JP2011016659A - Article conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly convey elongated articles one by one in the laid sideways state.SOLUTION: A moving floor 30 (or 30A) (the ordinary moving floor 30 or the wide moving floor 30A) is adjacently arranged on a downstream side of a conveying direction with respect to an inlet chute 12, and a wide fixed floor 20A is adjacently arranged on a downstream side of the conveying direction with respect to the moving floor 30 (or 30A). A floor surface of the moving floor 30 (or 30A) is downward tilted to the downstream side of the conveying direction, and the moving floor 30 (or 30A) is repeatedly lifted and lowered so that the floor surface is positioned in an upper position and a lower position with respect to the inlet chute 12 and the wide fixed floor 20A. Further, a floor surface of the wide fixed floor 20A is downward tilted with respect to the downstream side of the conveying direction, and a floor surface width w1 along the conveying direction is wider than floor surface widths v2, w2 along the conveying direction of the moving floor 30 (or 30A).

Description

  The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus.

Examples of the article conveying device include those described in Patent Documents 1 to 3.
In the article conveying device described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of movable blades 5a to 5d and fixed blades 6a to 6d are alternately arranged in parallel on the terminal of the chute 3 that receives the workpiece W, and the fixed blades 6a to 6d are respectively arranged. The upper end surfaces 11a to 11d are fixed in a staircase shape that gradually increases as the distance from the chute 3 increases, and the movable blades 5a to 5d are repeatedly raised and lowered by the raising and lowering driving means 10a and 10b at a predetermined raising and lowering period, In the workpiece supply apparatus 1 in which the workpiece W is sequentially transferred to the upper end surface of the movable blade and the fixed blade and is aligned and supplied to the next process through the upper end surface of the last fixed blade, the movable blades 5a to 5d Any one of the upper end surfaces 7a is formed in a concavo-convex shape repeated in the longitudinal direction.

  The article conveying apparatus described in Patent Document 2 includes a large number of plate-like members that are stacked so that the upper surface is inclined upward in the conveying direction and the end surface is inclined downward, and one of the many plate-like members is arranged. The object to be transported placed on the upper surface of the front plate-like member at the end face of the slide plate-like member positioned rearward in the transport direction by sliding the plate-like member for each sheet placement in the tilt direction. Is pushed up and chased down to the end face of the downward slope.

  The article transport device described in Patent Document 3 is provided with an input chute 4 for articles and the like at the front and a carry-out chute 6 at the rear, and two or more article feed members between the input chute 4 and the carry-out chute 6. 7 is provided so as to move up and down relatively with respect to the adjacent ones, and the conveying surface 9 formed at the upper end of the article feeding member 7 is inclined downward in the feeding direction and is movable. When the movable article feeding member 7 is lowered, the upper end of the conveying surface 9 of the article feeding member 7 is equal to or lower than the lower end of the conveying surface 9 of the article feeding member 7 adjacent to the charging chute 4 side or the bottom bottom of the charging chute 4. The lower end of the conveying surface 9 is higher than the upper end of the conveying surface 9 of the adjacent article feeding member 7 or the upper end of the bottom surface of the carrying chute 6 when the movable article feeding member 7 is raised. It is obtained by way made.

JP2003-292138 JP 3-6398 62-13918

  The article conveying apparatus described in Patent Document 1 may be able to fall down horizontally on the upper end surface formed in the concavo-convex shape of the movable blade, even when a vertically long article is carried in a standing vertical orientation. is there. However, if a plurality of articles in a standing vertical position are arranged in parallel on the upper end surface of the movable blade, the articles remain in the vertical position without interfering with each other and falling down. It will be carried out downstream.

  Also in the article conveying apparatus described in Patent Document 2, when a vertically long article is in a vertical posture in an upright state on the upper surface of the plate-like member, it is carried out downstream in the vertical posture.

  The article conveying apparatus described in Patent Document 3 repeatedly moves up and down while being placed on the conveying surface when the vertically long article is in a vertically oriented posture standing on the conveying surface of the article feeding member. It will not move to the side, or it will be carried out to the downstream side in the vertical orientation.

  An object of the present invention is to smoothly carry out vertically long articles one by one in a horizontal direction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the moving floor is disposed adjacent to the downstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the inlet chute, the wide fixed floor is disposed adjacent to the downstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the moving floor, and the floor surface of the moving floor is conveyed. The moving floor is inclined so as to form a downward slope toward the downstream side, and the moving floor is repeatedly moved up and down with the floor surface positioned above and below the inlet chute and the floor surface of the wide fixed floor. The floor surface of the fixed floor is inclined so as to form a downward slope toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the floor surface width along the transport direction is wider than the floor surface width along the transport direction of the moving floor. It is what I did.

  In this specification, “downstream” indicates a direction in which an article travels, and does not indicate a lower position in the height direction. Similarly, “upstream” indicates a direction opposite to the direction in which the article travels, and does not indicate an upper position in the height direction. Therefore, even in the expression “downstream side”, the height direction is not limited to a lower position with respect to a certain reference. The same applies to the “upstream side”.

  In the present invention, articles are sent from the entrance chute to the moving floor, and further from the moving floor to the wide fixed floor. Even if the article sent to the wide fixed floor is sent to the wide fixed floor in the vertical posture in the standing state, the article always falls on the wide floor surface and is turned sideways and sent to the downstream side. Accordingly, the vertically long articles can be smoothly carried out one by one in order.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of bottle conveyance by the article conveyance device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state where the moving floor of the article transporting apparatus is lowered. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the moving floor of the article transporting apparatus is raised. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing uphill arrangement angles of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article transport device. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the inclination angles of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article conveying apparatus. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the inclination angles of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article transporting apparatus. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the inclination angles of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article conveying apparatus. FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a modification of the article transporting apparatus. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the article transporting apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a judgment device of the article transport device. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the handling operation of the handling device. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the first and second separator plates. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an article (bottle). FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an article (bottle). FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an article alignment / conveyance device. FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing a main part of the direction aligning device. FIG. 17 is a schematic view showing another example of the article alignment / conveyance device. FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state where the moving floor of the article transporting apparatus is lowered. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state where the moving floor of the article transporting apparatus is lowered and raised. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article transporting apparatus. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article transporting apparatus. FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article transporting apparatus. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article transporting apparatus. FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating an article conveyance device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating an article conveyance device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating an article conveyance device according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating the rising state of the first moving bed and the lowering state of the second moving bed in the article transporting apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram illustrating the lowering state of the first moving bed and the rising state of the second moving bed in the article transporting apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram illustrating a descending stroke of the moving floor in the article transporting apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram illustrating an article conveyance device according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram illustrating an article conveyance device according to an eighth embodiment. FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the moving floor of the article transport device is lowered, when it is raised, and a state where it is raised.

  As described in detail in the first to eighth embodiments, the article conveyance device 10 of the present invention has a moving bed 30 (or 30A) (normal moving bed 30 or wide moving bed 30A) adjacent to the downstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the inlet chute 12. The wide fixed floor 20A is adjacently arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the moving floor 30 (or 30A). Then, the floor surface of the moving floor 30 (or 30A) is inclined toward the downstream side in the conveying direction so as to form a downward slope, and the floor surface of the moving floor 30 (or 30A) is fixed wide with the inlet chute 12. The raising / lowering operation positioned on the upper and lower sides of each of the floors 20A is repeated. Further, the floor surface of the wide fixed floor 20A is inclined so as to form a downward slope toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the floor surface width w1 along the transport direction is along the transport direction of the moving floor 30 (or 30A). The floor width is wider than w2 and w2.

  Moreover, in the article conveyance apparatus 10 of Examples 1 to 5, a plurality of normal floors are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A, and the plurality of normal floors are the normal moving floor 30 and the normal fixed floor 20. Are arranged alternately.

  Moreover, in the article conveyance apparatus 10 of Examples 6 to 8, a plurality of normal floors are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A, and the plurality of normal floors are the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor. The floors 30s are alternately arranged, and the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s are moved up and down in the opposite directions.

