JP2002019954A - Sorting conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sorting conveying device capable of conveying objects to be conveyed, and sorting them into plural rows. SOLUTION: In this conveying device traveling while receiving the conveyed articles C at a receiving end, and feeding out the same from a feeding-out end, oscillating beams 1A and 1B respectively having one end part as a center of the oscillation, and the other end part reciprocating with a predetermined amplitude, are mounted, one end part is used as the receiving end, the other end part is used as the feeding-out end, and the oscillating beams 1A and 1B are oscillated on the receiving end by pneumatic cylinders 21 within a range of a predetermined angle on the basis of a timing for feeding out the conveyed articles C from the feeding-out end by a pair of endless belts 15A and 15B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorting / conveying apparatus, and more particularly to a conveying apparatus for staggering cans conveyed from a processing apparatus such as a printing apparatus in a can-making line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in a can-making line, for example, cans printed by a printing device are received one by one from a printing device by pins of a pin chain conveyor, conveyed in a single file, and arranged downstream. Are supplied in a row in the width direction on the upstream side of a wide net conveyor of a drying oven, and a predetermined number of cans in the single row are adsorbed by an adsorption head, transferred onto the net conveyor, assembled in a staggered manner, and assembled. It is transported into a drying oven and dried. Therefore, since the can to be carried is transferred by the suction head, there is an advantage that the can can be reliably transported to a predetermined position.

[0003] However, the speed of recent can-making lines has been increased, and a transfer speed of 2000 cpm or more has been required. Accordingly, the transport speed of the cans conveyed in a line on the pin chain conveyor also increases, and at the same time, the suction head that sucks the cans and transfers them to the net conveyor must be accelerated. However, because the suction head reciprocates a short distance to transfer the cans, at high speeds, vibration occurs and lacks followability, making it difficult to control, causing falling cans and the occurrence of problems on net conveyors. Irregularities occur.

In order to solve such inconvenience, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-150945, suction can be performed by transferring cans received in a single row in a plurality of rows and transferring them at once by a suction head. He proposes to increase the number of transfers per head. That is, a plurality of endless pin chain conveyors provided with pins engaged with the can projecting to the same side are synchronously moved in parallel.
Also, in the section where the pins are received, in the section where the cans are received, each pin chain conveyor moves in parallel along the same plane, and in the section where the pins of each pin chain conveyor form a single can transport path and the cans are transferred. The pin chain conveyor moves so as to be parallel in a plane perpendicular to the above plane to form a plurality of rows of parallel can transport paths, receives cans discharged in a single row on the upstream side, and receives downstream cans. And deliver the cans in multiple rows.

[0005]

By providing a plurality of pin chain conveyors as described above, a plurality of cans can be transferred at a time, and the transfer efficiency can be improved without changing the transfer speed. Can do things. However, there has been a problem that the configuration of the line is complicated and maintenance costs are high.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and receives an object to be transported at a receiving end of a swinging beam, and an endless belt runs across both sides of the object to be transported. While controlling the amplitude of the discharge end of the oscillating beam
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sorting and conveying device for discharging cans.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems and Action Therefor To achieve the above object, an invention according to a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a conveying apparatus that receives an object to be conveyed at a receiving end, travels, and discharges from a discharging end. A swing beam having one end serving as a center of movement and the other end reciprocating with a predetermined amplitude is provided, and the one end is the receiving end and the other end is provided. A driving means for oscillating the rocking beam in a range of a predetermined angle around the receiving end based on a timing at which an end portion is the discharging end and the conveyed object is sent out from the discharging end by a pair of endless belts. Is provided.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the object to be transported is received at the receiving end of the oscillating beam, is conveyed by the endless belt, and is received by the driving means based on the timing of being sent out from the discharge end. The oscillating beam is moved forward or backward around the end within a range of a predetermined angle. As a result, the conveyed object discharged from the discharge end of the swing beam is distributed to a predetermined discharge position in the swing range.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the oscillating beam includes a oscillating beam that rotatably holds a driving pulley and a driven pulley of one endless belt in a suspended state. A swinging beam that holds the driving pulley and the driven pulley of the other endless belt so as to be rotatable in a suspended state, and each of the pair of swinging beams is rotatable around the rotation axis of the driving pulley. Retained
The sorting and conveying device is provided so as to be parallel to each other at a predetermined interval.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the receiving ends of the pair of oscillating beams constituting the oscillating beam are held rotatably around the rotation axis of each driving pulley, the driving means is provided. When driven, the receiving position can be kept constant, and can be swung while maintaining the parallel state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first or second aspect, the endless belt is provided at a driving pulley provided at a receiving end of the conveyed object and a driven pulley provided at a discharging end thereof. A sorting / transporting device provided between a pulley and the object to be transported while sandwiching the object from both sides.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the pair of endless belts are driven by the driving pulleys and run at the same speed, and the object is conveyed while being sandwiched between the pair of endless belts from both sides.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to third aspects, the oscillating beam detects and transmits a signal that the conveyed object is conveyed to a predetermined conveying position. A sensor, wherein the driving means swings the swinging beam to a predetermined swinging position in the swinging range each time a signal is received from the proximity sensor, and detects the signal by the proximity sensor. A sorting / transporting apparatus characterized in that the transported object is maintained at a predetermined swing position until the transported object is discharged from a discharge end.

