Seed board sorting equipment and seed board sorting method using the same

Abstract

To provide a starting sheet selection apparatus that can remove a starting sheet peeled from a mother board when the thickness of the starting sheet is difficult to be corrected by a cathode finisher.SOLUTION: The starting sheet selection apparatus comprises: starting sheet transportation means for transporting a starting sheet S peeled from a mother board M sequentially by a peeling device 1, preferably comprising a slash table 10, a first roller conveyor 20, and a second roller conveyor 30; starting sheet thickness measurement means for measuring the thickness of each starting sheet S during the transportation, preferably comprising a pair of distance measuring instruments 40; determination means for determining the pass or fail of each starting sheet S based on the measurement result of the starting sheet thickness measurement means; and starting sheet removal means for removing a starting sheet S determined to be failed by the determination means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seed plate sorting system used in non-ferrous metal smelting and a seed plate sorting method using the seed plate sorting system. [Background technology]

[0002] In non-ferrous metal smelting, a number of anodes formed by casting the low-purity target metal to be refined and a number of separately prepared cathodes are prepared, and these cathodes and anodes are arranged alternately one by one in an electrolytic cell filled with an electrolyte, and a current is passed through them to electrodeposit a high-purity target metal on the surface of the cathodes. In this electrolytic smelting, if the distance between the adjacent anodes and cathodes becomes large, the electrical resistance of the electrolyte increases and a large amount of power is required for electrolytic smelting, so power consumption is reduced by keeping the distance as close as possible in the electrolytic cell.

[0003] However, if the distance between the anode and cathode becomes too small, although it is possible to reduce power consumption, as electrodeposition on the surface of the cathode progresses, there is a risk that part of the electrodeposited target metal may come into contact with the adjacent anode, in which case a short circuit phenomenon occurs in which electricity flows directly from the anode to the cathode without passing through the electrolyte, resulting in unnecessary power consumption. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of electrolytic refining while suppressing the occurrence of the above-mentioned short circuit phenomenon, it is necessary to ensure an appropriate distance between the adjacent anode and cathode.

[0004] Incidentally, electrolytic smelting can be carried out in two ways: a permanent cathode method in which a stainless steel (SUS) plate, titanium plate or the like, which is a metal insoluble in the electrolytic solution, is used as a cathode, and after the target metal is electrodeposited on the surface of the cathode, the target metal is stripped off from the cathode for shipment, and the cathode after stripping is repeatedly used; and a seed plate method in which a cathode is prepared in advance using the target metal, this cathode is used as a seed plate to electrodeposit the same type of target metal on its surface, and the cathode and the seed plate are shipped as they are after the electrodeposition.

[0005] In the latter seed plate method, to prepare a seed plate, first, seed plate electrolysis is performed using an electrolytic cell and electrolyte for electrolytic smelting of the target metal, and the target metal is electrodeposited onto both sides of a cathode for seed plate electrolysis (also called mother plate), which is generally made of SUS material, until the target metal reaches a predetermined seed plate thickness (usually about 0.8 mm). The mother plate, with the target metal electrodeposited to a predetermined thickness on both sides in this way, is pulled up from the electrolyte and introduced into a stripping device, where the target metal is stripped from the mother plate.

[0006] The seed plate thus produced is preferably formed in a flat plate shape without warping or bending, since it is inserted into the electrolytic cell as close as possible to the anode as described above as a cathode after the electrode bar is attached, but the cathode surface may be warped or bent at the center or lower end in the vertical direction when hung in the electrolytic cell. In this way, if the seed plate is deformed in the vertical direction and not straight when hung in the electrolytic cell, the distance from the upper end to the lower end of the adjacent anode and cathode is not constant, so there is a risk of a short circuit occurring at the point where they are closest to each other. Therefore, the seed plate peeled off from the mother plate is usually processed to correct the above-mentioned warping, bending, and other deformations before the electrode bar is attached and the plate is inserted into the electrolytic cell.

[0007] A straightening device called a cathode finisher is generally used for straightening the above-mentioned seed plate. Specifically, the seed plate transported from the above-mentioned peeling device in a state of being loaded on a pallet is loaded into the cathode finisher, where the internal stress is first removed by a roller leveler, and then the seed plate is grooved while adjusting the pressing force of the groove roller according to the seed plate thickness. However, the seed plate peeled off from the mother plate using the above-mentioned peeling device may be warped to such an extent that it is difficult to load it on the above-mentioned pallet.

