Workpiece scraping device in a board cutting machine
The workpiece scraping device addresses uneven alignment and transfer issues by using a traveling arm and scraping unit with sensors to ensure accurate engagement and stabilize workpieces, enabling reliable and smooth transfer in board cutting machines.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHINKO IND CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Existing board cutting machines face issues with accurately conveying intermediate workpieces, leading to uneven alignment and obstructed transfer, particularly when using manipulators for accumulation, due to the lack of precise conveyance mechanisms.
A workpiece scraping device with a traveling arm, lifting frame, and scraping unit that adjusts its position and pressure to ensure the fitting portion accurately engages the cutting gap between long and intermediate workpieces, equipped with sensors to detect and avoid unsuitable states, and a floating table to stabilize the workpieces during transfer.
Ensures reliable and smooth transfer of intermediate workpieces by preventing damage and positional shifts, allowing for precise alignment and uninterrupted operation, even in cases of misalignment or uneven conveyance.
Smart Images
Figure 2026079511000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a transfer device for plate-shaped intermediate workpieces cut to a certain dimension. For example, after obtaining intermediate workpieces by cutting raw workpieces such as plywood or solid wood boards into short lengths according to product specifications, this invention pertains to a workpiece scraping device in a board cutting device that can convey the intermediate workpieces while maintaining an accurate transfer posture.
Background Art
[0002] For example, wood-based board materials used to form furniture, cooking tables, etc. are cut from raw materials according to product specifications. First, the raw material is cut into a long workpiece with a certain width, and then this long workpiece is cut into short lengths in the longitudinal direction, for example, to obtain intermediate workpieces.
[0003] In the manufacturing line in a factory, after a long raw workpiece is cut into short lengths by a running saw and becomes an intermediate workpiece, it is transferred on a floating table or a conveyor. Conventionally, however, in this transfer, particularly accurate conveyance has not been taken into account (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). That is, the intermediate workpieces cut in the previous tact (front stage) are moved on a floating conveyor or a conveying table by being pushed out by the long workpieces transferred for cutting in the subsequent tact (rear stage). For this reason, the alignment posture of the intermediate workpieces tends to become uneven, and when the unevenness of the alignment posture is severe, the transfer of the intermediate workpieces may be obstructed and smooth transfer cannot be achieved. Subsequently, there have also been cases where the operation of accumulating the intermediate workpieces and transferring them to the next process cannot be carried out smoothly. In particular, such problems have been unacceptable when accumulating the transferred intermediate workpieces by a manipulator or the like.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0004]
Patent Document 1
[0005] This invention was made in consideration of the above background, and the technical objective was to develop a workpiece scraping device for a board cutting machine that can accurately transport cut intermediate workpieces. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] In other words, the workpiece scraping device in the board cutting device according to claim 1 is A workpiece scraping device in a board cutting machine for sending intermediate workpieces, which have been cut to an appropriate length from a long workpiece, from the table to the next process, This workpiece scraping device is A traveling arm that moves back and forth along the table's transport direction, at an appropriate distance above the table surface, A lifting frame is supported on this traveling arm so as to be able to move up and down, This lifting platform is equipped with a scraping unit located below the scraping start side, the scraping unit having a free end that can move freely in the vertical direction. This scraping unit comprises a scraping body having a downward-facing fitting portion on its free end, and the standby state of the scraping body is positioned above the workpiece. On the other hand, the operating state of the scraping unit is a downward operation state in which the entire scraping unit is moved downward by the lifting shift cylinder. In this lowering operation state, the fitting portion is fitted into the cutting gap between the long workpiece and the intermediate workpiece to ensure a proper preparation state. However, if the fitting portion does not enter the cutting gap and comes into contact with the upper surface of the workpiece, resulting in an unprepared state, the device is configured to detect and notify the user of this contact.
[0007] Furthermore, the workpiece scraping device in the board cutting device according to claim 2, in addition to the requirements of claim 1, The scraping body is supported on a lifting frame so that its tip swings slowly vertically with the base end of the scraping unit as the pivot axis, and the active vertical swinging of the scraping body is transmitted from the slider of the scraping shift cylinder via the shift lever. Furthermore, in the standby state, the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder of this scraping unit is set to an upward lifting pressure that tends to release the scraping unit's own weight. When the scraping unit is lowered from the standby position and the scraping unit becomes unprepared, the upward pressure is used to facilitate the upward movement of the tip of the scraping body, The scraping unit is lowered from its standby state, and when the scraping unit is in the proper ready state, the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder is set to a downward pushing pressure that biases the scraping body downward in order to scrape out the intermediate workpiece.
