JP2005060109A - Aligning method and aligning device for conveyor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correct attitude of a conveyance object when delivering it and feed it out without colliding against a partitioning guide in a breadthwise central part on the downstream side when a conveyor device of which belt conveyor receives rectangular conveyance object in tow rows when viewed from the top disturbs attitude of the conveyance object in a period of time from its acceptance to its delivery. <P>SOLUTION: This aligning device is used in the conveyor device which has the partitioning guide separating conveyance objects from each other in two rows in a breadthwise central part of the belt conveyor, has side guides on left and right sides of the belt on a storage side more than the partitioning guide, aligns and receives conveyance objects in two rows along the advancing direction when storing them, and feeds them in a case where one row of the conveyance objects collide against the partitioning guide when delivering them. The side guides are movably provided on the left and right sides to avoid collision, and air nozzles are provided on the left and right sides above the belt. The side guides are arranged on breadthwise outer sides to enlarge passing width when storing them. The side guides are arranged on breadthwise inner sides when delivering them to reduce passing width when delivering them in order to align them along the side guides by air blow from the air nozzles. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  In the present invention, transported goods (for example, primary packaging products such as pillow packaging products used for pharmaceuticals, foods, chemical products, etc., case packaging products in which one or two or more of them are packed together) are arranged in two rows. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conveyor device that is moved by a belt conveyor, temporarily stored, and dispensed as necessary, and that aligns conveyed items in two rows and along a traveling direction at the time of dispensing. The primary packaged product is a product obtained by simply packaging a semi-finished product bulk in medicines, chemical products, foods, etc., and before packaging the case. Specific examples include packaging forms such as PTP sheets, banding packaging products, pillow packaging products, SP packaging products, square bottle filling products and sachet packaging products, with pillow packaging products being preferred.

  A pillow packaged product is a product in which a plurality of tablets and capsules are stored in one sheet (referred to as a sheet packaged product), a plurality of sheet packaged products are stacked, and the outside is wrapped together with a film. In the automatic packaging line, after the process of making a pillow package, the process of packaging the pillow package in a case with a cartoner machine, the process of attaching letters to the case with a laser marker machine, and the cartoner with letters attached to the cardboard caser machine In many cases, the process of packing in cardboard is sequentially performed as necessary.

  In such an automatic packaging line, there is one that sends a conveyed product to each process by a belt conveyor. And if a problem occurs in one process and the machine for that process is stopped, if the machine in the other process is also stopped, the production cost will deteriorate, so a storage device can be placed between each process. is there. When the process immediately after the storage device stops, the transported material processed in the immediately preceding process is temporarily stored in the storage device from the production line, while when the process immediately before the storage device stops, it is stored. Discharging the conveyed product from the apparatus to the next process is performed.

As the storage device described above, devices for temporarily storing a conveyed product on, for example, a spiral conveyor conveyor are known (Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2).
Japanese Patent Publication No.58-27169 Japanese Patent No. 2756560

  This storage device guides most of the belt in a spiral to reduce its installation area and stores the transported goods in two rows, while the remaining part of the belt is bent or straightened to receive and discharge the transported goods, In addition, transmission of driving can be performed.

  The inventor attempted to install such a storage device in the middle of the main line for sending the pillow package to the cartoner.

  However, the storage device accepts and stores rectangular transport objects in two rows in parallel along the belt traveling direction in plan view, but the transported object is inclined with respect to the traveling direction when the transported object is dispensed. Happened to happen. As described above, this is presumably because the belt is bent in a spiral shape or a straight shape, and therefore, a phenomenon such as expansion / contraction, rolling, and undulation occurs as the belt travels. This tilt may cause problems. In other words, a partition guide is provided in the center of the width of the belt conveyor at the payout destination, and the transported object is separated from the right and left, so depending on the inclination of the transported object, it is caught by the partition guide and transported. Some things were clogged. In particular, the conveyed product paid out from the inner spiral side of the belt is often caught by the partition guide.