[0008] Therefore, the seed plate peeled off by the peeling device is first introduced into a distortion removal device, where distortion is removed to an extent that it can be transported on a pallet.For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which, when a seed plate peeled off from a mother plate by a pair of peeling pinch rollers is transported on a roller conveyor in a horizontal position, the seed plate is pressed from above by a movable pressing roller provided above the entrance end of the roller conveyor to remove distortion. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-165693 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] By providing a distortion relief device as described above, it is possible to prevent any inconvenience during transportation on a pallet. However, with the distortion relief device as described above, the seed plates peeled off from the mother plate are all loaded into the cathode finisher after the distortion is removed, so there were cases where seed plates with a seed plate thickness that was difficult to correct even by adjusting the pressing force of the grooving roller in the cathode finisher were loaded into the cathode finisher.

[0011] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a seed plate sorting equipment that can remove defective seed plates peeled off from a mother plate, which have a thickness outside a predetermined range, midway through the transport path before being loaded into a downstream machine, for example a cathode finisher, and a seed plate sorting method using the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] In order to achieve the above object, the seed board sorting equipment according to the present invention includes a seed board transporting means for transporting the seed boards successively peeled off from the mother board by the peeling device, a seed board thickness measuring means for measuring the thickness of each type of board during the transport, a judging means for judging the pass / fail of each type of board based on the measurement results of the seed board thickness measuring means, and a seed board removing means for removing seed boards judged as failing by the judging means. a seed plate passing detection means for detecting the passage of a leading edge portion in a transport direction of the seed plate being transported by the seed plate transporting means is provided on the upstream side or downstream side of the seed plate thickness measuring means, and the judgment means, upon receiving a detection signal from the seed plate passing detection means, accumulates seed plate thickness information measured at a predetermined time interval by the seed plate thickness measuring means, divides the accumulated value of the seed plate thickness information by the amount of information of the seed plate thickness information, and compares the average seed plate thickness value obtained by the calculation with a predetermined specified value to make the pass / fail judgment. It is characterized by the following.

[0013] The seed board selection method according to the present invention includes a seed board thickness measurement step of measuring the thickness of each seed board while transporting the seed boards successively peeled off from the mother board by the peeling device, a judgment step of judging the pass / fail of each type of board based on the thickness information obtained in the seed board thickness measurement step, and a seed board removal step of removing seed boards judged to be unacceptable in the judgment step. The judgment step accumulates the thickness information obtained by measuring at a predetermined time interval in the seed plate thickness measurement step, triggered by the timing when the leading edge of the seed plate in the transport direction passes a predetermined position, until the trailing edge of the seed plate in the transport direction passes the predetermined position or until a predetermined elapsed time has elapsed. After the accumulation, the accumulated value of the thickness information is divided by the amount of the thickness information to obtain an average seed plate thickness, and the pass / fail judgment is performed by comparing the average seed plate thickness with a predetermined specified value. It is characterized by the following. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, when the thickness of the seed plate peeled off from the mother plate is outside a predetermined range and is a defective product, the defective product can be removed before being loaded into a downstream device, for example, a cathode finisher. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the seed plate sorting equipment according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a front view of the seed board sorting equipment of FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of arrow AA. [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic front view showing a state in which a seed plate is removed or not removed using a seed plate removing means provided in the seed plate sorting equipment of FIG. 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, a seed plate sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention and a seed plate sorting method using the seed plate sorting system will be described with reference to the drawings. The seed plate sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a seed plate transporting means for transporting seed plates successively peeled off from a mother plate, a seed plate thickness measuring means for measuring the thickness of each type of plate during the transport, a judging means for judging the pass / fail of each type of plate based on the measurement results of the seed plate thickness measuring means, and a seed plate removing means for removing seed plates judged to be unacceptable by the judging means.

[0017] In addition, the seed plate selection method performed using this seed plate selection equipment measures the thickness (seed plate thickness) of seed plates for non-ferrous metal electrolytic smelting, which are successively peeled off from mother plates by a peeling device, while transporting them on a transport line toward a cathode finisher, and judges whether the plate passes or fails based on the measurement results of the seed plate thickness. For example, if the seed plate thickness of the seed plate obtained by measurement is outside the thickness range that can be corrected in the cathode finisher and correction is difficult, the plate is judged to be unacceptable. Then, the seed plate judged to be unacceptable is removed from the transport line. Below, each component of the above-mentioned seed plate selection equipment will be described in detail, and then the seed plate selection method using the seed plate selection equipment will be described in detail.

