JPH07100091B2 - Hanger carrier - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hanger transfer device for automatically transferring a workpiece between sewing stations arranged for each sewing process in a sewing factory, and more particularly to a long workpiece. The present invention relates to a hanger transfer device suitable for handling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to automate a sewing line and save labor, a hanger transfer device as shown in FIG. 5 is currently introduced in a sewing factory or the like. This hanger transfer device is used for each sewing station S that constitutes a sewing processing line.
Rails 1 are arranged in the space above 1, S2, S3 ... According to the arrangement of each station, while a hanger 2 having a workpiece W hung is suspended on the rail 1 and the rail 1 is laid by a predetermined conveying means. The workpiece W processed at each of the sewing stations S1, S2, S3 ... Is automatically and sequentially conveyed to the next sewing station. Although various means for transporting the hanger 2 have been proposed, the one shown in the figure has the rail 1 formed in a corrugated shape and one of the inclined portions 1a is formed.
A transfer conveyor (not shown) is built in the inside, and the hanger 2 is pushed upward by the conveyor, and then the hanger 2 is moved by a natural fall at the other inclined portion 1b.

[0003]

By the way, when introducing the above-mentioned hanger transfer device, it is desired to set the rail 1 at a position as high as possible. This is because when the work W suspended from the hanger 2 is a long one such as pants, it interferes with walking, and the periphery of the station is surrounded by the work W. This is because there is a problem in that the comfort of the work environment is impaired due to clutter.

However, when the rail 1 is arranged near the ceiling and the work W is always held at a high position, the work W is attached to and detached from the worker sitting on a chair and working. Becomes extremely difficult to perform, resulting in a decrease in work efficiency. Therefore, the hanger 2 is held at a high position during the transportation between the sewing stations, and when the hanger 2 reaches the station, the hanger 2 is lowered to the vicinity of the work table T, and after sewing, it is raised again to the next station. There is also proposed a hanger elevating mechanism such as sending to.

However, in the hanger transfer device having such a hanger raising / lowering mechanism, the lower end of the workpiece W touches the floor when the hanger 2 is lowered, and it becomes dirty, which lowers the commercial value. However, in order to raise the workpiece W that hangs low to the work table T, the operator must extend one hand and bend over the upper body to grasp the lower end of the cloth. Of course, repeating such an operation every 5 to 6 seconds every machining operation causes a problem that an operator is extremely burdened.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the problems of the above-mentioned conventional techniques. It is possible to work efficiently in a comfortable working environment, the burden on the operator can be reduced, and the work piece can be processed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hanger transfer device that can prevent the occurrence of inconveniences such as dirt on objects.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problem] In a hanger transfer device in which each station is connected by a rail arranged near the ceiling, and a work piece is transferred by a hanger suspended on the rail, each sewing station A hanger lowering mechanism that lowers the hanger that has reached the rear part of the hanger so that the gripping part is at substantially the same height as the work table provided in the sewing station; and the hanger that is lowered by the hanger lowering mechanism is the sewing machine. A rail part fixed to a guide body that guides to the front part of the station, a hanger lifting mechanism that lifts a hanger guided to the front part of the sewing station to a position where the hanger is suspended on the rail, and a hanger lowering mechanism that lowers the hanger together with the hanger. While supporting the machined workpiece at the same height as the upper surface of the workbench, transfer it from the rear part to the front part of the sewing station. And the workpiece conveyor which is intended to the provided.

[0008]

In the present invention, the hanger reaching each station is lowered from the position where it is suspended on the rail by the hanger lowering mechanism, and the workpiece is also lowered. At this time, since the work piece gripped by the hanger is received by the work piece conveyer conveyor, there is no possibility of contacting the floor surface and getting dirty.

