JPH0344807B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides the following methods: Before shaping a corrugated tape-shaped material cut to a predetermined length into an element having a completely circular cross-sectional shape, The present invention relates to a technique for pre-shaping into a semicircular cross-sectional shape, and is particularly used in the shaping process of filter media used in oil filters for automobile engines and air filter elements.

[Conventional technology]

Disposable filter elements are generally made by forming a tape-like filter medium impregnated with resin into a corrugated shape, then rolling it into a cylindrical shape, gluing a cap to the end surface, and attaching a protector to the inside. After maintaining the shape, the resin is cured by hot air treatment and completed.

Traditionally, most of the filter elements that have been widely used have been the so-called chrysanthemum-shaped type shown in Figure 11, but in view of the trend toward smaller, lighter, and higher-performance automatic parts, Recently, there has been a shift to the so-called crystal type as shown in FIG. This crystal-type filter medium for filter elements is given a wave pattern with an unequal pitch in which the pitch changes periodically, and has fine irregularities as a whole due to the wave pattern, and the wave pattern part with the longest pitch is the outermost part. It has a polygonal cross-section with a plurality of axially parallel slits, which are bent inwards as the pitch becomes shorter.

However, a means for rationally manufacturing such a crystal type filter medium has not yet been developed.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention relates to a series of steps for continuously shaping the above-mentioned filter medium for crystal-type filter elements, and in particular, pre-shaping a tape-shaped material that has been given a corrugated shape and cut to a predetermined length into a semicircular cross-sectional shape. Regarding the process.

[Means for solving problems]

The above-mentioned purpose is to pre-shape a tape-shaped material that has been formed into a wave shape with a constant period and unequal pitch and cut to the length of one final product into an element with a semicircular cross section by compressing it into an accordion shape. In the method, the material is advanced while always regulating the positions of at least the maximum corrugation and the minimum corrugation of the tape-shaped material by a plurality of regulating members, and the moving speed of the preceding regulating member and the following regulating member are controlled. This is achieved by a method of shrinking corrugated material, which is characterized by shrinking the material by the difference in speed of movement of the material.

The above-mentioned method also includes two sets of feeding units each having claws at a predetermined interval corresponding to the maximum and minimum waveforms of the waveforms of constant period and unequal pitch applied to the tape-like material; A drive mechanism for moving the feed unit forward, backward, and up and down at predetermined timing, and a compacting drum having a plurality of pairs of positioning members corresponding to the maximum wave type and the minimum wave type arranged around the periphery. The tape-shaped material for at least one final product is accommodated in the drum by the difference between the material movement speed by the feeding unit and the material movement speed by the shrinking drum. This is preferably carried out by means of a compacting device for corrugated material.

〔Example〕

Before describing the preliminary shaping method and apparatus of the present invention, first, the entire continuous shaping process of filter media for filter elements according to the present invention will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the present invention, a tape-shaped filter medium 1 unwound from a package P passes through an uncoiler 2 equipped with a supply roller 2a, is stored in a stocker 3 in a relaxed state, and is subsequently transferred to a supply roller 2a. 3a to the creasing roller 4. The scoring roller 4 consists of a pair of rollers that rotate in contact with each other, and has a plurality of ribs provided in the longitudinal direction on its surface to apply corrugated streaks to both the front and back surfaces of the filter medium 1. This allows for easy corrugation during the process. Next, the filter medium 1 is sent to a forming and cutting process consisting of forming/cutting rollers 5, 6, and 7, where it is formed into a wave shape and cut into lengths for each filter element. Next, the filter medium 1 is folded into a corrugated state into a semicircular shape as a whole by a feeding device 10 including a feeding roller 9 via an idle roller 8 into a shrinking drum 11 that accommodates two pieces of filter medium for filter elements. It is filled in a cross section. As shown in FIG. 2, the filter medium 1 assembled into a semicircular cross-sectional shape
The sheets are intermittently pushed out one after another from the shrinking drum 11 and transferred into a transfer jig 12 radially attached to the indexing device 13. From here, it is introduced into the rounding chute 14,
As it is sent sequentially through the chute toward the exit side, its diameter is gradually reduced and at the same time it is modified into a circular shape,
A filter element with a desired crystal cross section is obtained.