[0008] Furthermore, the workpiece scraping device in the board cutting device according to claim 3, in addition to the requirements of claim 1 or 2, The table that receives the intermediate workpiece is a floating table on which air is supplied in an upward blowing manner over the mounting surface, thereby transferring the intermediate workpiece to the next process while it is suspended in the air. Furthermore, the lifting platform is characterized by having a workpiece holding piece that gently presses the intermediate workpiece downwards. The aforementioned problems are then solved by the means described in each of these claims. [Effects of the Invention]
[0009] First, according to the invention described in claim 1, if the fitting portion of the scraping body is in an unsuitable state where it does not fit into the cutting gap between the long workpiece and the intermediate workpiece, that is, if the fitting portion hits the upper surface of the intermediate workpiece, this contact state is indicated, so contact can be immediately avoided, and damage to the workpiece scraping device can be prevented. Of course, by avoiding such unsuitable states, the scraping body (scraping unit) can be moved to the next process and the intermediate workpiece transferred only when it is in a proper state of preparation, and the individual removal of intermediate workpieces can be performed reliably and smoothly.
[0010] Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 2, in the standby state, in preparation for an unsuitable preparation state, the pressure of the scraping shift cylinder is set to an upward lifting pressure that tends to release due to its own weight, making it easier to raise the tip of the scraping unit against relative external forces. Also, when the scraping unit is lowered from the standby state to the proper preparation state, the pressure of the scraping shift cylinder is set to a downward pushing pressure that biases the tip of the scraping unit downward. Therefore, in an unsuitable preparation state, the tip (fitting part) of the scraping unit can be smoothly rotated (oscillated) upward by the reaction of the scraping unit contacting the workpiece, and contact avoidance of the scraping body can be performed immediately and reliably.
[0011] Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 3, the intermediate workpiece cut from the long workpiece is received by a floating table, and it is conceivable that the intermediate workpiece may shift position on the floating table if left as is. However, in the present invention, the lifting frame is equipped with a workpiece holding piece that gently presses the intermediate workpiece downwards, thereby suppressing such positional shifts and ensuring that the intermediate workpiece can be reliably transferred to the next process. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0012] [Figure 1] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a board cutting apparatus to which the workpiece scraping device of the present invention (workpiece scraping device in a board cutting apparatus) is applied, along with the state of the workpiece being processed. [Figure 2]It is a perspective view showing the workpiece scraping device of the present invention from the direction of the scraping main body part. [Figure 3-1] It is a side view showing a standby state in which the scraping main body part of the scraping unit is waiting above the intermediate workpiece. [Figure 3-2] Same as above, it is a perspective view. [Figure 4-1] It is a side view showing an appropriate preparation state in which the scraping unit is lowered as a whole and the fitting part at the tip of the scraping main body part is inserted into the cutting gap of the workpiece. [Figure 4-2] Same as above, it is a perspective view. [Figure 5-1] It is a side view showing a non - preparation state in which the tip of the lowered scraping main body part could not enter the cutting gap because of misalignment or the like in the intermediate workpiece after cutting, resulting in a narrower cutting gap of the workpiece. [Figure 5-2] Same as above, it is a perspective view. [Figure 6] It is a perspective view showing a configuration example in which the end material (workpiece) generated at the end of the grinding is dropped by rotating a part of the intermediate workpiece extraction table downward.
Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[0013] The present invention is as shown in the following examples, but it is also possible to make appropriate modifications within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention for these examples.
Example
[0014] First, prior to a specific description of the workpiece scraping device 2 (hereinafter, may also be simply referred to as "workpiece scraping device 2") in the board cutting device of the present invention, an overview of the overall operation (actuation) of the board cutting device 1 from the raw material workpiece W to the long workpiece W1, and further from the long workpiece W1 to the intermediate workpiece W2 will be given.
[0015] As an example, the board cutting device 1, as shown in Figure 1, includes a raw material lifter device 11 for supplying raw material workpieces W to the processing position, a raw material receiving conveyor 12 arranged in conjunction with the raw material lifter device 11, and a lip cutting machine 13, which is essentially a running saw, arranged in conjunction with the raw material receiving conveyor 12. A long workpiece delivery conveyor 14 is provided downstream of the lip cutting machine 13. A long workpiece receiving conveyor 15 is provided, with the delivery direction set, for example, perpendicular to the long workpiece delivery conveyor 14, and a cross cutting machine 16, which is essentially a running saw, is provided further forward in the direction of transport. An intermediate workpiece removal table 17 is provided downstream of the cross cutting machine 16, and a removal conveyor 18 is provided further forward in the direction of delivery.
[0016] Under this arrangement of the devices, the raw material workpiece W is cut sequentially. The raw material workpiece W is, for example, a board with dimensions of approximately 1 meter in width and 2 to 3 meters in length. This is sent from the raw material receiving conveyor 12 to the lip cutting machine 13, where it is cut into long workpieces W1 with the desired width. The raw material receiving conveyor 12 can, for example, have a turntable placed in its center. In this case, the incoming raw material workpiece W can be held in both its longitudinal and transverse directions (long side and short side), and this operation allows for efficient material extraction from the raw material workpiece W.
