JP7632014B2 - Seed board sorting equipment and seed board sorting method using the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a seed plate sorting equipment used in non-ferrous metal smelting and a seed plate sorting method using the seed plate sorting equipment.

In non-ferrous metal smelting, multiple anodes are formed by casting the low-purity target metal to be refined, and multiple cathodes are prepared separately. 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 while they are immersed, thereby electrolytically depositing the high-purity target metal on the surface of the cathodes. In this electrolytic smelting, if the distance between 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 within the electrolytic cell.

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 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 smelting while reducing the occurrence of the above-mentioned short circuit phenomenon, it is necessary to ensure an appropriate distance between adjacent anodes and cathodes.

In electrolytic smelting, a stainless steel (SUS) plate, titanium plate, or other metal that is insoluble in the electrolyte is used as a cathode, and after the target metal is electrodeposited on its surface, the target metal is stripped off the cathode for shipping, and the cathode is reused after stripping. This is called the permanent cathode method, and a seed plate method is used in which a cathode is made in advance using the target metal, and the same type of target metal is electrodeposited on the surface of this cathode as a seed plate, and the cathode and seed plate are shipped together after electrodeposition.

In the latter case of the seed plate method, to produce the 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 seed plate electrolysis cathode (also called a 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.

The seed plate thus produced is preferably formed into 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 when the plate is hung in the electrolytic cell, the cathode surface may be warped or bent in the vertical center or lower end. In this way, if the seed plate is deformed in the vertical direction when hung in the electrolytic cell, the distance from the top to the bottom of the adjacent anode and cathode is not constant, and 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 warping, bending, and other deformations before the electrode bar is attached and the plate is inserted into the electrolytic cell.

A straightening device called a cathode finisher is generally used to straighten the above-mentioned seed plates. Specifically, the seed plates transported from the above-mentioned peeling device while loaded on a pallet are loaded into the cathode finisher, where internal stress is first removed using a roller leveler, and then grooves are applied to the seed plate while adjusting the pressure 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 onto the above-mentioned pallet.

Therefore, the seed plate peeled off by the peeling device is first introduced into a distortion removal device, where the distortion is removed to the extent that it can be transported on a pallet. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which a seed plate that has been peeled off from a mother plate using a pair of peeling pinch rollers is conveyed on a roller conveyor in a horizontal position by pressing the seed plate from above with a movable pressing roller installed above the entrance end of the roller conveyor to remove distortion.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-165693

By providing a distortion-relieving device as described above, it is possible to prevent inconvenience during transportation using a pallet, but with the distortion-relieving device 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 have been cases where seed plates with a seed plate thickness that is difficult to correct even by adjusting the pressure of the groove roller in the cathode finisher are loaded into the cathode finisher.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above situation, and aims to provide a seed plate sorting equipment and a seed plate sorting method using the same that can remove defective products in the middle of the transport path when the seed plate peeled off from the mother plate is defective because the thickness of the seed plate is outside a predetermined range, before the defective product is loaded into a downstream stage, such as a cathode finishing machine.

In order to achieve the above object, the seed plate sorting equipment of the present invention comprises a seed plate transporting means for transporting seed plates successively peeled off from a mother plate by a peeling device, a seed plate thickness measuring means for measuring the thickness of each type of plate during transport, a judgment 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 judgment means, wherein a seed plate passing detection means for detecting that a leading edge in the transport direction of a seed plate being transported by the seed plate transporting means has passed is provided upstream or downstream of the seed plate thickness measuring means, and the judgment means is characterized in that, in response to an input of a detection signal from the seed plate passing detection means, it accumulates seed plate thickness information measured at predetermined time intervals by the seed plate thickness measuring means, and compares an average seed plate thickness obtained by dividing the accumulated value of the seed plate thickness information by an information amount of the seed plate thickness information to a predetermined specified value to judge the pass/fail .

Furthermore, the seed plate selection method according to the present invention includes a seed plate thickness measurement step of measuring the seed plate thicknesses of the seed plates successively peeled off from the mother plate by the peeling device while transporting them, a determination step of making a pass/fail determination for each type of plate based on the thickness information obtained in the seed plate thickness measurement step , and a seed plate removal step of removing seed plates determined to be unacceptable in the determination step, wherein the determination step includes accumulating the thickness information obtained by measuring at predetermined time intervals in the seed plate thickness measurement step, triggered by a timing when a leading edge of the seed plate in the transport direction passes a predetermined position, until a trailing edge of the seed plate in the transport direction passes the predetermined position or until a predetermined elapsed time has elapsed, and after the accumulation, the integrated value of the thickness information is divided by an information amount of the thickness information to obtain an average seed plate thickness, thereby determining whether the plate passes or fails, by comparing the average seed plate thickness with a predetermined specified value .