In this series of steps, the present invention includes the feeding roller 9, the shrinking device 10, and the shrinking drum 11.
It relates to a preliminary shaping process consisting of.

The present invention will be explained in more detail based on the drawings.

In FIG. 3, both the idle roller 8 and the feed roller 9 have irregularities on their circumferential surfaces consisting of a plurality of peaks and valleys corresponding to the waveforms of unequal pitch given to the filter medium 1. It is actively driven to rotate in a state in which the peaks enter into the valleys of the other (hereinafter referred to as gear engagement state), thereby preventing the uneven pitch wave shape given to the filter medium from being broken. The filter medium is configured to be conveyed while being held. Note that the feeding roller 9 is the filter medium 1.
1 cycle of corrugations (15 in the illustrated example), and the filter medium for one filter element includes the corrugations (90) corresponding to 6 rotations of the feed roller 9. Assume that it is cut to a predetermined length. Both rollers 8 and 9 are configured so that the tops of their peaks are arranged on the virtual circumference (this is called outer diameter regulation).
Naturally, the points at the bottom of the valley are not arranged on the same circumference. Therefore, if the rollers 8 and 9 are installed so that they do not interfere with each other, the distance between the peaks of the crests and the bottoms of the valleys that engage with each other will not always be constant, and if a high peak and a deep valley engage with each other, there will be a considerable distance. It will open. In this state, both rollers 8 and 9 are normally
When the filter medium is rotated, there is a possibility that the corrugated waveform of the filter medium that has been painstakingly applied may separate from the tooth pattern of the roller and collapse when it transfers from the idle roller 8 to the feed roller 9, so the present invention prevents this. In order to do this, a cam 98 is provided coaxially with the idle roller 8, and by rotating in synchronization with the rotation of the idle roller 8, the lever 96 that engages with the cam 98 is swung left and right about the pin 99, and as described above, In accordance with the period in which the meshing gap between both rollers 8 and 9 increases, the filter medium 1 that leaves the gripping point of both rollers 8 and 9 is pushed toward the feeding roller 9 using the back of the lever 96, and the filter medium 1 pushes the filter medium 1 toward the feeding roller 9. It is regulated so that it does not break away from the mold.

The filter medium 1 thus transferred to the surface of the feed roller 9 is reliably introduced into the feed device 10 while its path is regulated by a fixed guide 100 provided facing the locus of the peak of the roller 9. be done.

The feeding device 10 has an upper portion connected to a horizontal guide 201.
A filter medium passage 200 regulated by a filter medium passage 200, and two pairs of feeding units 41 provided below along the passage.
42; 41a, 42a. This 2
The sets of feeding units are each fixed to slides 74 and 74a of a moving mechanism, which will be described later, so that each set is configured to repeatedly advance and retreat in opposite phases with respect to the conveyance direction of the filter medium, and Each of the feeding units in the set is configured to perform an up-and-down movement in synchronization with the fore-and-aft movement, as shown in the timing chart of FIG.

Next, these two sets of feeding units 41, 42;
a, 42a will be explained in detail. These two sets of feeding units are installed in parallel below the passage 200, dividing the passage into two in the width direction, and as shown in FIG.
They are arranged in the order of 1, 42 (41a, 42a). The feed unit 41 consists of only one claw I with an I-shaped cross section, and the feed unit 42 has two claws I with an I-shaped cross section and one claw Y with a Y-shaped cross section arranged alternately as shown. has been done. On the other hand, the feed unit 41a consists of only one pawl Y, and the feed unit 42a has a structure in which two pawls Y and one pawl I are arranged alternately. and feed unit 4
1 and 42 and feeding units 41a and 42a
The claws are arranged at equal intervals.

The feeding action of the filter medium by this feeding unit will be explained.

