JP6784095B2 - Transport device and transport method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport device and a transport method.

Patent Document 1 describes an electrode transfer device. As a whole, this electrode transfer device conveys the electrode plate supplied by the electrode supply device to the sandwiching device that sandwiches the electrode plate with a film to form an electrode sheet. The electrode transfer device includes a transfer belt mechanism, a crossover guide roller mechanism, and a nipping roller arranged along the transfer direction of the electrodes. The transport belt mechanism transports the electrode plate to the crossover guide roller mechanism and the nipping roller.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-075340

In the above-mentioned electrode transfer device, the transfer belt mechanism is provided with a protrusion-shaped rear position regulating portion on the central belt portion thereof, and the rear end of the electrode plate is abutted against the rear position regulating portion and is conveyed. .. By the way, since the electrode plate is placed on the central belt portion and the auxiliary belt portion and conveyed, the rear end may not necessarily be abutted against the rear position restricting portion and may be conveyed. In the above electrode transfer device, the electrodes always come into contact with the rear position regulating portion at the timing of transfer to the guide roller mechanism, but transfer is not essential as a transfer device, and transfer is performed on the transfer belt mechanism. At least, a structure in which the rear end of the electrode plate contacts the rear position regulating portion is preferable.

As described above, as a transport device in which the rear end of the electrode plate is always in contact with the rear position regulating portion, for example, a configuration consisting of a free roller and a conveyor with a sun can be considered. The free roller supports a work such as an electrode plate in a movable state. The conveyor with a sun conveys the work supported by the free rollers by pressing the sun according to the circulation of the conveyor. At this time, by lowering the position of the belt surface of the conveyor below the top of the free roller, the belt body does not come into contact with the electrode plate, and the work is conveyed while the position of the work along the conveying direction is defined by the sun. be able to.

However, in this transfer device, for example, there are a plurality of transfer devices (for example, a belt conveyor) on the upstream side, and when the electrode plate is put into the above transfer device from the previous stage transfer device, the transfer unit on the front stage side In order to prevent the sun from interfering with each other, it is necessary to separate the conveyor with the sun from the transport portion on the front stage side by at least the size of the sun. For this reason, the driving force for the work may be interrupted between the transport unit on the front stage side and the transport unit on the rear stage side (including the conveyor with a sun), and the work may stop. Further, even if the work does not stop, the speed of the work may be extremely lower than the transport speed of the transport portion on the rear stage side. In these cases, as a result of a phenomenon such as the work riding on the sun, the work may not be supplied to an appropriate position (for example, between adjacent suns) of the transport portion on the rear stage side.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport device capable of supplying a work to an appropriate position of a transport portion on the rear stage side, and a transport method.

The transport device according to the present invention is provided after a first transport unit that transports a sheet-shaped work along the transport direction and a first transport unit in the transport direction, and transports the work transported by the first transport unit in the transport direction. It is arranged between the second transport section and the first transport section and the second transport section to further transport along the line, and applies a driving force along the transport direction to the work to transfer the work to the second transport section. The second transporting section includes a feeding section for supplying, a support section that supports the work in a state of being movable along the transport direction, and a circulation section that is attached to the support section and circulates along the transport direction. It has a plurality of projecting portions that are projected from the circulation portion and circulate together with the circulation portion at intervals of the above, and the projecting portion conveys a work supported by the support portion in a transport direction according to the circulation of the circulation portion. The work is conveyed by pressing the work, and the applying portion applies a driving force to the work so that the speed of the work becomes higher than the conveying speed of the second conveying portion.

In this transport device, the work transported by the first transport unit on the front stage side is further transported by the second transport unit on the rear stage side. The second transport portion on the rear stage side presses the work supported by the support portion in a state of being movable along the transport direction in the transport direction by the projecting portions projecting from the circulation portion at predetermined intervals. Transport by. Therefore, the work can be transported while the position of the work in the transport direction is defined by the projecting portion. Then, in this transfer device, the applying unit applies a driving force to the work between the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit. Therefore, it is possible to avoid interruption of the driving force of the work between the first transport unit and the second transport unit. In particular, the applying unit applies a driving force to the work so that the speed of the work is higher than the speed of the second conveying unit. For this reason, it is possible to avoid stopping the work and reducing the speed, and it is possible to supply the work to an appropriate position (for example, between the projecting portions adjacent to each other) of the second transport portion on the rear stage side. ..

