JP2000109226A - Device and method for feeding sheet-shaped member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the fear that sheet-shaped members are damaged by the process of feeding the sheet-shaped members. SOLUTION: A suction pad part 70a is put into first swing motion by a first angle ω1 in almost the direction of one end of the leading sheet-shaped member 1a, from the time when the suction pad part 70a sucks the leading sheet-shaped member 1a facing the outlet opening 45 of a stocker 38 to the time when this suction is canceled, and then the suction pad part 70a is put into second swing motion in the opposite direction by a second angle that is greater than the first angle ω1. Thereby the process of sucking and taking the sheet-shaped members 1 out of the stocker 38 in sequence by use of the suction pad part 70a and feeding the sheet-shaped members 1 taken out to a predetermined position 92 by means of the suction pad part 70a can be always smoothly and surely performed, eliminating the fear that the sheet-shaped members 1 are damaged. Also, the number of sheet-shaped members 1 that can be taken out of the stocker 38 and fed to the predetermined position per unit time can be increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a suction pad portion which faces an outlet opening of a stocker in which a large number of sheet members are accommodated in a block shape as a whole. The present invention relates to a sheet member supplying apparatus and a sheet supplying method in which the sheet members are sequentially taken out from the stocker and the taken out sheet members are supplied to a predetermined position by the suction pad section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a multi-packing machine in which, for example, six (two vertical and three horizontal) canned beers or the like are packed in one pack using paperboard as a sheet-like packaging material. ing. Such a multi-packing machine has an article grouping mechanism for grouping a large number of canned beer and other articles into groups of six in two rows and three rows and then sending the group to a paperboard merging position. A paper feeder is provided for supplying paperboards one by one to a predetermined position from a stocker which is stacked and accommodated in a block shape as a whole. Then, the paperboard supplied to a predetermined position by the paper feeding device is sent to a paperboard merging position by a conveyor device or the like, and the intermediate portion thereof is superimposed on the upper surface of the grouped products such as canned beer. Immediately before arriving at the paperboard merging position, the paperboard begins to be pressed downward by the paperboard holding mechanism toward the middle portion thereof. And, while this paperboard is pressed down the middle part by the paperboard holding mechanism,
Since the middle part can be overlaid on the upper surface of the article,
The middle part is pressed against the upper surface of the article by a paperboard holding mechanism. Then, the paperboard whose intermediate portion is pressed against the upper surface of the article by the paperboard pressing mechanism has a cross section substantially inverted U by the paperboard forming function of the paperboard forming mechanism.
The left and right sides are bent and formed so as to form a letter shape, and the front and rear ends of the base end of the left and right sides are partially bent inward. Then, the paperboard having a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section is bent at the left and right ends by the paperboard double-end connecting mechanism, and the left and right front ends are engaged with each other.

The paper feeder in this conventional multi-pack machine has a substantially drum-shaped rotor mounted on a drive shaft extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and four paper feeders mounted near the outer periphery of the rotor at substantially 90 ° intervals. And a suction pad portion. Since the rotor is constantly rotating in one direction at a low speed during the paper feeding process, the four suction pad portions are sequentially fed to positions facing the outlet opening of the stocker. Then, when each suction pad portion faces the outlet opening of the stocker, it advances toward the outlet opening from the initial position to the advanced position and sucks the earliest paperboard facing the outlet opening. , Reverse to the above initial position.
When the suction pad portion moves back and forth between the initial position and the forward position, the suction pad portion rotates together with the rotor in the one direction by a pad operation mechanism configured by combining a crank mechanism and a cam mechanism. The rotation is stopped so as not to be performed. Then, when the suction pad portion that is sucking the paperboard is rotated by approximately 240 ° with the rotation of the rotor in the one direction, a predetermined pad provided on the endless chain of the chain conveyor device. The paperboard is released at this predetermined position, and the paperboard is supplied to the predetermined position. In addition, since the suction pad portion that is sucking the paperboard moves backward and rotates in the one direction as described above, the earliest paperboard facing the outlet opening of the stocker is pulled out from the stocker. Then, while each suction pad portion is rotated by approximately 360 ° again to a position facing the outlet opening of the stocker after sucking the paperboard, the rotation speed is higher than the rotation speed of the rotor in the rotation direction of the rotor. It turns at speed and returns to its initial turning position with respect to the rotor.

[0004]

However, in this conventional paper feeder of a multi-pack machine, the suction pad portion is
By sucking the foremost paperboard facing the outlet opening of the stocker, moving backward as described above and rotating in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotor, the foremost paperboard is taken out of the stocker. I have to. Therefore, the upper and lower locking pawls provided near the upper and lower ends of the outlet opening for holding the foremost paperboard at the outlet opening of the stocker (particularly at the rear in the rotation direction of the rotor. Since it is difficult to pull out the paperboard from the upper locking hook, it is not always possible to smoothly and reliably take out the paperboard from the stocker, which may damage the paperboard.

In addition, during one rotation of the rotor, only four paperboards can be taken out of the stocker by the four suction pad portions and supplied to a predetermined position on the endless chain of the chain conveyor device. However, the number of paperboard per unit time which can be supplied to the predetermined position cannot be so increased.