First, when the largest trough 9a of the feed roller 9 rotates and approaches the entrance of the passage 200, the feed unit 41, which was waiting at the rear end position, starts moving forward and rises, and its claw I touches the passage from below. 200
The filter medium 1 enters the inside and matches the trough 9a of the roller 9 just at the entrance of the passage 200, and supports the largest wave form of the filter medium 1 supported by the trough 9a from below and conveys it forward. At this point, the other set of feed units 41a, 42a is in the lowered position and is moving backward. Next, when the minimum peak 9b of the feed roller 9 (which is located at an angular position of 180 degrees from the maximum valley 9a) approaches the entrance of the passage 200, the feed roller, which has already reached the rear end position and is waiting, The unit 41a rises as it starts moving forward, and its claws Y support the smallest corrugated shape of the filter medium 1 supported by the mountain 9b from below and transport it forward. By repeating this operation, the filter medium 1 is sequentially fed into the passage 200 while maintaining the applied corrugation.

While the feeding unit 41 (42) moves forward supporting the first maximum waveform (minimum waveform) of the filter medium 1 and reaches its front end position, one of the feeding units 41a (42)
a) moves backward, reaches the rear end position, and stops together. In this position, both feed units 41, 42
As shown in FIG. 5, (41a, 42a) the claws of the same type are arranged adjacent to each other with the former claw leading the latter by one pitch. From this state, when the feed unit 42 (41) moves backward (at this point, the other set of feed units moves from the rear end position to the forward movement), the feed unit 42 (41) descends and moves the filter medium. However, at the same time, the other feed unit 41a (4
2a) starts to rise and the filter medium 1 reaches the feed unit 4.
The filter medium 1 is supported before it is released from the filter medium 2 (41), and the holding of the filter medium 1 is changed between the two sets of feeding units. And the subsequent feed unit 41a (42a)
The forward motion of causes the filter medium 1 to move forward again. By changing the grip, the filter medium 1 can always be held in its maximum and minimum corrugations by the claws of one of the feed units 42 or 42a during conveyance. By repeating the above exercise,
As shown in FIG. 6, the filter medium 1 is sequentially conveyed through the passage 200 by the claws I and Y in an orderly and reliable manner and introduced into the next shrinking drum 11. The horizontal guide 201 serves to prevent the filter medium 1 from floating up as the claws I and Y rise.

Next, a mechanism for moving the above-mentioned feed unit will be explained. In FIGS. 7 and 8, the feed units 41 and 42 are fixed on a slider 74, and a gear 7 attached to a feed cam 61.
0, it is configured to be able to reciprocate in the conveying direction of the filter medium via a rack 153 provided integrally with the slider 74. As is clear from FIG. 7, the feed units 41a and 42a are fixed on the slider 74a in parallel with the feed units 41 and 42, and are connected to the slider 74 by the gear 70 via a rack 153a fixed thereto. It is configured to be able to reciprocate in opposite directions. This causes the aforementioned forward and backward movement of the feed unit.

Each of the feed units 41 and 41a has a cam 4.
5, 45a are related, and slide pins 71, 72a
The claws are moved up and down by moving them up and down. Similarly, the feeding units 42, 42a
The respective cams 446, 46a are also associated (4
6 (see FIG. 8, 46a not shown) raises and lowers the claws. This causes each pawl to move up and down as described above. These mechanisms are driven by the feed roller 9.
The rotation of the roller serves as a reference, and when the roller rotates once, the slider reciprocates once and the cam rotates once.

