JP2012111500A - Boxing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a boxing apparatus capable of surely housing articles in a box without being influenced by an attribute such as the thickness or hardness of the article when boxing a plurality of the articles collectively.SOLUTION: In the boxing apparatus 10, a moving robot 12 takes up the article 1 from an article carry-in conveyor 11 which successively carries in the plurality of articles 1, and places them on buckets 16, 17. A packing box fitting device 21 fits a packing box 2 whose opening is opened to the buckets 16, 17 which have received a prescribed number of the articles 1 from a discharge port side at one-side ends of the buckets 16, 17. Thereafter, a posture changing device 45 changes postures of the buckets 16, 17 and the packing box 2 fit to the outside thereof so that the opening of the packing box 2 may turn upward. The articles 1 come out of the buckets 16 or 17 and are shifted to the packing box 2. In a state that heights of the buckets 16, 17 whose postures have been changed are kept as they are, a lift device 46 lowers only the packing box 2 so as to separate the packing box 2 from the buckets 16, 17.

Description

  The present invention relates to a boxing apparatus for articles.

  In a production line for mass production of articles, boxing of completed articles is also performed by an automated device. Examples of boxing devices can be found in US Pat.

  Patent Document 1 describes a boxing device that superimposes a plurality of packages, changes the posture of the stacked packages using a first sorting plate and a second sorting plate, and then transfers them to a boxing process using a third sorting plate. Has been.

  Patent Document 2 describes a robot-type caser that fills a case that has been raised with a raising hand by holding and filling the accumulated articles with a holding hand.

JP 2010-189015 A JP 2005-119730 A

  The boxing device described in Patent Document 1 is relatively thin and suitable for handling packages whose thickness and shape do not easily change even when pressed, but they are thick and have a soft package that changes thickness and shape when pressed. It is hard to say that it is suitable for handling. The same can be said for the robot caser described in Patent Document 2.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is a versatile boxing device that can be securely put in a box without being affected by attributes such as the thickness and hardness of the article when packing a plurality of articles together. The purpose is to provide.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the boxing device receives an article carrying conveyor for sequentially carrying a plurality of articles and a plurality of the articles taken up from the article carrying conveyor in a bundle. A packaging box having an open mouth is fitted from the side of the discharge port to a bucket whose one end in the horizontal direction is a discharge port of the bundle of the items and the bucket receiving the predetermined number of items. The packaging box fitting device, the bucket and the packaging box fitted to the outside of the bucket are changed in posture so that the mouth of the packaging box is up, and the article in the bucket is packed from the discharge port to the packaging A posture changing device that moves to a box, and a lift device that pulls the packing box away from the bucket by lowering only the packing box in a state where the height of the bucket changed in posture is kept as it is, And a control unit for controlling the body, a.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the boxing device configured as described above, the transfer robot picks up the article from the article carry-in conveyor and loads it into the bucket.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the boxing device configured as described above, when the packing box is brought close to the bucket with the mouth at the top by the packing box fitting device, the upper flap of the mouth is scooped up, A flap scooping device is provided to help the upper flap over the bucket.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the boxing device configured as described above, the flap scooping device presses the height of the article in the bucket below a predetermined value.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the boxing device having the above-described configuration, the packing box fitting device includes the packing box in which the upper flap is scooped up by the flap scooping device, and a mouth portion is fitted in the bucket. A first pusher that pushes the packing box to the point where it fits, and a second pusher that moves together with the flap scooping device and pushes the packing box after the first pusher has been pushed to a point where it completely fits into the bucket. Pusher included.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the boxing device configured as described above, the packing box to which the article has been transferred is placed on a packing box carry-out conveyor and carried away.