[0006]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stocker for accommodating a large number of sheet-like members so as to form a block as a whole, and faces an outlet opening of the stocker. In the sheet-like member supply apparatus, the first sheet-like member is sucked and sequentially taken out from the stocker, and a suction pad portion for supplying the taken-out sheet-like member to a predetermined position. A pad back-and-forth moving mechanism for moving the suction pad portion from the initial position to the forward position to suck the frontmost sheet-shaped member facing the front and moving the suction pad portion backward from the forward position to the initial position; And causing the suction pad portion to perform a first swing operation by a first angle in a direction substantially toward one end of the outlet opening of the stocker. After the operation, the suction pad portion has a second neck larger than the first angle by a second angle larger than the first angle in a direction substantially toward the other end of the stocker opposite to the one end of the outlet opening. Swing motion, this 2nd
After the swinging operation of (1), a pad neck for causing the suction pad portion to perform a third swinging operation in a direction substantially toward the one end again in order to return to the intermediate position before the first swinging operation. A swing mechanism, wherein the pad swing mechanism moves the first and second pads to the suction pad during a period from the time when the suction pad has advanced to the forward position to the time when the suction pad has moved backward to the initial position. 2 is configured to perform the swing motion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an earliest opening face of a stocker in which a large number of sheet-like members are accommodated in a block shape as a whole. In the method of supplying a sheet-like member, the sheet-like member is sucked by the suction pad portion and sequentially taken out from the stocker, and the taken-out sheet-like member is supplied to a predetermined position by the suction pad portion. The suction pad portion is advanced from the initial position to the forward position, and the first sheet-shaped member facing the outlet opening is sucked to the suction pad portion,
(B) Next, the suction pad portion is moved backward from the advance position to the initial position, and the suction by the suction pad portion on the foremost sheet-like member is released. (C) from the point in time when the suction pad section is adsorbed to the earliest sheet-like member as described in (a), as described in (b). By the time the suction pad portion releases the suction on the earliest sheet-like member, (i) the suction pad portion is moved in the direction substantially toward one end of the earliest sheet-like member. Causing a first swing motion by one angle; (ii)
Then, the suction pad portion is swung by a second angle larger than the first angle in a direction substantially facing the other end portion of the foremost sheet material member opposite to the one end portion. (D) after the second swinging operation, the suction pad portion is almost again attached to the one end so as to return to the intermediate position before the first swinging operation. Performing a third swinging motion in the opposite direction.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a multi-pack machine will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
As shown in FIG. 11, the multi-pack machine cuts a normal cardboard into a predetermined shape, for example, a substantially rectangular shape, and forms a predetermined opening, a notch, and a folding auxiliary line, respectively. Is a sheet-like member for a sleeve (that is, a sheet-like packaging material). The multi-packing machine forms the paperboard 1 into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped tubular shape (that is, a substantially square tubular shape), and has a capacity of, for example, six (two rows vertically and three rows horizontally) of 350 ml, 500
It is configured to pack canned beer such as ml in one pack.

Description of the whole multi-pack machine As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a large number of canned beers to be packed are sequentially transferred to the base 2 of the multi-pack machine from the left end to the right end in FIG. Conveyor devices are provided. These many conveyor devices are a pair of left and right (ie, a pair of upper and lower sides in FIG. 2) first conveyor device 3, a pair of left and right second conveyor devices 4, and a pair of left and right third conveyor devices. 5, a pair of left and right fourth conveyor devices 6a, 6b, a fifth conveyor device 7, a pair of right and left sixth conveyor devices 8a, 8b, a seventh conveyor device 9, and a pair of right and left eighth conveyor devices 10a, 10b. In addition, the base 2
Above the first conveyor device 3, a ninth conveyor device 11 for transporting a large number of paperboards 1 stacked on each other into a block as a whole from the left end in FIG. 1 to the right paperboard stocker 38. Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the base 2 is also provided with a substantially right-angled triangular support frame 12 for supporting a ninth conveyor device 11. Further, the base 2 has a ninth
A control box 14 is supported via a support arm 13 above the conveyor device 11. The control box 14 is provided with operation switches and the like.

The base 2 is provided with a paper feeder 21 near the front end (that is, the front end in the traveling direction) of the ninth conveyor device 11. In addition, the base 2 is provided with a first paperboard 1 for feeding the paperboard 1 supplied to a predetermined position by the paper feeding device 21 to the fifth conveyor device 7.
0 conveyor device 22, an eleventh conveyor device 23, and a twelfth conveyor device 27, respectively.

The base 2 has a pair of left and right feed screws 24a, 24a above the pair of left and right third conveyor devices 5.
b are provided respectively. The base 2 has a pair of left and right receiving star gears 25a, 25b near the rear end and the front end of the feed screws 24a, 24b.
A pair of right and left delivery star gears 26a and 26b are provided. Then, a large number of canned beers, each of which is conveyed at substantially equal intervals in the traveling direction by the pair of left and right second conveyor devices 4, are moved in the traveling direction by a pair of left and right receiving star gears 25 a and 25 b. Are adjusted exactly at equal intervals. In addition, the left and right canned beer can be arranged in a pair of left and right feed screws 24.
a, 24b and a pair of right and left delivery star gears 26a, 26
b, the columns are sequentially separated into groups such that each column is a group of three.

The base 2 is provided with a paperboard holding mechanism 31 above the fifth conveyor device 7 and the sixth conveyor devices 8a and 8b. The paperboard holding mechanism 31 includes a pair of left and right endless chains 33 wound endlessly around a large number of left and right drive or guide sprockets 32, and straddles the pair of left and right endless chains 33. A large number of sheet board holding means (not shown) intermittently attached at substantially equal intervals, and pin-shaped board holding means (not shown) attached to these sheet board holding means. . Each of the sheet-like paperboard pressing means is attached to the pair of right and left endless chains 33 so as to be substantially adjacent to each other, and has a plurality of (for example, six) longitudinally formed substantially rectangular shapes as a whole. A paperboard holding plate, and a paperboard front end position regulating piece and a paperboard rear end position regulating piece respectively provided on a front paperboard holding plate and a rear paperboard holding plate located at both front and rear ends of these paperboard holding plates. . The pin-shaped paperboard holding means includes two pairs (that is, four pairs) of paperboard holding pins attached to the four corners of the substantially rectangular sheet-shaped paperboard holding means.

