JP2004224421A - Product feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily adjust movement timing that regulates the shift of succeeding products in synchronization with separation timing, and to eliminate the necessity to make readjustment even if change is made in the kind of products, and to simplify operation. <P>SOLUTION: An apparatus comprises a feeding conveyor 10 for carrying in products in succession, and a plurality of encasing pockets 23 that encase and retain products P, so that a first product P carried in by the feeding conveyor 10 is housed in one of the encasing pockets 23 at a prescribed housing location A, and a separation turret 20 that holds the product P while rotating. Furthermore, a thrush pusher 30 is provided that takes out the product P housed and held in the encasing pocket 23 at a prescribed discharging location B from the encasing pocket 23 and sends it out to succeeding processes, while a stopper tab 40 is provided that keeps the following products on the feeding belt 10 in a halt until an empty encasing pocket 23 is disposed while rotating at the housing position A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product supply apparatus for separating and supplying products one by one to a packaging machine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in an overwrapping machine as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, which will be described later, a product transport track is provided orthogonal to a film supply unit to which a packaging film is supplied and arranged. The products are continuously transported on the transport track by the transport conveyor, cut one by one before the film supply unit, and pushed out to the film supply unit, where the outer periphery of the product is covered with a packaging film. Thereafter, the body of the packaging film that is housed in a turret provided downstream of the film supply unit and protrudes from the end of the product as the turret rotates is folded.
[0003]
The apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 employs a separation conveyor (8) as means for separating the products that have been continuously conveyed one by one. Although not described in detail in the document 1, this separation conveyor is composed of a pair of belts that rotate at a higher speed than the supply conveyor on the upstream side, and the products are sandwiched and conveyed by the belt pairs. That is, when the product at the head of the product group that has been continuously conveyed on the supply conveyor is sandwiched between the separation conveyors, only the leading product is removed from the succeeding products due to the speed difference between the supply conveyor and the separation conveyor. Separated and sent downstream.
[0004]
In synchronism with this separation timing, a stopper protrudes at the boundary between the supply conveyor and the separation conveyor, and the subsequent product is restricted from moving to the separation conveyor. As a result, only the top product of the product group that has been continuously conveyed is separated and sent downstream by the conveyor.
A product pushing means called a pusher is provided downstream of the separation conveyor, and a single product conveyed by the separation conveyor is delivered to the pusher and pushed out to the film supply unit. .
[0005]
Moreover, the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 employs an elevator (8) as means for separating the products that have been continuously conveyed one by one. That is, an elevator that can be moved up and down is installed downstream of the supply conveyor, and the top product of the product group that has been continuously conveyed on the supply conveyor is transferred to the elevator and lifted. With this ascending operation, the leading product is separated from the subsequent product group. A pusher (4) is installed at the lift position of the elevator, and is pushed out to the film supply unit by this pusher.
While the elevator moves up and down, a stopper protrudes at the boundary between the supply conveyor and the elevator, thereby restricting the movement of the subsequent product.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-39412 A [Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-240013
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the method of separating the products that have been continuously conveyed using the separation conveyor one by one, when the leading product is delivered to the same conveyor, the slight gap generated between the following products is aimed at. The stopper must be ejected and the subsequent product must be stopped. The timing from when the leading product is cut off and sandwiched between the conveyors to when the gap enters the stopper position varies depending on the dimensions of the supplied product. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the driving timing of the stopper every time the product type is changed, and the adjustment work is complicated.
[0008]
Further, the separation conveyor is configured to sandwich the product with a pair of belts and convey the product at a high speed. However, if the product clamping pressure is weak, slipping occurs and the product cannot be conveyed at a set speed. There is a possibility that a deviation occurs with respect to the drive timing and causes malfunction. On the other hand, if the clamping pressure of the product is too large, the product is compressed and a defective product is generated. For this reason, it is necessary to adjust the clamping pressure of the separation conveyor with high accuracy according to the size and hardness of the product, and the adjustment work is complicated. In addition, when there are variations in the dimensions of the product, even if the adjustment is performed with high accuracy, the clamping pressure varies irregularly depending on the product, and the conveyance operation may become unstable.
