JP2008310378A - Separation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cup separation device capable of stably supporting cups and ensuring that the cup at the bottom is separated. <P>SOLUTION: In the cup separation device, the supporting faces of a first support piece 24 and a second support piece 26 for supporting the lower face of the flange part 10b of a flanged cup 10 are formed as horizontal support faces 24a, 26a. Also, the lower face of the second support piece 26 is formed as a diagonal cam face 26c which causes the second support piece 26 to enter between the flanged cup 10 at the bottom and the flange part 10b of the flanged cup 10 above it when the flanged cup 10 at the bottom is dropped and separated, and which presses against the upper face of the flange part 10b of the flanged cup 10 at the bottom when the flanged cup 10 at the bottom is no longer supported by the first support piece 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a separation device (hereinafter referred to as cup separation device) that can separate and take out cups one by one from a laminated cup in which a large number of cups with a basket for storing stored items such as medals of game machines that use medals. ).

In a game machine that uses medals, a player stores medals in a cup and carries them. This cup is a cup with a bowl, and a stacking cup in which many cups with a bowl are stacked is stored in a cup supply device, and a player should take out the cup one by one from the cup supply device and use it. Yes. That is, this cup supply device incorporates a cup separating device, separates the lowest cupped cup from the laminated cup and drops it to the outlet.
These cup separators are not limited to game machines, but are widely used, such as pachinko ball storage containers, and paper cup separators in other beverage vending machines.

There exists a thing shown by utility model registration No. 3070276 as a cup separator.
This cup separating device supports a laminated cup by a plurality of drop cams, and each drop cam has a locking portion for locking a collar portion of the cup at the lowermost end, and a cup positioned above the locking portion. A locking portion for locking the collar portion, and both locking portions are formed in a spiral shape. Then, the drop cam is rotated at a required angle, so that the lowermost cup is sequentially separated and dropped to be taken out.
Utility Model Registration No. 3070276

However, the cup separation device has a locking portion that supports the cup flange, so that the cup does not sit well, and the cup sways when the cup is taken out. . Therefore, in some cases, a problem may occur such as being caught in the middle and not falling to the outlet. In the case of a cup that is relatively large, heavy, and has a high center of gravity, it is required to maintain a stable posture during replenishment and separation operations.
Further, in the cup separating device, the locking part simply supports the collar from below, so that when the cup is removed from the locking part, the lowermost cup is caught in the cup above it. There is also a problem that causes a situation where they are not separated.
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a separation device that can stably support the cup and can reliably separate the lowermost cup. It is to provide.

  The separation device according to the present invention is capable of supporting a laminated cup in which a brazed cup is laminated with a required gap between the flanges, and a plurality of drop cams surround the laminated cup on a horizontal base, respectively. A first support that is disposed to be rotatable about an axis, and that each drop cam protrudes with a required width and can support the lower surface of the flange portion of the lowermost cup of the laminated cup. And a second support piece capable of supporting the bottom surface of the hooked cup one above the lowermost part at a position shifted from the first support piece by a required angle in the rotation direction, The laminated cup is accommodated in a state where the lowermost brazed cup is supported on the one support piece, and the drop cam is rotated by a required angle in a required direction, so that the second support piece is the lowermost part and its first part. The first support piece while entering between the flanges of the upper brace cup Therefore, the support of the lowermost brazing cup is removed and the lowermost brazing cup is dropped and separated downward, and the second support piece supports and laminates the lower face of the lowermost brazing cup. The cup is supported on the second support piece, and then each drop cam is rotated in the reverse direction by the required angle, so that the support of the lowermost brazed cup by the second support piece is disengaged and the first support that has turned around A separation device that is controlled so that a laminated cup is transferred to a piece and placed in a standby state, and is a support surface that supports the lower surface of the flanged portion of the hooked cup of the first support piece and the second support piece. Are formed on the horizontal support surface, and when the lower surface of the second support piece drops and separates the lowermost brazed cup, the second support piece is the lowermost brazed cup and one of them. Enter between the flanges of the upper brace cup, the bottom of the first support piece Characterized in that the support with the cup is formed on the oblique cam surfaces for pressing the flange portion upper surface of the bottom of the flanged cup when off.

