JPS6253406B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an article conveying device configured in a circulation manner, more specifically, a hanging station is provided in a part of the circulation path, all parts of one garment are hung on a hanger, and the hanger is placed downstream. This conveyance device is used in a sewing factory, in which parts are sequentially attached at each station while being sequentially sent to a plurality of sewing stations arranged, and one garment is completed while a hanger goes around a circulation path.

Normally, when mass-producing a single type of clothing, multiple sewing stations are arranged along an endless conveyance path, and while the conveyance device is simultaneously feeding the sewn articles intermittently, one person is assigned to each sewing station. In most cases, a worker sews each part of the garment together, and one garment is completed while the sewn product goes around the transport path once. However, in general, the sewing speed differs significantly depending on the level of skill of each seamstress, and therefore, in order to proceed with such a system smoothly and efficiently, it is difficult to allocate the sewing process according to the experience of the seamstresses. The conveyance speed of the article must be set in accordance with the sewing speed of the most inexperienced person. However, in practice, it is extremely difficult to make such settings perfectly, and a certain amount of error must be accepted.There are people who have plenty of time, and people who are busy and are at risk of producing defective products. Efficient production was nearly impossible.

As a result of various studies to solve the above problem, the present inventor has divided the sewing process into steps that can be performed at the same speed when performed by the same person, and has created a sewing station that can handle the number of steps or more. The above problems can be solved all at once by making the article feeding function independent of each sewing station, by making it possible to switch between automatic and manual feeding operations at each station, and by providing a spare storage area for conveyed articles at each station. I found that it can be solved. In other words, unskilled workers are assigned to one sewing station at a time, while experienced workers are assigned to the number of stations at a time according to their level of proficiency. This made it possible to immediately respond to changes in personnel.

An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyance device suitable for carrying out the above sewing method.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

The drawing shows an example in which the conveyance device according to the present invention is implemented in a garment sewing factory, and as shown in FIG.
A hanger 3 having a rotary roller 2 pivotally supported at its upper end as shown in FIG. 2 is moved intermittently on the conveyance path 1. A hanging station 4 is disposed in the middle of the conveyance path 1, and after hanging all the parts 5 for one garment on the hanger 3 at the station 4, the parts 5 are sequentially sent to the sewing section 6 on the downstream side. Then, each sewing station 7 of the sewing section 6 sews each part according to a preset sewing process, and one garment is completed while the hanger 3 passes through all the sewing stations 7. Ru. The completed garment is left hanging on the hanger 3 and sent to a collection station 8 following the sewing section 6.
Only the empty hanger 3 is returned to the hanging station 4 in preparation for the next sewing cycle.

The present invention is characterized by the configuration of the sewing section 6 described above. The sewing section 6 has sewing stations 7, the number of which corresponds to preset sewing processes, arranged in tandem in a straight line on the conveyance path 1. Since all the sewing stations 7 have substantially the same configuration, the following one location is used. Only the sewing station 7 will be described in detail.

Each sewing station 7 is as shown in FIG.
On both sides, sandwiching the conveyor section 9, which manually or automatically sends the hangers 3 sent from the previous sewing station 7 to the next sewing station 7,
It comprises a workbench 11 equipped with a work tool 10 such as an electric sewing machine, and a preliminary hanging part 12 for temporarily retaining a hanger 3.

The conveyance section 9 is formed by bending a round pipe to extend an introduction path 13 with a gentle downward slope from the previous conveyance section 9 to the upper side of the workbench 11, and then from the lower end 14 of the introduction path 13. Steep uphill ascent road 1
5, and connects the upper end 16 of the ascending path 15 and the next-stage introduction path 13 to form a series of conveyance paths 1a. A gate part 17 that temporarily restricts the transfer of the hanger 3 is placed in the ascending path 15, and the hanger 3 that has reached the lower end 14 of the introduction path 13 is connected to the next stage of the introduction path 13.
A lifting means 18 is provided in each case.

As shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the gate portion 17 includes a cylinder 19 disposed orthogonally to the introduction path 13.
A first stop rod 21 is fixed to the tip of the rod 20 so that the stop rod 21 can come out beyond the introduction passage 13 when the cylinder rod 20 is protruded, and the second stop rod 22 is pivoted so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. By connecting and pivotally supporting the tip of the first stop rod 21 and one end of the second stop rod 22 with the connecting rod 23, the first stop rod 21 is supported when the cylinder rod 20 protrudes, as shown in FIG. 3a. , when the rod 20 retreats, the second stop rod 2
2 emerge across the transition path of the hanging rod 24 of the hanger 3, respectively, and can prevent the hanger 3 from moving downward.

