JP7724244B2 - Supply device and supply method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a supply device and supply method for supplying billets to a heating device, and more particularly to a supply device and supply method that can improve the billet supply speed.

Various feeding devices have been proposed for supplying billets to heating devices (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The feeding device described in Patent Document 1 uses electromagnets to lift the billet from a container, thereby suppressing noise generation and billet deformation.

However, because the billets were stacked three-dimensionally in bulk inside the container, it was difficult to efficiently lift the billets using electromagnets. This meant that the billet supply speed could not be improved.

An industrial robot could be used to efficiently move the billets. However, because the robot hand needs to move to match the posture of the bulk piled billets and move each billet one by one, it has been difficult to increase the billet supply speed even with an industrial robot.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-68472

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a supply device and supply method that can improve the billet supply speed.

A supply device for achieving the above-mentioned object is a supply device that supplies rod-shaped billets to a heating device, and is equipped with a receiving conveyor that transports a plurality of the billets in a bulk state horizontally, and a leveling section that levelizes the plurality of billets in a bulk state supplied from the receiving conveyor to lower the stack height, wherein the leveling section has a chute that is formed with a downward slope toward the front side in the transport direction, and an intermediate conveyor that is positioned forward of the chute in the transport direction and transports the billets horizontally, and the chute has wall portions formed at both ends in the width direction that crosses the transport direction at right angles, and is configured so that its width narrows toward the front side in the transport direction .

A supply method for achieving the above-mentioned object is a supply method for supplying rod-shaped billets to a heating device, which comprises a receiving conveyor that transports multiple billets in a bulk state horizontally, and a leveling section that levelizes the multiple billets in a bulk state supplied from the receiving conveyor to lower their stack height, the leveling section having a chute that is formed with a downward slope toward the front side in the transport direction, and an intermediate conveyor that is positioned forward of the chute in the transport direction and transports the billets horizontally, the chute having wall portions formed at both ends in a width direction that crosses the transport direction at right angles, and a leveling process that levelizes the multiple billets in a bulk state to lower their stack height as the billets pass through the chute and move from the chute to the intermediate conveyor, the chute being configured so that its width narrows toward the front side in the transport direction, and the billets moving through the chute being guided by the wall portions .

According to the present invention, when billets pass through the leveling section, the pile of billets is broken down into a flat, leveled state. Since multiple billets do not overlap each other and assume a relatively simple posture, they can be easily grasped, for example, by the robot hand of an industrial robot. This is advantageous for increasing the billet supply speed.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply device and a heating device in a plan view. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply device as viewed from the side; FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an industrial robot. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a modified example of the supply device of FIG. 2. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a modification of the supply device in a plan view. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a modified example of FIG. 2 . FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a modified example of FIG. 4 .

The supply device and supply method will be described below based on the embodiment shown in the figures. In the figures, the billet transport direction in the supply device is indicated by arrow y, the width direction perpendicular to this transport direction y is indicated by arrow x, and the up-down direction is indicated by arrow z.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the supply device 1 is configured to supply multiple rod-shaped billets 3 supplied by the inverting device 2 to the heating device 4. The billets 3 are formed, for example, in a cylindrical shape. The billets 3 may also be formed in a rectangular column shape. The inverting device 2 is configured to invert a container 5 in which the billets 3 are stored in a bulk state, and supply the billets 3 to the supply device 1. The bulk state refers to a state in which the axial directions of the multiple billets 3 are not aligned and the billets 3 overlap each other in the vertical direction z. For the sake of explanation, the transport direction of the billets 3 is indicated by an outline arrow in FIG. 1.

The supply device 1 is configured to supply bulk billets 3a to the heating device 4 in an aligned state with their axial directions aligned. "Aligned state" refers to a state in which multiple billets 3 are lined up in a row with their axial directions parallel to the transport direction y.

The heating device 4 is configured to heat the aligned billet 3b. The heated billet 3c discharged from the heating device 4 is processed into machine parts, etc. in a subsequent forging process.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the supply device 1 has a receiving conveyor 6 that receives bulk billets 3a from the inverting device 2. The destination of the billets 3 supplied to the receiving conveyor 6 is not limited to the inverting device 2. The receiving conveyor 6 may receive the billets 3 by other methods. The receiving conveyor 6 transports multiple bulk billets 3a horizontally (transport direction y). The receiving conveyor 6 has a width that allows it to transport multiple billets 3 in the width direction x. In other words, the receiving conveyor 6 has a width that allows it to transport at least two billets 3 with an axial direction parallel to the transport direction y, lined up in the width direction x. It is desirable for the receiving conveyor 6 to have a width that can accommodate all of the multiple billets 3 that flow down when the container 5 is inverted.