Further, each drop cam is provided with a gear, and a gear having the number of teeth necessary for meshing with the gear of the drop cam and reciprocatingly rotating each drop cam at a required angle is partially provided on the base. A drive gear is provided, and a drive source for reciprocatingly rotating the drive gear is provided.
Further, according to the arrangement position of each drop cam, a gear partially provided on the drive gear is provided at a position on a concentric circle with the reciprocating rotation center of the drive gear as the center.

The drive source is a drive motor.
A plurality of rotating rollers are provided, which are in contact with the peripheral surface of the driving gear and support the rotation of the driving gear.
A sensor for detecting a rotational position of the drive gear and outputting a detection signal for stopping the rotation of the drive motor is provided.
Each drop cam is characterized in that a plurality of sets of first support pieces and second support pieces having different protrusion widths for each set are provided in different rotation angle areas.

According to the separation device of the present invention, when the support of the lowermost brazed cup by the first support piece is removed, the upper surface of the brim portion of the lowermost brazed cup is inclined with respect to the second support piece. Since it is pressed by the cam surface, the lowest brazed cup can be reliably separated.
In addition, since the support surface of the first support piece is formed on the horizontal support surface and the support surface of the second support piece is formed on the horizontal support surface as well, a comparison that accommodates the medal of the game machine is performed. Even if the cup is large, heavy, and has a high center of gravity, it is stably supported on the horizontal support surface, and the bottom brace cup is separated and dropped while maintaining a good posture in the vertical direction. There is no problem of getting caught on the fall path.

Preferred embodiments of a separation device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an example of a cup 10 with a hook, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a laminated cup 12. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an outline of the cup separating device 14.
The flanged cup 10 has a flange portion 10b that protrudes outward at the upper edge of the cup body 10a. This cup 10 with cups is a cup separating device 14 incorporated in a cup supply device (not shown) in the state of a laminated cup 12 in which a large number of laminated cups are laminated with a required gap between upper and lower cup flanges 10b. Is housed in.
The cup 10 is made of various materials such as paper, resin, and metal.

The cup separator 14 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Reference numeral 16 denotes a base, and a through-hole 18 having a size through which the brazed cup 10 can pass is formed at the center.
Then, four drop cams 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d are arranged on the base 16 around the through hole 18 so that the laminated cup 12 can be supported by the support piece.
The drop cams 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d are supported so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane around a rotating shaft 22 that is erected on the base 16.
In addition, the drop cam 20 should just be two or more.

Each drop cam 20 is formed on the peripheral surface so as to protrude with a required width, and includes a first support piece 24 that can support the lower surface of the flange portion 10b of the lowest cup 10 of the laminated cup 12, and the first support piece 24. One supporting piece 24 and a second supporting piece 26 capable of supporting the lower surface of the flange portion 10b of the flanged cup 10 one above the lowermost portion are provided at a position shifted by a required angle in the rotation direction.
A gear 27 is formed on the lower surface side of each drop cam 20.

In the standby state, the first support piece 24 of each drop cam 20 protrudes into the through hole 18, and the lower surface of the flange portion 10 b of the bottom cup 10 of the laminated cup 12 is supported on the first support piece 24. As a result, the laminated cup 12 is supported above the through hole 18. Although not shown, a support cylinder is disposed above the through hole 18, and the laminated cup 12 is positioned in the support cylinder and supported so as not to fall down.
In this standby state, the second support piece 26 is not in a position to support the flange portion 10b of the flanged cup 10.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the support surfaces of the first support piece 24 and the second support piece 26 that support the lower surface of the flange portion 10b of the hooked cup 10 are formed on the horizontal support surfaces 24a and 26a. ing. Further, as will be described later, when the lower support cup 26 is dropped and separated, the second support piece 26 is placed on the lower support cup 10 and one above, as will be described later. When the first cup 24 is not supported by the first cup 24, the upper surface of the flange 10b of the lowermost cup 10 is pressed diagonally. The cam surface 26b is formed.
In addition, the front-end | tip part of the horizontal support surface 26a of the 2nd support piece 26 is formed in the taper surface 26c which becomes so low that it goes to a front-end | tip so that it may approach easily between the collar parts 10b.

