Sheet material supply device

Abstract

The present invention provides a sheet material supply device that allows for the replacement of roll material without interrupting the supply of sheet material. [Solution] The device comprises a roll material 12 formed by winding a sheet material 11 into a roll shape, a storage section 20 having a concave shape with an opening at the top, rollers 41, 42 (feeding section) that feed a portion of the sheet material 11 drawn out from the roll material 12 to the storage section 20 from above, and a bending forming section 50 capable of bending a portion of the hanging part 11A of the sheet material 11 that hangs down from the rollers 41, 42 toward the storage section 20.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a feeding device for a sheet material.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a feeding device for a sheet material, the one described in Patent Document 1 below is known. In this Patent Document 1, a roll material formed by winding a sheet material (non-woven fabric) in a roll shape is provided. After pulling out a part of the sheet material from the roll material and supplying it onto a fiber web, a configuration is described in which the sheet material together with the fiber web is cut by a cutter.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above configuration, when the remaining amount of the sheet material constituting the roll material decreases, it is necessary to replace the roll material with a new one. For this reason, there is a problem that the supply of the sheet material stops while the roll material is being replaced.

[0005] The technology disclosed in this specification has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a feeding device for a sheet material that can perform the roll material replacement work without stopping the supply of the sheet material.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] As a means to solve the above problems, the sheet material supply device disclosed herein is characterized by comprising: a roll material formed by winding sheet material into a roll shape; a storage section having a concave shape with an opening at the top; a feeding section that feeds a portion of the sheet material drawn from the roll material to the storage section from above; and a bending forming section capable of bending a portion of the hanging part of the sheet material that hangs down from the feeding section toward the storage section.

[0007] The feeding unit sends the sheet material to the storage unit, and the bending unit bends a portion of the hanging part of the sheet material, causing the bent portion (referred to as the bent part in the following description) to fall onto the bottom surface of the storage unit. By repeating this operation, multiple bent parts can be stacked within the storage unit. In other words, the sheet material can be stored in a stacked state within the storage unit. Therefore, when the amount of sheet material constituting the roll material becomes small, it is possible to replace the roll material with a new one while supplying the sheet material stored in the storage unit to other devices. This allows the roll material to be replaced without stopping the supply of sheet material. If the bending unit were not provided and the sheet material was only sent to the storage unit by the feeding unit, the sheet material could be deformed into various shapes within the storage unit, making it prone to overflowing. In contrast, the present configuration, by providing a bending unit, allows the sheet material to be stored in a stacked state (organized state) within the storage unit, thus enabling the storage of a larger quantity.

[0008] Furthermore, the system includes a detection unit for detecting the amount of sheet material constituting the roll material, and a control unit. The feeding unit is comprised of a pair of rollers capable of gripping a portion of the sheet material. When the amount of sheet material detected by the detection unit falls below a predetermined amount, the control unit rotates at least one of the pair of rollers to send a portion of the sheet material to the storage unit. By sending the sheet material to the storage unit when the amount of sheet material constituting the roll material falls below a predetermined amount, the sheet material can be stored.

[0009] The device is equipped with a displacement device capable of displacing the lower end of the bending-forming portion in a direction toward and toward the hanging portion, and the bending-forming portion may be provided so as to be rotatable with its upper end as the pivot point and positioned opposite to the hanging portion.

[0010] The displacement device allows the bending-forming section to rotate around its upper end as the pivot point. By rotating the bending-forming section and bringing it into contact with the hanging section, a portion of the hanging section can be bent.