Further, the lowered hanger moves forward of the sewing station along the rail portion fixed to the guide body, and the workpiece is also conveyed forward by the conveyor, which conveys the work table. Since it is located on the side and almost on the same plane as the upper surface of the workbench, the worker
The workpiece to be conveyed can be set on the work table very easily, the work can be performed efficiently, and the burden on the worker can be significantly reduced. In addition, when sewing a place apart from the grip of the hanger, such as when sewing the bottom of pants, it is possible to perform the sewing process without removing the work piece from the hanger, further improving work efficiency. To do.

The hanger on which the sewn workpiece is hung is lifted by the lifting mechanism, suspended again on the rail, and conveyed to the next sewing station.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be explained based on. In the figure, 3 is a rail for transporting a hanger. As shown in FIG. 4, the rail 3 has a plurality of processing stations S that form a predetermined sewing processing line.
1, S2, S3, ...
It is supported at the highest position possible by such as. Further, the rail 3 obliquely descends from the front portion (conveying direction) 3b of the processing station to the rear portion 3a of the next processing station, and here, a gripping portion for suspending the workpiece W is provided. The hanger 5 having 5a is adapted to be suspended.

A roller 5b fitted to the rail 3 is rotatably provided at the upper end of the hanger 5 as shown in FIG. 1, and the hanger 5 is rolled by the roller 5b.
Is adapted to move according to the inclination of the rail 3.

E1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is an air cylinder fixed to the tip of a U-shaped bracket projecting upward from the bottom of each rail 3. The air cylinder E1 can lock the hanger 5 that has moved to the rear portion 3a of the rail 3 by projecting the cylinder rod E1a thereof, as shown in FIG. A limit switch LS1 is provided in the vicinity of the air cylinder E1 so that it can detect whether or not the hanger 5 is locked to the cylinder rod E1a. Further, E1 'is an air cylinder, and at the same time as the cylinder rod E1a of the air cylinder E1 is retracted, a cylinder rod (not shown) of the air cylinder E1' is projected and the hangers 5 are fed one by one.

Further, all or some of the processing stations described above are not shown in FIGS.
A mechanism as shown in is provided. In the figure, 6 is a hanger lowering mechanism provided at the rear part 3a of the processing station, and 7 is a hanger raising mechanism provided at the front part 3b of the same station. All of these mechanisms have substantially the same structure.
71 and a lift table 6 that is lifted and lowered by a rodless cylinder (not shown) built in the lift guides 61, 71.
2, 72. A belt drive may be used instead of the rodless cylinder.

Rails 62a and 72, which have the same sectional shape as the rail 3, are provided on the lifts 62 and 72, respectively.
a is formed so that both rail portions 62a and 72a match the rear portion 3a and the front portion 3b of the rail 3, respectively, when the lifts 62 and 72 are at the highest position. Therefore, when in the highest position, both lifts 6
Reference numerals 2 and 72 denote a rear portion 3a and a front portion 3 of the rail 3, respectively.
The hanger 5 can be exchanged with the b.

Air cylinders E2 and E3 for locking the rollers 5b of the hanger 5 are provided on the lifts 62 and 72, and the lifts 62 and 72 are inclined in the same direction as the rails 3. The hanger 5 transferred to the rail portions 62a and 72a can be reliably locked by the cylinder rods E2a and E3a of the air cylinders E2 and E3.

LS2 and LS3 are the lifts 6
Limit switches SE1 and SE2 for detecting the presence or absence of the hanger 5 at 2, 72 are light sensors for detecting the highest and lowest positions of the lift 62, and SE3 and SE4.
Is a light sensor for detecting the highest and lowest positions of the lift table 72.

On the other hand, reference numeral 8 is a guide body for connecting the lower portions of both the lifting mechanisms 6 and 7. A rail portion 8a having the same sectional shape as the rail 3 and inclined downward from the rear portion to the front portion is formed at the upper edge portion of the guide body 8. Both ends of the rail portion 8a are connected to the rail portion 6
When 2a and 72a are at the lowest position, the rail portion 62a
The hanger 5 is arranged so as to match the rear end of the rail portion and the front end of the rail portion 72a, and the hanger 5 can be passed from the rail portion 62a to the rail portion 8a and from the rail portion 8a to the rail portion 72a. ing.

