ROLL ACCOMMODATION UNIT, PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND ROLL SETTING METHOD

Abstract

A roll accommodation unit includes: a roll support shaft; a pair of side walls; and a pair of roll bearings that are attached to the pair of side walls, recessed portions are formed at upper ends of the pair of side walls, the pair of rolling bearings are attached to the side walls at positions corresponding to bottoms of the recessed portions such that the rolling bearings project upward beyond inclined surfaces of the recessed portions, the roll support shaft includes a support shaft main body, and a pair of small-diameter portions that are provided at both ends of the support shaft main body, and the roll support shaft is supported with the small-diameter portions abutting on outer circumferential surfaces of the pairs of rolling bearings in a state in which the support shaft main body is located at an interval from the recessed portions.

Claims

1. A roll setting method of a processing apparatus that includes a roll accommodation unit that accommodates a roll of a continuous sheet such that the roll is rotatable about a horizontal axis and a main body that pulls out the continuous sheet from the roll accommodation unit and performs processing on the continuous sheet, the roll setting method comprising: a separation step of separating the roll accommodation unit attached to the main body from the main body and causing the roll accommodation unit to move; a setting step of setting the roll in the roll accommodation unit separated from the main body in the separation step; and an attachment step of attaching the roll accommodation unit with the roll set in the setting step to the main body.

2. The roll setting method according to claim 1, wherein in the setting step, the roll is set by either a first setting method in which an operator sets the roll in the roll accommodation unit or a second setting method in which a lift that is able to move the roll upward and downward sets the roll in the roll accommodation unit.

3. The roll setting method according to claim 2, wherein in the second setting method, an arm of the lift moves upward up to a position that is higher than the roll accommodation unit, the lift approaches the roll accommodation unit, and the arm of the lift moves downward to place the roll on the roll accommodation unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] FIGS. 1A-1B show a diagram illustrating a roll accommodation unit of a continuous sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a roll support shaft has been set in a carriage, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the roll support shaft;

[0039] FIG. 2A is an enlarged sectional view along the roll support shaft in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged side view of the roll support shaft and a pair of rolling bearings of the carriage in FIG. 1A;

[0040] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a roll has been attached to the roll support shaft in FIGS. 1A-1B;

[0041] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating configurations of a coupling portion of the carriage in FIG. 1A and a carriage attachment portion of a main body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus corresponding to the coupling portion;

[0042] FIGS. 5A-5B show a side sectional view for explaining a method for attaching the carriage of the roll accommodation unit in FIG. 1A to the main body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus;

[0043] FIGS. 6A-6C show a diagram illustrating a hand lift of the continuous sheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an arm of the hand lift, FIG. 6B is an enlarged perspective view of a distal end portion of the arm, and FIG. 6C is a diagram similar to FIG. 6A, which illustrates a state in which a roll is supported at the arm;

[0044] FIGS. 7A-7D show a perspective view for explaining a method of using the hand lift in FIGS. 6A-6C;

[0045] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a roll accommodation unit of a continuous sheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

[0046] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a roll accommodation unit of a continuous sheet processing apparatus in the related art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Hereinafter, a configuration of the present invention will be described on the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0048] FIGS. 1A-1B show a diagram illustrating a roll accommodation unit of a continuous sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a roll support shaft has been set in a carriage, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the roll support shaft. Also, FIG. 2A is an enlarged sectional view along the roll support shaft in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged side view of a pair of roll bearings of the carriage and the roll support shaft in FIG. 1A.

[0049] Referring to FIGS. 1A-1B and 2A-2B, the continuous sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a roll accommodation unit 1 that accommodates a roll R of a continuous sheet such that the roll R is rotatable about a horizontal axis, and in this embodiment, the roll accommodation unit 1 includes a roll support shaft 2 to which the roll R of the continuous sheet is attached and a carriage 3 that horizontally supports the roll support shaft 2 with the roll R attached thereto such that the roll support shaft 2 is rotatable about an axis and is detachably attached to a main body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus.

