Position correction device, position correction method, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a position correction device capable of efficiently correcting the position of a tension adjusting roller, and the like. A position correction device (10) of a tension adjusting roller (243) capable of moving in the direction of an applied thrust force and applying a tension in the opposite direction of the thrust force to a conveyed object is provided with: a correction start signal generation section (181) that generates a correction start signal before the tension adjusting roller (243) moves to at least one of an upper end (243A) and a lower end (243B) of a movable region of the tension adjusting roller (243) in the direction of the thrust force; and an end position information recording section (19) that detects a case where the tension adjusting roller (243) has moved to at least one of the upper end (243A) and the lower end (243B) and records position information thereof.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-045446 filed on March 22, 2022. The entire contents of the Japanese application are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to a position correction device for a dancer roller, or the like. BACKGROUND

[0003] As a conveyance device for a linear conveyed object such as a conveyance rope or a wire rope, or a planar conveyed object such as paper or cloth, a device is known that applies tension to the conveyed object by means of a dancer roller. The dancer roller in Patent Document 1 is movable in the direction of a pushing force applied by a spring, and is at rest at a position where the pushing force from the spring and the tension from the conveyed object are in equilibrium. The position at which the dancer roller is at rest, which indicates the tension of the conveyed object, is measured by a position sensor.

[0004] In order for the position sensor to be able to measure the position of the dancer roller (i.e., the tension of the conveyed object) with high precision, a correction of the position is performed before the dancer roller is used. Specifically, a worker moves the dancer roller to both ends of the movable region by manual operation and records the position information in the position sensor.

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-176080

[0006] In the position correction of the dancer roller in the past, the worker moves the dancer roller to both ends of the movable region by manual operation, and then needs to continue to hold the heavy dancer roller at a certain position using a strong force until the recording of the position information based on the position sensor is normally completed. In order to ensure safety or correction accuracy, cases where multiple people are required to perform the work are also common, and it is not an efficient work. SUMMARY

[0007] The present application was completed in view of such a situation, and aims to provide a position correction device or the like that is able to efficiently correct the position of a dancer roller.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, a position correction device according to an embodiment of the present application is a position correction device for a dancer roller that is movable in the direction of a pushing force applied thereto and that applies tension to a conveyed object in the direction opposite to the pushing force, and includes: a correction start signal generation section that generates a correction start signal before the dancer roller is moved to at least one end of a movable region of the dancer roller in the direction of the pushing force; and an end position information recording section that detects a case where the dancer roller has been moved to the one end and records position information thereof.

[0009] In this embodiment, the correction start signal is generated before the tension adjusting roller is moved to one end of the movable region by manual operation or the like, and thereafter, if the tension adjusting roller is moved to one end by manual operation or the like, the position information is automatically recorded, so it is not necessary to continue to hold the heavy tension adjusting roller at a certain position by manual operation as in the past.

[0010] Another embodiment of the present application is a position correction method. The method is a position correction method for a tension adjusting roller that is capable of moving in the direction of an applied pushing force and applies a tension in the direction opposite to the pushing force to a conveyed object, and includes a correction start signal generation step of generating a correction start signal before moving the tension adjusting roller to at least one end of a movable region of the tension adjusting roller in the direction of the pushing force, and an end position information recording step of detecting a case where the tension adjusting roller has moved to one end and recording position information thereof.

[0011] In addition, any combination of the above-described components or embodiments in which the descriptions thereof are converted into methods, apparatuses, systems, recording media, computer programs, and the like are also included in the present application.

[0012] According to the present application, the position of the tension adjusting roller can be efficiently corrected. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 The structure of the conveyance control apparatus is schematically shown in FIG. 1.

[0014] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the position correction apparatus of the tension adjusting roller.

[0015] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of the position correction apparatus of the tension adjusting roller.

[0016] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the position correction apparatus of the tension adjusting roller.

[0017] Figure 5 The position correction processing of the tension adjusting roller based on the position correction apparatus is shown in time series in FIG. 8.