  According to the present invention, since the articles sequentially taken in by the article carry-in conveyor are picked up and stacked in the bucket, even if the article is a soft article that has a thickness and changes its thickness and shape when pressed, it is packed. It can be arranged in a box and stacked in a bucket. The packing box is fitted to the bucket in which the articles are stacked, and then the attitude of the packing box and the bucket is changed, the article is dropped into the packing box, and the height of the bucket is kept as it is. It is only lowered and the packing box is pulled away from the bucket, so the waistline swells when standing up, such as a fluid in a pouch, pillow bag, gusset bag, etc. Even if the article exceeds the bottom surface area, it can be boxed without problems.

It is a perspective view which shows the concept of the boxing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of a bucket. It is a 1st operation state figure explaining a boxing process. It is the 2nd operation state figure explaining a boxing process. It is a 3rd operation | movement state figure explaining a boxing process. It is a 4th operation state figure explaining a boxing process. It is a 5th operation state figure explaining a boxing process. It is a 6th operation state figure explaining a boxing process. It is a 7th operation state figure explaining a boxing process. It is an 8th operation state figure explaining a boxing process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It is the article 1 that the boxing device 10 is to be boxed. The article 1 is assumed to be a product in which a fluid is enclosed in a self-supporting pouch made of an airtight laminate film in which a plurality of types of films are laminated. The articles 1 are sequentially sent on the article carry-in conveyor 11 so that the longitudinal direction is aligned with the running direction of the conveyor and arranged in a row at predetermined intervals.

  The transfer robot 12 picks up the articles 1 that are sequentially carried by the article carry-in conveyor 11 one by one. The transfer robot 12 is a kind of double-arm robot, and in FIG. 1, the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 represent the mechanical part of the robot. Each of the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 has a plurality of suction tools on the lower surface, and picks the article 1 by vacuum suction. The control device 15 controls the transfer robot 12. The control device 15 also controls the entire boxing device 10.

  A first bucket 16 and a second bucket 17 are arranged on the left and right of the article carry-in conveyor 11. The first bucket 16 and the second bucket 17 are formed by laying a flat octagonal cross-section cylinder on its side so that the axis is horizontal, opening the top, and opening one end in the horizontal direction (the front end in FIG. 1) The discharge ports 16a and 17a for discharging one bundle are used. In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the 1st bucket 16 and the 2nd bucket 17 is united with the flat shape of the packaging box 2 mentioned later being a flat octagon, If the planar shape of the packaging box 2 is a rectangle, The cross sections of the first bucket 16 and the second bucket 17 may also be rectangular.

  The transfer robot 12 loads the article 1 intensively in one of the first bucket 16 and the second bucket 17 and, when the transfer is completed, loads the article 1 intensively in the other bucket. repeat. The transfer robot 12 loads the first bucket 16 and the second bucket 17 by stacking them in a bundle until the total number of articles 1 is six (see FIG. 2). As the transfer robot 12, a generally used industrial robot (rectangular coordinate type, horizontal articulated type, vertical articulated type, parallel link type, etc.) may be used, and the type is not particularly limited.

  Corrugated cardboard is placed on the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17 in which a predetermined number (6 in the figure, but not limited thereto) of articles 1 are received in a bundled manner, that is, in a full state. The made packaging box 2 is fitted. The packaging box 2 is obtained by sacking a corrugated cardboard sheet punched into a predetermined shape, and in a completed state, the planar shape is a flat octagon. The packaging box 2 is dimensioned so that the peripheral wall portion completely covers the outside of the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17.

  The packaging box 2 opens the sack, closes the mouth on the bottom side during use, and keeps the mouth on the top side open during use. The packaging box 2 in this state is placed on the packaging box carry-in conveyor 18 so that the opened mouth faces the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17, and the packaging box carry-in conveyor 18 is maintained while keeping a predetermined distance from each other. It is carried in by.

  The packing box 2 on the packing box carry-in conveyor 18 is pushed out toward the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17 in a full state by a packing box fitting device to be described later, and in the opening, the discharge port 16a. , 17a, the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17 is taken in.

