JP2016141549A - Work-piece conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a work-piece conveying device that can convey a work-piece in an upward inclined state or in a downward inclined state while holding a self-standing posture of the work-piece.SOLUTION: The work-piece conveying device comprises: a pair of left and right endless belts 3L that have introduction portions into which a work-piece is introduced and holding portions which convey the work-piece in an upward inclined state or in a downward inclined state relative to a reference surface while holding the work-piece; and a guide member 4L, arranged in the holding portion, which guides travelling of at least either one endless belt 3L so that an interval between the pair of left and right endless belts in the holding portion is made smaller than the interval between the introduction portions. The guide member 4L has a front end portion F extended on a line in a vertical direction with respect to the reference surface or a plurality of front end portions F dotted on the line in the vertical direction with respect to the reference surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer device that transfers a workpiece with a pair of endless belts.

2. Description of the Related Art As a workpiece conveyance device, a device is known that conveys a workpiece in the rotational direction of the endless belt while holding the workpiece between a pair of left and right endless belts.
The pair of left and right endless belts of the workpiece transfer device are respectively wound around a driving pulley and a driven pulley arranged at the front and back, and are rotated counterclockwise by driving of the driving pulley, so that the workpiece can be moved from the front. Transport backwards.
Such a workpiece conveyance device generally conveys a workpiece in the horizontal direction.
Also known is a workpiece transfer device that transfers the workpiece with an upward or downward inclination with respect to a horizontal plane.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a workpiece conveyance device having a pair of left and right endless belts that convey an workpiece with an upward inclination with respect to a horizontal plane with the workpiece sandwiched therebetween.
If it explains in full detail using the term and code | symbol of patent document 1, as for the weighing conveyor machine 15 of patent document 1, the O ring-shaped endless belt 40 hung over the drive pulley 36 and the idler pulley 38 will be provided in right and left, By tilting the rotation shafts of the drive pulley 36 and idler pulley 38 with respect to the horizontal plane, the endless belt 40 is tilted upward from the article entry side to the exit side. The weighing conveyor machine 15 transports the articles sent in the horizontal direction from the upper surface of the carry-in conveyor 54 obliquely upward while being sandwiched by a pair of endless belts, and then shifts to the upper surface (horizontal plane) of the carry-out conveyor 55. .

By the way, an endless belt that conveys a workpiece (article) diagonally sandwiches the workpiece that is conveyed independently on the upper surface of the conveyor in the same posture as the self-standing state (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a self-standing posture) and is slanted. It is preferable to carry. If the workpiece is sandwiched and conveyed by a pair of endless belts while being tilted from a self-supporting posture, the workpiece will fall down on the conveyor without moving independently when the workpiece is transferred from the endless belt to the next conveyor. There is a fear.
In this regard, in the weighing conveyor machine 15 of Patent Document 1, there is a case where the article is sandwiched and conveyed by a pair of endless belts while being tilted from a self-supporting posture.
Patent Document 1 does not disclose or suggest such problems at all.

JP-A 61-153527

  The objective of this invention is providing the workpiece conveyance apparatus which can be conveyed by upward inclination or downward inclination, hold | maintaining the self-supporting attitude | position of a workpiece | work.

As described above, the inventor of the present application diligently studied the cause of the work being sandwiched between the pair of endless belts while being tilted from the self-supporting posture. As a result, it has been found that the work is tilted and held due to the following causes.
FIG. 14 is a side view of a conventional workpiece transfer device inclined upward, and FIG. 15 is a direction perpendicular to the inclination of the workpiece transfer device (a direction parallel to the rotation axis direction of the drive pulley of the endless belt). 16 is a top view as seen from FIG. 16, and FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view in which the main part is enlarged by cutting along line XVI-XVI in FIG. The workpiece is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