[0018] In the drawing: 1 - conveyance control apparatus, 2 - conveyance apparatus, 3 - conveyed object, 10 - position correction apparatus, 13 - position command generation section, 14 - subtracter, 15 - speed control section, 16 - drive section, 17 - pushing force control section, 19 - end position information recording section, 24 - tension adjuster, 181 - correction start signal generation section, 182 - correction end signal generation section, 243 - tension adjusting roller, 243A - upper end, 243B - lower end, 244 - air cylinder, 245 - position detection section. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Hereinafter, a mode for carrying out the present application (hereinafter also referred to as an embodiment) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description and / or drawings, the same or equivalent constituent elements, members, and processes, etc. are denoted by the same symbols, and repeated description is omitted. In each drawing, the scale or shape of each part is appropriately set for the sake of simplicity of the description, and unless otherwise specifically stated, it is not to be construed as a limiting interpretation. The embodiment is merely illustrative, and does not limit the scope of the present application in any way. All features or combinations thereof described in the embodiment are not necessarily essential to the present application.

[0020] Figure 1 The structure of a conveyance control device 1 that controls the conveyance operation of a conveyance device 2 that conveys a conveyed object 3 is schematically shown in FIG. 1. As the conveyed object 3, there are, for example, a wire-like object such as a rope or a wire rope, or a sheet-like object such as paper, cloth, a film, a foil, or rubber. In the present embodiment, a conveyance device 2 of a roll-to-roll (RTR) system that conveys a sheet-like base material as the conveyed object 3 in a conveyance direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) is described. The conveyance device 2 can be a part of a device that performs an arbitrary process on the conveyed object (for example, a coater or a coating device that performs coating on the conveyed object, a printer that performs printing on the conveyed object, a stretching device that applies tension to the conveyed object to stretch it, or the like). Figure 1

[0021] The conveyance device 2 is provided with a conveyance roller set 20 and a dancer 24. The conveyance roller set 20 is provided with a plurality of conveyance rollers that are conveyance sections that convey the conveyed object 3. Figure 1 The conveyance roller set 20 in the example has three conveyance roller pairs that are arranged in line in the conveyance direction of the conveyed object 3. The plurality of conveyance rollers are adjacent in the conveyance direction. Each conveyance roller pair is provided with a driving roller 211 to 213 that rotates by the driving of each driving section 111 to 113 described later, and a driven roller 221 to 223 that sandwiches the conveyed object 3 between itself and the driving roller 211 to 213 and rotates in conjunction with the driving roller 211 to 213. The structures of the three conveyance roller pairs 211 / 221 to 213 / 223 and the three driving sections 111 to 113 and the three speed control sections 121 to 123 that correspond to each conveyance roller pair can be the same as each other. Therefore, hereinafter, the first conveyance roller pair 211 / 221, the first driving section 111, and the first speed control section 121 will be described, and repeated description of the other conveyance roller pairs 212 / 222, 213 / 223, the other driving sections 112, 113, and the other speed control sections 122, 123 will be omitted. Note that the number of conveyance roller pairs of the conveyance roller set 20 can be any number (any integer of one or more).

[0022] ​The drive roller 211 and the driven roller 221 are conveying rollers in one embodiment of a conveying section for conveying the conveyed object 3, which are capable of conveying in the same direction as the conveying direction ( Figure 1 The direction perpendicular to the left and right directions in the middle (and) Figure 1 The roller 211 rotates around a rotation axis (vertical to the paper surface). The drive unit 111, such as a motor, drives the drive roller 211 to rotate according to the rotation speed command generated by the speed control unit 121. Figure 1 When the conveyed object 3 is conveyed in a direction facing right, the drive unit 111 drives the drive roller 211 to rotate clockwise, and the driven roller 221 rotates counterclockwise in conjunction with the drive roller 211. By using the drive units 111 to 113 of the conveying control device 1 to drive the drive rollers 211 to 213 constituting the conveying roller group 20 to rotate, the speed or tension of each part of the conveyed object 3 can be controlled with extreme precision. Therefore, the conveying action of the conveyed object 3 based on the conveying device 2 or the processing based on various devices equipped with the conveying device 2 can be optimized.