[0009]
In addition, in the method of separating the products that have been continuously conveyed using the elevator one by one, the elevator that carries the top product rises, pushes the top product by the pusher, and then the elevator descends, Since it is necessary to stop the subsequent product, the operation time of one cycle is slow, and there is a problem that it cannot cope with high-speed operation.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the invention of claim 1 is a product supply device for separating and supplying products one by one to a packaging machine,
A supply conveyor that continuously conveys the product;
A separation turret having a plurality of storage pockets for storing and holding the product, storing the leading product conveyed by the supply conveyor in the storage pocket at a predetermined storage position, and holding and rotating the product;
A delivery means for taking out the product stored and held in the storage pocket from the storage pocket at a predetermined discharge position, and sending it to a subsequent process;
Stopper means for stopping subsequent products on the supply conveyor until an empty storage pocket is rotated to the storage position;
It is provided with.
[0011]
In the present invention having the above-described configuration, the leading product of the product group that has been continuously conveyed is separated from the subsequent product by the rotation of the separation turret. Therefore, the leading product can be separated at a constant timing regardless of the dimensions of the product. Therefore, even when the movement of subsequent products is restricted in accordance with the separation timing, the operation timing can be easily adjusted, and even if the product type is changed, readjustment is not necessary, and the work can be facilitated. . Moreover, even if there are variations in product dimensions, a stable separation operation can be realized, and even a soft product can be separated without being damaged.
In addition, the present invention that realizes product separation along with the rotation of the separation turret can easily reduce the operation interval because the product separation operation is simple, and can stably cope with high-speed operation. .
[0012]
Further, the invention of claim 2 sets the discharge position at a position where the turret is separated from the storage position and rotated by 180 degrees, and sets the discharge position at a height position lower than the storage position,
The delivery means is constituted by a push-in pusher that linearly reciprocates and pushes out a product from the storage pocket, and the movement path of the push-in pusher is arranged from the lower side of the storage position to the discharge position.
[0013]
By setting the discharge position to a height position lower than the storage position in this way, the movement path of the thrust pusher can be arranged inside the turret without interfering with the product in the storage pocket at the storage position. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the entire apparatus.
[0014]
Here, the stopper means can be constituted by a stopper claw that can freely move in and out on the product conveyance track of the supply conveyor.
[0015]
The stopper means may be a peripheral wall formed on an outer peripheral edge other than the entrance of the storage pocket in the separation turret, and a subsequent product on the supply conveyor may be in contact with the peripheral wall. With this configuration, it is not necessary to provide a mechanism such as a stopper claw to restrict the movement of the subsequent product, and the structure is simplified, and it is not necessary to adjust the operation timing between the mechanisms. To do.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a packaging machine incorporating a product supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the packaging machine.
[0017]
The outline of the packaging machine will be described with reference to these drawings. First, the product P is continuously conveyed on the supply conveyor 10. A separation turret 20 having a plurality of storage pockets 23 is provided downstream of the supply conveyor 10. The separating turret 20 stores the product P at the head of the product group that has been continuously supplied in the storage pocket 23 and rotates. With this rotation, the top product P is separated from the subsequent product. Subsequently, the product P in the storage pocket 23 is pushed downstream at a position where the separating turret 20 is rotated 180 degrees. The supply conveyor 10 and the separation turret 20 are components of the product supply apparatus according to the present embodiment, and these configurations will be described later.
[0018]
A film supply unit 100 is provided downstream of the separation turret 20, and the strip-shaped packaging film F is cut into a predetermined length and disposed in the film supply unit 100. Here, in the film supply unit 100, the packaging film F is disposed substantially orthogonal to the conveyance path of the product P. Therefore, the packaging film F is conveyed downstream integrally with the product P so as to cover the outer periphery of the product P extruded from the separation turret 20.
[0019]
A turret for folding the packaging film F around the outer periphery of the product P (hereinafter referred to as a barrel fold turret 110) is provided downstream of the film supply unit 100, and the product P in a state where the packaging film F covers the outer periphery. , And stored in the storage pocket 112 of the barrel-folded turret 110. At this time, the packaging film F adheres to the outer periphery of the product P. A folding seal unit 120 is provided around the body fold turret 110, and the edge of the packaging film F that is not in close contact with the product P is folded into the outer periphery of the product P by the folding seal unit 120, and is superposed. The part is heat sealed.