  Next, in FIG. 3, reference numeral 28 denotes a ring-plate-shaped drive gear, which is disposed on the base 16 so as to be rotatable about the axis so as to surround the through hole 18, and on the outer peripheral portion, the gear 27 of each drop cam 20. Is formed. Reference numeral 30 denotes a drive motor. A motor gear 32 is fixed to the rotary shaft 31 thereof, the motor gear 32 meshes with the upper gear of the two-stage reduction gear 33, and the lower gear (not shown) of the reduction gear 33 is the drive gear 28. Is engaged with a gear 29 formed on the outer periphery of the motor. Accordingly, by driving the drive motor 30, each drop cam 20 can be rotated via the drive gear 28.

  The drop cam 20 is reciprocally rotated within a required angle range. In the present embodiment, the gear 29 provided on the outer periphery of the drive gear 28 is partially provided on the outer periphery of the drive gear 28 by the number of teeth necessary to reciprocate the drop cam 20 within a required angle range. . Of course, the gear 29 may be provided over the entire outer periphery of the drive gear 28, but for reasons described later, the gear 29 is partially provided on the drive gear 28 in accordance with the position of the corresponding drop cam 20 or the like. Is advantageous. The drive gear 28 may be provided on the inner peripheral side and meshed with the gear 27 of the drop cam 20.

A reset gear 35 meshes with the motor gear 32, and the drop cam 20 can be manually rotated by manually rotating the motor gear 32 from the outside.
Reference numeral 36 denotes a rotating roller, which is disposed on the base 16 and supports the drive gear 28 by contacting an outer peripheral surface of the drive gear 28 where the gear 29 is not provided so that the drive gear 28 does not swing. ing. In addition, the contact part which contact | abuts not only a rotating roller but the outer peripheral surface of the drive gear 28 may be sufficient. A member having excellent wear resistance and a small friction coefficient may be attached to the abutting portion, or processing such as heat treatment may be performed.

  Next, 38a and 38b are sensors, which are arranged on the base 16 outside the drive gear 28 at a required interval. Further, a dog 40 is disposed on the drive gear 28 so as to protrude outward. The sensors 38a and 38b detect the dog 40 when the dog 40 approaches, and this detection signal is sent to a control unit (not shown) so that the drive motor 30 is stopped by the control unit.

  In the standby state, the dog 40 is located at the sensor 38a. When a switch (not shown) is turned on, the drive motor 30 is driven, the drive gear 28 rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4, and each drop cam 20 rotates in the direction of arrow B. When the dog 40 is detected by the sensor 38b, the drive motor 30 is stopped. When the required time has elapsed after the stop, the drive motor 30 is reversely rotated by the control unit, each drop cam 20 is reversely rotated, and the dog 40 is detected by the sensor 38a. If it does, the drive motor 30 will be stopped and it will be in a standby state. This series of control is performed by a control unit (not shown). As the sensors 38a and 38b, various sensors such as a photo sensor, a proximity sensor, and a limit switch can be used.

The cup separation device 14 of the present embodiment is configured as described above.
As described above, when a switch (not shown) is turned on to take out the brazed cup 10, the drive motor 30 is driven and each drop cam 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 8).
As each drop cam 20 is rotated, the second support piece 26 enters between the lowermost part and the flange part 10b of the hooked cup 10 on the uppermost part (FIG. 8B), and still drops. When the cam 20 rotates, the support of the lowermost flanged cup 10 by the first support piece 24 is removed, and the lowermost flanged cup 10 is dropped and separated downward (FIGS. 8C to 8). (F)). When the support of the lowermost flanged cup 10 by the first support piece 24 is released, the upper surface of the flange part 10b of the lowermost flanged cup 10 is pressed by the oblique cam surface 26b of the second support piece 26. Therefore, the lowermost brazed cup 10 is reliably separated (FIGS. 8D to 8F).

  On the other hand, the second support piece 26 that has turned around supports the bottom surface of the flange portion 10b of the flanged cup 10 that is the lowermost part, and the entire laminated cup 12 is supported on the second support piece 26. (FIG. 8F). In this state, the dog 40 is detected by the sensor 38b, and the drive motor 30 is stopped. As described above, when the required time elapses, the drive motor 30 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the drop cams 20 are rotated in the reverse direction. The laminated cup 12 is delivered onto the first support piece 24 that has been made. In this state, the dog 40 is detected by the sensor 38a, the drive motor 30 is stopped, and a standby state is entered.