[0017] In this way, the long workpiece W1 cut by the lip cutting machine 13 is transported by the long workpiece delivery conveyor 14. When the long workpiece is delivered from the lip cutting machine 13 to the long workpiece delivery conveyor 14, the remaining raw material workpiece W is pushed forward into the lip cutting machine 13, and at the end of the pushing mechanism, the already cut long workpiece W1 is pushed out and transferred to the long workpiece delivery conveyor 14. After that, the long workpiece W1 is further transferred to the long workpiece receiving conveyor 15 and supplied to the cross cutting machine 16 which is perpendicular to the direction of transport by 90 degrees. In this state, the cross cutting machine 16, which is essentially a running saw, cuts the long workpiece W1 sequentially from its front end (front end in the direction of movement) according to the set dimensional specifications. Incidentally, the intermediate workpiece W2 cut by the cross cutting machine 16 was conventionally transported to the intermediate workpiece removal table 17 as it was pushed out by the progress (forward movement) of the next long workpiece W1 to be cut. However, if the extrusion is simply performed by a long workpiece W1 that will be cut in the next cycle, the extrusion posture is not always consistent, which can hinder the smooth operation of subsequent processes such as stacking intermediate workpieces W2 using a manipulator M. In this regard, the present invention enables the cut intermediate workpiece W2 to be accurately transferred from the intermediate workpiece removal table 17 to the removal conveyor 18 by the workpiece scraping device 2. The intermediate workpiece W2 cut by the cross-cutting machine 16 may also be removed from the processing line manually by an operator. In this case, it is removed from the side opposite the rail 101 of the workpiece scraping device 2, which will be described below ("Manual removal" in Figure 1).
[0018] The following provides a detailed explanation of the workpiece scraping device 2. To explain the basic operation of the workpiece scraping device 2, the scraping body portion 221 (more specifically, the fitting portion 221a, which will be described later) of the scraping unit 22 is inserted from above into the gap between the cutting trajectories in which the long workpiece W1 has been cut by this device, that is, into the cutting gap SL of the workpiece cut by the cross-cutting machine 16. Then, the workpiece scraping device 2 is moved to transfer the intermediate workpiece W2 to the extraction end (hereinafter referred to as the extraction end) of the intermediate workpiece extraction table 17. Therefore, the main components of the workpiece scraping device 2 include, as an example, a traveling arm 20, a lifting frame 21, and a scraping unit 22, as shown in Figure 2. Here, the cutting gap SL is usually the blade thickness dimension of the circular saw, which is the cross-cutting machine 16 (the so-called saw path width dimension), but a gap that is somewhat wider than this is also included (see the enlarged view of Figure 1). Specifically, for example, it is assumed that the cutting gap SL can be widened by slightly retracting the long workpiece W1 after it has been cut by the cross-cutting machine 16 using the long workpiece receiving conveyor 15 (a slight movement toward the side facing the cross-cutting machine 16). Incidentally, widening the cutting gap SL allows the fitting portion 221a of the scraping body 221 to be securely inserted.
[0019] The following describes the travel arm 20. The traveling arm 20 includes, for example, an arm body 201 that extends cantilevered toward the intermediate workpiece removal table 17 side, as shown in Figure 2 above, so as to be perpendicular to the direction in which the intermediate workpiece W2 is removed and transported. The arm body 201 is movably mounted to a rail 101, which is essentially an element of a linear slide mechanism provided on the side of the frame F of the board cutting device 1. That is, the arm body 201 travels using a travel slider 202 as a support member, and its travel shift itself is driven by a travel shift cylinder 203 located near and below the rail 101. The arm body 201 is also equipped with an arm-shaped guide support 204 that supports a cable guide containing a group of cables (not shown) for supplying working air to the lifting platform 21 or scraping unit 22, etc. The main arm body 201 is further equipped with two vertical sub-arms 205, one example, and these vertical sub-arms 205 are provided with a lifting guide rail 206, which is an element of the linear slide mechanism. Furthermore, each of the two vertical sub-arms 205 is provided with a lifting shift cylinder 207, and its cylinder rod 207a extends and retracts in the vertical direction.
