopted, then The transfer belt 22 has a space for accommodating materials.

The moving unit 3 includes a mechanical arm 31 connected to the pusher mechanisms 23, a plurality of loading trays 32 for the loading of the robotic arms 31, and a plurality of trolleys 33 for placing the loading trays 32 respectively (only shown in the figure) One of them), and a conveyor belt 34 that can transport these carrier trays 32 to these trolleys 33 in a stack. The mechanical arm 31 adopts a clamping type, and can directly clamp at one time after the pushing mechanism 23 pushes out a plurality of materials (ie, rubber blocks 61 , which will be described later in the embodiment of the ball center forming manufacturing method). Each carrier plate 32 (commonly known as a Tray plate) is recessed with 148 positioning grooves, and the positioning grooves are arranged in 13 or 14 rows, and each row has 10 to 13 positioning grooves with a non-fixed number. These trolleys 33 can move along the set route through tracking or remote control, and are unmanned transport vehicles. Preferably, 10 layers of carrying trays 32 are stacked on each trolley 33 .

Referring to Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 3, one embodiment of the manufacturing method for forming the center of the present invention needs to be carried out by using the aforementioned automatic transfer system. , a transfer step 43 , a stacking step 44 , and a molding step 45 . The material guide unit 1 of the automatic transfer system is arranged at the relative lower part of an extruder 51 . In the extruding step 41, the rubber material is continuously extruded through the extruder 51 to form a plurality of cylindrical rubber blocks 61, and these rubber blocks 61 are affected by gravity and fall down to the main body 11 sequentially. In space 111. In this embodiment, the extruder 51 molds each rubber block 61 at an extrusion molding speed of 1.5 seconds. The outer diameter of each rubber block 61 is between 25 mm and 33 mm, and the length is between 40 mm and 80 mm.

In the alignment step 42, the rubber block 61 dropped into the space 111 will roll down along the guide plates 12 until it falls on the conveyor belt 21. The aforementioned process is described in detail here (please refer to FIG. 1 , 3): Each rubber block 61 will first collide with the guide plate 12 at the highest or second highest point, and then due to the inclination of the guide plate 12, the weight of each rubber block 61 itself, and the self-column of each rubber block 61 shape and roll down along the upper surface of the guide plate 12, then leave the guide plate 12 from the end of the guide plate 12, continue to drop down to another guide plate 12 below, and repeat The aforementioned process continues to roll down along the guide plate 12 until it falls onto the conveyor belt 21 . During the aforementioned process, each rubber block 61 can correct its orientation by rolling, so that when each rubber block 61 arrives on the conveyor belt 21 , its axis line extends along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 21 . The conveyor belt 21 will continuously transport the rubber blocks 61 at a fixed rate, so that the rubber blocks 61 dropped on the conveyor belt 21 are arranged in a row on the conveyor belt 21 in sequence, and the rubber blocks 61 When 61 is on the conveyer belt 21, it is approximately in series and opposite (can refer to FIG. 1 ), and the axis lines are parallel to each other.

In the transfer step 43, the conveyor belt 21 will transfer the rubber pieces 61 to the transfer belt 22 one at a time, because the transfer belt 22 moves vertically to the conveyor belt 21 (horizontal Move or move vertically), so these rubber blocks 61 will be arranged in a row in an approximately parallel manner on the transfer belt 22, the head and the tail are no longer opposite but still arranged in parallel to each other. When several rubber blocks 61 arrive at the end of the transfer belt 22 (the highest point if moving vertically), they will be aligned with the pushing mechanisms 23 respectively (each pushing mechanism 23 is aligned with one end of a rubber block 61 ), each pushing mechanism 23 will push out the corresponding rubber block 61 along the horizontal direction B, so as to push the rubber blocks 61 to the mechanical arm 31 connected near the pushing mechanism 23 . The mechanical arm 31 will clamp the rubber blocks 61 once, then transfer the rubber blocks 61 to the carrier plate 32, and place them in the same row of positioning slots. When the positioning slots of the carrier plate 32 are full When the rubber blocks 61 are filled, the empty carrier trays 32 will be replenished immediately afterwards, and the above-mentioned actions will be repeated, and the processing of the carrier trays 32 filled with these rubber blocks 61 will be described in the next paragraph. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the mechanical arm 31 grips the number of rubber blocks 61 corresponding to a row of positioning slots each time, so the pushing mechanisms 23 will push the corresponding number of rubber blocks 61 according to the number required by the row. For example, when there are 13 rubber pieces in a row, 13 pusher mechanisms 23 are actuated, and when there are only 10 pieces in a row, only 10 pusher mechanisms 23 are actuated.