The base 2 is provided with first paperboard forming means 34 on both the left and right sides of the paperboard holding mechanism 31.
Further, the base 2 is provided with a pair of left and right paddle wheels 35 below the first paperboard forming means 34, respectively. The base 2 is provided with second paperboard forming means 39 from slightly behind the pair of left and right paddle wheels 35 to near the rear end of the endless chain 33. The first paperboard forming means 34 includes a pair of left and right endless chains, and these endless chains.
It may consist of a number of operating arms, each mounted on the chain at approximately equal intervals. Further, the second paperboard forming means 39 may be composed of a pair of left and right guide plates that guide the left and right side portions 17a and 17b of the paperboard 1 so as to be gradually bent downward. The intermediate portion 19 is placed on the upper surface of the canned beer grouped by the paperboard holding mechanism 31.
Is pressed by the paperboard forming function of the paperboard forming mechanism from the first and second paperboard forming means 34 and 39 and the pair of left and right paddle wheels 35 to have a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section. And four front and rear ends 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d of the base ends 18a, 18b of the left and right sides 17a, 17b are bent inward.

The base 2 is provided with a relatively thin canned beer support plate 36 between the paddle wheel 35 and the seventh conveyor device 9. Further, on the base 2, on both left and right sides slightly below the canned beer support plate 36, a paperboard both ends connecting mechanism 40 is provided. In addition, the paperboard both-end connecting mechanism 40 includes a pair of left and right endless chains 3.
7a, 37b and these endless chains 37
a and 37b, each of which may comprise a number of operating arms (not shown) mounted at substantially equal intervals. The paperboard both-ends linking mechanism 40 is provided with the front end portions 15a, 17b of the left and right side portions 17a, 17b of the paperboard 1 having a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section.
5b is bent toward the lower surface of the canned beer support plate 36, and the left and right front end portions 15a and 15b are engaged with each other.

Next, a process of packing, for example, six cans of beer into one pack using the multi-packing machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 configured as described above will be described.

First, a large number of canned beers, one row each on the left and right sides, are sequentially fed into the first conveyor apparatus 3 and the second conveyor apparatus 4 at substantially equal intervals in the traveling direction. Each row of a large number of canned beers, one row each on the left and right sides, has a pair of left and right receiving star gears 25a, 2a.
5b, a pair of left and right feed screws 24a, 24b and a pair of left and right delivery star gears 26a, 26b are sequentially separated into groups of three. Then, the group of canned beer in each of the left and right rows separated into the groups of three bottles (that is, a total of 6 beers in two vertical rows and three horizontal rows).
The group of books) is transported forward by the fifth conveyor device 7 and passes through the paperboard merging position during this transport.

On the other hand, a large number of paperboards 1 stacked on each other to form a block as a whole are stacked by the eighth conveyor device 11 in a state where the respective paperboards 1 are substantially vertical. Has been transported in advance. Then, the paper feeding device 21 is connected to the paperboard stocker 38.
The paperboards 1 stored in the paperboard are taken out one by one from the paperboard stocker 38 and sequentially supplied to a predetermined position. The one paperboard 1 supplied to this predetermined position is supplied to the tenth conveyor device 22, the eleventh conveyor device 23, and the first
The fifth conveyor device 7 by the second conveyor device 27
The paperboard is fed to the upper paperboard merging position, and the intermediate portion 19 is superimposed on the upper surface of a group of six canned beers (hereinafter, referred to as “one pack canned beer group”). Note that the paperboard 1 arrives at the paperboard merging position immediately after being started to be pressed downward by the planar paperboard pressing means of the paperboard pressing mechanism 31.

Next, the paperboard 1 on the one-pack can beer group is located at a position substantially corresponding to slightly outside the one-pack can beer group by the pin-shaped paperboard holding means of the paperboard holding mechanism 31 (that is, the middle portion 19). The right triangle portions 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d) at the four corners are pressed from above. In the process of being transported further forward by the fifth conveyor device 7, the paperboard 1 is formed into a substantially inverted dish shape by the paperboard forming function of the first paperboard forming means 34 and the pair of left and right paddle wheels 35. The left and right side portions 17a and 17b are slightly bent and formed with respect to the intermediate portion 19 so that
Base ends 18a, 18b of the left and right side portions 17a, 17b
The front and rear end portions 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d are bent inward halfway. Next, the paperboard 2 is subjected to the paperboard forming function of the second paperboard forming means 39 so that the right and left sides 17a, 1a and 1b of the paperboard 2 become substantially U-shaped in cross section.
7b is further bent and formed with respect to the intermediate part 19, and the base ends 18 of the left and right side parts 17a and 17b are formed.
a, 18b, front and rear end portions 16a, 16b, 16c, 16
d is folded inward to the end.

Next, a paperboard 1 having a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section is shown.
The one-pack can beer group on which is stacked on the upper surface is transported forward while sliding on the can beer support plate 36 by the sixth conveyor devices 8a and 8b. During the transfer, the paperboard 1 is bent at its left and right end portions 15a and 15b by a paperboard both end connecting mechanism composed of a pair of left and right paperboard both end connecting members 37a and 37b.
These left and right ends 15a, 15b are engaged with each other.

According to the above-described process, six cans of beer are packed into one pack using the paperboard 1 as a sheet-like packaging material. Then, this can beer pack is transferred forward by the seventh conveyor device 9 and the eighth conveyor devices 11a and 11b. Then, by repeating the above steps, similar can beer packs are sequentially produced.