[0020] A lifting frame 21 is supported on such a traveling arm 20. This lifting frame 21 is equipped with a shift receiving column 211 as a strength member of a box frame-shaped frame body 210, and a lifting slider 212 is attached to this shift receiving column 211, and this lifting slider 212 is slidably combined with the lifting guide rail 206 of the vertical sub-arm 205. Below the shift receiving column 211 and towards the front of the frame body 210, as an example, six material holding devices 213 are provided. These material holding devices 213 are for gently pressing (gently biasing) the intermediate workpiece W2 when it is being transported, so that the transport can be carried out reliably, and the holding piece 213a is elastically biased to press downward by the shift cylinder 213b. The term "gentle pressure" is used because, while the intermediate workpiece W2 is held down from above, it is smoothly transferred to the removal end of the intermediate workpiece removal table 17. In other words, it is a state in which a gentle pressing force is applied to the intermediate workpiece W2.
[0021] On the other hand, a scraping unit 22 and a scraping shift cylinder 214, which is an actuator for operating the scraping unit 22, are provided in front of the frame body 210. The scraping unit 22 is for individually removing intermediate workpieces W2 cut by the cross-cutting machine 16, and is rotatably supported on the free end side of the frame body 210. As an example, the scraping unit 22 is a substantially flat plate-shaped member as shown in Figures 2 to 5 (Figures 5-1 and 5-2), and has a pivot holder 220 on its base end, with a pivot pin 220P in the pivot holder 220 connected to a support bracket 216 provided on the frame body 210. On the other hand, a flat scraping body portion 221 is provided on the front end side of the scraping unit 22. Specifically, the scraping body portion 221 is shaped so that its tip is bent downwards, and this bent portion is the fitting portion 221a. When removing intermediate workpieces W2 individually, this fitting portion 221a is inserted into the cutting gap SL of the workpiece cut by the cross-cutting machine 16. The scraping unit 22 also includes a shift lever 222 that extends upward on the pivot side, and the upper end of this lever is pin-connected to the slider 214a of the scraping shift cylinder 214.
[0022] Next, we will describe the scraping shift cylinder 214 that acts on the scraping unit 22. For example, the scraping shift cylinder 214 is provided in pairs on the left and right sides, rotatably mounted on the cylinder bracket 215 and positioned almost horizontally. The rotation of the scraping unit 22 is a gentle shift oscillation in which, when the scraping body 221 is lowered in an almost horizontal position, the fitting portion 221a, which is the tip of the scraping unit, comes into contact with the workpiece, and the fitting portion 221a rises upward due to the recoil. In other words, this gentle shift oscillation is different from rotation (active up-and-down oscillation) in which the slider 214a of the scraping shift cylinder 214 is actively extended and contracted by the operating pressure to forcibly swing the fitting portion 221a up and down. In other words, the operating pressure of the scraping shift cylinder 214 takes two forms. The first form of operation is an upward operating pressure that tends to lift the scraping unit 22 to the extent that it almost completely releases the weight of the scraping unit 22. Therefore, when the scraping shift cylinder 214 is set to this upward operating pressure, when the fitting portion 221a comes into contact with the workpiece, the scraping body portion 221 is easily rotated upward due to the recoil of this contact. On the other hand, the second mode of operation is a downward biasing pressure that causes the scraping unit 22 to be biased downward so that the fitting portion 221a is reliably applied to the end face of the intermediate workpiece W2 when the scraping unit 22 scrapes out the intermediate workpiece W2.
[0023] Furthermore, the scraping shift cylinder 214 is equipped with a cylinder sensor 214S, which, as an example, uses a magnetic sensor. This cylinder sensor 214S detects when the scraping unit 22 is lowered while maintaining an overall horizontal position, that the tip of the scraping body 221 (the fitting portion 221a) is resting on the upper surface of the intermediate workpiece W2, etc., meaning that the tip of the scraping body 221 has not descended to its proper position. In other words, this state is one in which the fitting portion 221a is in contact with the upper surface of the intermediate workpiece W2, etc., and has not been able to enter the cutting gap SL. When the cylinder sensor 214S detects this contact state, it will notify the user of this state (unprepared state) by, for example, lighting, flashing, or turning off a warning lamp.
[0024] In this embodiment, the scraping body 221 is configured to rotate upward (slow shift oscillation) as a method to avoid contact when the fitting portion 221a comes into contact with the workpiece during the descent operation. However, the method of avoiding contact is not necessarily limited to this. Specifically, for example, when contact is detected by the cylinder sensor 214S, control (contact avoidance method) can be adopted to immediately stop the descent of the scraping unit 22 (scraping body 221) and further raise the scraping unit 22 somewhat. Incidentally, when moving the intermediate workpiece W2 to the removal end of the intermediate workpiece removal table 17 with the scraping body portion 221 (fitting portion 221a) applied to the cutting end of the intermediate workpiece W2, the scraping shift cylinder 214 will also move if an overload occurs during this movement, and the cylinder sensor 214S can detect this overload condition (sensor abnormality).