The supply device 1 is equipped with a leveling unit 7 that levels multiple billets 3a in bulk supplied from the receiving conveyor 6. In this embodiment, the leveling unit 7 includes a chute 8 positioned in front of the receiving conveyor 6 in the transport direction y, and an intermediate conveyor 9 positioned in front of the chute 8. As illustrated in Figure 1, the chute 8 and intermediate conveyor 9 that make up the leveling unit 7 have the same width in the width direction x as the receiving conveyor 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the chute 8 is formed with a downward slope along the conveying direction y. In the conveying direction y, the front side of the chute 8 is lower than the rear side. As shown in FIG. 1, the chute 8 may have wall portions 8a formed on both ends in the width direction x. The wall portions 8a can prevent the billet 3 from falling from the chute 8 in the width direction x.

The receiving conveyor 6 and intermediate conveyor 9 can be configured as chain conveyors with multiple rows of chains arranged parallel to the conveying direction y. The receiving conveyor 6 and intermediate conveyor 9 are not limited to this, and can be configured as long as they are capable of conveying multiple billets 3 placed in the width direction x, and may be configured as belt conveyors, for example.

The supply device 1 may have an industrial robot 10 that picks up the billet 3 from the intermediate conveyor 9. In this specification, the industrial robot 10 refers to a manipulator that has multiple degrees of freedom and can be automatically controlled. The industrial robot 10 grasps the billet 3 on the intermediate conveyor 9 and places the billet 3 in an aligned state on the supply conveyor 11 (hereinafter, this may be referred to as the alignment process). The number of industrial robots 10 provided in the supply device 1 is not limited to one. The supply device 1 may also be provided with multiple industrial robots 10.

The supply conveyor 11 moves the aligned billets 3b to the heating device 4 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the supply process). The supply conveyor 11 can be configured as a chain conveyor having a row of chains arranged parallel to the conveying direction y. The supply conveyor 11 is not limited to this, and can be configured to supply billets 3 aligned in a row with their axial direction parallel to the conveying direction y to the heating device 4. The supply conveyor 11 may also be configured as a belt conveyor, for example.

Next, we will explain each process by which billets 3 are transported from the container 5 to the heating device 4. As illustrated in Figure 1, the receiving conveyor 6 receives a supply of multiple billets 3a in bulk from the container 5 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the receiving process). Specifically, the inverting device 2 inverts the container 5, so that the billets 3a in the container 5 are supplied to the supply device 1. On the receiving conveyor 6, the billets 3 are in a bulk state.

Next, the billets 3a piled in bulk on the receiving conveyor 6 are transported to the leveling section 7 and leveled (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the leveling process). As shown in Figure 2, as the billets 3a move from the receiving conveyor 6 to the chute 8, the pile of billets 3a collapses. The billets 3a move downward while sliding and rolling along the chute 8.

When billets 3 pass through the chute 8, the lower billets 3 that are overlapped by other billets 3 are subjected to a downward force, which moves them in the width direction x or the transport direction y. This causes the pile of stacked billets 3 to collapse. The chute 8 can level the billets 3. Leveling refers to lowering the stack height of bulk billets 3. In other words, lowering the height of a pile of stacked billets 3 is called leveling. The stack height refers to the height from the top surface of the receiving conveyor 6 to the top end of the bulk billets 3. Leveling also refers to leveling billets 3 that are overlapping in the vertical direction z so that multiple billets 3 do not overlap each other. Leveling includes not only a state in which all billets 3 do not overlap each other, but also a state in which some billets 3 remain overlapping.

As the billet 3 passes through the inclined chute 8, it changes to a stable, or leveled, posture. For example, a billet 3a that is upright with its axis aligned in the vertical direction z changes to a leveled posture (lying down with its axis aligned horizontally) due to the drop when it transfers from the receiving conveyor 6 to the chute 8, and slides down the chute 8.

After reaching the bottom of the chute 8, the billet 3 moves onto the intermediate conveyor 9. Above the chute 8, the billet 3 moves downward due to gravity. When part of the billet 3 comes into contact with the intermediate conveyor 9, this billet 3 is subjected to a force in the transport direction y. The other billets 3 stacked on top of this billet 3 tend to remain in place. The billet 3 can also be leveled by moving it from the chute 8 to the intermediate conveyor 9.

