JP5574263B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus that transports an article group.

  Conventionally, many packaged products in which contents such as foods and medicines are stored in packaging bags have been manufactured. Such packaged products are usually manufactured by transporting the contents to a packaging bag by a certain amount and sealing the opening of the packaging bag by heat sealing. Biting due to contents may occur. For example, if the contents are a group of articles in which a plurality of bar-shaped articles are gathered, if some of the articles protrude forward or backward in the transport direction, the articles are bitten during the heat sealing process or the like on the downstream side. Such packaging defects occur. When biting by the contents occurs in the seal portion, the contents gradually absorb moisture or oxidize, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of maintaining quality.

  Therefore, various devices have been proposed in order to prevent the article from being caught in the seal portion. For example, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 7, an article that is disposed upstream of the packaging apparatus 100 and conveys an article group to the packaging apparatus 100 protrudes forward or backward in the conveyance direction of the article group. The structure provided with the article | item aligning apparatus 102 which aligns the end surface of this is disclosed. The article aligning device 102 included in the conveying device 101 is disposed above the supply conveyor 104 that pushes the group of articles by fingers 103 provided at predetermined intervals on the endless chain, and is provided at predetermined intervals on the endless chain. An end surface holding member 105 that faces between the fingers 103 is configured to move together with the fingers 103 so that the position of the front end surface of the article group can be regulated. In other words, the front and rear end faces of the article group are aligned by increasing or decreasing the moving speed of the end face holding member 105 and changing the separation distance from the finger 103 that is pushing the article group.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 64-23905

  A conveying apparatus including the article aligning device as described above is useful because it can convey the front and rear ends of the group of articles in a uniform manner. Development is desired.

  The present invention has been made from such a viewpoint, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport device that transports the article group with the front and rear ends of the article group efficiently aligned.

  The object of the present invention is a transport device that transports an article group, a chute on which the article group slides, and a mounting table that is disposed in proximity to a lower end of the chute and on which the slid article group is placed. A conveyor disposed above the mounting table, wherein the conveyor has a plurality of transport pieces arranged at a predetermined interval on the mounting table, the transporting pieces being capable of pressing and transporting the rear end of the group of articles in the transport direction. And an endless conveying means having a driving means for rotating the endless cord, and the conveying piece receives the article group on the sliding surface of the chute and aligns the front end in the conveying direction of the article group. This is achieved by a conveying device characterized in that.

  This transport device has a function of aligning the front end of the article group in the conveyance direction by receiving the article group that slides down the chute on the sliding surface of the chute by the conveyance piece that presses and conveys the rear end in the conveyance direction of the article group. It is configured to demonstrate. In other words, since it is configured to align the front end of the article group in the conveyance direction using the behavior of the article group that slides down on the chute due to the action of gravity, It is possible to transport the group of articles while efficiently aligning the front ends in the transport direction.

  Further, in the transport apparatus, it is preferable that the drive unit is drive-controlled so that the front end portion of each transport piece is decelerated or stopped at a position facing the sliding surface of the chute.

  With such a configuration, the conveyance piece can reliably receive the article group sliding down the chute on the sliding surface of the chute, and the front end of the article group in the conveyance direction can be more efficiently and reliably aligned. It becomes possible.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said chute | shoot is provided with the side wall part standingly arranged in the side edge part of the said sliding surface.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the group of articles sliding on the chute from spreading in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction and to make the group of articles in a single state. .

  Moreover, it is preferable that the outer edge shape of the front-end | tip part of the said conveyance piece respond | corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the said chute | shoot in the direction perpendicular | vertical to the conveyance direction of the said article group.

  With such a configuration, it becomes possible for the transport piece to receive all the articles of the article group that slide down on the chute, and some articles in the article group protrude forward in the transport direction without being received by the transport piece. Can be reliably prevented.

  Further, the apparatus further includes an auxiliary conveyor for supplying the article group to the chute, and the auxiliary conveyor has a timing at which a front end portion of the transport piece can receive the article group on the sliding surface of the chute. It is preferable that the drive control is performed so that the group of articles is supplied to the chute.