This workpiece conveyance device conveys a workpiece with an upward inclination with respect to a horizontal plane using a pair of endless belts. 14 and 15, the work transfer device includes an introduction part into which a work is introduced, a holding part that holds the work and conveys the work in an upward inclination with respect to a horizontal plane, and an open part that separates the work. The endless belt, a driving pulley and a driven pulley around which the endless belt is stretched, and a guide member disposed in the clamping portion. As shown in FIG. 15, the guide member guides the traveling of the pair of endless belts so that the distance between the pair of left and right endless belts in the clamping part is smaller than that of the introduction part. The front end portion of the guide member corresponds to the front end portion of the clamping portion. The interval is set slightly smaller than the width of the workpiece so that the workpiece can be held between the surfaces of the pair of endless belts. Hereinafter, this interval is referred to as a clamping interval.
Note that three left endless belts and three right endless belts are arranged at the top and bottom, and a guide member is provided for each of the three endless belts. In other words, the same three endless belts and guide members are provided in a multistage manner at the top and bottom.
In general, a workpiece transfer device that can transfer a workpiece with an upward inclination is also used as a workpiece transfer device that can transfer a workpiece in a horizontal direction. In other words, it is common to install a workpiece conveying device that conveys a workpiece in the horizontal direction so as to be an upwardly inclined workpiece conveying device.

In the workpiece conveying device, the workpiece conveyed in a self-supporting posture from the first conveyor is introduced into the introduction portion of the pair of endless belts. The interval between the left and right endless belts in the introduction portion is larger than the width of the workpiece, and at this time, the workpiece is not sandwiched between the pair of endless belts. When the workpiece further advances by the conveyance of the first conveyor, the workpiece is introduced into the clamping unit, the workpiece is clamped between the pair of endless belts, and the workpiece is conveyed rearward as the endless belt rotates.
And the workpiece | work which enters into a clamping part from an introduction part is first clamped between a pair of endless belts in the front-end part of a clamping part. That is, the clamping of the pair of endless belts starts from the front end portion of the guide member, and the location of the pair of endless belts corresponding to the front end portion is the clamping start location where the both surfaces of the workpiece are clamped. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, the conventional workpiece transfer device corresponds to the front end corner portion of the uppermost guide member because the front end portions of the upper and lower guide members extend in the rotation axis direction of the pulley. The location of the endless belt is the clamping start location where the workpiece begins to be clamped. Since the front end corner portion (holding start location) is one point, the stability of the clamped workpiece is low, and the workpiece in a self-standing posture tilts back and forth around the clamping start location, and the clamping portion is in that state. It is conveyed by. When the workpiece conveyed in a tilted state from the self-supporting posture is transferred from the opening portion to the second conveyor, the workpiece may not fall on the second conveyor and may fall down.
Thus, the inventor of the present application has found that the cause of the conventional problem is that the pinching start point is a single point, and the present invention has been completed.

  The workpiece conveying device of the present invention includes a pair of left and right endless belts having an introduction portion into which a workpiece is introduced and a clamping portion that conveys the workpiece with an upward or downward inclination with respect to a reference surface in a state where the workpiece is sandwiched, A guide member disposed in the sandwiching part, the guide member guiding the travel of at least one endless belt so that the distance between the pair of left and right endless belts in the sandwiching part is smaller than that of the introduction part. And the guide member has a front end portion extending on a line perpendicular to the reference plane, or a plurality of front end portions scattered on a line perpendicular to the reference plane.

  In the workpiece conveyance device of the present invention, the guide member has a front end portion that extends on a vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane or a plurality of front end portions that are scattered on the vertical direction line, so that the nipping start location is linear. For this reason, when the workpiece enters the clamping portion, the endless belt comes in contact with the wire to clamp the workpiece, so that the workpiece can be clamped in a self-supporting posture. The workpiece sandwiched in a self-supporting posture is conveyed rearward with an upward inclination in the sandwiching portion.

