JPH0561375B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for dewatering thread (cheese) wound around a bobbin, and more specifically, to a centrifugal dehydration method for cheese that has been dyed in the cheese dyeing process. This relates to a series of dewatering systems that improve efficiency and facilitate automation.

(Prior art) Cheese dyeing is usually carried out by filling a carrier with a spindle equipped with cheese and immersing this carrier in a dyeing kettle. After dyeing, the carrier is taken out again. ,
Cheese is taken out one by one from the spindle and manually loaded into a centrifugal dehydrator for dehydration.

However, in recent years, automation of cheese dyeing has attracted attention, and in response to this, there has been an active movement to automate the dehydration process, and along with the development of robotic mechanisms, this has led to improvements in the method of loading and unloading cheese into centrifugal dehydrators. It has been considered.

However, due to the mechanism of conventional centrifugal dehydrators, cheese is stacked vertically inside the dehydrator housing and filled by hand. Filling was difficult.

Furthermore, since the cheese is stacked in layers in the dehydrator, there was a concern that the threads would come into contact with each other, causing unnecessary damage.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention deals with the trends of the times and the current situation as described above, and by creating a new innovation in the dehydration method, it eliminates the conventional concerns and improves the robot mechanism. The purpose of this invention is to facilitate the use of cheese dehydration, thereby facilitating the automation of cheese dehydration.

(Means for Solving the Problems) That is, the features of the present invention that meet the above objectives are as follows: First, the spindle with cheese, in which the required number of cheeses are inserted into the spindle, is sequentially loaded onto the spindle from a carrier.
The step of transferring onto a self-propelled cart mounted on a rail, the transferred spindle with cheese is run along the rail, and each cheese is sequentially lifted from the spindle with cheese at a required position. A step of inserting and holding the cheese into the spindle of a basket having a cylindrical shape placed on a cheese insertion stand and having a number of cheese insertion spindles protruding in radial directions on the outer periphery of the basket; A dehydration step in which cheese is dehydrated by being inserted into a rotating body of a rotary dehydrator, a basket removal step in which a basket is taken out from the rotary body after dehydration by the dehydrator and placed on a cheese removal table, and a basket removal step in which the cheese is placed on a cheese removal stand. This is a series of dehydration methods consisting of each step of a conveying process in which cheese is sequentially removed from the spindle of a basket and transported to the next process.The second is an apparatus that uses the same dehydration method and has the following configuration. .

That is, it includes a carrier for mounting and holding a large number of spindles with cheeses, and an annular rail, on which a required number of self-propelled carts are mounted, and the self-propelled carts are sequentially driven and stopped at a predetermined position. ,
a cheese transfer device equipped with a cheese lift device that sequentially lifts the cheese from the cheese-equipped spindle thereon; a transfer device comprising a robot mechanism that sequentially transfers the cheese-equipped spindle from the carrier to the self-propelled cart on the annular rail; It is based on a series of device combinations of a rotary dehydrator for dehydrating cheese installed adjacent to the transfer device, and a cheese removal device consisting of a robot mechanism that removes the dehydrated cheese from the rotary dehydrator and transfers it onto a conveyor. Assuming the use of a basket that has a cylindrical shape and has a large number of cheese insertion spindles protruding from its outer periphery in the radial direction, the rotary dehydrator is equipped with a rotating body that removably accommodates the basket. A dehydrator, a cheese insertion stand for inserting cheese into the spindle of the basket, and after dehydration,
A cheese removal stand for placing and holding the basket taken out from the rotary dehydrator and the above-mentioned baskets corresponding to these are combined, and the cheese lifted by the cheese lift device is inserted into the cheese insertion stand and the cheese transfer device. A cheese insertion device consisting of a robot mechanism is installed to insert the cheese into the basket spindle on the table, and
At the upper part of the rotary dehydrator, the cheese insertion table, and the cheese removal table, there is provided a basket having a common central axis at the center position thereof, which is at an angle to each other, and whose tips are connected to the basket on the rotary dehydrator, the cheese insertion table, and the cheese removal table. Extending radially on the circumference of a disguised circle passing through the center,
An arm is provided at the tip thereof with a chuck capable of attaching and detaching the basket, so that it can move up and down and rotate, and by moving the arm up and down and rotating, the cheese insertion basket on the cheese insertion table is lifted and transferred to the rotary dehydrator. At the same time, the baskets in the rotary dehydrator and the empty baskets on the cheese take-out stand are respectively lifted and transferred onto the cheese take-out stand and the cheese insertion stand in sequence.