The leveling unit 7 levels the billets 3a in a bulk state. On the intermediate conveyor 9, the billets 3 do not overlap each other, but are misaligned in their axial direction. The leveling unit 7 changes the three-dimensionally arranged billets 3a in a bulk state into a two-dimensionally arranged, misaligned state. The intermediate conveyor 9 transports the misaligned billets 3d along the transport direction y.

Then, as shown in Figure 1, the industrial robot 10 moves the billets 3 from the intermediate conveyor 9 to the supply conveyor 11. The multiple billets 3 are aligned in a single row with their axial directions parallel to one another (alignment process). The aligned billets 3b are supplied to the heating device 4 by the supply conveyor 11 (supply process).

The leveling unit 7 levels the bulk billets 3a, resulting in an unaligned state where they do not overlap. The industrial robot 10 grasps the unaligned billets 3d on the intermediate conveyor 9 with the robot hand 10a while determining only the axial direction of the billets 3d. It is much easier for the industrial robot 10 to determine the posture of the unaligned billets 3d and grasp them than when grasping bulk billets 3a. Because the billets 3d are aligned flat on the intermediate conveyor 9 without overlapping, the posture of the robot hand 10a of the industrial robot 10 is simplified. This is advantageous for increasing the speed at which billets 3 are supplied to the heating device 4.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the industrial robot 10 can grasp the leveled, unaligned billet 3d by moving the robot hand 10a in the width direction x and the transport direction y and rotating it around the vertical direction z as its central axis. Because the axial direction of the unaligned billet 3d is perpendicular to the vertical direction z, the posture of the robot hand 10a only needs to be controlled two-dimensionally. In contrast, the axial direction of the bulk billet 3a is not limited to being perpendicular to the vertical direction z. Therefore, the posture of the robot hand 10a must be controlled three-dimensionally. By making the billets 3 unaligned in the leveling unit 7, the control of grasping the billets 3 with the robot hand 10a is simplified.

As shown in FIG. 3, the industrial robot 10 may be equipped with multiple robot hands 10a. When gripping an unaligned billet 3d, the industrial robot 10 does not need to control the tilt of the robot hand 10a around the central axis in the width direction x or the transport direction y. This makes it possible to easily grip multiple unaligned billets 3d by switching between multiple robot hands 10a. The industrial robot 10 can also grip multiple billets 3 in one cycle, significantly improving the billet 3 supply speed.

The conveying speeds of the receiving conveyor 6 and the intermediate conveyor 9 can be set to be the same. However, the conveying speed is not limited to this, and the conveying speed of the intermediate conveyor 9 may be set to be faster than the conveying speed of the receiving conveyor 6. The number of billets 3 moving from the chute 8 to the intermediate conveyor 9 will be greater than the number of billets 3 supplied from the receiving conveyor 6 to the chute 8. Since the billets 3 tend to become sparse on the intermediate conveyor 9, leveling efficiency can be improved.

As shown in Figure 4, the supply device 1 may be configured with multiple leveling units 7 connected along the conveying direction y. In this embodiment, the supply device 1 is equipped with two leveling units 7. The supply device 1 may also be equipped with three or more leveling units 7, for example, five. A first leveling unit 7a may be arranged in front of the receiving conveyor 6 in the conveying direction y, and a second leveling unit 7b may be arranged in front of that. The chute 8 of the second leveling unit 7b is connected to the intermediate conveyor 9 of the first leveling unit 7a.

Because the leveling process is performed multiple times, the possibility of unleveled bulk billets 3a remaining on the intermediate conveyor 9 is reduced. Even if a large number of bulk billets 3a are supplied to the receiving conveyor 6, leveling can be performed efficiently. This increases the number of billets 3 that the supply device 1 can transport. This increases the number of billets 3 supplied to the heating device 4 per unit time. This is advantageous for improving the billet 3 supply speed.

Each leveling unit 7 may be configured to have an industrial robot 10. For example, the industrial robot 10 of the first leveling unit 7a may be configured to move only unaligned billets 3d on the intermediate conveyor 9 to the supply conveyor 11, while allowing bulk billets 3a that overlap each other to pass through. These bulk billets 3a are leveled in the second leveling unit 7b and sent to the supply conveyor 11 by the industrial robot 10. Since the industrial robot 10 only needs to move the leveled unaligned billets 3d to the supply conveyor 11, this is advantageous for increasing the supply speed of the billets 3.