Hereinafter, each article conveyance device 10 of Examples 1 to 8 will be described.
(Example 1) (FIGS. 1 to 8, FIGS. 10 to 23)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the article transporting apparatus 10 sets the direction from one end side to the other end side of the gantry 11 as the article transporting direction of the article 1 (in the present embodiment, a bottle), and enters the inlet at one end side thereof. A chute 12 may be provided, and a vibrator (not shown) may be provided on the back surface of the inlet chute 12 to increase the conveying force. The article 1 may be supplied to the inlet chute 12 from the lower part of the hopper storing the article 1 or a belt conveyor. Further, the inlet chute 12 may be a belt conveyor.

  The article conveyance device 10 supports a plurality of normal fixed floors 20 and a wide fixed floor 20 </ b> A on a support member provided on the gantry 11. Further, the side plates 14 are provided on both sides of the gantry 11 to prevent the articles from falling (only one side is shown in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 4, the article transporting apparatus 10 causes the plurality of normal fixed floors 20 to rise upward (angle θ1 with respect to the horizontal) with the individual floor surfaces 21 and 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A facing each other downstream in the transport direction. It is arranged to make. As shown in FIG. 5, the floor surfaces 21 and 21A of each of the normal fixed floor 20 and the wide fixed floor 20A themselves form a downward gradient (angles η1, δ1 with respect to the horizontal) toward the downstream side in the transport direction. It is an inclined slope. Each normal fixed floor 20 and wide fixed floor 20A may be equipped with a vibrator to increase the conveying force.

  The article conveying apparatus 10 carries a plurality of normal moving beds 30 and wide moving beds 30 </ b> A on an elevating drive device 13 supported on a gantry 11. The article transporting apparatus 10 places each of the plurality of normal moving floors 30 and wide moving floors 30A on the side in the transport direction with respect to each normal fixed floor 20 and wide fixed floor 20A (in the present embodiment, on the side on the upstream side). Adjacent to each other. The fixed floors 20 and 20A and the movable floors 30 and 30A are alternately arranged along the transport direction with a certain interval. The article conveying apparatus 10 repeats the raising / lowering operation of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30 </ b> A by the lifting / lowering driving device 13. That is, the upper (FIG. 3) and the lower (FIG. 2) of the normal fixed floor 20 and the wide fixed floor 20A adjacent to the normal fixed floor 20 and the wide fixed floor 20A with respect to the floors 21, 21A of the normal movable floor 30 and the wide movable floor 30A at the same time. Repeat the lifting and lowering movement. The article transporting apparatus 10 is arranged so that the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A positioned at the upper side are directed upward toward the downstream side in the transporting direction (angle θ2 with respect to the horizontal). is doing. The floor surfaces 31 and 31A of each of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A themselves are slopes inclined so as to form a downward slope (angles η2 and δ2 with respect to the horizontal) toward the downstream side in the transport direction. Yes.

  At this time, in the article transporting apparatus 10, the wide fixed floor 20A is disposed on the upstream side of the normal moving floor 30 disposed on the most downstream side in the transport direction, and the wide movement is performed on the upstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A. The floors 30A are arranged adjacent to each other, and the floor widths w1 and w2 along the conveying direction of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A and the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A are set to the floor surfaces 21 of the other normal fixed floors 20. The floor widths v1 and v2 along the conveying direction of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 are wider (v1 <w1, v2 <w1, v2 <w2, v1 <w2) (FIG. 2). In the article transporting apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the inlet normal fixed floor 20, the wide movable floor 30A, the wide fixed floor 20A, the normal movable floor 30, and the normal fixed floor 20 are sequentially arranged downstream of the inlet chute 12 as shown in FIG. ... arranged.

  In the article conveying apparatus 10, when the normal moving floor 30 on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A is lowered, the height of the wide fixed floor 20A is higher than the uppermost portion of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 on the downstream side. It arrange | positions so that the lowest part of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A may become high. When the arrangement of the wide fixed floor 20A is determined, the arrangement of the wide movable floor 30A upstream of the wide movable floor 30A is such that when the wide movable floor 30A rises, the wide movable floor 30A is positioned higher than the top of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A. It arrange | positions so that the lowest part of 31 A of floor surfaces may become high. When the arrangement of the wide movable floor 30A is determined, the arrangement of the inlet normal fixed floor 20 upstream thereof is such that when the wide movable floor 30A descends, the inlet normal fixed floor 20 is located higher than the uppermost part of the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A. It arrange | positions so that the lowest part of the floor surface 21 of this may become high. The floor surface 21 of the entrance normal fixed floor 20 may be the entrance chute 12 itself, which is an extension of the upstream article hopper bottom, or may be connected.

  In the article transporting apparatus 10, the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A are moved up and down by the common lift driving device 13 as follows. The elevating drive device 13 can use an electric cylinder capable of changing and controlling the elevating speed and elevating stroke. The elevating drive device 13 may be a mechanism that converts the rotation of the electric motor into a linear reciprocating motion, a pneumatic cylinder, or the like. Note that S1 in FIG. 3 indicates the up and down strokes of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A.

(Upward movement of normal moving floor 30 and wide moving floor 30A)
The lowermost part of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 rises to a position exceeding the uppermost part of the floor surface 21 of the normal fixed floor 20 downstream thereof.

  The lowermost part of the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A rises to a position exceeding the uppermost part of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A downstream thereof.

  The normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A may be raised more than this, but time is wasted and processing capacity is reduced. When temporarily stopped at the raised position, the article 1 is reliably sent from the normal moving floor 30 to the downstream fixed floor 20 and from the wide moving floor 30A to the downstream wide fixed floor 20A. Depending on the behavior of the article 1, there may be no temporary stop time, or an appropriately adjusted stop time may be provided.

(Descent operation of normal moving floor 30 and wide moving floor 30A)
The uppermost part of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 descends to the point where it passes over the lowermost part of the floor surface 21 of the normal fixed floor 20 upstream or the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A.

  The uppermost part of the floor surface 31A of the wide moving floor 30A descends to the point where it passes over the lowermost part of the floor surface 21 of the inlet normal fixed floor 20 upstream thereof.

  The normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A may be lowered further, but time is wasted and processing capacity is reduced. When temporarily stopped at the lowered position, the article 1 is surely received from the normal fixed floor 20 upstream or the wide fixed floor 20A upstream to the normal moving floor 30 and from the upstream normal fixed floor 20 and the inlet chute 12 to the wide movable floor 30A. Sent to. Depending on the behavior of the article 1, there may be no temporary stop time, or an appropriately adjusted stop time may be provided.

  In the article conveying apparatus 10, the preferred values of the floor widths of the floor surfaces 21, 31, 21A, 31A of the normal fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, the wide fixed floor 20A, and the wide moving floor 30A are as follows ( Figure 2). The minimum article width refers to the minimum dimension of the cross section of the bottle body of the article 1, and the article height refers to the total length of the bottle in the article 1 in the longitudinal direction (FIGS. 13 and 14).

(Structure of normal fixed floor 20, normal moving floor 30, wide fixed floor 20A, wide moving floor 30A)
The normal fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, the wide fixed floor 20A, and the wide movable floor 30A may have a structure in which a solid portion and a plate-like portion are combined as shown in FIG. There is no particular limitation such as a structure, or a structure for bending a plate material. The material is not particularly limited, such as resin, metal, wood, rubber, or a combination of these.

(Normal fixed floor 20, normal moving floor 30, wide fixed floor 20A, floor surface length of wide moving floor 30A)
The floor lengths of the normal fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, the wide fixed floor 20A, and the wide movable floor 30A in the floor length direction in FIG. 1 are preferably more than 1.0 times the article height. By exceeding 1.0 times, the vertically long article 1 can be turned sideways on each floor. By making the floor length of each floor exceed 2.0 times the article height, the processing capacity of the article transporting apparatus 10 can be increased.

(The floor width v1 of the floor 21 of the normal fixed floor 20)
Usually, the floor width v1 of the fixed floor 20 is preferably 0.65 to 1.8 times the minimum article width. By setting it to 0.65 times or more, the lying item can be reliably held on the floor surface 21 of the normal fixed floor 20. Moreover, by setting it to 1.8 times or less, it is possible to prevent two or more articles lying on the same position on the floor surface 21 of one normal fixed floor 20 from being placed simultaneously.

