JP2011213412A - Container transporting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container transporting apparatus capable of boxing a plurality of containers having a bag body and a neck in an arrayed state.SOLUTION: The container transporting apparatus A for transporting the container C having the bag body and the neck includes a paper bag making machine 1 for supplying the container C, an entry side conveyor 2 for sequentially transporting the plurality of containers C to a receiving/transferring position P1, an intermediate conveyor 4 for transporting the container C to a receiving/transferring position P2 in a receiving/transferring position P1x direction, arraying means 3 provided in the receiving/transferring position P1 for sorting and receiving/transferring the container C transported by the entry side conveyor 2 for each redetermined number of the container C in which the neck is arrayed in such an attitude that the neck is aimed at either one side or the other side of the y direction to the intermediate transfer conveyor 4, an exit-side conveyor 6 for sequentially transporting a box B to the receiving/transferring position P2, and discharging the box B packed with the container C, and a boxing means 5 provided in a second receiving/transferring position P2 for packing the predetermined number of the container C transported by the intermediate conveyor 4 into the box B transported by the exit-side conveyor 6.

Description

  The present invention relates to a container transport device that transports a plurality of containers having a bag body and a neck.

  Conventionally, a container in which a neck called a spout is attached to a bag body has been widely used as a beverage container (for example, Patent Document 1). As shown in FIG. 5, the container C has a bag body C1 and a neck portion C2 attached thereto. The bag body C1 has a thin band shape before being filled with contents such as a beverage. The neck portion C2 is constituted by, for example, a screw-type cap, and is used as a drinking mouth. Generally, the container C is continuously manufactured by a bag making machine (for example, Patent Document 2). The bag-making machine 90 shown in FIG. 6 is supplied with a cylindrical film 91 and a plurality of spouts 92 folded in a sheet shape. The bag making machine 90 continuously manufactures the container C by joining the film 91 cut into a predetermined length and the spout 92. The manufactured plurality of containers C are sequentially sent out from the bag making machine 90.

  In order to transport the container C from the container factory to, for example, a beverage factory, a method of packing in a cardboard box or the like is conceivable. However, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5C, the container C has a shape in which the neck C2 is thick and most of the bag body C1 is extremely thin. For this reason, if a plurality of containers C are simply packed in a cardboard box, an excessive gap is generated in the cardboard box. Such a gap is not preferable from the viewpoint of increasing the conveyance efficiency to the conveyance factory because it reduces the filling rate of the boxing. Further, there is a concern that the containers C may be damaged by rubbing between the containers C during transportation. In order to pack the containers C so as not to cause such a problem, it may be forced to manually pack the containers C sent out from the bag making machine 90 one by one.

  For example, a plurality of containers C packed in a cardboard box are carried into a beverage factory. The operation of filling these containers C with beverages is usually performed automatically in a filling line in a beverage factory. In order to handle a plurality of containers C on the filling line, it is necessary to take out the plurality of containers C from the cardboard box and align them so that they can be sent to the filling line. Such take-out and alignment operations need to be performed with a processing capability that does not reduce the filling capability of the filling line, and are difficult to perform manually, for example.

JP 2001-278442 A JP 2003-340941 A

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, wherein a plurality of containers having a bag body and a neck are packed in an aligned state, or a plurality of containers in a boxed state are packed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container transport device that can be taken out and aligned.

