JP2003020113A - Article alignment and conveyance apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain alignment and feeding operation at high speed while smoothly performing an accumulation process without breaking an alignment attitude. SOLUTION: This alignment and conveyance apparatus 10 consists of a feed conveyor 12 which sequentially carries an article 11 at a prescribed interval, an accumulating and conveyance means 14 which supports and carries downward each article 11 released from the transfer termination part of the feed conveyor 12 with carriers 13, 13, and an alignment conveyor 15 which is arranged under the accumulating and conveyance means 14 and continuously runs. The accumulating and conveyance means 14 performs alignment accumulation of the article 11 in an overlapped shape on the alignment conveyor 15 and gives an interval between articles accumulated in the next place by stopping a release for a fixed period after continuously releasing the article 11 as a prescribed number of unit. The feed conveyor 12 is moved and controlled so that of which the carrying termination part to be continuously pointed at the next empty carriers 13, 13 in response to article conveyance operation of the carriers 13, 13 in the accumulating and conveyance means 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning and conveying articles conveyed as a group of articles accumulated in a sashimi state in which some of the articles conveyed at predetermined intervals overlap each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An arranging device for stacking articles transferred at a predetermined interval in a sashimi state, aligning and accumulating them in a predetermined number of units, and transferring the respective article groups to a downstream side in a state of being separated at a predetermined interval. As an example, the device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-4448 is proposed. This device is provided with a pair of belt conveyors which are vertically installed at different heights and in which the transfer directions are orthogonal to each other, and the individual articles transferred by the upper belt conveyor are transferred from the transfer end portion of the conveyor to the lower belt conveyor. It is configured to drop and transfer, and by intermittently operating the conveyor every time the articles are transferred to the lower belt conveyor, a part of each article is aligned and accumulated in a piled sashimi state and transferred to the downstream side. . Moreover, both conveyors are installed linearly so that the upper and lower belt conveyors are transferred in the same direction, and as described above, the articles are dropped and transferred from the transfer end of the upper belt conveyor to the lower belt conveyor, and the lower belt is transferred. There is also a configuration in which the conveyor is intermittently operated in the same manner as described above, and the articles are arranged and accumulated in a sashimi-like form in a predetermined number of units.

[0003]

In the structure in which the article is transferred to the lower belt conveyor by naturally dropping it from the transfer end portion of the upper belt conveyor, depending on the shape and properties of the article, the article after transfer may be My posture has changed,
There is a drawback that they do not overlap in a well-positioned posture.

Further, in the case where a high speed alignment and supply process of the articles is required, in the above-mentioned conventional method, the lower belt conveyor is intermittently operated so that the article groups are transferred at predetermined intervals. It took a long time to perform a series of processes up to and could not support high-speed processing.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems inherent in the above-mentioned conventional techniques, and has been proposed in order to suitably solve the problems. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for aligning and conveying articles that can be carried out and can be arranged and supplied at high speed.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Overcoming the above-mentioned problems,
In order to achieve a desired object, an apparatus for aligning and conveying articles according to the present invention is provided with a feed conveyor that conveys articles at predetermined intervals by continuous running, and is separated in a left-right direction that intersects the article transfer direction of the feed conveyor. A pair of carriers in which a plurality of carriers that are circulated in the vertical direction are arranged, and the individual articles transferred from the feed conveyor are supported by the left and right carriers to be conveyed downward, and the end of the conveyance At the position, the storage and conveyance means for releasing the support of the left and right carriers and discharging and dropping the articles, and the alignment conveyor arranged below the conveyance end position in the accumulation and conveyance means and continuously running in the horizontal direction, The accumulating / conveying means continuously discharges articles in a predetermined number of units, and then pauses discharging for a certain period of time, thereby aligning and accumulating the articles in a sashimi state on the alignment conveyor. Both of them are set so as to provide a space between them and a group of articles to be accumulated next, and the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor is an empty space to be always fed next in accordance with the article conveying operation of the carrier in the accumulation conveying means. It is characterized in that it is set to move up and down so as to be oriented to the carrier.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an apparatus for aligning and conveying articles according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings with reference to preferred embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of an aligning and conveying apparatus 10, which is a connecting conveyor in the previous step.
A feed conveyor 12 that receives an article 11 supplied from (not shown) and sequentially conveys the article 11 at a predetermined interval, and an article 11 discharged from a downstream end (transfer end portion) of the feed conveyor 12 is a carrier 13, Accumulating and conveying means 14 for receiving one by one on 13 and conveying it downward, and accumulating and conveying means 14
Of the horizontal bag-making and filling machine 1. The downstream side of the alignment conveyor 15 is basically composed of an aligning conveyor 15 which is disposed below the transport end position in and continuously runs in the horizontal direction.
6 is connected to the supply conveyor 17.

