JP2011219188A - Article aligning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article aligning device capable of aligning articles such as a cap having a bias in the center of gravity while conveying the same.SOLUTION: In this article aligning device 10 for aligning articles 1 having a bias in the center of gravity thereof, while conveying them, a plurality of fixed floors 20 and moving floors 30 and 40 are alternately arranged along the article conveying direction. The fixed floors 20 and moving floors 30 and 40 include downward inclined floor surfaces 21, 31 and 41 inclined to form a downward inclination toward a downstream side in the article conveying direction. The moving floors 30 and 40 are repeatedly elevated to be simultaneously positioned to an upper level and a lower level relative to the floor surfaces of the fixed floors 20 adjacent to the floor surfaces of the moving floors 30 and 40, and at least a part of the moving floors 40 includes an upward inclined floor surface 40A inclined to form an upward inclination toward a downstream side in the article conveying direction on an upstream side in the article conveying direction relative to the downward inclined floor surface 41.

Description

  The present invention relates to an article alignment apparatus.

As an article alignment apparatus, there exists a thing of patent documents 1-3.
The article alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is an article alignment apparatus that uses a cap as an alignment work, and is a disk-like shape that is driven to rotate around a rotation shaft that protrudes in a vertical direction from the work accommodating portion. A substantially circular shape that provides a step portion having a lower height than the inner side on the outer peripheral side of the center wheel, and guides the movement of the work placed on the step upper portion of the center wheel outside the step upper portion of the center wheel. An arc-shaped workpiece guide member is provided, and an inclined workpiece drop guide portion that gradually increases the distance from the center wheel is provided at the end portion of the workpiece guide member. When the workpiece falls through the gap between the workpiece drop guide portion and the center wheel and falls to the lower step side of the center wheel, the posture of the workpiece in the landscape orientation is aligned vertically. Is shall.

  The article alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is a bowl vibration type article alignment apparatus that uses electronic components as alignment parts, and is formed on a wide track 54 and a peripheral wall 53 that are inclined downward toward the outside of the diameter of the bowl 21. Following the single-layer / single-row portion 51, the strip-like shape is inclined downward from the lower end of the outer peripheral side wall 63 aligned with the peripheral wall 53 toward the inner diameter of the bowl 21 and wider than the part Q and narrower than the wide width. And the inner peripheral side wall 65 whose upper end surface is at the same inclination as the track 54 and at a position higher than the lower end of the outer peripheral side wall 63 as the primary sorting part 61, and moves in the length direction. The part Q directed in the direction is transported by the sorting transport path 64, and the part Q ′ whose width direction is directed in the transport direction is sorted as an attitude in which the inner peripheral side end is placed on the inner peripheral side wall 65. The part Q ′ is removed from the upper end of the low inner peripheral wall 85, which is lower than the lower end of the outer peripheral side wall 83 by the tertiary selection part 81 following the secondary selection part 7, and the transfer direction of the part is selected and aligned. To do.

  The article alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 3 is an article alignment apparatus that uses caps as alignment articles, and is arranged so that each floor surface of a plurality of fixed floors is inclined downward toward the downstream side in the transport direction. Ascending / descending operation of positioning each moving floor adjacent to each fixed floor and on the side of the conveyance direction, and positioning each moving floor at the upper and lower positions with respect to the floor of the fixed floor adjacent to each other. Is repeated so that the floor surfaces of the moving floors positioned at the upper side are arranged so as to form a downward gradient toward the downstream side in the conveying direction, and the floor surface of each fixed floor is inclined downward toward the downstream side in the conveying direction. In addition, the floor surface of each moving floor is inclined so as to form a downward gradient toward the downstream side in the transport direction.

JP2002-179004 JP2001-26317 JP2008-150143

  The article alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is a method of aligning articles on the outer periphery of a disk-shaped center wheel, but there are restrictions on the size of articles that can be handled (handling articles that are larger than the lower part of the stage) It is difficult and requires large-scale remodeling such as a center wheel and a scraped ring plate), the apparatus size is large with respect to the processing capacity, and the article is easily scratched because the article is moved at high speed.

  The article alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is a bowl vibration type article alignment apparatus, but there is a limitation on the size of an article that can be handled (it is difficult to handle an article larger than a trapezoidal groove or a transfer path. Large-scale remodeling such as replacement is necessary), and only the articles that happen to be targeted are discharged, so the equipment size is large with respect to the processing capacity, and the articles are easily damaged by vibration because the articles are conveyed by vibration. There is a problem that the processing speed is also slow.

  The article alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 3 can handle articles of various sizes from small articles to large articles. However, the article aligning apparatus can transport a large article spanning a plurality of moving floors and fixed floors, In order to make the top face downward, it is necessary to arrange the moving floor and the fixed floor in a descending slope, which restricts the installation surface of the apparatus. In order to increase the degree of freedom of equipment installation by allowing not only downward gradient but also horizontal and upward gradient arrangements, and also to accommodate large items, it follows the direction of conveyance of moving and fixed floor items. If the floor length is made sufficiently large to accommodate the large article, the articles will be lined up and down on the floor surface of the moving floor when handling small articles. When ascending, it is difficult to align the front surface on the side of the center of gravity of the preceding article downward.