[0023] The tension regulator 24 is positioned upstream of the conveyor roller assembly 20 in the conveying direction, such that it sandwiches the conveyor roller assembly 20 from both sides in the conveying direction. Figure 1 (left side of the middle) and downstream ( Figure 1 (Right side of the diagram). Since the structures of the two tension regulators 24 shown in the diagram can be identical, the tension regulator 24 on the left side will be described.

[0024] Tension regulator 24 applies tension in the conveying direction to the conveyed material 3. Tension regulator 24 includes a pair of rollers 241 and 242, which are disposed on the conveying path of the conveyed material 3. Figure 1 The pair of rollers 241 and 242 are positioned on the path extending in the left and right directions of the conveyed object 3; and a tension adjusting roller 243 is positioned between the pair of rollers 241 and 242 at a position detached from the conveying path of the conveyed object 3. The tension adjusting roller is also known as a dancer roll.

[0025] The tension adjusting roller 243 is configured to move in a direction perpendicular to the conveying path of the conveyed object 3. Figure 1 The tension regulating roller 243 moves between the upper end 243A and the lower end 243B in the vertical direction. The cylinder 244, acting as a thrust application unit, generates a force that causes the tension regulating roller 243 to move away from the conveying path of the conveyed object 3. Figure 1The thrust applied or pressurized to the tension regulating roller 243 (located below the roller). This thrust is based on the air pressure of the cylinder 244, which is connected to the tension regulating roller 243 via a piston rod or connecting rod. The air pressure of the cylinder 244 is generated by a thrust control unit 17, which is composed of an electric pneumatic regulator or the like that controls the air pressure by electricity. The electric pneumatic regulator (thrust control unit 17) generally applies a substantially constant voltage, and the air pressure of the cylinder 244 (i.e., the thrust of the tension regulating roller 243) is controlled to be substantially constant. Alternatively, a thrust application unit that applies thrust to the tension regulating roller 243 according to other principles (e.g., a linear motor that applies thrust to the tension regulating roller 243 by electricity) may be provided instead of the cylinder 244.

[0026] The tension adjusting roller 243, which applies downward force or pressure through the thrust from the cylinder 244, pulls the conveyed object 3 away from the conveying path, thereby applying tension to the conveyed object 3. At this time, the downward thrust from the cylinder 244 in the tension adjusting roller 243 is balanced with the upward tension from the conveyed object 3. As described above, the downward thrust from the cylinder 244 to the tension adjusting roller 243 is generally maintained or controlled to be approximately constant; therefore, the vertical position of the tension adjusting roller 243 indicates the tension of the conveyed object 3. Typically, by controlling the tension of the conveyed object 3, the vertical position of the tension adjusting roller 243 is controlled to be approximately central between the upper end 243A and the lower end 243B.

[0027] Direction of thrust ( Figure 1 The position of the tension adjusting roller 243 (in the vertical direction) is detected as an electrical signal by the position detection unit 245 or the position sensor and provided to the subtractor 14 of the conveying control device 1. In addition, the position command of the tension adjusting roller 243 in the direction of the thrust generated by the position command generation unit 13 of the conveying control device 1 is also input into the subtractor 14. As described above, the position of the tension adjusting roller 243 is approximately equivalent to the tension of the conveyed object 3; therefore, the position command of the tension adjusting roller 243 generated by the position command generation unit 13 is approximately equivalent to the tension command of the conveyed object 3. The speed control unit 15 of the conveying control device 1 generates a speed command to reduce the deviation between the position of the tension adjusting roller 243 and the tension of the conveyed object 3 provided by the subtractor 14. This speed command is a command for the conveying speed of the conveyed object 3, specifically a command for the rotational speed of the drive roller 251 described below.