The feeding conveyor 12 is also provided at a downstream end portion of a pair of first frames 18, 18 which are arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in a width direction intersecting the transfer direction of the articles 11, and also at a predetermined interval in the width direction. The upstream ends of the pair of second frames 19, 19 which are spaced apart and arranged in parallel are rotatably connected.
Further, the first endless belt 20 is movably disposed between the pair of first frames 18, 18, and the second endless belt 46 is movably disposed between the pair of second frames 19, 19. Both endless belts 20 and 46 are configured to continuously run at a constant speed by a motor (not shown).
On the upstream end side of the first frames 18 and 18, a pair of pins 21 and 21 are projectingly provided on the outer sides facing each other.
Is slidably inserted into a long hole 23a formed in a corresponding guide member 23 provided on the support base 22 and extending in the transfer direction. That is, with respect to the support base 22, the first frames 18, 18 of the feed conveyor 12 are allowed to move in the article transfer direction and are rotatably supported.

On the downstream end side of the second frames 19 and 19, a pair of L-shaped brackets 2 are provided on the outer sides facing each other.
4, 24 are attached (see FIG. 3), and both brackets 24, 24 are connected to an elevating mechanism arranged in an apparatus frame 25 in which the accumulating and conveying means 14 is arranged. That is, at the upper position of the device frame 25, a pair of driven sprockets 26, 2 spaced apart in the width direction are provided.
6 are rotatably supported to face each other, and the first drive shaft 2 extending in the width direction is provided at a position below the device frame 25.
7 is rotatably supported. Drive sprockets 28, 28 paired with the driven sprockets 26, 26 are disposed at both longitudinal ends of the first drive shaft 27, and an endless chain is provided between the corresponding driven sprockets 26, 28. 29 is wound around. An elevating member 30 extending inward (toward the other endless chain 29) by a predetermined length at a portion of each endless chain 29 that travels on the back-side running path that is close to the accumulating and conveying means 14 (see FIG. 2).
As shown in FIG. 3, both brackets 24, 24 of the second frames 19, 19 are bolted to the left and right elevating members 30, 30 facing each other. Therefore, the first drive shaft 27 is rotationally driven in the forward and reverse directions via the differential gear mechanism 31 to be described later, so that the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor 12 moves up and down as the two endless chains 29, 29 travel. (See the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1).

The second frames 19, 19 of the feed conveyor 12 arranged on the elevating members 30, 30.
When the connecting portions with the first frames 18, 18 are rotated, the vertical movement is performed while being always held in a horizontal posture. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of rails 32, 32 are arranged in parallel at the front and rear positions in the article transfer direction sandwiching the running path on the far side of each endless chain 29, and are arranged on the elevating member 30 so as to move vertically. A pair of spaced rollers 33,
33 faces both rails 32, 32 in a rollable manner.
With this configuration, the elevating member 30 stably moves up and down in a state in which the movement in the front-rear direction is restricted, so that the front-rear position of the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor 12 with respect to the accumulating and conveying means 14 does not change. . In the vicinity of the transfer end of the feed conveyor 12, photoelectric detection means 34 for detecting the passage of the articles 11 transferred on the conveyor 12 is arranged, and the detection signal from the detection means 34 is a control device. Input to (not shown), the controller is configured to confirm the delivery of the article 11 to the storage and conveyance means 14 by the detection signal.

