JP2001294318A - Sorting device for objects transported by conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sorting device not damaging box-shaped objects being transported such as tissue boxes, keeping quiet and capable of changing the sorted number arbitrarily. SOLUTION: An exhaust conveyor 3 of low transporting speed is joined with the understream of a supply conveyor 2, and a separation conveyor 4 to pinch box-shaped objects and send off a specified number thereof intermittently to the exhaust conveyor 3 is installed near the joining part of the exhaust conveyor 3, and a top hold-down conveyor 10 to hold down the objects from above is installed in the upstream of the separation conveyor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting conveyor articles, and more particularly to an apparatus for sorting box-shaped articles such as tissue boxes into a predetermined number of blocks.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a tissue box manufacturing line, as a pre-process of an automatic packing device, a sorting device is provided in the middle of a conveyor line so that tissue boxes conveyed at irregular intervals back and forth on the conveyor. The gaps before and after are narrowed into a continuous state, and are divided into, for example, five blocks, which are sales units.

As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional sorting apparatus is composed of a pair of locking devices 20 and a separating device 25 provided on both sides of a conveyor 30 for conveying in the direction of an arrow.
The locking device 20 winds a chain 21 provided with locking tools 21a and 21b around a sprocket 22 and a sprocket 23, drives the sprocket 22, and locks the locking tools 21a and 2b.
1b is moved at a predetermined interval. Reference numeral 24 denotes an idler.

[0004] The separating device 25 includes pressing members 26a, 26a.
The chain 26 provided with b is wound around a sprocket 27 and a sprocket 28, and the sprocket 27 is driven to move the pressing members 26a and 26b at a predetermined interval.
The speed of the chain 21 of the locking device 20 is set to be lower than that of the conveyor 30, and the speed of the chain 26 of the separation device 25 is set to be lower than that of the chain 21.

[0005] With this configuration, the tissue box 1 conveyed onto the conveyor 30 is locked by the locking device 20.
By stopping the driving of the chain 21, it is locked by the locking tool 21 a, the subsequent tissue boxes 1 are sequentially accumulated, and the pressing tool 26 a of the separating device 25 moves the tissue box 1 at the head of the next block from both sides. It is pinched.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the chain 21 of the locking device 20 and the chain 26 of the separating device 25 are driven to move the locking tool 21a and the pressing tool 26a downstream. Then, the locked tissue box 1 moves downstream. Since the speed of the chain 21 of the locking device 20 is faster than the speed of the chain 26 of the separating device 25, the tissue box 1 sandwiched between the pressing tools 26a of the separating device 25 moves slower than the tissue box 1 in front thereof. There is a gap between the previous block. And
As shown in FIG. 4B, when the locking tool 21a separates from the preceding block, the locking tool 21b enters a gap formed between the next blocks.

When the pressing tool 26a of the separating device 25 moves and separates from the tissue box 1, the tissue box comes into contact with the locking tool 21b. In this way, the tissue box is sequentially divided into a predetermined number of blocks and sent out downstream.

[0008]

However, since the speed of the conveyor 30 is high, the locking members 21a and 21b of the locking device 20 are not used in the above-described conventional sorting apparatus.
And the pressing tools 26a and 26b of the separating device 25 must be pressed strongly to stop the subsequent tissue boxes, and the tissue box at the head of the block is easily damaged. There is. If the pressing tools 26a and 26b are not pressed firmly, the tissue box is likely to tilt, cannot be fed straight, and is likely to be defective.

Further, since the number of sections divided by the locking device 20 and the separating device 25 is fixed, if it is to be changed, it is necessary to separately replace the locking device 20 and the separating device 25 according to the number of the sections. Further, the locking tools 21a,
The movement of 21b and the pressing tools 26a and 26b must be performed by the chains 21 and 26. For this reason, there is a drawback that the noise is large and the oil supply has to be reduced so as not to be scattered. is there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sorting apparatus which can quietly change the number of sections without damaging a box-shaped article such as a tissue box.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following means. That is, in the conveyor conveyor sorting apparatus for closely conveying box-shaped articles conveyed with a gap in front and back and sending them downstream in a predetermined number of blocks, a discharge conveyor having a low conveying speed is provided downstream of the supply conveyor. Provide a separation conveyor near the connection part of the discharge conveyor, which interlocks and sandwiches a plurality of box-shaped articles and intermittently sends a predetermined number to the discharge conveyor, and separates the upper holding conveyor for holding the box-shaped articles from above and upstream of the conveyor. It is characterized by being provided in.