[0028] The drive unit 16 of the conveying control device 1 drives the drive roller 251, which is attached to the tension regulator 24 and follows it, to rotate according to the speed command provided by the speed control unit 15. The drive roller 251 is a conveying roller capable of rotating about a rotation axis orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyed object 3. If the drive roller 251 moves towards... Figure 1When the drive roller 251 rotates clockwise, the driven roller 252 rotates counterclockwise in conjunction with the drive roller 251. Additionally, a drive roller 231, identical to the drive roller 251, and a driven roller 232, identical to the driven roller 252, are also provided in front of the tension regulator 24. For example, a drive unit (not shown) drives the drive roller 231 to rotate at a constant speed. In contrast, the rotational speed of the drive roller 251 is appropriately controlled according to position and / or tension deviations. Thus, the drive roller 251 and driven roller 252, while conveying the transported object 3 sandwiched between them, apply the desired tension to the transported object 3 corresponding to the position command (i.e., the tension command of the transported object 3) generated by the position command generation unit 13 to the tension regulating roller 243. Figure 1 In the example, two tension adjusters 24 are provided before and immediately after the conveying roller group 20 in the conveying direction, thus enabling the inlet portion of the conveying roller group 20 ( Figure 1 (left end) and outlet section ( Figure 1 The tension of the conveyed material 3 (at the right end of the middle) is controlled to the desired value.

[0029] In order for the position detection unit 245 to accurately measure the position of the tension adjusting roller 243 (i.e., the tension of the conveyed object 3), the position is calibrated before using the tension adjusting roller 243. Specifically, the operator manually moves the tension adjusting roller 243 to the direction of thrust ( Figure 2 The position information of the tension adjusting roller 243 is detected and recorded by the position detection unit 245 at both ends (i.e., the upper end 243A and the lower end 243B) of the movable area in the vertical direction (in the middle). This information is used for correction. In conventional position correction of the tension adjusting roller 243, the operator manually moves the tension adjusting roller 243 to both ends 243A and 243B of the movable area. Then, the heavy tension adjusting roller 243 needs to be held in a certain position with strong force until the position information of the position detection unit 245 is recorded normally. In order to ensure safety or correction accuracy, multiple people are often required to perform the operation, which is not a very efficient operation. The position correction device 10 of this embodiment, as described below, can efficiently correct the position of the tension adjusting roller 243.

[0030] Figure 1This is a functional block diagram of the position correction device 10 for the tension adjusting roller 243. The position correction device 10 includes the aforementioned thrust control unit 17, correction start signal generation unit 181, correction end signal generation unit 182, and end position information recording unit 19. These functional blocks are implemented through the cooperation of hardware resources such as the computer's central processing unit, memory, input devices, output devices, and peripheral devices connected to the computer, and software executed using these hardware resources. Regardless of the type of computer or its location, each of the above functional blocks can be implemented using the hardware resources of a single computer, or by combining hardware resources distributed across multiple computers.

[0031] The structure and function of the tension regulator 24 in this figure are related to... Figure 2 The figures are similar, but piston rod 246 and connecting rod 247 are additionally shown in this figure. Piston rod 246 is connected within cylinder 244 to allow movement along the thrust direction ( Figure 2 The piston connection (not shown) is configured to move in a vertical direction. Based on the air pressure generated by the thrust control unit 17, the piston, together with the piston rod 246, applies upward force. This generates an upward thrust F on the piston and piston rod 246.

[0032] The upper end of piston rod 246 is connected to the left end of connecting rod 247. Furthermore, the right end of connecting rod 247 is connected to tension adjusting roller 243. Connecting rod 247 is fixed so that it can be positioned along its length (…). Figure 3 The connecting rod 247 rotates around a pivot point O approximately in the left-right direction. The upward thrust F received by the left end of the connecting rod 247 from the upper end of the piston rod 246 becomes a torque that causes the connecting rod 247 to rotate clockwise around the pivot point O. As a result, a downward thrust proportional to the upward thrust F at the left end is applied to the tension adjusting roller 243 connected to the right end of the connecting rod 247.