[0020]
A discharge conveyor 130 is installed downstream of the barrel fold turret 110, and the product P in the storage pocket 112 is pushed downstream and delivered to the discharge conveyor 130 at a position where the barrel fold turret 110 is rotated 180 degrees. . Side folding blocks (not shown) are provided in the vicinity of the side of the discharge conveyor 130, and the packaging film F protruding from both side edges of the product P is transported on the discharge conveyor 130 by the side folding blocks. Folded and the polymerized portion is heat sealed. Thereby, the packaging form in which the product P is coated with the packaging film F is completed.
[0021]
In addition, the packaging process below the above-described barrel-folding turret 110 is conventionally known as overwrapping packaging (see, for example, JP 2001-39412 A and JP 2001-240013 A).
[0022]
FIG. 3 is a front view of the product supply apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same. The product supply apparatus will be described in more detail with reference to these drawings.
The product supply apparatus includes a supply conveyor 10, a separating turret 20, and a push-in pusher 30, and is installed on the upstream side of the film supply unit 100 as described.
[0023]
The supply conveyor 10 carries the product P by placing it on the upper surface of a continuously rotating conveyance belt, and the product P is continuously conveyed by the supply belt. The downstream end of the supply conveyor 10 extends to the inside of the separation turret 20, and the product P at the head of the product group conveyed by the supply conveyor 10 is directly stored in the storage pocket of the separation turret 20. The positions of the two are adjusted so as to be conveyed to 23.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 4, the separation turret 20 has two side plates 22 attached to the rotary shaft 21 at a constant interval, and these side plates 22 rotate integrally with the rotary shaft 21. In the present embodiment, the rotational driving force of the barrel folding turret 110 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 21 via the transmission belt 111, and thus the separation turret 20 rotates in synchronization with the barrel folding turret 110.
The downstream end of the supply conveyor 10 enters the intermediate portion of each side plate 22 (see FIG. 4), and the position where the supply conveyor 10 enters is set as the product storage position A. On the other hand, the position where the turret 20 is separated from the storage position A and rotated 180 degrees is set as the discharge position B, and the film supply unit 100 is located downstream of the discharge position B.
[0025]
On the inner surface of each side plate 22, a plurality of storage pockets 23 (six in FIG. 3) each having a concave groove facing each other are formed. These storage pockets 23 support both sides of the stored product P. Each storage pocket 23 is arranged in parallel with the supply conveyor 10 at the storage position A, and the product P conveyed by the supply conveyor 10 is stored in the storage pocket 23 as it is. Further, the storage pocket 23 is horizontally arranged at the discharge position B, and the product can be pushed out to the film supply unit 100 by a thrust pusher 30 described later.
[0026]
Here, the discharge position B is set to a height position lower than the storage position A (see FIG. 3), and a moving path of the thrust pusher 30 is provided from the lower side of the storage position A to the discharge position B. The thrust pusher 30 can reciprocate along the linear guide rail 31, advances from the rear of the discharge position B, presses the rear end of the product P at the same position, and pushes out the product P from the storage pocket 23. It has a function. By setting the discharge position B to a height position lower than the storage position A, the movement path of the push-in pusher 30 does not interfere with the product P in the storage pocket 23 at the storage position A, and the inside of the turret. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire apparatus.
[0027]
In addition, the stopper claw 40 can be projected and retracted in the product conveyance track of the supply conveyor 10 at a point (see FIG. 3A) that is separated from the front and intersects the outer periphery of the turret 20. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3B, the stopper claw 40 is configured to rotate around a support shaft with a driving force from a driving actuator (not shown), and a tip portion of the stopper claw 40 appears and disappears in a product conveyance track.
The stopper claw 40 has a function of projecting onto the product conveyance track in synchronization with the rotation of the separating turret 20 and blocking the subsequent product P conveyed by the supply conveyor 10.
