JP5728741B2 - Cartoner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cartoner for boxing an accumulation body in which flat articles such as masks and gauze are stacked in multiple stages, such as a pillow package formed by pillow-wrapping flat products one by one.

  For example, in the case where a plurality of pillow packages in which a plurality of flat articles such as masks are packaged together are packaged, a cartoner is usually used as follows. First, a stack that is sequentially supplied in a state where a plurality of pillow packages are stacked is transported to an insertion position by transport means such as a belt conveyor, and this stack is supplied to the insertion position by a pusher of an insertion device. After being inserted into the carton by pushing it out to the incoming carton side, the carton is sealed to complete the packing of the aggregate.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-012205 JP 2002-361760 A

  However, as described above, in order to pack a large number of irregular and flat pillow packages in which flat articles such as masks are packaged one by one using such a cartoner, a large number of pillow packages are used as described above. Even if it is transported to the insertion position in the state of a stack of stacked sheets and the stack is pushed into the carton by the pusher of the insertion device, each pillow package is lightweight, so there are many pillow packages. Stacked stacks are easy to collapse, and each stacked pillow package tends to be misaligned, so that these stacks cannot be pushed into the carton reliably and stably by the pusher of the insertion device. There is.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a car toner that can reliably pack an accumulation body in which irregular and flat articles are stacked in a stable state.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is supplied by an article supply means for supplying an accumulation body in which irregular and flat articles are stacked to a supply position on a conveyance path, and the article supply means. In a car toner comprising: article conveying means for conveying the accumulation body along a conveyance path; and article insertion means for inserting the accumulation body into the carton at an insertion position on the conveyance path while conveying the accumulation body by the article conveyance means. The article insertion means includes a pusher that pushes the accumulation body to the side of the conveyance path, and a pressing means that presses the accumulation body from above at the insertion position, and the upper surface of the accumulation body is pressed against the pressing means. constitute a pressing unit for pressing directly, by the indirect pressing air blowing the top surface of the integrated body by blowing air on the top surface of the stack by the stack, the push While pressing from above by unit and an air blower, there is provided a Cartoner characterized in that as push laterally by the pusher.

  Further, as the article supply means, one provided with an upper belt conveyor and a lower belt conveyor that sandwich the integrated body up and down can be adopted.

  Further, as the article conveying means, a bucket on which the accumulation body is placed, a first positioning guide for positioning the accumulation body placed on the bucket in a conveyance direction with respect to the bucket, and the bucket placed on the bucket A thing provided with the 2nd positioning guide which positions the accumulation object in the width direction of a conveyance course can be adopted.

As described above, in the cartoner according to the first aspect of the present invention, the article inserting means pushes the stacked body to the side of the conveyance path, the presser unit that directly presses the upper surface of the stacked body with the presser bar, and the upper surface of the stacked body. Holding means constituted by air blow that indirectly presses the upper surface of the accumulation body by blowing air onto the accumulation body, so that the accumulation body is pushed out to the side by a pusher while pressing the accumulation body from above. Therefore, when the pusher pushes out the integrated body, the upper surface of the integrated body can be indirectly pressed by blowing air to the portion of the integrated body that cannot be pressed by the pressing unit. Therefore, the uppermost article in the stack can be lifted and misaligned by the presser unit and the air blow, and the stack can be reliably inserted into the carton by the pusher.

  In addition, as an article supply means, one having an upper belt conveyor and a lower belt conveyor that sandwich the stack up and down is adopted, and when the stack is transported with the upper belt conveyor and the lower belt conveyor sandwiched up and down, Even if the body is hard to collapse and the article itself is lightweight, the aggregate can be supplied in a stable state.

  Further, as the article conveying means, a bucket on which the accumulation body is placed, a first positioning guide for positioning the accumulation body placed on the bucket in the conveyance direction with respect to the bucket, and the accumulation body placed on the bucket When the one provided with the second positioning guide for positioning in the width direction is adopted, the integrated body supplied by the article supply means can be conveyed to the insertion position in an appropriate integrated state.