On the downstream side of the feed conveyor 12, FIG.
As shown in, a pair of chain conveyors (conveyors) 35, 35
A storage / conveyance means 14 constituted by is provided, and the conveyance means 14 is configured to receive and support the individual articles 11 sequentially transferred from the feed conveyor 12 on the pair of left and right carriers 13, 13. There is. That is, the chain conveyors 35, 35 extending in the up-down direction are arranged opposite to each other on the left and right sides separated from each other in the width direction with the article transfer center of the feed conveyor 12 interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 2, each chain conveyor 35 has an adjusting mechanism 36 arranged on the apparatus frame 25.
An upper support shaft 39 having a pair of driven sprockets 38, 38 rotatably spaced apart in the axial direction is disposed above the conveyor frame 37 that is movable in the width direction by the conveyor frame 37. A lower support shaft 41 having a pair of driven sprockets 38, 38 and a pair of drive sprockets 40, 40 corresponding to the pair of driven sprockets 38, is rotatably supported at a position below 37. An endless chain 42 is wound between each corresponding driven sprocket 38 and drive sprocket 40, and a plurality of carriers 13 are provided between the endless chains 42, 42 as one article 11.
Can be accommodated and are connected at a vertical interval. The carrier 13 is formed in an L shape as shown in FIG. 4, and in a state where the vertical portion 13a is connected to the endless chains 42, 42, the endless chains 42, 42 are on the inner (opposing side) running path (the other side). The horizontal portion 13b is set to extend substantially horizontally toward the other chain conveyor 35 when moving on the running path on the side closer to the chain conveyor 35. And
Inside the two chain conveyors 35, 35, the horizontal portions 13b, 13b of the carriers 13, 13 facing each other in the left-right direction are aligned in a horizontal state to support the bottom surfaces of the article 11 on the left and right sides in the width direction. .

As shown in FIG. 5, each chain conveyor 3 is provided.
5, a driven bevel gear 43 is disposed on the lower support shaft 41, and each driven bevel gear 43 meshes with a drive bevel gear 45 disposed corresponding to a second drive shaft 44 pivotally supported on the device frame 25. is doing. The second drive shaft 44 is connected to the differential gear mechanism 31 via an endless chain 61 described later, and by intermittently driving the differential gear mechanism 31, the pair of chain conveyors 35, 35 is disposed inside. The carriers 13 and 13 intermittently rotate in opposite directions in the direction in which they are lowered. As a result, the articles 11 supported by the carriers 13 and 13 located at the lowermost stage (conveying end position) are released from the support in the process in which the carriers 13 and 13 are separated from each other by moving the return sections. It is designed to be discharged and dropped onto the alignment conveyor 15. Further, the rotation amount of the second drive shaft 44 is configured to be detected by a pulse generating means 49 including a slit disk 47 rotating integrally with the shaft 44 and an optical sensor 48 arranged in the device frame 25. The pulse generated by the generating means 49 is input to the control device.