[0018] 1. Components of the seed board sorting equipment 1.1 Type plate transport means The seed plate conveying means that constitutes the seed plate sorting equipment of an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 1, is provided adjacent to both sides of the peeling device 1 that peels the seed plate S from both sides of the mother plate, and is composed of a pair of slat tables 10 on which the seed plate S is placed in a horizontally laid position, a pair of first roller conveyors 20 that are provided at the ends of the pair of slat tables 10 opposite the ends adjacent to the peeling device 1 and transport the seed plate S in a horizontally laid position, and a pair of second roller conveyors 30 that transport the seed plate S in a horizontally laid position in a direction horizontally perpendicular to the transport direction of the pair of first roller conveyors 20.

[0019] In the peeling device 1, as shown in Fig. 2, the mother plate M is pulled upward, and the two seed plates S electrodeposited on both sides of the mother plate M are peeled off by a peeling blade B. At this time, each of the two seed plates S is sandwiched from both sides, starting from the upper end side, by a pair of pinch rollers 2 facing each other in the vertical direction, so that the plate is laid horizontally, and is sent to the slashing table 10 in this position, i.e., with the thickness direction facing up and down.

[0020] The thickness of the seed plate S introduced onto the slash table 10 is measured by a seed plate thickness measuring means described later while being transported while sliding horizontally toward the first roller conveyor 20. In the embodiment of the present invention, the pair of slash tables 10, the pair of first roller conveyors 20, and the pair of second roller conveyors 30 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the peeling device 1 as shown on the paper surface of Fig. 1, so that in the following explanation, the left slash table 10, the first roller conveyor 20, and the second roller conveyor 30 will be explained unless otherwise specified.

[0021] After the thickness of the starting board S is measured by the slash table 10, the starting board S is sent to a first roller conveyor 20 consisting of a first transport roller group 21 without changing the transport direction. The first transport roller group 21 is adapted to receive the rotational driving force of a first electric motor 22 via a drive chain 23, and is supported by a stand so that the height of the transport surface defined by the highest point of the outer circumferential surfaces of the first transport roller group 21 is approximately equal to the height of the table surface of the slash table 10.

[0022] Furthermore, the first roller conveyor 20 is provided with a straightening mechanism 24 equipped with a pressure roller 24a supported by an air cylinder so as to be movable up and down at the front end of the side where the seed board S is introduced from the slashing table 10. As a result, the seed board S introduced into the first roller conveyor 20 while sliding on the table surface of the slashing table 10 is straightened by the straightening mechanism 24 to an extent that it can be subsequently transported in a horizontally laid position, and then it is transported by the rotating transport roller group 21 in a horizontally laid position to the rear end of the first roller conveyor 20 on the opposite side to the front end.

[0023] A pusher 26 operated by an air cylinder 25 is provided on one side of the rear end of the first roller conveyor 20 in the width direction, and the seed plate S transported to the rear end of the first roller conveyor 20 is transferred to a second roller conveyor 30 consisting of a second transport roller group 31 adjacent to the first roller conveyor 20 on the opposite side to the side where the pusher 26 is provided, by the pusher 26 provided at the rod tip of the air cylinder 25 which extends and retracts in a direction horizontally perpendicular to the transport direction of the first roller conveyor 20.

[0024] Like the first roller conveyor 20, the second group of transport rollers 31 of the second roller conveyor 30 is adapted to receive the rotational driving force of the second electric motor 32 via a drive chain (not shown), and is supported by a frame so that the height of the transport surface defined by the highest point of the outer circumferential surfaces of the second group of transport rollers 31 approximately matches the height of the transport surface of the first roller conveyor 20.

[0025] In this way, the seed plate S transferred from the first roller conveyor 20 to the second roller conveyor 30 is transported in a horizontally laid position by the second roller conveyor 30, and then loaded onto a pallet by a loading device (not shown) provided adjacent to the downstream end opposite the upstream end adjacent to the first roller conveyor 20. A seed plate removing means (described later) is provided on the transport path of this second roller conveyor 30.

[0026] The operation of the first motor 22 of the first roller conveyor 20, the second motor 32 of the second roller conveyor 30, and the air cylinder 25 of the pusher 26 is controlled by a control means 60 such as a PLC described later, whereby the seed boards S successively peeled off by the peeling device 1 are intermittently transported toward the loading device. For simplicity, in FIG. 1, electrical signals transmitted between the control means 60 and only the first roller conveyor 20, the second roller conveyor 30, the pusher 26, and the seed board thickness measuring means and the seed board removing means described later, which are on the left side of the peeling device 1 on the paper, are shown by dotted lines, but electrical signals are also transmitted between the control means 60 and the devices on the right side of the peeling device 1.