[0050] The carriage 3 includes a bottom wall 5 with a rear surface to which casters 4 are attached at four corners and a pair of side walls 6 and 6 that are provided to stand from a front surface of the bottom wall 5. The pair of side walls 6 and 6 are disposed in parallel at an interval in a horizontal direction along the horizontal axis.

[0051] Also, recessed portions 7 with substantially V shapes when seen in a direction of perpendicularly crossing the pair of side walls 6 and 6 (the left-right direction of the carriage 3) are formed at upper end center portions of the pair of side walls 6 and 6. The recessed portions 7 are formed to have substantially V shapes along the width direction of the side walls 6 (the front-back direction of the carriage 3).

[0052] The carriage 3 further includes a pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b that are attached to a position corresponding to a bottom 7a of the recessed portion 7 in the outer surface of each of the pair of side walls 6 and 6 such that the rolling bearings 8a and 8b face each other in the front-back direction of the carriage 3 (the width direction of the V shape) and each of the rolling bearings 8a and 8b is rotatable about the horizontal axis. The pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b are disposed at an interval in the width direction of the pair of side walls 6 and 6 (the front-back direction of the carriage 3).

[0053] As illustrated in FIG. 2B, a clearance between the pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b conforms to the bottom 7a of the related recessed portion 7, the rolling bearing 8a on the front side out of the pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b projects upward beyond an inclined surface 7b on the front side of the related recessed portion 7, and the rolling bearing 8b on the rear side out of the pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b projects upward beyond an inclined surface 7c on the rear side of the related recessed portion 7. In other words, the pairs of rolling bearings 8a and 8b are attached to the side walls 6 at the positions corresponding to the bottoms 7a of the recessed portions 7 such that the rolling bearings 8a and 8b project upward beyond the inclined surfaces of the recessed portions 7.

[0054] The roll support shaft 2 includes a support shaft main body 9 that has a constant diameter and has a length corresponding to the distance between outer surfaces of the pair of side walls 6 and 6 of the carriage 3, small-diameter portions 10a and 10b that extend by a length corresponding to the thickness of the rolling bearings 8a and 8b concentrically from both ends of the support shaft main body 9, a flange portion 11 that is provided at an interval corresponding to the thickness of the side walls 6 from one end 9a of the support shaft main body 9 on the side of the other end 9b, and a large-diameter portion 12 that is concentrically adjacent to the small-diameter portion 10a on the side of the one end 9a of the support shaft main body 9. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the outer diameters of the small-diameter portions 10a and 10b are smaller than the outer diameter of the support shaft main body 9. Also, the large-diameter portion 12 is disposed to be adjacent to the roll support shaft 2 on the one end side relative to the small-diameter portion 10a and has a larger outer diameter than that of the small-diameter portion 10a.

[0055] The roll support shaft 2 can be supported between the pair of side walls 6 and 6 of the carriage 3 in a state in which the small-diameter portions 10a and 10b at both ends abut on the outer circumferential surfaces of the pairs of rolling bearings 8a and 8b, and the support shaft main body 9 is located at an interval from the recessed portions 7.

[0056] In the illustrated embodiment, a cover 13 that protects the pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b is attached to an outer surface upper portion of each side wall 6 and extends in the front-back direction of the carriage 3, an opening 13a is provided at a position in the upper portion of the cover 13 corresponding to the pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b, and the pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b are exposed from the opening 13a.

[0057] Note that the cover 13 does not come into contact with the roll support shaft 2 that is bridged over the pair of side walls 6 and 6, and rolls.

[0058] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the roll R has been attached to the roll support shaft 2.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 3, the roll R is attached to the roll support shaft 2 by the roll R being pinched between a pair of securing rings S that can be secured to the roll support shaft 2 in this embodiment.