  The container transport device provided by the first aspect of the present invention is a container transport device that transports a plurality of containers each having a bag body and a neck, and a container supply means for supplying the plurality of containers, An entrance-side transport unit that sequentially transports the plurality of containers supplied from the container supply unit to a first delivery position; and a second side of the plurality of containers from the first delivery position along a first direction. Intermediate transport means for transporting to the delivery position, and the plurality of containers that are installed at the first delivery position and transported by the entry-side transport means, all the necks are perpendicular to the first direction. One or more robot arms that are divided into a predetermined number of the containers aligned in a posture facing only one side and the other side in the second direction and are transferred to the intermediate transfer means And a delivery means for sequentially transporting the plurality of boxes for accommodating the plurality of containers to the second delivery position, and discharging the plurality of boxes each packed with the plurality of containers. And a boxing unit that is installed at the second delivery position and packs the predetermined number of containers conveyed by the intermediate conveying unit into the box conveyed by the outlet conveying unit. It is characterized by that.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the boxing means packs the predetermined number of containers placed on the intermediate conveying means into the box without changing the direction in which each neck portion faces, It is possible to pack the box in a posture in which the neck portion faces in the opposite direction to that when the neck portion is placed on the intermediate conveying means.

  According to such a configuration, the plurality of containers supplied by the container supply means are aligned and partitioned by the alignment means into a predetermined number of containers whose directions toward the neck coincide. And it inserts in the said box sequentially by the said boxing means. As a result, the plurality of containers are packed in the box in a state where the directions of the necks are aligned. This boxing operation is performed automatically. Accordingly, the plurality of containers can be packed in a state in which the plurality of containers are aligned in the box without requiring manual work.

  The container transport device provided by the second aspect of the present invention is a container transport device that takes out a plurality of containers having a bag body and a neck from a box in which they are packed, and the plurality of boxes are taken as a first container. An entrance-side transport unit that sequentially transports the container along the direction to the transfer position, an exit-side transport unit that discharges the plurality of containers along the first direction from the transfer position, and the transfer position. And a take-out means for taking out a predetermined number of the containers from the box that has been carried by the entry-side conveyance means and delivering them to the exit-side conveyance means, and is conveyed by the entry-side conveyance means. In the box, the necks are arranged in the first direction in a posture in which all the necks face one of the second direction and the other side perpendicular to the first direction every predetermined number. A plurality of containers are boxed, and the take-out means receives the predetermined number of containers on the delivery-side conveying means with the neck portion facing only one side or the other side in the second direction. It is characterized by passing.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the take-out means can increase the pitch between the predetermined number of containers while holding the predetermined number of containers.

  According to such a configuration, the container can be taken out from the box in which the plurality of containers whose necks face in opposite directions are packed so that all the neck parts face in the same direction. As a result, the plurality of containers packed in a state where the filling rate is relatively high and hardly rub against each other are moved to the downstream side by the outlet-side conveying means in a state where all the neck portions are directed in the same direction. Can be transported. Therefore, for example, the container can be supplied continuously to a filling line for filling the container with a beverage and with a relatively high supply capacity.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a top view which shows an example of the container conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a principal part top view which shows the alignment means of an example of the container conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a principal part top view which shows the boxing means of an example of the container conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view which shows an example of the container conveying apparatus which has a function which takes out the container packed by the container conveying apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from a box. An example of the container which has a bag main body and a neck part is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view. It is a top view which shows an example of the conventional bag making machine.

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

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a container transport device according to the first aspect of the present invention. The container transport device A according to the present embodiment includes a bag making machine 1, an entrance-side conveyor 2, an alignment means 3, an intermediate conveyor 4, a boxing means 5, and an exit-side conveyor 6. The container transport device A has a function of packing a plurality of containers C by the predetermined number described with reference to FIG. 5 into the box B shown in FIG.

  The bag making machine 1 is an example of the container supply means referred to in the present invention, and a film 11 and a plurality of spouts 12 are supplied. The film 11 is originally cylindrical and is supplied to the bag making machine 1 while being folded into a sheet. Each spout 12 is a component for configuring the neck portion C2 of the container C, and is configured such that, for example, a screw is formed on a resin cylinder. The bag making machine 1 continuously manufactures a plurality of containers C by joining a film 11 cut to a predetermined length and a spout 12. The plurality of manufactured containers C are sequentially discharged from the chute 13. In this embodiment, the manufacturing capacity of the bag making machine 1 is about 150 pieces / minute. In addition, as a container supply means said by this invention, it is not limited to the apparatus which manufactures the container C, For example, the apparatus which accumulate | stores several manufactured containers C temporarily may be sufficient.

