JPH0825612B2 - Conveyor stopper control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method of controlling a conveyor stopper, which is indispensable for a free-flow conveyor line.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a stopper in a conveyor line is controlled by a sequencer and a relay circuit arranged at a certain fixed interval, and a station in which a plurality of identical work processes are arranged is fixed.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above-described conventional stopper control method, since the station group including a plurality of the same work processes is fixed in the production line, for example, the work ability of the worker varies, and
There is a drawback that it is difficult to deal with a change in process capability such as changing the number of persons who are doing the same work to four persons or changing to two persons, and it is not possible to make the tact time uniform.

The present invention is a conveyor stopper control method capable of flexibly coping with process variations in a production line.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention is a method of controlling a stopper that is provided for each station group that is continuously provided in a free flow conveyor line and that stops a conveyed product at the position of a corresponding station, and an operation unit that is provided for each station group. According to the above, the number of stations of the group of stations to be interlocked with the interlocking mode, which is a control mode in the case of interlocking a plurality of stations, is set, and the number of stations before reaching the station group is set. The first order from the downstream side in the transport direction of the transported object and the second order from the downstream side in the transport direction of the station are set in each station in a one-to-one correspondence, and the set second station is set. The transported object at the position of the first order corresponding to the order of is caught by the stopper.

Further, the present invention is a method of controlling a stopper which is provided for each station group continuously provided in a free flow conveyor line and which stops a conveyed product at a position of a corresponding station, and a group of stations to be interlocked with each other. The number of stations is preset, and the stopper catches the conveyed articles that are conveyed after the same number of the conveyed articles has passed.

〔Example〕

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an operation unit of each station in the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1a is a reset switch for returning the internal state of the stopper controller to the initial state,
1b is a passage mode selection switch, and when it is not interlocked, if this mode is selected, the stopper operation is stopped and the transported object only passes. 1c is an adjustment mode selection switch, which is enabled when the interlocking mode is not selected. Reference numeral 1d denotes an interlocking mode selection switch, and the combination of the switch 1d, the sequence number selection switch 1e, and the sequence switch 1f that defines the number of stoppers of the station and the sequential switch 1f causes the stoppers to interlock.

(I) and (ii) of FIG. 2 are diagrams showing the movement of each package when the triple operation is selected. 2a is a pair of station stoppers, A, B and C are operators, and 2b is The palettes are shown respectively.

2c is a foot switch for notifying the end of work, 2d is a buffer stopper, and 2e is a sensor for checking the presence or absence of a pallet.

Next, the operation will be described. As shown in (i) of FIG. 2, at the start of work, the stopper starts moving after waiting for three pallets to be stored in the buffer section. At the initial stage, the stopper by operator A stops the third sheet, the stopper by operator B stops the second sheet, the stopper by operator C stops the first sheet, and the other stoppers pass through. As shown in FIG. 2 (ii), the cycle operation after each station once grasps the pallet by the stopper is such that each station is always the third sheet upstream from the pallet grasped by the station in the transport direction. The pallet will be captured in the next cycle. However, the pallet will be guided into the buffer by releasing the buffer stopper only when all three pallets have run into the buffer.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a stopper controller according to the present invention and a work station to which the stopper controller is attached. In FIG. 3, 11a is a pallet that is a conveyed product, and 11b is a pallet.
Is an upstream stopper 11c is a downstream stopper, 11d is an optical detector that detects the presence or absence of a pallet, 11e is a stopper controller that controls the movement of the stopper of the station, and 11f is a counter unit that counts the number of pallets passing by turning the optical detector on and off. , 11g is a counter setting unit for setting the number of sheets to be passed, 11h is a control unit for controlling the stopper according to the set counter value, and 11i is a foot switch for notifying the stopper controller of the end of the work.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the movement of the pallet when the triple operation is selected. When the workers A, B, and C step on the foot switches, the pallets in front of the workers start to flow out because the stoppers are lowered. Pallet 12a that A should take next
And the pallet 12b that B should take next, and the pallet 12c that C should take next are all fourth from the pallet in front of each worker so far. If the count value is designated as 3 in the interlocking mode, the next pallet will be captured after the passage of three pallets is confirmed by turning the photodetector on and off. If the count values of the stopper controllers of the workers A, B, and C are set to be the same, the work stations in front of the workers A, B, and C will repeat three operations.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the control program can be made the same by defining the attribute of the stopper in each station operation unit, and as a result, the same process work station can be continuously installed at any place, and the process in the production line can be performed. This has the effect of flexibly responding to fluctuations. In particular, by specifying the interlocking mode in the station operation part, the interlocking operation of the stoppers can be made possible by the same control program without the need for exchanging signals with the adjacent stations, and as a result, it can be performed at any place on the production line. The stations of the same process can be installed continuously, and there is an effect that it is possible to flexibly cope with process variations in the production line.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an operation unit of each station in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a case where a triple operation is selected. FIG. 3 is a view of a stopper controller according to another embodiment of the present invention and a work station to which the stopper controller is attached, and FIG. 1a …… Reset switch, 1b …… Passing mode selection switch, 1c …… Adjustment mode selection switch, 1d …… Interlocking mode selection switch, 1e …… Station number designation switch, 1f …… Order designation switch, 2a …… Stopper pair , 2b …… palette, 2c…
… Foot switch, 2d …… Buffer stopper, 2e ……
Pallet confirmation sensor, A, B, C ... Worker, 11a ... Pallet, 11b ... Upstream stopper, 11c ... Downstream stopper, 11
d …… Optical detector, 11e …… Stopper controller, 11
f …… Counter unit, 11g …… Counter setting unit, 11h …… Control unit, 11i …… Foot switch, 12a …… Pallet that worker A should take next, 12b …… Pallet that worker B should take next , 12c …… Pallet that operator C should take next.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling a stopper which is provided for each station group which is continuously provided in a free flow conveyor line and which stops a conveyed product at a position of a corresponding station, which is an operation provided for each station group. Part to set the number of stations of the group of stations to be interlocked with the interlocking mode, which is a control mode when operating a plurality of stations, and set the number of stations before reaching the station group. 1 to 1 of the first order from the downstream side in the transport direction and the second order from the downstream side in the transport direction of the station.
The stopper control method is characterized in that each of the stations is set in correspondence with each of the above-mentioned stations, and the conveyed article at the position of the first order corresponding to the set second order is caught by the stopper. 2. A method for controlling a stopper, which is provided for each station group continuously provided in a free-flow conveyor line, for stopping a conveyed product at a position of a corresponding station, the method comprising: A method for controlling a conveyor stopper, wherein a number of stations is set in advance, and the conveyed article conveyed after the same number of the conveyed articles has passed is set by the stopper.