[0060] In other words, one of the securing rings S out of the pair of the securing rings S is fitted onto the roll support shaft 2 from the side of the other end 9b of the support shaft main body 9 and is secured at a predetermined position on the roll support shaft 2 in advance. Then, the roll support shaft 2 is inserted into the core of the roll R from the side of the other end 9b of the support shaft main body 9 until the one of the securing rings S abuts on the end surface of the roll R, and the other securing ring S out of the pair of securing rings S is then fitted onto the roll support shaft 2 from the side of the other end 9b of the support shaft main body 9 until the other securing ring S abuts on the end surface of the roll R and is secured to the roll support shaft 2.

[0061] Also, detachment of the roll R from the roll support shaft 2 is performed by detaching the other securing ring S from the roll support shaft 2 and then pulling out the roll support shaft 2 from the roll R.

[0062] Note that a mean for securing the roll R to the roll support shaft 2 is not limited to that in the embodiment, and an appropriate, known configuration may be included. For example, the roll R may be secured to the roll support shaft 2 by pinching the roll R between the flange portion 11 of the roll support shaft 2 and an appropriate securing tool that can be secured to the roll support shaft 2 or the roll R may be provided with a securing means.

[0063] It is thus possible to significantly easily perform attachment and detachment of the roll R to and from the roll support shaft 2 in a short period of time.

[0064] When the roll support shaft 2 with the roll R attached thereto is set in the carriage 3, the roll support shaft 2 is first bridged over regions behind the recessed portions 7 in the pair of side walls 6 and 6 of the carriage 3. At this time, the one end 9a (a portion outside the flange portion 11) and the other end 9b of the support shaft main body 9 come into contact with upper ends of the side walls 6.

[0065] Then, the roll support shaft 2 is caused to roll around toward the recessed portion 7 along with the roll R. If the roll support shaft 2 and the roll R reach the recessed portions 7, then the roll support shaft 2 and the roll R roll down along the inclined surfaces 7c on the rear side of the recessed portions 7 due to their own weights, run on to a portion between the pairs of rolling bearings 8a and 8b at the small-diameter portions 10a and 10b at both ends of the roll support shaft 2, and stop.

[0066] In this manner, the roll R is set in a state in which the roll R is positioned relative to the carriage 3 in the front-back direction of the carriage 3.

[0067] Also, at this time, a state in which the pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8b is pinched between the support shaft main body 9 and the large-diameter portion 12 is brought about on the side of one end of the roll support shaft 2 (the one end 9a of the support shaft main body 9), and the roll support shaft 2 is prevented from being deviated in the axial direction.

[0068] In this manner, the roll R is set in a state in which the roll R is positioned relative to the carriage 3 in the left-right direction of the carriage 3.

[0069] In this manner, it is possible to significantly easily set the roll R in the carriage 3 in a short period of time.

[0070] The carriage 3 further includes a coupling portion 14 for detachable coupling to the main body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus.

[0071] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating configurations of a coupling portion of the carriage and a carriage attachment portion of the continuous sheet processing apparatus corresponding to the coupling portion.

[0072] Referring to FIG. 4, a main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus is provided with a carriage attachment portion 15, and the carriage attachment portion 15 includes a horizontal guide plate 15a provided to project from a lower outer surface of the main body M and a pair of guide holes 15b and 15c provided above the guide plate 15a on the lower outer surface of the main body M and on both sides of the guide plate 15a.

[0073] The coupling portion 14 of the carriage 3 includes a passage 16 that is opened on the lower side of the bottom wall 5 at a front end 3a of the carriage 3 and extends backward along the bottom wall 5 from the front end 3a and a pair of guide rails 17 and 17 that are provided to project from both sides of an inner wall bottom surface 16a of the passage 16 at an interval corresponding to the width of the guide plate 15a of the carriage attachment portion 15.

[0074] The coupling portion 14 further includes an auxiliary roller 18 that is attached to the lower surface of the bottom wall 5 of the carriage 3 at the center portion of the inlet of the passage 16 and is rotatable about an axis extending in the left-right direction of the carriage 3.

[0075] The height position of a ground contact surface of the auxiliary roller 18 is lower than the height position of the guide plate 15a of the carriage attachment portion 15.