[0027] 1.2nd type plate thickness measurement method The seed plate thickness measuring means constituting the seed plate sorting equipment of the embodiment of the present invention measures the seed plate thickness of the seed plate S being transported by the above-mentioned seed plate transporting means. There are no particular limitations on the method of measuring this seed plate thickness, and for example, it may be a method of directly measuring the seed plate thickness by bringing a thickness measuring tool such as a vernier caliper into contact with the seed plate S, or a non-contact thickness measuring device that irradiates the seed plate S with ultrasonic waves or laser light to measure the distance from the irradiation source to the surface of the seed plate S and calculates the seed plate thickness from the measurement result.

[0028] 2 shows an example in which a pair of non-contact distance measuring devices 40 using laser light is used as the seed board thickness measuring means in the seed board sorting equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the slit-shaped opening is provided on the downstream side of the slit table 10 in the conveying direction, and a pair of distance measuring devices 40 is provided on a vertical line passing through this opening and at positions facing the upper and lower surfaces of the seed board S conveyed along the table surface of the slit table 10, respectively.

[0029] As a result, each distance measuring device 40 can measure the distance from the light source to the opposing surface of the seed plate S by irradiating a laser light vertically toward the opposing surface of the seed plate S, and the thickness of the seed plate S can be indirectly determined by subtracting the measurement result values ​​measured by each of the pair of distance measuring devices 40 from the separation distance between the two light sources. The seed plate sorting equipment of the embodiment of the present invention is further provided with a seed plate passage detection means, represented by a photoelectric sensor 41, at a position downstream of the correction mechanism 24 of the first roller conveyor 20, which detects the passage of the seed plate S by irradiating light such as visible light or infrared light from below the transport path defined by the transport roller group 21 toward the transport path of the seed plate S.

[0030] The above-mentioned non-contact seed board thickness measuring means such as the distance measuring device 40 and the passage detecting means such as the photoelectric sensor 41 transmit and receive electrical signals to and from the control means 60 such as a PLC as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. As a result, when the photoelectric sensor 41 serving as the seed board passage detecting means detects that the front end of the seed board S in the transport direction has passed a predetermined detection point, the control means 60 receiving this detection signal outputs a distance measurement start signal to the pair of distance measuring devices 40 and continues this distance measurement until a predetermined time has elapsed. The control means 60 can determine the seed board thickness at one or more points of the various boards S based on the distance measurement results transmitted from the pair of distance measuring devices 40.

[0031] 1.3 Seed plate removal means The seed plate removing means constituting the seed plate sorting equipment of the embodiment of the present invention is for removing defective products from the transport path among the seed plates S that are sequentially transported by the seed plate transport means in a horizontally laid position along the transport path. There is no particular limitation on the method for removing defective products by the seed plate removing means, and for example, a method can be mentioned in which a transport direction changing means such as a pusher is provided downstream of the position where the seed plate thickness measuring means is provided in the transport path of the seed plate transport means so that the seed plate S to be removed is removed from the transport path, and the seed plate S removed from the transport path is collected in a roller conveyor or collection container for collecting defective products provided to the side or below the seed plate transport means.

[0032] 1, an example is shown in which a seed plate removing means 50 is used, which is composed of an air cylinder 51 provided above the conveying surface of the second roller conveyor 30, and a seed plate removing roller 52 having a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the second conveying roller group 31 and rotatably supported by the air cylinder 51, as shown in FIG. 3(a). When the rod of the air cylinder 51 is retracted, the seed plate removing roller 52 is positioned above the conveying surface of the second roller conveyor 30, and when the rod of the air cylinder 51 is advanced, the lower side of the rotation axis of the seed plate removing roller 52 intersects with the conveying surface of the second roller conveyor 30.

[0033] As a result, when the seed plate S of the acceptable product passes directly under the seed plate removing means 50, the seed plate removing roller 52 is positioned above the conveying surface of the second roller conveyor 30, so that the conveying of the acceptable seed plate S is not impeded. On the other hand, when the defective seed plate S to be removed passes directly under the seed plate removing means 50, the seed plate removing roller 52 is lowered just before the leading edge of the defective seed plate S in the conveying direction reaches directly under the seed plate removing means 50, so that the leading edge of the defective seed plate S in the conveying direction and thereafter contact the lower side of the rotation axis of the outer peripheral surface of the seed plate removing roller 52, as shown in FIG. 3(b), so that the moving direction of the defective seed plate S is deflected obliquely downward. As a result, the defective seed plate S can be extracted below the conveying surface of the second roller conveyor 30 through the gap between the two conveying rollers located immediately upstream and downstream of the seed plate removing roller 52.