(Operation) According to the present invention described above, first, the spindle with the cheese is placed from the carrier on the self-propelled cart on the annular rail, and is moved along the rail.

Then, it is stopped at a predetermined position, the cheeses on the spindle with cheese are sequentially lifted by the cheese lift device, and the cheeses are sequentially inserted into the spindle of the basket on the cheese insertion stand by the robot mechanism.

A cheese insertion basket is housed in a rotating body of a dehydrator, and centrifugal dehydration is performed while preventing the cheese from floating up.

Next, after dehydration, the basket is lifted out of the dehydrator and taken out onto a cheese take-out table, and a robot mechanism removes the cheese from the spindle of the basket and places it on a conveyor.

The basket from which the cheese has been removed is again transferred onto the cheese insertion table, and cheese is inserted by a robot mechanism from the next spindle selected by the self-propelled cart.

Thereafter, the cheese is repeatedly dehydrated one after another.

In addition, in the above dehydration work, a rotary dehydrator,
The baskets in the respective positions of the cheese insertion table and the cheese removal table, that is, the empty baskets with dehydrated cheese, with non-dehydrated cheese, and without cheese, are simultaneously lifted by the arm and rotated to move each other to the next working position. be transferred.

Of course, at this time, if the positions of the rotary dehydrator, cheese insertion table, and cheese removal table are at the apex positions of an equilateral triangle, there will be three arms, and at the same time, they will be lifted up and rotated 120 degrees to move to the next position. Even if each of the above positions is off from the apex position of the equilateral triangle, if you align the arms with that position, you can lift the three arms at the same time, and by slightly rotating it, you can lift the basket one by one, the dehydrator, and each machine. can be inserted into.

In this case, a chuck that moves up and down separately is attached to the tip of each arm.

In this way, it can be done continuously without requiring much manpower,
Moreover, it is possible to automatically dehydrate cheese.

(Example) Examples of the apparatus of the present invention and specific aspects of the dehydration method of the present invention will be described below with further reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 4 are embodiments showing a series of devices according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an example of a preferred arrangement thereof.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a carrier, on which a required number of threads (cheese) 3 wound around a bobbin and a required number of spindles 2 with cheese inserted into a spindle 4 are installed. The spindle with cheese 2 is transferred to the self-propelled cart 7 on the rail 6 by the SCARA type robot 5 which can move up and down and rotate, and the self-propelled cart 7 follows the rail 6.
is being transferred.

Here, a commercially available SCARA type robot 5 is used, but a balance hoist can also be used instead. In addition, the self-propelled trolley was specially applied for in the 1980s.
No. 97539 (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-258066).

FIG. 2 shows the required positions of the cheese-attached spindles 2 on the self-propelled cart 7 that moves along the rails 6, and a large number of cheese-inserting spindles 12 are provided adjacent to the outer periphery of the cylindrical body 13 in a radial direction. A pieuma-type robot mechanism is installed in the middle of which the cheese 3 is placed and held on the cheese insertion stand 10, and the cheese 3 is lifted by a cheese lift device 8 attached to a desired position on the rail 6. 9
They are sequentially inserted into the spindle 12 of the basket 11. The Pyuuma type robot 9 is a known robot having a mechanism that moves freely like a human hand, and a commercially available robot is used.