[0028]
FIG. 5 is a front view showing the protrusion operation of the stopper claw 40. As shown in FIG. 6A, the leading product P1 of the product group placed on the supply conveyor 10 is stored in the storage pocket 23 of the separating turret 20, and then separated as shown in FIG. When the turret 20 rotates in the clockwise direction, the stopper claw 40 rotates in synchronization with this rotation and starts the protruding operation. Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, the stopper claw 40 protrudes forward of the succeeding product P2 at the timing when the leading product P1 is separated from the succeeding product P2 placed on the supply conveyor 10, and the succeeding product P2 Regulate the movement of At this time, the supply conveyor 10 continues to rotate, but the subsequent product P2 slips and stays in front of the turret 20. In this manner, the subsequent product P2 is dammed by the stopper claw 40, so that the collision of the subsequent product P2 with the separation turret 20 is avoided.
[0029]
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a conveyance confirmation sensor 50 for the product P is disposed in the vicinity of the protruding and retracting position of the stopper claw 40. The conveyance confirmation sensor 50 detects the presence of a subsequent product that is blocked by the stopper claw 40.
[0030]
The product supply apparatus having the above-described configuration transfers the product P at the head of the product group that is continuously conveyed on the supply conveyor 10 from the subsequent product group by the rotation of the separation turret 20. That is, when the top product P is stored in the storage pocket 23 of the separation turret 20 disposed at the storage position A, the turret rotates, and the top product P is separated from the subsequent product P with the rotation. At this time, as described above, the stopper claw 40 protrudes on the product conveyance path of the supply conveyor 10 and restricts the movement of the subsequent product P.
[0031]
Subsequently, when the empty storage pocket 23 is rotated to the supply position, the stopper claw 40 is retracted, the subsequent product P starts to move again, and the product P at the head is stored in the storage pocket 23. Here, when the succeeding product P is not blocked by the stopper claw 40, the conveyance confirmation sensor 50 confirms this. At this time, the drive actuator (not shown) of the stopper claw 40 does not operate, and the state where the stopper claw 40 is protruded is maintained. The separation turret 20 rotates without storing the product P in the storage pocket 23 arranged at the supply position.
[0032]
If the separating turret rotates before the subsequent leading product P, which has been conveyed late, is stored in the storage pocket 23, the leading product P interferes with the guide plate provided around the turret, and the like. Operation is disturbed. Therefore, as described above, when the succeeding product P is not blocked by the stopper claw 40, the storage pocket 23 is skipped to avoid occurrence of a failure.
[0033]
The product P, which has been separated from the subsequent product P as the separation turret 20 is rotated and has reached the discharge position B, is pushed out by the thrust pusher 30, passes through the film supply unit 100, and is delivered to the body fold turret 110.
[0034]
The product supply apparatus described above also has the following advantages.
As shown in FIG. 6, in the conventional product supply system, when the height of the product P supplied to the barrel fold turret 110 is changed from T1 to T2 due to the product type change, Due to the rotation, the product height changes in the upside down direction on the supply side and the discharge side. As a result, when the height is adjusted according to the upper surface of the product on the supply side, the height must be adjusted according to the lower surface of the product on the discharge side. For this reason, the component on the discharge side (for example, the discharge conveyor 130) adjusts the height of the base itself, and a large-scale work is required.
[0035]
On the other hand, according to the product supply apparatus of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the product P rotates 180 degrees with the separating turret 20 and further rotates 180 degrees with the body folding turret 110, resulting in a total of one rotation. Therefore, it is only necessary to adjust the height on both the supply side and the discharge side according to the upper surface of the product, and the height adjustment of the base itself is not necessary, and the adjustment work becomes easy.
[0036]
FIG. 8 is a front view of a product supply apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the same.
In the product supply apparatus shown in these drawings, the side plate 22 is used as a stopper means for stopping the succeeding product P on the supply conveyor 10 in which an empty storage pocket 23 formed in the separation turret 20 is rotated at the storage position A. It is the structure using the outer periphery. That is, the two side plates 22 forming the separation turret 20 are arranged at the inner position where they interfere with the product transporting track, and the storage pockets 23 are cut and formed on the inner surfaces of the side plates 22. The width of the storage pocket 23 is set to such a dimension that the product can be stored without interference, and both sides of the product P are disposed in the concave groove of the storage pocket 23.
[0037]
Further, in the present embodiment, the separation turret 20 is independently rotated without being synchronized with the body fold turret 110, and the storage for confirming that the product P is securely stored in the storage pocket 23 at the storage position A is provided. A confirmation sensor 60 is installed.