  An object of the present invention is an article alignment apparatus that aligns an article such as a cap with a biased center of gravity while conveying the article, and can deal with articles of various shapes and various sizes of articles ranging from small articles to large articles. A plurality of fixed floors and moving floors can be arranged on an ascending slope, a descending slope, or a horizontal surface, and the alignment capability (productivity) per occupied area is high, and the articles are aligned without being scratched.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an article alignment device that aligns articles while conveying an article with a biased center of gravity, wherein a plurality of fixed floors and moving floors are alternately arranged along the article conveyance direction, and each fixed floor is arranged. And each moving floor is inclined so as to form a descending slope toward the downstream side in the article conveying direction, and each moving floor is simultaneously positioned above and below the floor of a fixed floor adjacent to each other. Ascending / descending operation positioned repeatedly is repeated, and at least a part of the moving floor is inclined so as to form an upward gradient toward the downstream side in the article conveying direction on the upstream side in the article conveying direction with respect to the downward gradient floor surface. It is intended to be equipped with.

  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”.

  According to the present invention, at least a part of the movable floor includes an up-gradient floor surface that is inclined so as to form an upward gradient toward the downstream side in the article conveyance direction on the upstream side in the article conveyance direction with respect to the down-gradient floor surface. As a result, in an article alignment apparatus that aligns an article such as a cap with a biased center of gravity while conveying it, it can accommodate various shapes of articles ranging from small articles to large articles. Can be arranged on an ascending slope, a descending slope, and a horizontal plane, and the alignment ability (productivity) per occupied area is high, and the articles can be aligned without being scratched.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the moving bed ascending when a large article is aligned by the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a moving bed descending state when large articles are aligned by the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the moving bed ascending during small article alignment by the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a moving bed descending state when small articles are aligned by the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a lift drive mechanism of the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the upward gradient arrangement of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the downward gradient arrangement of the fixed floor and the movable floor of the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a horizontal arrangement of a fixed floor and a movable floor of the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the ascending floor surface of the moving floor and the article. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing definitions of large articles and small articles. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a process of aligning large articles by the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a process of aligning large articles by the article aligning apparatus. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a process of aligning large articles by the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a process of aligning small articles by the article aligning apparatus. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a process of aligning small articles by the article aligning apparatus. FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing an example in which a discharge conveyor is connected to the article alignment apparatus. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a circular cap. FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing an elliptical cap. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a rectangular cap. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a process of aligning small articles by a conventional article aligning apparatus.

  The article aligning device 10 aligns the articles 1 having a biased center of gravity while conveying the articles. For example, the cap 1 can be sent out with the top surface on the side where the center of gravity is located facing downward. 17 to 19 show various caps that the article aligning apparatus 10 preferably performs alignment processing. 17 shows a circular cap, FIG. 18 shows an oval cap, and FIG. 19 shows a square cap. The article 1 that can be aligned according to the present invention is not limited to a cap.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the article aligning apparatus 10 has a direction from one end side to the other end side of the gantry 11 as the article transport direction of the article 1 (cap in this embodiment), and an inlet is provided 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 alignment apparatus 10 supports a plurality of fixed floors 20 on a support member provided on the gantry 11. Further, the article aligning apparatus 10 carries a plurality of normal moving floors 30 and chamfering moving floors 40 on a lift driving device 13 (FIG. 5) supported on a gantry 11. The article alignment apparatus 10 arranges each of the plurality of normal moving floors 30 and the chamfering moving floors 40 adjacent to the fixed floors 20 in the conveyance direction (in the present embodiment, on the upstream side). The fixed floor 20 and the movable floors 30 and 40 are alternately arranged along the transport direction with a certain interval. Note that side plates 14 are provided on both sides of the gantry 11 sandwiching the fixed floor 20 and the movable floors 30 and 40 from both sides in the floor length direction to prevent the article 1 from falling (in FIGS. 1 to 4, only one side is provided). display).

  In the article aligning apparatus 10, the fixed floor 20 itself has a downwardly inclined floor surface 21 inclined so as to form a downward gradient (inclination angle η1 with respect to the horizontal) toward the downstream side in the conveying direction as shown in FIG. Prepare. Each fixed floor 20 may be equipped with a vibrator to increase the conveying force. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the movable floors 30 and 40 themselves are descending slope floor surfaces 31 that are inclined so as to form a downward slope (inclination angles η 2 and η 3 with respect to the horizontal) toward the downstream side in the transport direction. 41 is provided. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the moving floors 30 and 40 are being lifted and are being raised or lowered.

  The article alignment apparatus 10 transports at least a part of the plurality of moving floors 30 and 40, for example, one or all of the moving floors to the upstream side in the transporting direction with respect to the descending slope floor surface 41 of the moving floor. The chamfered moving floor 40 is provided with an upwardly inclined floor surface 40A inclined so as to form an upward gradient (inclination angle γ with respect to the horizontal) toward the downstream side in the direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the article aligning apparatus 10 arranges the descending slope floor surfaces 21 of the plurality of fixed floors 20 toward the downstream side in the transport direction so as to form an ascending slope (arrangement angle θ1 with respect to the horizontal). At the same time, the downgraded floor surfaces 31 and 41 of the plurality of moving floors 30 and 40 are arranged so as to form an ascending gradient (arrangement angle θ2 with respect to the horizontal) toward the downstream side in the transport direction.

  The article alignment apparatus 10 repeats the raising and lowering operations of the movable floors 30 and 40 by the raising and lowering driving device 13. That is, the movable floors 30 and 40 are arranged in the upper level (FIGS. 1 and 3) and the lower level (FIGS. 2 and 4) with respect to the downward gradient floor surface 21 of each fixed floor 20 to which the downward gradient floor surfaces 31 and 41 are adjacent. Repeat the positioning operation. 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. In addition, S of FIG. 6 shows the raising / lowering stroke of the moving floor 30. FIG.