In the present embodiment, the support surface of the first support piece 24 is formed on the horizontal support surface 24a, and similarly, the support surface of the second support piece 26 is formed on the horizontal support surface 26a. Even a cup that is relatively large, heavy, and has a high center of gravity, such as a machine's medal, is stably supported on the horizontal support surface, and the lowermost cup 10 is good in the vertical direction. Since it is separated and dropped while maintaining its posture, there is no problem of being caught on the dropping path.
The manual reset gear 35 is unlocked by manually rotating the exposed portion of the reset gear from the outside when the device is locked due to a shape defect of the cup 10 or the separation operation is not performed well. Or you can reset it.

  In the above embodiment, the drive gear 28 is directly driven by the drive motor 30 via the gear 29, but may be driven via a lever or a link mechanism. Moreover, you may drive not with a motor but with drive sources, such as an air cylinder. Further, each drop cam 20 may be driven in synchronization with a timing belt or the like instead of the ring plate-like drive gear 28.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the drop cam 20.
In the drop cam 20 of this example (only one is shown), the set of the first support piece 24 and the second support piece 26 of a plurality of sets (three sets in this example) having different protrusion widths for each set Are provided in different rotation angle areas (three areas A, B, and C shifted by 120 degrees in this example).
The protruding widths of the first support piece 24 and the second support piece 26 are increased in the order of area A, area B, and area C. Thereby, separation of the cups with various sizes (diameters) can be performed without changing the drop cam 20. In addition, it is necessary to enable the control unit to perform switching to use the area A, area B, and area C of each drop cam 20 individually.

10 and 11 are explanatory views schematically showing other embodiments of the cup separation device 14.
The same members as those shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
In the embodiment of FIG. 10, an example of the separating device 14 for the hooked cup 10 having a rectangular cross section is shown, and in the embodiment of FIG. 11, an example of the separating device 14 for the hooked cup 10 having a triangular cross section is shown. Each drop cam 20 includes a first support piece 24 and a second support piece 26, and the principle is the same as that shown in FIG. In this way, by changing the mounting position of each drop cam 20 or changing the protruding width and shape of the first support piece 24 and the second support piece 26, it is possible to obtain a separating device for the brazed cup of various shapes. be able to.

  Next, as described above, the gear 29 provided on the outer periphery of the drive gear 28 is matched to the size, position, etc. of the drop cam 20 by the number of teeth necessary to reciprocate the drop cam 20 within a required angle range. The advantages of being partially provided on the outer periphery of the drive gear 28 will be described below.

  Each drop cam 20 is accurately positioned and installed so that the first support piece 24 and the second support piece 26 have the same angular arrangement position in order to drop the cup synchronously. There is a need.

When the gear 29 is partially formed, the following procedure can be adopted.
First, for example, when the position of the support piece 24 in the standby state is considered as a reference, on the center line connecting the contact point of the support piece 24 at that time with the cup 10 and the virtual center point of the through hole 18 that drops the cup 10 In addition, there is a central axis of the gear 27, and one tooth crest (or trough) of the gear 27 is made to coincide with the inner side on the center line (when the gear 29 is provided on the outer periphery).
The processing position of the gear 29 may be processed in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction with respect to the number of teeth calculated from the angle to be rotated on the basis of one tooth valley (or crest).
The drop cam 20 may be positioned and assembled by aligning the gear 27 and the gear 29 with reference teeth.

  That is, as long as the mounting position of the drop cam 20 is determined, the position of the gear 29 in the drive gear 28 is determined, and the gear 29 corresponding to each drop cam 20 may be formed individually according to this position. Therefore, the position of the drop cam 20 can be determined as a free position so as to avoid a spatial obstacle, and the degree of freedom in design is improved. Further, the pitch of the gear 29 can be determined according to the size of the drop cam 20.

  In this way, the drive gear 28 may be processed so as to determine the position and the number of teeth of the gear 29 in accordance with the position and size of the drop cam 20. The drive gear 28 can also be used. The drive gear 28 shown in FIG. 12 is provided at a position where the gear 29 is concentrically centered around the reciprocating rotation center of the drive gear 28 in accordance with the arrangement position of each drop cam 20. Thus, since the drop cam 20 can be arranged at an arbitrary position, it can be suitably configured as a separating device for the irregular cup 10.