  By further providing such an auxiliary conveyor, it becomes even more possible for the conveying piece to catch the article group sliding down the chute on the sliding surface of the chute, and the front end of the article group in the conveying direction can be efficiently and reliably obtained. Can be aligned. By providing the auxiliary conveyor, the group of articles can be placed on the sliding surface of the chute even if the leading end of each conveying piece is not controlled to be decelerated or stopped at a position facing the sliding surface of the chute. It becomes possible to catch the front end of the article group in the transport direction.

  In addition, a plurality of the endless conveying means are provided, and the conveying pieces of one endless conveying means and the conveying pieces of the other endless conveying means are alternately positioned in the conveying direction of the article group so as to face each other. It is preferable that the article group is received and conveyed between the conveying pieces.

  According to such a configuration, the movements of the one conveyance piece and the other conveyance piece that are alternately arranged in the conveyance direction of the article group in accordance with the sliding timing of each article group sliding down on the chute are independent of each other. Thus, the front end of the group of articles in the conveyance direction can be aligned and conveyed more efficiently and reliably. In addition, by independently controlling the movement of one conveyance piece and the other conveyance piece, for example, one conveyance piece accepts the article group on the sliding surface of the chute and aligns the front end of the article group in the conveyance direction. On the other hand, the other transport piece can be aligned by pressing the rear end in the transport direction of the article group, and the front and rear end faces of the article group can be efficiently aligned.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the conveying apparatus which arranges the front-and-rear end of an article group efficiently, and conveys the said article group can be provided.

It is a schematic block diagram of the conveying apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic block diagram seen from the arrow A direction of FIG. It is the schematic block diagram seen from the arrow B direction of FIG. (A)-(e) It is explanatory drawing which represented in time series the state of the conveying apparatus and articles | goods group at the time of articles | goods group being conveyed. It is explanatory drawing explaining the action | operation of the conveying apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the modification of the conveying apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the conventional conveying apparatus.

  Hereinafter, a transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a transfer device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. In addition, in order to make an understanding of a structure easy, each drawing has expanded or reduced partially rather than an actual size ratio, and has abbreviate | omitted and described some structural members.

  The conveying apparatus 1 according to the present invention is an apparatus for conveying an article group Z in which a plurality of articles such as rod-shaped articles and granular articles are gathered into a group, for example, as shown in FIGS. For example, it is disposed between the belt conveyor 90 and the packaging device 95. The article group Z is conveyed in the order of the belt conveyor 90, the conveying device 1, and the packaging device 95.

  Here, the belt conveyor 90 disposed on the upstream side of the conveying device 1 moves the endless belt 91 in the horizontal direction and conveys the article group Z placed on the belt 91 at a predetermined interval. Yes, the article conveying terminal portion of the belt conveyor 90 is located close to the upstream end of the chute 2 in the conveying apparatus 1 according to the present invention, and the article group Z is transferred from the belt conveyor 90 toward the conveying apparatus 1. It is configured as follows. In the present embodiment, the article group Z is configured as an aggregate of rod-shaped articles, and the longitudinal direction (axial direction) of the rod-shaped articles is placed on the belt conveyor 90 and conveyed so as to follow the article conveyance direction. It has become so.

  Moreover, the packaging apparatus 95 arrange | positioned in the downstream of the conveying apparatus 1 is a well-known horizontal type bag making filling machine, for example, toward the bag making machine 96 which shape | molds the strip | belt-shaped film F to a predetermined shape, and concerns on this invention. The article group Z is configured to be supplied from the conveying device 1 at predetermined intervals. Moreover, the packaging apparatus 95 in this embodiment is supplied with the belt-like film F from below to the bag making device 96, and the bag-like making device 96 opens the belt-like film F in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal direction. The film F is formed into a cylindrical shape with both side edges sealed on the downstream side. And each space | interval of each goods group Z supplied in this cylindrical film is clamped with a sealer (end sealer), and it is comprised so that the inner surfaces may be sealed (end seal). The packaging device 95 connected to the conveying device 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described horizontal bag making and filling machine, but may be other packaging machines that accept the article group Z at predetermined intervals, or various processing machines. May be.

  As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 3, the transport device 1 according to the present invention disposed between the belt conveyor 90 and the packaging device 95 includes a chute 2, a mounting table 3, and a conveyor 4.