The drive bevel gears 45 are integrally movably arranged on the corresponding conveyor frames 37 via the brackets 50, and the second drive shafts 44 are allowed to move in the axial direction. It is arranged so as to rotate integrally with the driven bevel gear 43 when the conveyor frame 37 is moved and adjusted in the width direction by the adjusting mechanism 36. Incidentally, the adjusting mechanism 36 is composed of a screw shaft, a female screw member, a handle and the like, and a pair of chain conveyors 35, 35 can be operated by operating the handle according to the width dimension of the article 11.
It is possible to adjust the separation width of the. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, rail members 52 for guiding the restriction pieces 51 arranged on the respective endless chains 42 traveling on the inner running path are vertically arranged on the respective conveyor frames 37. Is configured to descend in a stable posture.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the differential gear mechanism 31 arranged in the device frame 25 has its input shaft 54 and output shaft 55 aligned with the gear box 53. In this state, they project in opposite directions and are rotatably supported, and a differential shaft 56 is rotatably supported in an arrangement orthogonal to the shafts 54, 55. In the embodiment, the toothed pulley 56a disposed on the differential shaft 56 and the toothed pulley 57a disposed on the output shaft of the first drive motor 57 such as the servo motor disposed on the device frame 25 are toothed. A belt 58 is wrapped around. In addition, the first drive shaft 2
An endless chain 59 is wound between the sprocket 27a disposed on the No. 7 and the sprocket 55a disposed on the output shaft 55. Further, an endless chain 61 wound between a sprocket 60a of a second drive motor 60 such as a motor with a reduction gear arranged on the device frame 25 and a sprocket 44a of the second drive shaft 44 is attached to an input shaft 54. It is wound around the sprocket 54a arranged. And the first
By appropriately controlling the drive of the drive motor 57 and the second drive motor 60, the chain conveyors 35, 35 of the storage and conveyance means 14 are operated via the differential gear mechanism 31 in the direction in which the inner carriers 13, 13 descend. At the same time, the transfer end of the feed conveyor 12 is moved up and down according to the article transfer operation of the carriers 13, 13 in the transfer means 14, and the transfer end is always directed toward the empty carriers 13, 13. .

Below the chain conveyors 35, 35 in the accumulating and conveying means 14, as shown in FIG. 2, an aligning conveyor 15 comprising a belt conveyor or the like which continuously runs in a horizontal direction intersecting the article conveying direction of the conveying means 14. Are arranged in a substantially horizontal posture, and the speed of the alignment conveyor 15 is set to a predetermined speed ratio with respect to the moving speed of the carriers 13, 13 in the accumulating and conveying means 14. As a result, while the previous article 11 is discharged from the carriers 13 and 13 and is transferred to the alignment conveyor 15 and moves forward, the next article 11 is discharged from the next carrier 13 and 13 and rearward of the previous article 11. It is dropped and transferred so that it partially overlaps. By repeating this, the articles 11 are arranged and accumulated in a sashimi-like form for each predetermined number, and the supply conveyor 1 of the horizontal bag-making filling machine 16 is provided.
7 is continuously transferred. The term "horizontal direction in which the alignment conveyor 15 continuously travels" is used to mean a direction that is substantially horizontal or a direction that is inclined at a predetermined angle. There is no direction.

To the control device for controlling the differential gear mechanism 31, the number of accumulated articles 11 and the like can be changed and set by input means (not shown), and the data value, the detecting means 34 and the pulse generating means 49 are inputted. The differential gear mechanism 31 is set to operate and control based on the detection signal and the pulse input from the. That is, the carriers 13, 13
Based on the reference pulse generation number of the pulse generating means 49 corresponding to the movement of one step (emitting one article 11), the pulse generation number input from the generating means 49 to the controller is data. At the timing when the number of occurrences corresponds to the value (the number of accumulated articles 11), the differential gear mechanism 31 controls the operation of the accumulating / conveying means 14 to pause for a certain period,
It is controlled to perform an intermittent operation in which the operation is resumed after a lapse of a predetermined operation pause period. As a result, the articles 11 are continuously discharged from the accumulating and conveying means 14 in a predetermined number unit to the aligning conveyor 15 so as to be aligned and accumulated in a sashimi-like state, and the articles 11 and the preceding articles accumulated in the aligning conveyor 15 A predetermined space is provided between the article group and the article group. When the horizontal bag-making and filling machine 16 is connected to the downstream side of the alignment conveyor 15 as in the embodiment, the interval between the article groups transferred by the alignment conveyor 15 is determined by the horizontal bag-making and filling machine 1.
It is preferable that the operation rest period is set so that the feeding interval corresponds to the end seal interval in 6. Further, it is detected that the article 11 transferred by the feed conveyor 12 has passed through the detection means 34 and has been sent onto the carriers 13, 13 in the storage / transport means 14 during the operation suspension period of the storage / transport means 14. As a result, the first drive motor 57 is driven, and the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor 12 is controlled to move through the differential gear mechanism 31 so as to always direct the vacant carriers 13, 13.