1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a car toner according to the present invention. It is a side view which shows the article supply means which comprises the same car toner. It is a top view which shows the article conveyance means which comprises the same car toner. It is a side view which shows the 1st positioning guide which comprises the article conveyance means same as the above. It is a top view which shows the article insertion means which comprises the same car toner. It is a schematic side view which shows an article insertion means same as the above. (A) is a top view which shows the pressing means which comprises the article insertion means same as the above, (b) is a schematic side view which shows the middle of extrusion of the accumulation body by the pusher which constitutes the article insertion means same as the above. It is a side view which shows the pressing means which comprises the article insertion means same as the above.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a cartoner 1 for boxing and packaging a stack of a large number of indeterminate flat lightweight pillow packages (hereinafter referred to as articles) in which flat articles such as masks are packaged one by one. In this cartoner 1, an irregular and flat lightweight article (length 95 mm to 110 mm × width 185 mm to 230 mm × thickness 1.5 mm to 3.0 mm, weight 4 g to 8 g) is stacked of a large number of stacked bodies PG. It is supplied in the state.

  As shown in the figure, the cartoner 1 is supplied by an article supply means 10 for sequentially supplying the supplied aggregate PG to a supply position α on the article conveyance path at a predetermined timing, and the article supply means 10. Article conveying means 20 for conveying the aggregate PG along the article conveying path, carton conveying means 30 for sequentially conveying the carton C with the barrel portion opened in a cylindrical shape to the insertion region (insertion position) β, and article conveying There is provided article insertion means 40 for inserting into the body of the carton C in the insertion region β on the article conveyance path while conveying the stack PG by the means 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article supply means 10 is composed of eight sets of conveyor units 11-18 including upper belt conveyors 11a to 18a and lower belt conveyors 11b to 18b that sandwich the supplied stack PG vertically. And a belt conveyor 19 disposed on the most downstream side, and each belt conveyor is driven by a servo motor M.

  An integrated body detection sensor S for detecting the integrated body PG sent from the upstream side is disposed on the entrance side of each of the conveyor units 11 to 18, and a control unit (not shown) is connected to each integrated body detection sensor S. Based on the detection signal of the accumulation body PG by the above, by individually controlling the conveying speed of each of the conveyor units 11 to 18 and the belt conveyor 19, the supply position α on the article conveying path is set at a predetermined timing and a predetermined speed. The accumulation body PG is supplied. In addition, the supply position α of the article transport path is provided with a trapezoidal stack supply section in which a plurality of receiving members R extending in the transport direction are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals. The accumulation body PG is placed on the top.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 6, the article conveying means 20 moves a large number of buckets 24 on the article conveying path at a predetermined pitch so as to pass through the supply position α and the insertion region β. A bucket conveyor 21 that circulates and moves is provided. The bucket 24 receives the accumulation PG supplied to the supply position α by the article supply means 10 and conveys it to the insertion region β.

  The bucket conveyor 21 includes a pair of sprockets 22 disposed at both ends of the article conveyance path, and an endless chain 23 that is spanned between the pair of sprockets 22 and has a large number of buckets 24 attached thereto at a predetermined pitch. When one sprocket 22 is rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown), the bucket 24 circulates on the article transport path.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bucket 24 includes a base plate 24a attached to the endless chain 23, and a front plate 24b and a rear plate 24c rising from the front end and the rear end of the base plate 24a, respectively. And the rear plate 24c is fitted with each receiving member forming the integrated body supply section so that it can pass under the basket-shaped integrated body supply section provided at the supply position α of the article conveyance path. It is formed in a comb-teeth shape having a notch to be inserted.

  Further, the article conveying means 20 includes a first positioning guide 25 for positioning the stack PG placed on the bucket 24 at the supply position α in the conveying direction with respect to the bucket 24, and the bucket 24 before the insertion region β. And a second positioning guide 28 for positioning the stack PG placed on the sheet in the width direction of the article transport path.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first positioning guide 25 is attached to three rotary arms 26 whose front ends are supported so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and to the front ends of the rotary arms 26. And three guide bars 27 extending in the transport direction of the stacked body PG, and each guide bar 27 is inclined obliquely upward toward the tip on the upstream side in the transport direction of the stacked body PG.

  The guide bar 27 is fitted into a notch formed in each of the front plate 24b and the rear plate 24c of the bucket 24 to lightly press the stacked body PG from above, as shown in FIG. Even if each article of the stack PG placed on the bucket 24 passing through the supply position α is displaced in the transport direction, when the bucket 24 passes through the first positioning guide 25, the stack PG is guided by the guide bar. 27, the bucket 24 is transported to the insertion region β side while being pushed downward by 27, so that each article of the accumulation body PG contacts the rear surface plate 24c of the bucket 24 while being shifted to the upstream side in the transport direction in the bucket 24, The accumulation body PG is positioned in the conveyance direction in the bucket 24.