[0025] The configuration of the workpiece scraping device 2 of the present invention is as described above, and the scraping and transfer operation of the intermediate workpiece W2 by this device will be explained below. In general terms, when the long workpiece W1 is first cut into an intermediate workpiece W2 by the cross-cutting machine 16, a small cutting gap SL is formed between the remaining long workpiece W1 and the intermediate workpiece W2, equal to the thickness of the saw blade 161 in the cross-cutting machine 16. Therefore, as shown in the enlarged view of Figure 1 as an example, this cutting gap SL is used to insert the fitting portion 221a of the scraping unit 22 into the cutting gap SL, and by moving the scraping unit 22 to the next process side in this state, the intermediate workpiece W2 is transferred to the removal end of the intermediate workpiece removal table 17. The following describes each stage in detail.
[0026] <1> Preparation for cutting When a long workpiece W1 is cut by a cross-cutting machine 16, the workpiece scraping device 2 is naturally positioned to avoid interference with the saw path (movement path) of the cross-cutting machine 16 (see Figure 2). At this time, the scraping unit 22, supported by the lifting frame 21, is positioned at a height such that at least the lower end of the fitting portion 221a, which is the tip of the scraping body 221, is positioned above the thickness dimension (height dimension) of the long workpiece W1 to be cut. More specifically, as an example shown in Figure 3-1, the cylinder rod 207a of the lifting shift cylinder 207 is retracted to position the scraping unit 22 in an overall upper position (top dead center). As a result, the components located at the bottom of the scraping unit 22, such as the support bracket 216 and the pivot holder 220, are positioned higher than the top surface of the long workpiece W1. Furthermore, at this time, the scraping body 221 itself is set to assume an overall horizontal position by retracting the slider 214a of the scraping shift cylinder 214, and the fitting portion 221a, which is the tip, is set to face vertically downward.
[0027] <2> Cutting using a cross-cutting machine (creation of intermediate workpieces) Subsequently, the long workpiece W1 is cut into shorter intermediate workpieces W2 by a cross-cutting machine 16 that is perpendicular to the transfer direction of the long workpiece receiving conveyor 15. In this cutting process, the circular saw of the cross-cutting machine 16 travels perpendicular to the transport direction (along the cutting line S, also known as the saw path), thereby obtaining an intermediate workpiece W2 of an appropriate length (short length).
[0028] <3> Cutting complete state In this way, the intermediate workpiece W2 cut from the long workpiece W1 remains on the intermediate workpiece removal table 17, and a small cutting gap SL equal to the blade thickness of the saw blade 161 of the cross-cutting machine 16 is formed between this intermediate workpiece W2 and the remaining long workpiece W1. Furthermore, once the cutting to obtain the intermediate workpiece W2 is complete, the circular saw (saw blade 161) of the cross-cutting machine 16 returns to its original position, away from the transport path of the intermediate workpiece W2 and the long workpiece W1.
[0029] <4> Standby state of the scraping unit Subsequently, as shown in Figure 3-1 as an example, the traveling arm 20 is moved to a position where the fitting portion 221a of the scraping body 221 faces above the cutting gap SL (slicing line S), and the scraping unit 22 is put into standby mode. This state is the standby state of the scraping unit 22. Furthermore, the above standby state in which the fitting portion 221a is aligned with the cutting gap SL represents the standby state in a narrow sense. For example, even if the fitting portion 221a is not aligned with the cutting gap SL, the state in which the scraping unit 22 maintains the scraping body 221 in an overall horizontal position and is waiting above the workpiece may also be referred to as the standby state (a so-called broader standby state). In this standby state, the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder 214 is set to an upward lifting pressure (first mode of operation) that tends to release the scraping unit 22 under its own weight, so to speak, the scraping body 221 is floating in mid-air in a state of weightlessness, or the weight acting on the scraping body 221 is set to zero (cancels out). Therefore, if an upward force is applied to the scraping body 221 from below in this state, the scraping unit 22 will rotate upward (slow shift oscillation) at the fitting portion 221a, which is the tip of the scraping body 221.
[0030] <5> Lowering operation of the scraping unit (fitting) Subsequently, by extending the cylinder rod 207a of the lifting shift cylinder 207, the scraping unit 22 is lowered as a whole, and as shown in Figure 4-1 as an example, only the fitting portion 221a of the scraping body 221 is inserted into the cutting gap SL of the workpiece. This state is the proper preparation state. The overall horizontal position of the scraping body 221 (the fitting portion 221a is in a vertical position) is maintained by the scraping shift cylinder 214, but the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder 214 is changed from the first operating mode, which is an upward operating pressure, to the second operating mode, which is a downward operating pressure. In other words, the change to the second operating mode is a downward operating pressure that biases the scraping unit 22 downward so that the fitting portion 221a is reliably applied to the end face of the intermediate workpiece W2 that is to be cut, in preparation for the scraping unit 22, which has reached the proper preparation state, to scrape out the intermediate workpiece W2.
