JPH0812149A - Constant tension tape supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the tensile force constant with high precision when a tape whose elongation is comparatively large is wound round or supplied to various objects. CONSTITUTION:An outside diameter of a tape pad 1 is detected, and when the outside diameter of the tape pad 1 is reduced, brake force of a brake part 4 is reduced, and back tension to be substantially applied to a tape 3 is held constant. In addition, a width of a delivering tape is detected in a supply passage of the tape 3, and the brake force of the brake part 4 is adjusted so that a width of the tape 3 elongated to a certain degree is held in a constant range.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a constant tension tape feeding device capable of feeding a tape wound around a connecting portion of a cable with a constant tension.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When assembling a connecting portion of a cable, an insulating tape is wound around it for reinforcement of insulation and protection. As this insulating tape, a self-fusing tape such as rubber or cross-linked polyethylene, an adhesive tape or the like is used. Such winding of tape is performed manually or by an automatic device. This automatic device is equipped with a constant-tension tape feeding device that feeds while keeping the tension applied to the cable during tape winding constant.

A mechanical brake or an electric brake is used in this apparatus, and the braking force is adjusted while detecting the tension of the tape. The mechanism for automatically adjusting the tape tension is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-60417 and Jikken Sho 6.
No. 1-116848, or Japanese Patent Application No. 4-29300
And Japanese Patent Application No. 4-129991.

[0004]

The conventional constant tension tape feeding apparatus as described above has the following problems to be solved. When a mechanical brake is operated to apply back tension to the tape, there is a problem that precise control becomes difficult due to fluctuations in braking force due to delay in control time and variations in component accuracy. Rubber tape and plastic tape stretch when tension is applied,
It is not easy to measure the actual winding tension accurately and reflect this in the braking force. In particular, tapes used for insulation and reinforcement of cables are wound while positively generating a large amount of elongation, so it is not appropriate to adopt the general tension control for supplying long objects that does not cause much elongation. .

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above points, and when a tape having a relatively large elongation is wound around or supplied to various objects, a constant tension tape for controlling the tension of the tape with high accuracy to be constant. An object is to provide a supply device.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A constant tension tape feeding apparatus of the present invention supports a tape pad around which a tape is wound so that the tape pad can be rotatably fed and feeds the tape while it is being fed, and the tape feeding section. An outer diameter detection unit that detects a changing outer diameter of the tape pad, a brake unit that applies a braking force to the tape pad via a rotation shaft so as to apply a predetermined back tension to the tape, and the outer diameter detection unit. Tension control section that receives an output signal of the tape section and executes control for decreasing the outer diameter of the tape pad and the braking force of the brake section so as to keep the back tension applied to the tape substantially constant. It is characterized by having and.

Further, another constant tension tape feeding device of the present invention is equipped with a tape pad and detects the width of the tape being fed in the tape feeding section for feeding the tape while feeding it and the tape feeding path. A tape width detecting unit, a brake unit that applies a predetermined back tension to the tape, and an output signal of the tape width detecting unit, and a braking force of the brake unit so as to keep the tape width substantially constant. And a tension control unit for controlling the.

[0008]

This device detects the outer diameter of the tape pad, and when the outer diameter of the tape pad decreases, the braking force of the brake portion is reduced to substantially keep the back tension applied to the tape constant. On the other hand, in the tape supply path, the width of the tape being fed out is detected, and the braking force of the brake unit is adjusted so that the width of the tape stretched to some extent is held within a certain range.

[0009]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a constant tension tape feeding device of the present invention. This device includes a taping head 10 and a device body 20 that rotationally drives the taping head 10. The taping head 10 is provided with a tape supply unit 2 on which the tape pad 1 is mounted. The tape pad 1 is formed by winding a tape 3, and the tape 3 is wound around an object such as a cable connecting portion (not shown). The tape supply unit 2 is provided with a brake unit 4 that rotatably supports the tape pad 1 and applies a braking force to the tape pad 1 via a rotation shaft.