(The floor width v2 of the floor 31 of the normal moving floor 30)
Usually, the floor width v2 of the moving floor 30 is preferably 0.65 to 1.8 times the minimum width of the article. By setting it to 0.65 times or more, the article can be reliably raised. Moreover, by setting it to 1.8 times or less, it is possible to prevent two or more articles lying on the same position on the floor surface 31 of one normal moving floor 30 from being placed simultaneously.

(Floor surface width w1 of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A)
The floor width w1 of the wide fixed floor 20A is preferably 1.0 times or more of the minimum article width and 0.4 or more times the article height, preferably 0.9 or less times the article height, and more preferably 0.7 or less times the article height. By setting it to 1.0 times or more of the minimum article width, one or more lying articles can be held at substantially the same place on the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A. Further, by setting the article height to 0.4 times or more of the article height, as shown in FIG. 32 (A), when the vertically oriented article in the standing state existing on the floor surface 31A of the upstream wide movable floor 30A rises as the wide movable floor 30A rises. As shown in FIG. 32 (B), the wide fixed floor 20A downstream of the wide movable floor 30A falls further downstream without being obstructed by the normal moving floor 30A, and as shown in FIG. 32 (C), the wide fixed floor 20A is fixed. On the floor surface 21 </ b> A of the floor 20 </ b> A, it is promoted to be in the state of the sideways article 1 that lies down. The same applies to the case where the normal moving floor 30 is arranged upstream of the wide fixed floor 20A as in Examples 3, 5, and 8 to be described later. By setting the height of the article to 0.9 times or less of the article height, the vertically oriented article is subjected to the action of the wide moving floor 30A upstream of the wide fixed floor 20A or the normal moving floor 30. It can prevent being on the floor surface 21A of 20A.

(Floor width w2 of floor surface 31A of wide moving floor 30A)
The floor width w2 of the wide moving floor 30A is preferably 1.0 times or more of the minimum article width, preferably 0.9 times or less of the article height, and more preferably 0.7 times or less of the article height. By setting it to 1.0 times or more of the minimum article width, one or more lying articles can be raised at substantially the same place on the floor surface 31A of the wide fixed floor 30A. By setting the article height to 0.9 times or less of the article height, when the wide movable floor 30A descends, it is interfered by the upstream entrance normal fixed floor 20 and the entrance chute 12, and the longitudinal article as shown in FIG. 1 becomes unstable, can be prevented from being stably on the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A while maintaining the vertical orientation, and tends to be in the horizontal direction. In particular, as shown in FIG. 18B, the uppermost portion of the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A is the lowermost portion of the floor surface 21 of the inlet normal fixed floor 20 upstream thereof (or the inlet chute 12 when no fixed floor is present). The interference effect can be enhanced by descending to a point that greatly exceeds. The preferred length beyond the bottom is about 20-150% of the minimum width of the article. By setting it to about 20% or more, interference occurs more effectively, and by setting it to about 150% or less, useless descent time can be suppressed and processing capacity can be prevented from decreasing. The same applies to Examples 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 described later.

  In the article transporting apparatus 10, suitable values for the ascending arrangement angles of the normal fixed floor 20 and the normal moving floor 30 are as follows (FIG. 4).

(Normally fixed floor 20 arrangement angle θ1)
Usually, the arrangement angle θ1 of the fixed floor 20 is 20 to 40 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, and preferably 24 to 36 degrees. By setting the angle to 20 degrees or more, it is possible to appropriately slide down an article that has not been placed on the normal fixed floor 20 or the normal moving floor 30 upstream. Conversely, by setting the angle to 40 degrees or less, the vertical movement stroke can be reduced, and the article can be processed with high capacity.

(Orientation angle θ2 of normal moving floor 30)
The arrangement angle θ2 of the normal moving floor 30 is also set to 20 to 40 degrees, preferably 24 to 36 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane for the same reason as the arrangement angle θ1 of the normal fixed floor 20.

(Relationship between normal fixed floor 20 and normal moving floor 30 arrangement angles θ1, θ2)
The arrangement angle θ1 of the normal fixed floor 20 and the arrangement angle θ2 of the normal moving floor 30 are preferably substantially the same. By making these values substantially the same, the up / down stroke for sending the articles downstream by the upstream and downstream normal moving beds 30 can be minimized, and the article conveyance processing capacity can be increased.

  In the article conveying apparatus 10, the preferred values of the inclination angles of the floor surfaces 21, 31, 21A, 31A of the normal fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, the wide fixed floor 20A, and the wide moving floor 30A are as follows (FIG. 5 to 7).

(Inclination angle η1 of the floor 21 of the normal fixed floor 20)
In general, the inclination angle η1 formed by the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 with respect to the horizontal plane is preferably 15 degrees to 40 degrees, and particularly preferably 18 degrees to 32 degrees. By setting the angle to 15 degrees or more, the article can normally slide smoothly on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 downstream. In addition, by setting the angle to 40 degrees or less, it is possible to reduce the up and down strokes of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A, and the article conveyance processing capacity can be increased.

(Inclination angle η2 of floor 31 of normal moving floor 30)
The inclination angle η2 formed by the floor 31 of the normal moving floor 30 with respect to the horizontal plane is preferably 15 to 40 degrees for the same reason as the inclination angle η1 formed by the floor 21 of the normal fixed floor 20 with respect to the horizontal plane. The angle is particularly preferably 18 to 32 degrees.

(Inclination angle δ1 of the floor 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A)
The inclination angle δ1 formed by the floor 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A with respect to the horizontal plane is preferably 15 degrees to 40 degrees, and particularly preferably 18 degrees to 32 degrees. By setting the angle to 15 degrees or more, the article can smoothly slide downstream on the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A. In addition, by setting the angle to 40 degrees or less, it is possible to reduce the up and down strokes of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A, and the article conveyance processing capacity can be increased.

(Inclination angle δ2 of the floor 31A of the wide moving floor 30A)
The inclination angle δ2 formed by the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A with respect to the horizontal plane is preferably 15 to 40 degrees for the same reason as the inclination angle δ1 formed by the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A with respect to the horizontal plane. The angle is particularly preferably 18 to 32 degrees.

(Relationship between inclination angles η1 and η2 of normal fixed floor 20 and normal moving floor 30)
The inclination angle η2 formed by the floor 31 of the normal moving floor 30 with the horizontal plane is preferably equal to (FIG. 6) or increased (FIG. 7) with the inclination angle η1 formed by the floor 21 of the normal fixed floor 20 with the horizontal plane. More preferably, η2 is larger by 10 to 25 degrees than η1. When the normal moving floor 30 rises, the longitudinal portion of the article 1 coincides with the inclination angle η2 that the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 forms with the horizontal plane. By making η2 larger than η1, the article 1 is inclined more greatly in the downstream direction when the normal moving floor 30 is raised, and as a result, the article 1 can be reliably fed to the downstream regular fixed bed 20. It becomes possible. In particular, it is preferable to make η2 larger than η1 as described above when handling an article having a longitudinal portion such as an ellipse, an ellipse, or a rectangle whose cross-sectional shape is not a circle or regular polygon.

(Relationship between the inclination angles δ1 and δ2 of the wide fixed floor 20A and the wide movable floor 30A)
The inclination angle δ2 formed by the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A and the horizontal plane is preferably equal to (FIG. 6) or larger (FIG. 7) than the inclination angle δ1 formed by the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A. When δ2 is made larger than δ1 by, for example, 10 to 25 degrees, the effect that the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A feeds articles downstream becomes stronger. If δ2 is made smaller than δ1 by, for example, 10 to 25 degrees (not shown), the action of the floor surface 31A of the wide moving floor 30A sending the articles downstream becomes weak. Δ1 and Δ2 can be appropriately adjusted according to the article.

