JP2006096375A - Carton supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent mismatch between an item and a carton for packaging it. <P>SOLUTION: A carton supply device is composed so as to supply a carton to a caser for packaging an item in the carton. The carton supply device comprises a reading section 110 for reading first information from the pattern of the carton, an input section 130 for loading second information about the item to be packaged in the carton, a camera drive mechanism 120 for controlling from the second information an area read by the reading section 110, a determination section 212 for determining whether or not the first information and the second information have a predetermined relation, and an error processing section 214 for removing an error when the first information and the second information do not have the predetermined relation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a carton material supply apparatus for supplying a carton material to a caser for packaging an article with a carton material.

Beverage containers such as cans, PET bottles, bottles, paper packs and the like are generally packaged and shipped with carton materials. The carton material is generally given a trade name, a trademark, a product description, and the like.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-312789

  What is important in the packaging of articles such as beverage containers with carton material is that the article to be packaged matches the carton material that wraps it. However, the demand for a variety of products makes it difficult to match the articles with the carton material. For example, even if the carton material has the same dimensions, depending on the article to be packaged, there are various trade names, trademarks, product descriptions, etc., especially when the designs are similar, There may be cases where goods are packaged and shipped in the wrong carton material.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of recognition of the above problems, and an object thereof is to prevent, for example, inconsistency between an article and a carton material for packaging the article.

  Currently, various pattern matching techniques are used. However, in these patterns, since the position where the pattern to be inspected exists is determined in advance, it is difficult to meet the demand for a variety of products. Further, the present applicant has not recognized prior art documents in which the pattern matching technique is applied to inspection of packaging of articles using carton materials.

  A first aspect of the present invention relates to a carton material supply device that supplies a carton material to a caser that wraps an article with a carton material, and the carton material supply device includes a reading unit that reads first information from the carton material. An input unit that captures second information about an article to be packaged with a carton material, an area control unit that controls a reading area by the reading unit based on the second information, and the first information and the second information. A determination unit configured to determine whether or not the predetermined relationship exists; and an error processing unit configured to perform error processing when the first information and the second information do not have the predetermined relationship.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reading unit includes a camera, and the region control unit moves the camera to a position where the region specified based on the second information can be imaged. A drive mechanism is preferably included.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the carton material supply device further includes a holding mechanism that holds the carton material and an alignment mechanism that aligns the carton material held by the holding mechanism.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the carton material supply device further includes a detection unit that detects a carton material, and the error processing unit detects that no carton material is present by the detection unit. It is preferable to execute error processing.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the determination unit has the predetermined relationship between the first information and the second information when the detection unit detects that a carton material is present. It is preferable to determine whether or not.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the carton material supply device includes: a holding mechanism that holds a plurality of carton materials in a stacked state; and a lower carton material by an upper carton material in the stacked carton materials. It is preferable to further include a reduction mechanism that reduces the applied pressing pressure. The reduction mechanism preferably includes a pressing mechanism that presses the side surfaces of the plurality of stacked carton materials.

  A carton material supply apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention relates to a carton material supply apparatus that supplies a carton material to a caser that wraps an article with a carton material, and the carton material supply apparatus includes first information from the carton material. A reading unit, an input unit that captures second information about an article to be packaged in a carton material, a determination unit that determines whether or not the first information and the second information have a predetermined relationship, An error processing unit configured to perform error processing when the first information and the second information do not have the predetermined relationship;

  According to the present invention, for example, inconsistency between an article and a carton material for packaging the article can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a packaging facility for packaging articles such as beverage containers. The packaging facility 1000 includes a caser (packaging device) 40 that packs the articles 1 with the carton material 10, a carton material supply device 100 that supplies the carton material 10 to the caser 40, and an alignment device (conveyor) that aligns the articles 1 to be packaged. ) 20, a conveying device 30 that supplies the articles 1 aligned by the aligning device 20 to the caser 40, and a conveying device 50 that conveys the product 12 packaged by the caser 40.

  2 and 3 are a plan view and a side view, respectively, schematically showing the configuration of the carton material supply apparatus 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system in the carton material supply apparatus 100 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

  The carton material supply apparatus 100 includes a plurality of guides 150 as a holding mechanism that holds the plate-shaped or planar carton material 10 in a stacked state. Each guide 150 may be configured to guide the corner of the carton material 10 from the side, for example. Although not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the carton material supply apparatus 100 preferably includes a guide drive mechanism (FIG. 4) that moves the guide 150 according to the shape and size of the carton material 10 to be handled.