[0076] The coupling portion 14 further includes a pair of guide pins 19a and 19b that are provided on both sides of the front end 3a of the carriage 3, project forward from the front end 3a, and are paired with the pair of guide holes 15b and 15c of the carriage attachment portion 15 and a stopper 20 that secures the carriage 3 at a constant position to prevent the carriage 3 from moving.

[0077] The stopper 20 includes an operating rod that is attached to the rear end of the carriage 3, projects downward from the carriage 3, and can move upward and downward between a stopping position at which the distal end comes into pressure contact with a floor surface and a stopping released position at which the distal end draws back on the side of the carriage 3.

[0078] Although not illustrated, a handle can be detachably attached to the rear end of the carriage 3.

[0079] FIGS. 5A-5B show a side sectional view for explaining a method of attaching the carriage of the roll accommodation unit in FIGS. 1A-1B to the main body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 5A, in a case in which the carriage 3 with the roll support shaft 2 and the roll R set therein is attached to the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus, the carriage 3 is caused to advance forward toward the carriage attachment portion 15 in an arrangement in which the inlet of the passage 16 of the carriage 3 conforms to the guide plate 15a of the carriage attachment portion 15 of the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus and the pair of guide pins 19a and 19b of the carriage 3 conform to the pair of guide holes 15b and 15c of the carriage attachment portion 15.

[0081] During the motion of advancing forward, the guide plate 15a of the carriage attachment portion 15 is guided by the pair of guide rails 17 and 17 of the carriage 3 and is then inserted into the passage 16, and the auxiliary roller 18 of the carriage 3 runs on to the guide plate 15a (see FIG. 5B). At this time, the carriage 3 is supported at three points, namely the pair of casters 4 on the rear side and the auxiliary roller 18.

[0082] At the same time, the pair of guide pins 19a and 19b of the carriage 3 are inserted into the guide holes 15b and 15c of the carriage attachment portion 15.

[0083] Then, the stopper 20 of the carriage 3 is caused to move from the stopping released position to the stopping position, and the carriage 3 is secured at the constant position to prevent the carriage 3 from moving.

[0084] In this manner, the carriage 3 is attached to the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus in a state in which the carriage 3 is positioned relative to the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus.

[0085] According to the present invention, it is possible to separate the roll accommodation unit 1 from the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus as a unit that is independent from the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus.

[0086] Also, when the roll is loaded on the continuous sheet processing apparatus, it is only necessary for the operator to separate the carriage 3 from the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus, cause the carriage 3 to move to a roll storage location (separation step), set the roll R attached to the roll support shaft 2 in the carriage 3 at the location (setting step), then cause the carriage 3 to move to the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus, and attach the carriage 3 to the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus again (attachment step).

[0087] Also, when the roll is replaced, it is only necessary for the operator to separate the carriage 3 from the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus, cause the carriage 3 to move to the roll storage location (separation step), dismount the roll support shaft 2 with the previous roll R attached thereto from the carriage 3 at the location, detach the previous roll R from the roll support shaft 2, attach a new roll R to the roll support shaft 2, set the roll support shaft 2 with the new roll R attached thereto in the carriage 3 (setting step), cause the carriage 3 to move to the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus, and attach the carriage 3 to the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus again (attachment step).

[0088] In this manner, it is possible to easily attach and detach the roll accommodation unit 1 to and from the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus, to quickly cause the roll accommodation unit 1 to move, thereby to perform the operation of loading the roll R on the roll accommodation unit 1 at a location with an enough working space separated from the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus, and thus to easily perform the operation of loading the roll R on the continuous sheet processing apparatus in a short period of time.

[0089] According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the continuous sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention further includes a hand lift 21 for mounting the roll R inserted into the roll support shaft 2 on the carriage 3 or dismounting the roll R from the carriage 3.

[0090] A configuration of the hand lift 21 is illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an arm of the hand lift, FIG. 6B is an enlarged perspective view of a distal end portion of the arm, and FIG. 6C is a diagram similar to FIG. 6A, which illustrates a state in which the roll is supported at the arm.