  According to the article conveying apparatus 10, the floor surface 31 of the normal fixed floor 30 and the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A are fixed to the floor surface 21 of the normal fixed floor 20 and the wide fixed floor by raising the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A. When the article 1 on the floor surface 21A of the floor 20A is pushed up, the inclination of the floor surfaces 31, 31A of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A gives the article 1 a downstream conveying force. The articles 1 to which the conveying force is applied are the floors of the normal fixed floor 20 and the wide fixed floor 20A that form a downward gradient in the downstream transfer direction from the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A. It is transferred onto the surfaces 21 and 21A, slides on the slopes of the floor surfaces 21 and 21A themselves of the normal fixed floor 20 and the wide fixed floor 20A, and is conveyed downstream. At this time, the floor surfaces 21 and 21A of the normal fixed floor 20 and the wide fixed floor 20A, and the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide movable floor 30A are arranged so as to form an upward slope toward the downstream side. The articles 1 are transported so as to be sequentially lifted to the downstream floor surfaces 21, 21A, 31, 31A along the upwardly inclined transport path, and the exit is normally fixed from the floor surface 31A of the most downstream normal moving floor 30. It is discharged to a discharge conveyor or the like through the floor 20.

  However, since the article transporting apparatus 10 has the above-mentioned wide fixed floor 20A and wide movable floor 30A in addition to the normal fixed floor 20 and the normal moving floor 30, it is carried in from the inlet chute 12 side. The following conveying action can be given to the article 1.

  (1) The horizontally oriented article 1 (FIG. 2) in which the bottle body portion of the article 1 is carried sideways on the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A is a wide fixed floor downstream by the lifting and lowering operation of the wide movable floor 30A. It is sent to the floor surface 21A of 20A, and further sent to the floor surface 21 of the downstream normal fixed floor 20 by the raising and lowering operation of the downstream normal moving floor 30, and this is repeated, whereby the floor surface of the most downstream normal moving floor 30 31 are sequentially carried out one by one from the same position in the floor length direction (FIG. 1) orthogonal to the conveying direction.

  (2) Longitudinal article 1 loaded with the bottle body of article 1 placed vertically on floor surface 31A of wide movable floor 30A (the bottom of article 1 can be upstream or downstream) (FIG. 18). (A)) is sent to the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A downstream by the lifting and lowering operation of the wide movable floor 30A. At this time, since the floor width of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A has an appropriate length with respect to the article height of the article 1, the vertically oriented article 1 is placed on the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A. The product 1 is turned sideways and turned sideways. This horizontally oriented article 1 is sent to the floor surface 21 of the downstream normal fixed floor 20 by the lifting and lowering operation of the downstream normal moving floor 30. At this time, the floor width v2 along the conveying direction of the moving floor 30 is set in advance to an appropriate length for sending only one product downstream. By repeating this, one by one is sequentially discharged from the same position in the floor length direction of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 on the most downstream side.

  That is, according to the article conveying apparatus 10, when the article 1 enters the wide movable floor 30A, the article 1 is reliably captured by the wide floor surface 31A and smoothly sent to the wide fixed floor 20A on the downstream side. Even if the article 1 is sent to the wide moving floor 30A in the state of the vertically oriented article 1 (FIG. 19 (A)), the article 1 is more downstream because the wide floor surface 31A is wide. By tilting, the article 1 becomes unstable, falls down and becomes a sideways article 1 and is sent downstream. When the article 1 is sent to the wide fixed floor 20A while standing in the standing posture on the wide movable floor 30A, as described above (floor surface width w1 of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A), the article 1 falls down. It is easy to become a sideways product 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 32A, when the vertically oriented article in the standing state existing on the floor surface 31A of the upstream wide moving floor 30A is lifted up, the wide moving floor as shown in FIG. Sideways as if lying down on the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A as shown in FIG. 32 (C) by falling down in the downstream direction without being obstructed by the normal moving floor 30 downstream of the wide fixed floor 20A downstream of 30A. The state of the article 1 is promoted. Further, even if the article 1 in the standing posture in the vertical orientation (FIG. 19B) is sent to the wide fixed floor 20A, the wide floor surface 21A is widened so that it is inclined further downstream. Therefore, the article 1 becomes unstable, and it is easy to fall down and become a sideways article 1 and is sent to the downstream side. This horizontally oriented article 1 is sent to the floor surface 21 of the downstream normal fixed floor 20 by the lifting and lowering operation of the downstream normal moving floor 30. At this time, the movable floor 30 has a floor surface width v2 of an appropriate length, and only one product is sent downstream. By repeating this, one by one is sequentially discharged from the same position in the floor length direction of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 on the most downstream side.

  In the above-described (1), (2), etc., discharging one by one from the same position in the floor length direction of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 on the most downstream side means that the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 is This means that even if a plurality of articles 1 are placed on top of each other, two or more articles 1 do not overlap each other at the same position in the floor length direction of the floor surface 31.

  Accordingly, the vertically long article 1 is smoothly turned sideways so as to be in the state of the most downstream article 1 in FIG. 1, and further on the downstream side of the most downstream fixed floor 20 over the entire floor length of the fixed floor 20. It can be carried out one by one in order by the discharge conveyor 50 (FIGS. 15 and 17) arranged substantially parallel to the length direction.

  In addition, in the article transporting apparatus 10, the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the moving floors 30 and 30A are adjacent to each other in one cycle (the one cycle from the lowest lowered position to the highest raised position to the lowest lowered position) of the moving up and down operation of the movable floors 30 and 30A. The time ratio of the fixed floors 20 and 20A protruding above the floor surfaces 21 and 21A can be controlled to be smaller than the time ratio of being immersed below the floor surfaces 21 and 21A of the fixed floors 20 and 20A. . Thereby, it takes longer to slide the article 1 on the floors 21 and 21A of the fixed floors 20 and 20A than the time when the article 1 is pushed up from the floors 31 and 31A of the moving floors 30 and 30A. 1 emission can be increased.

  In addition, when the rising acceleration of the moving floors 30 and 30A is large, the push-up force exerted on the article 1 by the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the moving floors 30 and 30A is large, and consequently the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the moving floors 30 and 30A. The conveyance force exerted on the article 1 by the inclination increases, and the discharge amount of the article 1 can be increased.

  Further, in one cycle of the raising / lowering operation of the moving floors 30 and 30A, the article transporting device 10 projects the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the moving floors 30 and 30A above the floor surfaces 21 and 21A of the adjacent fixed floors 20 and 20A. It is also possible to control the time ratio of the fixed floor 20 or 20A larger than the time ratio of being immersed below the floor surfaces 21 and 21A of the fixed floor 20 or 20A. Thereby, the time when the article 1 is placed on the floors 21 and 21A of the fixed floors 20 and 20A and slid is shorter than the time when the article 1 is pushed up by the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the moving floors 30 and 30A. 1 emissions can be reduced.

  When the rising acceleration of the moving floors 30 and 30A is small, the push-up force exerted on the article 1 by the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the moving floors 30 and 30A is small, and consequently the floor surfaces 31 and 31A of the moving floors 30 and 30A. The conveyance force exerted on the article 1 by the inclination is reduced, and the discharge amount of the article 1 can be reduced.

  Further, the maximum value of the rising speed of the moving floors 30 and 30A is appropriately adjusted so that the article 1 can be stably conveyed at a desired speed according to the weight of the conveyed article, the fixed floor arrangement angle θ1, the moving floor arrangement angle θ2, and the like. .

  The article conveying apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 8 is different from the article conveying apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 in that the raising / lowering operation of the wide moving floor 30A is different from the raising / lowering operation of the other normal moving floor 30. It is in. The lifting drive device 13A for the wide moving floor 30A is separated and independent from the lifting drive device 13 for the other normal moving floor 30. The wide moving floor 30A and the other normal moving floor 30 may be driven by a single drive source so as to move up and down differently through mechanisms such as cams, links, and gears. By performing only the raising / lowering operation of the wide moving floor 30A only by the raising / lowering driving device 13A different from the other normal moving floors 30, a more efficient article transfer process can be performed. That is, since the stroke S2 of the normal moving floor 30 can be made smaller than the stroke S1 of the wide moving floor 30A, the ascending / descending cycle time of the normal moving floor 30 is shortened, and articles can be conveyed downstream with high capacity. At this time, even if the elevating cycle time of the stroke S1 of the wide moving floor 30A cannot be shortened, a large number of articles 1 are retained on the wide fixed floor 20A and the wide moving floor 30A. In general, the articles 1 can be sufficiently supplied to the moving floor 30.