Hereinafter, the structure of each part of the article alignment apparatus 10 will be described in detail.
(Upward movement of normal moving floor 30 and chamfered moving floor 40)
Usually, the lowest part of the floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30 rises to a position exceeding the uppermost part of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 downstream thereof.

  The lowermost part of the floor surface 41 of the chamfering moving floor 40 rises to a position exceeding the uppermost part of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 downstream thereof.

  The normal moving floor 30 and the chamfered moving floor 40 may be raised further than this, but from the viewpoint of processing capability, the highest moving position of the aligned moving floor 40 is the lowest position of the floor surface 41 of the aligned moving floor 40. It is preferable that the position be beyond the uppermost part of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 downstream thereof. 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 chamfered moving floor 40 to the downstream fixed floor 20. Depending on the article 1, there may be no pause time. In this case, the conveyance speed is improved. Depending on the article 1, an appropriately adjusted stop time may be provided.

(Descent operation of normal moving floor 30 and chamfering moving floor 40)
Usually, the uppermost part of the floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30 descends to a position exceeding the lowermost part of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 upstream thereof.

  The uppermost part of the floor surface 41 of the chamfering moving floor 40 descends to a position exceeding the lowermost part of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 upstream thereof.

  The normal moving floor 30 and the chamfered moving floor 40 may be lowered further, but from the viewpoint of processing capability, the lowest position of the aligned moving floor 40 is the uppermost part of the floor surface 41 of the aligned moving floor 40. It is preferable to reach the lowest part of the floor 21 of the upstream fixed bed 20. When temporarily stopped at the lowest position, the article 1 is reliably sent from the upstream fixed floor 20 to the normal moving floor 30 and from the upstream fixed floor 20 to the chamfer moving floor 40. Depending on the behavior of the article 1, there may be no temporary stop time, or an appropriately adjusted stop time may be provided.

  It is preferable that the lowermost part of the downwardly inclined floor surface 41 of the chamfered moving floor 40 is substantially coincident with a straight line connecting the lowermost parts of the downwardly inclined floor surface 31 of each normal moving floor 30. The uppermost and lowermost portions of the downgraded floor surfaces 31, 41 of the moving floors 30, 40 are the downgraded floor surfaces of the fixed floor 20 on the downstream side of the articles 1 on the downgraded floor surfaces 31, 41 of the moving floors 30, 40. As appropriate, the article 1 on the downgraded floor surface 21 of the upstream fixed floor 20 is moved onto the downgraded floor surfaces 31 and 41 of the downstream moving floors 30 and 40. Is done.

  In the article alignment apparatus 10, the preferred values of the floor widths of the floor surfaces 21, 31, 40A, 41 of the fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, and the chamfered moving floor 40 are as follows (FIGS. 5 and 9). ). The article minimum width w is the minimum dimension of the article 1 as viewed from the top surface side, and the article height h is the total length in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the top surface of the article 1 (FIGS. 17 to 17). 19).

(Structure of fixed floor 20, normal moving floor 30, chamfer moving floor 40)
The fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, and the chamfered moving floor 40 may have a structure in which a solid portion and a plate-like portion are combined, a solid structure, or a hollow structure formed by bending a plate material. The structure is not particularly limited. The material is not particularly limited, such as resin, metal, wood, rubber, or a combination thereof.

(Floor surface length of fixed floor 20, normal moving floor 30, chamfer moving floor 40)
The floor length of the fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, and the chamfered moving floor 40 along the direction orthogonal to the article conveying direction is 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 capability of the article alignment apparatus 10 can be increased.

(Floor width v1 of the floor 21 of the fixed floor 20, floor width v2 of the floor 31 of the normal moving floor 30)
The floor surface width v1 of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor surface width v2 of the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 are the respective articles of the large article 1 and the small article 1 as will be described later. It is determined in relation to the minimum width w. That is, when viewed in relation to the large article 1, the article minimum width w of the article 1 is in the range of 0.5 to 1.2 times the floor widths v1 and v2 of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30. It becomes what is in. When viewed in relation to the small article 1, the article minimum width w of the article 1 is less than 0.5 times the floor widths v1 and v2 of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30.

(Floor surface width of floor surfaces 40A and 41 of chamfer moving floor 40)
As shown in FIG. 9, the floor width v3 of the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the chamfering movable floor 40 is preferably 0.3 to 0.7 times the article height. By setting it as this range, when the article 1 conveyed from the upstream side rolls on the up-gradient floor surface 40A of the chamfering movable floor 40 with the center of gravity G at the upper position (FIG. 11 (D), FIG. 12 (A)). 14 (C) and 14 (D)), the position of the center of gravity G of the article 1 is forward (downstream) in the conveying direction from the intersection vertex of the upward gradient floor surface 40A and the downward gradient floor surface 41 of the chamfering movable floor 40. Therefore, the article 1 rotates so as to fall forward in the conveyance direction with the intersection vertex as the rotation center, and is given an alignment posture in which the center of gravity G of the article 1 is in the lower position.

  The article aligning apparatus 10 may be configured such that one of the plurality of moving floors 30 and 40 is the chamfered moving floor 40. However, by providing more chamfering moving floors 40, the above-described alignment processing of the articles 1 is performed. Efficiency can be improved. All the movable floors may be the chamfered movable floor 40.

  Incidentally, the floor width of the downgraded floor 41 in the chamfered moving floor 40 is the floor width v3 of the above-described upgraded floor 40A from the floor width v2 of the downgraded floor 31 in the normal moving floor 30 described above. The value obtained by subtracting the missing length from the gradient floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30 is obtained.