Therefore, according to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the conveyed object reaches the predetermined position, the proximity sensor detects this and transmits a signal. Each time the driving device receives a signal transmitted from the proximity sensor, the driving device drives the rocking beam to rock to a predetermined rocking position in the rocking range, and the transferred object detected by the proximity sensor is moved. The swing beam is maintained at a predetermined swing position until the swing beam is discharged from the discharge end.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the sorting and conveying apparatus of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of oscillating beams 1
A and 1B are parallel to each other at a predetermined interval, and
It is arranged to extend substantially horizontally. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, these oscillating beams 1A, 1B
However, the supporting portions 3A and 3B can rotate about the axes of the shafts 2A and 2B extending vertically at the left end.
Are mounted on the vehicle via bearings 4A and 4B. The oscillating beams 1A and 1B correspond to the oscillating beam of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the support portions 3A and 3B
The shafts 2A and 2B are rotatably held, and are fixed to the lower surface of the machine frame 5 so as to be adjacent to each other and to hang downward. The machine frame 5 is supported by a base (not shown) and extends substantially horizontally.

Bevel gears 6A, 6B are provided at the upper ends of the shafts 2A, 2B.
Are keyed, and drive pulleys 7 are provided at the lower ends of the shafts 2A and 2B.
A and 7B are keyed. Bevel gears 6A and 6B
The bevel gears 8A and 8B mesh with each other, and these bevel gears 8A and 8B
Are keyed to the drive shaft 9. The drive shaft 9 is rotatably held by the machine frame 5 via a bearing 10. Although not shown, the right end of the drive shaft 9 is also rotatably held by the machine frame 5.

Also, as shown in FIGS.
A and 11B are supported via tension adjusting mechanisms 12A and 12B, and extend vertically downward to the right ends of the swing beams 1A and 1B. Driven pulleys 13A and 13B are rotatably attached to the lower ends of these shafts 11A and 11B via bearings 14A and 14B.

An endless belt 15A is stretched between the driving pulley 7A and the driven pulley 13A.
An endless belt 15B is stretched between and the driven pulley 13B.

Therefore, when the drive shaft 9 is driven to rotate via a transmission (not shown), the shafts 2A and 2B are rotated by the bevel gears 8A and 8B and the bevel gears 6A and 6A meshed therewith.
Via 6B, they rotate in opposite directions.

The drive pulleys 7A, 7B rotate with this, and the endless belts 15A, 15B wound around these drive pulleys 7A, 7B also run. by this,
The driven pulleys 13A and 13B also rotate. The portions of the endless belt 15A and the endless belt 15B facing each other with a gap therebetween travel in the same direction at the same speed.

And, a conveyor (not shown) in the preceding process
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the conveyed object, for example, the can C, which has been conveyed by the endless belts 15A and 15B, receives the endless belt 1 from the left end of the can C, for example.
5A and the end of the can C
For example, the end of the endless belt 15A and the endless belt 15B are sandwiched between the endless belts 15A and 15B, conveyed rightward, and discharged from the end of the endless belt 15A and the endless belt 15B, that is, the right end.

The gap between the opposed portions of the endless belts 15A and 15B is made slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the neck of the can C, and a soft material such as sponge is attached to the surface of the endless belts 15A and 15B. The can C is reliably held by the elastic force and the frictional force based on the bending of the soft material.

On the back of the endless belts 15A, 15B, ridges 15a, extending continuously in a direction parallel to the running direction, are provided.
15b are formed, and these ridges 15a, 15b
Driving pulleys 7A, 7B and driven pulleys 13A, 1
The endless belts 15A, 15B are fitted into concave grooves 7a, 7b and 13a, 13b formed on the outer peripheral rolling surface of 3B.
B is prevented from sliding down.

Further, behind the facing portions of the endless belts 15A and 15B, as shown in FIG.
Backup rails 16A and 16B attached to the lower surfaces of the endless belts 15A and 16B are attached to the lower surfaces of the endless belts 15A and 16B.
5B, the endless belt 15
The gap between A and 15B is prevented from expanding.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the can C transported by the endless belts 15A and 15B is
A proximity sensor 17 for detecting the proximity to the discharge end is provided. The proximity sensor 17 includes a support 18
It is fixed to. The support 18 is fixed to the lower part of the swinging beam 1A so as to hang downward.