  The entrance-side conveyor 2 is an example of the entrance-side transport means referred to in the present invention. The entry side conveyor 2 has a conveyance direction along the x direction, and sequentially conveys the plurality of containers C supplied from the chute 13 of the bag making machine 1 to the right in the x direction. The plurality of containers C that have been conveyed reach the delivery position P1. In addition, as an entrance side conveyance means said by this invention, it is not limited to the entrance side conveyor 2, For example, what is called a roller conveyor in which the several drive roller was arranged may be sufficient.

  The intermediate conveyor 4 is an example of the intermediate conveying means referred to in the present invention. For example, an endless belt is wound around a pair of rollers including a drive roller that is servo-driven. The intermediate conveyor 4 has a conveyance direction along the x direction in the same manner as the entry side conveyor 2, and conveys a plurality of containers C transferred from the entry side conveyor 2 to the right in the x direction at the delivery position P <b> 1. The plurality of containers C that have been conveyed reach the delivery position P2. As will be described later, the plurality of containers C transported by the intermediate conveyor 4 are transported in a state of being partitioned every predetermined number. In addition, as an intermediate conveyance means said by this invention, it is not limited to the intermediate conveyor 4, For example, what is called a roller conveyor in which the some drive roller was arranged may be sufficient.

  The aligning means 3 is installed at the delivery position P1 and is used for sequentially transferring a plurality of containers C from the entrance side conveyor 2 to the intermediate conveyor 4. The alignment means 3 includes alignment robots 31 and 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the alignment robots 31 and 32 are spaced apart from each other in the x direction. Each of the alignment robots 31 and 32 includes a plurality of link arms 31a and 32a, suction heads 31b and 32b, and a camera system (not shown). An example of such alignment robots 31 and 32 is a parallel mechanism robot manufactured by BOSCH, but is not limited thereto.

  The operations of the alignment robots 31 and 32 are almost the same, and the alignment robot 31 will be described below as an example. The container C that has reached the delivery position P1 by the entry side conveyor 2 is grasped by the camera system of the alignment robot 31 and the direction in which the neck C2 is facing. The alignment robot 31 moves the suction head 31b to the container C by driving the plurality of link arms 31a based on the position information. Then, the container C is sucked by the suction head 31b. The suction head 31b is rotatable around an axis extending in a direction perpendicular to both the x direction and the y direction with respect to the plurality of link arms 31a. Based on the angle formed by the direction in which the neck portion C2 of the container C faces and the y direction, the suction head 31b is rotated so that the direction in which the neck portion C2 faces coincides with the y direction. Then, the container C is placed on the intermediate conveyor 4.

  In the example shown in the figure, the alignment robots 31 and 32 place the containers C on the intermediate conveyor 4 in such a posture that the neck C2 faces upward in the y direction on the paper surface. When the container C placed on the entry side conveyor 2 needs to be rotated, for example, by nearly 180 degrees in order to obtain the posture placed on the intermediate conveyor 4, the container C is discharged as a difficult-to-align container C from the conveyance path. A function may be provided in the alignment robots 31 and 32. The aligning robots 31 and 32 repeat this unit operation sequentially with a predetermined number (for example, seven in FIG. 1) of containers C aligned in parallel so that their necks C2 face in the same direction as one unit. . In the present embodiment, the processing capabilities of the alignment robots 31 and 32 are about 80 pieces / minute, respectively. By providing the two alignment robots 31 and 32, the processing capability of the alignment means 3 is slightly higher than the manufacturing capability of the bag making machine 1.