[0033] like Figure 4 As shown, the upper end 243A abuts against the connecting rod 247, which rotates counterclockwise around the fulcrum O, thereby stopping its rotation. This determines the upper end of the tension adjusting roller 243 in the direction of thrust. Figure 3 As shown, the lower end 243B abuts against the connecting rod 247, which rotates clockwise around the fulcrum O, thereby stopping its rotation. This defines the lower end of the tension adjusting roller 243 in the thrust direction. Hereinafter, for convenience, the upper end of the movable area of ​​the tension adjusting roller 243 will also be referred to as the upper end 243A, and the lower end of the movable area of ​​the tension adjusting roller 243 will also be referred to as the lower end 243B.

[0034] During the position correction of the tension adjusting roller 243, the correction start signal generating unit 181 generates a correction start signal before the tension adjusting roller 243 is moved to at least one of the upper end 243A and the lower end 243B of the movable area in the thrust direction. Furthermore, the movement of the tension adjusting roller 243 at the upper end 243A and / or lower end 243B during position correction can be performed manually by an operator, or it can be performed by the thrust generated by the thrust control unit 17 and the cylinder 244 in addition to manual operation, or it can be performed by the thrust generated by the thrust control unit 17 and the cylinder 244 instead of manual operation, or it can be performed by the driving force generated by other drive devices such as a linear motor that can drive at least one of the piston, piston rod 246, connecting rod 247, and tension adjusting roller 243 in the thrust direction in addition to manual operation, or it can be performed by the driving force generated by other drive devices such as a linear motor that can drive at least one of the piston, piston rod 246, connecting rod 247, and tension adjusting roller 243 in the thrust direction instead of manual operation.

[0035] like Figure 3 As shown, when the tension adjusting roller 243 is oriented in the opposite direction to the thrust direction ( Figure 2 When the tension adjustment roller 243 moves to the upper end 243A, the thrust control unit 17 reduces the thrust generated by the cylinder 244 according to the correction start signal generated by the correction start signal generation unit 181. For example, the thrust control unit 17 sets the thrust generated by the cylinder 244 to zero according to the correction start signal. Therefore, the force required for the operator to move the tension adjustment roller 243 to the upper end 243A is reduced, which improves the safety and efficiency of the operation. In addition, the thrust control unit 17 and the cylinder 244 can control the thrust generated by the cylinder 244 to zero. Figure 3 The thrust F is in the opposite direction ( Figure 4 When the thrust (below) is applied to the piston and piston rod 246, or when other drive devices such as linear motors can drive the tension adjusting roller 243 to the upper end 243A, the movement of the tension adjusting roller 243 to the upper end 243A can be performed automatically without the need for personnel (and the entire position correction process can even be performed automatically).

[0036] like Figure 4 As shown, in the direction of the tension adjusting roller 243 towards the thrust ( Figure 3When the tension adjusting roller 243 moves to the lower end 243B, the thrust control unit 17 increases the thrust F generated by the cylinder 244 according to the correction start signal generated by the correction start signal generation unit 181. Therefore, the force required for the operator to move the tension adjusting roller 243 to the lower end 243B is reduced, which can improve the safety and efficiency of the operation. In addition, when the thrust control unit 17 and the cylinder 244 can apply a thrust F of the magnitude that can drive the tension adjusting roller 243 to the lower end 243B to the piston and piston rod 246, or when other drive devices such as linear motors can drive the tension adjusting roller 243 to the lower end 243B, the movement of the tension adjusting roller 243 to the lower end 243B during position correction can be automatically performed without the operator (and even the entire position correction process can be automatically performed).

[0037] After the calibration start signal is generated by the calibration start signal generation unit 181, the end position information recording unit 19 detects that the tension adjusting roller 243 has moved to the upper end 243A. Figure 4 ) or lower end 243B ( Figure 3 The position detection unit 245 detects and records each position information for calibration purposes. For example, the end position information recording unit 19 records the position information of the tension adjusting roller 243, which is closest to the upper end 243A, after the calibration start signal generation unit 181 generates the calibration start signal and the position detection unit 245 measures it continuously or intermittently multiple times. Figure 4 ) or lower end 243B ( Figure 5 The position information of the upper end 243A and the lower end 243B of the tension regulating roller 243 is recorded in real time. In addition, the end position information recording unit 19 does not need to record the position information of the upper end 243A and the lower end 243B of the tension regulating roller 243 in real time. Instead, it can temporarily store a series of position information groups near the upper end 243A and the lower end 243B obtained by the position detection unit 245 in a buffer or the like, and then select the position information closest to the upper end 243A or the lower end 243B for recording.