  The second positioning guide 28 is constituted by a pair of guide plates 28a and 28b disposed on both sides in the width direction of the article conveyance path, and the guide plate 28a on the article supply means 10 side in the width direction of the article conveyance path. The guide surface which is the inner surface is inclined outward toward the upstream side in the transport direction. Therefore, when the bucket 24 passes through the second positioning guide 28, the stacked body PG placed on the bucket 24 is pressed toward the guide plate 28b by contacting the inclined guide surface of the guide plate 28a. Finally, the stack PG is positioned in the width direction of the article transport path.

  The carton conveying means 30 is configured to receive a carton C folded in a sheet shape supplied by a carton supply device (not shown) at a carton supply position and convey the carton in an open state in a cylindrical shape. The carton C into which the stack PG is inserted by the article insertion means 40 in the insertion region β is sealed by a sealing device (not shown) while being transported by the carton transport means 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the article insertion means 40 includes a main body unit 41 that pushes the stack PG to the side of the article transport path in the insertion region β, and an initial stage in which the main body unit 41 pushes the stack PG. In the stage, a pressing means 48 for pressing the stack PG from above and an introduction guide unit 53 for guiding the stack PG pushed out by the main unit 41 into the carton C are provided. Is disposed on both sides of the article conveyance path in the insertion region β.

  The main body unit 41 includes a pair of sprockets 42 disposed at both ends of the insertion region β on one side in the width direction of the article conveyance path, an endless chain 43 spanned between the pair of sprockets 42, and a bucket. 24, and a plurality of pushers 44 attached to the endless chain 43. By rotating one sprocket 41 by a drive source (not shown), the pusher 44 is inserted into the insertion region. It is designed to circulate alongside the bucket 24 conveyed to β.

  The pusher 44 includes a base member 45 attached to the endless chain 43 at a predetermined pitch, a pusher main body 46 supported by the base member 45 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and a cam mechanism 47 for moving the pusher main body 46 back and forth. As the main body unit 41 moves in the insertion region β, the pusher main body 46 advances toward the article conveyance path, and pushes the stack PG placed in the bucket 24 to the other side of the article conveyance path. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the cam mechanism 47 includes a cam follower 47a supported at the rear end of the pusher body 46, and a cam plate (not shown) in which a cam groove into which the cam follower 47a is fitted is formed. The pusher body 46 moves forward and backward as the cam follower 47a moves along the cam groove.

  The pressing means 48 includes a pressing unit 49 that directly presses the upper surface of the stack PG, and an air blow 52 that indirectly presses the upper surface of the stack PG by blowing air onto the upper surface of the stack PG. The presser unit 49 and the air blow 52 are disposed at the entrance portion of the insertion region β in the article transport path.

  As shown in FIGS. 7A and 8, the presser unit 49 is attached to three rotary arms 50 whose tip sides are supported so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and to the tip portions of the rotary arms 50. In addition, three presser bars 51a, 51b, and 51c extending in the transport direction of the stacked body PG are provided, and each presser bar 51a, 51b, and 51c is inclined toward the front end in the transport direction of the stacked body PG. Inclined upward.

  The three presser bars 51a, 51b, 51c constituting the presser unit 49 are disposed on the pusher 44 side in the width direction of the article transport path, and as shown in FIG. Since the pushing operation is performed while the bucket 24 on which the pusher 44 is placed is conveyed downstream, when the pusher body 46 starts to push out the stack PG, the pusher body 46 and the three presser bars 51a, The presser bar 51a on the side of the main unit 41 to which the pusher main body 46 first approaches is the shortest, and gradually increases toward the introduction guide unit 53 side so that 51b and 51c do not buffer.

  The air blow 52 is disposed on the tip end side of the shortest presser bar 51a, and cannot be pressed by the presser unit 49 when the pusher body 46 pushes the stack PG as shown in FIG. Air is intensively blown to the edge on the pusher 44 side in the integrated body PG.

  Therefore, even when the edge on the pusher 44 side of the uppermost article in the stack PG is lifted, the pusher 44 mainly presses the pusher 44 side on the upper surface of the stack PG placed in the bucket 24. Thus, the edge of the upper article in the assembly PG is positioned within the pushable height by the pusher body 46, and the pusher body 46 reliably secures the entire assembly PG as shown in FIG. 7B. Can be extruded.

  The introduction guide unit 53 includes a pair of sprockets 54 disposed at both ends of the insertion region β between the article conveyance path and the carton C conveyance path, and an endless chain spanned between the pair of sprockets 54. 55 and a plurality of guide main bodies 56 attached to the endless chain 55 at the same pitch as the arrangement pitch of the bucket 24, and by rotating one sprocket 54 by a drive source (not shown), the guide The main body 56 circulates alongside the bucket 24 and the carton C that are transported to the insertion region β.