Each mechanism of the multi-pack machine described above may be a conventionally known one, except for the sheet feeding device 21, the tenth conveyor device 22, the eleventh conveyor device 23, and the paperboard holding mechanism 31. Therefore, detailed description of each mechanism other than these will be omitted. Further, since the gist of the present invention exists in the sheet feeding device 21, the tenth conveyor device 22, and the eleventh conveyor device 23, the detailed description of the paperboard holding mechanism 31 is also omitted. Therefore, hereinafter, the sheet feeding device 2
1 and the 10th conveyor device 22 and the 11th conveyor device 23, which are the conveyor devices immediately following them, will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

Description of Paper Feeding Device and Subsequent Conveyor Device As shown in FIGS . 3 and 8, the paperboard stocker 38 of the paper feeding device 21 has a pair of upper and lower support arms 4 attached to the base 2.
1a, 41b. The paperboard stocker 38 includes a pair of left and right side plate portions 42, a plurality of (for example, two) upper end position regulating plate portions 43, and a plurality of (for example, 2)
), A plurality of (for example, two) upper-end locking claws 46 and a plurality (for example, two) of lower-end locking claws 47. The pair of left and right side plate portions 4
2 is mounted and supported on a pair of upper and lower support arms 41a and 41b, respectively. The plurality of upper end position regulating plates 43 are mounted and supported on the upper support arms 41a, respectively. Further, the plurality of lower end regulating plate portions 44 are respectively attached to and supported by the lower support arms 41b. Also,
The plurality of upper end locking portions 46 project from the vicinity of the upper end of the outlet opening 45 of the paperboard stocker 38 toward the outlet opening 45, respectively. Further, the plurality of lower end locking portions 47 project from near the lower end of the outlet opening 45 toward the outlet opening 45, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the cross section of the paperboard storage space 49 of the paperboard stocker 38 along the paperboard 1 and the outlet opening 45 have a slightly longer horizontal size than the paperboard 1 shown in FIG. It is configured. Further, near the lower part of the paperboard stocker 38, a sprocket 48 of the ninth conveyor device 11 is arranged. The paperboard stocker 38 is also inclined downward along the inclination of the ninth conveyor device 11 near the sprocket 48 (this inclination is formed by using a not-shown letter-shaped guide plate).

As shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, the base 2 is provided with a drive shaft 51 which is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown). In addition, this drive shaft 51
, A pair of left and right sprocket mechanisms 52a, 52b, a forward and backward moving cam disc 53a, and a swinging cam disc 53b are mounted so as to rotate integrally.
Then, the pair of left and right sprocket mechanisms 52a, 52
b, each sprocket 54a, 54b has a first
A pair of left and right endless chains 55a, 55b of one of the conveyor devices 22a of the zero conveyor device are respectively wound therearound.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a support plate 61 is fixed to the base 2. A pair of left and right support shafts 62a and 62b are attached to the support plate 61 so as to advance forward and backward slidably with respect to the support plate 61. The pair of left and right support shafts 62a and 62b are attached and fixed to both left and right ends of the connecting plate 63, respectively. Further, the connecting plate 63 includes:
An L-shaped member 65 to which a roller-shaped cam follower 64 is attached is fixed. The cam follower 64 is engaged with the cam groove 66 of the cam disk 53 for forward and backward movement.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a bearing member 67 whose both ends are bent substantially at right angles is fixedly mounted on the pair of left and right support shafts 62a and 62b.
The bearing member 67 has a pair of left and right shaft members 68a, 6 extending in a substantially horizontal direction.
8b rotatably supports. A plurality of (for example, two) suction pad portions 70a and 70b are mounted on the pad mounting member 69, respectively. In addition, each suction pad part 70a, 70b is
As is well known in the art, a hard pipe 81 and an elastic suction port 82 attached to the distal end of the pipe 81 are provided.
It may consist of The pipe section 81 is connected to a suction pump (not shown) via a pad mounting member 69 and a suction pipe (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, an L-shaped lever 71 is rotatably supported by a pivot 80 on the base 2. A roller-shaped cam follower 72 provided at one end of the L-shaped lever 71 is engaged with the cam groove 73 of the swinging cam disk 53b. At the other end of the L-shaped lever 71, one end of a connecting plate 74 is rotatably supported. At the other end of the connecting plate 74, a reciprocating block 75 is attached to the base 2 so as to be able to linearly reciprocate only in the direction of arrow a in FIG. Further, a slit 76 is formed in the reciprocating block 75. An engagement pin 78 attached to and fixed to one end of an operation lever 77 is slidably fitted in the slit 76 in the longitudinal direction of the slit 76. Further, the other end of the operating lever 77 is attached and fixed to the rotating shaft 79 of the shaft member 68b.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the initial stage of the sheet feeding process of the sheet feeding device, the suction pad portions 70a and 70
b of the suction opening 82 is connected to the outlet opening 45 of the paperboard stocker 38.
Of the paperboard 1a facing the front end (in other words, the exit opening 4
It is configured to be arranged substantially in parallel with 5). The outlet opening 45 of the paperboard stocker 38 is slightly inclined downward. In the illustrated embodiment, the outlet opening 45 in the horizontal direction (in other words, the suction opening portions 82 of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b in the initial stage or immediately after the suction opening portion 82 is sucked on the paperboard 1). The inclination angle θ is about 6
0 °. Generally, in order to smoothly and surely perform the paper feeding process, the inclination angle θ is 40 to 80 °.
Is more preferable, and it is more preferable that it is 50 to 70 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 8, a pair of left and right large sprockets 83 and the sprockets 54a,
A pair of left and right sprockets 84 and 85, each of which may be substantially the same size as 4b, are provided. The endless chains 55a and 55b are also wound around the pair of left and right large sprockets 83 and the pair of right and left sprockets 84 and 85, respectively. And the sprockets 54a, 54b, 83 to 85
The tenth conveyor device 22 is constituted by the endless chains 55a and 55b. Further, the base 2 has a pair of left and right belt pulleys 86, 87, 8
8, 89 are provided respectively. A pair of left and right endless belts 90 are wound around the pair of left and right belt pulleys 86 to 89, respectively. A large belt pulley (not shown) having substantially the same diameter as the pair of left and right large sprockets 83 is coaxially mounted between the pair of left and right large sprockets 83. The pair of left and right endless belts 90 are also wound around the large belt pulley. The large belt pulley, the belt pulleys 86 to 89, and the endless belt 90 constitute an eleventh conveyor device 23.