  The attitude of the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17 and the packaging box 2 fitted to the outside thereof is changed so that the mouth of the packaging box 2 is on the top. Then, the article 1 in the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17 is dropped into the packaging box 2 from the discharge port 16a or the discharge port 17a. Thereafter, only the packaging box 2 is lowered while the height of the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17 whose posture has been changed is maintained as it is. Then, the packaging box 2 to which the article 1 has been transferred is separated from the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17. The packing box 2 away from the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17 is placed on a packing box carry-out conveyor 19 and carried away to the next process.

  Subsequently, the process until the packing box 2 is fitted to the fully packed first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17, the article 1 is transferred to the packing box 2, and the packing box 2 is carried out by the packing box carry-out conveyor 19. And the component used for it is demonstrated in detail based on the figure after FIG. In FIG. 3 and subsequent figures, of the first bucket 16 and the second bucket 17, the second bucket 17 is an object to be illustrated.

  FIG. 3 shows a state where the packing box 2 on the packing box carry-in conveyor 18 faces the second bucket 17 in a full state. The packaging box 2 has an open mouth as described above. That is, the upper flap 2a and the lower flap 2b at the end facing the second bucket 17 and the two side flaps 2c and 2d (see FIGS. 2 and 3) are both open, that is, the peripheral wall of the packaging box 2 The shape extends in parallel.

  The packaging box fitting device 21 includes a pusher described later and a flap scooping device. The central role of the structure of the packing box fitting device 21 is arranged horizontally on the second bucket 17 and the packing box 2 facing it in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the packing box carry-in conveyor 18. A fixed beam 22. Two guide rods 23 and 24 which are parallel to each other are horizontally attached to the side surface of the fixed beam 22 with a space in the vertical direction. The guide rods 23 and 24 support the slider 25. The slider 25 is connected to a timing belt 28 wound around a driving pulley 26 and a driven pulley 27 (which are also supported by the fixed beam 22), and a guide rod is driven by a motor (not shown) rotating the driving pulley 26. 23, 24 along the horizontal direction.

  The slider 25 supports a flap scooping device 30 that scoops the upper flap 2a of the packaging box 2. The flap scooping device 30 includes a base 31 (see FIG. 4) fixed to the slider 25, an arm 32 connected to one end of the base 31 (side closer to the second bucket 17) so as to be tiltable in a vertical plane, A scoop plate 33 fixed to the tip of the arm 32 at a distance from the arm 32, a lever 34 protruding from the middle of the arm 32, and a clevis type air cylinder 35 connecting the tip of the lever 34 and the base 31. Is done. The scoop plate 33 has its tip directed toward the upper flap 2a, and the tip is inclined downward so that it can easily slide into the lower surface of the upper flap 2a.

  A first pusher 36 and a second pusher 37 are used to push the packing box 2 toward the second bucket 17. Both the first pusher 36 and the second pusher 37 are in the form of a vertical plate. The first pusher 36 is fixed to a shaft end of an air cylinder 38 that is supported by a fixing member (not shown) so that the axis is horizontal. The second pusher 37 is fixed to the lower surface of the base 31 of the flap scooping device 30. The first pusher 36 and the second pusher 37 are displaced in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface and do not interfere with each other.

  In FIG. 3, the air cylinder 35 of the flap scooping device 30 retracts the rod, and the arm 32 lifts the tip. The tip of the scoop plate 33 is at a level above the packing box 2. In this state, the flap scooping device 30 and the second pusher 37 move forward (the movement in the direction approaching the second bucket 17 is “advance” and the movement in the opposite direction is “retreat”), and the second bucket 17 To approach.

  When the second pusher 37 comes to the position shown in FIG. 4, that is, when it comes to a position aligned with the first pusher 36 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, the movement of the flap scooping device 30 is temporarily stopped. Here, the air cylinder 35 pushes out the rod, and the arm 32 is tilted to the state shown in FIG. In the state of FIG. 5, the scoop plate 33 enters the second bucket 17 and is held at a position where the upper surface is slightly lifted from the second bucket 17. The tip of the scoop plate 33 protrudes from the discharge port 17a of the second bucket 17 toward the packing box 2 and is ready to receive the upper flap 2a. When the stacking height of the articles 1 exceeds a predetermined value, the scoop plate 33 that has entered the second bucket 17 presses the articles 1 so that the height falls within a predetermined value. That is, the flap scooping device 30 functions to hold down the height of the article 1 inside the first bucket 16 or the second bucket 17 to a predetermined value or less.