  The chute 2 is a member for guiding the article group Z conveyed by the belt conveyor 90 to the mounting table 3, and includes a sliding surface 21 (inclined surface) on which the article group Z slides and a side edge of the sliding surface 21. And a side wall portion 22 erected on the portion (side edge portion along the sliding direction). The side wall portion 22 is formed so as to extend along the article group conveyance direction. The chute 2 is arranged so that the upper end portion thereof is close to the article conveyance end portion of the belt conveyor 90, and the article group Z is configured to slide down on the sliding surface 21. In this embodiment, the width of the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 (the dimension in the left-right direction in FIG. 2) is the same from the chute inlet (the upper end side of the sliding surface 21) to the chute outlet (the lower end side of the sliding surface 21). However, the present invention is not particularly limited to such a configuration, and the chute inlet can be configured to be wider than the chute outlet. Further, in the present embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the chute 2 in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the article group Z (the vertical direction in FIG. 1) is formed to have a substantially bowl shape. The cross-sectional shape may be substantially U-shaped or substantially V-shaped. In FIG. 1, the side wall portion 22 of the chute 2 is omitted.

  The mounting table 3 is a member on which the article group Z that has been slid down on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 is placed, and includes a horizontal mounting surface 31 and a side edge of the mounting surface 31 (in the article transport direction). Side wall portion 32 standing on the side edge). The placement surface 31 is configured to extend linearly along the conveyance direction of the article group Z, and the side wall portion 32 is formed to extend along the article group conveyance direction. The upstream end of the mounting surface 31 is disposed close to the lower end of the chute 2, and the downstream end is configured to be disposed close to the packaging device 95. In FIG. 1, the side wall 32 of the mounting table 3 is omitted.

  The conveyor 4 is a device that slides down on the chute 2 and conveys the article group Z placed on the placing table 3 toward the packaging device 95, and is disposed on the conveyor frame 9 so as to be disposed above the placing table 3. It is attached. In FIG. 1, the conveyor frame 9 is omitted. The conveyor 4 includes a first drive shaft 41, a second drive shaft 42, a third drive shaft 43, and a fourth drive shaft 44 that are rotatably supported by the conveyor frame 9. The first drive shaft 41 and the second drive shaft 42 are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, and both the drive shafts 41 and 42 extend so as to be orthogonal to the article conveyance direction. The first drive shaft 41 and the second drive shaft 42 are disposed downstream of the chute 2 in the article transport direction. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of first drive rotating bodies 45, 45 spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the axial direction are respectively connected to the first drive shaft 41 positioned below the first drive shaft 41. It arrange | positions so that integral rotation is possible. In addition, first driven rotating bodies 46 and 46 are disposed so as to be freely rotatable at positions corresponding to the first driving rotating bodies 45 and 45 in the second driving shaft 42 positioned above.

  Further, second drive rotators 47, 47 are disposed at positions adjacent to the first driven rotators 46, 46 on the second drive shaft 42 so as to be integrally rotatable with the second drive shaft 42. In addition, second driven rotating bodies 48 are arranged in the first driving shaft 41 so as to be freely rotatable at positions corresponding to the second driving rotating bodies 47 47. The first drive rotators 45, 45, the second drive rotators 47, 47, the first driven rotators 46, 46, and the second driven rotators 48, 48 are set to have the same diameter. Has been.

  Further, the third drive shaft 43 and the fourth drive shaft 44 are disposed on the upstream side of the chute 2 on the upstream side in the article transport direction with respect to the first drive shaft 41 and the second drive shaft 42. The third drive shaft 43 and the fourth drive shaft 44 extend so as to be orthogonal to the article conveyance direction horizontally. A plurality of third driven rotating bodies 49 are arranged on the third drive shaft 43 so as to be freely rotatable with a predetermined interval in the axial direction, and are spaced apart by a predetermined interval in the axial direction with respect to the fourth drive shaft 44. A plurality of fourth driven rotators 50 are arranged so as to be freely rotatable. Each third driven rotating body 49 is disposed at a position corresponding to each of the first driving rotating bodies 45 and 45 and each of the second driven rotating bodies 48 and 48 on the first drive shaft 41, and Each fourth driven rotator 50 is also in a position corresponding to each first drive rotator 45, 45 and each second driven rotator 48, 48 on the first drive shaft 41, similarly to each third driven rotator 49. Each is arranged.