According to the present invention, if 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 stage, such as a cathode finisher.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the seed plate sorting equipment according to the embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a front view of the seed plate sorting equipment of FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of the arrows AA. FIG. 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 .

Below, a seed plate sorting equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention and a seed plate sorting method using the seed plate sorting equipment will be described with reference to the drawings. The seed plate sorting equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a seed plate transport 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 transport, a judgment 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 removal means for removing seed plates judged to be unacceptable by the judgment means.

In addition, the seed plate sorting method performed using this seed plate sorting equipment measures the thickness (seed plate thickness) of the seed plates for non-ferrous metal electrolytic smelting, which are successively peeled off from the mother plate by the peeling device, while transporting them on a transport line toward the cathode finisher, and judges whether they pass or fail based on the seed plate thickness measurement results obtained. 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, it 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 sorting equipment will be described in detail, and then the seed plate sorting method using the seed plate sorting equipment will be described in detail.

1. Components of the seed board sorting equipment 1.1 Seed board transport means The seed board transport means constituting the seed board sorting equipment of the 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 board S from both sides of the mother board, and is composed of a pair of slat tables 10 on which the seed board S is placed in a horizontally lying 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 board S in a horizontally lying position, and a pair of second roller conveyors 30 that transport the seed board S in a horizontally lying position in a direction horizontally perpendicular to the transport direction of the pair of first roller conveyors 20.

In the peeling device 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the mother plate M is pulled upward, and the two seed plates S electroplated on both sides of it are peeled off by the 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, and is laid horizontally, and is sent to the slash table 10 in that position, i.e., with the thickness direction facing up and down.

The thickness of the seed plate S introduced onto the slat table 10 is measured by a seed plate thickness measuring means described below while being transported while sliding horizontally toward the first roller conveyor 20. In the embodiment of the present invention, the pair of slat 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 in the following explanation, unless otherwise specified, the left-side slat table 10, the first roller conveyor 20, and the second roller conveyor 30 will be explained.

After the thickness is measured on the slash table 10, the seed board S is sent to the first roller conveyor 20 consisting of the first transport roller group 21 without changing the transport direction. The first transport roller group 21 is configured so that the rotational driving force of the first electric motor 22 is transmitted via the drive chain 23, and the height of the transport surface defined by the highest point of the outer circumferential surface of the first transport roller group 21 is supported by a stand so that it is approximately the same as the height of the table surface of the slash table 10.

The first roller conveyor 20 is further 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 plate S is introduced from the slash table 10. As a result, the seed plate S introduced to the first roller conveyor 20 while sliding on the table surface of the slash table 10 is straightened by the straightening mechanism 24 to an extent that it can be subsequently transported while lying sideways, and then it is transported by the rotating transport roller group 21 to the rear end of the first roller conveyor 20 on the opposite side to the front end in a sideways position.

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 the second roller conveyor 30 consisting of a second transport roller group 31 adjacent to the first roller conveyor 20 on the side opposite to the side where the pusher 26 is provided, by the pusher 26 provided at the rod tip of the air cylinder 25 that extends and retracts in a direction horizontally perpendicular to the transport direction of the first roller conveyor 20.

The second group of transport rollers 31 of the second roller conveyor 30, like the first roller conveyor 20, 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 stand 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 is approximately equal to the height of the transport surface of the first roller conveyor 20.

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 removal means (described later) is provided on the transport path of this second roller conveyor 30.

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 plates S peeled off in sequence by the peeling device 1 are intermittently transported to the loading device. For simplicity, in FIG. 1, the 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 plate thickness measuring means and the seed plate removing means described later, which are on the left side of the peeling device 1 on the page, 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.

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 is no particular limitation 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.

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

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 beam 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 results of each of the distance measuring devices 40 from the distance between the two light sources. The seed plate sorting equipment of the embodiment of the present invention further includes a seed plate passage detection means, represented by a photoelectric sensor 41, 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.