As shown in FIG. 3, the left and right endless chains 55a and 55b are provided with a plurality of substantially L-shaped paperboard holding claws 91 at substantially equal intervals (the width of the paperboard 1 shown in FIG. 11). (Slightly larger intervals). In addition, these many paperboard holding claws 91
The pair of left and right endless chains 55a and 55b are provided at positions corresponding to each other in the length direction. The pair of left and right endless chains 55a, 55b is disposed between a pair of front and rear paperboard holding claws 91 attached to the pair of left and right endless chains 55a, 55b so as to be adjacent to each other in the length direction. The paperboard receiving location (that is, the predetermined position) 92 is sequentially provided along the length direction.

Next, the paperboard 1 is transferred from the paperboard stocker 38 to the paperboard using the paper feeder 21, the tenth conveyor 22 and the eleventh conveyor 23 shown in FIGS. The step of sending the sheet to the merging position will be described.

In the paper feeding process of the paper feeding device 21, FIG.
10 is rotating at a constant speed. Each time the drive shaft 51 rotates, the paperboard stocker 38
One of the paperboards 1 is taken out of the paperboard stocker 38 and supplied to a predetermined position (ie, on a pair of left and right endless chains 55a and 55b).

That is, in FIG.
For each rotation, a cam disk 53a for forward and backward movement, a cam disk 53b for swinging, and a pair of left and right sprocket mechanisms 52a,
2b makes one rotation at a constant speed. One rotation of the pair of left and right sprocket mechanisms 52a, 52b causes a pair of left and right endless chains 55a,
55b advances by an interval Lo (see FIG. 3) between a pair of paperboard holding claws 91 adjacent to each other in the advancing direction.

On the other hand, in FIG.
The rotation of the cam follower 64 (therefore, the L-shaped member 65, the connecting plate 63,
The pair of left and right support shafts 62a and 62b, the bearing member 67, the pair of left and right shaft members 68a and 68b, the pad mounting member 69, and the operating lever 77) linearly reciprocate in the direction of the arrow b in FIGS. Therefore, the pair of left and right suction pad portions 70a and 70b are moved by the pad mounting member 6 for each rotation of the forward and backward cam disc 53a (and, consequently, the drive shaft 51).
9 and move forward and backward, respectively, upward and downward in FIG. The engagement pin 78 also linearly reciprocates in the slit 76 as the operating lever 77 linearly reciprocates in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 10 as described above. Accordingly, the motor, the drive shaft 51, the cam disk 53a for forward and backward movement, the cam follower 64, the L-shaped member 65, the connecting plate 63, the pair of left and right support shafts 62a, 62b, and the support plate 6
1. The suction pad portion 70 is formed by a bearing member 67, a pair of left and right shaft members 68a, 68b, and a pad mounting member 69.
A pad back-and-forth moving mechanism for moving a and b forward and backward with respect to the outlet opening 45 of the paperboard stocker 38 (in other words, the first paperboard 1a) is configured. The original vehicle composed of the cam disk 53a for forward and backward movement and the follower composed of the cam follower 64 constitute a cam mechanism for forward and backward movement.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the swinging cam disk 53b makes one rotation as described above, and
The cam follower 72 in the intermediate position of the initial stage shown in FIG.
The drive shaft 5 with the pivot 80 of the L-shaped lever 71 as a fulcrum.
1 in a direction (ie, clockwise) to reach the lower swing position, and then approach the drive shaft 51 (ie, in a counterclockwise direction and opposite to the forward rotation). In (2), the robot rotates more than the forward rotation amount to reach the upper swing position that has passed through the intermediate position in the initial stage, and further rotates in the forward rotation direction to return to the intermediate position in the initial stage. Then, the L-shaped lever 71 moves forward and counterclockwise in FIG. 10 in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 10 with the pivot 80 as a fulcrum by the forward rotation of the cam floor 73 and the rotation in the opposite direction. 10, the connecting plate 74 (therefore, the reciprocating block 75 and the engaging pin 78) moves almost linearly obliquely upward and downward in FIG. 10 and moves in the opposite direction. I do. Further, as described above, the engaging pin 78 moves obliquely upward and obliquely downward, and moves in the opposite direction, so that the operating lever 77 (therefore, the pair of left and right shaft members 68a, 68b and the The member 69) rotates forward and backward in the counterclockwise and clockwise directions in FIG. 10 around the rotation shaft 79 of the shaft members 68a and 68b as a fulcrum. Therefore, the pair of left and right suction pad portions 70a and 70b are integrated with the pad mounting member 69 with the rotation shaft 79 as a fulcrum every one rotation of the swinging cam disk 53b (and, consequently, the drive shaft 51). Swings counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively. Accordingly, the motor, the drive shaft 51, the cam disk 53b for swinging, the cam follower 72, the L-shaped lever 71, the connecting plate 74, the reciprocating block 75, the engaging pin 7
8, an operating lever 77, a bearing member 67, a pair of left and right shaft members 68a, 68b, and a pad mounting member 69,
The suction pad portions 70a, 70b are firstly moved with respect to the outlet opening 45 of the paperboard stocker 38 (in other words, the first paperboard 1a).
And a pad swinging mechanism for swinging in a second direction opposite to the above. The original vehicle consisting of the swinging cam disk 53b and the cam floor 72
And the follower constitute a swinging cam mechanism.