Therefore, the present inventor tried a method of correcting the inclination of the conveyed product with air at the time of paying out. That is, this is a method of correcting the posture by blowing air to the conveyed product on the belt at the time of paying out and pressing the conveyed product against the side guides arranged on the left and right sides of the belt (Patent Document 3).
JP 2000-318833 A

  However, the conveyed product passing through the outer peripheral side of the belt is pressed against the side guide and the posture is corrected, but the conveyed product passing through the inner peripheral side of the belt is not corrected in posture. When this phenomenon is observed, when the posture of the conveyed product is not corrected, when the leading portion of the conveyed product enters the air blowing area, first, as shown in FIG. If the transported object 92 is forcibly deeply tilted without being moved, and then the transported object 92 moves and the rear portion of the transported object 92 enters the air blowing area, it is deeply tilted in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. It was. On the other hand, when the posture of the transported object is corrected, when the tip of the transported object enters the air blowing area, it is first forcibly tilted and collides with the guide to form a shallow inclination, and then the transported object moves. When the rear part rushes into the air blowing area, it has been found that the configuration follows the side guide. In other words, the cause of this phenomenon is considered to be that if the conveyed product is close to the center of the lateral width of the belt at the time of dispensing, the distance between the conveyed product and the guide is too wide and the conveyed product is too inclined due to air blow. .

For example, a pillow packaging product sorting device is known as a technology for sorting the conveyed items sent in one row into two rows (Patent Document 4).
JP-A-10-101218

  The present invention has been developed in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and the problem is that the belt conveyor that has received a rectangular transport object in two rows in plan view is between the time it is received and the time it is paid out. When the conveyor device disturbs the posture of the conveyed product, the posture of the conveyed product is corrected at the time of dispensing, and the conveyor device can be fed without colliding with the partition guide at the center of the width of the belt conveyor on the downstream side. An alignment method and an alignment apparatus are provided.

  The present invention has a partition guide for separating the transported objects in two rows in the central part of the width of a part of the belt conveyor having a storage function and a payout function of the transported object, and the transport side is closer to the storage side than the partition guide. Side guides for guiding objects are provided only on the left and right sides of the belt. During storage, the conveyed items are received in two rows on the left and right sides of the belt in parallel along the direction of travel. It is used in a conveyor device that may send at least one row of objects in a state of being inclined with respect to the traveling direction and colliding with a partition guide.

  The alignment method for the conveyor device according to the present invention is such that the side guides in the same row as the row in which the conveyed product collides with the partition guides are arranged outside in the lateral direction of the belt at the time of storage to widen the passage width and at the time of payout It is disposed inside the belt in the lateral direction of the belt so as to narrow the passage width, and the conveyed product passing through the left side or the right side of the belt is aligned along the side guide on the opposite side by air blow when discharged.

  In addition, the alignment device for the conveyor device according to the present invention is provided with side guides that are the same as the row in which the conveyed object collides with the partition guides so as to be movable left and right, and has air nozzles on the left and right above the belt for storage. Sometimes the movable side guide is placed on the outside in the width direction to widen the passage width, and at the time of payout, the movable side guide is placed on the inside in the width direction to narrow the passage width, and the left or right side of the belt The conveyed product passing through the side is aligned along the side guide on the opposite side by air blow from the air nozzle on the opposite side.

  According to the present invention, a belt conveyor that has received a conveyed product in two rows disturbs the posture of the conveyed product from the time it is received to the time it is dispensed, and collides with a partition guide in the center of the width of the belt conveyor on the downstream side. Even if the transported object is paid out in the direction, the side guide on the collision side is arranged on the inner side to narrow the passage width, so that the transported object is not inclined too much by air blow, and as a result, it is rectangular in plan view. Can be aligned along the side guides. In addition, when storing the transported object, the movable side guide is arranged on the outside to increase the passage width, so that it can be easily received.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the automatic production line using the present invention is formed by a conveyor device including a main line 2 for sending a conveyed product 1 from a previous process to a subsequent process and a sub-line 3 branched from the main line 2. Is done. The main line 2 and the sub-line 3 are formed by separate belt conveyors, and side guides 4 for guiding the conveyed product 1 are provided along the left and right sides (both sides in the width direction) of each belt conveyor so that the conveyed item 1 does not fall. It is like that. In addition, the main line 2 has a side guide 4 which is located upstream of the intersection with the sub line 3 and is far from the sub line 3 (right side in FIG. 5) as a partial guide 5. The direction guide 5 is provided so as to be swingable with one end thereof as a fulcrum, and when the conveyed product 1 is sent downstream of the main line 2, the direction guide 5 is arranged along the belt traveling direction as shown in FIG. When the state is maintained and the conveyed product 1 is sent to the subline 3, as shown in FIG. 7B, the state in which the turning guide 5 is inclined to the subline 3 side is maintained. At the intersection of the main line 2 and the sub-line 3, the side guide 4 is curved in an arc shape, and two arc-shaped correction guides 6 for correcting the direction of the conveyed product 1 are symmetrically back-to-back at the center of the lateral width. It is formed and the direction at the time of transferring the conveyed product 1 from the main line 2 to the subline 3 and from the subline 3 to the main line 2 is corrected. The various guides are supported by being floated above the belt by a frame (not shown) so as not to hinder the progress of the belt.