Further, an outer diameter detecting section 11 and a tape width detecting section 13 are attached to this mechanism, and the output thereof is the calculating section 1
4 is input. The arithmetic unit 14 is configured to arithmetically process these detection signals and output a constant control signal to the tension control unit 12. The tension controller 12
This controls the braking force of the brake unit 4. The output of the calculation unit 14 is sent to the remaining amount detection unit 15, and the remaining amount of the tape 3 is detected from the outer diameter of the tape pad 1. The output of the remaining amount detection unit 15 is sent to a transmitter 16, and the transmitter 16 is configured to send a signal corresponding to the remaining amount of tape to a receiver 24 mounted on the apparatus body 20.

The apparatus main body 20 includes a DC power source 21, a rotary drive unit 22, a traverser 23, and the receiver 24 described above.
Is provided. Further, an operation panel 25 is provided to control these, and drive power is received by a power supply 26. The DC power supply 21 receives electric power from the power supply 26, converts it into direct current, and supplies the taping head 10 with operating power for each device via the slip ring 5. The rotary drive unit 22 is composed of a motor for rotating the taping head 10 and other mechanisms. The traverser 23 is for controlling the winding position of the tape 3 when the tape 3 is wound around an object, and its mechanism itself is exactly the same as that used conventionally. Omit it. The receiver 24 is a device that receives the signal corresponding to the remaining amount of the tape transmitted from the transmitter 16 and sends it to the operation panel 25 as described above.

The outer diameter detecting section 11 is composed of a sensor for optically, electrically or mechanically detecting the outer diameter of the tape pad 1. The tape width detection unit 13 is composed of a device for optically detecting the width between the tapes as described later with reference to FIG. The arithmetic unit 14 is configured by a processor or the like that receives such a signal and performs arithmetic processing. The tension control unit 12 includes a driver or the like that controls the brake unit 4. The brake unit 4 is composed of, for example, a powder type or torque limiter type brake. The remaining amount detector 15 is composed of a buffer memory or the like for holding a signal corresponding to the remaining amount of the tape received from the calculator 14 and sending it to the transmitter 16. The transmitter 16 and the receiver 24 are composed of devices for transmitting and receiving signals wirelessly as described later with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an explanatory view of the braking force adjusting principle of the device of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the tape pad 1 and the brake portion 4. A radius of the tape pad 1 is, for example, R, and a brake shoe (not shown) or the like is pressed in a direction indicated by an arrow 8 on the brake drum 7 that supports the tape pad 1 and applies a braking force via the rotating shaft 6. , Braking force is applied.

In this case, when the outer diameter of the tape pad 1 changes as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3B, the back tension applied to the tape 3 changes when the braking force is constant. That is, when the radius of the tape pad is large, the back tension becomes small even if the same braking force is applied. Further, when the radius of the tape pad 1 is reduced, the back tension thereof is gradually increased even if the same braking force is applied.

The torque T applied to the rotary shaft 6 by the braking force is the radius r of the brake drum 7, the friction coefficient μ of the outer peripheral surface of the brake drum 7, and the pressure of the brake shoe f.
In that case, it is represented by the following equation (1). T [Kg · m] = r [m] × μf [Kg] (1) Further, the tension applied to the tape 3, that is, the back tension is P
In such a case, the torque T applied to the rotary shaft 6 by the back tension of the tape 3 is expressed by the following equation (2). T [Kg · m] = P [Kg] × R (2)

Since the torques T in the equations (1) and (2) are balanced, in order to keep the back tension P applied to the tape constant as shown by the broken line in FIG. 2, the braking force f is the radius of the tape pad 1. It must be changed as R decreases. The apparatus of the present invention performs such control by the arithmetic processing of the arithmetic unit 14 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the main part of the taping head of the device of the present invention. As shown in the figure, an arm 32 has one end fixed to the taping head 10, and the tape pad 1 is mounted on the arm 32. Arm 3
A brake unit 4 is attached to the back surface of the tape 2, and a rotary encoder 31 for detecting the number of rotations of the tape pad 1 is attached to the rotation shaft of the brake unit 4. Further, the arithmetic unit 14 and other control circuits constituting the taping head 10 shown in FIG. 1 are housed in a box 38 fixed to the side surface of the taping head 10 shown in FIG.