Next, the shrinking drum 11 will be explained. The shrinking drum 11 is connected to the passage 20 as shown in FIG.
A holder 63 attached to a sub-holder 64 is fixed to the tip of a main shaft 66 rotatably attached to a fixed shaft 65 extending in a direction perpendicular to zero. The holder 63 is provided with radial grooves at positions divided into 12 equal parts along the circumference, and grooves in the shape shown in FIG.
Twelve positioning pawls 39 are slidably fitted and configured to rotate together with the main shaft 66 about the shaft 65. The pawl 39 is biased radially toward the inner surface of the outer housing 62 of the retracting drum 11 by a spring 38 . This nail 3
The lower portion of the housing 62 corresponding to position 9 is connected to the passageway 200 near position D in FIG.
It is open to the public. Therefore, in this part, the filter medium 1 that has been conveyed through the passage 200 can enter the inside of the stationary housing 62.
Further, the claw 39 can protrude so as to block the passage 200. The position D corresponds to the front end position of the forward movement of the tip Y of the feeding unit 42 (supporting the smallest corrugated portion of the filter medium 1).
Therefore, the action of the pawl 39 is such that when the pawl Y at the tip of the feeding unit 42 has conveyed the minimum corrugated shape of the filter medium 1 to the position D, the pawl 39 is successively lowered and the filter medium 1 is disposed between the pawl Y and the pawl Y.
It has the function of gripping the smallest waveform of the main shaft 66, and then, as the main shaft 66 rotates, it is gripped and positioned directly between the inner surface of the housing 62 and the inner surface of the housing 62.

On the other hand, 12 positioning arrows 93 which are slidable in the axial direction are supported at the tip of the shaft 84 at positions between the respective positioning claws 39, and the slide bearings 15
It is attached to the main shaft 66 via 0.0, 151, and is configured to rotate together with the main shaft 66.
This positioning arrow 93 is connected to the feed unit 42a.
When the most advanced claw I conveys the largest waveform of the filter medium 1 to the front end position D of the forward movement, it projects horizontally sequentially onto the passage 200, supports this largest waveform from the side, and continues to move to the housing 62. By collaborating with the positioning claws 39, the filter medium 1 is compressed without breaking its wave shape, and transported to the next process while being gripped within the drum 11. By repeating this operation alternately, the filter media 1 are sequentially fed into the space between the housing 62 and the holder 63 while being partitioned by the positioning claws 39 and the arrows 93. At this time, since there is a difference between the forward speed of the feeding unit and the circumferential speed of the main shaft 66, the filter medium 1 is contracted into an accordion shape and accommodated in the compaction drum 11.

FIG. 10 shows the state of the filter medium 1 accommodated in the shrink drum 11 in this manner. It is clear from the above description that the length of the filter medium 1 corresponding to one revolution of the feed roller 9 is accommodated between the adjacent claws 39. Therefore, the drum 11 as a whole accommodates the filter media 1 for 12 revolutions of the feed roller 9. However, as mentioned above, the length of the filter medium for one filter element is the length of six rotations of the feed roller 9, so the shrinking drum 11 is
During rotation, two filter elements' worth of filter media will be accommodated within it. Therefore, while the shrinking drum 11 rotates once and returns to the starting position, the filter medium 1 corresponding to one filter element previously accommodated is pushed out, and the empty space advances to position D. There is. The extruded semicircular filter medium 1 is pushed into a transfer jig 12 attached around the succeeding index device 13 and held therein.

Next, a mechanism for operating each part of each shrinking drum 11 described above will be explained.

In FIG. 8, a cam 3 is provided on the upper part of the horizontal guide 201 for regulating the movement of each positioning pawl 39.
7 is installed, and as the main shaft 66 rotates, the pawls 39 in contact with the cam 37 are sequentially pushed toward the center of the main shaft 66 along the curve, and the claws 39 are pushed toward the center of the main shaft 66 against the biasing force of the spring 38. Pull inside. Then, when the position D is reached, the cam 3
7 and protrudes outward again to perform the function of supporting the minimum wave shape of the filter medium 1.

In FIG. 7, the rear end of the shaft 84 carrying the positioning arrow 93 is engaged with a grooved cam 85 fixed to the shaft 65 via a follower, and the main shaft 66 rotates around the shaft 65. As it does so, the arrow 93 is folded horizontally parallel to the axis. As described above, the robot starts moving forward at position D shown in FIG. 8, enters the maximum corrugation of the filter medium 1 from the lateral direction, and determines its position. Then, when it reaches position C from position A in this state, it starts to retreat and is retracted into the drum 11 before reaching position D.