  The subline 3 is an arrangement of the belt conveyors 7, 8, 9, 10 in order. That is, a transfer conveyor 7 that distributes the conveyed product 1 sent from the main line 2 into two rows, a pair of variable speed conveyors 8 and 8 that separately send the distributed conveyed product 1, and the width of the conveyed product 1 The relay conveyor 9 that is divided and sent in the direction and the storage conveyor 10 that temporarily stores the conveyed product 1 are arranged in order with a slight gap that does not hinder the delivery of the conveyed product 1.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the shift conveyor 7 is provided with a sorting device 11 above it. The sorting device 11 is provided with a gate 12 through which the conveyed product 1 passes on the left side (the lower side in the figure) in the belt width direction so as to be swingable with the entrance side as a fulcrum 13.

  When the conveyed product 1 is stored, the gate 12 is swung by a link mechanism and a cylinder (not shown). When the gate 12 is swung, the exits of the gate 12 are arranged in order on the left and right sides of the belt, so that the conveyed product 1 received from the main line 2 is distributed in order on the left side and right side of the belt. It becomes a column. In addition, even though it is two rows, as shown in FIG. 5, the conveyance objects 1 are alternately arranged on the left and right along the belt traveling direction. More specifically, both the left and right sides of the belt are belts. There are two rows in the state in which the conveyed objects 1 are placed at intervals in the traveling direction, and the conveyed objects 1 on the opposite side of the belt are arranged at positions just beside the intervals.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the transported object 1 is paid out, the transported object 1 sent in two rows is concentrated on the right side of the belt (upper side in the drawing) and returned to the single row, so that it is outside the belt. An exit of the gate 12 is disposed at the gate 12 and the gate 12 is inclined with respect to the belt traveling direction, and the conveyed product 1 sent to the left side of the belt is moved along the gate 12 to the right side. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the gate 12 connects the upper part of the entrance side of the two plates 14 which cover both sides of the conveyed product 1 with a connecting piece 15, and a part of the connecting piece 15 (the center in the width direction in the figure). Part) as a fulcrum 13 so as to be swingable.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the two-row set of variable speed conveyors 8 includes belt conveyors arranged in parallel in two rows in the width direction, and a partition guide 16 disposed above the boundary between the parallel belt conveyors. When storing the conveyed product 1, both belt conveyors are driven at the same speed, and the conveyed product 1 is sent out in two rows, and when the conveyed product 1 is discharged, the right belt conveyor is driven faster than the left side as shown in FIG. The two conveyed articles 1 received in two rows at the same time are separately sent to the shift conveyor 7, and the conveyed article 1 that has passed through the left side of the speed change conveyor is moved to the right side of the belt at the gate 12 on the shift conveyor 7. At the same time, it is arranged on the rear side of the conveyed product 1 that has moved from the original to the right side of the belt. It should be noted that the distance between the side guide 4 and the partition guide 16 is slightly wider than the widest conveyance object 1 so that the conveyance object 1 having a slightly different lateral width can be guided.

  In the relay conveyor 9, the partition guide 16 is extended from the transmission conveyor side at the center in the width direction of the belt, the front portion of the partition guide 16 on the storage conveyor side is formed in a V shape, and is sent out from the storage conveyor 10. In the unlikely event that the conveyed product 1 collides with the front part of the partition guide 16, the posture of the conveyed object 1 is corrected as much as possible along the inclination of the front part. On the left and right sides of the gap between the transmission conveyor 8 and the relay conveyor 9, shutters 17 for stopping the delivery of the conveyed product 1 are provided so as to be openable and closable. When the conveyed product 1 is sent from the speed change conveyor 8 to the relay conveyor 9, the shutter 17 is lowered below the belt surface in order to open the shutter 17, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the conveyed product 1 is discharged from the relay conveyor 9 to the transmission conveyor 8, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, both shutters 17 protrude above the belt surface, and the conveyed product 1 is placed on the shutter 17. The feeding of the transported object 1 is temporarily stopped by colliding, and the left and right transported objects 1 are aligned in a horizontal row by both shutters 17. In order to detect the aligned state, the sensor 19 is arranged outside the left and right side guides 4, and the sensor 19 uses the window 18 opened in the side guides 4 to check whether or not the specific part of the transported object 1 exists. Is detected. When both the left and right sensors 19 detect the transported object 1, it is determined that the left and right transported objects 1 are aligned in a horizontal row, both the shutters 17 are simultaneously lowered, and the transported object 1 is sent out simultaneously. Immediately thereafter, the shutter 17 is raised again to forcibly stop feeding the next conveyed product 1. Thereafter, the raising and lowering of the shutter 17 is repeated in the same manner.