In the transport device according to the present invention, the projecting portion includes a front portion located in the front stage in the circulation direction of the circulation portion and a rear portion located in the rear stage in the circulation direction, and the work is projected in the imparting portion. A driving force may be applied to the work so as to come into contact with the rear portion of the portion. In this case, by bringing the work into contact with the projecting portion, the work can be reliably supplied between the projecting portions.

In the transport device according to the present invention, at least the surface of the projecting portion may be made of resin. In this case, the impact on the work when the work comes into contact with the projecting portion can be reduced as compared with the case where the surface of the projecting portion is made of metal, for example.

In the transport device according to the present invention, the transport speed in the first transport unit may be higher than the transport speed in the second transport unit. In this case, the difference between the transport speed of the first transport portion and the speed to be applied to the work at the granting portion can be reduced, and the load applied to the work at the granting portion can be reduced.

In the transfer device according to the present invention, the imparting portion may include a belt that circulates while supporting the work. Alternatively, in the transport device according to the present invention, the granting portion may include a pair of rollers that rotate with the work sandwiched between them.

The transport method according to the present invention is a first step of transporting a sheet-shaped work along a transport direction by a first transport section, and a first step of transporting a sheet-shaped work by a second transport section after the first transport section. In the second step of further transporting the work along the transport direction, and between the first transport section and the second transport section, a driving force is applied to the work along the transport direction to transfer the work to the second transport section. A third step of supplying to the unit is provided, and the second transport unit includes a support portion that supports the work in a state of being movable along the transport direction, and a circulation portion that is attached to the support portion and circulates along the transport direction. And a plurality of projecting portions that are projected from the circulation portion and circulate together with the circulation portion at predetermined intervals, and in the second step, the work in a state of being supported by the support portion is circulated in the circulation portion. It is conveyed by pressing in the conveying direction by the projecting portion that circulates according to the above, and in the third step, a driving force is applied to the work so that the speed of the work becomes higher than the conveying speed in the second step.

In this transport method, the work transported by the first transport unit on the front stage side in the first step is further transported by the second transport unit on the rear stage side in the second step. In the second step using the second transport portion on the rear stage side, the work supported by the support portion in a state of being movable along the transport direction is projected into the circulation portion at a predetermined interval. It is conveyed by pressing in the conveying direction. Therefore, the work can be transported while the position of the work in the transport direction is defined by the projecting portion. Then, in this transfer method, in the third step, a driving force is applied to the work between the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit. Therefore, it is possible to avoid interruption of the driving force of the work between the first transport unit and the second transport unit. In particular, in the third step, a driving force is applied to the work so that the speed of the work becomes higher than the transport speed in the second step. For this reason, it is possible to avoid stopping the work and reducing the speed, and it is possible to supply the work to an appropriate position (for example, between the projecting portions adjacent to each other) of the second transport portion on the rear stage side. ..

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a transport device capable of supplying a work to an appropriate position of a transport portion on the rear stage side, and a transport method.

It is a top view of the transport device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a side view of the transport device shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the state of supplying the electrode to the 2nd transport part. It is a side view which shows the modification of the transfer apparatus shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the transport device and the transport method will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements or the corresponding elements may be designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description may be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the transport device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the transport device shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transport device 1 transports the sheet-shaped work along a predetermined transport direction. Here, the sheet-shaped work is an electrode (positive electrode or negative electrode) E used in the secondary battery. The electrode E includes a metal foil Ea and an active material layer Eb formed on the metal foil Ea. At least one surface of the metal foil Ea is partially covered with the active material layer Eb, and the rest is exposed from the active material layer Eb.