The lifting means 18 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 a and b.
As shown in FIG.
, and a claw piece 27 is attached to the tip of the rod 26 of the cylinder 25.
Due to the operation of the rod, the claw piece 27 at the tip of the rod
It is reciprocated between the upper and lower ends 14 and 16 of 5. Nail piece 2
7 has one end pivoted to the lower end of the rod 26, the other end extending toward the ascending path 15, and can be rotated only counterclockwise from a position perpendicular to the rod 26 when viewed from the front in FIG. At the same time, it is biased clockwise by the spring body 28. Therefore, when the hanger 3 is positioned on the notch 55 at the lower end of the ascending path 15 as shown in FIG. Then, the claw piece 27 rotates counterclockwise against the spring body 28, and when the tip 30 of the claw piece 27 finishes passing the rotating shaft 29, it returns to the right angle position again, and the claw piece tip 30 rotates counterclockwise to the rotating shaft 29. wrap around downwards. Here cylinder 2
5 is moved upward, the hanger 3 moves up the upward path 1 while the rotary shaft 29 is supported by the tip 30 of the claw piece 27.
5, and when the claw piece 27 reaches the upper end 16 of the ascending path 15 as shown in FIG. will transition.

Furthermore, a guide rod 31 is arranged parallel to the cylinder rod 26. The guide rod 31 is fitted into a sliding tube 32 disposed slightly above the upper end 16 of the ascending passage 15 so as to be slidable therein, and the lower end 3
3 and the slightly upper part of the claw piece 27 are connected by a presser plate 34, so that the cylinder rod 26 moves up and down in conjunction with the protrusion and retraction of the cylinder rod 26, and when the rod 26 descends, the presser plate 3
4 presses the circumferential surface of the rotating roller 2 from above to restrict the movement of the roller 2, and the hanger 3
Prevents it from wobbling.

Next, in FIG. 5, the above-mentioned lifting means 18
The configuration and operation of the control unit 35 that manually or automatically moves the will be explained. The control unit 35 is composed of a main air circuit 36 and a control air circuit 37, and switches the switching valve 38 with the control air generated by the control air circuit 37.
The gate section 17 and the cylinders 19 and 25 of the lifting means 18, which communicate with the gate section 17, are operated. The control air circuit 37 includes a three-way valve 39 that switches between automatic and manual operation, and a manual valve 4 that is disposed at the bottom of the workbench 11 and is switched by the sewing worker's pedal operation.
0, the gate portion 17 and the lower end 14 of the ascending path 15
Detection valves 41 and 42, which switch when detecting the arrival of the hangers 3, are provided near the upper end of the introduction path 13, so that when an excessive number of hangers 3 accumulate on the introduction path 13, The rising or falling state of the cylinder rod 26 is detected by the pressure of the regulating valve 43 which detects and switches, and the switch pieces 45 and 46 provided near the sliding tube 32 of the guide rod 31 and attached to the upper and lower ends of the guide rod 31, respectively. A valve 44, which is switched over, is connected as shown in FIG.

The switching position of each valve in the above connection diagram shows the standby state during automatic operation, where the claw piece 27 of the lifting means 18 is located at the upper end of the ascending path 15, and the first stop bar 21 of the gate part 17 is retracted. Then, the second stop bar 22 is exposed. When the hanger 3 is sent from the previous sewing station 7, the hanger 3 moves down the introduction path 13 under its own weight and stops at the second stop bar 22 of the gate section 17. At the same time, the detection valve 41 operates, and control air is applied from the detection valve 41 to the regulation valve 43 and then to the switching valve 38 via the detection valve 44, thereby switching the valve 38. Then cylinder 1
9 and 25 are actuated, the first stop bar 21 of the gate part 17 projects, and at the same time the second stop bar 22 rotates to open the gate, so the hanger 3 is moved to the gate part 17.
while heading towards the lower end 14 of the ascending path 15,
The claw piece 27 of the lifting means 18 also descends toward the lower end 14, and hooks the claw piece 27 onto the rotating shaft 29 of the rotating roller 2. At this time, the upper end of the detection valve 44 is pressed by the switch piece 45 at the upper end of the guide rod 31, and the valve 44 is switched, so the claw piece 27 changes from lowering to raising, lifting the hanger 3 and sending it to the next stage. In addition, following the gate part 17, the hanger 3
If several sets of hangers 3 have been lowered and stopped, the above operation is repeated to send each hanger 3 one by one to the lower end 14 of the ascending path 15, and the lifting means 18 sequentially transports each hanger 3 to the next sewing station 7. Transported automatically. This operation continues until there are no more hangers 3 on either the gate portion 17 or the lower end 14 of the ascending path, and waits until the next hanger 3 arrives.