[0031] <6> Regarding the difference between adequate preparation and inadequate preparation Here, the above-mentioned "proper preparation state" refers to the state in which only the fitting portion 221a, which is the tip of the scraping body portion 221, is fitted into the cutting gap SL between the long workpiece W1 and the intermediate workpiece W2, as described above. The reason for using "preparation" (rather than simply "proper state") is that proper transfer of the intermediate workpiece W2 can only be performed when it is in the above-mentioned "fitted state". In other words, it is called the "proper preparation state" in the sense of a state in which proper transfer can be performed. On the other hand, depending on the position of the intermediate workpiece W2 obtained by cutting, there may be cases where the fitting portion 221a of the scraping body portion 221 does not fit into the cutting gap SL, and in this specification, this is referred to as an "unsuitable preparation state" in contrast to the above-mentioned proper preparation state. Of course, in this unsuitable preparation state, proper transfer of the intermediate workpiece W2 cannot be performed, and it is referred to as an "unsuitable preparation state" in the sense that it is a preparation state in which proper transfer cannot be performed.
[0032] <7> Discarding intermediate work Subsequently, the entire workpiece scraping device 2 is moved to the extraction end of the intermediate workpiece extraction table 17, thereby performing individual extraction and transfer of the intermediate workpieces W2, i.e., scraping. The movement of the entire workpiece scraping device 2 is performed by extending the cylinder rod (slider) of the travel shift cylinder 203 (see Figure 2).
[0033] <8> Stable holding of intermediate workpieces The intermediate workpiece removal table 17 is a floating table on which air is supplied in an upward blowing manner over the mounting surface, allowing the intermediate workpiece W2 to be moved in a slightly elevated state. Therefore, simply moving the scraping body 221 may result in the intermediate workpiece W2 being in an irregular position during transport. For this reason, in this embodiment, a material holding device 213 is provided on the frame body 210, which allows the intermediate workpiece W2 to be moved to the removal end of the intermediate workpiece removal table 17 while being gently pressed downwards (see Figure 4-1). Thus, after cutting, the intermediate workpiece W2 is transported in a properly regular state. Incidentally, the gentle pressing described herein refers to a state in which the intermediate workpiece W2 after cutting is gently pressed from above, while still allowing for subsequent transport (movement to the removal end of the intermediate workpiece removal table 17).
[0034] <9> Configuration according to distance traveled Incidentally, in terms of the overall layout of the board cutting device 1, only one work scraping device 2 may be provided. However, if, for example, the travel distance, i.e., the distance to move the intermediate workpiece W2 to the extraction end of the intermediate workpiece extraction table 17, is long, then multiple work scraping devices 2 of the same configuration may be arranged in series. Specifically, for example, the first work scraping device 2 is responsible for transporting the intermediate workpiece W2 to an intermediate position between the intermediate workpiece extraction table 17 and the extraction conveyor 18, and then a second work scraping device 2, arranged in series downstream, receives the transported intermediate workpiece W2 and moves it further forward in the discharge direction.
[0035] <10> Unprepared state The process described above primarily represents the proper preparation state when the scraping body 221 smoothly enters the cutting gap SL (saw path) between the materials. However, there are cases where an unsuitable preparation state occurs in which the fitting portion 221a of the scraping body 221 does not necessarily enter the cutting gap SL on the saw line S. Specifically, as an example shown in Figure 5-1, this could occur when the intermediate workpiece W2 immediately after cutting is displaced by the upward-blowing air from the intermediate workpiece removal table 17 mentioned above. In such an unsuitable preparation state, the scraping body 221, which has descended overall, will have its fitting portion 221a in contact with the upper surface of the intermediate workpiece W2, etc. Furthermore, the cylinder sensor 214S detects when the fitting portion 221a of the scraping body 221 comes into contact with the intermediate workpiece W2, etc. (i.e., when the scraping body 221 has not descended sufficiently). When the cylinder sensor 214S detects this contact, it indicates this state (unready state) by, for example, lighting, flashing, or turning off a warning lamp. Furthermore, contact between the fitting portion 221a and the workpiece is immediately avoided. Specifically, since the scraping shift cylinder 214 is supplied with the operating air pressure of the first mode of operation, if the fitting portion 221a comes into contact with the workpiece, the reaction of this contact causes the fitting portion 221a to immediately rotate upward (gentle shift oscillation), and contact with the workpiece is quickly avoided.
