JP2010006555A - Container delivery device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent containers delivered in a row from toppling during transfer and to cope with even when the number of containers in one row is different or when the position of the front container and the position of the rear container of one row are different. <P>SOLUTION: The container delivery device is equipped with a container separating means (release table 14) for separating a front row of container groups aligned in a plurality of rows and advanced in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the rows, a front guide member 60 and a rear guide member 62 for supporting a front container 2 and a rear container 2, respectively, in the delivering direction of the one row of containers 2, and servo motors for moving the both guide members 60, 62 in the delivering direction of the containers 2. The front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 are moved by different servo motors. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a container delivery device that separates the containers in the foremost row of a group of containers that are aligned in a plurality of rows and have been advanced in a direction orthogonal to the rows, and that feeds them in a direction orthogonal to the advance direction of the plurality of rows of containers. Is.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus that separates one row at a time from a plurality of rows of container groups and feeds them in a row by a conveyor is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The invention described in this Patent Document 1 is a bulk dismantling device that feeds bottles mounted in a matrix on a stacked sheet 40 one by one onto a carry-out conveyor 8 by a pusher 19, and the carry-out conveyor 8 receives a single row of bottles. After that, the conveyor surface 8a is vertically lowered by the lifting device 41, and the bottles on the lowered conveyor surface 8a are separated from the bottles on the bulk side by the overfeed pusher 22, and then the carry-out conveyor 8 is caused to travel. I have to.

In the invention described in Patent Document 1, after transferring a row of containers onto the carry-out conveyor, the conveyor is lowered, further separated from a plurality of rows of containers by a pusher, and then the carry-out conveyor is run to move the containers. For example, the container is a container having a circular cross section, and each row of containers is positioned and overlapped between adjacent rows of containers, that is, in a staggered arrangement, It is possible to transport the first row of containers separately from the subsequent container group.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-75127 (page 2-4, FIG. 1)

  In the configuration of the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the container shakes when the operation is speeded up, the container at the front end in the discharge direction falls down when separated by a pusher or when the carry-out conveyor starts running. There was a problem that.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a container delivery device that does not cause the container to fall down even if the operation is speeded up.

  The present invention relates to a container delivery device that sends out the containers in the foremost row of a group of containers that are aligned in a plurality of rows and advanced in a direction perpendicular to the rows to the direction orthogonal to the advance direction, and the containers in the foremost row are containers Container separating means for separating from the group, a front guide member positioned in front of the separated container in the feeding direction, a rear guide member positioned in the rear, and a guide for moving the front guide member and the rear guide member in the feeding direction It is provided with a member moving means, and the interval between the front guide member and the rear guide member can be changed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the guide member moving means includes a front guide member moving means for moving the front guide means and a rear guide member moving means for moving the rear guide member. It is a feature.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 3, the guide member moving means is separated next after moving the front guide member and the rear guide member in the delivery direction together with the front row of containers separated from the container group. The distance between the front guide member and the rear guide member is changed before moving together with the frontmost row of containers.

  In the container delivery device of the present invention, the one row of containers separated from the container group by the container separating means is sent out while holding the front and rear ends of the container row by the front guide member and the rear guide member. Even if the operation is speeded up, there is an advantage that there is no possibility of falling when the container is separated from the container row or when the container starts moving.

  A device that separates the containers in the front row from a group of containers that are aligned in a plurality of rows and advanced in a direction perpendicular to the rows of these containers, and sends them in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the vessels are advanced. The container separating means for separating the front row of containers one by one, the front guides arranged respectively at the front of the container located at the top in the delivery direction and the rear of the container located at the rear end of the separated row of containers By including the member and the rear guide member, and the guide member moving means for moving the front guide member and the rear guide member in the container delivery direction, the possibility of the containers falling over at the start of delivery of a row of containers can be eliminated. it can. In addition, since the distance between the front guide member and the rear guide member can be adjusted, the length of one row of containers separated and sent out from the container group may be different, or the position of the leading container and the trailing container may be different for each row. Even if different, the position of each guide member can be adjusted to reliably hold and send out a row of containers from the front and back.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a container delivery device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the operation of this container delivery device, and is a view taken along the direction II in FIG. The container delivery device includes an introduction conveyor 4 that intermittently conveys containers 2 arranged in a plurality of rows in a direction orthogonal to the row (see arrow Y), and a row of containers 2 in the front row of the introduction conveyor 4. Container separating means 6 for separating from the container group, and container moving means 10 for discharging the separated one row of containers 2 from the separated position onto the conveying conveyor 8 for conveying in the direction of the row (see arrow X), It has.