  The relationship between the detection method of the conveyed product 1 and the opening / closing operation of the shutter 17 will be described in detail. The transported object 1 is rectangular in plan view as shown in FIG. 2, and the seal part 21 projects back and forth from the center of the height of the box-shaped object body 20 in side view as shown in FIG. It is a form. Accordingly, the shutter 17 is raised slightly below the seal portion 21 to cause the shutter 17 to collide with the object body 20 and stop the conveyed object 1. However, since the belt is running, the belt is idle with respect to the conveyed product 1 stopped by the shutter 17. Then, the sensor 19 detects the presence or absence of a downstream front portion (a front portion near the speed change conveyor) of the object body 20 in the transported object 1 in the stopped state. As shown in FIG. 2 (c), when only one of the left and right sensors 19 detects the conveyed product 1, the shutter 17 maintains a closed state, and as shown in FIG. When both the left and right transport objects 1 collide with the shutter 17 and both the left and right sensors 19 detect the transport object 1, the shutter 17 is opened as shown in FIG. ) After the object main body 20 passes right above the shutter 17 as shown in FIG. As a result, the shutter 17 enters a gap between the front and rear object bodies 20. When the conveyed product 1 moves, the next conveyed product 1 collides with the shutter 17 and stops as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the storage conveyor 10 is formed so that the majority of the belt is formed in a spiral shape, while the remainder of the belt is bent or straightened to receive and discharge the conveyed product and transmit the drive. It is. As shown in FIG. 1, an alignment device 23 is attached to the entrance / exit 22 for delivering the conveyed product 1 to the relay conveyor 9.

  The alignment device 23 is provided with one of the side guides 24, 25 on both sides of the entrance / exit 22 so as to be movable in the belt lateral width direction, and the other 25 is fixed in the same straight line as the side guide 4 of the relay conveyor 9. The air nozzles 26 are provided on both sides in the width direction above the conveyed product 1 moving on the belt. The storage conveyor 10 is not provided with the side guides 4 on the storage side with respect to the entrance / exit 22. This is because the conveyed product 1 does not fall to the extent of shaking due to the movement of the belt.

  An air cylinder 27 is fixed to the outside of the side guide 24 in order to provide the one side guide 24 so as to be movable in the belt lateral width direction. In the air cylinder 27, the tip of a piston rod 28 that enters and exits the cylinder main body (reference numeral omitted) is fixed to the side guide 24, and an electromagnetic valve 29 is provided in a pipe line to the cylinder main body (see FIG. 8). When storing the conveyed product 1, the electromagnetic valve 29 is closed, and the movable side guide 24 is arranged in the same straight line as the side guide 4 of the relay conveyor 9 (outside in the lateral width direction) as shown in FIG. Thus, a wide width of the conveyed product 1 is ensured on each of the left and right sides of the belt. On the other hand, when paying out the conveyed product 1, the electromagnetic valve 29 is opened and the piston rod 28 is extended as shown in FIG. 1 to move the side guide 24 to the inside of the side guide 4 of the relay conveyor 9. Thus, the passing width of the conveyed product 1 is narrowed only on one side. If the distance between the movable side guide 24 and the conveyed product 1 is the same as or less than the distance between the opposite side guide 25 and the conveyed product 1, the left and right conveyed objects 1 can be similarly aligned. Since the air cylinder 27 is used, the conveyed product 1 does not become dirty even if air leaks.

  Each air nozzle 26 is formed with a wide outlet along the belt traveling direction, and air blows obliquely downward toward the transported object 1 passing through the opposite side of the arrangement location, and the posture of the transported object 1 is set in two stages. In this way, the conveyed product 1 is forced to follow the side guides 24 and 25. Further, by arranging the left and right air nozzles 26 so as to be shifted in the belt traveling direction, the air blows from the respective air nozzles 26 do not interfere with each other. The air nozzle 26 is supplied with air from a compressor (not shown) through a pipe.