A tab Ec used for electrical connection is projected from a portion of the metal foil Ea exposed from the active material layer Eb. As an example, the transport device 1 transports the electrode E from a device in which such a manufacturing process of the electrode E is performed to a device in which a step of providing a separator on the electrode E (for example, wrapping the electrode E with a separator) is performed thereafter. To do. Therefore, the predetermined transport direction is, for example, a direction set so as to reach the transport destination from the transport source, and is not limited to a linear shape.

The transport device 1 includes a first transport unit 10 and a second transport unit 20. The first transport unit transports the electrode E along the transport direction. The first transport unit 10 is a conveyor here, and includes a pair of pulleys 11 and a belt 12 hung on the pulleys 11. The belt 12 is a circulation portion that circulates according to the rotational drive of the pulley 11. The first transport unit 10 transports the electrode E placed on the transport surface (outer surface) 12s of the belt 12 in the transport direction as the belt 12 circulates.

The second transport unit 20 is provided at the rear stage of the first transport unit 10 in the transport direction. The second transport unit 20 further transports the electrode E transported by the first transport unit 10 along the transport direction. The second transport section 20 has a plurality of free rollers (support sections) 30 and a conveyor 40 with a sun here. The free rollers 30 are arranged along the transport direction and are rotatably supported around a rotation axis that intersects (orthogonally) the transport direction. The free rollers 30 are arranged in two rows parallel to each other. There is a gap between the two rows of free rollers 30.

The conveyor 40 with a sun includes a pair of pulleys 41, a belt (circulation portion) 42 hung on the pulley 41, and a plurality of suns (plurality of protruding portions) 43 provided on the belt 42. The belt 42 circulates along the transport direction according to the rotational drive of the pulley 41. The sun 43 projects from the belt 42 at predetermined intervals along the circulation direction of the belt 42. Therefore, the sun 43 circulates with the circulation of the belt 42. The sun 43 has a rectangular plate shape that covers most of the width direction of the belt 42. At least the surface of the sun 43 is made of resin. Here, as an example, the entire sun 43 is made of resin. The conveyor 40 with sun (belt 42) is attached to the free roller 30 so as to be arranged between the two rows of the free roller 30 in a plan view.

In the side view, the transport surface 42s of the belt 42 is arranged at a position lower than the plane 30s defined by the set of the tops of the free rollers 30. As an example, here, in the side view, the entire free roller 30 is arranged so as to be located above the transport surface 42s of the belt 42. Therefore, here, the free roller 30 supports the supplied electrode E of the second transport unit 20 in a state in which it can move along the transport direction. The electrode E does not come into contact with the transport surface 42s of the belt 42.

On the other hand, in the side view, the top of the sun 43 projects upward from the plane 30s defined by the set of tops of the free rollers 30. The amount of protrusion of the sun 43 is, for example, greater than or equal to the thickness of the work to be conveyed (here, the electrode E). However, the electrode E may have some warpage depending on the manufacturing process. In such a case, the sun 43 is always set to a protruding amount that can come into contact with the electrode E regardless of the state of the electrode E. Therefore, the sun 43 conveys the electrode E by pressing the electrode E supported by the free roller 30 in the conveying direction according to the circulation of the belt 42.

Here, a distance D larger than the size of the sun 43 is provided between the first transport unit 10 and the second transport unit 20. That is, the terminal 10q of the first transport unit 10 and the start end 20p of the second transport unit 20 are separated from each other by the interval D. The transport device 1 further includes two drive belts (giving portions) 50 arranged between the first transport unit 10 and the second transport unit 20.

Each of the drive belts 50 has three rollers 51 arranged at three points so as to correspond to the vertices of the triangle, and a belt 52 hung on the rollers 51. The belt 52 circulates while supporting the electrode E as the roller 51 rotates. Two of the three rollers 51 are arranged so as to be parallel to the transport surface 12s of the belt 12, the plane 30s of the free roller 30, and the transport surface 42s of the belt 42. Therefore, the transport surface 52s of the belt 52 located between the two rollers 51 is substantially parallel to the transport surface 12s, the flat surface 30s, and the transport surface 42s. Here, the transport surface 52s is substantially flush with the transport surface 12s and the flat surface 30s.