Further, E4 and E5 are air cylinders for locking hangers which are fixed to the rear part and the front part of the guide body 8, and the cylinder rods E4a and E5a are respectively projected so that the rails of the guide body 8 can be extended. The hanger 5 that is going to descend along the portion 8a is locked. Also, limit switches LS3, L for detecting whether or not the hanger 5 is locked by the cylinder rods E4a, E5a are provided near the air cylinders E4, E5.
S4 is provided.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a belt conveyer (workpiece conveying conveyer) wound around rollers 10a, 10b and 10c arranged at the front and rear positions of each station. By rotating the roller 10a by a motor 11, this belt is formed. The conveying surface 9a of the conveyor 9 moves from the rear end portion to the front end portion of the station and passes the side of the work table T. The transport surface 9a of the belt conveyor 9 is located on the same side as the upper surface of the work table T on the side of the work table T provided at each station.

In the figure, M is a sewing machine installed on the workbench T.

Next, the operation will be described based on the above configuration.
At the time when the processing operation of the workpiece W is completed, in each station, the plurality of hangers 5 are located in the respective parts in the state shown in FIG. That is, in this state, the cylinder rods E1a to E5a of all the air cylinders E1 to E5 are in a protruding state, and the air cylinder E1 provided at the rear portion of the rail 3 has a workpiece W processed at the front sewing station.
The hanger 5 holding the is locked, and the air cylinder E2 of the lift table 62 at the highest position and the air cylinders E4 and E5 before and after the rail portion 8a of the guide body 8 are
Each one hanger 5 is locked. At this time, the lift table 72 stands by at the lowest position of the lift guide 71.

Here, the operator pushes the hand push switch SW, the lift table 72 is at the lowest position, and the sensor SE4 is turned on.
After it is confirmed that the air cylinder E5 is in the N position, the cylinder rod E5a of the air cylinder E5 is in the retracted state, and the hanger 5 moves from the rail portion 8a of the guide body 8 to the rail portion 72a of the lift 72.
And is locked by the cylinder rod E3a of the air cylinder E3. Then, the limit switch LS5 provided on the lift table 72 is turned on, and the rodless cylinder of the hanger lifting mechanism 7 is activated by the ON signal, and the lift table 72 starts to lift together with the hanger 5 holding the workpiece W. . When the lift table 72 reaches the highest position, an ON signal is sent from the sensor SE3,
Cylinder rod E of air cylinder E3 according to N signal
3a becomes immersed, and the hanger 5 moves to the front part 3 of the rail 3.
It is then handed over to b and then moves to the next processing station according to the inclination of the rail 3.

Further, the cylinder rod E4a of the air cylinder E4 is retracted in synchronism with the rising of the lifting platform 72, the motor 11 is started to operate, and the belt conveyor 9 is started to rotate in the arrow A direction. As a result, the hanger 5 held by the air cylinder E4 descends according to the inclination of the rail portion 8a, and the workpiece W gripped by the hanger 5 is also conveyed in the arrow A direction by the belt conveyor 9. The hanger 5 is locked by the cylinder rod E5a of the air cylinder E5. At this time, since the workpiece W is conveyed to the side of the work table T by the belt conveyor 9 located on the substantially same plane as the work table T, the worker is required to move the work piece as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the work W can be easily grasped by simply extending the hand to the side, and the work can be performed efficiently. Especially when sewing the hem of pants,
Since the trousers are conveyed with the hem at the top, the operator can very easily grasp the hem, which is the sewing place, and perform the sewing work while the pants W are held by the hanger. Therefore, the work can be performed efficiently.