  From the state of FIG. 5, the air cylinder 38 pushes out the rod. Then, the first pusher 36 pushes the bottom surface of the packaging box 2 and advances the packaging box 2 toward the second bucket 17. The upper flap 2 a is scooped up by the tip portion inclined downward of the scoop plate 33 and covers the second bucket 17 even if the tip is slightly lowered due to gravity. The first pusher 36 pushes the packaging box 2 forward until the state shown in FIG. 6, that is, the place where the entire mouth of the packaging box 2 slightly covers the second bucket 17.

  When the state of FIG. 6 is reached, the first pusher 36 begins to move backward, and the flap scooping device 30 resumes moving forward. The scoop plate 33 is pulled out from under the upper flap 2 a, and the second pusher 37 hits the bottom surface of the packaging box 2. Thereafter, the second pusher 37 pushes the packing box 2 instead of the first pusher 36. When the state shown in FIG. 7 is reached, that is, when the second pusher 37 pushes the packing box 2 to the predetermined advance limit, the advance of the flap scooping device 30 stops. The packaging box 2 is completely fitted into the second bucket 17 and the scoop plate 33 is separated from the upper flap 2a.

  The state shown in FIG. 7 is changed to the state shown in FIG. The air cylinder 35 retracts the rod and pulls up the scoop plate 33. Thereby, even if the flap scooping device 30 is retracted, the scoop plate 33 is not caught on the upper flap 2a. Here, a new element operates. That is, the packaging box locking device 40 attached to the bucket holder 39 that holds the second bucket 17 and is rotatable in a vertical plane operates.

  The packaging box locking device 40 includes a hook 41 rotatably attached to the bucket holder 39 in a vertical plane, a lever 42 protruding from the base of the hook 41, and a trunnion type that connects the tip of the lever 42 and the bucket holder 39. The air cylinder 43 is configured.

  In the packing box locking device 40, the air cylinder 43 retracts the rod in the stage from FIG. 3 to FIG. 7, and the hook 41 is maintained at an angle at which the tip is lowered. At this time, the tip of the hook 41 is outside the path of the packaging box 2 and does not obstruct the fitting of the packaging box 2 to the second bucket 17. At the stage of FIG. 8, the air cylinder 43 pushes out the rod to change the angle of the hook 41. The tip of the hook 41 engages with the corner of the bottom surface of the packaging box 2 fitted to the second bucket 17 from the outside to prevent the packaging box 2 from coming out of the second bucket 17.

  Transition from the state of FIG. 8 to the state of FIG. In FIG. 9, the flap scooping device 30 is retracted to the position shown in FIG. A posture changing device 45 constituted by a bucket holder 39 and a rotation mechanism (not shown) that rotates the holder in a vertical plane is connected to the second bucket 17 and the packaging box 2 fitted to the outside thereof by the mouth of the packaging box 2. The posture is changed so that the bottom surface of the packaging box 2 faces down. As a result, the article 1 inside the second bucket 17 stands in a standing posture and slides down from the discharge port 17 a and stands on the inner bottom surface of the packaging box 2. That is, the support subject of the article 1 moves from the second bucket 17 to the packing box 2.

  In FIG. 9, the lift device 46 is waiting slightly below the packaging box 2. Here, when the air cylinder 43 of the packing box locking device 40 retracts the rod, the hook 41 turns away from the packing box 2 so that the tip of the hook 41 is detached from the bottom surface of the packing box 2, and the packing box 2 is lifted. Drop onto device 46. The height of the second bucket 17 is maintained as it is, and the packaging box 2 is pulled away from the second bucket 17 when the lift device 46 is lowered from the position of FIG. 9.