[0011] Furthermore, the upper surface of the bottom wall of the storage section can be curved. This prevents the sheet material stored in the storage section from getting caught on the upper surface of the bottom wall when supplying it to other devices. As a result, the sheet material can be drawn out of the storage section more reliably. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sheet material supply device that can perform roll material replacement work without stopping the supply of sheet material. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] Diagram showing a supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Diagram showing the supply device in which the sheet material has been sent to the storage section. [Figure 3] This diagram shows a supply device in which a portion of the hanging part of the sheet material has been bent by the bending forming section. [Figure 4] This diagram shows a supply device in which a portion of the hanging section has been bent and then the bent section has been returned to its original position. [Figure 5] Diagram showing a supply device with multiple bent sections stored in a storage section. [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view showing the bending formation area (corresponding to the view cut along the line VI-VI in Figure 2) [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. In this embodiment, as a sheet material supply device, a supply device 10 is provided that supplies sheet material constituting interior materials for vehicles (for example, ceiling materials for vehicles) to other devices (for example, a cutting device that cuts sheet material to a predetermined length). As shown in Figure 1, the supply device 10 comprises a roll material 12 formed by winding sheet material 11 into a roll shape, a storage section 20 having a concave shape with an upward opening, a pair of rollers 41, 42 (feeding section) positioned above the storage section 20 and feeding a portion of the sheet material 11 drawn from the roll material 12 to the storage section 20, a bending forming section 50 capable of bending a portion of the sheet material 11, a detection section 60 for detecting the amount of sheet material 11 constituting the roll material 12, a cylinder 62 (displacement device) for swinging the bending forming section 50, a gripping section 63 capable of gripping (clamping) the end 11G of the sheet material 11 opposite to the roll material 12, a roller 64 positioned between the roll material 12 and the pair of rollers 41, 42, a roller 65 positioned between the pair of rollers 41, 42 and the gripping section 63 on the sheet material 11 arrangement path, and a control unit 67. For example, scrim can be used as the sheet material 11, but it is not limited to this.

[0015] The roll material 12 is constructed by winding the sheet material 11 around the core material 13. A portion of the sheet material 11 pulled out from the roll material 12 passes through rollers 64 and 65 before heading towards the gripping portion 63. The end 11G opposite to the roll material 12 is gripped by the gripping portion 63. By displacing the gripping portion 63 away from the roll material 12, the sheet material 11 can be pulled out from the roll material 12.

[0016] The storage section 20 has a U-shape that opens upward in cross-sectional view. More specifically, the storage section 20 comprises a bottom wall section 21 and a pair of vertical wall sections 22 and 23 that rise from both ends of the bottom wall section 21. The bottom wall section 21 has a curved shape that opens upward. In other words, the upper surface 21A of the bottom wall section 21 has a curved shape.

[0017] A pair of rollers 41 and 42 (feeding section) are arranged to sandwich a portion of the sheet material 11 from the roller 64 toward the roller 65. Further, the roller 41 can approach and separate from the roller 42. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, by approaching the roller 41 toward the roller 42 side, it is possible to sandwich a part of the sheet material 11 between the pair of rollers 41 and 42.

[0018] The bending formation part 50 is a flat plate-like plate material, and is provided rotatably around the upper end part as a rotation center with respect to the upper end part of the vertical wall part 22 on the roll material 12 side (the right side in FIG. 2) in the storage part 20. The bending formation part 50 extends downward from the upper end part of the vertical wall part 22 and is disposed opposite to the vertical wall part 22. In the present embodiment, although a configuration in which the bending formation part 50 is attached to the vertical wall part 22 is illustrated, the attachment location of the bending formation part 50 is not limited to this.

[0019] The cylinder 62 is attached near the upper end part of the vertical wall part 23 on the gripping part 63 side in the storage part 20. The tip of the cylinder rod 62A of the cylinder 62 is attached to the lower end part of the bending formation part 50 via a plate-like bracket 68. As shown in FIG. 6, the cylinders 62 are provided at each end in the longitudinal direction (the width direction of the sheet material 11) of the bracket 68. By driving the pair of cylinders 62, 62, as a result, each cylinder rod 62A moves forward and backward, and thus the lower end part of the bending formation part 50 can be displaced. Thereby, the bending formation part 50 can be rotated (swung) around the upper end part as a rotation center. The bending formation part 50 is arranged between the pair of cylinders 62, 62 in the width direction of the sheet material 11 (the vertical direction in FIG. 6), and its width (the length in the vertical direction in FIG. 6) is made larger than the width of the sheet material 11.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the detection unit 60 is disposed to face the surface of the roll material 12 with a distance therebetween. The detection unit 60 is, for example, a laser displacement meter and is capable of measuring the distance to the surface of the roll material 12. As the amount (remaining amount) of the sheet material 11 constituting the roll material 12 decreases, the outer diameter of the roll material 12 becomes smaller, so the distance from the detection unit 60 to the surface of the roll material 12 becomes larger. Thus, the detection unit 60 can detect the amount of the sheet material 11 constituting the roll material 12 by measuring the distance to the surface of the roll material 12.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 67 is electrically connected to each device (rollers 41, 42, detection unit 60, cylinder 62, gripping unit 63) constituting the supply device 10. The control unit 67 is capable of controlling the operations of the rollers 41, 42, the cylinder 62, and the gripping unit 63. Note that the control unit 67 is illustrated only in FIG. 1.