The chute 8 and intermediate conveyor 9 that make up the leveling unit 7 are not limited to having a width sufficient to transport multiple billets 3 in the width direction x. As shown in FIG. 5, the chute 8 may have a configuration in which its width narrows toward the front in the transport direction y. In this embodiment, the width of the chute 8 narrows toward the front in the transport direction y to a width that allows only one billet 3 with its axial direction aligned in the transport direction y to pass through. The intermediate conveyor 9 is also configured to transport billets 3 aligned in a single row with their axial direction aligned in the transport direction y. The intermediate conveyor 9 may, for example, be a chain conveyor with a single row of chains.

The billets 3 moving through the chute 8 are guided by walls 8a formed on both sides of the chute 8 in the width direction x. The chute 8 guides the billets 3 so that their axial direction is parallel to the conveying direction y. The intermediate conveyor 9 can be configured to supply aligned billets 3b to the supply conveyor 11 or heating device 4. In this case, the supply device 1 can be configured without including the industrial robot 10. In other words, the industrial robot 10 is not an essential component of the supply device 1.

The supply device 1 may be equipped with multiple leveling units 7, and the leveling unit 7 located near the heating device 4 may have the configuration illustrated in Figure 5. In this case, the billets 3 are supplied to the leveling unit 7 illustrated in Figure 5 after being sufficiently leveled by the leveling unit 7 located near the receiving conveyor 6. This allows the billets 3 to be aligned without clogging the shooter 8. This is advantageous for increasing the supply speed of the billets 3.

When the supply device 1 is equipped with multiple leveling units 7, the width of the leveling units 7 may be configured to decrease in stages. That is, a first leveling unit 7a having a width smaller than that of the receiving conveyor 6 may be connected to the receiving conveyor 6, and a second leveling unit 7b having a width smaller than that of the first leveling unit 7 may be connected to the first leveling unit 7a. Specifically, for example, the receiving conveyor 6 may be configured as a chain conveyor with eight rows of chains, the intermediate conveyor 9 of the first leveling unit 7a may be configured as a chain conveyor with four rows of chains, and the intermediate conveyor 9 of the second leveling unit 7b may be configured as a chain conveyor with one row of chains. The front and rear widths of the chutes 8 of the first leveling unit 7a and the second leveling unit 7b in the conveying direction y are set according to the widths of the conveyors located before and after them.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6, the leveling unit 7 has an intermediate conveyor 9. In this embodiment, the leveling unit 7 does not have a shooter 8. The intermediate conveyor 9 is set to transport the billet 3 at a speed faster than the receiving conveyor 6.

After reaching the front end of the receiving conveyor 6 in the conveying direction y, the billet 3 is transferred to the intermediate conveyor 9. When part of a billet 3 being transported by the receiving conveyor 6 comes into contact with the intermediate conveyor 9, the billet 3 is pulled out and moved to the intermediate conveyor 9 because the intermediate conveyor 9 has a faster transport speed. This causes the pile of bulk billets 3 being transported by the receiving conveyor 6 to collapse. By moving the billets 3 from the receiving conveyor 6 to the intermediate conveyor 9, the billets 3 can be leveled.

The conveying speed of the intermediate conveyor 9 can be set, for example, in the range of 110% to 200% of the conveying speed of the receiving conveyor 6. The conveying speed of the intermediate conveyor 9 relative to the receiving conveyor 6 can be determined appropriately. The higher the conveying speed of the intermediate conveyor 9, the more efficiently the billet 3 can be leveled.

As shown in FIG. 7, the supply device 1 may be configured with multiple leveling units 7 connected along the conveying direction y. In this embodiment, in the conveying direction y, a first leveling unit 7a is arranged in front of the receiving conveyor 6, and a second leveling unit 7b is arranged in front of that. The intermediate conveyor 9 of the second leveling unit 7b is arranged adjacent to the intermediate conveyor 9 of the first leveling unit 7a.

In this embodiment, the intermediate conveyor 9 of the second leveling unit 7b is set to a faster conveying speed than the intermediate conveyor 9 of the first leveling unit 7a. With this configuration, the billet 3 can be leveled by moving it from the first leveling unit 7a to the second leveling unit 7b. When the supply device 1 has multiple leveling units 7, the conveying speed of the intermediate conveyor 9 located on the front side in the conveying direction y is set to be faster than that of the intermediate conveyor 9 located on the rear side.