[0018]

Next, the operation of the apparatus for aligning and conveying articles according to the embodiment will be described below. The accumulating and conveying means 14
During the continuous operation period, the pair of chain conveyors 35, 35 rotate in mutually opposite directions to continuously move the inner carriers 13, 13 in the descending direction.
Also, the articles 11 supplied from the connection conveyor in the previous step
Are transferred to the feed conveyor 12 and sequentially transferred to the downstream side at a predetermined interval, and are fed from the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor 12 to the empty carriers 13, 13 in the accumulating and conveying means 14 so that the left and right bottom surfaces are supported. To be done. The feeding of the article 11 from the feed conveyor 12 to the carriers 13, 13 of the accumulating and conveying means 14 is detected by the detecting means 34, and the detection signal is input to the control device.

The carriers 13, 1 of the accumulating and conveying means 14
3 is continuously lowered and every time the feeding of the article 11 is detected, the first drive motor 57 is driven to drive the carrier via the differential gear mechanism 31 so that the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor 12 is always empty. The articles 11 from the conveyor 12 are controlled so that the articles 11 and 13 are moved.
Are sequentially sent to the empty carriers 13, 13. Then, when the carriers 13, 13 supporting the article 11 arrive at the transport end position (lowermost stage) of the accumulation transport means 14, the article 11 supported by the carrier 13, 13 is discharged to the alignment conveyor 15. Be dropped. At this time, the article 11
As shown in FIG. 4, the left and right carriers 13, 13 move synchronously away from the bottom surfaces of the article 11 serving as the left and right supporting surfaces by moving the lower return portions of the chain conveyors 35, 35. Then, while the article 11 is maintained in the horizontal posture, its support is gradually released and the article 11 is ejected and dropped, so that the article 11 is transferred to the alignment conveyor 15 smoothly, and the posture after the article 11 is ejected. Does not change. Then, the articles 11 are transferred toward the supply conveyor 17 as the continuously running alignment conveyor 15 advances. The next article 11 discharged and dropped from the transport end position of the accumulating and transporting means 14 is stacked in a sashimi state in which a part is stacked behind the article 11 previously transferred to the alignment conveyor 15 (see FIG. 2). ). Further, the articles 11 are continuously discharged from the accumulating / conveying means 14 in a predetermined number unit, and the number of pulses generated from the pulse generating means 49 input to the control device corresponds to a preset accumulation number of the articles 11. At this timing, the control device controls the operation of the storage and conveyance means 14 to stop for a certain period of time, whereby the release of the article 11 is stopped.

During the suspension of the operation of the accumulating and conveying means 14, the articles 11 are transferred from the feed conveyor 12 to the carrier 1.
Every time the detection means 34 detects that the endless chains 3 and 13 have been fed, the first drive motor 57 is driven to move the endless chains 29 and 29 through the differential gear mechanism 31. As a result, the elevating members 30, 30 rise along the rails 32, 32. As a result, the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor 12 supported by the elevating members 30 and 30 moves up and is directed to the next empty carrier 13 and 13. Therefore, the next article 11 transported by the transport conveyor 12 is transported to and supported by the empty carriers 13, 13. That is, even during the operation stoppage period of the accumulating and conveying means 14, the individual articles 11 transferred by the feed conveyor 12 are emptied by the empty carrier 1 of the conveying means 14.
It is not necessary to stop the article transfer on the feed conveyor 12 because the articles can be sequentially fed to the sheets 3 and 13.