  In this embodiment, the round containers 2 are in a staggered arrangement (an arrangement in which one row of containers 2 is located in the middle of the other adjacent rows of containers 2), and the number of containers 2 in each row is different ( In the example shown in FIG. 1, a process of separating and sending out one row at a time in 9 rows and 10 rows of containers alternately arranged) will be described. The introduction conveyor 4 carries a plurality of rows of containers 2 and is intermittently driven in a direction perpendicular to the rows, and advances and stops one row at a time. The containers 2 to be transported are guided by guide members 4 a disposed on both sides of the introduction conveyor 4 at almost the intermediate height of the containers 2. A dead plate 12 is disposed in front of the introduction conveyor 4 (upper side in FIG. 1), and the container 2 conveyed by the introduction conveyor 4 is pushed by the rear container 2 and placed on the dead plate 12. Extruded.

  A release table 14 is disposed in front of the dead plate 12 and can move forward and backward in the front-rear direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 1 and the left-right direction in FIG. 2) with the containers 2 for one row placed thereon. The release table 14 is attached to a piston rod 16a of a horizontally disposed air cylinder 16, and receives a row of containers 2 pushed out from the dead plate 12 by approaching the dead plate 12 (see FIG. 2 and a position where the containers 2 on the front row on the dead plate 12 and the containers 2 transferred onto the release table 14 do not overlap each other (FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 described later). , (See FIG. 6).

  Above the release table 14, a release guide 18 that is connected to the piston rod 16 a of the air cylinder 16 and moves forward and backward integrally with the release table 14 is provided. The release guide 18 is a front surface of a row of containers 2 pushed out from the dead plate 12 onto the release table 14 when the front row of containers 2 is separated from the plurality of rows of containers by moving the release table 14. While supporting the side, as will be described later, when the containers 2 are moved in the direction X perpendicular to the conveying direction Y of the introduction conveyor 4, the side surfaces of the containers 2 are separated (the containers 2 are separated). The same surface as the front surface). The release table 14 that moves forward and backward by the air cylinder 16 constitutes the container separating means described in claim 1.

  A shutter guide 20 is provided below the position where the release table 14 moves forward and backward. The shutter guide 20 can be moved up and down by an air cylinder 22 arranged in the vertical direction. When the shutter guide 20 is lowered, the shutter guide 20 is located at a height that does not interfere with the release table 14. Projects upward from 14. In addition, when the shutter guide 20 is raised, the side of the bottom of the container 2 placed on the release table 14 and separated from the container group can be supported on the side opposite to the side supported by the release guide 18. ing. A container opening guide 24 is disposed above the release table 14. The container opening guide 24 can be moved up and down by an air cylinder 26 arranged in the vertical direction, and is positioned at a height that does not interfere with the container 2 placed on the release table 14 when raised. At the time of lowering, it is disposed at a position where it contacts and supports the side surface of the mouth 2a of the container 2 on the release table 14. An air cylinder 26 for raising and lowering the container opening guide 24 is connected to a piston rod 16a of the air cylinder 16 for moving the release table 14 forward and backward, and the release table 14, the release guide 18 and the container opening guide 24 advance and retract integrally. Move. With this configuration, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, which will be described later, when the release table 14 is moved to separate the one row of containers 2 from the container group, the container mouth guide 24 is lowered to move the container. By supporting the two mouth portions 2a, the moving container 2 is prevented from falling down.

  Further, a stopper 30 that is moved up and down by an air cylinder 28 arranged in a vertical direction is provided above the tip of the dead plate 12. The stopper 30 is located at a height that does not interfere with the containers 2 that move from the dead plate 12 to the release table 14 when the stopper 30 is raised, and when the stopper 30 is lowered, the stoppers 30 of the rows of the containers 2 that are located closer to the front of the dead plate 12. It abuts on the front side of the mouth 2a and is disposed at a position that restricts the movement of the container 2 from the dead plate 12 to the release table 14.

  A row of containers 2 on the release table 14 is received and arranged in a straight line on a straight line on the downstream side (position in which one row of containers is delivered) of the release table 14 at a position separated from the dead plate 12 forward. A transport conveyor 8 is disposed for transporting. Guide members 32 and 34 that support both side surfaces of the containers 2 that are transported in a row are provided on both sides of the transport surface of the transport conveyor 8. These guide members 32, 34 extend to positions adjacent to the downstream ends of the release guide 18 and the shutter guide 20 in the container transport direction.