  The delivery side conveyor 6 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of delivery side transport means as referred to in the present invention. The delivery conveyor 6 has a conveyance direction along the x direction, and sequentially conveys a plurality of empty boxes B supplied from a box supply means (not shown) to the delivery position P2. Then, the box B in which a plurality of containers C are packed is sequentially conveyed rightward in the x direction. In addition, as an exit side conveyance means said by this invention, it is not limited to the exit side conveyor 6, For example, what is called a roller conveyor in which the some drive roller was arranged may be sufficient.

  The boxing means 5 is installed in the delivery position P2 and is used for packing a plurality of containers C from the intermediate conveyor 4 to the boxes B on the delivery conveyor 6 by a predetermined number. In the present embodiment, the boxing means 5 is constituted by boxing robots 51 and 52. As shown in FIG. 3, the boxing robots 51 and 52 have suction heads 51a and 52a, respectively.

  The operations of the boxing robots 51 and 52 are almost the same, and the boxing robot 51 will be described below as an example. As shown in FIG. 3, the suction head 51a can suck and hold seven containers C aligned in the x direction on the intermediate conveyor 4. Further, the suction head 51a has a width-shifting function for reducing the mutual pitch in a state where these containers C are held by suction. These containers C sucked and held by the suction head 51a in a state of being brought close to each other are moved together with the suction head 51a directly above the box B on the delivery conveyor 6. Then, when the suction head 51a is lowered and the suction is released, the seven containers C are inserted into the box B in an aligned state. In addition, as shown with the imaginary line in the same figure, you may provide partition Ba in the box B previously. By providing the partition Ba, it is possible to prevent the container C from collapsing in the box B or being rubbed and damaged.

  The alignment robots 51 and 52 have a function of rotating the suction heads 51a and 52a around an axis extending in a direction perpendicular to both the x direction and the y direction. That is, like the operation of the alignment robot 52 shown in FIG. 3, after sucking a predetermined number of containers C aligned on the intermediate conveyor 4, they are rotated 180 degrees together with the suction head 52a. Then, these containers C are inserted into the box B. In this embodiment, the alignment robots 51 and 52 repeat the unit work until the box B is full, with the work of inserting the seven containers C into the box B as one unit. In repeating the unit work, the alignment robots 51 and 52 alternately perform the unit work without rotation of the suction heads 51a and 52a and the unit work with rotation of the suction heads 51a and 52a, respectively. As a result, the box B is packed with a plurality of containers C stacked such that the direction in which the neck portion C2 faces is alternately directed in the opposite direction regardless of which of the alignment robots 51 and 52 is boxed.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a container transport device according to the second aspect of the present invention. The container transport device 8 of the present embodiment is used to take out a plurality of containers C packed in a box B by the container transport device A described above from the box B after being transported to a beverage factory, for example. The container transfer device 8 includes an entrance-side conveyor 81, a take-out means 82, an exit-side conveyor 83a, a bag guide 83b, a pinned chain 83c, a twist guide 84a, a straight guide 84b, a chucking unit 85, a straight guide 86a, and a pinned chain. 86b.

  The entrance-side conveyor 81 is an example of an entrance-side conveying means referred to in the present invention, and sequentially conveys the box B packed with a plurality of containers C to the delivery position P3 to the left in the x direction.

  The take-out means 82 is installed at the delivery position P3 and includes take-out robots 82A and 82B. The take-out robots 82A and 82B have suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba. The suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba have a predetermined number (seven in this embodiment) located in the same layer among a plurality of containers C boxed in the box B in the state of being aligned in the x direction on the entrance conveyor 81. Can be held together. Further, the suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba have a widening function of expanding the mutual pitch in a state where these containers C are sucked and held. These containers C sucked and held by the suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba in a widened state are moved onto the delivery conveyor 83a together with the suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba. Then, when the suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba are lowered and the suction is released, the seven containers C are transferred to the delivery conveyor 83a. The pitch of the container C after being enlarged is a pitch suitable for conveyance by the delivery conveyor 83a, and more specifically, is substantially the same as the pin pitch of the pin chain 83c described later. Thereby, for example, even if the size of the container C packed in the box B is different for each box B, it is appropriately conveyed by the delivery conveyor 83a and the pinned chain 83c by widening to a predetermined pitch. can do.