In a preferred workpiece conveyance device according to the present invention, a release mechanism that slides the workpiece downward while allowing the workpiece to be conveyed while being clamped by the endless belt is provided in the middle of the clamping portion of the pair of left and right endless belts. It has been.
In a preferred workpiece transfer device according to the present invention, each of the pair of left and right endless belts is composed of a set of belt pieces arranged in a vertical direction, and the guide member is provided in each of the belt pieces. The front end portions of the respective guide pieces are scattered on the vertical direction line.

  The workpiece conveyance device of the present invention can convey the workpiece while being inclined with respect to the reference plane while maintaining the self-supporting posture of the workpiece.

The left view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The top view which looked at the workpiece conveyance apparatus from the rotating shaft direction of the drive pulley. The longitudinal cross-sectional view cut | disconnected by the III-III line | wire of FIG. The principal part enlarged view of FIG. The schematic side view of the workpiece inspection system using the workpiece conveyance apparatus of this invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention (The workpiece conveyance apparatus of 2nd Embodiment is cut | disconnected in the location similar to the III-III line of FIG. 2). The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention (The workpiece conveyance apparatus of 3rd Embodiment is cut | disconnected in the location similar to the III-III line of FIG. 2). The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention (The workpiece conveyance apparatus of 4th Embodiment is cut | disconnected in the location similar to the III-III line of FIG. 2). The longitudinal cross-sectional principal part enlarged view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on 5th Embodiment of this invention (The workpiece conveyance apparatus of 5th Embodiment is expanded similarly to FIG. 4). The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on the 1st example of 6th Embodiment of this invention (The workpiece conveyance apparatus of 6th Embodiment is cut | disconnected in the same place as the III-III line of FIG. 2). (A), (b) is sectional drawing of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on 2nd example of 6th Embodiment of this invention (The workpiece conveyance apparatus of 6th Embodiment is the same location as the III-III line of FIG. 2). Cutting). The left view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on 8th Embodiment of this invention. The top view which looked at the workpiece conveyance apparatus from the rotating shaft direction of the drive pulley. The left view of the conventional workpiece conveyance apparatus. The top view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus. The longitudinal cross-sectional view cut | disconnected by the XVI-XVI line | wire of FIG.

In this specification, as a term indicating a direction, for the sake of convenience, “left” refers to the front side of the paper surface in the side view, and “right” refers to the opposite side of the left side, and the back side of the paper surface in the side view. “Up” refers to the upper side of the paper surface in the side view, and “lower” refers to the lower side of the paper surface in the side view opposite to the upper side. In this specification, the term “first” and “second” may be added to the beginning of the term. The first and the like are added only to distinguish the term, and the order and superiority or inferiority thereof are added. It has no special meaning.
Note that the dimensions of the devices and members shown in each figure are different from the actual devices.

[First Embodiment]
1st Embodiment concerns on the fundamental structure of the workpiece conveyance apparatus of this invention.
FIG. 1 is a side view of an upwardly inclined workpiece conveyance device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a direction perpendicular to the inclination of the workpiece conveyance device (in the direction of the rotation axis of a drive pulley of an endless belt). 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the main part of the cross-sectional view. In all of the drawings, a two-dot chain line indicates a workpiece. For example, the workpiece has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. In FIG. 3, the first conveyor and the second conveyor are not shown. Further, in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 3 and 4, the pulley is not shown in cross section. In all the drawings, the arrows indicate the rotation direction of each belt.
The workpiece transfer device 1 can transfer a workpiece with an upward inclination with respect to a horizontal plane (reference plane). Here, the horizontal plane refers to a plane perpendicular to the direction in which gravity works, and the horizontal direction refers to any one direction within the plane of the horizontal plane. The first embodiment uses a horizontal plane as a reference plane.