The second frames 19 and 19 of the feed conveyor 12 are always held in a horizontal posture, and the transfer end portion of the conveyor 12 moves up and down with respect to the accumulating and conveying means 14 at a fixed position. The articles 11 are conveyed from the conveyor 12 to the carriers 13 and 13 always stably. Further, since the accumulating / conveying means 14 accumulates the articles 11 by vertically installing the chain conveyors 35, 35, installation of a device necessary for aligning and supplying the articles 11 to the alignment conveyor 15 in a sashimi state. Can save space.

During the operation suspension period of the accumulation conveyance means 14, the preceding article group transferred to the alignment conveyor 15 advances by a predetermined distance, and when the operation suspension period set by the controller elapses, the accumulation is carried out. The conveying means 14 is operated intermittently, and the carriers 13, 13 are continuously moved as described above, and the set number of articles 11 are aligned and accumulated on the alignment conveyor 15 in a sashimi state. As a result, a predetermined space is provided between the preceding article group and the next article group transferred by the alignment conveyor 15.

The groups of articles arranged and accumulated in a sashimi form by the alignment conveyor 15 are continuously provided toward the supply conveyor 17 of the horizontal bag-making and filling machine 16 connected to the downstream side in a state where a predetermined interval is given. Will be transferred. Then, the article group is sent from the supply conveyor 17 to the horizontal bag-making and filling machine 16, and a pillow-wrapped packaged article is manufactured in units of the article group. That is, the horizontal bag-making and filling machine 16 can be provided because a predetermined interval can be provided between the groups of articles by suspending the discharge of the articles 11 from the accumulating and conveying means 14 for a certain period of time while the alignment conveyor 15 is continuously running. It can be used for high speed packaging.

When changing the number of stacked articles 11 or the interval between the stacked article groups by changing the order, it can be easily handled by changing the data value in the control device. When the width dimension of the article 11 changes, the adjustment mechanism 36 moves the chain conveyors 35, 35 of the accumulating and conveying means 14 toward and away from each other, so that the bottom surface on the left and right sides of the article 11 is paired with the pair of carriers 13, 13. Can be supported.

[0025]

[Modification] The up-and-down movement of the feed conveyor and the intermittent operation of the accumulating and conveying means can be performed without interposing a differential gear mechanism.
It is also possible to control the drive only by individual servo motors and other motors. In addition, each of the sprockets and the endless chain that constitute the aligning and conveying device in the embodiment can be replaced with a toothed type pulley belt. Further, in the embodiment, the alignment conveyor is connected to the horizontal bag-making filling machine, but it may be connected to another device for processing a group of articles sashimi-shaped and accumulated.

Further, in the embodiment, the number of articles supplied (accumulation number) from the accumulating and conveying means to the aligning conveyor is controlled on the basis of the number of pulses generated by the pulse generating means, but it is determined from the moving speed of the conveying means. It is also possible to control with a timer that measures the time required to discharge one item. The conveyor that constitutes the accumulating / conveying means is not limited to the chain conveyor of the embodiment, and may be a belt conveyor. In addition, the feed conveyors and alignment conveyors
Instead of the belt conveyor as in the embodiment, for example, an endless chain in which buckets are attached at predetermined intervals, a slat conveyor, or other various configurations can be adopted.

Regarding the provision of the interval to the group of articles transferred by the alignment conveyor, in the embodiment, the operation of the accumulating and conveying means is suspended for a certain period of time, but the operation of the accumulating and conveying means is continuously operated. It is also possible to do it as it is. That is, while continuously operating the accumulating and conveying means,
The number of articles passing through the detecting means is counted, and until the predetermined count value is reached, movement control is performed so that the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor is sequentially directed to the next empty carrier, and the predetermined count value is reached. At this point, the movement is controlled so that the transfer end portion of the feed conveyor is directed to the empty carrier to be fed next after skipping a preset number of empty carriers. As a result, after the articles are continuously discharged from the accumulating and conveying means in a predetermined number of units, the ejection of the articles is stopped for a certain period while the empty carrier passes through the conveying end position, and the articles are transferred by the alignment conveyor. Space can be provided between the groups.