The above-mentioned non-contact distance 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 line in FIG. 1. As a result, when the photoelectric sensor 41 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 receives this detection signal and 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 various boards S based on the distance measurement results transmitted from the pair of distance measuring devices 40.

The seed plate removing means constituting the seed plate sorting equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention removes 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 are no particular limitations on the method for removing defective products by the seed plate removing means, and an example of such a method includes providing a transport direction changing means such as a pusher 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 recovering the seed plate S removed from the transport path in a roller conveyor or recovery container for recovering defective products that is provided to the side or below the seed plate transport means.

In the seed plate sorting equipment shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 3(a), 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. 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.

As a result, when a qualified seed plate S passes directly under the seed plate removal means 50, the seed plate removal roller 52 is positioned above the conveying surface of the second roller conveyor 30, so that the conveying of the qualified seed plate S is not impeded. On the other hand, when a defective seed plate S to be removed passes directly under the seed plate removal means 50, the seed plate removal 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 removal means 50, so that the leading edge of the defective seed plate S in the conveying direction and thereafter contacts the outer peripheral surface of the seed plate removal roller 52 below the rotation axis, as shown in FIG. 3(b), so that the direction of travel 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 removal roller 52.

The defective seed plate S extracted in the manner described above is collected by a collection cart 53 arranged below the second transport roller group 31. The seed plate removal means 50 is capable of receiving an output signal from a control means 60 such as a PLC via an electrical signal, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 1. Thus, when the seed plate removal means 50 receives a removal signal from the control means 60 indicating that the seed plate S passing directly below the seed plate removal means 50 has been determined to be defective, the seed plate removal means 50 is controlled to lower the seed plate removal roller 52 while the defective seed plate S passes directly below the seed plate removal means 50.

1.4 Determination Means As described above, the determination means that constitutes the seed board sorting equipment of the 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, the non-contact distance measuring device 40 as a seed board thickness measuring means, the photoelectric sensor 41 as a seed board passage detection means, and the control means 60 such as a programmable logic controller (PLC) that transmits and receives electrical signals between the seed board removal means 50.

In the following description, the CPU constituting the PLC as the control means 60 is assigned a memory unit, a calculation unit, a time measurement unit, a judgment unit, and a control unit within it, and in addition to serving as a judgment means that calculates the seed board thickness using the measurement value from the seed board thickness measurement means and makes a pass/fail judgment based on this calculation result, it is described as the PLC also performing all of the control of the operation of each device constituting the seed board sorting equipment, but the configuration of the control means 60 is not limited to this, and for example, the area for measuring and calculating the seed board thickness, the area for making the pass/fail judgment, etc. may be realized by an external control means.

For example, the seed plate thickness measuring means may be a thickness measuring device equipped with a CPU for the seed plate thickness control means, and the areas (storage unit, calculation unit, time measurement unit, judgment unit) for measuring and calculating the seed plate thickness and judging whether the seed plate thickness is acceptable or not based on the calculation results may be assigned to the CPU for the seed plate thickness control means of the thickness measuring device. In this case, by sending 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 plate removal means 50.

[Memory unit]
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 seed board thickness measuring means, it also stores an arithmetic equation for determining 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 of intermittent transport of the seed board by the seed board transport means, the number of transports from the reference position.

[Calculation section]
The calculation unit is a calculation area allocated inside the CPU that constitutes the PLC as the control means 60, and has the role of calculating the seed plate thicknesses of various plates S based on the seed plate thickness information retrieved from the above-mentioned memory unit and an arithmetic formula for determining the seed plate thickness from this seed plate thickness information, and outputting the calculation results.

[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 passed the predetermined position.

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

[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 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.

2. Method for sorting seed plates using seed plate sorting equipment Next, a method for sorting seed plates using the above-mentioned seed plate sorting equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention 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 motor 22 of the first roller conveyor 20 and the second 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.

As a result, the seed plates S on the conveying surface of the seed plate conveying means are moved one by one from the standby positions at which they are waiting to the downstream positions. For example, the seed plate S waiting at standby position _P1 shown in FIG. 1 is moved to standby position _P2 . Similarly, the seed plates S waiting at standby positions _P2 , _P3 , and _P4 are moved to standby positions _P3 , _P4 , and _P5 , respectively. The seed plate waiting at standby position _P5 is transferred to a loading device (not shown). That is, in the seed plate sorting equipment according to the 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 S located at standby position _Pβ on the conveying surface of the seed plate conveying means is intermittently conveyed α times to the standby position Pα _+β .