In the stacking step 44, the conveyor belt 34 transports the carrier plate 32 filled with the rubber blocks 61 in the positioning grooves to a corresponding trolley 33, and places them in a stack along the height direction A, In this embodiment, a maximum of 10 layers of carrier plates 32 stacked one above the other can be placed on each trolley 33 .

Referring to Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 4, in this forming step 45, the trolley 33 (not shown in actual quantity among Fig. 1 and Fig. 4) stacked with 10 layers of carrying trays 32 moves along the set route, Until it adjoins a hot press machine 52 , the trolley 33 is provided with a discharge mechanism 331 for sequentially sending out the trays 32 one at a time to the hot press machine 52 . The hot press 52 is provided with a clamping mechanism 521 that can move up and down. When a carrier tray 32 is sent into the hot press 52, it will be located directly below the clamping mechanism 521, and the clamping mechanism 521 will move toward The carrying plate 32 descends, and clamps all the rubber blocks 61 on the carrying plate 32 at one time, and finally the clamping mechanism 521 rises, and descends again after moving horizontally, to place these rubber blocks 61 on the hot plate. In a mold 522 of the pressing machine 52 , the rubber blocks 61 are thermocompressed into a plurality of ball centers 62 by the hot pressing machine 52 to complete the manufacturing process. It should be noted that when the clamping mechanism 521 moves horizontally and places the rubber blocks 61 in one of the molds 522, the discharging mechanism 331 will send the other tray 32 into the heat press 52, After the clamping mechanism 521 resets, it will clamp the rubber blocks 61 according to the aforementioned procedure, and move horizontally in the direction opposite to the front, so as to place the rubber blocks 61 on the other side of the heat press 52. In the mold 522, in this way, two groups of rubber blocks 61 can be thermocompressed at one time, so as to speed up the production efficiency. In addition, the discharging mechanism 331 can also be arranged on the heat press 52 in addition to being arranged on each trolley 33 , which should not be limited.

To sum up, the present invention uses the weight of the rubber blocks 61 and the characteristics of rolling, and arranges the rubber blocks 61 in sequence after correcting their positions, so as to achieve a highly accurate alignment effect, and also makes the rubber blocks 61 It can be accurately transferred to the supporting trays 32 for subsequent transfer and thermoforming. The action of the clamping mechanism 521 can send two groups of rubber blocks 61 into the two molds 522 at one time, and the center of the ball can be lifted. 62 production efficiency, and there is the possibility of further expansion according to demand, so the automatic transfer system of the present invention can indeed transfer these rubber blocks 61 automatically and accurately without manpower, so as to keep up with the extrusion The rapid production capacity of the feeder 51 and the avoidance of stockpiling, and the automatic transfer system for the core forming manufacturing method can realize unmanned automatic production and improve the yield and output of the core 62, so the purpose of the present invention can indeed be achieved.

But what is described above is only an embodiment of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the patent scope of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present invention. Within the scope covered by the patent of the present invention.

1: material guide unit 11: Subject 111: space 12: guide plate 2: transfer unit 21: Conveyor belt 22: transfer belt 23: Pushing mechanism 3: Moving unit 31: Mechanical arm 32: carrying plate 33: Trolley 331: Discharging mechanism 34: conveyor belt 41: Extrusion step 42: Entire steps 43: Transfer step 44:Stacking steps 45: Forming step 51: extruder 52:Heat press machine 521: clamping mechanism 522: Mold 61: rubber block 62: ball center A: Height direction B: Horizontal direction

Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the implementation manner with reference to the drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of the automatic transfer system of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating one material guide unit of the present embodiment; Fig. 3 is a flow chart, illustrates one embodiment of the manufacturing method of spherical core molding of the present invention; And Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a molding step of this embodiment.