[0038] The calibration end signal generation unit 182 generates a calibration end signal after the end position information recording unit 19 detects that the tension adjusting roller 243 has moved to the upper end 243A or the lower end 243B. The position information of the tension adjusting roller 243 continuously acquired by the position detection unit 245 is displayed as the extreme value or the maximum absolute value at the upper end 243A and the lower end 243B (described later). Figure 3 (As shown in detail below), the end position information recording unit 19 can detect whether the tension adjusting roller 243 has moved to the upper end 243A or the lower end 243B based on the shift of position information including extreme values. Here, the end position information recording unit 19 only needs to detect the extreme values ​​of the position information of the tension adjusting roller 243, so it is not necessary to manually maintain the heavy tension adjusting roller 243 in a certain position (upper end 243A or lower end 243B) as in the past, which can improve the safety and efficiency of the operation.

[0039] like Figure 4 As shown, after the thrust control unit 17 reduces the thrust generated by the cylinder 244 according to the correction start signal, if the correction end signal generation unit 182 generates a correction end signal, the thrust control unit 17 stops reducing the thrust generated by the cylinder 244 according to the correction end signal (for example, restoring the thrust to its previous state). Similarly, as Figure 5 As shown, after the thrust control unit 17 increases the thrust F generated by the cylinder 244 according to the correction start signal, if the correction end signal generation unit 182 generates a correction end signal, the thrust control unit 17 stops increasing the thrust F generated by the cylinder 244 according to the correction end signal (for example, restores the thrust to the level before the increase).

[0040] Figure 2 The position correction process of the tension adjusting roller 243 based on the position correction device 10 is shown in chronological order. In the initial state, the tension adjusting roller 243 is located as follows: Figure 3 As shown in the "center" position, the thrust F of cylinder 244 is at the "normal" level. In this state, the calibration start signal generation unit 181 generates an upper limit position calibration start signal to initiate the upper limit position calibration of the tension adjusting roller 243. Upon receiving the upper limit position calibration start signal, the thrust control unit 17 reduces the thrust generated by cylinder 244. Then, as... Figure 5 As shown, the tension adjusting roller 243 is moved to the upper end 243A by manual operation of the operator. At this time, as... Figure 4 As shown in the "Tension Adjusting Roller Position" indicator, the position information of the tension adjusting roller 243, continuously acquired by the position detection unit 245, displays a maximum or maximum value at the upper end 243A. When an operator confirms such a maximum or maximum value from a screen or similar source, the calibration end signal generation unit 182 generates an upper limit position calibration end signal to terminate the upper limit position calibration of the tension adjusting roller 243. Alternatively, the end position information recording unit 19, which autonomously detects a maximum or maximum value, can also generate an upper limit position calibration end signal through the calibration end signal generation unit 182 without the operator's intervention. Upon receiving the upper limit position calibration end signal, the thrust control unit 17 restores the thrust generated by the cylinder 244 from the "reduced" level to the "normal" level.

[0041] Next, the calibration start signal generation unit 181 generates a lower limit position calibration start signal for initiating the lower limit position calibration of the tension adjusting roller 243. Upon receiving the lower limit position calibration start signal, the thrust control unit 17 increases the thrust generated by the cylinder 244. Then, as... Figure 5 As shown, the tension adjusting roller 243 is moved to the lower end 243B by manual operation of the operator. At this time, as... ​The position information of the tension adjusting roller 243 continuously acquired by the position detecting section 245 shows a minimum value or a smallest value at the lower end 243B as shown in "Tension adjusting roller position". The worker who confirms such a minimum value or a smallest value from the screen or the like causes the correction end signal generating section 182 to generate a lower limit position correction end signal for ending the lower limit position correction of the tension adjusting roller 243. In addition, the end position information recording section 19 autonomously detects the minimum value or the smallest value can also cause the correction end signal generating section 182 to generate the lower limit position correction end signal without the worker. The thrust control section 17 receiving the lower limit position correction end signal causes the thrust generated by the cylinder 244 to return from the "increase" level to the "normal" level.