  In the article alignment apparatus 10, the preferred values of the inclination angles of the floor surfaces 21, 31, 40A, 41 of the fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, and the chamfered moving floor 40 are as follows (FIG. 5).

(Inclination angle η1 of the floor 21 of the fixed floor 20)
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 smoothly slide downstream on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20. Moreover, the elevation stroke of the normal moving floor 30 and the chamfering moving floor 40 can be reduced by setting it to 40 degrees or less, 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 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 fixed floor 20 with respect to the horizontal plane. The angle is preferably 18 degrees to 32 degrees.

(Inclination angle η3 of the floor 41 of the chamfer moving floor 40)
The inclination angle η3 formed by the floor surface 41 of the chamfering movable floor 40 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 surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 with respect to the horizontal plane, The angle is particularly preferably 18 to 32 degrees.

(Inclination angle γ of the up-gradient floor surface 40A of the chamfer moving floor 40)
The inclination angle η formed by the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the chamfering moving floor 40 with respect to the horizontal plane is preferably 5 degrees to 50 degrees, and particularly preferably 10 degrees to 30 degrees. By setting this range, the article 1 can be easily rotated from the state shown in FIG. 9 such that the article 1 falls forward with the intersection vertex of the up-gradient floor surface 40A and the down-gradient floor surface 41 of the chamfering moving floor 40 as the rotation center. If γ is too small, the article 1 does not stop on the ascending floor surface 40A and fall forward, but slides on the ascending floor surface 40A, and rotation stops in the state of FIG. If γ is too large, even if the article 1 falls forward, the slope of the up-gradient floor surface 40A is too strong, and the position of the center of gravity G of the article 1 is on the downstream side of the rotation center in FIG. In the state of 9, the rotation stops.

(Relationship between the inclination angles η1, η2, and η3 of the fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, and the chamfered moving floor 40)
The inclination angles η2 and η3 formed by the floor surfaces 31 and 41 of the normal moving floor 30 and the chamfered moving floor 40 are equal to or larger than the inclination angle η1 formed by the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the horizontal plane (FIG. 5). It is preferable to do. η2 and η3 are preferably larger than η1 by 10 to 25 degrees. By increasing the angle, the moving floor 30 is usually moved by chamfering, especially when handling an article having a long section such as an ellipse, an ellipse, or a rectangle whose cross-sectional shape is not a circle or regular polygon. When the floor 40 is raised, the longitudinal part of the article 1 is inclined in the downstream direction in accordance with the inclination angles η2 and η3 that the floor surfaces 31 and 41 of the normal moving floor 30 and the chamfering moving floor 40 form a horizontal plane. 1 can be reliably sent to the fixed bed 20 downstream.

  In the article alignment apparatus 10, suitable values for the ascending arrangement angles of the fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, and the chamfered moving floor 40 are as follows (FIG. 6).

(Arrangement angle θ1 of fixed floor 20)
The arrangement angle θ1 of the fixed floor 20 is 20 to 40 degrees, preferably 24 to 36 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. By setting the angle to 20 degrees or more, articles that have not been properly placed on the fixed floor 20, the normal moving floor 30, and the chamfered moving floor 40 can be slid down 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 and chamfering moving floor 40)
The arrangement angle θ2 of the normal moving floor 30 and the chamfered moving floor 40 is also set to 20 to 40 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane for the same reason as the arrangement angle θ1 of the fixed floor 20, and preferably 24 to 36 degrees. .

(Relationship between arrangement angles θ1, θ2 of fixed floor 20, normal moving floor 30, and chamfered moving floor 40)
It is preferable that the arrangement angle θ1 of the fixed floor 20 and the arrangement angle θ2 of the normal moving floor 30 and the chamfering moving floor 40 are substantially the same. By making these values substantially the same, it is possible to minimize the up-and-down stroke for sending the articles downstream by the upstream and downstream moving beds 30 and 40, and to increase the article conveyance processing capacity.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the article alignment apparatus 10 forms a downward slope (arrangement angle θ1 with respect to the horizontal) with the downward slope floor surfaces 21 of the plurality of fixed floors 20 facing each other downstream in the transport direction. In addition to the arrangement, the floor surfaces 31 and 41 of the plurality of movable floors 30 and 40 may be arranged so as to form a downward gradient (arrangement angle θ2 with respect to the horizontal) toward the downstream side in the transport direction. The arrangement angle θ1 of the fixed floor 20 is 10 to 40 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, and preferably 15 to 25 degrees. By setting the angle to 10 degrees or more, it is possible to drop the article that has not been properly placed on the fixed floor 20 or the moving floors 30 and 40 upstream, and further, the vertical movement stroke can be reduced, so that the high-capacity of the article can be obtained. Processing becomes possible. Conversely, by setting it to 40 degrees or less, it is possible to suppress the movement speed of the article in the upstream direction from becoming too fast. The arrangement angle θ2 of the movable floors 30 and 40 is also set to 10 to 40 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane and preferably 15 to 25 degrees for the same reason as the arrangement angle θ1 of the fixed floor 20. The arrangement angle θ1 of the fixed floor 20 and the arrangement angle θ2 of the movable floors 30 and 40 are preferably substantially the same. By making these values substantially the same, it is possible to minimize the up-and-down stroke for sending the articles downstream by the upstream and downstream moving beds 30 and 40, and to increase the article conveyance processing capacity. By arranging a plurality of fixed floors 20 and moving floors 30 and 40 in a downward gradient, the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor surfaces 31 of the movable floors 30 and 40 are compared to those in the upward gradient arrangement (FIG. 6). , 41 have the same downward slope, the lifting stroke that the lifting drive device 13 should apply to the moving floors 30, 40 is reduced, and the lifting cycle time can be shortened.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the article aligning apparatus 10 arranges the individual floor surfaces 21 of the plurality of fixed floors 20 so as to be horizontal toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the plurality of movable floors 30, Forty individual floor surfaces 31 and 41 may be arranged so as to be horizontal toward the downstream side in the transport direction. By arranging a plurality of fixed floors 20 and moving floors 30, 40 horizontally, the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor surfaces 31 of the moving floors 30, 40 are compared with those in the upward gradient arrangement (FIG. 6). Since the arrangement angle of 41 is close to a downward slope, the lifting stroke that the lifting drive device 13 should give to the moving floors 30 and 40 is slightly reduced, and the lifting cycle time can be shortened somewhat.