  The take-out robots 82A and 82B have a function of rotating the suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba around an axis extending in a direction perpendicular to both the x direction and the y direction. In the present embodiment, when the neck portions C2 of a predetermined number of containers C sucked and held are facing upward in the y direction, the containers C are transferred to the delivery conveyor 83a without rotation. On the other hand, when the neck portions C2 of the predetermined number of containers C sucked and held are facing downward in the y direction, the containers C are transferred to the delivery conveyor 83a after the suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba are rotated 180 degrees. To do.

  As described above, in the box B, the container C with the neck portion C2 facing upward in the y direction and the container C facing downward in the y direction are alternately stacked every predetermined number. For this reason, when taking out the container C from the box B, the take-out robots 82A and 82B alternately perform a take-out operation that does not rotate the suction heads 82Aa and 82Ba and a take-out operation that rotates 180 degrees.

  The delivery side conveyor 83a is inclined about 45 degrees around an axis extending in the x direction with respect to the horizontal plane. A bag guide 83b is provided on the side of the delivery side conveyor 83a. The bag guide 83b has a groove extending in the longitudinal direction (x direction). The neck C2 of the container C is fitted into this groove. Each of the necks C2 of the predetermined number of containers C transferred by the take-out robots 82A and 82B is fitted into the bag guide 83b. The container C with the neck portion C2 fitted in the groove of the bag guide 83b has a horizontal surface so that the neck portion C2 points upward in the y direction, the neck portion C2 is diagonally above, and the lower end of the bag body C1 is diagonally below. On the other hand, it is slidable in the x direction in a posture inclined by 45 degrees. A pinned chain 83c is provided at a position parallel to the bag guide 83b. The chain with pins 83c circulates in an annular path extending in the x direction, and a plurality of pins are attached at predetermined intervals. These pins are arranged at positions where the neck C2 of the container C is pushed. By driving the delivery conveyor 83a and the pinned chain 83c, the plurality of containers C are conveyed to the left in the x direction at regular intervals.

  A twist guide 84a is provided at the left end of the bag guide 83b. The twist guide 84a has a shape in which the bag guide 83b is twisted toward the left in the x direction. The container C transferred from the bag guide 83b to the twist guide 84a is in a state where it hangs down in a vertical direction from a state inclined 45 degrees.

  A straight guide 84b continues from the left end of the twist guide 84a. Similarly, the straight guide 84b has a groove (or slit) into which the neck C2 is fitted. And the container C conveyed along the linear guide 84b is sent to the y direction downward direction by the chucking unit 85 in the figure. The chucking unit 85 has a structure in which a plurality of chucking heads each capable of holding the neck portion C2 are arranged in an annular shape, and these chucking heads rotate.

  The containers C sent out from the chucking unit 85 downward in the y direction are sequentially conveyed by the chain 86b with pins along the straight guide 86a. After this, for example, the beverage is filled into the container C by a beverage filling device (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the container transport device A and the container transport device 8 will be described.

  According to the container transport device A, the plurality of containers C supplied by the bag making machine 1 are aligned and partitioned by the alignment robots 31 and 32 into a predetermined number of containers C in which the direction of the neck portion C2 coincides. And it is sequentially inserted into the box B by the boxing robots 51 and 52. As a result, each box B is packed with a plurality of containers C in a state where the directions in which the neck portions C2 face are aligned. This boxing operation is automatically performed even when the bag making machine 1 having a production capacity of, for example, 150 pieces / min is fully operated. Therefore, a plurality of containers C can be packed in a state in which they are aligned with the box B without requiring manual work.