The two drive belts 50 are arranged so as to sandwich the end of the conveyor 40 with a sun so as to correspond to each row of the free rollers 30 in a plan view. The end 50q of the drive belt 50 overlaps with the start end 20p of the second transport portion 20 (the start end of the belt 42) in the side view. Such a drive belt 50 drives the electrode E supplied from the first transport unit 10 in the transport direction and delivers it to the second transport unit 20. That is, the drive belt 50 applies a driving force along the transport direction to the electrode E between the first transport section 10 and the second transport section 20, and supplies the electrode E to the second transport section 20. ..

In particular, the drive belt 50 applies a driving force to the electrode E so that the speed of the electrode E becomes larger than the transport speed of the electrode E in the second transport unit 20 (circulation speed of the belt 42, moving speed of the sun 43). Give. The speed of the electrode E can be adjusted by controlling the circulation speed of the belt 42. As shown in FIG. 3, the sun 43 includes a front portion 43a located in the front stage of the belt 42 in the circulation direction and a rear portion 43b located in the rear stage of the belt 42 in the circulation direction. When the drive belt 50 focuses on a pair of suns 43 that are adjacent to each other along the circulation direction of the belt 42, the drive belt 50 is closer to the sun 43 on the front stage side than the gap between the front portion 43 a of the sun 43 on the rear stage side and the electrode E. A driving force is applied to the electrode E so that the gap between the rear portion 43b and the electrode E becomes small. As an example, the drive belt 50 can apply a driving force to the electrode E so that the electrode E comes into contact with the rear portion 43b of the sun 43 on the front stage side.

The transport speed of the electrode E in the first transport unit 10 is higher than the transport speed of the electrode E in the second transport unit 20. Therefore, if the drive belt 50 applies a driving force to the electrode E so that at least the transfer speed of the first transfer unit 10 is maintained, the speed of the electrode E supplied to the second transfer unit 20 is set to the second transfer unit. It can be made higher than the transport speed at 20.

As described above, in the transport device 1, the electrode E transported by the first transport unit 10 on the front stage side is further transported by the second transport unit 20 on the rear stage side. The second transport unit 20 on the rear stage side presses the electrode E supported by the free roller 30 in a state of being movable along the transport direction by the sun 43 projecting from the belt 42 at a predetermined interval in the transport direction. Transport by doing. Therefore, the electrode E can be transported while the position of the electrode E in the transport direction is defined by the sun 43.

Then, in the transfer device 1, the drive belt 50 applies a driving force to the electrode E between the first transfer unit 10 and the second transfer unit 20. Therefore, it is possible to avoid interruption of the driving force of the electrode E between the first transport unit 10 and the second transport unit 20. In particular, the drive belt 50 applies a driving force to the electrode E so that the speed of the electrode E is higher than the speed of the second transport unit 20. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrode E from stopping or slowing down between the first transport unit 10 and the second transport unit 20. As a result, it is possible to prevent an error in the transfer of the electrode E between the conveyors (between the first conveyor 10 and the second conveyor 20) due to a phenomenon such as the electrode E riding on the sun 43. As a result, the electrode E can be supplied to an appropriate position (for example, between the suns 43 adjacent to each other) of the second transport portion 20 on the rear stage side.

Further, in the transport device 1, the sun 43 includes a front portion 43a located in the front stage in the circulation direction of the belt 42 and a rear portion 43b located in the rear stage in the circulation direction. Then, the drive belt 50 applies a driving force to the electrode E so that the electrode E comes into contact with the rear portion 43b of the sun 43. Therefore, by bringing the electrode E into contact with the sun 43, the electrode E can be reliably supplied between the suns 43.