  Container moving means 10 for transferring one row of containers 2 separated from the plurality of rows of container groups on the introduction conveyor 4 and the dead plate 12 by the movement of the release table 14 onto the conveyor 8 from the release table 14. Is provided. The container moving means 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. Vertically rotated by drive servomotors (guide member moving means) 36 and 38 on the downstream side and upstream side in the container delivery direction X of the side portion of the release table 14 (side portion opposite to the dead plate 12), respectively. Two upper and lower wheels 44, 46, 48, 50 are attached to the directional drive shafts 40, 42 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, of the two wheels 44, 46 on the downstream side in the container delivery direction X (left side in FIGS. 1 and 3), the upper wheel 44 is rotatably supported via the ball bearing 52, The lower wheel 46 is fixed to the drive shaft 40 and is directly rotated by the first servo motor 36. Of the two wheels 48, 50 arranged upstream in the container delivery direction X, the upper wheel 48 is fixed to the drive shaft 42, and the lower wheel 50 is freely rotatable via a ball bearing 54. The upper wheel 48 is directly rotated by the second servo motor 38.

  Belts 56 and 58 are wound around the upper two wheels 44 and 48 and the lower two wheels 46 and 50, respectively. When the container 2 on the release table 14 is moved onto the transport conveyor 8 by the upper and lower belts 56 and 58, the container 2 (the container located at the left end in FIG. 1) located at the top of the one row of containers 2 A front guide member 60 and a rear guide member 62 for holding the container 2 located at the rear end are attached. In this embodiment, three front guide members 60 are attached to the upper belt 56 at equal intervals, and three rear guide members 62 are attached to the lower belt 58 at equal intervals. The front guide member 60 is attached to a position obtained by dividing the upper belt 56 into three equal parts, and the rear guide member 62 is attached to a position obtained by dividing the lower belt 58 into three equal parts. The lower belt 58 travels by driving the first servo motor 36 and the rear guide member 62 moves, and the upper belt 56 travels by driving the second servo motor 38 and the front guide member 60 moves. ing. Since the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 are moved by the drive of the separate servo motors 36 and 38, they can be moved independently, thereby moving the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 in the moving direction. The interval can be changed.

  One of these front guide members 60 and one of the rear guide members 62 is paired to hold a row of containers 2 from the front and rear, and a first servo motor 36 (rear guide member moving means) and second guide member moving means. The upper and lower belts 56 and 58 are integrally driven by the synchronized drive of the servo motor 38 (front guide member moving means), thereby moving the container 2 on the release table 14 onto the transport conveyor 8. The container moving means 10 includes upper and lower belts 56, 58 wound around upper and lower wheels 44, 46, 48, 50, and a front guide member 60 and a rear guide member 62 attached to the belts 56, 58, respectively. First and second servo motors 36 as guide member moving means for moving the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 in the feed-out direction of the container 2 via the wheels 44, 46, 48, 50 and belts 56, 58, 38. The release guide 18 provided integrally with the release table 14 has a height intermediate between the upper and lower belts 56 and 58 so as not to interfere with the upper and lower belts 56 and 58 and the front and rear guide members 60 and 62. Has been placed.

  In addition, a sensor 64 for detecting the number of containers 2 in the forefront row of the container group placed on the dead plate 12 and the introduction conveyor 4 is attached to the guide member 4a on the side of the dead plate 12. Next, the number of containers 2 in a row held between the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 is confirmed. As the sensor 64, a displacement sensor such as a laser type, an ultrasonic type, or a contact type can be adopted, and the presence or absence of the container 2 at the measurement position is determined from the measurement result of the sensor 64. If there are nine, the number of containers 2 in the front row can be detected as ten. In particular, as in this embodiment, when each row of the plurality of rows of containers 2 is in a staggered arrangement with a different number of adjacent rows, the containers are held by the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62. Since the number of the containers 2 is different every time, before the container 2 is inserted between the two guide members 60 and 62, the number of the containers 2 is confirmed by a signal from the sensor 64 to check the number of the guide members 60, The interval is changed by adjusting the position 62.

  The operation of the container delivery device according to the above configuration will be described. In the staggered arrangement on the introduction conveyor 4, each row is placed in a different number (in this embodiment, 10 rows of containers 2 and 9 rows of containers 2 are alternately arranged). The plurality of rows of container groups are moved forward by one pitch (distance between the center lines of adjacent container rows) in the direction of arrow Y by the intermittent drive of the introduction conveyor 4. When the introduction conveyor 4 is driven, the container 2 in the foremost row of the containers on the introduction conveyor 4 is pushed out onto the dead plate 12, and the container 2 in the foremost row is pushed from behind by the next one-pitch drive. Move to the front side of the plate 12. By the next one-pitch operation, the first row of containers 2 on the front row side of the dead plate 12 is transferred onto the release table 14 that has been moved to the delivery position on the dead plate 12 side by the operation of the air cylinder 16.