  By the boxing robots 51 and 52, a predetermined number (seven) of containers C with the neck C2 facing one side in the y direction and a predetermined number (seven) of containers C with the neck C2 facing the other side in the y direction are boxed. By sequentially inserting into B, the containers C with the neck portions C2 facing in opposite directions are stacked on the box B in an orderly manner. For this reason, for example, when the neck part C2 is clogged up in one place of the box B, the problem that the container C packed in a box will incline largely does not arise. Since the containers C packed in this way have their layers stacked relatively flat in the box B, for example, the container transfer device 8 has an advantage that it is easy to automatically perform the operation of taking out automatically by the take-out robots 82A and 82B. is there.

  According to the container transport device 8, the container C is taken out from the box B in which the container C with the neck C2 facing upward in the y direction and the container C facing downward in the y direction are oriented in the same direction. It is. As a result, a plurality of containers C packed in a state where the filling rate is relatively high and hardly rub against each other are conveyed downstream by the delivery conveyor 83a with all neck portions C2 oriented in the same direction. it can. Therefore, for example, the container C can be supplied continuously to a filling line for filling the container C with a beverage and with a relatively high supply capacity.

  The container transport device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the container transport device according to the present invention can be varied in design in various ways.

C container C1 bag body C2 neck B box P1 (first) delivery position P2 (second) delivery position P3 delivery position x (first) direction y (second) direction A container transport device 1 bag making machine (Container supply means)
11 Film 12 Spout 13 Chute 2 Entry Side Conveyor (Entry Side Conveyance Means)
3 Alignment means 31, 32 Alignment robot 4 Intermediate conveyor (intermediate transport means)
5 Boxing means 51, 52 Boxing robot 6 Outlet conveyor (outlet transport means)
8 Container Transport Device 81 Entry Side Conveyor (Entry Side Conveyance Means)
82 Take-out means 82A, 82B Take-out robots 82Aa, 82Ba Adsorption head 83a Out-side conveyor (out-side transport means)
83b Bag guide 83c Chain with pin 84a Twist guide 84b Straight guide 85 Chucking unit 86a Straight guide 86b Chain with pin

Claims (2)

A container transport device for transporting a plurality of containers having a bag body and a neck,
Container supply means for supplying the plurality of containers;
Entry side transport means for sequentially transporting the plurality of containers supplied from the container supply means to a first delivery position;
Intermediate transport means for transporting the plurality of containers from the first delivery position to a second delivery position along a first direction;
The plurality of containers that are installed at the first delivery position and have been conveyed by the entry-side conveying means are arranged on one side in a second direction in which all the neck portions are perpendicular to the first direction and An alignment unit having one or more robot arms that are divided into a predetermined number of the containers aligned in a posture facing only one of the other sides and delivered to the intermediate transfer unit;
A plurality of boxes for accommodating the plurality of containers at the second delivery position in order, and a delivery side conveying means for discharging the plurality of boxes each packed with the plurality of containers;
A boxing means that is installed at the second delivery position and packs the predetermined number of containers conveyed by the intermediate conveying means into the box conveyed by the outlet-side conveying means;
A container transport device comprising: A container transport device that takes out a plurality of containers having a bag body and a neck from a box in which these are packed,
Entry side conveying means for sequentially conveying the plurality of boxes along the first direction to the delivery position;
An exit side conveying means for discharging the plurality of containers from the delivery position along the first direction;
A take-out means that is installed at the delivery position, takes out a predetermined number of the containers from the box that has been carried by the entry-side conveyance means, and delivers these to the delivery-side conveyance means; and
The box conveyed by the entry-side conveying means has a posture in which every neck is directed to one side or the other side of the second direction perpendicular to the first direction for each predetermined number. A plurality of containers arranged in the first direction are packed in a box,
The container transport device, wherein the take-out means delivers the predetermined number of containers to the exit-side transport means in a posture in which the neck portion faces only one side or the other side in the second direction. .

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