The cheese lift device 8 is a device previously proposed by the present applicant and has a structure as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-31462, and its outline is shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in the figure, the lift device includes a sprocket wheel 42 that rotates coaxially with a pulley that is transmitted from a motor 41 disposed in the middle through a chain, a belt, etc., and a sprocket wheel 43 on the lower side of the machine frame 40. It is formed by providing a lift 45 that is inserted into the lower part of the cheese and lifts up a part of the chain 44 that rotates between the two guides, although it is not clear in the figure. Along the line, the lift 45 is maintained movable up and down.

Note that the operation of the pulley from the motor 41 and the sprocket wheel 42 is normally adjusted as appropriate by a cam clutch.

Further, as the lift 45 moves up and down along the guide, a rod is further disposed parallel to the guide,
Although not shown, limit switches for determining the upper and lower limit positions of the lift 45 are respectively attached.

Note that 46 and 47 in the figure are switches for checking the cheese position at the start and for checking the blind spindle, respectively, and are provided to smooth the cheese removal operation.

The cheese lift device has the above-described configuration, and sequentially removes the cheese 3 from the spindle 4.

On the other hand, numeral 16 in FIG. 2 is a robot mechanism for lifting and moving the basket 11, which forms one of the essential parts of the present invention, and usually has the structure of a SCARA robot having three arms.

The figure only shows the arm for the basket 11 on the cheese insertion table 10, but as shown in detail in FIG. A central shaft 19 that can move up and down within the central cylinder 18
are at an angle to each other with the common axis
It has an angle of 120° in the radial direction, and its tips extend to the center positions of the cheese insertion table 10, the rotary dehydrator 24, which will be described later, and the cheese removal table 32, respectively, and each tip has a basket 11. A chuck 20 for attachment and detachment is provided respectively.

In this case, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the chuck 20 is pulled out by a cylinder 22 disposed in a radial direction from a substrate suspended by a shaft 23 at the tip of the arm, and is pulled out by a retractable lifting claw 21. When the claw 21 protrudes or retracts, it engages with and separates from the hole in the tongue piece 15 provided upwardly protruding from the collar 14 on the upper surface of the basket 11, and the basket 1
1 is attached and detached.

After the cheese 3 has been sequentially inserted into the spindle 12 of the basket 11 by the robot mechanism 9, the basket 11 is suspended and held at the tip of the arm, and transferred to the next rotary dehydrator by rotating the arm 17. let

In addition, when inserting cheese into the spindle 12 of the basket, insert cheese sequentially from the upper or lower stage in the vertical direction to the lower or upper stage.
By rotating the cheese 3, the cheese 3 can be inserted in the vertical direction of the next row, and by repeating this, the cheese 3 can be inserted into the entire spindle.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the basket 11 with the cheese 3 inserted into each spindle 12 as described above is accommodated in the rotary dehydrator 24 and subjected to centrifugal dehydration.
Inside a rotating body 26 built in a housing 25, which is arranged on a base and is integrally attached to a shaft 27 rotated by a pulley 30 connected via a belt 31 to a pulley 29 attached to the shaft of a motor 28. Place the basket 1 along the guide 26a (see Figure 7).
1 is inserted, the rotary body 26 and the basket 11 rotate together due to the transmission from the motor 28, and the cheese 3 is dehydrated.

In this case, a collar 14 is provided at the top of the basket 11 to prevent the cheese from popping out.
Basket 1, which prevents scattering from the top
There is a pin 35 on the top of 1 so that it moves outward when rotating.
is provided, which enters the hole of the rotating body 26 due to rotational centrifugal force, thereby preventing lifting.

This pin 35 is connected to a spring 36 when the rotation is stopped.
It moves inward and comes out of the hole of the rotating body 26.

In this way, dehydration is carried out in the state shown in FIG. 3, and the dehydrated basket 11 is
The cheese is taken out onto the cheese takeout table 32 by arm operation of the aforementioned three-arm robot mechanism.