<Transport system>
1 and 2, the transfer system includes a workpiece transfer device 1, a first conveyor 21 that sends a workpiece to the workpiece transfer device 1, and a second conveyor 22 that receives the workpiece from the workpiece transfer device 1.
The first conveyor 21 and the second conveyor 22 are, for example, a belt driving device including a driving pulley 23 and a driven pulley 24, and an endless conveyor belt 211 having a flat band shape when viewed from above, which is stretched over the driving pulley 23 and the driven pulley 24. , 221. The endless conveyor belts 211 and 221 move from the front to the rear while their upper surfaces are kept horizontal. Accordingly, the workpieces placed on the upper surfaces of the endless conveyor belts 211 and 221 are self-supporting in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and are transported from the front to the rear while maintaining the self-supporting posture.
The first conveyor 21 and the second conveyor 22 are spaced apart from each other, for example, so that the upper surfaces of both belts 211 and 221 are on the same horizontal plane (the same height).
The introduction part of the workpiece transfer device 1 to be described later is the rear part of the first conveyor 21, the clamping part of the device 1 is between the first conveyor 21 and the second conveyor 22, and the opening part of the device 1 is the second conveyor 22. By incorporating the workpiece transfer device 1 so as to be positioned in the front part of the transfer, a transfer system is constructed.

<Work transfer device>
The workpiece transfer device 1 includes a pair of left and right endless belts 3L and 3R that rotate, and a guide member 4L that guides the travel of at least one endless belt. In the present embodiment, the guide members 4L and 4R are provided on the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R, respectively. As will be described later, the guide member is a member for restricting the travel of the pair of endless belts 3L, 3R and reducing the distance therebetween to form a predetermined clamping interval between the endless belts 3L, 3R. For this reason, the guide member may be provided in only one of the pair of endless belts 3L and 3R.
Hereinafter, the endless belt and the guide member on the front side of the paper are referred to as “left endless belt 3L” and “left guide member 4L”, and the endless belt and the guide member on the back side of the paper are referred to as “right endless belt 3R” and “right guide member 4R”. "
The workpiece conveyance device 1 of the present invention may have other configurations on the condition that the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R and a guide member 4L provided on at least one of the endless belts are provided.

The left and right endless belts 3L and 3R are separated from each other by the cooperation of both the introduction portion into which the workpiece is introduced, the clamping portion that conveys the workpiece with an upward inclination with respect to the reference plane in a state where the workpiece is held. And an open portion.
The left and right endless belts 3L and 3R are, for example, endless belts each having a flat belt shape when viewed from the side. The material of the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R is not particularly limited, but preferably, the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R are formed of a material having flexibility and elasticity. Examples of the material include a belt formed of rubber or elastomer, or rubber or elastomer in which a reinforcing core material is embedded as necessary.
The left and right endless belts 3L, 3R are arranged side by side facing each other. The left and right endless belts 3L, 3R extend upwardly with respect to a horizontal plane in a side view shown in FIG. This inclination angle is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 2 degrees to 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane.
The left endless belt 3L is stretched around a driving pulley 51 and a driven pulley 52 disposed in the front-rear direction, and the left endless belt 3L rotates counterclockwise as viewed from above according to the rotation of the driving pulley 51. The right endless belt 3 </ b> R is stretched around a driving pulley 51 and a driven pulley 52 that are arranged at the front and rear, and the right endless belt 3 </ b> R rotates clockwise in accordance with the rotation of the driving pulley 51. By rotating the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R in opposite directions, the workpiece clamped by the clamping unit can be conveyed from the front to the rear.
The rotation shafts of the driving pulley 51 and the driven pulley 52 are, for example, 90 degrees—an inclination angle of the endless belt.
Note that the rotation shafts of the drive pulley 51 and the driven pulley 52 are pivotally supported by a housing portion (for example, a structural frame) for fixing the transport device. However, the casing is not shown.