  When the transported object 1 is received by the storage conveyor 10, the transported object 1 has already been arranged in two rows on the left and right sides of the belt in the relay conveyor 9, and the transported object 1 is aligned in parallel along the belt traveling direction. Accept the thing 1. On the other hand, when paying out the conveyed product 1 from the storage conveyor 10, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), the line of conveyed items 1 discharged from the inner peripheral side of the spirally wound belt is in the traveling direction. In order to avoid collision between the partition guide 16 and the conveyed product 1, the side guide 24 described above is disposed on the inner side. The air blow is continued from both air nozzles 26 while moving to. The conveyed product 1 is sent toward the air blow area as the belt advances. When the tip of the conveyed product 1 sent from the left side of the belt enters the air blow area, first, the tip is forcibly tilted obliquely as shown in FIG. Thereafter, when the rear portion of the conveyed product 1 enters the air blow region, the rear portion is pushed outward as shown in FIG. 1 (c), and the conveyed product 1 is aligned along the side guide 24. And it is sent toward the relay conveyor 9 in the aligned state as shown in FIG. Subsequently, when the leading portion of the conveyed product 1 sent from the right side of the belt enters the air blow region, similarly, the leading portion is inclined obliquely as shown in FIG. After that, the rear part is pushed outward as shown in FIG. 2B, and the conveyed product 1 is aligned along the side guide 25. And it is sent toward the relay conveyor 9 in the aligned state as shown in FIG.

As described above, in the present invention described above, the distance between the side guide 4 and the partition guide 16 is slightly smaller than the widest conveyance object 1 so that the conveyance object 1 having a slightly different width can be guided. Therefore, it is necessary to set the movement width of the movable side guide wider than that of a type that guides a conveyed product having only one horizontal width. Therefore, it is effective to apply the present invention to a type capable of guiding a conveyed product having a slightly different width. Note that the present invention moves the left and right side guides 24 and 25 in the lateral width direction as shown in FIG. 8 when the postures of the left and right conveyed items of the belt are equally disturbed from the time of storage to the time of dispensing. It may be provided as possible.

(A), (b), (c), and (d) are plan views showing step by step the operation of aligning conveyed objects. (A), (b), (c), and (d) are plan views showing step by step the operation of aligning conveyed objects. (A), (b), (c), and (d) are side views showing the opening / closing operation of the shutter step by step. It is a side view which shows the outline of an automatic production line. It is a top view which shows the outline of an automatic production line. It is a top view which shows the discharge state of a conveyed product. (A) and (b) are plan views showing the operation of the deflection guide. It is a perspective view which shows the alignment apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows a storage conveyor. (A) and (b) are explanatory diagrams showing a phenomenon of a conventional defect.

Explanation of symbols

1 Transported goods 9 Belt conveyor (relay conveyor)
10 Belt conveyor (storage conveyor)
16 Partition guides 4, 24, 25 Side guide 26 Air nozzle

Claims (2)

In the central part of the width of a part of the belt conveyor (9, 10) having a storage function and a payout function, there is a partition guide (16) for isolating the rectangular conveyed object (1) in two rows in plan view, On the storage side of the partition guide (16), there are side guides (24, 25) for guiding the conveyed product on the left and right sides of the belt. During storage, the conveyed items (1) are arranged in two rows on the left and right sides of the belt. In addition, it accepts aligned in parallel along the traveling direction, and at the time of paying out, at least one of the two rows of transported objects (1) is sent while being inclined with respect to the traveling direction and colliding with the partition guide (16). Used for certain conveyor devices,
The side guides (24) in the same row as the row in which the conveyed product (1) collides with the partition guides (16) are arranged outside the belt width direction during storage to widen the passage width, and inside the belt width direction during delivery. To narrow the traffic width,
An alignment method for a conveyor device, characterized in that the conveyed product (1) passing through the left or right side of the belt is aligned along the side guides (24, 25) on the opposite side by air blow at the time of dispensing. In the central part of the width of a part of the belt conveyor (9, 10) having a storage function and a payout function, there is a partition guide (16) for isolating the rectangular conveyed object (1) in two rows in plan view, On the storage side of the partition guide (16), there are side guides (24, 25) for guiding the conveyed product on the left and right sides of the belt. During storage, the conveyed items (1) are arranged in two rows on the left and right sides of the belt. In addition, it accepts them aligned in parallel along the direction of travel, and at the time of paying out, at least one of the two rows of transported objects (1) is inclined with respect to the direction of travel and sent while colliding with the partition guide (16). Used for certain conveyor devices,
The side guides (24) that are the same as the row in which the conveyed product (1) collides with the partition guides (16) are provided so as to be movable left and right, and have air nozzles (26) on the left and right above the belt. In a state where the movable side guide (24) is arranged on the outer side in the lateral width direction to widen the passage width, and at the time of payout, the movable side guide (24) is arranged on the inner side in the lateral width direction to narrow the passage width, For a conveyor apparatus characterized by aligning the conveyed product (1) passing through the left or right side of the belt along the opposite side guides (24, 25) by air blowing from the opposite air nozzle (26). Alignment device.

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