The present invention is an apparatus for sending box-shaped articles such as tissue boxes placed on a conveyor at arbitrary intervals to an automatic packing apparatus or the like in blocks of the number of sales units. After being brought into a close continuous state, it is sent out in a predetermined number of blocks.

[0013] By stopping the leading box-shaped article, it is possible to eliminate the front and rear gaps and to keep the box-shaped article in a close continuous state. However, when the leading block is sent out, the subsequent box-shaped article suddenly moves from the stopped state. , The state of close continuity is likely to collapse. According to the present invention, a discharge conveyor having a low speed is connected, and furthermore, an upper pressing conveyor presses the discharging conveyor from above, so that a subsequent box-shaped article maintains a connected state as close as possible.

In addition, the division into blocks may be performed during the operation time of the separation conveyor, that is, the time required to move a predetermined number of the box-shaped articles. Occasionally, a gap may be formed between the box-shaped articles, and the entire length of the block is not always constant. When this is accumulated, there may be a case where the number of blocks sent out from the separation conveyor is not a predetermined number.

In order to prevent this, a photoelectric sensor is provided at the front end on the downstream side of the separation conveyor, and the box-like articles are removed except for the gap between the box-like articles sent out from the separation conveyor. May be accumulated, and when the predetermined moving time of the separation conveyor, that is, the time for moving the predetermined number of the box-shaped articles, is reached, the separation conveyor may be stopped.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. In this sorting apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1, a discharge conveyor 3 is connected to an upstream supply conveyor 2 on the same plane, and a pair of separation conveyors 4 are provided opposite to each other so as to sandwich this connection part. I have. A frame 17 is provided above the supply conveyor 2 on the upstream side of the separation conveyor 4, and an upper holding conveyor 10 is provided on the frame 17. Further, although not shown, a control device for automatically operating these devices is separately provided.

The separating conveyor 4 has a belt 7 wound around the leading roller 5 and the driving roller 6, and a support member 9 for supporting the belt 7 is provided between the belt 7 and the seven rollers 8. The intervals are provided in accordance with the length dimension of the box-shaped article (the length in the flow direction of the conveyor).

The separation conveyors 4 on both sides are configured to be pressed against the box-shaped article 1 by a pneumatic cylinder (not shown), and the driving of both belts 7 is synchronized by a single motor so that the timing belts are driven. Are linked by Further, a leading end stopper 19 which can move forward and backward from below is provided at the front end of the separation conveyor 4, and a photoelectric sensor 18 is provided at the front end of the separation conveyor 4, and is connected to an integrating timer (not shown). I have.

On the other hand, the upper holding conveyor 10 is provided on a frame 17 provided on the upstream side of the separating conveyor 4 and, as shown in FIG.
6 and a roller 11 are provided, and a belt 12 is wound therebetween,
A cylinder 15 connected to the casing 14 is configured to be rotatable up and down around a shaft 16a of the drive roller 16 as a fulcrum. Here, 11a is a roller.

Next, the operation of the sorting apparatus thus configured will be described. First, when the driving of the transport line is started, the supply conveyor 2 and the discharge conveyor 3 operate, and the box-shaped article 1 is transported. At this time, the separation conveyor 4 uses the pneumatic cylinder to move the roller 8 so that the box-shaped article 1
The tip end stopper 19 is made to protrude so as not to engage with the front end. The upper holding conveyor 10 extends the cylinder 15 so that the rollers 11, 11a
Avoid contact with.

The leading box-shaped article 1 conveyed with a gap in front and back is locked by the leading end stopper 19 and abuts on the preceding box-shaped article 1 in order and accumulates. Once you have the appropriate number,
Press the start button on the control to activate the sorting device. As a result, the pneumatic cylinder operates to move the separation conveyor 4 inward, and the box-shaped article 1 is moved from both sides by the rollers 8.
With a pinch. Then, the distal end stopper 19 is detached.