A left guide member 4L and a right guide member 4R are provided inside the left endless belt 3L and the right endless belt 3R. The material of the left and right guide members 4L and 4R is not particularly limited. Preferably, the left and right guide members 4L and 4R are made of a material having rigidity higher than that of the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R, and are substantially flexible, for example. It is formed with the material which does not have. Examples of the material include metals, hard synthetic resins, ceramics, and wood.
The left guide member 4L is in contact with the back surface of the left endless belt 3L and pushes the left endless belt 3L to the right side (right endless belt side) to guide the travel of the left endless belt 3L. That is, the left guide member 4L corrects the traveling path of the left endless belt 3L so as to approach the right endless belt 3R. The right guide member 4R is in contact with the back surface of the right endless belt 3R and pushes the right endless belt 3R to the left side (left endless belt side) to guide the travel of the right endless belt 3R. That is, the right guide member 4R corrects the traveling path of the right endless belt 3R so as to approach the left endless belt 3L.

With the guidance of the left and right guide members 4L and 4R, as shown in FIG. 2, the interval between the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R in the clamping portion (the clamping interval) is smaller than the interval between the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R in the introduction portion. In the clamping part, the workpiece is clamped between the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R. The clamping interval is not particularly limited as long as the surfaces of the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R are in contact with both surfaces of the workpiece and can hold the workpiece in that state. The clamping interval is appropriately set according to the form and weight of the workpiece to be conveyed. For example, when the work is a box-shaped paper container (so-called brick pack) filled with 150 to 300 ml of beverage, the clamping interval is set to a work width of −3 mm to a work width of about −0.5 mm. The
The left and right guide members 4L and 4R are attached to the housing part.

  The left guide member 4L has a front end portion extending on a vertical direction line with respect to a horizontal plane (reference plane) or a plurality of front end portions scattered on the vertical direction line. One front end extending on a vertical line with respect to the surface) or a plurality of front ends scattered on the vertical line. In addition, the front end part extended on the perpendicular | vertical direction line with respect to the said horizontal surface (reference plane), for example, extends continuously along one straight line drawn in the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane (reference plane). This means one straight front end. The plurality of front end portions scattered on a vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane (reference plane) are spaced along a straight line drawn in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane (reference plane), for example. It means the front end part which exists in plural.

  The front end portion of the left guide member 4L and the front end portion of the right guide member 4R face each other across the endless belt. Therefore, as shown in FIG. The front end portions of the right guide member 4R are coincident. In other words, when the front end portion of the left guide member 4L is extended to the back side in a side view, the front end portion of the right guide member 4R exists.

In the present embodiment, the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R are each composed of a set of belt pieces arranged in the upper and lower directions, and the left and right guide members 4L and 4R are each made up of a set of guide pieces arranged in the upper and lower directions. It is configured. The “plurality” is 2 or more, preferably 2 to 10, and more preferably 2 to 7.
In the illustrated example, the left endless belt 3L is composed of a set of three left belt pieces 31L, 32L, 33L arranged vertically, and the right endless belt 3R is composed of three right belt pieces 31R arranged vertically. , 32R, 33R. However, although the upper belt piece 31R of the right endless belt 3R is clearly shown in FIG. 2, the middle and lower belt pieces 32R and 33R overlap the upper belt piece 31R in a top view. It can be seen.
The left guide member 4L is composed of a set of three left guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L arranged up and down, and the right guide member 4R is a set of three right guide pieces 41R, 42R, and 43R arranged up and down. It is composed of
Each of the left belt pieces 31L, 32L, and 33L includes left guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L, and each of the right belt pieces 31R, 32R, and 33R includes right guide pieces 41R, 42R, and 43R. Has been.

  For example, the first left belt piece 31L and the first right belt piece 31R are in the upper stage, the second left belt piece 32L and the second right belt piece 32R are in the middle stage, and the third left belt piece 33L and the third right belt piece 33R are in the middle stage. It is arranged in the lower stage. These belt pieces are preferably the same, and are wound around a driving pulley 51 and a driven pulley 52, respectively. Further, both edges of the first to third left belt pieces 31L, 32L, 33L are parallel to and coincide with the rotation axis direction of the pulleys on the outside of the pulleys 51, 52 as shown in FIG. Similarly, both edges of the first to third right belt pieces 31R, 32R, and 33R are parallel to and coincide with the rotation axis direction of the pulley outside the pulleys 51 and 52.