  When the first row of containers 2 from the dead plate 12 is transferred onto the release table 14, the release table 14 is moved to a delivery position close to the dead plate 12, and the shutter guide 20 disposed below is lowered. In addition, the container opening guide 24 and the stopper 30 disposed above are raised so that they do not interfere with the moving container 2 and the release table 14 (see FIG. 2). Further, the position of the pair of front guide member 60 and rear guide member 62 of the container moving means 10 is adjusted according to the number of containers 2 in a row confirmed by the sensor 64. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, when holding a row with a large number of containers 2, the front guide member 60 is on the front surface of the leading container (the leftmost container 2 in FIG. 1), and the rear guide member 62 is on the rear end. The interval is adjusted so that the distance between the two guide members 60 and 62 is increased so as to hold the back surface of the container 2.

  When the first row of containers 2 of the container group is pushed out of the dead plate 12 and transferred onto the release table 14, the stopper 30 is lowered by the operation of the upper air cylinder 28, and the rear row of containers (dead plate 12). The movement of the rear side container group is restricted by contacting the front side of the mouth 2a of the uppermost container 2). Further, the container mouth guide 24 also descends to support the back side of the mouth 2a of the container 2 on the release table 14 (see FIG. 4). The release table 14 moves away from the dead plate 12 by the operation of the horizontal air cylinder 16. The movement of the release table 14 separates and separates the first row of containers in the container group (one row of containers 2 placed on the release table 14) from the rear container group (see FIG. 5). That is, the containers 2 that overlap each other in the staggered arrangement are not overlapped. The row of containers 2 transferred from the dead plate 12 onto the release table 14 is supported by the front side abutting against the release guide 18, and the rear side of the mouth 2a is supported by the container mouth guide 24 (state of FIG. 4). Thereafter, when the release table 14 is separated from the subsequent container group by the movement of the release table 14, the front side of the one row of containers 2 is supported by the release guide 18 as it is, and the mouth portion 2a is stably supported by the container mouth guide 24. (See FIG. 5).

  Thus, after the release table 14 moves, the first row of containers 2 in the front row of the container group is separated from the rear side container group, and then the lower shutter guide 20 is lifted by the operation of the air cylinder 22 and separated. Further, the bottom of the row of containers 2 is supported by contacting from the opposite side of the release guide 18 (see FIG. 6). In this way, when separating the row of containers 2 from the rear container group and sending them in a direction (X direction) orthogonal to the direction of separation (Y direction), as shown in FIG. One side (right side in the figure) is guided by the release guide 18, and the opposite side is guided by the container opening guide 24 and the shutter guide 20.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the row of containers 2 separated from the container group by the movement of the release table 14 is inserted between the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 positioned at predetermined positions and intervals. The side surface on the right side in the transport direction (upper side in FIG. 1) is supported by the release guide 18, the bottom side of the side surface on the left side in the transport direction is the shutter guide 20, and the side of the mouth 2 a is the container mouth guide 24. It is in a state supported by. In this state, the upper belt 56 to which the front guide member 60 is attached and the lower belt 58 to which the rear guide member 62 is attached are driven at a constant speed by the first and second servomotors 36 and 38 for driving. The container 2 is moved in the direction of the conveyor 8 while the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 hold the front and rear sides. The front guide member 60 wraps around the wheel 44 after the container 2 near the top is transferred onto the conveyor 8 and is disengaged from the front container 2. When the front guide member 60 that regulates the top of the one row of containers 2 is retracted from the transport conveyor 8, the containers 2 on the transport conveyor 8 are thereafter transported according to the transport speed of the transport conveyor 8 (see FIG. 7).

  When one row of containers 2 is discharged from the release table 14, the release table 14 moves to the dead plate 12 side together with the release guide 18 and the container opening guide 24 by the operation of the air cylinder 16. After the container 2 is discharged from the release table 14, the container opening guide 24 and the stopper 30 are raised, and the shutter guide 20 is lowered. On the other hand, the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 of the container moving means 10 are containers positioned at the top and the rear end of the one row of containers 2 before the next one row of containers 2 is pushed out onto the release table 14. Each position is adjusted to support 2. Since the containers 2 with a large number of rows were discharged last time, the containers 2 with a small number of rows are pushed out from the dead plate 12 next time. Accordingly, in accordance with the position of the containers 2 in this row, the front guide member 60 is upstream of the container delivery direction X and the rear guide member 62 is downstream, corresponding to approximately half of the diameter of the container 2, respectively. The positions of both guide members 60 and 62 are adjusted to the position moved by the length to be adjusted.