  The guide body 56 includes a base plate 57 attached to the endless chain 55, and guide plates 58 rising from the front end and the rear end of the base plate 57. The guide plate 58 has respective inner surfaces serving as guide surfaces. Inclined to gradually approach toward the carton C side.

  As described above, in this cartoner 1, the article insertion means 40 has the main unit 41 having the pusher 44 that pushes the stacked body PG to the side of the transport path, and the press unit that presses the stacked body PG from above in the insertion region β. 49 and an air blow 52, and an introduction guide unit 53 having a guide body 56 for guiding the accumulated body PG pushed out by the pusher 44 into the carton C. Since the integrated body PG is pushed out to the side by the pusher 44 while pressing the body PG from above, the uppermost article in the integrated body PG can be prevented from being lifted or displaced. It can be reliably inserted into the carton C in a stable state.

  In addition, the car toner 1 includes, as the article supply means 10, eight sets of conveyor units 11 to 18 including upper belt conveyors 11a to 18a and lower belt conveyors 11b to 18b that sandwich the stacked body PG up and down. Since the stacked body PG is conveyed in a state of being sandwiched up and down by the conveyors 11a to 18a and the lower belt conveyors 11b to 18b, the stacked body PG is not easily collapsed, and even if the article itself is lightweight, in a stable state The accumulation body PG can be supplied to the supply position α.

  Further, in the cartoner 1, as the article conveying means 20, a bucket 24 on which the accumulation body PG is placed, a first positioning guide 25 that positions the accumulation body PG placed on the bucket 24 in the conveyance direction with respect to the bucket 24, Since the second positioning guide 28 for positioning the stack PG placed on the bucket 24 in the width direction of the article transport path is provided before the insertion region β, the stack PG supplied by the article supply means 20 is provided. It can be conveyed to the insertion region β in an appropriate accumulation state.

  In the above-described embodiment, the pressing means 48 for pressing the stacked body PG from above, the pressing unit 49 for directly pressing the upper surface of the stacked body PG by the pressing bars 51a, 51b, 51c, and air on the upper surface of the stacked body PG. Although it is configured by the air blow 52 that indirectly presses the upper surface of the stacked body PG by spraying, it is not limited to this, and the upper surface of the stacked body PG can be pressed sufficiently and reliably. For example, it is possible to provide only one of them.

  The cartoner according to the present invention can be used for packing an accumulation body in which flat articles such as masks or the like stacked in multiple stages, such as a pillow package formed by pillow-wrapping flat products one by one. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cartner 10 Article supply means 11-18 Conveyor unit 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a, 15a, 16a, 17a, 18a Upper belt conveyor 11b, 12b, 13b, 14b, 15b, 16b, 17b, 18b Lower belt conveyor 19 Belt conveyor DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Article conveyance means 21 Bucket conveyor 22 Sprocket 23 Endless chain 24 Bucket 24a Base plate 24b Front plate 24c Rear plate 25 First positioning guide 26 Rotating arm 27 Guide bar 28 Second positioning guide 28a, 28b Guide plate 30 Carton conveyance means 40 Article Insertion means 41 Body unit 42 Sprocket 43 Endless chain 44 Pusher 45 Base member 46 Pusher body 47 Cam mechanism 47a Cam follower 48 Pressing means 49 Presser Unit 50 Rotating arm 51a, 51b, 51c Presser bar 52 Air blow 53 Introduction guide unit 54 Sprocket 55 Endless chain 56 Guide body 57 Base plate 58 Guide plate C Carton PG Integrated body M Servo motor S Sensor α Supply position β Insertion area (insertion position) )

Claims (1)

Article supply means for supplying a stack of irregularly shaped flat articles to a supply position on the transport path;
Article transport means for transporting the aggregate supplied by the article supply means along a transport path;
In a car toner comprising article insertion means for inserting the accumulation body into the carton at an insertion position on a conveyance path while being conveyed by the article conveyance means,
The article insertion means includes a pusher that pushes the accumulation body to the side of a conveyance path;
Holding means for pressing the stack from above at the insertion position;
The pressing means is constituted by a pressing unit that directly presses the upper surface of the stack with a press bar, and an air blow that indirectly presses the upper surface of the stack by blowing air onto the upper surface of the stack,
The cartoner , wherein the accumulated body is pushed sideways by the pusher while being pressed from above by the pressing unit and air blow .

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