  That is, the raising / lowering cycle time of the normal moving floor 30 is set shorter than the raising / lowering cycle time of the wide moving floor 30A. Usually, the raising / lowering cycle time of the moving bed 30 is preferably about 15 to 50% of the raising / lowering cycle time of the wide moving bed 30A. By setting this range, it is possible to operate the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A at an unreasonable speed and to obtain sufficient capacity.

  FIG. 20 shows a protrusion 80 in the discharge direction of the article 1 on one or both of the surface floor surface 21 of the normal fixed floor 20 on the most downstream side of the article conveying apparatus 10 and the surface floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 on the most downstream side. Is provided. By the protrusion 80, the article 1 can be discharged straight and stably. The height of the protrusion is appropriately adjusted, but is preferably about 2 to 10 mm. The width of the protrusion is also adjusted as appropriate, but is preferably about 1 to 5 mm.

  21, 22, and 23 show the floor shown in FIG. 1 on either or both of the surface floor surface 21 </ b> A of the wide fixed floor 20 </ b> A and the surface floor surface 31 </ b> A of the wide moving floor 30 </ b> A. Protrusions 90 (FIG. 21), 91 (FIG. 22) or step 92 (FIG. 23) are provided in the length direction. Due to the protrusions or steps, the vertically oriented article 1 (FIG. 18) more easily falls onto the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A and becomes the horizontally oriented article 1 (FIG. 2). Rather than being parallel to the floor length direction as in the protrusion 90 (FIG. 21) or the step 92 (FIG. 23), the floor length is linear or curved (not shown) as in the protrusion 91 (FIG. 22). It is more effective to tilt with respect to the direction. The height of the protrusion or step is appropriately adjusted, but is preferably about 2 to 10 mm.

  The article conveying apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is different from the article conveying apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 in the upstream side of the wide movable floor 30A, in this embodiment, the wide movable floor 30A and the entrance normal fixed floor. In other words, a separation device 40 is provided upstream of 20. The separating device 40 includes first and second separating plates 41 and 42 arranged in parallel to the floor length direction of the wide moving floor 30A and the entrance normal fixed floor 20 along the floor length direction. Alternatingly arranged so as to be asymmetric. The first separating plate 41 and the second separating plate 42 are upper edges inclined in opposite directions with respect to the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A and the floor surface 21 of the entrance normal fixed floor 20 in a front view along the conveying direction. The upper edge portion 41A and the upper edge portion 42A are positioned above and below the floor surface 31A of the wide movable floor 30A and the floor surface 21 of the entrance normal fixed floor 20 with the upper edge portions 41A and 42A positioned below. Repeat raising and lowering operations. The raising and lowering operations of the first and second separating plates 41 and 42 are preferably alternated. 10A, 11A, and 11C show that the first judgment plate 41 is raised and the second judgment plate 42 is lowered, and FIGS. 10B and 11B are the first judgment plates. 41 indicates lowering, and the second separating plate 42 indicates rising.

  In the article transporting apparatus 10, by installing the separating apparatus 40 in the most upstream part (upstream side of the wide moving floor 30A and the entrance normal fixed floor 20), the vertically oriented article carried from the entrance chute 12 (FIG. 11B) ) Sideways and supplied to the entrance normal fixed bed 20 side (FIG. 11C). As shown in FIG. 11B, the first and second separating plates 41 and 42 of the separating device 40 have a plurality of articles 1 that are vertically oriented in parallel and support each other so that they are in a stable vertically oriented state. This is particularly effective when the first and second separating plates 41 and 42 are raised, and the vertically oriented article is forcibly inclined as shown in FIG. Turn over and turn it sideways. A number of vertically oriented articles are turned horizontally by the separating device 40. Nevertheless, the articles still in the vertical direction are turned sideways as described above by the wide fixed floor 20A and the wide movable floor 30A. In order to make the article 1 sideways, a separating device 40 may be installed between the normal moving floor 30 and the normal fixed floor 20 on the downstream side of the article conveying apparatus 10.

  In the separating device 40, a plurality of sets (two sets in FIGS. 10 and 11) of first and second separating plates 41 and 42 are provided, and the first separating plates 41 are connected to the first drive unit, The second separator plates 42 are connected to the second drive unit, and the first separator plate 41 and the second separator plate 42 are alternately moved up and down. The first separating plate 41 and the second separating plate 42 may be moved up and down alternately by a single drive source via a mechanism such as a cam, a link, or a gear. Further, as the drive sources for the first and second separating plates 41 and 42, the elevating drive devices 13 and 13A of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 12 (A), in the separating device 40, it is preferable that each of the first and second separating plates 41 and 42 is formed in a triangular plate shape, and the first separating plate 41 and the second separating plate 42 having a triangular plate shape. Are asymmetrically arranged in a front view, and the upper edges 41A and 42A thereof are hypotenuses. Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, each of the first and second separating plates 41 and 42 may be formed in a sawtooth plate shape, and the first and second sawing plate 41 and 42 in the sawtooth plate shape are front-facing. They are arranged so as to be shifted from each other by a half pitch 1 / 2p of the sawtooth pitch p, and the upper edge portions 41A and 42A thereof are set as hypotenuses. In the first and second separating plates 41 and 42 of the separating device 40, the length of the hypotenuse forming the upper edge portions 41A and 42A is preferably 0.7 times or more and 3.0 times or less the height of the article 1. . By setting it to 0.7 times or more, when the vertically oriented article is turned to the landscape, the article 1 can be stably placed to the landscape. By setting it to 3.0 times or less, a large number of oblique sides of the upper edge portions 41A and 42A can be formed in the floor length direction of the entrance normal fixed floor 20 and the wide movable floor 30A in the front view of the article conveying apparatus 10. The angle γ of the hypotenuse forming the upper edge portions 41A, 42A of the first and second separating plates 41, 42 is preferably 15 degrees to 40 degrees. By setting it to 15 degrees or more, a sufficient force is provided to turn the vertically oriented article horizontally, and by setting it to 40 degrees or less, the lifting stroke amount of the first and second separating plates 41 and 42 is increased. It is possible to prevent, and to impart a separating action to the article many times in a certain time.

  FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 show various shapes of the vertically long article 1 (bottle) suitable for being conveyed by the article conveying apparatus 10. 13A is a bottle whose body is circular, FIG. 13B is a bottle whose body is elliptical, FIG. 13C is a bottle whose body is circular, and the bottom section is small, and FIG. Is a bottle with a circular body and a large bottom cross section. (B) is a bottle with a circular body and a spherical bottom. (C) is an oval and asymmetrical body with a large bottom cross section. Show the bottle. The aforementioned article minimum width and article height of each article 1 are as illustrated. In the present invention, the vertically long article 1 that can be transported is not limited to a bottle.

  The article aligning / conveying apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 15 is configured such that a direction aligning apparatus 110 for an article 1 such as a bottle having a neck is disposed on the downstream side of the article conveying apparatus 10 via a discharge chute 51 and a discharge conveyor 50. . Without the discharge chute 51, the discharge conveyor 50 may be disposed on the downstream side of the article conveying apparatus 10. When the article conveying device 10 passes the vertically long articles 1 in the horizontal direction through the normal fixed floor 20 and the normal moving floor 30 at the most downstream side and carries them one by one to the discharge conveyor 50, the discharge conveyor 50 takes the articles 1 in one row. The product 1 is always carried out while lying down, but the front-rear direction of the article 1 carried out from the discharge conveyor 50 (when the article 1 is a bottle, the direction of the mouth side and the bottom side) varies. The direction aligning device 110 aligns the bottom side of the articles 1 carried out from the discharge conveyor 50 with the preceding side and supplies the articles 1 to the article conveying basket 60.

  The direction aligning device 110 includes a V placement conveyor 120 connected to the exit side of the discharge conveyor 50, a neck hanging hook 130 placed on the exit front surface of the V placement conveyor 120, and a neck suspension hook 130 on the exit side of the V placement conveyor 120. And a charging chute 140 disposed on the lower side. The neck hanging hook 130 is provided with a ring 132 at the lower part of the hanging part 131, and the upper part of the hanging part 131 is pivotally supported on a horizontal pivot 133 and is closer to the pivot 133 than the ring 132 of the hanging part 131. The weight 134 is provided, the hanging part 131 is vertically arranged, and the ring 132 is kept waiting on the front side of the delivery side of the V arrangement conveyor 120. The ring 132 of the neck hanging hook 130 has an annular shape having a larger diameter than the neck of the article 1 and a smaller diameter than the bottom of the article 1. Moreover, as a shape of the neck hanging hook 130, the front end may be bent in an L shape, and the neck 1 of the article 1 may be hooked (not shown). Accordingly, the direction aligning device 110 operates as follows.