The cam groove 66 of the forward / reverse cam disc 53a shown in FIG. 8 and the cam groove 73 of the swing cam disc 53b shown in FIG. 10 are formed by the pair of left and right suction pad portions 70a, 70b as described above. FIGS. 3 to 7 show forward and backward movements and swinging movements.
In the order shown in FIG. Then, assuming that the time during which the drive shaft 51 makes one rotation (in other words, the time of one paper feeding step) is T, the initial stage shown in FIG. 3 passes through each stage shown in FIGS. The time required to return to the initial stage shown in FIG. 3 again is T.

The first intermediate stage shown in FIG. 4 is a state where about 1 / 5T has elapsed from the initial stage shown in FIG.
The first intermediate stage shown in FIG. 4 is a state immediately after the suction pad portions 70a and 70b have advanced a predetermined distance from the initial stage shown in FIG. 3 in the direction of arrow b. The suction port portions 82 of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b suction the first paperboard 1a facing the outlet opening 45 of the paperboard stocker 38. The predetermined distance (ie, the forward distance of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b)
Is about 33 mm in the embodiment shown. And
Generally, the predetermined distance is 15 to 50 mm so that the paper feeding process can be performed smoothly and reliably and the paper feeding device 21 is configured to be small in size with a relatively simple structure. It is more preferably 25 to 40 mm.
Further, still carried out in a first intermediate stage shown in Figure 4 immediately after the suction pad portion 70a, 70b is adsorbed paperboard 1 earliest, in the height direction of the outlet opening 45 to the length L _1, the swing operation not suction pad portion 70a, 70b relative the center line C to the upper end of the outlet opening 45 of a length L ₂ (i.e., L ₂ / L ₁₎ is about the case of the illustrated embodiment 1
/ 4. Then, the ratio L ₂ / L ₁ is, say generally in order to be by performing the paper feed process smoothly and reliably is preferably from 1 / 6-2 / 5, 1 / 5-1 /
More preferably, it is 3. The paperboard stocker 38
From the center line C of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b to the upper end of the earliest paperboard 1a with respect to the length in the height direction of the earliest paperboard 1a (that is, the length of the paperboard 1 in the horizontal direction in FIG. 11). the ratio of the length of the well may be the L ₂ / L ₁ and substantially the same value.

The second intermediate stage shown in FIG. 5 is a state in which approximately 3/10 T has elapsed from the initial stage shown in FIG. 3, and is a stage following the first intermediate stage shown in FIG. The second intermediate stage shown in FIG.
0a, the first direction from the center line C by the predetermined angle omega ₁ (i.e., lower) shows a state immediately after finished swing in the 70b is advanced state. In addition, the first swinging operation is started at a time earlier by about 1 / 50T than when about 3 / 10T elapses from the initial stage shown in FIG. Then, by the downward swing operation of the predetermined angle ω ₁ (hereinafter, referred to as “first swing operation”), the earliest paperboard 1 a is attached to the suction pad portion 70.
Since it is pulled substantially downward while being sucked by the suction port portions 82a and 70b, it is pulled substantially downward from the upper end locking portion 46 of the paperboard stocker 38.

The third intermediate stage shown in FIG. 6 is a state in which approximately 1 / 2T has elapsed from the initial stage shown in FIG. 3, and is a stage following the second intermediate stage shown in FIG. Then, in the third intermediate stage shown in FIG. 6, the suction pad portions 70a and 70b move backward in the second direction (that is, upward) opposite to the first direction while moving backward halfway. angle omega ₁ only swung, further subsequently shows a state immediately after finished swing upward by a predetermined angle omega _2. Therefore, below the suction pad portions 70a, 70b in the second intermediate stage shown in FIG. 5, from the upward swing angle (ω ₁ + ω ₂ ) of the suction pad portions 70a, 70b in the third intermediate stage shown in FIG. The remaining angle obtained by subtracting the swing angle (ω ₁ ) from the angle
₂ Note that the predetermined upward angles ω ₁ and ω
Swing motion ₂ (hereinafter referred to as "second swing motion")
Starts at a time earlier by about 1 / 25T than when about 1 / 2T elapses from the initial stage shown in FIG. Then, by the second swinging operation, the earliest paperboard 1a is moved to the suction opening portions 82 of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b.
Therefore, the paperboard stocker 38 is pulled substantially obliquely upward from the lower end locking portion 47 of the paperboard stocker 38 because the paperboard stocker 38 is pulled obliquely upward.

The downward swing angle ω ₁ and the upward swing angle ω ₂ are each approximately 8.5 ° in the illustrated embodiment. In general, these swing angles ω ₁ and ω ₂ are preferably 4 to 22 °, and more preferably 6 to 15 °, in order to smoothly and surely perform the paper feeding process. Is more preferred. The length L ₃ (see FIG. 5) along the center line C from the rotation fulcrum of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b (a straight line passing through the axis of the rotary shaft 79) to the tip of the suction port portion 82 is In the illustrated embodiment, it is about 75 mm. In general, the length L ₃ is set so that the paper feeding process can be performed smoothly and reliably.
It is preferably from 40 to 140 mm, more preferably from 60 to 100 mm. Further, the suction pad portion 70a,
Central point Po of the tip of the suction port 82 of 70b is by a respective predetermined angle omega ₂ of the swing operation of the predetermined angle omega ₁ of the swing operation and the upper to the lower, the illustrated embodiment of In this case, it is displaced by about 11 mm in a linear distance. In general, the displacement of the center point Po at the above-mentioned linear distance is 6 to make the paper feeding process smooth and reliable.
It is preferably from 20 to 20 mm, and more preferably from 8 to 15 mm.