Here, for example, the basket 1 is assembled by a robot mechanism 33 such as a Melfa type assembly robot.
Each of the dehydrated cheeses 3' of 1 is sequentially removed from its spindle and transferred to a subsequent conveyor 3.
4 and transported to the next process.

The above is an overview of a series of dewatering systems according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is used in circulation, and the transfer position and cheese lift device arrangement are determined at required positions on the annular rail.

In the figure, the diagonal line is the spindle with cheese.

Furthermore, the rotary dehydrator 24, the cheese insertion table 10, and the cheese removal table 32 are arranged at each vertex of an equilateral triangle, with the central axis at the center.
The book arms 17, 17a, 17b are each extended in the radial direction at an angle of 120°, and the baskets are moved to the next position by intermittent rotation of 120°, that is, the basket on the cheese insertion table 10 is rotated and dehydrated. To machine 24,
The basket inside the rotary dehydrator is the cheese removal stand 3
2, and the baskets on the cheese removal table 32 can be sequentially transferred onto the cheese insertion table 10 at the same time.

Of course, as mentioned above, the device configuration shown in FIG. 5 is one of the preferred embodiments, and it is not necessarily essential that the rotary dehydrator 24, cheese insertion table 10, and cheese removal table 32 be located at each vertex of the equilateral triangle. .

If the position of the equilateral triangle is slightly off due to the layout, adjust the arms to their respective positions, lift the three arms at the same time, rotate slightly, and place the basket one by one. This can be easily done by inserting it into the dehydrator or each unit.

However, in this case, each arm 17, 17a, 17
A vertical sliding structure is added to the shaft 23 in order to move the chucks 20 at the tips of the shafts 20 up and down individually.

Thus, in the apparatus configuration shown in FIG. 5, a dewatering system is formed that makes effective use of the installation space.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention is based on the premise of using a basket in which a large number of cheese insertion spindles are protruded in the radial direction of the outer circumference of a cylinder, and aims to improve the rotational dewatering process using this basket, and also aims to improve the rotational dewatering process using this basket. It is a series of dehydration systems that combine conveyances, and it is easy to operate between each process using a robot mechanism, making it possible to automate cheese dewatering. By using a basket with a dehydrator, the filling of cheese into the rotary dehydrator, which previously had to be done manually, can now be done by robots, streamlining the dehydration process. It is expected that this will be solved by eliminating this problem, and that it will have an extremely significant effect on the continuity and automation of the cheese dehydration process.