  According to the article aligning device 10, the floor surfaces 31, 40 </ b> A, 41 of the moving floors 30, 40 are placed on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 by raising the normal moving floor 30 and the chamfering moving floor 40 by the elevating drive device 13. When a certain article 1 is pushed up, the inclination of the floor surfaces 31 and 41 of the movable floors 30 and 40 gives the article 1 a downstream conveying force. The article 1 to which the conveyance force is applied is transferred from the floor surfaces 31 and 41 of the movable floors 30 and 40 onto the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 that forms a downward gradient along the downstream conveyance direction. It slides on the inclination of 20 floor 21 itself, and is conveyed downstream. At this time, when the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor surfaces 31 and 41 of the moving floors 30 and 40 are arranged so as to form an upward gradient toward the downstream side, the article 1 is transported along this upward gradient. , The floors 21, 31, 40 </ b> A and 41 on the downstream side are sequentially lifted, and are sent from the floor surface 31 of the normal moving floor 30 on the most downstream side to the discharge conveyor and the like through the outlet fixed floor 20.

  In addition, the article alignment apparatus 10 has the floor surfaces 31, 40A, 41 of the moving floors 30, 40 in one cycle of lifting and lowering operations of the moving floors 30, 40 (one cycle from the lowest lowered position to the highest raised position to the lowest lowered position). Can be controlled to be smaller than the time ratio of being immersed below the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20. As a result, the time during which the article 1 is slid on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 is longer than the time during which the article 1 is pushed up from the floor surfaces 31, 40A, 41 of the moving floors 30, 40. The delivery amount, that is, the processing capability of the article alignment apparatus 10 can be increased.

  When the rising acceleration of the moving floors 30 and 40 is large, the pushing force exerted on the article 1 by the floor surfaces 31, 40A and 41 of the moving floors 30 and 40 is large. The conveyance force exerted on the article 1 by the inclination of 40A and 41 is increased, and the discharge amount of the article 1 can be increased.

  In the article alignment apparatus 10, the floor surfaces 31, 40 </ b> A, 41 of the movable floors 30, 40 protrude above the floor surface 21 of the adjacent fixed floor 20 in one cycle of the lifting / lowering operation of the movable floors 30, 40. The time ratio can be controlled to be larger than the time ratio that is immersed below the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20. As a result, the time for sliding the article 1 on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 is shorter than the time when the article 1 is pushed up by the floor surfaces 31, 40A, 41 of the moving floors 30, 40. Waste delivery can be reduced.

  In this way, by configuring so that the floor surface time ratio of the moving floors 30 and 40 in one cycle can be increased or decreased, the delivery amount of the part 1 can be adjusted, and the processing capacity of downstream processes such as the filling line can be increased. The processing capability of the article alignment apparatus can be matched.

  When the rising acceleration of the moving floors 30 and 40 is small, the push-up force exerted on the article 1 by the floor surfaces 31, 40A and 41 of the moving floors 30 and 40 is small, and consequently the floor surfaces 31 of the moving floors 30 and 40, The conveyance force exerted on the article 1 by the inclination of 40A and 41 is reduced, and the delivery amount of the article 1 can be reduced.

  Further, the maximum value of the ascending speed of the moving floors 30 and 40 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. .

  However, since the article aligning apparatus 10 has the chamfered moving floor 40 having the ascending slope floor surface 40A on the upstream side of the descending slope floor surface 41, the articles supplied from the inlet chute 12 side. Alignment processing can be performed as follows while transporting 1. At this time, the article 1 is a cap, and the center of gravity is biased toward the top surface.

  The large article 1 is aligned as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 using the article aligning apparatus 10 (having one chamfering movable floor 40) shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the small article 1 is 3 and 4, the alignment process is performed as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 using the article aligning apparatus 10 (having two chamfered moving floors 40).

  In the implementation of the present invention, the large article 1 and the small article 1 are defined as follows (FIG. 10). As shown in FIG. 10A, the large article 1 has a minimum article width of 0.5 to 1.2 times the floor widths v1 and v2 of the floor 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor 31 of the movable floor 30. This is what is inside. As shown in FIG. 10B, the small article 1 has an article 1 whose minimum width is less than 0.5 times the floor surface widths v1 and v2 of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30. Say. In the large article 1, two or more articles 1 do not line up in the conveying direction of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 or the floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30 (FIG. 10A). In the small article 1, two or more articles 1 can be arranged in the conveying direction of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 and the floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30 (FIG. 10B).