  (1) When the article 1 unloaded from the discharge conveyor 50 and conveyed by the V-arrangement conveyor 120 precedes the mouth side (FIG. 16), the neck of the article 1 is caught by the ring 132 of the neck hanging hook 130 and lifted. The article 1 sent out by the conveying force of the V-arrangement conveyor 120 is erected so that the bottom side precedes downward, and the article 1 is dropped and inserted into the input chute 140 with the bottom side leading, and as a result, the article conveyance rod 60 It is thrown into.

  (2) On the other hand, when the article 1 carried out from the discharge conveyor 50 and transported by the V arrangement conveyor 120 precedes the bottom side, even if the bottom of the article 1 hits the ring 132 of the neck hanging hook 130 Without being caught by 132, the article 1 passes through the neck hanging hook 130 with the bottom side set as the leading side, is dropped and inserted into the throwing chute 140, and is then thrown into the article transport rod 60.

  At this time, the V arrangement conveyor 120 positions the neck of the article 1 within a certain range slightly above the V-shaped intersection 121 (FIG. 16) of the V arrangement conveyor 120 regardless of the shape of the article 1. The neck of the article 1 enters slightly above the V-shaped intersection 121 of the V arrangement conveyor 120 due to slight vibration during the travel of the V arrangement conveyor 120 and enters the ring 132 of the neck hanging hook 130 waiting on the front surface. I will do it. As an example, in FIG. 16 (A), the cross-sectional shape of the article 1 is circular and the bottle has a narrower mouth (FIG. 14 (A)), and in FIG. 16 (B), the cross-sectional shape of the article 1 is elliptical and the cross-sectional shape is high. An example of a bottle (FIG. 13B) with no change in direction is shown. It is difficult to introduce the neck portion of the article 1 into the ring 132 of the neck hanging hook 130 by using another flat conveyor, guide, or the like.

  Moreover, as for the V arrangement | positioning conveyor 120, it is preferable that the inclination | tilt angle (lambda) (FIG. 16) of each conveyor which makes V shape shall be 10-70 degree | times. By setting λ to a certain angle or more within this range, the neck of the article 1 easily slides on each conveyor surface of the V arrangement conveyor 120 and is positioned slightly above the V-shaped intersection 121 so that the ring of the neck hanging hook 130 is Enter 132 smoothly. By making λ equal to or less than an angle within this range, when the bottom side of the article 1 is leading, the bottom position of the article 1 is positioned slightly above the V-shaped crossing portion 121, and the charging chute 140 is stable. Let fall insert.

  In the article aligning and conveying apparatus 100, when the conveying speed of the V arrangement conveyor 120 of the direction aligning apparatus 110 is made faster than the conveying speed of the discharge conveyor 50 (or when the V arranging conveyor 120 is divided into a plurality in the conveying direction, The conveyance speed of the downstream V arrangement conveyor 120 is made faster than the conveyance speed of the upstream V arrangement conveyor 120), and the interval between the articles 1 moving back and forth on the V arrangement conveyor 120 is increased. Thereby, when the article 1 is caught by the ring 132 of the neck hanging hook 130 and stands up, it can be avoided that the following article 1 collides with the article 1 and prevents the standing up.

  17 has a bottle having a neck portion or a neck portion on the downstream side of the article conveying device 10 via a discharge chute 51 and a discharge conveyor 50, but the top surface and the bottom can be distinguished. There is a device in which the direction alignment device 210 of the article 1 such as a bottle that needs to be aligned in any direction is arranged. Without the discharge chute 51, the discharge conveyor 50 may be disposed on the downstream side of the article conveying apparatus 10. When the article conveying device 10 passes the vertically long articles 1 in the horizontal direction through the normal fixed floor 20 and the normal moving floor 30 at the most downstream side and carries them one by one to the discharge conveyor 50, the discharge conveyor 50 takes the articles 1 in one row. Although it will always carry out in the state which fell down, the front-back direction (direction of the mouth side and the bottom side of the article 1) of the article 1 carried out from the discharge conveyor 50 varies. The direction aligning device 210 aligns the bottom side of the articles 1 carried out from the discharge conveyor 50 downward and supplies the articles 1 to the discharge conveyor 70.

  The direction aligning device 210 includes a plurality of conveyors 220 that are sequentially connected to the exit side of the discharge conveyor 50, a moving reversing bucket 230 disposed on the exit side of the conveyor 220, and an input disposed below the moving reversing bucket 230. A chute 240 is provided. The reversing bucket 230 has a swinging shaft 231 protruding on both sides, and the revolving shaft 231 reciprocates linearly, arcuately, etc. along a fixed moving path by a power source such as a motor or an air cylinder. And a connection position (lower position) between the charging chute 240 and the connection position (lower position) of the charging chute 240, and can be turned around the turning shaft 231 by a driving source such as a motor. The movement reversing bucket 230 has an upward opening 230A located on the conveyor 220 side at a connection position with the conveyor 220 and a downward opening 230B located on the opposite side of the conveyor 220, and a stopper that opens and closes these openings 230A and 230B. (Not shown) is provided in the openings 230A and 230B. The direction aligning device 210 is provided with a determination device 250 including a camera or the like for determining the front-rear direction of the article 1 put into the moving reversing bucket 230 from the conveyor 220 on the exit side of the conveyor 220. As a result, the direction aligning device 210 operates as follows.

  (1) The front-rear direction of the article 1 carried out from the discharge conveyor 50 and conveyed by the conveyor 220 is determined by the determination device 250. The conveyor 220 adjusts the speed such as conveying the article 1 at a speed suitable for discrimination, or temporarily stopping for the discrimination.

  (2) The article 1 conveyed by the conveyor 220 is put into the moving reversal bucket 230. The moving reversing bucket 230 opens the stopper of the upward opening 230A and closes the stopper of the downward opening 230B. The upward opening 230 </ b> A of the moving reversing bucket 230 is adjusted to an angular position that makes it easy to carry in the articles 1 conveyed from the conveyor 220.

  (3-1) When the article 1 carried into the moving reversing bucket 230 is leading the bottom side and is dropped and inserted into the moving reversing bucket 230 from the preceding bottom side, the moving reversing bucket 230 is discriminated by the discrimination device 250. The product is controlled so as not to be reversed, and is moved to a connection position with the input chute 240 with the bottom side of the article 1 facing downward.

  (3-2) When the article 1 carried into the moving reversing bucket 230 is in front of the mouth side and is dropped and inserted into the moving reversing bucket 230 from the preceding mouth side, the moving reversing bucket 230 is discriminated by the discrimination device 250. As a result, the stopper of the upward opening 230A is closed and reversely controlled, and the article 1 is moved to the connection position with the charging chute 240 with the bottom side facing downward.

  (4) When the moving reversing bucket 230 is positioned at the connection position with the charging chute 240, the downward opening 230B described above (3-1) or the upward pointing (3-2) described above is located on the charging chute 240 side. Opening 230 </ b> A is opened, and article 1 in moving reversing bucket 230 is dropped and inserted into charging chute 240. At this time, the charging chute 240 has a stopper (not shown) at the outlet, and the stopper is closed. Thereafter, the moving reversal bucket 230 returns to the connection position with the conveyor 220.

  (5) The stopper at the outlet of the input chute 240 is opened, and the article 1 is transferred from the input chute 240 to the discharge conveyor 70 and supplied.

Example 2 (FIG. 9)
The article conveying apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 9 is different from the article conveying apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 in that two sets of the wide fixed floor 20A and the wide movable floor 30A are arranged. In the article conveyance device 10, a set of a plurality of sets of the wide fixed floor 20A and the wide movable floor 30A can be arranged as long as it is upstream of the normal moving floor 30 arranged at the most downstream side in the conveyance direction. . Thereby, the effect by the wide fixed floor 20A and the wide movable floor 30A can be enhanced. When the set of the wide fixed floor 20A and the wide movable floor 30A is arranged on the most downstream side in the transport direction, the articles 1 are sequentially placed one by one from the same position in the floor length direction of the floor surface 31A of the widest movable floor 30A on the most downstream side. It is not preferable because it cannot be discharged.