Further, the dewatering device according to the present invention moves the basket up and down between a cheese insertion table, a rotary dehydrator, and a cheese removal table using arms having a shaft at the center and extending at an angle to each other. By rotating the baskets, the baskets can be lifted all at once, making lifting and moving the baskets more efficient.In addition, by circulating the self-propelled trolleys using the circular rails, we have achieved effective use of the installation space. It is expected that it will be useful as a practical device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 are explanatory diagrams showing an overview of each step of the dehydration method of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing one row of arrangement of each device in an embodiment of the device of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic side view of the cheese lift device, Figures 7 and 8 are views showing the rotating body and the manner in which the basket is suspended, which are the main parts of the present invention, Figure 7 is a partial plan view, and Figure 8 is a partial plan view. FIG. 1... Carrier, 2... Spindle with cheese, 3... Cheese, 4... Spindle, 5... Robot mechanism, 6... Rail, 7... Self-propelled trolley, 8
...Cheese lift device, 9...Robot mechanism, 1
0...Cheese insertion stand, 11...Basket, 12
...Cheese insertion spindle, 13...Cylinder, 16
...Robot mechanism, 17, 17a, 17b...Arm, 19...Central shaft, 20...Chuck, 24
...Rotary dehydrator, 25...Housing, 26...Rotating body, 32...Cheese removal stand, 34...Transportation conveyor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A process of sequentially transferring a spindle with cheese, in which a required number of threads (cheese) wound around a bobbin are inserted into the spindle, from a carrier onto a self-propelled cart installed on a rail, a spindle with cheese. The trolley to which the cheese has been transferred is moved along the rail, and at a predetermined position, the cheeses inserted therein are sequentially taken out from the spindle with the cheese, and the cheese has a cylindrical shape and is placed on a cheese insertion table, and a step of inserting and holding the cheese into the radial spindle of a basket having a plurality of spindles protruding from which the cheese is inserted in the radial direction of the outer periphery, and placing the basket with the cheese inserted and held in the spindle into the rotating body of the dehydrator. a dehydration step in which the cheese is charged and dehydrated; after the dehydration by the dehydrator is completed, the basket is taken out from the rotating body and held on a cheese takeout table; and a step in which the cheese is sequentially removed from the spindle of the taken out basket. A method for dehydrating cheese, comprising the steps of removing it and transporting it to the next process. 2. The method for dehydrating cheese according to claim 1, wherein the basket is taken out onto a cheese take-out table, the cheese is removed from the basket, and the basket is placed again on the cheese insertion table and used for inserting the next cheese. 3 It includes a carrier on which a large number of spindles with cheese are mounted and held, and an annular rail, on which a required number of self-propelled carts are mounted and run, and cheese is placed in a predetermined position from the spindles with cheese on the self-propelled cart. a cheese transfer device equipped with a cheese lift device that sequentially lifts cheese; a transfer device comprising a robot mechanism that sequentially transfers spindles with cheese from the carrier to the self-propelled cart on the annular rail; It consists of a rotary dehydrator that dehydrates the cheese that has been installed and transferred, and a cheese removal device that is a robot mechanism that removes the dehydrated cheese from the rotary dehydrator and transfers it onto a conveyor. A rotary dehydrator includes a rotary body that removably accommodates a basket having a plurality of spindles for inserting cheese protruding in the radial direction of the outer circumference inside the body, and in order to load the cheese inserting basket into the rotary dehydrator, A cheese insertion stand on which the basket is placed in order to insert the cheese into the spindle of the basket, and a cheese insertion stand on which the basket is placed and held in order to remove the dehydrated cheese that has been dehydrated in the rotary dehydrator from the spindle of the basket. The cheese removal table includes a cheese removal table, a cheese insertion table, a rotary dehydrator, and a basket corresponding to each of the cheese removal table, and the cheese insertion table is provided between the cheese transfer device and the cheese transfer device to transfer the cheese lifted by the cheese lift device. A cheese insertion device consisting of a robot mechanism for inserting cheese into the spindle of a basket held on an insertion table is provided, and a cheese insertion device is provided at the center of the rotary dehydrator, the cheese insertion table, and the cheese removal table at the top of the rotary dehydrator, the cheese insertion table, and the cheese removal table. They have a common central axis, are at an angle with each other, and their tips extend on the circumference of an imaginary circle passing through the centers of the rotary dehydrator, the cheese insertion table, and the cheese removal table, and the baskets can be attached to and removed from the tips, respectively. An arm equipped with a chuck that can be moved up and down and rotated is provided to be able to move up and down and rotate, and by moving up and down and rotating the arm, the cheese insertion basket on the cheese insertion stand is lifted up and transferred to the rotary dehydrator, and the cheese insertion basket is rotated and dehydrated. This cheese dewatering device is characterized in that it is configured to lift a basket in the machine and transfer it onto a cheese take-out table, and to transfer the basket from which cheese has been taken out on the cheese take-out table onto a cheese insertion table. 4 The arms should move toward each other from the central axis to the center of the rotating dehydrator, cheese insertion table, and cheese removal table.
4. The cheese dewatering device according to claim 3, wherein the cheese dewatering device has three arms extending at an angle of 120 degrees. 5. The cheese dewatering device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the chucks provided at the ends of the arms are movable up and down independently of each other. 6. Claims 3, 4, or 6, wherein the basket has an anti-lifting pin on its upper part that pops out due to centrifugal force during rotation and fits into a hole provided in the outer rotating body. The cheese dehydration device according to item 5.