  The upper belt 56 to which the front guide member 60 is attached is fixed to the drive shaft 42 of the second servomotor 38 and is free with respect to the drive shaft 40 of the first servomotor 36. 2 The servomotor 38 is driven to move to a predetermined position (position on the front surface of the top container 2 in a small number of container rows). On the other hand, the lower belt 58 to which the rear guide member 62 is attached is fixed to the drive shaft 40 of the first servo motor 36 and is free from the drive shaft 42 of the second servo motor 38. The first servo motor 36 is driven to move to a predetermined position (the position of the rear surface of the container 2 at the rear end of a small number of container rows) (see the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 in FIG. 8). Thus, when the number of containers 2 in a row is different and the lengths of the rows are different, the traveling amounts of the upper and lower belts 56 and 58 driven by the first servo motor 36 and the second servo motor 38 are different. Thus, the relative position of the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 can be changed to change the distance between them. As described above, in the present embodiment, the interval between the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 is changed by moving the row of containers 2 in the direction of the conveyor 8 and then the subsequent front guide member 60 and the rear guide. When the member 62 is positioned at the container separation position of the release table 14, the next row of containers 2 is inserted between the positioned front guide member 60 and rear guide member 62. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 are once positioned at the container separation position of the release table 14 at intervals longer than the length of the next row of containers 2 to be inserted in the row direction. Thereafter, after the next row of containers 2 is inserted, the interval may be changed by adjusting the positions of the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62. That is, at least the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 need only be changed before moving in the direction of the transport conveyor 8 together with the first row of containers 2 to be separated next. In addition, although the said Example demonstrated the case where the round container 2 made into different number zigzag arrangement was handled, it is not restricted to such a case, The number of the containers 2 of each row | line | column is the same in zigzag arrangement. In this case, it is not necessary to adjust the interval between the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62, and the stop position for each time is adjusted with the same interval. In the case of a rectangular container, the number of containers in each row is the same, and each container is in the same position as the container in the adjacent row, so that the front and rear guide members are always waiting at the same position. That's fine.

  As described above, in the apparatus according to this embodiment, the front and rear of the one row of containers 2 are held and sent out by the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62. It is possible to prevent the top container 2 from falling. Further, since the front guide member 60 and the rear guide member 62 are attached to the upper and lower separate belts 56 and 58 and driven by the separate servo motors 36 and 38, the positions and intervals of the front and rear guide members 60 and 62 can be freely set. Thus, it becomes possible to continuously carry out a container row having an odd number of staggered arrangement, which has been difficult in the past.

It is a top view of a container delivery apparatus. (Example 1) It is a cross-sectional view of a container delivery apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the moving means of a front guide member and a back guide member. It is a cross-sectional view of a container delivery device, and is a diagram illustrating a process of separating a row of containers from a container group. It is a cross-sectional view of a container delivery apparatus, and is a figure explaining the next process of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the container delivery device, illustrating the next step of FIG. 5. It is a top view of a container delivery apparatus, and is a figure which shows the next step of FIG. It is a top view of a container delivery apparatus, and is a figure which shows the next step of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 container 6 container separating means 36 means for moving the rear guide member (first servo motor)
38 Forward guide member moving means (second servo motor)
60 Front guide member 62 Back guide member

Claims (3)

In a container delivery device that sends out the containers in the foremost row of a group of containers that are aligned in a plurality of rows and advanced in a direction perpendicular to the rows, in a direction perpendicular to the advance direction,
Container separating means for separating the containers in the front row from the container group, a front guide member positioned in front of the separated container in the delivery direction, a rear guide member positioned in the rear, and these front guide member and rear guide member And a guide member moving means for moving the guide member in the delivery direction, and the interval between the front guide member and the rear guide member can be changed.   2. The container delivery according to claim 1, wherein the guide member moving means comprises a front guide member moving means for moving the front guide means and a rear guide member moving means for moving the rear guide member. apparatus.   The guide member moving means moves the front guide member and the rear guide member together with the first row of containers separated from the container group in the feeding direction, and then moves together with the first row of containers separated next. The container delivery device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a distance between the front guide member and the rear guide member is changed.

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