Twenty-four pushing rods 83, 83a for pushing out the filter medium 1 housed in the shrinking drum 11 move the main shaft 66 between each positioning claw 39 and each arrow 93 every half circumference of the drum 11. It penetrates and is inserted so that it can freely slide in the axial direction. These push rods 83, 83a are attached to rings 86, 88 which are slidably attached to the fixed shaft 65, respectively, and the rings 86, 88 are moved by cams 87, 89 fixed to the cam shaft 92. It is configured to be able to swing left and right via a lever (not shown). Then, when the leading part of the filter medium 1 corresponding to one filter element housed in the shrinking drum 11 reaches position B, and the rear end part reaches position A, it is located in the half circumference that accommodates the filter medium. Half of the pushing rods 83 or 83a start moving forward, and the drum 1
1 rotates from position B to C, the filter medium 1 is pushed out laterally (to the left in FIG. 7) and transferred to a transfer jig 12 (not shown).

In this way, 1 filter medium for 1 filter element
is partitioned by a positioning claw 39 and a positioning arrow 93, and as the drum 11 rotates, it moves from the starting position D.
Before reaching the starting point D again, the object stored in the contracted state over an arc of 180 degrees is transferred into the transfer jig 12 while maintaining the semicircular shape by the action of the push rods 83 and 83a. By repeating this process, it is possible to create a continuous pre-shaped filter medium.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the camshaft 92 is configured to rotate at the same time as the main shaft 66, and the ratio of the rotational speed of the feed roller 9 to the rotational speed of the compaction drum 11 is 12:1. It is configured as follows.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As detailed above, according to the present invention, the raising/lowering timing and forward/backward timing of the feed unit are determined in accordance with the rotational phase of the chevron of the feed roller, thereby imparting a periodic waveform of unequal pitch. It has become possible to reliably grasp the maximum and minimum corrugated positions of the filter medium, shrink it, and feed it into the drum. In addition, even in the shrinking drum, the filter medium delivered from the feed unit is accommodated in the drum while its position is controlled by the positioning claws and arrows. It is stably preformed into a semicircular shape without destroying it. This made it possible to carry out the subsequent rounding process smoothly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing the entire filter media shaping process for filter elements of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the feeding device of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a movement of the feeding unit. Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the claws of both feed units, Fig. 6 is a side view showing the state of conveyance of filter media by the feed unit, and Fig. 7 is details of the drive mechanism of the feeding device and the shrinking drum. 8 is a front view, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing how the positioning member is applied to the filter medium, and FIG. 10 is a front view showing how the filter medium is held in the shrinking drum.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional chrysanthemum-type filter element, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a crystal-type filter element according to the present invention. 1... Filter medium, 9... Feeding roller, 11...
Shrinking drum, 41, 42, 41a, 42a... feeding unit, 39... positioning claw, 93... positioning arrow.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tape-like material that has been formed into a wave shape with a constant period and unequal pitches and cut to the length of one final product is compressed into an accordion shape and preformed into an element with a semicircular cross section. A method for moving the material forward while constantly regulating the positions of at least the maximum waveform and the minimum waveform of the tape-like material by a plurality of regulating members, and moving the material at a speed that is equal to the moving speed of the preceding regulating member. A method for shrinking a material formed into a corrugated shape, characterized by shrinking the material based on the difference in moving speed of a regulating member. 2. Two sets of feeding units equipped with claws at a predetermined interval corresponding to the maximum waveform and minimum waveform of the waveform of a constant period and unequal pitch applied to the tape-shaped material, and the feeding unit is It consists of a drive mechanism for moving forward, backward, and up and down at timing, and a retracting drum having a plurality of pairs of positioning members corresponding to the maximum wave type and minimum wave type arranged around the periphery, and is driven by the feed unit. The tape-shaped material for at least one final product is accommodated in the drum by the difference between the material movement speed and the material movement speed by the shrinking drum. A device for shrinking processed materials.