The final stage shown in FIG. 7 is a state where about 11 / 20T has elapsed from the initial stage shown in FIG.
This is a stage following the third intermediate stage shown in FIG. And
In the final stage shown in FIG.
a, 70b, the first position (i.e., position of the initial stage shown in FIG. 3) with backward to show a state immediately after finished swing downward by a predetermined angle omega _2. Therefore, in the final stage shown in FIG. 7, the positions of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b are substantially the same as those in the initial stage shown in FIG.
The paperboard 1 is still adsorbed to the suction port portions 82a and 70b. Then, in this state, the suction pad portion 7
By closing an on-off valve (not shown) in a passage connecting the suction pumps 0a and 70b to the suction pump, for example,
If the suction ability of the suction pad portions 70a, 70b to the first paperboard 1a is reduced or almost completely disabled, the earliest paperboard 1a that has been suctioned to the suction port portion 82 can be obtained.
The pair of left and right endless chains 55a, 55b is disposed between a pair of front and rear paperboard holding claws 91 attached to the pair of left and right endless chains 55a, 55b so as to be adjacent to each other in the length direction.
b is freely held at a paperboard receiving place (that is, the predetermined position) 92 provided on the paperboard. Therefore, the foremost paperboard 1a is obliquely lowered by the continuously moving endless chains 55a and 55b (and, if necessary, held by one or both of the pair of front and rear paperboard holding claws 91). Transferred to. Then, the suction pad portions 70a and 70b are about 9/2 from the final stage shown in FIG.
When the time of 0T elapses, the process returns to the initial stage shown in FIG. In addition, before returning to the initial stage, the suction ability of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b to the paperboard 1 returns to a normal state.

In the final stage shown in FIG. 7, the paperboard 1 transported obliquely downward by the endless chains 55a and 55b is a pair of left and right endless chains 55a and 55b of the tenth conveyor device 22 and an eleventh conveyor. By being sandwiched between a pair of left and right endless belts 90 of the device 23 and passing through a pair of left and right large sprockets 83 and a large belt pulley between these large sprockets 83, the direction is changed to a substantially horizontal state. From the first
It is transported to a second predetermined position on the second conveyor device 27. The twelfth conveyor device 27 further feeds the paper from the second predetermined position to the paperboard merging position on the fifth conveyor device 7 shown in FIG. On the other hand, a large number of canned beers 101 pass through the paperboard merging position while being transported by the fifth conveyor device 7 as shown in FIG. 8 in groups of two rows vertically and three rows horizontally. The middle part 19 of the paperboard 1 can be overlaid on the upper surface.

The angle φ (see FIG. 8) at which the paperboard 1 is turned by the tenth and eleventh conveyor units 22 and 23 as described above is about 80 ° in the case of the embodiment shown. is there. In general, from the viewpoint of practicality, the angle φ of the direction change of the paperboard 1 is 50 to 1
It is preferably 10 °, more preferably 65-95 °.

Since the above-described paper feeding process is performed once for each rotation of the drive shaft 51, it is continuously and repeatedly performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the first swing operation of the suction pad portions 70a and 70b is performed when the suction pad portions 70a and 70b are at the forward position. It may be changed so that it is performed when 70a and 70b are retreating from the forward position.
Further, the second swing operation is performed by the suction pad portions 70a, 70a.
Although the operation is performed when b is retreating from the forward position, the operation may be changed to be performed when the device is in the advanced position as in the case of the first swing operation. Such a change is made by changing the shape of the cam groove 66 formed in the forward and backward moving cam disk 53a and, if necessary, the swinging cam disk 53b.
By changing the shape of the cam groove 73 formed in
It can be achieved very easily.

In the above-described embodiment, the tenth conveyor device 22 is constituted by using a pair of left and right endless chains 55a, 55b.
Conveyor device 22 uses these endless chains 5
Instead of 5a and 55b, an endless belt or another endless moving strip for conveyance may be used.
Further, the endless moving strip may be singular or plural. Further, the eleventh conveyor device 23 is constituted by using a pair of left and right endless belts 90, but this eleventh conveyor device 23 replaces these endless belts 90 with an endless chain, and other conveying devices. An endless moving strip may be used, and the endless moving strip may be singular or plural.

In the above-described embodiment, the cam grooves 66 and 73 are provided on the forward and backward moving cam discs 53a and 53b as the original vehicles of the forward and backward moving and swinging cam mechanisms. However, one or both of the cam grooves 66 and 73 may be replaced with a winding edge (ie, a cam edge).

Further, in the above-described embodiment, canned beer 10 is prepared by using a sheet-like packaging material made of paperboard 1 formed by cutting ordinary cardboard into a predetermined shape and the like as a sheet-like member.
The present invention was applied to a multi-pack machine that packs 1 into one pack. However, the present invention can also be applied to a multi-packing machine that packs a plurality of articles other than canned beer, such as canned juice, canned, bottled beer, bottled juice, and bottled. Further, in the present invention, it is necessary to sequentially supply sheet-like members to predetermined positions, such as an article packing machine other than a multi-pack machine, a box making machine, a paper cup forming machine, a printing machine, a copying machine, a printer, and the like. It can also be applied to various devices. Further, as the sheet-like member, various kinds of flexible or flexible materials such as cardboard and plastic sheets can be used instead of the paperboard 1 made of normal cardboard.

[0050]

According to the present invention constructed as described above, the earliest sheet-like member facing the outlet opening of the stocker is sucked by the suction pad portion and sequentially taken out from the stocker, and the taken-out sheet is taken out. The step of supplying the sheet-like member to a predetermined position by the suction pad portion can always be performed smoothly and reliably, and therefore, there is no risk of damaging the sheet-like member by the sheet-like member supply step.