(A) Alignment processing operation of large article 1 (FIGS. 1, 2, and 11 to 13)
The large article 1 is subjected to alignment processing by the article alignment apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. The article aligning apparatus 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 is a chamfered moving floor 40 in which only one moving floor is provided with a descending slope floor surface 41 and an ascending slope floor surface 40A. However, as the number of chamfered moving floors 40 is increased, the alignment processing efficiency of the articles 1 is improved. In the article alignment apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, a plurality of fixed floors 20 and movable floors 30 and 40 are horizontally arranged along the article conveyance direction. 6) or a downward gradient arrangement (FIG. 7).

  (1) The article 1 is on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 located on the upstream side of the chamfering movable floor 40 (FIG. 11A). Since the article 1 is large, two or more articles 1 are not arranged in the article conveyance direction on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20. The top surface on the side where the center of gravity of the article 1 is located faces upward. The target alignment posture of the article 1 is to make the top surface of the article 1 face down.

  (2) The article 1 that slides and moves on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 reaches the ascending floor surface 40A of the moving floor 40 as the moving floor 40 descends (FIG. 11B).

  (3) The moving floor 40 further descends, and the article 1 moves forward so that the contact point with the up-gradient floor surface 40A of the moving floor 40 is the rotation center r1 and along the up-gradient floor surface 40A of the moving floor 40. It tries to rotate and fall down (FIG. 11C).

  In particular, at this time, that is, when the downward extension line of the slope of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 located on the upstream side of the moving floor 40 is in a positional relationship that intersects the inclined surface of the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the moving floor 40. When the lowering of the movable floor 40 is temporarily stopped, the article 1 is likely to rotate. A preferable stop time of the moving bed 40 is 0.2 to 1.5 seconds.

  (4) Although the moving floor 40 reaches the descending end and stops, the article 1 moves along the inclined surface of the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the moving floor 40, and the gravity center G is further moved by the falling rotational force. Since it is located in front of the new rotation center r2 which is the intersection vertex of the 40-up gradient floor surface 40A and the down-gradient floor surface 41, it tries to fall further forward around the rotation center r2 (FIG. 11 (D)).

  (5) The article 1 rotates so as to fall forward about the rotation center r2 which is the intersection vertex of the upward gradient floor surface 40A and the downward gradient floor surface 41 of the moving floor 40 (FIG. 12A).

  (6) The article 1 rotates and collides with the fixed bed 20 downstream of the moving bed 40 (FIG. 12B). If the rotation of the article 1 continues, continue to (7). If the rotation of the article 1 collides with the fixed floor 20 and stops completely, continue to (8).

  (7) The article 1 is further rotated by the inertial force from the previous process, and the rotation is stopped when the top surface of the article 1 comes into contact with the descending floor 41 of the moving floor 40 (FIG. 12C). The top surface, which is the target alignment posture of the article 1, is directed downward. Thereafter, as the movable floor 40 rises, as shown in (11), it moves onto the descending slope floor 21 of the downstream fixed floor 20 while maintaining the target alignment posture with the top face down.

  (8) Continued from (6). The article 1 that has stopped by colliding with the fixed floor 20 downstream of the moving floor 40 comes into contact with the apex f1 of the descending slope floor 21 of the downstream fixed floor 20 due to the rising of the moving floor 40, and this contact. The point f1 moves downward along the top surface of the article 1 (FIG. 13A).

  (9) When the center of gravity G of the article 1 is on the front side in the transport direction with respect to the contact point f1 due to the rising of the moving floor 40, the article 1 starts to rotate forward around the contact point f1 (FIG. 13B )).

  (10) As the moving floor 40 further rises, the center of gravity G of the article 1 moves further forward in the transport direction than the contact point f1 with the fixed floor 20 (FIG. 13C). The article 1 falls forward with the contact point with the apex f1 of the fixed bed 20 downstream as the center of rotation.

  (11) When the top surface of the article 1 falls down until it comes into contact with the down-gradient floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20, the rotation stops. The top surface, which is the target alignment posture of the article 1, is directed downward.

(B) Alignment processing operation of small articles 1 (FIGS. 3, 4, 14, and 15)
The small article 1 is aligned by the article aligning apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. The article aligning apparatus 10 of FIGS. 3 and 4 is a chamfering movable floor 40 in which two movable floors are provided with an upwardly inclined floor surface 40 </ b> A together with a downwardly inclined floor surface 41. When aligning the small articles 1, it is preferable that there are two or more chamfering movable floors 40 each having an upwardly inclined floor surface 40 </ b> A. When two or more articles 1 are arranged in the conveying direction on the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the chamfered moving floor 40, the rotating action only affects the downstream article 1, so that the upstream article 1 is also downstream. This is because it is easy to exert a rotating action by the chamfering moving floor 40 arranged next in the direction. All the moving floors may be chamfered moving floors 40. 14 and 15, the plurality of fixed floors 20 and movable floors 30 and 40 are horizontally arranged along the article conveyance direction. 6) or a downward gradient arrangement (FIG. 7).

  The following alignment processing operation has been described for the case where two or more articles 1 are arranged in the conveying direction on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20. However, even when only one preceding article 1 is positioned on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20, the same alignment processing operation is performed as described here.

  (1) Two or more articles 1 are arranged in the transport direction on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 located on the upstream side of the moving floor 40 (FIG. 14A). The top surface on the side where the center of gravity of the article 1 is located faces upward. The target alignment posture of the article 1 is to make the top surface of the article 1 face down.

  (2) As the moving floor 40 descends, the preceding article 1 moves with its own weight, with the point of contact of the moving floor 40 with the ascending floor 40A as the center of rotation r1 and the center of gravity G on the downstream side of the center of rotation r1. It rotates forward and falls down along the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the floor 40 (FIG. 14B). The acting force that the subsequent article 1 exerts on the preceding article 1 along the descending slope of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 also acts in a direction that promotes the rotation of the preceding article 1 around the rotation center r1. When only one preceding article 1 is located on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20, it rotates forward and falls down only by its own weight.