  Further, the first driven rotators 45, 45, the first driven rotators 46, 46, the third driven rotators 49 arranged at positions corresponding to the first drive rotators 45, 45, and the first The first endless cords 51 and 51 are wound around the fourth driven rotary members 50 arranged at positions corresponding to the drive rotary members 45 and 45, respectively. Similarly, each second driven rotating body 47, 47, each second driven rotating body 48, 48, each third driven rotating body 49 disposed at a position corresponding to the second driven rotating body 48, 48, and The second endless cords 52 and 52 are wound around the fourth driven rotary members 50 arranged at positions corresponding to the two driven rotary members 48 and 48, respectively. That is, the first endless cable body 51 and the second endless cable body 52 are alternately arranged in the axial direction of the first to fourth drive shafts 44. The endless cords 51 and 52 are set to have the same length. The first endless cable body 51 and the second endless cable body 52 are constituted by an endless chain or an endless belt.

  Here, with respect to the positional relationship between the third drive shaft 43 and the fourth drive shaft 44, the first endless cord 51 wound around each drive rotator 45, 47 and each driven rotator 46, 48, 49, 50 is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the third drive shaft 43 is arranged so that the second endless cord body 52 is parallel to the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 between the third drive shaft 43 and the fourth drive shaft 44. In addition, it is preferable to dispose at a predetermined position above the fourth drive shaft 44 on the upstream side in the article conveyance direction. As for the positional relationship between the first drive shaft 41 and the fourth drive shaft 44, the first endless cord 51 and the second endless cord 52 are connected to the fourth drive shaft 44 and the first drive shaft 44 as shown in FIG. The drive shaft 41 is configured to be parallel to the mounting surface 31 of the mounting table 3.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the first drive shaft 41 and the second drive shaft 42 are provided with a first drive means 6a and a second drive such as a corresponding servo motor disposed on the conveyor frame 9 and capable of variable speed control. The drive shafts 41 and 42 are respectively connected to the means 6b via an endless chain so that the rotation and stop of the drive shafts 41 and 42 are independently controlled. That is, the first endless cord body 51 is moved by driving the first driving means 6a, and the second endless cord body 52 is moved by driving the second driving means 6b.

  A plurality of first support members 53 are installed at predetermined intervals in the moving direction (circumferential direction) between each pair of first endless cords 51, and the mounting surface of the mounting table 3 in each first supporting member 53. The 1st conveyance piece 54 extended to the outward of this endless cord body is arrange | positioned at the one end part which faces 31 upper direction. The first transport piece 54 is a member capable of pressing and transporting the rear end in the transport direction of the article group Z on the mounting table 3. Similarly, a plurality of second support members 55 are disposed between the pair of second endless cords 52 at a predetermined interval in the movement direction (circumferential direction) (the same interval as the mounting interval of the first support members 53). And a second transport piece 56 extending outward from the endless cable body is disposed at one end of each second support member 55 that faces the mounting surface 31 of the mounting table 3. Similarly to the first transport piece 54, the second transport piece 56 is a member capable of pressing and transporting the rear end in the transport direction of the article group Z on the mounting table 3. The first transport body 42 and the second transport body 46 are on the vertical plane along the article transport direction of the mounting surface 31 of the mounting table 3 as the first endless cable body 51 and the second endless cable body 52 rotate. It moves on the same elliptical circular orbit. In addition, the 1st conveyance piece 54 and the 2nd conveyance piece 56 are set so that it may be located in the rotation direction of the endless cords 51 and 52 alternately. Moreover, the outer edge shape of each front-end | tip part of the 1st conveyance piece 54 and the 2nd conveyance piece 56 is comprised so that it may correspond to the cross-sectional shape of the chute 2 in the direction perpendicular | vertical to the conveyance direction of the articles | goods group Z. That is, the outer edges of the respective leading end portions of the first transport piece 54 and the second transport piece 56 are substantially in sliding contact with the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 and the side wall portion 22 standing on the side edge of the sliding surface 21, or It is comprised so that it may be in the state which opened the slight clearance gap.