  When the packaging box 2 moves away from the second bucket 17, the bundle of articles 1 is released from the restraint by the second bucket 17. Since the article 1 is a self-standing pouch in which a fluid is enclosed, the article 1 is in a standing posture, and when the restraint by the second bucket 17 is released, the waistline expands. However, since it is already surrounded by the peripheral wall of the packaging box 2, even if the circumference of the article 1 swells, there is no influence on the state that the six articles 1 are accommodated in the packaging box 2. As described above, when the article 1 stands up, the waistline swells, and even if the occupied area exceeds the bottom surface area of the packaging box 2 when a predetermined number of articles 1 are arranged, there is a problem by standing up after putting in the packaging box 2. Can be boxed without any problems.

  Transition from the state of FIG. 9 to the state of FIG. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the lift device 46 on which the packaging box 2 is placed is lowered and the packaging box 2 is placed on the packaging box carry-out conveyor 20. The packing box carry-out conveyor 20 is a roller conveyor at the location shown in FIG. 10, and the packing box placement portion of the lift device 46 has a fork shape that enters between the rollers of the roller conveyor. The lift device 46 is pulled out from the state of FIG. 10 to the right side of the drawing, and completely transfers the packing box 2 to the packing box carry-out conveyor 19. Thereafter, the packing box unloading conveyor 19 carries the packing box 2 to the next process, the lift device 46 returns to the position shown in FIG. 9, and the posture changing device 45 and the packing box locking device 40 return to the position shown in FIG. To do.

  In the embodiment, the first bucket 16 and the second bucket 17 are arranged on the left and right of the article carry-in conveyor 11, but this configuration is not essential. The first bucket 16 and the second bucket 17 may be disposed on one side of the article carry-in conveyor 11. Moreover, although the upper surfaces of the first bucket 16 and the second bucket 17 are always open, a lid may be provided here.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  The present invention can be used for an article boxing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Goods 2 Packing box 2a Upper side flap 10 Box packing apparatus 11 Goods carrying-in conveyor 12 Transfer robot 15 Control apparatus 16 1st bucket 17 2nd bucket 18 Packing box carrying-in conveyor 19 Packing box carrying-out conveyor 21 Packing box fitting apparatus 30 Flap pick-up apparatus 33 Scoop plate 36 First pusher 37 Second pusher 45 Posture change device 46 Lift device

Claims (6)

An article carrying conveyor for sequentially carrying a plurality of articles;
A plurality of the articles picked up from the article carry-in conveyor are received in a bundle, and a bucket in which one end in the horizontal direction is an outlet of the bundle of articles,
A packaging box fitting device for fitting a packaging box having an opening from the side of the discharge port to the outside of the bucket that has received a predetermined number of the articles;
A posture changing device that changes the posture of the packing box fitted to the outside of the bucket and the packing box so that a mouth of the packing box faces upward, and moves the article in the bucket from the discharge port to the packing box; ,
The lifting device that pulls the packing box away from the bucket by lowering only the packing box while the height of the bucket that has been changed is kept as it is,
A control device for overall control;
A boxing device comprising:   The boxing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer robot picks up the article from the article carry-in conveyor and loads the article into the bucket.   When the packing box is brought close to the bucket with the mouth leading, the flap scooping device is provided to help scoop the upper flap of the mouth and cover the upper flap on the bucket by the packing box fitting device. The boxing device according to claim 1, wherein the boxing device is provided.   The boxing device according to claim 3, wherein the flap scooping device presses down the height of the article in the bucket to a predetermined value or less.   The packaging box fitting device includes a first pusher that pushes the packaging box until the opening portion is fitted to the bucket, and the flap scooping device is configured such that the upper flap is scooped up by the flap scooping device. 5. The second pusher that moves together with the apparatus and pushes the packing box after the first pusher has been pushed to a point where it completely fits into the bucket is included. Boxing equipment.   The boxing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the packing box to which the article has been transferred is placed on a packing box carry-out conveyor and carried away.

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