Above the oscillating beams 1A and 1B, a horizontal beam 19 that extends horizontally so as to be orthogonal to the oscillating beams 1A and 1B is disposed at a distance from the oscillating beams 1A and 1B. ing.

The left side surface of the cross beam 19 (the surface on the drive side 9 side)
A pneumatic cylinder 21, which constitutes the driving means of the present invention, is mounted on a support portion 20 fixed to
And is attached so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis 22,
The tip of the rod 23 of the pneumatic cylinder 21 is attached to the upper part of the swing beam 1A (or 1B) via a vertical shaft 24 and rotatably about the vertical shaft 24.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, both ends of the connecting member 25 are provided on the upper portions of the central portions in the longitudinal direction of the swinging beams 1A and 1B via the vertical shafts 26A and 26B. It is attached rotatably around the shafts 26A and 26B.

As shown in FIG. 2, a horizontally extending shaft 28 is fixed to an upper part of a rising member 27 which rises upward from the upper surface of the central portion of the connecting member 25, and a tip of the shaft 28 facing the cross beam 19 side. A roller 29 is rotatably mounted around the shaft 28 in the portion.

The roller 29 is fixed to the right side surface (discharge end side) of the cross beam 19 and has a U-shaped cross section of the guide rail 3.
On the right side surface (discharge end side) of the horizontal beam 19, it is rotatably engaged in a groove 31 extending parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cross beam 19.

Therefore, the rod 2 of the pneumatic cylinder 21
When 3 is extended, its movement is transmitted to the oscillating beam 1A via the vertical axis 24, and the oscillating beam 1A rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 about the axis of the shaft 2A.

The connecting member 25 is connected to the vertical shaft 26A,
Since the swinging beam 1B can rotate around the swinging beam 26B, the swinging beam 1B is connected to the swinging beam 1A via the connecting member 25, and while maintaining a state parallel to the swinging beam 1A about the axis of the shaft 2B in FIG. Rotates clockwise at.

The roller 29 is connected to the guide rail 30
Of the rocking beam 1A, 1B in the horizontal plane by rotating the groove 31 and supporting the weight thereof.

When the rod 23 of the pneumatic cylinder 21 is shortened, the oscillating beams 1A and 1B rotate counterclockwise in the opposite direction.

Further, shock absorbers 32A and 32B are fixed to the upper portions of the swing beams 1A and 1B.
The contact pieces 3 of these shock absorbers 32A, 32B
3A and 33B can collide with positioning stoppers 34A and 34B fixed to the right side surface of the cross beam 19.

The object to be conveyed, ie, the can C, is an intermediate product of a hollow beverage container having an upper neck closed and an open bottom, and the outer peripheral surface of the body except for the neck is printed. The printing and painting are in an undried state.

When the can C is conveyed and supplied by a conveyor or the like (not shown), the neck of the can C
5A, 15B, endless belts 15A, 1B.
5B, the neck portions are sandwiched from both sides by the endless belts 15A and 15B, so that the endless belts 15A and 15B are suspended at intervals and travel along with the running of the endless belts 15A and 15B. Transported to the right of

When the proximity sensor 17 detects that the can C being transported has reached a predetermined position, that is, in the vicinity of the discharge end, the pneumatic cylinder 21 is operated every time a signal transmitted from the proximity sensor 17 is received. The rod 23 extends or contracts,
Accordingly, the oscillating beams 1A and 1B rotate around the axes 2A and 2B.

After the swing beams 1A and 1B swing to the stopper position, the can C detected by the proximity sensor 17 is held at the stopper position until the can C is discharged from the discharge ends of the endless belts 15A and 15B. You. At the discharge ends of the endless belts 15A and 15B, the discharged conveyed object, that is, the can C, is placed on a wide belt running at a set speed in an oven (not shown).

The swing of the swing beams 1A, 1B causes the contact pieces 33A, 3 of the shock absorbers 32A, 32B.
When the stopper 3B comes into contact with the positioning stoppers 34A, 34B, the shock to the swing beam is reduced by the shock absorbers 32A, 32B. Thereafter, the above is repeated to swing.

In the above embodiment, FIG. 1 shows the arrangement of the two sorting apparatuses in parallel. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Then, the transport efficiency is further improved.

Therefore, according to the sorting devices, the objects to be transferred, ie, the cans C transferred in a single row to the receiving end of the oscillating beam are sorted in a staggered manner in the right and left directions in the transfer direction, and the belts are widely spread in an oven or the like. It is placed in a state of being arranged in two rows, that is, in a staggered manner.