  Here, the first endless cable body 51 having a plurality of first transfer pieces 54 and the first driving means 6a for rotating the first endless cable body 51 are the rear end of the article group Z on the mounting table 3 in the transfer direction. The first endless transporting means that presses and transports the second endless cable body 52 having a plurality of second transport pieces 56, and the second driving means 6b for rotating the second endless cable body 52. Constitutes a second endless conveying means for pressing and conveying the rear end of the article group Z on the mounting table 3 in the conveying direction. Since the 1st conveyance piece 54 and the 2nd conveyance piece 56 are alternately arrange | positioned in the conveyance direction of the articles | goods group Z, between the conveyance pieces which oppose (between the 1st conveyance piece 54 and the 2nd conveyance piece 56). It is possible to receive and transport the article group Z.

  In the present invention, the first conveyance piece 54 and the second conveyance piece 56 are configured to receive the article group Z on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 and to align the front end in the conveyance direction of the article group Z. Yes. For example, the first driving means 6a and the first driving means 6a and the leading ends of the first conveying pieces 54 and the second conveying pieces 56 are decelerated or stopped at a position facing the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 (position shown in FIG. 1). The second drive means 6b is driven and controlled.

  Next, operation | movement of the conveying apparatus 1 which concerns on this invention is demonstrated using Fig.4 (a)-(e). 4A to 4E are diagrams schematically illustrating a state in which the article group Z is conveyed by the conveying device 1 in time series. First, the belt conveyor 90 is driven, and the article group Z placed on the belt conveyor 90 at a predetermined interval is conveyed toward the chute 2 of the conveying device 1 (FIG. 4A). The article group Z supplied to the chute 2 slides down on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 and is controlled to decelerate or stop at a position facing the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 (position shown in FIG. 4B). The first conveyance piece 54 (or the second conveyance piece 56) is received and the front end of the article group Z in the conveyance direction is aligned. The first conveying piece 54 (or the second conveying piece 56) that has received the article group Z is moved in the conveying direction (arrows in FIGS. 4A to 4E) by the action of the first driving means 6a (second driving means 6b). The article group Z is guided onto the placement surface 31 of the placement table 3 from the chute 2 with the movement and the action of gravity acting on the article group Z (shown in FIG. 4C). State). The first conveyance piece 54 (or the second conveyance piece 56) that has received the article group Z is brought into contact with the front end in the conveyance direction of the article group Z in accordance with the further rotation of the first drive means 6a (second drive means 6b). The contact is released and moves to the packaging device 95 side (state shown in FIG. 4D).

  On the other hand, it is located on the rear side (upstream side) of the article group Z received by the first conveyance piece 54 (or the second conveyance piece 56) and follows the first conveyance piece 54 (or the second conveyance piece 56). Similarly, the second conveying piece 56 (or the first conveying piece 54) receives the article group Z sliding down on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 and aligns its front end in the conveying direction (FIG. 4C). ), The contact with the front end in the transport direction of the article group Z is released, and then the rear end in the transport direction of the preceding article group Z placed on the placement surface 31 is pressed and placed. The surface 31 is conveyed toward the packaging device 95 (the state shown in FIG. 4E). When the second conveyance piece 56 (or the first conveyance piece 54) presses and conveys the rear end in the conveyance direction of the article group Z, the rear end in the conveyance direction of the article group Z is aligned.

  The article group Z in which the front end in the transport direction and the rear end in the transport direction are aligned is transported toward the packaging device 95 as the second transport piece 56 (or the first transport piece 54) moves. The article group Z guided to the packaging device 95 is placed on a belt-like film set in the bag making device 96 and is sequentially packaged by the action of the bag making device 96. In the bag making device 96, the band-shaped film F supplied with the article group Z is formed into a bowl shape having an upper opening along the longitudinal direction, and then the both side edges of the film F are sealed on the downstream side thereof. The film F is formed into a cylindrical shape. After that, between each of the article groups Z arranged in this cylindrical film is clamped with a sealer (end sealer) and the inner surfaces thereof are sealed (end seal), and cut by the end seal part. Individual packaged products are formed.