  In this regard, when the gear 29 is formed at a constant pitch over the entire circumference of the drive gear 28, the drop cam 20 is arranged in accordance with the pitch of the drive gear 28 in order to drive the drop cam 20 in synchronization. In other words, the degree of freedom in design is lacking, and it is not always easy to drive them accurately and synchronously.

  Next, by changing the height positions of the first support piece 24 and the second support piece 26 of the drop cam 20, separation of the deformed cup 10 in which the flange portion 10b is not on the same plane as shown in FIG. Can also be done. Of course, the condition is that the cup 10 has a shape that can be stacked vertically. In this case, the height position of the gear 29 of the drive gear 28 can also be changed according to each drop cam 20.

It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a cup with a hook. It is explanatory drawing of a laminated cup. It is a perspective view of a cup separation device. It is a top view of a cup separation device. It is a top view of a drop cam. It is a front view of a drop cam. It is a side view of a drop cam. It is explanatory drawing which shows the position of each support piece when a drop cam is driven. It is a plane explanatory view showing other embodiments of a drop cam. It is explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of a cup separation apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of a cup separation apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows embodiment using the unusual shaped drive gear. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of a deformed cup.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cup with cup 10a Cup main body 10b Cup 12 Stack cup 14 Cup separation device 16 Base 18 Through hole 20, 20a-20d Drop cam 22 Rotating shaft 24 First support piece 26 Second support piece 27 Gear 28 Drive gear 29 Gear 30 Drive motor 31 Rotating shaft 32 Motor gear 33 Reduction gear 35 Manual reset gear 36 Rotating roller 38a, 38b Sensor 40 Dog

Claims (7)

The brazed cup can support the laminated cups with the required gaps between the collars, and a plurality of drop cams are arranged on the horizontal base so as to surround the laminated cups so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis. Each of the drop cams is formed to protrude with a required width, and can support a lower surface of a flange portion of the lowermost cup of the laminated cup, and the first support And a second support piece capable of supporting the bottom surface of the hooked cup one above the lowermost part at a position shifted by a required angle in the rotational direction, and the lowermost part on the first support piece. The laminated cup is accommodated in a state in which the brazing cup is supported, and the drop cam is rotated by a necessary angle in the required direction, so that the second support piece is the lowermost part and the bowl of the brazing cup one above it. The lowermost brazed cup by the first support piece while entering between the parts The support is removed and the lowermost cup is dropped and separated downward, and the second support piece supports the lower face of the hooked cup that is the lowermost part, and the laminated cup is placed on the second support piece. Then, each drop cam is reversely rotated by a required angle, whereby the support of the lowermost brazed cup by the second support piece is released, and the laminated cup is delivered onto the first support piece that has been turned around. A separation device controlled to enter a standby state,
Both of the first support piece and the second support piece are formed on the horizontal support surface to support the lower surface of the flange portion of the hooked cup, and the lower surface of the second support piece is the lowest When dropping and separating the scissor cup, the second support piece enters between the bottom scissor cup and the scissor of the top scissor cup, and the bottom support scissors by the first support piece. A separation device, characterized in that it is formed on an oblique cam surface that presses the upper surface of the flange portion of the lowermost flanged cup when the support of the attachment cup is removed.   A drive gear in which each drop cam is provided with a gear, and the gear of the number of teeth necessary for reciprocatingly rotating each drop cam at a required angle is provided on the base and meshed with the gear of the drop cam. The separating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a drive source for reciprocally rotating the drive gear.   The gear partially provided on the drive gear is provided at a position on a concentric circle centered on the reciprocating rotation center of the drive gear in accordance with the arrangement position of each drop cam. The separation device described.     4. The separation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the drive source is a drive motor.   The separation device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a plurality of rotating rollers are provided in contact with the peripheral surface of the driving gear to support the rotation of the driving gear.   6. The separating apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a sensor that detects a rotational position of the drive gear and outputs a detection signal for stopping the rotation of the drive motor.   7. Each drop cam is provided with a plurality of sets of first support pieces and second support pieces having different projecting widths for each set in different rotation angle areas. The separation device according to any one of claims.