[0022] In the present embodiment, the sheet material 11 is pulled out from the roll material 12 by the displacement of the gripping unit 63. The pulled-out sheet material 11 is, for example, stacked on another sheet material and then cut by a cutting device together with the other sheet material, and thereafter, formed into a predetermined product shape. By repeating such operations, the remaining amount of the sheet material 11 constituting the roll material 12 decreases. When there is a sufficient remaining amount of the sheet material 11 constituting the roll material 12, as shown in FIG. 1, the sheet material 11 is gripped by the gripping unit 63 via the rollers 64 and 65 from the roll material 12. That is, the sheet material 11 is operated without passing through the storage unit 20. On the other hand, when the remaining amount of the sheet material 11 constituting the roll material 12 decreases, the control unit 67 executes a storage process of storing a part of the sheet material 11 by sending it to the storage unit 20. Next, the storage process will be described.

[0023] (Storage Process) In the storage process, when the amount of sheet material 11 detected by the detection unit 60 falls below a predetermined amount (when the distance from the detection unit 60 to the surface of the roll material 12 exceeds a predetermined value), the control unit 67 displaces the roller 41 toward the roller 42, as shown in Figure 2, and grips the sheet material 11 between the pair of rollers 41 and 42. Subsequently, by rotating the roller 42 (at least one of the pair of rollers), a portion of the sheet material 11 is sent to the storage unit 20. As a result, a portion of the sheet material 11 is arranged to lie along the inner surface of the storage unit 20. More specifically, the sheet material 11 hangs down from the pair of rollers 41 and 42 toward the bottom wall portion 21 of the storage unit 20, extends along the upper surface 21A of the bottom wall portion 21, and then rises toward the roller 65 along the surface of the vertical wall portion 23. In the following description, the portion of the sheet material 11 that hangs down from the pair of rollers 41 and 42 toward the bottom wall 21 of the storage section 20 will be referred to as the hanging portion 11A. The pair of rollers 41 and 42 are positioned above the vertical wall 22 of the storage section 20, and the hanging portion 11A is positioned opposite the vertical wall 22. The bending forming portion 50 is positioned opposite the upper part of the hanging portion 11A. The upper part of the hanging portion 11A is positioned along the surface 50A of the bending forming portion 50.

[0024] Next, as shown in Figure 3, the control unit 67 drives the cylinder 62 while the roller 42 continues to rotate, retracting the cylinder rod 62A. As a result, the bending forming section 50 rotates so that its lower end approaches the surface 11B of the hanging section 11A (the surface on the bending forming section 50 side). Consequently, the surface 50A of the bending forming section 50 becomes an inclined surface that extends away from the vertical wall section 22 as it goes downwards, and the portion of the hanging section 11A facing the surface 50A is placed on the surface 50A, resulting in an inclined position along the surface 50A. As a result, the portion of the hanging section 11A corresponding to the lower end of the bending forming section 50 is displaced toward the side away from the vertical wall section 22 (one side in the thickness direction of the hanging section 11A, the left side in Figure 3), so that a portion of the hanging section 11A is bent to form a bent section 11D. In other words, the bending forming section 50 can form a bent section 11D by bending a portion of the hanging section 11A.