[0034] The defective seed board S extracted as described above is collected by a collection cart 53 arranged below the second transport roller group 31. The seed board removing means 50 is configured to receive an output signal from a control means 60 such as a PLC via an electrical signal as indicated by a dotted line in Fig. 1, and thus, when the seed board removing means 50 receives a removal signal from the control means 60 indicating that the seed board S passing directly below the seed board removing means 50 has been determined to be defective, the seed board removing means 50 is controlled to lower the seed board removing roller 52 while the defective seed board S passes directly below the seed board removing means 50.

[0035] 1.4 Judgment means As described above, the determination means that constitutes the seed board sorting equipment of an embodiment of the present invention can be realized by the peeling device 1, as well as the first and second electric motors 22, 32 of the first and second roller conveyors 20, 30, the air cylinder 25 of the pusher 26, a non-contact distance measuring device 40 as a seed board thickness measuring means, a photoelectric sensor 41 as a seed board passage detection means, and a control means 60 such as a programmable logic controller (PLC) that transmits and receives electrical signals between the seed board removal means 50.

[0036] In the following explanation, the CPU constituting the PLC as control means 60 has a memory unit, a calculation unit, a time measurement unit, a judgment unit, and a control unit assigned to it, and in addition to acting as a judgment means that calculates the seed board thickness using the measurement value from the seed board thickness measuring means and makes a pass / fail judgment based on this calculation result, it is described as the PLC also performing all of the control such as operation control of each device that constitutes the seed board sorting equipment. However, the configuration of the control means 60 is not limited to this, and for example, the areas for measurement and calculation for seed board thickness, the area for making pass / fail judgments, etc. may be realized by external control means.

[0037] For example, a thickness measuring device equipped with a CPU for the seed board thickness control means may be used as the seed board thickness measuring means, and areas (storage unit, calculation unit, time measurement unit, judgment unit) for measuring and calculating the seed board thickness and judging whether the seed board thickness is acceptable or not based on the calculation results may be assigned to the CPU for the seed board thickness control means of the thickness measuring device. In this case, by transmitting the result of this acceptance / rejection judgment to the PLC for the main control means, the PLC for the main control means basically only needs to control the operation of the first and second electric motors 22, 32 of the first and second roller conveyors 20, 30, the air cylinder 25 of the pusher 26, and the seed board removal means 50.

[0038] [Storage] The memory unit is a memory area allocated inside the CPU constituting the PLC as the control means 60, and in addition to storing seed board thickness information of various boards S output from the distance measuring device 40 as the seed board thickness measuring means, it also stores an arithmetic equation for calculating the seed board thickness from the seed board thickness information in the calculation unit and the seed board thickness value output from the calculation unit, and stores a judgment equation for judging pass / fail based on the seed board thickness value in the judgment unit and the judgment result output from the judgment unit. The memory unit also has the role of storing the duration of thickness measurement performed for each type of board S, the positions of the various boards being transported by the seed board transport means, and, in the case where the seed board is transported intermittently by the seed board transport means, the number of transports from the reference position.

[0039] [Calculation section] The calculation unit is a calculation area allocated inside the CPU that constitutes the PLC as the control means 60, and its role is to calculate the seed board thickness of various boards S based on the seed board thickness information retrieved from the above-mentioned memory unit and an arithmetic formula for determining the seed board thickness from this seed board thickness information, and to output the calculation results.

[0040] [Time measurement section] The time measurement section is a time measurement area allocated inside the CPU constituting the PLC as the control means 60, and has the role of starting time measurement based on the output of a signal from the seed plate passing detection means notifying that the leading edge in the transport direction of the seed plate S has passed a predetermined position, integrating the time until the signal indicative of the trailing edge in the transport direction of the seed plate S having passed the predetermined position is output from the seed plate passing detection means, and outputting the integration result as an integrated value. Alternatively, instead of the integrated value, it may be possible to output that a predetermined elapsed time has elapsed since the leading edge in the transport direction of the seed plate S has passed the predetermined position.

[0041] [Judgment section] The judgment unit is a judgment area allocated inside the CPU that constitutes the PLC as the control means 60, and has the role of judging the pass / fail of various boards S based on the judgment formula information for judging the pass / fail of the seed board thickness retrieved from the memory unit, comparing the integrated value information output from the time measurement unit and the calculation result information of the seed board thickness output from the calculation unit, and outputting the pass / fail result.

[0042] [Control Unit] The control section is a control area allocated inside the CPU constituting the PLC as the control means 60, and in addition to controlling the writing and reading of information to and from the memory section, controls the rotation and stopping of the first electric motor 22 of the first roller conveyor 20 and the second electric motor 32 of the second roller conveyor 30, and controls the operation of the air cylinder 25 of the pusher 26 and the air cylinder 51 of the seed board removal roller 52, etc. This control section may take on the roles of the calculation section, time measurement section, and judgment section mentioned above.