  In particular, at this time, that is, the downward extension line of the slope of the descending slope floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 located on the upstream side of the movable floor 40 intersects with the slope of the upward slope floor surface 40A of the movable floor 40. When the descent of the moving floor 40 is temporarily stopped, the article 1 is likely to rotate. A preferable stop time of the moving bed 40 is 0.2 to 1.5 seconds.

  (3) When the moving floor 40 further descends and the preceding article 1 is along the inclined surface of the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the moving floor 40, the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the moving floor 40 is subsequently applied by the falling rotational force. And the intersection vertex of the downward slope floor 41 is set to the rotation center r2, and it tries to fall further forward (FIG.14 (C)). The acting force that the following article 1 exerts on the preceding article 1 along the descending slope of the descending slope surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 also acts in a direction that promotes the rotation of the preceding article 1 around the rotation center r2. When only one preceding article 1 is positioned on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20, it tries to fall further forward only by its own falling rotational force.

  (4) Although the moving floor 40 reaches the descending end and stops, the preceding article 1 falls forward with the apex r2 of the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A of the moving floor 40 as the rotation center. In addition to the rotational force of the fall, the center of gravity G of the article 1 is also in front of the new rotation center r2 in the article transport direction, and the fall of the article 1 proceeds (FIG. 14D). The acting force that the following article 1 exerts on the preceding article 1 along the descending slope of the descending slope surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 also acts in a direction that promotes the rotation of the preceding article 1 around the rotation center r2. When only one preceding article 1 is located on the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20, as described above, the fall is only caused by the rotational force of the fall and the positional relationship between the center of gravity G of the article 1 and the rotation center r2. proceed.

  (5) The preceding article 1 continues to fall, and the article 1 further falls forward with the contact portion t1 in contact with the downwardly inclined floor surface 41 of the moving floor 40 as the center of rotation (FIG. 15A). The center of gravity G of the article 1 is also on the downstream side of the new rotation center t1, and the collapse proceeds. The succeeding article 1 continues to slide on the down-gradient floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20, but its moving speed cannot keep up with the rotation of the preceding article 1 and does not exert an acting force on the preceding article 1 and moves up the top surface. Move forward while keeping

  (6) The rotation of the preceding article 1 ends when the top surface reaches the descending slope floor surface 41 of the moving floor 40, and the article 1 assumes the target alignment posture with the top surface facing downward (FIG. 15B). The subsequent article 1 moves from the descending slope floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 to the moving floor 40 side with the top surface facing upward.

  (7) The subsequent article 1 moves completely to the descending slope floor 41 of the moving floor 40 with the top surface facing upward (FIG. 15C). As the subsequent article 1 repeats such movement, it shifts to the left and right along the floor length direction (direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction) of the fixed floor 20 and the movable floors 30 and 40 orthogonal to the conveyance direction (see FIG. 15 is shifted to the depth of the paper surface or toward the front), and moves to the same position as in the preceding article 1 described in (1) above. The succeeding article 1 is also subjected to the alignment process similar to that of the preceding article 1 described above, and becomes a target alignment posture facing down on the top surface.

  In the alignment processing operation of the small articles 1 described so far, the upstream-side articles 1 when two or more articles 1 are arranged in the conveying direction on the up-gradient floor surface 40A of the chamfering moving floor 40 are Although the example in which the surface is facing upward has been described, the same alignment processing operation is performed even if the top surface is facing downward. Naturally, when the top surface of the article 1 on the upstream side is in the downward target alignment posture, the center of gravity G of the article 1 is positioned downward and is already stable, so that it moves downstream while maintaining this orientation. To do.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram in which a discharge conveyor 100 is connected to an exit (sending port) in the conveyance direction of the article alignment apparatus 10, and the articles 1 aligned by the article alignment apparatus 10 can be discharged to the lower process by the discharge conveyor 100. is there.

  The discharge conveyor 100 sets the direction orthogonal to the delivery direction (conveyance direction) of the articles 1 from the article alignment apparatus 10 as the discharge direction. The discharge conveyor 100 positions the conveyor surface slightly lower than the lowest height position of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20 at the outlet of the article alignment apparatus 10. The article 1 sent out from the article aligning apparatus 10 slides down to the discharge conveyor 100 and stops by hitting a position regulation guide 101 erected on the back side in the width direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the discharge conveyor 100. The conveyor surface of the discharge conveyor 100 may be horizontal or inclined according to the inclination of the floor surface 21 of the fixed floor 20. Of the side plates 14 on both sides of the article alignment device 10, the side plate 14 near the discharge direction of the discharge conveyor 100 has a notch 14 </ b> A on the outlet side to prevent the articles 1 from being clogged. The discharge conveyor 100 may be continuously operated or may be intermittently operated in accordance with the delivery timing of the articles 1 from the article alignment apparatus 10. When the width of the conveyor 100 is larger than the width of the article 1, a width adjusting guide 102 is provided on the outlet side of the discharge conveyor 100, and the articles sent from the discharge conveyor 100 are arranged in one row. It is preferable because post-processing is facilitated.

  Only non-defective articles 1 whose top surfaces are aligned downward by the article aligning device 10 are selected by a sensor or the like in the delivery process of the discharge conveyor 100 and sent to the lower process. When the article 1 is a cap, the cap is turned upside down in a step after the discharge conveyor 100, and the cap is transferred to a cap fastening machine.