That is, the taping head 10 is used for measuring the outer diameter of the tape pad 1 and controlling the tension associated therewith.
It is executed by the control circuit mounted on the. The taping head 10 has a disk shape, and a drive gear 34 is provided to rotate the disk, as shown in FIG. Also,
In order to rotatably support the taping head 10, a plurality of support rollers 35 are attached to a support wall 36A of the apparatus body. By fitting the support roller 35 into the grooved wheel 37, the grooved wheel 37 rotatably supports the taping head 10. A slip ring 5 is provided on the side surface of the grooved wheel 37, which is the DC power source 2 shown in FIG.
1 is in electrical contact.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the tape 3 and the tape width detecting portion which are fed from the tape pad 1. As shown in the figure, the tape 3 is unwound from the tape pad 1, which passes through the guide rollers 41, 42, 43 and the object 44,
For example, it is configured to be wound around a connecting portion of a cable or the like. The tape width detection unit 13 is arranged in the supply path of the tape 3 as described above. The tape width detection unit 13 includes a light source 46 and a light receiving element 47.

FIG. 5 shows the tape width detecting section 13 as described above.
The concrete block diagram of is shown. The tape width detection unit 13 is provided with a pair of light sources 46 and a pair of light receiving elements 47 facing the light sources. Light source 46 and light receiving element 47
The tape 3 is configured to pass between them. The light source 46 is composed of a laser oscillator or the like. The light receiving element 47 is composed of a CCD array or the like.

For example, as shown in this figure, when the light source 46 emits a laser beam toward the light receiving element 47 and the tape 3 blocks the laser beam, a shadow of the laser beam is generated on the light receiving element 47. This is detected by a CCD array or the like, and the length of the shadow is used to calculate the width D of the tape 3. That is, in this example, the lengths of the shadows on the light receiving elements are A and B, and the distance between the light receiving elements is C. Therefore, A + B + C = D, and the width of the tape 3 is accurately detected. This signal is output to the calculation unit 14, is subjected to calculation processing, and is used for the tension control of the tension control unit 12.

FIG. 6 shows a brake control operation flowchart according to the outer diameter of the tape pad. Operation unit 1 shown in FIG.
4 controls the braking force according to the procedure shown in this figure. First, in step S1, the outer diameter of the tape pad is detected. This utilizes the output of the rotary encoder 31 described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. That is, based on the number of windings of the tape wound on the tape pad 1 and the thickness of the tape in advance, an arithmetic expression representing how many rotations of the tape pad 1 the outer diameter of the tape pad 1 decreases is set. deep. The outer diameter of the tape pad is detected by this arithmetic processing. The outer diameter of the tape pad 1 thus obtained is received by the calculation unit 14 shown in FIG. 1 and the calculation of the braking force is executed (step S2). Then, according to the calculation result, in step S3, the result is output to the tension control unit 12, and the predetermined braking force control is performed on the braking unit 4. Actually, the control is performed so that the outer diameter of the tape pad is reduced and the braking force of the brake portion is reduced.

Next, in step S4, it is determined whether the tape 3 needs to be replaced. If the outside diameter of the tape pad falls below a certain level, it will be necessary to replace the tape. If it is not necessary to replace the tape, move to step S5,
Determine whether there is a stop command from the outside. When the operator presses the emergency stop button or the like, it is determined that there is a stop command from the outside. If there is no such stop command, the process proceeds to step S1, and the outer diameter detection of the tape pad and the brake control are repeated again. Also, step S4
If it is determined that the tape needs to be replaced in step S5 or if there is a stop command from the outside in step S5, the process proceeds to step S6 and the drive of the apparatus is stopped. The above control is performed to prevent a change in the braking force due to a decrease in the drawing torque of the tape pad when feeding the tape and to apply a constant back tension.