[0043] 2. Method of selecting seed boards using seed board selection equipment Next, a seed plate sorting method according to an embodiment of the present invention using the above-mentioned seed plate sorting equipment will be described. In the seed plate sorting equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit of the PLC as the control means 60 rotates the first electric motor 22 of the first roller conveyor 20 and the second electric motor 32 of the second roller conveyor 30, and also operates the air cylinder 25 of the pusher 26, every time the seed plate S is peeled from the mother plate M in the peeling device 1.

[0044] As a result, the seed plates S on the conveying surface of the seed plate conveying means move one at a time from the standby positions at which they are waiting to a downstream position. For example, the seed plate S waiting at standby position P1 shown in FIG. 1 moves to standby position P2. Similarly, the seed plates S waiting at standby positions P2, P3, and P4 move to standby positions P3, P4, and P5, respectively. The seed plate waiting at standby position P5 is then transferred to a loading device, not shown. That is, in the seed plate sorting equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the seed plates S are peeled from α mother plates M in the peeling device 1, the seed plate conveying means moves to standby position P β The seed plate S located at is intermittently transported α times to the standby position P α+β will be moved to.

[0045] When the seed board S is transported by the seed board transport means, the memory unit of the control means 60 can store which waiting position each type of board S is present on the transport surface of the seed board transport means at a certain time. Furthermore, the memory unit can store the number of times each type of board S is intermittently transported starting from the certain time. As a result, the control unit of the control means 60 can specify which waiting position the seed board S will be moved to when one or more intermittent transports are performed starting from the certain time, for any waiting position at a certain time, from information on the waiting position of the seed board at the certain time stored in the memory unit and information on the number of intermittent transports of the seed board S starting from the certain time.

[0046] For example, at a certain time t n At the standby position P βFor the seed board S waiting at time t n Waiting position P β Since the controller memorizes that the seed plate is waiting at time t n The waiting position P β+1 and then moves to standby position P with two intermittent transfers. β+2 and then moves to standby position P by α intermittent transfers. β+α It can be specified that the device will move to the

[0047] The seed board selection method according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a seed board thickness measurement step of measuring the thickness of the seed board S transported by the seed board transport means controlled by the control means 60 as described above while transporting the seed board, a determination step of determining pass / fail of each type of board S based on the thickness information measured in the seed board thickness measurement step, and a seed board removal step of removing seed boards determined to be unacceptable in the determination step. Each of these steps will be described in detail below.

[0048] First, in the seed board thickness measurement process, various types of boards S are sent out to the slashing table 10 by a pair of pinch rollers 2 of the peeling device 1 and transported while sliding on the table surface of the slashing table 10. The various types of boards S are straightened by the pressure roller 24a of the straightening mechanism 24 and the first transport roller 21 of the first roller conveyor 20 that faces this in the vertical direction, and the thickness of the seed board is measured.

[0049] Specifically, when the photoelectric sensor 41 serving as a seed board passage detection means detects that the front end portion in the transport direction of the seed board S passes through a position downstream of the correction mechanism 24, the control unit of the control means 60 receives this passage detection signal and sends a measurement start signal to a pair of non-contact distance measuring devices 40 serving as seed board thickness measuring means provided on the slash table 10, and causes the timing unit to start accumulating the elapsed time from the start of this measurement.

[0050] Then, when the time measurement unit outputs that the accumulated value of the elapsed time has reached a predetermined accumulated time previously stored in the memory unit, the seed board thickness measurement means ends the measurement. Measurement by the distance measurement device is performed, for example, every 10 ms, and the measurement information of the various boards S obtained by the measurement is stored in the memory unit. Note that the end of measurement by the seed board thickness measurement means is not limited to a method of controlling based on the accumulated value of the elapsed time accumulated by the time measurement unit, and the measurement may be ended when the trailing edge of the seed board S in the transport direction passes the non-contact distance measurement device.

[0051] Also, the position detected by the photoelectric sensor 41 as the seed board passage detection means may be set upstream of the seed board thickness measurement means in the transport direction of the seed board S, and the measurement may be started a predetermined time after the front end of the seed board S in the transport direction passes the detection position of this photoelectric sensor. The control unit of the control means 60 causes the calculation unit to calculate the seed board thicknesses of the various boards S based on the measurement information of the various boards S stored in the memory unit as described above, and causes the calculation result to be output as seed board thickness information of the various boards S. The seed board thickness information of the various boards S output from the calculation unit is output the same number of times as the number of pieces of measurement information of the various boards S stored in the memory unit.