Further, in the transport device 1, at least the surface of the sun 43 is made of resin. Therefore, the impact on the electrode E when the electrode E comes into contact with the sun 43 can be reduced as compared with the case where the surface of the sun 43 is made of metal, for example.

Further, in the transport device 1, the transport speed of the first transport unit 10 is higher than the transport speed of the second transport unit 20. Therefore, the difference between the transport speed of the first transport unit 10 and the speed to be applied to the electrode E in the drive belt 50 can be reduced, and the load applied to the electrode E in the drive belt 50 can be reduced.

Subsequently, the transport method according to the present embodiment will be described. As this transport method, the above-mentioned transport device 1 can be used. That is, in this transfer method, first, the electrode E is conveyed along the transfer direction by the first transfer unit 10 (first step). Subsequently, using the drive belt 50, a driving force is applied to the electrode E between the first transport unit 10 and the second transport unit 20 along the transport direction, and the electrodes from the first transport unit 10 are applied. E is supplied to the second transport unit 20 (third step). After that, the electrode E (supplied from the drive belt 50) conveyed in the first step is further conveyed along the conveying direction by the second conveying section 20 in the subsequent stage of the first conveying section 10 (second step). In particular, in the third step, a driving force is applied to the electrode E so that the speed of the electrode E becomes higher than the transport speed in the second step.

In this transport method, the electrode E transported by the first transport unit 10 on the front stage side in the first step is further transported by the second transport unit 20 on the rear stage side in the second step. In the second step using the second transport unit 20 on the rear stage side, the electrodes E supported by the free rollers 30 in a state of being movable along the transport direction were projected onto the belt 42 at predetermined intervals. It is conveyed by pressing it in the conveying direction by the sun 43. Therefore, the electrode E can be transported while the position of the electrode E in the transport direction is defined by the sun 43.

Then, in this transfer method, in the third step, a driving force is applied to the electrode E between the first transfer unit 10 and the second transfer unit 20. Therefore, it is possible to avoid interruption of the driving force of the electrode E between the first transport unit 10 and the second transport unit 20. In particular, in the third step, a driving force is applied to the electrode E so that the speed of the electrode E becomes higher than the transport speed in the second step. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrode E from stopping or slowing down, and to supply the electrode E to an appropriate position (for example, between the suns 43 adjacent to each other) of the second transport portion 20 on the rear stage side. It becomes.

The above-described embodiment describes one embodiment of the transport device and transport method according to the present invention. Therefore, the transport device and transport method according to the present invention are not limited to those described above. The transport device and the transport method according to the present invention may be arbitrarily modified from the above-mentioned transport device 1 and the transport method as long as the gist of each claim is not changed.

For example, the transport device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is deformable as shown in FIG. 4A. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the transfer device 1 includes a nip roll (giving unit) 60 arranged between the first transfer unit 10 and the second transfer unit 20 instead of the drive belt 50. ing. The nip roll 60 includes a pair of rollers 61. The pair of rollers 61 rotate while sandwiching the electrode E supplied from the first transport unit 10 to apply a driving force to the electrode E along the transport direction, and transfer the electrode E to the second transport unit. Supply to 20. In this case, by adjusting the rotation speed of the roller 61, the driving force applied to the electrode E can be controlled, and the speed of the electrode E can be made larger than the transport speed of the second transport unit 20.

On the other hand, the transport device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be deformed as shown in FIG. 4 (b). In the example shown in FIG. 4B, the transport device 1 includes an inclined roller portion 70 arranged between the first transport portion 10 and the second transport portion 20 instead of the drive belt 50. .. The tilt roller portion 70 includes a plurality of free rollers 71 arranged along a plane 70s inclined with respect to the transport surfaces 12s and 42s (and the plane 30s) and supported in a rotatable state. The inclination angle θ of the plane 70s is set according to the difference in height between the transport surface 12s and the plane 30s.