[0025] Next, the control unit 67 drives the cylinder 62 while the roller 42 continues to rotate, extending the cylinder rod 62A. As a result, the bending portion 50 rotates so that its lower end is separated from the surface 11B of the hanging portion 11A. Consequently, as shown in Figure 4, the bending portion 11D of the sheet material 11 falls and is positioned on the bottom wall portion 21 of the storage portion 20. Note that, as shown in Figure 4, the bending portion 11D has extension portions 14A and 14B that extend along the left-right direction in Figure 4, but on the bottom wall portion 21, the extension portion 14B positioned above is positioned overlapping the extension portion 14A positioned below.

[0026] Thus, the cylinder 62 is configured to displace the lower end of the bending forming portion 50 in directions approaching and moving away from the hanging portion 11A (the left-right direction in Figures 3 and 4, and the width direction of the hanging portion 11A). As a result, by rotating the roller 42 to feed the sheet material 11 to the storage portion 20 and rotating the bending forming portion 50 with the cylinder 62, a bent portion 11D can be formed in the sheet material 11, and the bent portion 11D can be positioned on the bottom wall portion 21.

[0027] The control unit 67 then repeatedly performs the bending operation of the bending forming unit 50 to form the bending portion 11D a predetermined number of times. As a result, as shown in Figure 5, multiple bending portions 11D are arranged on the bottom wall portion 21 in a stacked state. In other words, a portion of the sheet material 11 can be arranged and stored in a bellows-like manner on the bottom wall portion 21. In this state, the bending portions 11D are arranged above the portion of the sheet material 11 that extends along the upper surface 21A (extension portion 14D), and the end of the extension portion 14A of the lowest bending portion 11D on the vertical wall portion 22 side is connected to the end of the extension portion 14D on the vertical wall portion 22 side. The end of the extension portion 14D on the vertical wall portion 23 side is connected to the lower end of the extension portion 14E that extends in the sheet material 11 in opposition to the vertical wall portion 23. Therefore, when the sheet material 11 is pulled by the gripping portion 63, it is pulled out sequentially from the lower of the multiple bent portions 11D arranged in the storage portion 20.

[0028] After storing a predetermined amount of sheet material 11 in the storage section 20, the control unit 67 stops the rotation of the roller 42. In this state, as shown in Figure 5, the sheet material 11 is completely pulled out from the roll material 12, and one end 11F of the sheet material 11 is exposed. Subsequently, as shown in Figure 5, the operator replaces the roll material by setting a new roll material 12A onto the core material 13. During the roll material replacement work, the sheet material 11 (multiple bent sections 11D) in the storage section 20 is pulled out by the gripping section 63. One end 11E of the sheet material constituting the new roll material 12A is connected to one end 11F of the sheet material 11 located on the storage section 20 side by adhesive tape or the like. As a result, after the sheet material 11 stored in the storage section 20 is used, the sheet material of the new roll material 12A is pulled out.

[0029] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. The sheet material supply device 10 of this embodiment comprises a roll material 12 formed by winding sheet material 11 into a roll shape, a storage section 20 having a concave shape with an opening at the top, rollers 41, 42 (feeding section) that feed a portion of the sheet material 11 drawn from the roll material 12 to the storage section 20 from above, and a bending forming section 50 that can bend a portion of the hanging part 11A of the sheet material 11 that hangs down from the rollers 41, 42 toward the storage section 20.

[0030] In this embodiment, the sheet material 11 is fed to the storage section 20 by rollers 41 and 42, and a portion of the hanging portion 11A of the sheet material 11 is bent by the bending forming section 50, so that the bent portion of the hanging portion 11A (bent portion 11D) falls onto the bottom surface of the storage section 20. By repeating this operation, multiple bent portions 11D can be stacked in the storage section 20. In other words, the sheet material 11 can be stored in a stacked state in the storage section 20. Therefore, when the amount of sheet material 11 constituting the roll material 12 becomes small, it is possible to replace the roll material 12 with a new one while supplying the sheet material 11 stored in the storage section 20 to other devices. This makes it possible to replace the roll material 12 without stopping the supply of sheet material 11. If the bending and forming section 50 were not provided, and the sheet material 11 were simply fed into the storage section 20 by rollers 41 and 42, the sheet material 11 could be deformed into various shapes within the storage section 20, making it prone to overflowing. In contrast, in this embodiment, by providing the bending and forming section 50, the sheet material 11 can be stored in a stacked state (organized state) within the storage section 20, thus allowing for the storage of a larger quantity.