[0036] <11> Responding to the transition from an unprepared state to an adequate state of preparation Next, we will explain the process of correcting an unsuitable preparation state to a suitable preparation state. Specifically, this correction process is carried out in the following steps as an example. (1) Securing the cutting gap SL and correcting the movement of the fitting portion 221a (2) The scraping unit 22 rises again. (3) Releasing the upward rotation of the scraping body 221 (to return the overall position to horizontal) (4) Overall lowering of the scraping unit 22 (insertion of the fitting part 221a into the cut gap SL) Here, "(1) Securing the cutting gap SL and correcting the movement of the fitting portion 221a" is an operation to first fully create the cutting gap SL, for example, by moving the remaining long workpiece W1 slightly backward. Of course, this operation does not only involve moving the long workpiece W1 backward, but also, if there is a member holding the long workpiece W1, it may be an operation to move that member backward as well. Furthermore, in conjunction with this operation, the entire workpiece scraping device 2 is slightly moved (corrective movement) to the rear, opposite to the scraping direction, to align the fitting portion 221a with the cutting gap SL.
[0037] The subsequent operation, "(2) Re-raising the scraping unit 22," involves slightly retracting the cylinder rod 207a of the lifting shift cylinder 207 to raise the scraping unit 22 again. This operation is performed to prevent the lower end of the fitting portion 221a, which will be in a vertical position, from coming into contact with the workpiece when the scraping body portion 221, whose tip has been rotated upward, is returned to a horizontal position overall in the subsequent step.
[0038] Furthermore, "(3) Releasing the upward rotation of the scraping body 221 (returning to an overall horizontal position)" is the operation to return the scraping body 221 to an overall horizontal position. This operation can be performed, for example, by setting the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder 214 to a pressure somewhat lower than that of the first operating mode. That is, with this setting, the scraping body 221's own weight acts slightly more than the initial force, causing a downward rotation (gentle shift oscillation) due to its own weight, which returns the scraping body 221 to an overall horizontal position. Of course, once the scraping body 221 has returned to an overall horizontal position, the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder 214 is returned to the first operating mode to maintain the overall horizontal position. As a result of this operation, the fitting portion 221a is in a vertical position, but because the scraping unit 22 has been slightly raised overall in the previous step, the lower end of the fitting portion 221a does not come into contact with the workpiece.
[0039] Furthermore, "(4) Lowering the scraping unit 22 again (inserting the fitting part 221a into the cutting gap SL)" is the operation of lowering the scraping unit 22 again and inserting the fitting part 221a into the cutting gap SL. Of course, when performing this operation, as described above, it is done with the fitting part 221a in a vertical position aligned with the secured (expanded) cutting gap SL. Through this modification operation, the fitting portion 221a of the scraping body portion 221 is positioned to come into contact with the end face of the intermediate workpiece W2 that is to be cut. Then, as with the operation described above, the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder 214 is set to the second operating state. Next, the cylinder rod (slider) of the travel shift cylinder 203 of the work scraping device 2 is extended, and the travel arm 20 is shifted forward in the transfer direction to transfer the intermediate workpiece W2 to the transfer end of the intermediate workpiece transfer table 17.
[0040] <12> Disposal of scrap materials In this invention, a long workpiece W1 is cut into several intermediate workpieces W2, but sometimes, for example, a so-called scrap material W3 that does not meet the desired length is produced at the end. In such cases, as shown in Figure 6 as an example, it is preferable to configure the intermediate workpiece removal table 17 so that a portion of the area immediately behind the cutting trajectory of the cross-cutting machine 16 (forward in the transport direction) is pivotable, so that the scrap material W3 falls below the intermediate workpiece removal table 17. In this case, as shown in Figure 6 above, if the retracted position of the scraping unit 22 is set above the scrap material dropper (a scrap material dropper with a swingable configuration), the lowered scraping body 221 can obstruct the passage of the scrap material W3 and actively guide it to the scrap material dropper below.
[0041] <13> How to handle cases where the length dimension of the intermediate workpiece W2 is short. Next, we will explain how to handle cases where the length dimension of the intermediate workpiece W2 is short. The intermediate workpiece W2 cut by the cross-cutting machine 16 is placed on the intermediate workpiece removal table 17, which is composed of a floating table. While the intermediate workpiece W2 placed here can be moved with very little force, it is also possible that it may shift position. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described above, the intermediate workpiece W2 is gently pressed by the pressing piece 213a of the material holding device 213 to ensure that it is reliably transferred to the next process (see Figure 4-1). Here, a total of six clamping pieces 213a (material clamping devices 213) are provided on the intermediate workpiece removal table 17: three closer to the cross-cutting machine 16 and three closer to the removal conveyor 18. If the length of the intermediate workpiece W2 is relatively long, the six clamping pieces 213a can gently press down on the intermediate workpiece W2. However, if the length of the intermediate workpiece W2 is short, it is conceivable that even the clamping pieces 213a closer to the cross-cutting machine 16 may not be able to gently press down on the intermediate workpiece W2.