Next, the operation during manual operation, which involves the work of a sewing worker, will be explained. When the three-way valve 39 is switched from the automatic operation position to the manual position, the gate part 1
7 opens, one hanger 3 descends and reaches the lower end 14 of the ascending path 15, and at the same time the claw piece 27 of the lifting means 18 descends and is below the rotating shaft 29 of the rotating roller 2. At the same time, the device stands by with the lower surface of the presser plate 34 pressing the circumferential surface of the rotating roller 2. The sewing worker removes the necessary parts from the hanger 3, processes them according to the prescribed procedure, and then attaches the processed product to the hanger 3 again.
When the manual valve 40 placed below the workbench 11 is stepped on, the control air is supplied to the detection valve 42 and the control valve 4.
3, passes through the manual valve 40, and is further applied to the switching valve 38 through the three-way valve 39, switches the valve 38, raises the claw piece 27, and sends the hanger 3 to the next stage. In conjunction with this feeding operation, the next hanger 3, which was locked to the first stop bar 21 of the gate part 17 as shown in FIG. 3a, moves to the position shown in FIG. 3b.
It is transferred to the second stop bar 22 as shown in FIG. Note that when a large number of hangers 3 are located on the introduction path 13 and reach the position where the regulation valve 43 is installed, the control air circuit 37 is opened, the operation of the lifting means 18 is forcibly stopped, and the feeding of the hangers 3 is stopped. will be suspended. In this case, the hanger 3 to be sent to the next stage can be suspended and stored in the preliminary hanging part 12 arranged in parallel with the conveyance part 9, so that the sewing work can be carried out without any hindrance even when the next stage is stagnant. Furthermore, since the control sections 35 of each sewing station 7 are independent, they do not affect the feeding operation of the preceding stage in any way.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the control section 35, in which the switching of the switching valve 38 is controlled electrically instead of using air. That is, the switching valve 38 is replaced with an electromagnetic valve 47, and the manual valve 40 and the detection valves 41, 42 are replaced with normally open limit switches 48, 49, 50. Furthermore, a normally closed switch 52 instead of the regulation valve 43 is connected in series with the rising side contact of a changeover switch 51 provided instead of the detection valve 44, and one of the electromagnetic valves 47 is controlled via the detection switches 49 and 50 connected in parallel. While connected to the coil, a manual switch 48 and an automatic/manual changeover switch 5 connected in parallel are connected to the lowering side contact of the changeover switch 51.
The other control coil is connected via 3. Note that even in the case where such an electric circuit is used, the operation thereof is almost the same as that described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the gate part 17 and the lifting means 18 are
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned one, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications as long as it performs the same operation. For example, instead of an air cylinder, a hydraulic or electromagnetic cylinder is used,
Alternatively, modifications such as using a chain conveyor as the lifting means 18 are within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the present invention allows the feeding function of each sewing station 7 to be independent, and also enables switching between automatic feeding and automatic feeding depending on the presence or absence of a sewing worker, so that the article feeding operation can be performed immediately in response to the change of sewing workers. This has the advantage of facilitating process control and quality control.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 show a conveying device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view showing an example of a sewing station.
Figures a and b are perspective views showing the operation of the gate section, and Figures 4a and b are front views of the sewing station shown in Figure 2. FIG. 5 shows a control section of each sewing station, and FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the control section. 1... Conveyance path, 3... Conveyed article (hanger), 7...
Processing station (sewing station), 12...
Preliminary hanging part, 13...Introduction path, 14...Ascent path lower end, 15...Ascending path, 16...Ascending path end, 17...Gate part, 18...Lifting means, 19...Cylinder, 2
7...Claw piece, 31...Guide rod, 34...Press plate, 3
5...Control unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an article conveyance device in which a plurality of processing stations 7 are arranged in tandem along an endless conveyance path 1,
Each processing station 7 (a) extends an introduction path 13 with a gentle downward slope to the vicinity of the work place, connects a rising path 15 with a steep upward slope from the lower end 14 of the introduction path 13, and connects an upward slope 15 with an upper end 16; (b) A lifting device installed in the ascending passage 15 to lift and transfer the article 3 from the lower end 14 of the ascending passage onto the next stage introduction passage 13. (c) means 18, which is disposed in the middle of the introduction path 13, and in conjunction with the transfer operation, transfers the delivery articles 3 one set at a time to the ascending path 1;
(d) a switch for switching between manual and automatic operation, and a manual switch; during manual operation, the gate section 17 and the lifting means 18 are operated singly by an operator operating the manual switch; and a control section 35 that causes the article 3 to be conveyed once, and during automatic operation, continuously operates the gate section 17 and the lifting means 18 to automatically convey the article 3.