  The carton materials 10 held in a stacked state by the guide 150 are taken out one by one from below by the carton material delivery mechanism 190 and supplied to the caser 40. The carton materials 10 held in a stacked state by the guide 150 are aligned by the alignment mechanism 160 so as not to be displaced in the horizontal direction. The alignment mechanism 160 can be configured in various ways. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an actuator 160 such as an air cylinder and an alignment plate that is pressed against the carton material 162 by the actuator 160 and aligns the carton material 162. 162. In this embodiment, the position of the carton material 10 is roughly regulated by the guide 150 and the carton material 162 is aligned by the alignment mechanism 160. However, when the position of the carton material 10 is precisely regulated by the guide 150, The alignment mechanism 160 is not necessary.

  A reduction mechanism 170 that reduces the pressing force applied to the lower carton material 10 by the upper carton material 10 in a large number of stacked carton materials 10 is arranged on the side of the region where the carton material 10 is held. . By reducing the pressing pressure, the carton material 10 located at the bottom can be easily taken out by the carton material delivery mechanism 190. Since the conventional general carton material supply apparatus does not have such a reduction mechanism, there is a case where the carton material cannot be taken out from under the stacked carton material.

  The carton material supply device 100 has first information from the pattern attached to the carton material 10, for example, a product code (a code for specifying a product to be packaged by the carton material), a carton material code (a code for specifying the carton material), Product name (name of product to be packaged by carton material), trademark (trademark for product to be packaged by carton material), bar code (typically code for identifying product to be packaged by carton material), etc. A reading unit 110 for reading is provided.

  For example, the reading unit 110 may include a camera 112 such as a CCD camera and an image processing unit 114 that processes the image provided from the camera 112 (for example, pattern matching processing) to acquire first information. . For example, the carton material 10 may be provided with a pattern that provides first information for specifying the carton material 10 or an article to be packaged such as a product code, a carton material code, a trade name, a trademark, or the like.

  The carton material supply apparatus 100 also includes an input unit 130 that captures second information regarding an article to be packaged with the carton material 10 from an external device such as a filler (filling machine) or an operation panel. For example, when the packaging facility 1000 is configured as a facility for packaging a container containing beverages, typically, the second information is provided to the carton material supply device 100 from a filler that fills the container with beverages or its upper device. Can be done.

  In the carton material supply device 100, the carton material 10 set in the carton material supply device 100 receives the article 1 based on the first information provided from the reading unit 110 and the second information provided from the input unit 130. It is determined whether or not the carton material is correct for packaging. If the wrong carton material 10 is set, error processing is executed.

  Specifically, the determination unit 212 determines whether or not the first information provided from the reading unit 110 and the second information provided from the input unit 130 have a predetermined relationship, thereby providing a carton material supply apparatus. It is determined whether or not the carton material 10 set to 100 is a correct carton material for packaging the article 1. Here, an appropriate combination of the first information and the second information is described in the table 182 stored in the memory 180, for example. In the table 182, for example, correspondence information for associating first information for specifying a carton material with second information for specifying an article to be packaged by the carton material has been described.

  The determination unit 212 can determine that the carton material is not appropriate even when the carton material 10 is set in the carton material supply apparatus 100 in an inverted state. When the carton material 10 is turned over, the image processing unit 114 does not provide the appropriate first information. Therefore, the determination unit 212 can determine that the carton material is not appropriate.

  When the first information provided from the reading unit 110 and the second information provided from the input unit 130 do not have a predetermined relationship, the error processing unit 214 (the carton material 10 set in the carton material supply apparatus 100) Is not the correct carton for wrapping article 1), error handling is performed. In the error process, for example, the whole or a part of the carton material supply device 100 is stopped to stop or prohibit the supply of the carton material to the caser 40 and / or the error is notified using the display unit 200 or the like. And / or a process of notifying the host device of the occurrence of an error and its content.

  For example, the determination unit 212 and the error processing unit 214 may be provided in the control unit 210 that controls each unit, but may be provided as individual blocks.

  The pattern 14 that specifies the first information can be applied to various regions (the region can be specified by, for example, the position and size) depending on the type of carton material. Therefore, the carton material supply apparatus 100 includes an area control unit that controls the reading area by the reading unit 110 based on the second information provided by the input unit 130. Here, when the carton material 10 is set in the carton material supply apparatus 100 by mistake, there is a possibility that the pattern 14 that provides the first information does not exist in the reading area specified by the second information. In this case, since the first information cannot be read by the reading unit 110, the determination unit 212 executes the error processing as described above also in this case.

  The area control unit may be configured by an image processing algorithm of the image processing unit 114, but in this embodiment, is configured by the camera drive mechanism 120. Based on the command from the control unit 210 based on the second information, the camera drive mechanism 120 moves the camera 112 so that the reading area specified by the second information falls within the imaging field of view of the camera 112. The method of moving the camera 112 based on the second information (reading area) contributes to downsizing of the carton material supply apparatus 100.