[0042] Therefore, taking such cases into consideration, it is possible to provide a short retaining piece 213c that can swing vertically on the lower surface of the scraping body portion 221, which has a flat surface, as shown in Figure 4-1. This short-length pressing piece 213c is configured such that, for example, the base end of the scraping body 221 serves as the axis of vertical oscillation, and the tip of the short-length pressing piece 213c is oscillated downward by the weight of the body 213d itself. With this configuration, even short intermediate workpieces W2 that are beyond the reach of the pressing action of the pressing piece 213a can be pressed against the end of the cross-cutting machine 16 from above. It is preferable to provide a cushioning material 213e, such as a rubber pad, on the lower surface of the body 213d of the short-length pressing piece 213c to protect the surface of the intermediate workpiece W2 that it comes into contact with. In this embodiment, when inserting the fitting portion 221a of the scraping body portion 221 into the cutting gap SL, that is, to ensure the proper preparation state, a method was adopted in which the scraping unit 22 (scraping body portion 221), which maintains an overall horizontal position, is lowered in that position. However, in order to ensure the final proper preparation state, it is also possible to ensure the final proper preparation state by rotating the scraping body portion 221, which is in an inclined position with the fitting portion 221a rotated upward, to a horizontal position. [Explanation of Symbols]
[0043] 1. Board cutting device 2. Workpiece scraping device 11. Raw material lifter device 12. Raw material receiving conveyor 13 Lip cutting machine 14. Long workpiece delivery conveyor 15. Long workpiece receiving conveyor 16 Cross-cutting machine 17 Intermediate workpiece retrieval table 18. Take-out conveyor 20 Traveling Arms 21 Lifting platform 22 Scraping Unit 101 Rail 161 saw blade 201 Arm body 202 Driving Slider 203 Travel Shift Cylinder 204 Guide Support 205 Vertical Subarm 206 Lifting guide rail 207 Lifting / Lowering Shift Cylinder 207a Cylinder rod 210 Main frame 211 Shift Receiver Column 212 Lifting Slider 213 Material holding device 213a Retaining piece 213b Shift Cylinder 213c Short-length retaining piece 213d main unit 213e buffer 214 Scraping Shift Cylinder 214S Cylinder Sensor 214a Slider 215 Cylinder Bracket 216 Support bracket 220 Pivot Holder 220P Pivot Pin 221 Scraping main body 221a Fitting part 222 Shift lever F Frame M Manipulator W Raw Material Work W1 Long Workpiece W2 Intermediate Work W3 scrap wood S Saw wire SL cutting gap
Claims
1. A workpiece scraping device in a board cutting machine for sending intermediate workpieces, which have been cut to an appropriate length from a long workpiece, from the table to the next process, This workpiece scraping device is A traveling arm that moves back and forth along the table's transport direction, at an appropriate distance above the table surface, A lifting frame is supported on this traveling arm so as to be able to move up and down, This lifting platform is equipped with a scraping unit located below the scraping start side, the scraping unit having a free end that can move freely in the vertical direction. This scraping unit comprises a scraping body having a downward-facing fitting portion on its free end, and the standby state of the scraping body is positioned above the workpiece. On the other hand, the operating state of the scraping unit is a downward operation state in which the entire scraping unit is moved downward by the lifting shift cylinder. A workpiece scraping device for a board cutting device, characterized in that, in this lowering operation state, the fitting portion is fitted into the cutting gap between the long workpiece and the intermediate workpiece to ensure a proper preparation state, while if the fitting portion does not enter the cutting gap and comes into contact with the upper surface of the workpiece, resulting in an unprepared state, this contact is detected and reported.
2. The scraping body is supported on a lifting frame so that its tip swings slowly vertically with the base end of the scraping unit as the pivot axis, and the active vertical swinging of the scraping body is transmitted from the slider of the scraping shift cylinder via the shift lever. Furthermore, in the standby state, the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder of this scraping unit is set to an upward lifting pressure that tends to release the scraping unit's own weight. When the scraping unit is lowered from the standby position and the scraping unit becomes unprepared, the upward pressure is used to facilitate the upward movement of the tip of the scraping body, The workpiece scraping device in a board cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that when the scraping unit is lowered from a standby state and the scraping unit is in a properly prepared state, the operating air pressure supplied to the scraping shift cylinder is set to a downward pushing force that biases the scraping main body downward in order to scrape out the intermediate workpiece in this state.
3. The table that receives the intermediate workpiece is a floating table on which air is supplied in an upward blowing manner over the mounting surface, thereby transferring the intermediate workpiece to the next process while it is suspended in the air. Furthermore, the lifting platform is equipped with a workpiece holding piece that gently presses the intermediate workpiece downward, characterized in that it is a workpiece scraping device in a board cutting device according to claim 1 or 2.