[0042] At the same time or after the above processing, the end position information recording section 19 explores and selects the position information of the upper end 243A of the tension adjusting roller 243 corresponding to the maximum value or the largest value of "Tension adjusting roller position" from the set of position information continuously acquired by the position detecting section 245 to record as the upper limit position correction, and explores and selects the position information of the lower end 243B of the tension adjusting roller 243 corresponding to the minimum value or the smallest value of "Tension adjusting roller position" from the set of position information continuously acquired by the position detecting section 245 to record as the lower limit position correction.

[0043] The above describes the present application according to the embodiments. There can be various modifications of each of the constituent elements or the combination of each of the processes in the illustrated embodiments, and such modifications are also included in the scope of the present application, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0044] In addition, the structure, the action, and the function of each of the devices or each of the methods described in the embodiments can be realized by a hardware resource or a software resource, or a cooperation of a hardware resource and a software resource. As the hardware resource, for example, a processor, a ROM, a RAM, various integrated circuits can be used. As the software resource, for example, an operating system, an application program, and the like can be used.

Claims

1. A position correction device for a tension adjusting roller that is movable in the direction of an applied pushing force and that applies a tension in the direction opposite to the pushing force to a conveyed article, the position correction device characterized by comprising: a correction start signal generating section that generates a correction start signal before the tension adjusting roller is moved to at least one end of a movable region of the tension adjusting roller in the direction of the pushing force; and an end position information recording section that detects that the tension adjusting roller has been moved to the one end and records position information of the tension adjusting roller.

2. The position correction device according to claim 1, characterized in that the end position information recording section records position information closest to the one end among position information of the tension adjusting roller that is successively measured after the correction start signal is generated.

3. The position correction device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by further comprising a correction end signal generating section that generates a correction end signal after it is detected by the end position information recording section that the tension adjusting roller has been moved to the one end.

4. The position correction device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the correction start signal generating section generates a correction start signal before the tension adjusting roller is moved to the other end of the movable region, the end position information recording section detects that the tension adjusting roller has been moved to the other end and records position information thereof.

5. The position correction device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by further comprising a pushing force control section that increases the pushing force in accordance with the correction start signal when the tension adjusting roller is moved in the direction of the pushing force.

6. The position correction device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by further comprising a pushing force control section that decreases the pushing force in accordance with the correction start signal when the tension adjusting roller is moved in the direction opposite to the direction of the pushing force.

7. The position correction device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pushing force is based on an air pressure of an air cylinder connected to the tension adjusting roller.

8. A position correction method for a tension adjusting roller that is movable in the direction of an applied pushing force and that applies a tension in the direction opposite to the pushing force to a conveyed article, the position correction method characterized by comprising the steps of: a correction start signal generating step of generating a correction start signal before the tension adjusting roller is moved to at least one end of a movable region of the tension adjusting roller in the direction of the pushing force; and an end position information recording step of detecting that the tension adjusting roller has been moved to the one end and recording position information of the tension adjusting roller. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ In the end position information recording step, after the correction start signal is generated, the position information closest to the one end among the position information of the tension adjusting roller measured a plurality of times by the position detection section is recorded for position correction.

9. A storage medium storing a position correction program, characterized by comprising: The program is executed by a computer to perform a position correction method for a tension adjusting roller that is capable of moving toward the direction of an applied pushing force and applies a tension to a conveyed object in the direction opposite to the pushing force, the position correction method comprising the steps of: a correction start signal generation step of generating a correction start signal before the tension adjusting roller moves to at least one end of a movable region of the tension adjusting roller in the direction of the pushing force; and an end position information recording step of detecting a case where the tension adjusting roller has moved to the one end and recording position information of the tension adjusting roller, In the end position information recording step, after the correction start signal is generated, the position information closest to the one end among the position information of the tension adjusting roller measured a plurality of times by the position detection section is recorded for position correction.

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