In the present invention, the tape width is detected separately from or together with such control, and the tension control is performed so that the tape width falls within a certain range. That is, when the tape is wound around an object while being properly stretched, it is necessary to apply tension to the tape so that the tape has a desired width.
When a metal spring or the like has different elastic characteristics such as a rubber tape or a plastic tape, it may be more appropriate to directly detect the tape width and control the back tension in this way.

In FIG. 7, this apparatus first detects the tape width in step S1. This detection is based on the method already described with reference to FIG. Here, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the width of the tape is within the range of the allowable width set as the reference value. For example, when the condition that the tape width is within the range of 3 cm ± 1 mm is set, if the tape width is within the range, this process is finished. If the width is less than or equal to the range, the process proceeds to step S3 to determine whether the width is a dangerous width. The dangerous width is a width that is narrower than a certain range, and it is a state in which winding such a tape is not preferable due to the characteristics of the object. in this case,
From step S3 to step S4, an alarm is issued to the worker. On the other hand, if the alarm is issued or not, and if it is less than the allowable range, step S
Moving to 5, the braking force is reduced. This lowers the tape tension and suppresses tape elongation.

On the contrary, if the allowable width is exceeded, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S6, and step S6 is performed.
As in the case of 3, it is determined whether or not the range is dangerous. Then, if it is in the dangerous range, an alarm is sounded (step S7), and then the braking force is increased so as to increase the tape tension and decrease the tape width (step S8).

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the main part of the device of the present invention. The configuration and operation of the transmitter and the receiver described in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to this figure. The taping head 10 is rotatably supported by the support wall 36A of the apparatus body frame 36 in the manner described above. A transmitter 51 having a predetermined length is attached to the side surface of the taping head 10. A receiver 52 is attached to the support wall 36A so as to face the transmitter 51 at a predetermined timing. The taping head 10 is rotationally driven by the motor 53. In this case, the transmitter 51 rotates the taping head 10 at a constant cycle, and the receiver 52 rotates.
Pass just before. The transmitter 51 uses electromagnetic coupling with the receiver 52 to transmit a signal corresponding to the detected remaining tape amount to the receiver 52 side. It should be noted that this can be specifically realized by, for example, a non-contact signal transmitter (remote sensor manufactured by Nippon Balluff Co., Ltd.). In addition to this, various types of wireless transmitters / receivers such as those using optical signals are conceivable. By transmitting signals in a non-contact manner as described above, the reliability of signal transmission is improved as compared with the case where a slip ring or the like is used.

FIG. 9 shows a mode explanatory diagram of the brake control by the device of the present invention. Part (a) of the figure shows an example in which the relationship between the outer diameter of the tape pad and the braking force is controlled almost continuously. That is, in this example, the outer diameter of the tape pad is detected in an extremely short cycle, and the result is continuously fed back to the braking force. The back tension to be applied to the tape is adjusted within the hatching range according to the type of tape.

Incidentally, FIG. 9B shows an example in which the braking force is controlled stepwise according to the outer diameter of the tape pad. This is an example of performing control such that the braking force is set to a certain set constant value when the outer diameter of the brake pad is within a certain range. The apparatus of the present invention can apply practically uniform tension, that is, back tension, to the tape by any control.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the axial torque and the back tension of the tape, which shows the result of the above control. In FIG. 7A, the horizontal axis represents the outer diameter of the tape pad, and the vertical axis represents the axial torque of the brake portion. As shown in this figure, when the outer diameter of the tape pad decreases, the axial torque is controlled to decrease in proportion to this. K in the figure is a shaft torque generated by friction of the bearing and the like. This value is extremely small and can be ignored. It should be noted that the adjustment makes it possible to appropriately change the brake characteristics such as hatching and set the back tension applied to the tape to an arbitrary value.

(B) is a graph showing how the back tension of the tape in this case changes with respect to the outer diameter of the tape pad. That is, as shown in this figure,
In the present invention, the back tension of the tape pad is kept substantially constant even if the outer diameter of the tape pad changes.
The hatching in the figure shows the control range corresponding to the hatching in (a).