[0091] As illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C, the hand lift 21 includes an arm 22 that can support the lower surface of the roll R in a laterally placed state and can move upward and downward.

[0092] The arm 22 includes a roll support plate 22a, which is attached to the distal end of the arm 22, on which the roll R in the laterally placed state is placed, and a stopper plate 22b, which is provided to stand on one side of the roll support plate 22a and extends in the front-back direction of the roll support plate 22a, on which one end surface of the roll R in the laterally placed state abuts.

[0093] The arm 22 further includes a first rolling prevention plate 22c, which is provided to stand from a front portion of the roll support plate 22a and extends in an inclined manner in the left-right direction of the roll support plate 22a and in a front upward orientation, on which the front portion of the lower surface of the roll R in the laterally placed state abuts, and a second rolling prevention plate 22d, which extends in an inclined manner in parallel with the first rolling prevention plate 22c at an interval behind the first rolling prevention plate 22c on the roll support plate 22a and in a back upward orientation, on which the rear portion of the lower surface of the roll R in the laterally placed state abuts.

[0094] The second rolling prevention plate 22d is attached to the roll support plate 22a using a magnetic force, for example, and the position thereof is adjustable in the front-back direction of the roll support plate 22a.

[0095] FIGS. 7A-7D is a perspective view for explaining a method of using the hand lift in FIGS. 6A-6C.

[0096] As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the roll R in a state in which the roll R is attached to the roll support shaft 2 is placed on the roll support plate 22a of the arm 22 of the hand lift 21, and the arm 22 then moves upward up to a position that is higher than the pair of side walls of the carriage 3. Then, the hand lift 21 approaches the carriage 3 from the rear side, and the arm 22 enters a portion between the pair of side walls from the rear end of the carriage 3. The hand lift 21 stops at a timing at which the roll support shaft 2 reaches the clearance between the pair of rolling bearings of the carriage 3 (see FIG. 7B).

[0097] Then, the arm 22 moves downward, and both ends of the roll support shaft 2 (roll R) are placed on the pair of side walls (each of the pairs of rolling bearings) of the carriage 3 (see FIG. 7C). Thereafter, the hand lift 21 is separated on the rear side of the carriage 3, and the mounting of the roll R on the carriage 3 is completed.

[0098] It is possible to efficiently perform the operation of mounting the roll R on the carriage 3 or dismounting the roll R from the carriage 3 by including the hand lift 21, and further, a burden on the operator is reduced.

[0099] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a roll accommodation unit of a continuous sheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0100] The embodiment in FIG. 8 is different only in that a roll support shaft is set in a structure secured to the continuous sheet processing apparatus while the roll support shaft is set in a movable object (carriage) that can be separated from the continuous sheet processing apparatus in the embodiment in FIGS. 1A-1B. Therefore, the same numbers will be applied to the same components in FIG. 8 as those in FIGS. 1A-1B, and detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

[0101] Referring to FIG. 8, a roll accommodation unit 1 includes a roll support shaft 2 (with the same configuration as that in the example in FIG. 1) to which a roll R is attached and a pair of roll support arms 23 and 23 that are secured to a main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus in this embodiment.

[0102] Also, each of upper portions of the pair of roll support arms 23 and 23 has the same configuration as that of the upper portions of the pair of side walls 6 and 6 of the carriage 3 in the embodiment in FIGS. 1A-1B.

[0103] Even in this embodiment, it is possible to perform the attachment of the roll R to the roll support shaft 2 similarly to the case of the embodiment in FIGS. 1A-1B and further to set the roll support shaft 2 with the roll R attached thereto at the pair of roll support arms 23 and 23 similarly to the case in which the roll support shaft 2 with the roll R attached thereto is set in the carriage 3 in the embodiment in FIGS. 1A-1B.

[0104] Although the configuration of the present invention has been described above on the basis of the preferred embodiments, it is a matter of course that the configuration of the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments and those skilled in the art can contrive various modifications within the scope defined by the accompanying claims.