On the other hand, in the hanger lowering mechanism 6, the hanger 5 which is locked to the air cylinder E4 is connected to the rail portion 8 of the hanger 5.
The rodless cylinder is actuated by the signal that the limit switch LS3 is turned off after being conveyed according to the inclination of a,
The elevating table 62 starts descending. Then, when the lift table 62 reaches the lowest position, the sensor SE2 is turned on,
The rodless cylinder is temporarily stopped by the N signal, and the cylinder rod E2a of the air cylinder E2 is retracted. The lowering operation of the elevating table 62 causes the gripping portion 5a of the hanger 5 to be positioned in the vicinity (slightly above) of the work table T, and the workpiece W gripped by the work table T has its lower end portion on the belt conveyor 9. Since it is supported by the unit, there is no risk of it getting dirty by touching the floor.

When the cylinder rod E2a of the air cylinder E2 is retracted, the hanger 5 is lifted by the lift table 6
It moves from the second rail portion 62a to the rail portion 8a of the guide body 8 and is locked by the cylinder rod E4a of the air cylinder E4. At this time, the workpiece W gripped by the hanger 5 is also conveyed forward by the belt conveyor 9, and the hanger conveyor 9 remains in operation for a certain period of time even after the hanger 5 is locked by the air cylinder E4. The workpiece W is stretched to a flat state without wrinkles and overlaps as shown in FIG. 1 by sliding contact with the belt conveyor 9, and stands by in front of the work table T.

As described above, the work W can be sent to the work table T in a flat state by extending the work W to a flat state at the standby position.
Therefore, when setting the workpiece, the operator does not need much time to push and spread the overlap of the workpieces or to extend the wrinkles, and the workpiece W that has been conveyed is almost as it is. Since it is sufficient to transfer the work onto the work table T, the setting work can be smoothly performed.

In the above embodiment, the lifting table 6
Although the hanger 5 was passed between the rails 2 and 72 and the rail 3 and the hanger 5 was moved up and down by the raising and lowering operations of the lifts 62 and 72, the rail was bent in a concave shape at each station, and the rail was lowered to the rail when descending. Along the hanger 5
It is also possible to allow the hanger to fall naturally and to forcibly raise the hanger by a built-in belt mechanism or the like in the rising portion of the rail when the rail is raised. A roller conveyor may be used instead, and the present invention is not particularly limited to the above embodiment.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the rails arranged near the ceiling connect the stations to each other, and the hanger suspended on the rails conveys the workpiece. In the side of the workbench of a predetermined station, a workpiece transfer conveyor that moves from the rear end to the front end of the sewing station along the substantially same plane as the workbench is provided, and the hanger is lowered from near the ceiling. In this case, since the work held by the hanger is supported on the conveyor, it is possible to prevent the work from coming into contact with the floor and becoming soiled, which may impair the commercial value.

Further, since the work piece is conveyed to the side of the work table by the conveyor, the work piece can be extremely easily extended only by extending the hand to the side without the worker taking an unreasonable posture. Can be gripped, and work can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a working state of the one shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration of a rail in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of what is shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional hanger transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 rail 5 hanger 5a gripping part 6 hanger lowering mechanism 7 hanger raising mechanism 8 guide body 9 workpiece transfer conveyor S1, S2, S3 ... Sewing station W workpiece T work table

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The rails disposed near the ceiling connect between the processing stations in the sewing line, and
A large number of hangers each having a gripping portion for gripping the upper end of the work piece are suspended on the rails, and the hangers are sequentially moved along the rails to convey the work piece to be sewn between the sewing stations. And a hanger lowering mechanism for lowering the hanger that has reached the rear part of each sewing station so that the grips thereof are at substantially the same height as the workbench provided at the sewing station. ,
A rail part fixed to a guide body that guides the hanger lowered by the hanger lowering mechanism to the front part of the sewing station, and a hanger that raises the hanger guided to the front part of the sewing station to a suspension position on the rail. A workpiece transfer conveyor that moves the workpiece lowered together with the hanger by the lifting mechanism and the hanger lowering mechanism from the rear portion to the front portion of the sewing station while supporting the workpiece at the same height as the upper surface of the workbench. And a hanger transfer device.