1 Supply device 2 Reversal device 3 Billet 3a (Bulk) billet 3b (Aligned) billet 3c (Heated) billet 3d (Unaligned) billet 4 Heating device 5 Container 6 Receiving conveyor 7 Leveling section 8 Shooter 8a Wall section 9 Intermediate conveyor 10 Industrial robot 10a Robot hand 11 Supply conveyor x Width direction y Conveying direction z Up-down direction

Claims (8)

A supply device that supplies a rod-shaped billet to a heating device,
The system includes a receiving conveyor that transports the plurality of billets in a bulk state in a horizontal direction, and a leveling unit that leveling the plurality of billets in a bulk state supplied from the receiving conveyor by lowering the stack height,
the leveling unit has a chute formed with a downward inclination toward the front side in the conveying direction, and an intermediate conveyor disposed on the front side of the chute in the conveying direction and conveying the billet in a horizontal direction,
The chute has walls formed at both ends in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the width of the chute narrows toward the front side in the conveying direction . A supply device that supplies a rod-shaped billet to a heating device,
The system includes a receiving conveyor that transports the plurality of billets in a bulk state in a horizontal direction, and a leveling unit that leveling the plurality of billets in a bulk state supplied from the receiving conveyor by lowering the stack height,
A supply device characterized in that the leveling section has an intermediate conveyor that is set to transport the billet at a speed faster than that of the receiving conveyor. 3. The supply device according to claim 1, wherein the leveling section has a width that enables the conveyance of a plurality of billets in a width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The feeding device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein a plurality of the leveling units are connected in the conveying direction. a supply conveyor that conveys the billet to the heating device in an aligned state with the axial direction of the billet as a conveying direction;
3. The supply device according to claim 1, further comprising an industrial robot that moves the unaligned billets from the leveling section to the supply conveyor to align them. A supply device that supplies a rod-shaped billet to a heating device,
The system includes a receiving conveyor that transports the plurality of billets in a bulk state in a horizontal direction, and a leveling unit that leveling the plurality of billets in a bulk state supplied from the receiving conveyor by lowering the stack height,
the leveling unit has a chute formed with a downward inclination toward the front side in the conveying direction, and an intermediate conveyor disposed on the front side of the chute in the conveying direction and conveying the billet in a horizontal direction,
The chute has walls formed at both ends in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction,
a supply conveyor that conveys the billet to the heating device in an aligned state with the axial direction of the billet as a conveying direction;
a supplying device comprising: an industrial robot that moves the unaligned billets from the leveling section to the supplying conveyor to align them . A method for supplying a rod-shaped billet to a heating device, comprising:
The system is provided with a receiving conveyor that transports the plurality of billets in a bulk state in a horizontal direction, and a leveling section that leveling the plurality of billets in a bulk state supplied from the receiving conveyor to reduce the stack height, the leveling section having a chute that is formed with a downward incline toward the front side in the transport direction, and an intermediate conveyor that is disposed on the front side of the chute in the transport direction and transports the billets in the horizontal direction, the chute having wall sections formed at both ends in a width direction that crosses the transport direction at right angles,
The method further includes a leveling step of leveling the billets by passing them through the chute and moving them from the chute to the intermediate conveyor, thereby lowering the stack height of the plurality of billets in a bulk state,
A supply method characterized in that the chute has a configuration in which its width decreases toward the front in the conveying direction, and the billet moving through the chute is guided by the wall portion . A method for supplying a rod-shaped billet to a heating device, comprising:
The system is provided with a receiving conveyor that transports the plurality of billets in a bulk state in a horizontal direction, and a leveling section that leveling the plurality of billets in a bulk state supplied from the receiving conveyor to reduce the stack height, the leveling section having a chute that is formed with a downward incline toward the front side in the transport direction, and an intermediate conveyor that is disposed on the front side of the chute in the transport direction and transports the billets in the horizontal direction, the chute having wall sections formed at both ends in a width direction that crosses the transport direction at right angles,
The method further includes a leveling step of leveling the billets by passing them through the chute and moving them from the chute to the intermediate conveyor, thereby lowering the stack height of the plurality of billets in a bulk state,
an alignment step in which the plurality of billets that have been leveled in the leveling step and are in an unaligned state are moved to a supply conveyor by an industrial robot to be aligned;
and a supply step of supplying the plurality of aligned billets to the heating device .