[0031] Furthermore, the roll material 12 includes a detection unit 60 for detecting the amount of sheet material 11 that constitutes the roll material 12, and a control unit 67. It also includes a pair of rollers 41 and 42 capable of gripping a portion of the sheet material 11. When the amount of sheet material 11 detected by the detection unit 60 falls below a predetermined amount, the control unit 67 rotates the rollers 42 (at least one of the pair of rollers 41 and 42) to send a portion of the sheet material 11 to the storage unit 20. By sending the sheet material 11 to the storage unit 20 when the amount of sheet material 11 that constitutes the roll material 12 falls below a predetermined amount, the sheet material 11 can be stored.

[0032] Furthermore, the structure is equipped with a cylinder 62 (displacement device) capable of displacing the lower end of the bending forming portion 50 in a direction toward and away from the hanging portion 11A (more specifically, the surface 11B). The bending forming portion 50 is rotatably mounted with its upper end as the pivot point and is positioned opposite to the hanging portion 11A.

[0033] The cylinder 62 allows the bending-forming portion 50 to rotate with its upper end as the pivot point. By rotating the bending-forming portion 50 and bringing it into contact with the hanging portion 11A, a portion of the hanging portion 11A can be bent.

[0034] Furthermore, the upper surface 21A of the bottom wall portion 21 of the storage section 20 is curved. This prevents the sheet material 11 (extended portion 14D in Figure 5) from getting caught on the upper surface 21A of the bottom wall portion 21 when supplying the sheet material 11 stored in the storage section 20 to another device. As a result, the sheet material 11 can be drawn out of the storage section 20 more reliably.

[0035] <Other Embodiments> The technologies disclosed herein are not limited to the embodiments described above in the description and drawings, but also include, for example, the following embodiments. (1) In the above embodiment, a cylinder 62 was given as an example of a displacement device for rotating the bending forming portion 50, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, a pivot shaft may be provided at the upper end of the bending forming portion 50, and this pivot shaft may be rotated by a motor. Alternatively, a rack and pinion mechanism may be used instead of a cylinder 62 to displace the lower end of the bending forming portion 50. (2) In the above embodiment, a configuration was shown in which a part of the hanging portion 11A is bent by rotating the bending forming portion 50, but a configuration in which a part of the hanging portion 11A is bent by linearly displacing the bending forming portion is also possible. (3) In the above embodiments, the sheet material is exemplified as a material that constitutes the interior of a vehicle, but it is not limited to this. The use of the sheet material is not limited to the interior of a vehicle and can be changed as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10... Supply device, 11... Sheet material, 11A... Hanging part of sheet material, 12... Roll material, 20... Storage section, 21... Bottom wall of storage section, 41, 42... Rollers (feeding section), 50... Bending and forming section, 60... Detection section, 62... Cylinder (displacement device), 67... Control section

Claims

1. A roll material made by winding a sheet material into a roll shape, A concave storage section opening upwards, A feeding unit that feeds a portion of the sheet material drawn from the roll material to the storage unit from above, A sheet material supply device comprising: a bending forming unit capable of bending a portion of the hanging part of the sheet material that hangs down from the feeding unit toward the storage unit.

2. A detection unit for detecting the amount of sheet material that constitutes the roll material, It comprises a control unit and, The feeding section consists of a pair of rollers capable of gripping a portion of the sheet material. The sheet material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, when the amount of sheet material detected by the detection unit falls below a predetermined amount, rotates at least one of the pair of rollers to send a portion of the sheet material to the storage unit.

3. The device is equipped with a displacement mechanism that can displace the lower end of the bending-forming portion in a direction that moves it closer to and further away from the hanging portion. The sheet material supply device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the bending forming portion is provided so as to be rotatable about its upper end as the pivot point and is positioned opposite to the hanging portion.

4. The sheet material supply device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the upper surface of the bottom wall of the storage section is curved.

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