Next, the upper pressing conveyor 10 is operated, and further, the cylinder 15 is operated to press the box-shaped article 1 from above with the rollers 11, 11a. Then, the separating conveyor 4 is driven, and the box-shaped article moves downstream (in the direction of the arrow). At this time, the light-shielding time is integrated by the photoelectric sensor 18, and when the light-shielding time reaches a set time (width dimension of box-shaped articles × number / speed of the separation conveyor 4), the separation conveyor 4 stops. Thereby, a predetermined number of box-shaped articles are conveyed downstream as a block, and at the same time, the subsequent box-shaped article 1 is cut off to the top of the conveyor 4 and stopped.

In this case, the subsequent box-shaped article is pressed and sent by the upper holding conveyor 10, and is stopped while sliding on the discharge conveyor 3 having a low speed from the supply conveyor 2. The individual box-shaped articles function to push forward, and the box-shaped articles are packed in a tighter state.

Then, after a predetermined time (block interval time) elapses, the separation conveyor 4 operates. This operation is sequentially repeated. When changing the number of the box-shaped articles, the setting time of the separation conveyor 4 (width dimension of the box-shaped articles × number / speed of the separation conveyor 4) is changed.

In the above-described embodiment, the roller 8 of the separation conveyor 4 is described as being provided with seven rollers. However, an appropriate number may be used. When the sorting apparatus is started, the supply conveyor 2 and the discharge conveyor 3 are operated to separate the box-shaped articles so that the box-shaped articles are brought into contact with the tip stopper 19 of the conveyor 4 to be stored, but the supply conveyor 2 and the discharge conveyor 3 are stopped. In this state, the box-shaped articles may be separated and packed from the front end of the conveyor, and the sorting and sorting device may be operated, and the supply conveyor 2 and the discharge conveyor 3 may be operated after being sandwiched by the separated conveyor. In this case, the tip stopper 19 is unnecessary.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0027]

As described above, the conveyor conveyer sorting apparatus of the present invention connects a discharge conveyor having a low conveying speed to the downstream side of a supply conveyor, and sandwiches a plurality of box-shaped articles to a predetermined number. The separation conveyor that intermittently sends out to the discharge conveyor is provided near the connecting part of the discharge conveyor, and the upper holding conveyor that holds down the box-shaped articles from above is separated and provided upstream of the conveyor, so the plurality of box-shaped articles are locked from both sides. Since it is sandwiched, the pressing force may be small, and it is not damaged as compared with the conventional box-shaped article at the head of the block, and the number of blocks can be easily changed. Also, since no chain is used in the device, there is no problem of noise.

Further, a photoelectric sensor is provided at the front end on the downstream side of the separating conveyor, the time when the box-shaped articles sent from the separating conveyor have passed is integrated, and when the moving time of the separating conveyor set in advance is reached, the separating conveyor is moved. By stopping (claim 2), even if a gap is formed between the box-shaped articles in the separation conveyor, the box-shaped articles can be reliably moved to the predetermined number discharge conveyor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a conveyor conveyance sorting apparatus as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the upper holding conveyor 10 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of a conventional conveyor transport sorting apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an operation diagram of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Box-shaped article 2 ... Supply conveyor 3 ... Discharge conveyor 4 ... Separation conveyor 5 ... Leading roller 6 ... Driving roller 7 ... Belt 8 ... Holding roller 9 ... Supporting member 10 ... Upper holding conveyor 11, 11a ... Roller 12 ... Belt 14 ... Casing 15 ... Cylinder 16 ... Drive roller 16a ... Support point 17 ... Frame 18 ... Photoelectric sensor 19 ... End stopper 20 ... Locking device 21 ... Chains 21a and 21b ... Locking tools 22, 23 ... Sprocket 24 ... Idler 25 ... Separating device 26: Chain 26a, 26b: Pressing tool 27, 28: Sprocket 30: Conveyor

Claims (2)

[Claims] An apparatus for sorting a conveyed article, wherein a box-shaped article conveyed in a state in which there is a gap in front and rear is brought into close contact with each other and sent downstream in a predetermined number of blocks. A separation conveyor connected to the downstream side, sandwiching a plurality of box-shaped articles and intermittently sending a predetermined number to the discharge conveyor is provided near the connection part of the discharge conveyor, and a top holding conveyor for holding the box-shaped articles from above is separated. A conveyor sorting device provided upstream of a conveyor. 2. A separation sensor is provided at a front end portion of the separation conveyor at a downstream side of the separation conveyor. The time when the box-shaped articles sent from the separation conveyor have passed is integrated, and when a predetermined moving time of the separation conveyor is reached, the separation conveyor is separated. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor is stopped.