In the above embodiment, the transferred object, that is, the can C, has its neck portion connected to the pair of endless belts 15A, 15A.
Although the sheet is conveyed while being sandwiched from both sides by 5B, an arbitrary portion other than the neck may be held depending on the shape of the article to be conveyed. Instead of a pair of endless belts, one endless belt may be provided with a gripper or the like, and may convey an object while holding it.

In the above embodiment, the pair of oscillating beams 1A
And 1B are each held rotatably around the axis of rotation of the drive pulley so that they are parallel to each other.
When the transport speed is low, the oscillating beams 1A and 1B
Can be integrated into one swing frame. In this case, it is desirable to swing the swing frame about this position or its vicinity so that the position for receiving the transferred object does not move.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the swing beams 1A and 1B are swung to the left and right two positions. However, a plurality of pneumatic cylinders 21 are provided, or the pneumatic cylinders 21 are moved to the three positions using a manipulator or the like. You may comprise so that it may rock | fluctuate sequentially to a higher position.

In the above embodiment, when the proximity sensor 17 detects that the conveyed object has arrived at a predetermined position, that is, in the vicinity of the discharge end, the pneumatic cylinder is operated each time a signal transmitted from the proximity sensor 17 is received. Configured
A configuration may be adopted in which a conveyed object is detected at a predetermined position using a photoelectric sensor or a timer, and the oscillating beam is sequentially oscillated.

[0049]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the object to be transported is received at the receiving end of the oscillating beam, and is conveyed by the endless belt. The oscillating beam is rotated about the receiving end of the oscillating beam by the driving means, and reciprocally oscillated. Then, the transported object discharged to the discharge end of the swing beam is sorted. As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the direction of the oscillating beam can be changed at each discharge timing of the conveyed object by the driving means. As a result, the conveyed object can be distributed, and the line structure can be changed. Can be improved without increasing the complexity of transportation, and the maintenance cost can be reduced.

According to the invention of claim 2, according to claim 1,
In addition to the effects of the invention described above, the pair of oscillating beams forming the oscillating beam have their receiving ends rotatably held around the rotation axes of the respective drive pulleys. Can be swung while maintaining a state parallel to each other.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the pair of endless belts are driven by the driving pulleys and run at the same speed, and the object to be conveyed is sandwiched and conveyed from both sides by the pair of endless belts. .

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the transported object arrives at the predetermined position, the proximity sensor detects this and transmits a signal. Each time the driving device receives a signal transmitted from the proximity sensor, the driving device drives the rocking beam to rock to a predetermined rocking position in the rocking range, and the transferred object detected by the proximity sensor is moved. The swing beam is maintained at a predetermined swing position until the swing beam is discharged from the discharge end. As described above, in order to maintain the transported object detected by the proximity sensor at the predetermined swing position until the transported object is discharged from the discharge end, the transported object is moved at the predetermined swing position within the swing range of the swing beam. It can be discharged reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial plan view showing one embodiment of a sorting and conveying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

C: conveyed object, 1A, 1B: swinging beam, 7A, 7
B: drive pulley, 13A, 13B: driven pulley, 1
5A, 15B: endless belt, 17: proximity sensor,
21 ... Pneumatic cylinder.

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claims 1. An object is received at a receiving end and travels.
In the transfer device for discharging from the discharge end, a swing beam including one end serving as a swing center and the other end reciprocating with a predetermined amplitude is provided, and the one end is provided with the swinging beam. The other end is the discharge end and the swinging beam is moved from the discharge end by an endless belt having a function of holding the conveyed object from the discharge end. And a drive means for swinging the main body within a predetermined angle range around the center. 2. The swinging beam, which holds a driving pulley and a driven pulley of one endless belt so as to be rotatable in a suspended state, and a driving pulley and a driven pulley of the other endless belt, which drop. And a pair of oscillating beams that are rotatably held around the rotation axis of the driving pulley, and are parallel to each other at a predetermined interval. The sorting and conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sorting and conveying device is provided as follows. 3. The endless belt is provided between a driving pulley provided at a receiving end of the conveyed object and a driven pulley provided on a discharge end thereof, and moves the conveyed object from both sides thereof. The sorting / conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sorting / transporting device travels while being sandwiched. 4. The oscillating beam includes a proximity sensor for detecting and transmitting a signal that the object to be transported is transported to a predetermined transport position, and the driving unit transmits a signal from the proximity sensor. Each time the beam is received, the rocking beam is rocked to a predetermined rocking position in its rocking range, and the conveyed object detected by the proximity sensor is moved to a predetermined rocking position until it is discharged from the discharge end. The sorting and conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sorting and conveying device is maintained.