  As described above, in the transport device 1 according to the present invention, the transport piece (the first transport piece 54 or the second transport piece 56) that presses and transports the rear end of the article group Z in the transport direction slides down the chute 2. The incoming product group Z is received on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 so that the front end of the product group Z in the transport direction is aligned. In other words, since the front end of the article group Z in the transport direction is aligned using the behavior of the article group Z sliding down on the chute 2 due to the action of gravity, the front end of the article group Z in the transport direction is efficiently arranged. It becomes possible to align. In addition, since the rear end in the transport direction of the article group Z with the front end aligned in the transport direction is aligned when another transport piece presses and transports, the front and rear of the article group Z without giving a complicated operation to the transport piece The article group Z can be conveyed while aligning both end faces efficiently. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a part of the articles in the article group Z is bitten by the seal portion when the article group Z is accommodated in the packaging bag to manufacture a packaged product.

  Further, in the transport device 1, the first drive means 6 a and the second drive means 6 b are such that the tip of each transport piece (the first transport piece 54 or the second transport piece 56) faces the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2. Since the drive piece is controlled so as to decelerate or stop at the position where it moves, the transport piece can reliably receive the article group Z sliding down the chute 2 on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2, and the article group Z It is possible to align the front ends in the transport direction more efficiently and reliably.

  Further, since the chute 2 is configured to include a side wall portion 22 standing on the side edge portion of the sliding surface 21, the group of articles Z sliding on the chute 2 is in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. It is possible to prevent the article group Z from being spread and spread, and it is possible to transport the article group Z while aligning the front and rear end faces of the article group Z.

  Further, the outer edge shape of the front end portion of the conveying pieces 54 and 56 is configured to correspond to the cross-sectional shape of the chute 2 in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the article group Z, and therefore slides down on the chute 2. It becomes possible for the conveyance piece to receive all the articles of the article group Z, and reliably prevent a part of the articles in the article group Z from being received by the conveyance pieces 54 and 56 and protruding forward in the conveyance direction. Can do.

  Moreover, in the said conveying apparatus 1, the conveying apparatus 1 is provided with two or more endless conveying means, The conveying piece (1st conveying piece 54) which one endless conveying means has, and the conveying piece which the other endless conveying means has By alternately positioning the (second conveyance piece 56) in the conveyance direction of the article group Z, the article group Z can be received and conveyed between the opposed conveyance pieces. By adopting such a configuration, the first transport pieces 54 and the second transport that are alternately arranged in the transport direction of the article group Z in accordance with the sliding timing of each article group Z sliding down on the chute 2. The movements of the pieces 56 can be controlled independently, and the front ends in the conveyance direction of the article group Z can be aligned and conveyed more efficiently and reliably. Further, by independently controlling the movements of the first conveying piece 54 and the second conveying piece 56, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the first conveying piece 54 is placed on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2. The second transport piece 56 can be aligned by pressing the rear end in the transport direction of the article group Z while receiving the group Z and aligning the front end in the transport direction of the article group Z. It becomes possible to arrange the surfaces efficiently.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of the conveying apparatus 1 which concerns on this invention was described, the specific structure of the conveying apparatus 1 is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, you may comprise so that the auxiliary conveyor 7 may be further provided in the upstream of the chute | shoot 2. As shown in FIG. The auxiliary conveyor 7 moves the endless belt 71 in the horizontal direction and conveys the group of articles Z placed on the belt 71, and between the belt conveyor 90 and the upper end of the chute 2. Is arranged. The auxiliary conveyor 7 has a function of supplying the article group Z supplied from the belt conveyor 90 to the chute 2. In particular, the auxiliary conveyor 7 is configured to remove the article group Z at a timing at which the tip of the conveyance piece (the first conveyance piece 54 or the second conveyance piece 56) can receive the article group Z on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2. The drive is controlled so as to be supplied to the chute 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a detection means 72 for detecting the supply timing of the article group Z guided from the belt conveyor 90 to the auxiliary conveyor 7 is provided, and the auxiliary means is based on the detection value by the detection means 72. By changing the conveying speed of each article group Z by the conveyor 7, the tip of the conveying pieces 54, 56 is chute 2 on the article group Z at a timing at which the article group Z can be received on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2. It is comprised so that it can supply to. The article group Z is sequentially supplied from the belt conveyor 90 to the auxiliary conveyor 7, and each article group Z on the belt conveyor 90 is supplied to the chute 2 for one article group Z by the auxiliary conveyor 7. Until the process is completed, the subsequent article group Z is arranged at a predetermined interval so as not to be supplied to the auxiliary conveyor 7. The detection means 72 can use various sensors such as an infrared sensor, a color mark sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor.