(Example 3) (FIG. 24)
24 differs from the article conveying apparatus 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 in that the wide movement that has been arranged adjacent to the upstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A. That is, the floor 30A is changed to the normal moving floor 30.

(Example 4) (FIG. 25)
25 is different from the article conveying apparatus 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 in that the normal movement that has been arranged adjacent to the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A. The floor 30 is changed to the wide moving floor 30A.

Example 5 (FIG. 26)
26 differs from the article conveying apparatus 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 in that the wide movement that has been arranged adjacent to the upstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A. That is, the floor 30A is changed to the normal moving floor 30 and the normal moving floor 30 that is disposed adjacent to the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A is changed to the wide moving floor 30A.

  As described above, each of the article conveying apparatuses 10 according to the first to fifth embodiments is configured by sequentially arranging a plurality of normal floors on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A, and the plurality of normal floors are the normal moving floor 30 and the normal fixed floor 20. Are arranged alternately. In the article transporting apparatus 10 in which the normal fixed floor 20 and the normal moving floor 30 are alternately arranged, the configuration of the elevating drive device 13 of the normal moving floor 30 is simplified, and the cost of design and production can be reduced. Further, when the article 1 is lifted, the vertical wall surface facing the upstream side of the normal fixed floor 20 adjacent to the downstream side of the normal moving floor 30 on which the rising article 1 is placed does not move. The relative speed with the vertical wall surface facing the upstream side of the adjacent fixed floor 20 is reduced, and it is possible to further suppress the article 1 from being scratched.

  In each article conveying apparatus 10 according to the first to fifth embodiments, the up and down strokes S1 and S2 of the normal moving floor 30 and the wide moving floor 30A described above are the normal moving floor 30, the normal fixed floor 20, the wide moving floor 30A, and the wide fixed floor. Although the size is determined by the arrangement of 20A, the shape of the article 1, and the like, it is preferable that the size is 0.5 times or more the minimum width of the article because the article in a lateral orientation can be reliably stopped on each floor. The maximum values of S1 and S2 are substantially the same as the positions where the articles 1 can be sent to the downstream fixed floor surfaces 21 and 21A when the movable floor surfaces 31 and 31A are in the raised position, that is, the downstream fixed floor surfaces 21 and 21A. It is preferable to make the size up to the point where the surface is formed. In addition, when the movable floor surfaces 31 and 31A are in the lowered position, the position to which the article 1 is fed from the upstream fixed floor surfaces 21 and 21A, that is, the size that is substantially flush with the upstream fixed floor surfaces 21 and 21A It is preferable to do. By setting S1 and S2 within this range, their ascending / descending strokes are minimized, and the number of ascending / descending operations per unit time can be increased, resulting in an increase in productivity.

  The normal fixed floor 20, the normal movable floor 30, the wide fixed floor 20 </ b> A, the floor length of the wide movable floor 30 </ b> A, and the floor width v <b> 1 of the floor 21 of the normal fixed floor 20 in each of the article conveying devices 10 of Examples 2-5. The floor surface width v2 of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30, the floor surface width w1 of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A, and the floor surface width w2 of the floor surface 31A of the wide moving floor 30A are the article conveyance of the first embodiment. In the apparatus 10, it can be set to a suitable value similar to that described above.

According to each article conveying apparatus 10 of Examples 2 to 5, as in the article conveying apparatus 10 of Example 1, the article 1 is sent from the entrance chute 12 to the moving floor 30 (or 30A), and further the moving floor. 30 (or 30A) to the wide fixed floor 20A. Even if the article 1 sent to the wide fixed floor 20A is sent to the wide fixed floor 20A in an upright posture in a standing state, the article 1 always falls on the wide floor surface 21A and is turned sideways and sent downstream. Therefore, the vertically long articles 1 can be smoothly carried out one by one in the horizontal direction.

Example 6 (FIGS. 27 and 28)
The article conveying apparatus 10 of the sixth embodiment shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 is different from the article conveying apparatus 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 in that a plurality of articles conveying apparatus 10 on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A are as described above. The normal moving floors are arranged in order, and the plurality of normal floors are formed by alternately arranging the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s, and the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s are vertically opposite to each other. It is to be moved up and down.

(Example 7) (FIG. 30)
30 differs from the article conveying apparatus 10 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9 in that a plurality of normal floors are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A as described above. Thus, the plurality of normal floors are configured such that the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s are alternately arranged, and the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s move up and down in directions opposite to each other. It is to have done.

Example 8 (FIG. 31)
The article conveying apparatus 10 of the eighth embodiment shown in FIG. 31 is different from the article conveying apparatus 10 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 24 in that a plurality of normal floors are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A as described above. Thus, the plurality of normal floors are configured such that the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s are alternately arranged, and the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s move up and down in directions opposite to each other. It is to have done.

  In each article conveyance device 10 of Examples 6-8, the moving bed 30 (or 30A) located on the upstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A is moved up and down by a stroke S1 by the lifting drive device 13A. Then, the first moving floor 30f (consisting of a plurality of normal moving floors 30) located on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A is moved up and down to the first moving floor 30f connected to each of the normal moving floors 30. The drive device 13f moves up and down by the stroke Sa. Further, the second moving floor 30s (consisting of a plurality of normal moving floors 30) located downstream of the wide fixed floor 20A is moved up and down to the second moving floor 30s connected to the respective normal moving floors 30. The drive device 13s moves up and down by the stroke Sb. Hereinafter, the raising / lowering operations of the first raising / lowering driving device 13f and the second raising / lowering driving device 13s will be described.

  In each article conveyance device 10 of Examples 6 to 8, the first normal moving floor 30 of the first moving floor 30f is first arranged on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor 20A, and further the second moving bed 30s toward the downstream. The normal moving floor 30 and the normal moving floor 30 of the first transfer floor 30f are alternately arranged in this order.

  Each normal moving floor 30 of the first moving floor 30f and each normal moving floor 30 of the second moving floor 30s move opposite to each other in the vertical direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 27, when each normal moving floor 30 of the first moving floor 30f is raised to the highest position, each normal moving floor 30 of the second moving floor 30s is lowered to the lowest position. When each normal moving floor 30 of the first moving floor 30f descends, each normal moving floor 30 of the second moving floor 30s rises, and as shown in FIG. 28, each normal moving floor 30 of the first moving floor 30f is at the lowest position. And each normal moving bed 30 of the second moving bed 30s reaches the top. The article 1 has the downstream of each of the normal moving beds 30 downstream of the first moving floor 30f, just before each of the normal moving floors 30f of the second moving floor 30s reaches the uppermost position. It is sequentially sent to the moving floor 31. Subsequently, the reverse vertical movement is performed, and this movement is continuously repeated.

  The strokes Sa and Sb of the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s may be different from the stroke S1 of the wide moving floor 30A. Normally, the strokes Sa and Sb of the first moving bed 30f and the second moving bed 30s are the same, but they may be different as long as the article 1 can be rolled from the downstream and sent out upstream.

  The strokes Sa and Sb of the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s are determined by the arrangement of the normal moving floor 30, the normal fixed floor 20, the wide moving floor 30A, the wide fixed floor 20A, the shape of the article, and the like. However, it is preferable that the width of the article 1 is 0.5 times or more of the minimum width of the article because the article 1 in the lateral orientation can be reliably stopped on each floor. The maximum value of Sa and Sb is the minimum height at which the article 1 can be sent to the downstream floor 31 when one of the first moving beds 30f is in the raised position and the other second moving bed 30s is in the lowered position, that is, It is preferable to have a size up to a place that is substantially flush with the downstream floor surface 31. By setting the strokes Sa and Sb within this range, those strokes can be minimized, and the number of times of raising and lowering per unit time can be increased. As a result, productivity is increased.