1: material guide unit

11: Subject

111: space

12: guide plate

2: transfer unit

21: Conveyor belt

22: transfer belt

23: Pushing mechanism

3: Moving unit

31: Mechanical arm

32: carrying plate

33: Trolley

34: conveyor belt

51: extruder

52:Heat press machine

522: Mold

61: rubber block

62: ball center

A: Height direction

B: Horizontal direction

Claims (10)

An automated transfer system comprising: A material guide unit, comprising a main body surrounding and defining a space extending along a height direction, and a plurality of guide plates arranged in the space at intervals along the height direction, each guide plate extending horizontally and obliquely downward, Any two adjacent guide plates face each other and overlap up and down along the height direction; A transfer unit, including a conveyor belt connected to the bottom of the material guide unit along the height direction, a transfer belt connected to the conveyor belt and perpendicular to the conveyor belt, and a plurality of objects located at the end of the transfer belt a horizontally propelled push mechanism; and A moving unit includes a mechanical arm connected to the material pushing mechanisms, and a carrier plate with multiple positioning grooves recessed on the surface for the mechanical arm to place materials. The automatic transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the transfer unit further includes a plurality of trolleys for respectively placing the carrier trays. The automatic transfer system according to claim 2, wherein the transfer unit further includes a conveyor belt capable of transporting the carriers to the trolleys. The automatic transfer system according to claim 1, wherein each carrier tray of the transfer unit has 148 positioning slots. The automatic transfer system according to claim 4, wherein the positioning grooves of each carrier tray are divided into 13 or 14 rows, and each row has 10 to 13 positioning grooves. A manufacturing method for center molding, which is carried out by using the automatic transfer system as described in claim 1, the method for manufacturing center molding includes: an extruding step, the rubber material is continuously extruded through an extruder to form a plurality of cylindrical rubber blocks, and the rubber blocks fall downward into the space of the material guide unit; A whole row of steps, each rubber block rolls down along the guide plates until it falls on the conveyor belt, at this time the axis line of the rubber block is parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt, and the rubber blocks are on the conveyor belt lined up on the conveyor belt; and In a transfer step, the conveyor belt transports the rubber blocks to the transfer belt one at a time, and when several rubber blocks reach the end of the transfer belt, the pushing mechanisms respectively level the rubber blocks push out, so that the rubber blocks are transferred to the mechanical arm, and the mechanical arm transfers the rubber blocks to the positioning grooves of the supporting plates. According to the manufacturing method for forming the center of the sphere as described in Claim 6, the automatic transfer system further includes a plurality of trolleys for respectively placing the carrier trays, and a conveyor belt that can transport the carrier trays to the trolleys , wherein, the center molding manufacturing method further comprises a stacking step following the transferring step, in the stacking step, the conveyor belt transports the carrier plates filled with the rubber blocks to the trolleys, and A stack of these carrier trays is placed on the corresponding trolley. The manufacturing method of center molding as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a molding step following the stacking step, in the molding step, the trolleys are moved to adjoining a heat press, and passed through a discharge mechanism Send out the carrying trays sequentially from the trolley. The heat press is equipped with a gripping mechanism that can move up and down and horizontally. The gripping mechanism can grip all the rubber blocks on each carrying tray at one time, and The rubber blocks are put into one of the molds of the hot press machine for thermocompression molding. The manufacturing method for forming the center of the sphere according to Claim 6, wherein, in the extruding step, the extrusion molding speed of each rubber block formed by the extruder is 1.5 seconds. The manufacturing method of spherical core molding according to Claim 6, wherein, in the extruding step, the outer diameter of each rubber block is between 25mm and 33mm, and the length is between 40mm and 80mm.

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