  The article groups Z conveyed by the belt conveyor 90 are placed and conveyed at substantially the same interval. However, depending on the supply status of the article groups Z to the belt conveyor 90, the intervals between the article groups Z may be shifted. This may occur, and it may be difficult for the first conveyance piece 54 (or the second conveyance piece 56) in the conveyor 4 to receive the article group Z on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2. Even in such a case, by providing the above-described auxiliary conveyor 7, the transport piece can reliably receive the article group Z sliding down the chute 2 on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2, The front end in the conveyance direction of the article group Z can be aligned efficiently and reliably. Further, by providing the auxiliary conveyor 7, the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2 can be driven even if the leading end of each transport piece is not controlled to be decelerated or stopped at a position facing the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2. The article group Z can be reliably received at the top, and the front end of the article group Z in the transport direction can be aligned. In addition, since the supply timing of the article group Z to the chute 2 can be controlled by the auxiliary conveyor 7, it is possible to perform the process of transporting the article group Z with both ends thereof aligned at high speed and the contents in the seal portion. Thus, it is possible to efficiently carry out the bagging operation of the article group Z in which the biting due to is prevented.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the conveyor 4 is configured to include the first endless transfer unit and the second endless transfer unit, and the first transfer piece 54 and the second transfer piece 56 can operate independently. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to such a configuration. For example, the conveyor 4 may be configured by only the first endless transport unit (or only the second endless transport unit). . Even in such a configuration, the tip of the first transport piece 54 (second transport piece 56) is decelerated or stopped at a position (position shown in FIG. 1) facing the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2. If the drive is controlled, the first conveyance piece 54 (second conveyance piece 56) receives the article group Z sliding down on the chute 2 on the sliding surface 21 of the chute 2, and the conveyance direction of the article group Z is detected. The front edges can be aligned.

  Further, the surface of each article in the article group Z is received on the surfaces of the first conveyance piece 54 and the second conveyance piece 56 that press and convey the preceding article group Z while receiving the article group Z sliding down on the chute 2. Various substances attached to the case may adhere. For example, when the article group Z is a collection of stick-shaped confectionery products, the powdery material adhering to the surface of the confectionery product may adhere to the surfaces of the first conveyance piece 54 and the second conveyance piece 56. . In order to remove such deposits, an injection nozzle that injects gas such as air or nitrogen gas toward the first transfer piece 54 and the second transfer piece 56, and the first transfer piece 54 by the action of the injection nozzle. In addition, a dust collector that sucks and removes the deposits blown off from the second transport piece 56 may be provided. For example, the spray nozzle and the dust collector are preferably arranged on both sides of the conveyor 4 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the article group Z (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying device 2 Chute 21 Sliding surface 3 Mounting stand 4 Conveyors 51 and 52 Endless rope bodies 54 and 56 Conveying pieces 6a and 6b Driving means Z Article group

Claims (6)

A conveying device for conveying an article group,
A chute on which the group of articles slides;
A placement table on which the slidable article group is placed near the lower end of the chute;
A conveyor disposed above the mounting table,
The conveyor has an endless cord body in which a plurality of transport pieces capable of pressing and transporting the rear end in the transport direction of the article group on the mounting table are disposed at a predetermined interval, and an endless cord having driving means for rotating the endless cord body. A transport means,
The transporting device, wherein the transporting piece receives the article group on the sliding surface of the chute and aligns the front end of the article group in the transporting direction.   2. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit is drive-controlled so that a front end portion of each transport piece is decelerated or stopped at a position facing a sliding surface of the chute.   The said chute | shoot is provided with the side wall part standingly arranged in the side edge part of the said sliding surface, The conveying apparatus of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The outer peripheral shape of the front-end | tip part of the said conveyance piece respond | corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the said chute | shoot in the direction perpendicular | vertical to the conveyance direction of the said article group. An auxiliary conveyor for supplying the articles to the chute,
The auxiliary conveyor is driven and controlled to supply the article group to the chute at a timing at which the front end of the conveying piece can receive the article group on the sliding surface of the chute. The transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A plurality of the endless transport means;
The article group is received between the opposed conveying pieces by alternately positioning the conveying piece of one endless conveying means and the conveying piece of the other endless conveying means in the conveying direction of the article group. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the conveying device is conveyed.

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