[0028]

As described above, according to the article aligning and conveying apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 of the present application, the left and right sides of the article are supported by the left and right carriers, and the support of both carriers is released to release the article. Since it is configured to discharge and drop the articles, it is possible to transfer the articles without changing the posture on the alignment conveyor. Further, since the articles supported between the carriers that continuously move in the vertical direction are discharged and dropped one by one from the transport end position, the installation space for aligning and supplying the articles can be reduced. Further, since the transfer end of the feed conveyor is configured so as to be always directed toward the empty carrier, a predetermined interval is provided between the sashimi-arranged article group and the next article group. As described above, while the alignment conveyor conveys a group of articles by a predetermined distance and the discharge of the articles from the accumulating and conveying means is stopped for a prescribed period, the feeding of the articles from the feeding conveyor to the accumulating and conveying means is not interrupted. The high-speed alignment supply process is possible.

In the aligning and conveying apparatus according to the second aspect, since the operation of the accumulating and conveying means is controlled according to the data value that can be changed and set, the number of accumulated articles can be changed and set very easily. Further, in the aligning and conveying apparatus according to the third aspect, since the group of articles arranged and accumulated in a sashimi shape is continuously transferred to the subsequent horizontal bag-making and filling machine, the stacking posture does not change and the speed is good. Pillow packaging is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an entire aligning and conveying apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an accumulating / conveying means of the aligning and conveying apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a storage / conveyance unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a main part showing an article discharging unit from the storage / conveyance unit to the alignment conveyor according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view of the storage / conveyance unit according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 articles 12 Feed conveyor 14 Storage transport means 15 Aligning conveyor 16 Horizontal bag-making and filling machine 35 Chain conveyor (conveyor)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Naoki Sato             4-380 Nakaodai, Nishi-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture             Fuji Co., Ltd. Fujikikai Nagoya factory F-term (reference) 3F029 BA13 CA23 CA26                 3F080 AA43 BA01 BD12 BD16 CE02                       CE03 CE05 EA03 FA01 FB01

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Articles (11) at predetermined intervals by continuous running
And a plurality of carriers that are circulated and moved in the up-and-down direction, separated from each other in the left-right direction intersecting the article transfer direction of the feed conveyor (12).
(13) is provided with a pair of transfer bodies (35, 35), the individual articles (11) transferred from the feed conveyor (12) are supported by left and right carriers (13, 13) and A storage and transport means (14) for transporting to and releasing the article (11) by releasing the support of the left and right carriers (13, 13) at the transport end position.
And an alignment conveyor (1) that is disposed below the transport end position in the accumulation transport means (14) and continuously runs in the horizontal direction.
5) consists of, the accumulating and conveying means (14), by continuously releasing the article (11) in a predetermined number unit, and then suspending the release for a certain period,
The articles (11) are arranged and accumulated in a sashimi-like state on the alignment conveyor (15), and are set so as to provide a space between the articles to be accumulated next, and a transfer end portion of the feed conveyor (12). Is set so as to move up and down so as to be directed to the empty carrier (13, 13) to be always fed next in accordance with the article carrying operation of the carrier (13, 13) in the accumulating and conveying means (14). Characterized article aligning and conveying apparatus. 2. Articles (11) in said storage and conveyance means (14)
The period for continuously releasing a predetermined number of units and the rest period are set according to changeable data values,
The apparatus for aligning and conveying articles according to claim 1, wherein each of the number of accumulated articles (11) and the interval between each group of accumulated articles transferred by the alignment conveyor (15) is controlled based on the data value. 3. The apparatus for aligning and conveying articles according to claim 1, wherein a horizontal bag-making filling machine (16) is connected to the downstream side of the alignment conveyor (15).