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. When the width of the tape is detected and the braking force is controlled so that the width of the tape is maintained within a predetermined range, the tape pad does not necessarily have to have a mechanism for revolving around the object. That is, the same control can be performed even with a device in which the tape pad is held in a stationary state and the tape is fed while being fed from the tape pad. Further, by detecting the outer diameter of the tape pad and further detecting the tape width to control the back tension of the tape by both of them, it is possible to more stably supply the tape with a constant tension. Further, the remaining amount of the tape may be detected without using a rotary encoder, for example, a sensor or the like that detects the rotation of the tape every one rotation, or a device that directly measures the outer diameter of the tape pad. May be used.
Further, the tape width detection sensor is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various conventionally well-known devices can be used.

[0033]

The constant tension tape feeding device of the present invention described above detects the outer diameter of the tape pad so as to give a preset back tension, and controls so as to increase the braking force as the outer diameter decreases. Therefore, the tape tension of the tape winding device or the like can be stably controlled.
In addition, if the tape width during feeding is detected and the braking force is controlled so that the tape width is maintained in a substantially constant range, the tension of the tape can be reduced when winding the tape around the object while stretching it. With proper control, good winding can be performed. If both the outer diameter detection of the tape pad and the tape width detection result are used for back tension control of the tape, the tension control can be performed with high accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a constant tension tape feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the braking force control of the device of the present invention,
(A) is a perspective view of a brake part, (b) is a graph which shows the relationship between the outer diameter of a tape pad and back tension.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the main part of the taping head of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tape pad, a tape width detection unit, and an object of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a tape width detection unit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a brake control operation according to the outer diameter of the tape pad.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a brake control operation according to a tape width.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of the device showing a configuration of a receiver or the like that wirelessly receives an output signal of a transmitter.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of controlling the outer diameter of the tape pad and the braking force of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the axial torque in the brake part and the back tension of the tape.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Tape Pad 2 Tape Supply Section 3 Tape 4 Brake Section 10 Taping Head 11 Outer Diameter Detection Section 12 Tension Control Section 13 Tape Width Detection Section 14 Computing Section 16 Transmitter 20 Device Main Body 24 Receiver

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A tape supply unit that rotatably supports a tape pad around which a tape is wound, and supplies the tape while feeding it out, and an outer diameter detection that detects an outer diameter of the tape pad that changes with the supply of the tape. Part, so as to give a predetermined back tension to the tape,
A brake unit that applies a braking force to the tape pad via a rotating shaft, and an output signal of the outer diameter detection unit are received so that the back tension applied to the tape is kept substantially constant. A constant tension tape supply device, comprising: a tension control unit that executes control to reduce the braking force of the brake unit as the diameter decreases. 2. A tape supply unit for mounting a tape pad and supplying the tape while feeding it, a tape width detection unit for detecting the width of the tape being fed in the tape feeding path, and a predetermined tape feeding unit for the tape. A brake unit for applying back tension, and a tension control unit for receiving the output signal of the tape width detection unit and controlling the braking force of the brake unit so as to keep the tape width substantially constant. Characteristic constant tension tape feeding device. 3. A tape width detection section for detecting the width of the tape being fed out in the tape supply path, wherein the tension control section receives the output signal of the tape width detection section and makes the tape width substantially constant. The constant tension tape feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the braking force of the braking portion is adjusted so as to be held at. 4. A tape supply unit for mounting a tape pad on the target to supply the tape to the target and revolving around the target, and a residual amount detector for detecting the residual amount of the tape in the tape supply unit. The apparatus main body, which includes a transmitter that receives and transmits the detection signal of the remaining amount detection unit, supports the tape supply unit and rotationally drives it, and receives an output signal of the transmitter wirelessly, The constant tension tape feeding device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the rotation driving unit for controlling the rotation driving of the supply unit is provided with a receiver for sending the received signal.