[0052] For example, when the pair of distance measuring devices 40 as the seed plate thickness measuring means perform 100 measurements per seed plate within a predetermined integration time, 100 sets of measurement information consisting of a set of an upper distance from the irradiation source of the distance measuring device above the table surface of the slat table 10 to the upper surface of the seed plate S and a lower distance from the irradiation source of the distance measuring device below the table surface to the lower surface of the seed plate S are stored in the memory unit for each type of plate S, and the calculation unit performs a calculation for each of these 100 sets of measurement information to subtract the above upper distance and lower distance from the distance between the two irradiation sources of the pair of distance measuring devices 40, thereby outputting 100 pieces of seed plate thickness information per seed plate. The seed plate thickness information output in this way is stored in the memory unit for each type of plate S.

[0053] Next, in the judgment step, the control unit of the control means 60 causes the judgment unit to execute a pass / fail judgment as to whether or not the various boards S satisfy the predetermined requirements for the seed board thickness based on the seed board thickness information for each type of board stored in the storage unit. The judgment formula information used for the pass / fail judgment of the seed board thickness of the various types of boards S is retrieved from the storage unit by the judgment unit. There is no particular limitation on the method of judging the pass / fail of the various types of boards S using this judgment information, and for example, a method can be mentioned in which the seed board thickness information of the various types of boards S is retrieved from the storage unit to find an integrated value of the seed board thickness, and the pass / fail judgment is performed based on whether or not the integrated value of the obtained seed board thickness is within the allowable range of the judgment formula information.

[0054] Here, for example, when 100 pieces of seed plate thickness information are stored in the storage unit per seed plate, it is preferable to use the sum of the 100 seed plate thicknesses as the integrated value of the seed plate thickness. In this case, if the integrated value of the seed plate thickness is within a predetermined allowable range, it is judged as pass. On the other hand, if the integrated value of the seed plate thickness is smaller than the lower limit of the allowable range, the seed plate is judged as failing because the seed plate thickness is too thin, and conversely, if the integrated value is larger than the upper limit of the allowable range, the seed plate is judged as failing because the seed plate thickness is too thick. The reason why the seed plate is rejected when its seed plate thickness is too thin or too thick outside the predetermined allowable range is that it becomes difficult to perform a good straightening process using a cathode finisher in the subsequent process of the seed plate sorting equipment. The pass / fail information of each plate judged in this way is stored in the storage unit in association with the time when each plate is transported to the standby position P1.

[0055] In the above judgment process, instead of making a pass / fail judgment based on whether the integrated value of the seed plate thickness is within the allowable range of the judgment formula information, the integrated value of the seed plate thickness may be divided by the number of seed plate thickness information to obtain an average value of the seed plate thickness, and the average value may be compared with a predetermined allowable range of the average value of the seed plate thickness to make a pass / fail judgment. In this case, as in the above, if the average value of the seed plate thickness is within the predetermined range, it is judged as pass, and if it is outside the allowable range, it is judged as fail. Thus, in the judgment process, the seed plate thickness is measured and the pass / fail judgment is made during the process in which the various plates S peeled by the peeling device 1 are transported by the slat table 10 and the first roller conveyor 20 toward the waiting position P1.

[0056] Next, in the seed board removal process, the control section of the control means 60 activates the air cylinder 25 of the pusher 26 in synchronization with the timing at which the seed boards S are sequentially peeled off from the peeling device 1. As a result, for example, the seed board S waiting at the standby position P1 of the first roller conveyor 20 is pushed out by the pusher 26 to be transferred to the second roller conveyor 30, and is transported to the standby position P2 by the second transport roller group 31 of the second roller conveyor 30 which rotates in synchronization with this timing.

[0057] In this case, the control unit of the control means 60 causes the memory unit to store information that the seed board S waiting at the standby position P1 is transported to the standby position P2 in one intermittent transport starting from the time t0 when the seed board S is transported to this standby position P1, and that at the time t1 after the completion of this one intermittent transport, the seed board S is waiting at the standby position P2. At this time, the memory unit stores, for the seed board S transported from the standby position P1 to the standby position P2, pass / fail information on the seed board thickness and the time t1 when the seed board S was transported to the standby position P2 in association with each other.