  FIG. 20 shows an article alignment apparatus 10 according to a comparative example of the present invention, which has a plurality of fixed floors 20 and a movable floor 30 but does not have the chamfered movable floor 40 of the present invention. For example, the operation of aligning small articles 1 by the article alignment apparatus 10 of this comparative example is as follows.

  (1) Two or more articles 1 are arranged in the conveyance direction on the floor surface 31 of the moving floor 30 (FIG. 20A). The top surface on the side where the center of gravity of the article 1 is located faces upward. The target alignment posture of the article 1 is to make the top surface of the article 1 face down.

  (2) As the moving floor 30 rises, the preceding article 1 tries to fall forward with the contact point with the apex of the downstream fixed floor 20 as the rotation center r0, but the acting force from the succeeding article 1 is Since it acts in a direction that suppresses the rotation of the preceding article 1 around the rotation center r0, the preceding article 1 cannot rotate (FIG. 20B).

  (3) When the moving floor 30 is further raised, the acting force exerted on the preceding article 1 by the succeeding article 1 is directed to the vicinity of the rotation center r0 of the preceding article 1 and the force for suppressing the rotation of the preceding article 1 is weakened. The action force remains a resistance, and the preceding article 1 cannot rotate (FIG. 20C). The center of gravity G of the preceding article 1 is also upstream of the rotation center r0, and it is difficult for the article 1 to fall forward.

  (4) Eventually, the preceding article 1 does not rotate and moves to the floor surface 21 of the downstream fixed floor 20 as it is, and the subsequent article 1 also moves to the floor surface 21 of the downstream fixed floor 20. Moving. Accordingly, it is impossible to align the articles 1 downward, which is the target alignment posture of the articles 1.

According to the present embodiment, the following operational effects can be obtained.
As long as the article is sized on the floors 21, 31, 40A, 41 of the fixed floor 20 and the movable floors 30, 40, the above-described alignment posture can be imparted to any article. Therefore, in the article alignment apparatus 10 that aligns the articles 1 such as caps having a biased center of gravity while conveying the articles, the article 1 can be variously shaped articles 1 and can correspond to articles 1 of various sizes from small articles to large articles. .

  Further, if the moving floor 40 has at least a part of the upwardly inclined floor surface 40A, the above-described alignment processing of the articles 1 can be performed. Therefore, the plurality of fixed floors 20 and the movable floors 30 and 40 can be arranged on any one of ascending slope, descending slope, and horizontal.

  Further, the alignment process described above is performed in the entire conveyance direction (inlet chute 12 to discharge conveyor 100) of the article 1 by the plurality of fixed floors 20 and the movable floors 30 and 40, and the fixed floor 20 and the movable floors 30 and 40 The alignment process described above is performed over the entire area of the floor surface length orthogonal to the transport direction. Therefore, the alignment capability (productivity) per occupied area of the article alignment apparatus 10 is high.

  Further, the articles 1 are placed on the floors 21 according to the slopes of the downward slopes 21 of the fixed floors 20 and the downward slopes 31 and 41 of the movable floors 30 and 40 and the lifting and lowering movements of the movable floors 30 and 40. The above alignment process is performed while sliding and rolling and transporting. At this time, the raising / lowering operation of the movable floors 30 and 40 does not need to be performed at such a high speed that the article 1 hits the floor surfaces 31, 40 </ b> A, and 41. Therefore, the articles 1 can be aligned without being scratched.

  According to the present invention, in an article alignment apparatus that aligns an article such as a cap with a biased center of gravity while conveying the article, the article alignment apparatus can deal with articles of various shapes and various sizes of articles from small articles to large articles. A plurality of fixed floors and moving floors can be arranged on an ascending slope, a descending slope, or a horizontal surface, and the alignment ability (productivity) per occupied area is high, and the articles can be aligned without being scratched.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article 10 Article alignment apparatus 20 Fixed floor 21 Downgraded floor 30 Normal moving floor 31 Downgraded floor 40 Chamfering movable floor 40A Upgraded floor 41 Downgraded floor

Claims (6)

An article alignment apparatus that aligns an article with a biased center of gravity while conveying the article,
A plurality of fixed floors and moving floors are alternately arranged along the article conveying direction, and each fixed floor and each moving floor has a downwardly inclined floor surface inclined so as to form a downward gradient toward the downstream side in the article conveying direction. Equipped, and repeatedly moving up and down to position each moving floor at the upper and lower positions with respect to the floor surface of the fixed floor adjacent to the floor,
At least a part of the moving floor is provided with an up-gradient floor surface inclined so as to form an up-gradient toward the downstream side in the article transport direction on the upstream side in the article transport direction with respect to the down-gradient floor surface. .   The article alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a floor surface length along an ascending slope of an ascending floor surface provided in the moving floor is less than an article height.   The article alignment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein all of the plurality of movable floors include the up-gradient floor surface.   The floor surfaces of the plurality of fixed floors are arranged so as to form an upward gradient toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the floor surfaces of the individual movable floors are directed toward the downstream side in the transport direction. The article alignment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article alignment apparatus is arranged so as to form an upward slope.   The floor surfaces of the plurality of fixed floors are arranged so as to form a downward slope toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the floor surfaces of the plurality of movable floors are directed toward the downstream side in the transport direction. The article alignment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article alignment apparatus is arranged so as to form a downward slope.   The floor surfaces of the plurality of fixed floors are arranged so as to be horizontal toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction, and the individual floor surfaces of the plurality of movable floors are horizontally oriented toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. The article alignment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article alignment apparatus is arranged so as to form a line.

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