[0038]
The product supply apparatus having the above-described configuration transfers the product P at the head of the product group that is continuously conveyed on the supply conveyor 10 from the subsequent product P by the rotation of the separation turret 20. That is, when the head product P is stored in the storage pocket 23 of the separation turret 20 disposed at the storage position A, the turret rotates and the head product P is separated from the subsequent product group along with the rotation. At this time, the subsequent product P on the supply conveyor 10 comes into contact with the side plate 22 of the separation turret 20 and the movement is restricted.
[0039]
Subsequently, when the empty storage pocket 23 is rotated to the supply position, the movement restriction by the side plate 22 is released, so that the product P at the head of the subsequent product group starts to move again, and the storage pocket 23 Stored inside. The storage confirmation sensor 60 monitors the storage state of the product P, and the separation turret 20 stops rotating until the product P is securely stored in the storage pocket 23. Then, after the product P is securely stored in the storage pocket 23, the separation turret 20 is rotated again.
[0040]
The product P, which has been separated from the subsequent product group along with the rotation of the separating turret 20 and has reached the discharge position B, is pushed out by the thrust pusher 30, passes through the film supply unit 100, and is delivered to the body fold turret 110.
[0041]
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, the product supply apparatus of the present invention can be applied to packaging machines other than the configuration shown in FIG.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the leading product of the product group that has been continuously conveyed is separated from the succeeding product by the rotation of the separation turret, so that the leading product is separated at a constant timing regardless of the product dimensions. Can do. Therefore, even when the movement of the succeeding product is restricted in accordance with the separation timing, the operation timing can be easily adjusted, and even if the product type is changed, readjustment is not necessary, and the work can be facilitated. .
Moreover, even if there are variations in product dimensions, a stable separation operation can be realized, and even a soft product can be separated without being damaged.
Furthermore, the present invention that realizes product separation along with the rotation of the separation turret can easily reduce the operation interval because the product separation operation is simple, and can stably cope with high-speed operation. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a packaging machine incorporating a product supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the packaging machine shown in FIG.
3A is a front view of a product supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged front view of a stopper claw of the apparatus.
4 is a cross-sectional plan view of the product supply device shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the stopper claw shown in FIG.
6 is a comparative view for explaining the advantages of the product supply device shown in FIG. 3; FIG.
7 is a diagram showing advantages of the product supply apparatus shown in FIG. 3. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a front view of a product supply apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a cross-sectional plan view of the product supply apparatus shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
P: Product F: Packaging film 10: Supply conveyor 20: Separation turret 21: Rotating shaft 22: Side plate 23: Storage pocket A: Storage position B: Discharge position 30: Pushing pusher 31: Guide rail 40: Stopper claw 50: Confirmation of conveyance Sensor 60: Storage confirmation sensor 100: Film supply unit 110: Body fold turret 120: Folding seal unit 130: Discharge conveyor

Claims (4)

A product supply device for separating and supplying products one by one to a packaging machine,
A supply conveyor that continuously conveys the product;
A separation turret having a plurality of storage pockets for storing and holding the product, storing the leading product conveyed by the supply conveyor in the storage pocket at a predetermined storage position, and rotating the product while holding the product;
A delivery means for taking out the product stored and held in the storage pocket from the storage pocket at a predetermined discharge position, and sending it to a subsequent process;
Stopper means for stopping subsequent products on the supply conveyor until an empty storage pocket is rotationally arranged in the storage position;
A product supply apparatus comprising: The discharge position is set to a position where the separation turret is rotated 180 degrees from the storage position, and the discharge position is set to a height position lower than the storage position.
The delivery means is constituted by a push-in pusher that linearly reciprocates and pushes out a product from the storage pocket, and a movement path of the push-in pusher is arranged from below the storage position to the discharge position. The product supply apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The product supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stopper means is a stopper claw that can be moved up and down on a product conveyance path of the supply conveyor. The said stopper means is a peripheral wall formed in the outer periphery other than the entrance of the said storage pocket in the said separation turret, Comprising: The subsequent product on the said supply conveyor contact | abuts to this peripheral wall. Or the product supply apparatus of 2.

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