  That is, in the system in which the camera 112 is fixedly arranged, the height of the camera 112 is increased so that most of the carton material 10 (an area where the pattern providing the first information can be arranged) is within the imaging field of view of the camera 112. This is necessary, and this leads to an increase in the size of the carton material supply apparatus 100. In order to avoid this, a method of widening the angle of view of the camera 112 is conceivable. However, widening the angle of view of the camera 112 increases aberration such as distortion, and the image processing unit 114 detects the first information. This is not a preferred method because it makes it difficult.

  The camera drive mechanism 120 can be configured as, for example, a biaxial (x direction, y direction) drive mechanism. More specifically, the camera drive mechanism 120 includes, for example, a feed screw 121 that is rotationally driven by a motor 123, a nut 122 that moves in the y direction according to the rotation of the feed screw 121, and a rack that is coupled to the nut 122. 125 and a movable body 126 having a pinion gear and a motor for rotating the pinion gear. The other end of the feed screw 121 can be supported by a support body 124 including a bearing. In the example shown in FIG. 2, two sets of feed screws 121 and nuts 122 for driving in the y direction are provided, and a rack 125 is connected between the two nuts 122. The camera 112 is fixed to the movable body 126, is driven by the rotation of the feed screw 121 in the y direction, and is driven by the rotation of a pinion gear provided on the movable body 126 in the x direction.

  It is preferable that the carton material supply apparatus 100 further includes a carton material 140 that detects the presence and / or the remaining number of the carton material 10. The error processing unit 214 performs error processing when the carton material detection unit 140 detects that the carton material 10 does not exist. This error process may include, for example, a process of notifying an error using the display unit 200 or the like, and / or a process of notifying the host device of the occurrence of an error and its content.

  When the carton material detection unit 140 detects that the carton material 10 exists (for example, when the carton material detection unit 140 does not detect that the carton material 10 does not exist), the determination unit 212 determines whether the carton material 10 exists. It may be configured to determine whether the second information has a predetermined relationship. Further, the reading unit 110 can also be configured to execute imaging and image processing when the presence of the carton material 10 is detected by the carton material detection unit 140. This prevents the reading unit 110 and the determination unit 212 from operating even when the carton material 10 is not present, and further prevents error processing from being executed.

It is a top view which shows roughly the structure of the packaging equipment which packages articles | goods, such as a container containing a drink. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of the carton material supply apparatus of suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows typically the structure of the carton material supply apparatus of suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system in the carton material supply apparatus of suitable embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 article 10 carton material 14 pattern 20 alignment device (conveyor)
30 Conveying device 40 Caser (packaging device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 Conveyance apparatus 100 Carton material supply apparatus 110 Reading apparatus 112 Camera 114 Image processing part 120 Camera drive mechanism 121 Feed screw 122 Nut 123 Motor 124 Support body 130 Input part 140 Carton material detection part 150 Guide 155 Guide drive mechanism 160 Alignment mechanism 162 Alignment Plate 170 Reduction mechanism 180 Memory 182 Table 190 Carton material delivery mechanism 200 Display unit 1000 Packaging equipment

Claims (8)

A carton material supply device that supplies carton material to a caser that wraps an article with carton material,
A reading unit for reading the first information from the carton material;
An input unit that captures second information about an article to be wrapped in carton material;
An area control unit that controls a reading area by the reading unit based on the second information;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the first information and the second information have a predetermined relationship;
An error processing unit that executes error processing when the first information and the second information do not have the predetermined relationship;
A carton material supply device comprising: The reading unit includes a camera,
The carton material supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area control unit includes a drive mechanism that moves the camera to a position where the area specified based on the second information can be imaged. A holding mechanism for holding the carton material;
An alignment mechanism for aligning the carton material held by the holding mechanism;
The carton material supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: A detection unit for detecting the carton material;
The carton material supply according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the error processing unit performs error processing when the detection unit detects that no carton material is present. apparatus.   The determination unit determines whether the first information and the second information have the predetermined relationship when the detection unit detects that a carton material is present. The carton material supply apparatus according to claim 4. A holding mechanism for holding a plurality of carton materials in a stacked state;
A reduction mechanism that reduces the pressing force applied to the lower carton material by the upper carton material in the plurality of stacked carton materials;
The carton material supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:   The carton material supply apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the reduction mechanism includes a pressing mechanism that presses the side surfaces of a plurality of stacked carton materials. A carton material supply device that supplies carton material to a caser that wraps an article with carton material,
A reading unit for reading the first information from the carton material;
An input unit that captures second information about an article to be wrapped in carton material;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the first information and the second information have a predetermined relationship;
An error processing unit that executes error processing when the first information and the second information do not have the predetermined relationship;
A carton material supply device comprising:

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