Further, the number of sheets per unit time which can be taken out of the stocker and supplied to a predetermined position can be increased. For example, a sheet feeding device of a multi-pack machine shown in FIGS. According to the above, it is very easy to increase the number of sheet-like members that can be supplied per unit time by about 20% as compared with the case of the above-mentioned conventional multi-pack feeding device. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an entire multi-pack machine in one embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a multi-pack machine.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an initial stage in a paper feeding process of the paper feeding device of the multi-pack machine of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a stage following the step in FIG. 3 in the sheet feeding process of the sheet feeding device in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a stage following FIG. 4 in a paper feeding process of the paper feeding device of FIG. 3;

6 is a schematic side view showing a stage following the stage in FIG. 5 in the sheet feeding process of the sheet feeding device in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a final stage in a paper feeding process of the paper feeding device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing the sheet feeding device of FIG. 3 and a conveyor device disposed around the sheet feeding device.

9 is a view of the drive system of the sheet feeding device of FIG. 3 as viewed from line BB of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing a swing mechanism of a suction pad portion of the sheet feeding device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a paperboard used as a sheet-like packaging material in the multi-pack machine of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paperboard (sheet-shaped member) 1a First paperboard (earliest sheet-shaped member) 21 Paper feeder 22 Tenth conveyor device 23 Eleventh conveyor device 38 Paperboard stocker 45 Exit opening 53a Cam disk 53b for forward and backward movement Swing cam disk 64 Cam follower 67 Bearing member 68a Shaft member 68b Shaft member 69 Pad mounting member 70a Suction pad part 70b Suction pad part 72 Cam follower 75 Reciprocating block 92 Paperboard receiving place (predetermined position)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A stocker for accommodating a large number of sheet-like members so as to form a block as a whole, and the first sheet-like member facing the outlet opening of the stocker is sucked and sequentially taken out from the stocker. A suction device for supplying the taken-out sheet material to a predetermined position, wherein the suction device is configured to suction the foremost sheet material facing the outlet opening. A pad forward / backward mechanism for moving the suction pad portion from the forward position to the initial position while moving the pad portion from the initial position to the forward position; and one of the outlet openings of the stocker to the suction pad portion. A first swing operation is performed by a first angle in a direction substantially toward the end, and after the first swing operation, the stocker is attached to the suction pad section. A second swing operation is performed in a direction substantially toward the other end of the outlet opening opposite to the one end by a second angle larger than the first angle, and the second swing operation is performed. And a pad swing mechanism for causing the suction pad portion to perform a third swing operation again in a direction substantially toward the one end in order to return to the intermediate position before the first swing operation. The pad swing mechanism further includes the first and second swinging mechanisms on the suction pad portion during a period from when the suction pad portion advances to the advance position to when the suction pad portion moves backward to the initial position. A sheet-like member supply device configured to operate. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pad swinging mechanism causes said suction pad to perform said first swinging movement while said suction pad is advanced to said forward position and in said advanced position. In addition, during a period from the time when the suction pad portion starts reverse movement from the advance position to the time when the suction pad portion returns to the initial position, the pad swing mechanism causes the suction pad portion to perform the second and third swinging operations. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the apparatus is configured to perform an operation. 3. The first angle and the remaining angle obtained by subtracting the first angle from the second angle, respectively,
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to be in the range of 4 to 22 degrees. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one conveyor device for transferring the sheet-like member supplied to the predetermined position to a second predetermined position, wherein the conveyor device performs the transfer during the transfer. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet-like member is turned by an angle in the range of 50 to 110 degrees. 5. The stocker in which a plurality of sheet-like members are accommodated in a block shape as a whole and are accommodated in the stocker, and the earliest sheet-like member facing the outlet opening of the stocker is sucked by the suction pad portion. And a method of supplying the sheet-like member to the predetermined position by the suction pad portion. (A) The suction pad portion is advanced from an initial position to an advance position. (B) adsorbing the foremost sheet-like member facing the outlet opening to the adsorbing pad; (b) moving the adsorbing pad backward from the forward position to the initial position; Supplying the foremost sheet-shaped member to the predetermined position by releasing the suction of the foremost sheet-shaped member by the unit. (C) from the point in time when the suction pad portion is adsorbed to the earliest sheet-like member as described in (a), the suction pad portion is moved to the most prominent position as described in (b). Until the point at which the suction on the previous sheet-like member is released, (i) the first neck is attached to the suction pad portion by a first angle in a direction substantially toward one end of the foremost sheet-like member. (Ii) Then, the suction pad portion is larger than the first angle in a direction substantially toward the other end portion of the foremost sheet material member opposite to the one end portion of the first sheet material member. (D) returning the suction pad to the intermediate position before the first swing operation after the second swing operation. Then, the third swing operation is performed again in a direction substantially toward the one end. Rukoto method of supplying the sheet-like member having a. 6. The first swing operation is performed at a forward position of the suction pad portion after the forward movement described in (a) above, and the second and third swing operations are performed. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the method is performed during a period from a time point when the reverse movement described in the item (b) is started from the forward position to a time point when the reverse position returns to the initial position. 7. The first angle and the remaining angle obtained by subtracting the first angle from the second angle, respectively,
The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the angle is in the range of 4 to 22 °. 8. The sheet-like member supplied to the above-mentioned predetermined position is transferred to a second predetermined position by at least one conveyor device, and during this transfer, the sheet-like member is in a range of 50 to 110 °. 7. The device according to claim 5, wherein the direction is changed by an angle within the range.
Or the method of 7.