When the seed plate S is transported by this seed plate transport means, the memory unit of the control means 60 can store which waiting position various plates S are present on the transport surface of the seed plate transport means at a certain time. Furthermore, the number of times various plates S are intermittently transported starting from that certain time can be stored. As a result, the control unit of the control means 60 can determine which waiting position the seed plate S, which is present in any waiting position at a certain time, will be moved to when one or more intermittent transports are performed starting from that certain time, from information stored in the memory unit regarding the waiting position of the seed plate at the certain time and information regarding the number of intermittent transports of the seed plate S starting from the certain time.

For example, for a seed board S waiting at standby position _Pβ at a certain time _tn , the memory unit stores that this seed board S is waiting at standby position _Pβ at time tn, and therefore the control unit can specify that this seed board will move to standby position Pβ _{+ 1} in one intermittent transport starting from time _tn , move to standby position Pβ ₊₂ in two intermittent transports, and move to standby position Pβ _+α in α intermittent transports.

The seed plate selection method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a seed plate thickness measurement process for measuring the thickness of seed plates S transported by a seed plate transport means controlled by the control means 60 as described above while transporting the seed plates, a determination process for determining the pass/fail status of various plates S based on the thickness information measured in the seed plate thickness measurement process, and a seed plate removal process for removing seed plates that have been determined to be unsatisfactory in the determination process. Each of these processes will be described in detail below.

First, in the seed plate thickness measurement process, various plates S are sent to the slash table 10 by a pair of pinch rollers 2 of the peeling device 1, and are transported while sliding on the table surface of the slash table 10. The plates 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 seed plate thickness is measured.

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

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. Measurements using the distance measurement device are performed, for example, every 10 ms, and the measurement information of the various boards S obtained by the measurements is stored in the memory unit. Note that the end of the 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.

The position detected by the photoelectric sensor 41 as the seed plate passage detection means may be set upstream of the seed plate thickness measurement means in the transport direction of the seed plate S, and the measurement may be started a predetermined time after the front end of the seed plate 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 plate thickness of each type of plate S based on the measurement information of each type of plate S stored in the memory unit as described above, and causes the calculation result to be output as seed plate thickness information of each type of plate S. Note that the seed plate thickness information of each type of plate S output from the calculation unit is output the same number of times as the measurement information of each type of plate S stored in the memory unit.

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 cumulative time, 100 sets of measurement information consisting of the 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 the 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. The calculation unit performs a calculation for each of these 100 sets of measurement information to subtract the upper distance and the 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 manner is stored in the memory unit for each type of plate S.

Next, in the judgment process, 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 specified requirements for the seed board thickness, based on the seed board thickness information for each type of board stored in the memory unit. The judgment unit retrieves the judgment formula information used to judge the pass/fail of the seed board thickness of the various boards S from the memory unit. There are no particular limitations on the method of judging the pass/fail of the various boards S using this judgment information, and one example is a method in which the seed board thickness information of the various boards S is retrieved from the memory unit, an integrated value of the seed board thickness is calculated, and an pass/fail judgment is performed based on whether the integrated value of the seed board thickness obtained is within the allowable range of the judgment formula information.

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 total value of these 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. In this way, the reason why the seed plate is judged as failing when the seed plate thickness of the seed plate 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 .

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 .

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.

In this case, the control unit of the control means 60 causes the storage 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 the 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 storage 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.

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 has been 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 .

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 a position lower than the rotation axis of the outer circumferential surface of the seed plate removing roller 52, and the seed plate S determined to be unacceptable 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.

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 sequentially transported 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.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Peeling device 2 Pinch roller 10 Slash table 20 First roller conveyor 21, 31 First and second transport roller groups 22, 32 First and second electric motors 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 removing means 51 Air cylinder 52 Seed plate removing roller 53 Collection cart 60 Control means B Peeling blade M Mother plate S Seed plate

Claims (4)

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 . The seed plate sorting equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the seed plate transporting means is a roller conveyor that transports the seed plate in a horizontally laid position, the seed plate removing means is a seed plate removing roller that can move back and forth 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 under 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 from the transport direction of the roller conveyor. 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. 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 .

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