[0058] The seed board S waiting at this standby position P2 is transported toward the standby position P3 by the second transport roller group 31 of the second roller conveyor 30 which rotates in accordance with the timing at which the next seed board S is peeled off from the peeling device 1. At that time, the control unit of the control means 60 can specify the pass / fail information on the seed board thickness of the seed board S transported from the standby position P1 to P2 as described above by retrieving it from the storage unit, and therefore, if the seed board S waiting at this standby position P2 is determined to be unacceptable, the control unit of the control means 60 outputs a removal signal to the seed board removal means 50 provided between the standby positions P2 and P3.

[0059] This causes the seed plate removing roller 52 of the seed plate removing means 50 to descend, so that the front edge of the seed plate S determined to be unacceptable in the conveying direction comes into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the seed plate removing roller 52 below the rotation axis thereof, and the seed plate S is pulled out below the conveying surface of the second roller conveyor 30. As a result, the seed plate S determined to be unacceptable is not conveyed to the standby position P3, but is removed just before that and stored in the recovery cart 53.

[0060] On the other hand, if the seed board S waiting at this standby position P2 is judged to be acceptable, the control section of the control means 60 does not output a removal signal to the seed board removing means 50, and the seed board removing roller 52 does not descend. Therefore, the seed board S judged to be acceptable is directly transported from standby position P2 to standby position P3. The seed board S thus transported to standby position P3 is thereafter transported sequentially to standby positions P4 and P5 on the downstream side in accordance with the timing of the peeling process in the peeling device 1, and when it reaches standby position P5 at the end of the second roller conveyor 30, it is transferred to a pallet by a transfer device (not shown). [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1 Peeling device 2 Pinch Roller 10 Slash Table 20 No. 1 Roller Conveyor 21, 31 First and second conveyor roller groups 22, 32 1st, 2nd electric motor 23 Drive Chain 24 Correction mechanism 24a Pressure roller 25 Air Cylinder 26 Pusher 30 Second Roller Conveyor 40 Distance Measuring Device 41 Photoelectric Sensor 50 Seed plate removal means 51 Air Cylinder 52 Seed board removal roller 53 Collection trolley 60 Control Means B Peeling blade M mother plate S seed plate

Claims

1. The apparatus includes a seed plate transporting means for transporting the seed plates successively peeled off from the mother plate by the peeling device, a seed plate thickness measuring means for measuring the thickness of each type of plate during the transport, a judging means for judging the pass / fail of each type of plate based on the measurement results of the seed plate thickness measuring means, and a seed plate removing means for removing seed plates judged to be unacceptable by the judging means, a seed plate passing detection means for detecting that a leading edge in a transport direction of the seed plate being transported by the seed plate transporting means has passed through the seed plate, the judgment means integrating seed plate thickness information measured at predetermined time intervals by the seed plate thickness measuring means in response to an input of a detection signal from the seed plate passing detection means, and dividing the integrated value of the integrated seed plate thickness information by an information amount of the seed plate thickness information to obtain an average seed plate thickness value, thereby comparing the average seed plate thickness value with a predetermined specified value, thereby making the judgment on pass / fail.

2. 2. The seed plate sorting equipment according to claim 1, wherein the seed plate transporting means comprises a roller conveyor that transports the seed plate in a horizontally laid position, the seed plate removing means comprises a seed plate removing roller that can freely reciprocate vertically while maintaining its rotational center axis parallel to the transport surface of the roller conveyor, and while the seed plate determined to be unacceptable passes directly below the seed plate removing means, the seed plate removing roller is moved so as to intersect with the transport surface, thereby deflecting the transport direction of the seed plate determined to be unacceptable relative to the transport direction of the roller conveyor.

3. 2. The seed plate sorting equipment according to claim 1, wherein the integration is continued until a predetermined elapsed time has elapsed, or until the seed plate passing detection means detects that the trailing edge of the seed plate in the transport direction has passed, or until the trailing edge of the seed plate in the transport direction passes a non-contact distance measuring device.

4. The method includes a seed plate thickness measuring step of measuring the thickness of each seed plate while conveying the seed plates successively peeled off from the mother plate by the peeling device, a judgment step of judging the pass / fail of each plate based on the thickness information obtained in the seed plate thickness measuring step, and a seed plate removing step of removing the seed plates judged to be unsatisfactory in the judgment step, the determining step includes accumulating the thickness information obtained by measuring at predetermined time intervals in the seed plate thickness measuring step, triggered by a timing when a leading edge of the seed plate in a transport direction passes a predetermined position, until a trailing edge of the seed plate in a transport direction passes the predetermined position or until a predetermined elapsed time has elapsed, and after the accumulating, dividing the accumulated value of the thickness information by an information amount of the thickness information to obtain an average seed plate thickness, thereby comparing the average seed plate thickness with a predetermined specified value, thereby determining whether the plate is pass or fail.

Images