Here, the transport surface 12s is higher than the flat surface 30s. Therefore, the electrode E supplied from the first transport unit 10 to the inclined roller portion 70 is movably supported by the free roller 71, and a driving force corresponding to the gravity applied to the electrode E is applied. That is, the tilting roller portion 70 applies a driving force to the electrode E along the conveying direction, and supplies the electrode E to the second conveying portion 20. In this case, the driving force applied to the electrode E is controlled by adjusting the inclination angle θ of the plane 70s (and by adjusting the height difference between the transport surface 12s and the plane 30s), and the speed of the electrode E is adjusted. It can be made higher than the transport speed in the second transport unit 20.

Further, the second conveyor 20 may have, for example, another conveyor configured by projecting a columnar pin on the belt 42 instead of the conveyor 40 with a sun. That is, the member that presses and drives the electrode E in the second transport portion 20 is not limited to the rectangular plate-shaped sun 43, and may be another projecting portion such as a columnar pin or a claw. In this case, two or more projecting portions may be provided so as to be separated from each other in the width direction of the belt 42.

Further, the work to be transported by the transport device 1 is not limited to the electrodes (positive electrode and negative electrode) E. The transport target of the transport device 1 may be a sheet-shaped workpiece, and as another example, an electrode with a separator provided with a separator for the electrode E (for example, the electrode E is wrapped in a bag-shaped separator). There may be.

1 ... Conveyor device, 10 ... 1st transport section, 20 ... 2nd transport section, 42 ... Belt (circulation section), 43 ... Sun (protruding section), 43a ... Front part, 43b ... Rear part, 50 ... Drive belt (Giving part), 52 ... Belt, 60 ... Nip roll (Giving part), 61 ... Roller, E ... Electrode (work).

Claims (5)

A first transport unit that transports sheet-shaped workpieces along the transport direction,
A second transport unit provided after the first transport unit in the transport direction and further transporting the work transported by the first transport unit along the transport direction.
An imparting unit arranged between the first transport unit and the second transport unit, which applies a driving force to the work along the transport direction and supplies the work to the second transport unit.
With
The second transport portion has a support portion that supports the work in a state of being movable along the transport direction, a circulation portion that is attached to the support portion and circulates along the transport direction, and a predetermined interval. It has a plurality of projecting portions that are projected from the circulation portion and circulate together with the circulating portion.
The projecting portion conveys the work by pressing the work in a state of being supported by the support portion in the conveying direction in accordance with the circulation of the circulation portion.
The applying portion applies the driving force to the work so that the speed of the work becomes higher than the transport speed of the second transport unit .
The imparting portion includes a plurality of free rollers arranged along an inclined plane and supported in a rotatable state, and the work supplied from the first transport portion and movably supported by the free rollers. , Giving the driving force according to gravity,
Transport device. The projecting portion includes a front portion located in the front stage in the circulation direction of the circulation portion and a rear portion located in the rear stage in the circulation direction.
The applying portion applies the driving force to the work so that the work comes into contact with the rear portion of the projecting portion.
The transport device according to claim 1. At least the surface of the projecting portion is made of resin.
The transport device according to claim 1 or 2. The transport speed in the first transport unit is higher than the transport speed in the second transport unit.
The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The first step of transporting the sheet-shaped work along the transport direction by the first transport unit, and
A second step of further transporting the work transported by the first step along the transport direction by the second transport section after the first transport section.
A third step of applying a driving force along the transport direction to the work between the first transport section and the second transport section and supplying the work to the second transport section.
With
The second transport portion has a support portion that supports the work in a state of being movable along the transport direction, a circulation portion that is attached to the support portion and circulates along the transport direction, and a predetermined interval. It has a plurality of projecting portions that are projected from the circulation portion and circulate together with the circulating portion.
In the second step, the work in a state of being supported by the support portion is conveyed by pressing in the conveying direction by the projecting portion that circulates according to the circulation of the circulation portion.
In the third step, the driving force is applied to the work so that the speed of the work becomes higher than the transfer speed of the second step.
In the third step, the work supplied from the first transport unit and movably supported by a plurality of free rollers arranged along an inclined plane and supported in a rotatable state, in response to gravity. Applying the driving force,
Transport method.

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