  The first raising / lowering driving device 13f of the first moving floor 30f and the second raising / lowering driving device 13s of the second moving floor 30s may have different driving sources as illustrated. Moreover, it is good also as a mechanism which performs the up-and-down movement which mutually opposes by the mechanism by one drive source, for example, a rotating shaft, a link, or a cam (not shown). In the case of having different drive sources such as the first lifting drive unit 13f and the second lifting drive unit 13s shown in the figure, one of the first moving floor 30f (or the second moving bed 30s) is provided by a sensor (not shown). ) To reach the uppermost and lowermost positions, adjust the timing of the other second moving floor 30s (or the first moving floor 30f) in accordance with the arrival, and move them up and down in opposite directions. it can.

  It is not necessary to match the raising / lowering timing of the wide moving floor 30A by the raising / lowering driving device 13A with the raising / lowering timing of the first and second moving floors 30f and 13s by the first and second raising / lowering driving devices 13f, 13s. Preferably, when the timing is made coincident and the first movable floor 30f rises and the wide movable floor 30A rises at the same time, the upstream movable floor 30A or 30 adjacent to the wide fixed floor 20A changes to the wide fixed floor 20A. When the article 1 moves, the article 1 stops at the vertical wall surface facing the wide fixed floor 20A of the uppermost moving floor 30f of the first moving floor 30f, and the overturning effect of the article 1 in the vertical orientation on the wide fixed floor 20A. Can be increased.

  The elevating drive device 13A for the wide moving floor 30A is driven separately from the elevating drive device 13f for the first moving floor 30f and the elevating drive device 13s for the second moving floor 30s. You may be connected with either of the 2nd raising / lowering drive apparatuses 13s. When the elevating drive device 13A is connected, it is preferably connected to the first elevating drive device 13f of the first moving floor 30f. The reason is the same as in the preferred example of the timing described above.

  In each article conveyance device 10 of Examples 6-8, the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s move up and down in the opposite directions, so the maximum height difference H between adjacent upstream and downstream floors H When FIG. 27 and FIG. 28 are made the same as the maximum height difference H (FIG. 29) in each of the article conveying apparatuses 10 of Examples 1 to 5, the normal moving beds of the first moving floor 30f and the second moving floor 30s. 30 elevating strokes Sa and Sb (FIGS. 27 and 28) can be reduced to about ½ with respect to the elevating stroke Sa (FIG. 29) of the normal moving floor 30 in each article conveying apparatus 10 of the first to fifth embodiments. That is, the moving bed 30 can be operated at a high cycle, the processing capacity per hour is increased, and the productivity can be increased. Further, when the article 1 is lifted, the distance that the article 1 contacts the vertical wall surface facing the upstream side of the moving floor 30 adjacent to the downstream side of the moving floor 30 on which the rising article 1 is placed becomes short. Scratches can be further suppressed.

  The normal fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, the wide fixed floor 20 </ b> A, the floor length of the wide moving floor 30 </ b> A, and the floor width v <b> 1 of the floor 21 of the normal fixed floor 20 in each article conveyance device 10 of Examples 6-8. The floor surface width v2 of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30, the floor surface width w1 of the floor surface 21A of the wide fixed floor 20A, and the floor surface width w2 of the floor surface 31A of the wide moving floor 30A are the article conveyance of the first embodiment. In the apparatus 10, it can be set to a suitable value similar to that described above.

  According to each article conveyance device 10 of Examples 6 to 8, as in the article conveyance device 10 of Example 1, the article 1 is sent from the entrance chute 12 to the moving floor 30 (or 30A), and further the moving floor 30. (Or 30A) to the wide fixed floor 20A. Even if the article 1 sent to the wide fixed floor 20A is sent to the wide fixed floor 20A in an upright posture in a standing state, the article 1 always falls on the wide floor surface 21A and is turned sideways and sent downstream. Therefore, the vertically long articles 1 can be smoothly carried out one by one in the horizontal direction.

  In Examples 1-8, the arrangement of the wide fixed floor 20A and the wide fixed floor 20A upstream of the wide fixed floor 20A, the wide moving floor 30A, the normal moving floor 30, and the normal fixed floor 20 is as follows. It may be arranged so as to form an upward gradient toward the downstream side in the transport direction, may be arranged so as to be horizontal, or may be arranged so as to form a downward gradient.

  The present invention is an article conveying device, wherein a moving bed is disposed adjacent to the downstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the inlet chute, and a wide fixed floor is disposed adjacent to the downstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the moving floor. The floor surface is inclined so as to form a downward slope toward the downstream side in the conveying direction, and the moving floor is moved up and down with the floor surface positioned above and below the inlet chute and the floor surface of the wide fixed floor, respectively. Repeatedly, the floor surface of the wide fixed floor is inclined so as to form a downward slope toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the floor surface width along the transport direction is larger than the floor surface width along the transport direction of the moving floor. Widened. Thereby, a vertically long article can be smoothly carried out one by one in order.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Article conveyance apparatus 12 Entrance chute 13, 13A, 13f, 13s Elevating drive apparatus 20 Normal fixed floor 20A Wide fixed floor 21, 21A Floor surface 30 Normal moving floor 30f First moving floor 30s Second moving floor 30A Wide moving floor 31, 31A Floor 40 Scattering device 41 First scribing plate 42 Second scribing plate 41A, 42A Upper edge 100, 200 Article aligning and conveying device 110, 210 Direction aligning device

Claims (8)

A moving bed is disposed adjacent to the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the inlet chute, and a wide fixed floor is disposed adjacent to the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the moving bed,
The floor surface of the moving floor is inclined so as to form a downward slope toward the downstream side in the conveying direction, and the floor surface of the moving floor is placed above and below the inlet chute and the floor surface of the wide fixed floor, respectively. Repeat the positioning operation to position,
The floor surface of the wide fixed floor is inclined so as to form a downward slope toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the floor surface width along the transport direction is made wider than the floor surface width along the transport direction of the moving floor. An article conveying device. A plurality of normal floors are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor,
Arrange the individual floor surfaces of a plurality of normal floors so as to form an upward slope toward the downstream side in the transport direction,
The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of normal floors are configured such that a moving floor and a fixed floor are alternately arranged. A plurality of normal floors are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the wide fixed floor,
Arrange the individual floor surfaces of a plurality of normal floors so as to form an upward slope toward the downstream side in the transport direction,
The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of normal floors are formed by alternately arranging the first moving floor and the second moving floor, and the first moving floor and the second moving floor move up and down in directions opposite to each other. Arrange the individual floor surfaces of the plurality of fixed floors so as to form an upward slope toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction,
Each moving floor is placed adjacent to each fixed floor on the side of the conveyance direction, and the moving floor is repeatedly moved up and down to position the moving floor at the upper and lower positions with respect to the fixed fixed floor. , Arrange the floor surfaces of each moving floor so as to form an upward slope toward the downstream side in the conveying direction,
The floor surface of each fixed floor is inclined so as to form a downward gradient toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction, and the floor surface of each movable floor is also inclined so as to form a downward gradient toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. An article conveying device comprising:
A wide fixed floor is disposed upstream of the movable floor disposed downstream in the conveying direction, and a wide movable floor is disposed adjacent to the upstream side of the wide fixed floor, and the wide fixed floor and the wide movable floor are disposed. An article conveying apparatus in which the floor surface width along the conveying direction of the floor is wider than the floor surface width along the conveying direction of the other fixed floor and the moving floor. When the floor surface of each moving floor is positioned lower than the floor surface of the adjacent fixed floor,
5. The article conveying device according to claim 4, wherein the uppermost part of the floor surface of the wide moving floor descends to a position exceeding the floor surface of the upstream fixed inlet floor or the lowermost part of the inlet chute. The lifting operation of the wide moving floor is different from the lifting operation of other moving floors,
The article conveying apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the moving cycle time of the moving floor is set shorter than the moving cycle time of the wide moving floor. A separating device is provided on the upstream side of the wide moving floor,
The separating device has first and second separating plates arranged in parallel to the wide moving floor,
The first and second separating plates have upper edges that are inclined in opposite directions with respect to the floor surface of the wide moving floor in a front view along the conveying direction, and the upper edges are positioned at the lower positions. The article conveying device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the lifting and lowering operation of positioning the moving floor at a higher level and a lower level with respect to the floor surface is repeated.   An article alignment / conveyance device, comprising an article direction alignment device disposed downstream of the article conveyance device according to claim 1.

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