The first to third left belt pieces 31L, 32L, and 33L and the first to third right belt pieces 31R, 32R, and 33R are endless belts having a flat band shape in a side view. The first to third left belt pieces 31L, 32L, 33L and the first to third right belt pieces 31R, 32R, 33R are preferably the same.
The first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, 43L provided in the first to third left belt pieces 31L, 32L, 33L have a flat plate shape extending along the belt piece. The widths of the first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, 43L are not particularly limited, and are the same as, or smaller than, the width of the first to third left belt pieces 31L, 32L, 33L. The first to third right guide pieces 41R, 42R, and 43R provided in the first to third right belt pieces 31R, 32R, and 33R have a flat plate shape that extends along the belt piece. The widths of the first to third right guide pieces 41R, 42R, 43R are not particularly limited, and are the same as, or smaller than, the width of the first to third right belt pieces 31R, 32R, 33R. In the illustrated example, the widths of the first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, 43L and the first to third right guide pieces 41R, 42R, 43R are each slightly smaller than the width of the belt piece.
However, although the first right guide piece 41R is clearly shown in FIG. 2, the second and third guide pieces 42R and 43R overlap the first guy piece 41R in a top view, so that they are slightly visible. is there.

The first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, 43L are preferably the same. The first to third right guide pieces 41R, 42R, 43R are preferably the same.
The front end portions F of the first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L are each formed in a linear shape extending in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The front end portions F of the first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L extend on a line perpendicular to the horizontal plane. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when a virtual straight line passing through all front end portions F of the first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, 43L is drawn, the virtual straight line extends in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane. . In the present embodiment in which the left guide member 4L is configured by a set of a plurality of guide pieces, the front end portion F of the left guide member 4L is configured by a set of the front end portions F of the plurality of guide pieces 41L, 42L, 43L. ing. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the left guide member 4L has a plurality of front end portions F that are scattered on a vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane.
Similarly, the front end portions F of the first to third right guide pieces 41R, 42R, and 43R are each formed in a straight line extending in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane. That is, when a virtual straight line passing through all front end portions F of the first to third right guide pieces 41R, 42R, and 43R is drawn, the virtual straight line extends in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane. In the present embodiment in which the right guide member 4R is configured by a set of a plurality of guide pieces, the right guide member 4R has a plurality of front end portions F that are scattered on a vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane.

  In addition, the rear end portions B of the first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L are each formed in a linear shape extending in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane. In the present embodiment, the left guide member 4L has a plurality of rear end portions B that are scattered on a line perpendicular to the horizontal plane. Similarly, each rear end B of the first to third right guide pieces 41R, 42R, 43R is formed in a straight line extending in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane. In the present embodiment, the right guide member 4R has a plurality of rear end portions B that are scattered on a vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane. The rear end portion of the left guide piece 4L and the rear end portion of the right guide piece 4R may each be a rear end portion that extends on a line perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

<Work transfer by transfer system>
The process of conveying a workpiece according to the present invention will be described.
The work is not particularly limited, and a box-shaped paper container or a box-shaped resin container filled with beverages; a paper or resin sheet packaging box (for example, caramel box) in which sweets are packed; beverages, cosmetics, etc. are filled Self-standing resin containers (for example, blow-molded containers); Preferably, the workpiece is a self-supporting type. A self-supporting work refers to an object that can stand independently on a horizontal plane and that does not swing when it is moved in a horizontal direction by a belt conveyor and stably stands. All of the above-described exemplary workpieces are self-supporting workpieces.

As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, a workpiece | work is mounted on the upper surface of the endless conveyor belt 211 of the 1st conveyor 21, and is conveyed by a self-supporting attitude | position. In the present embodiment in which the upper surface of the endless conveyor belt 211 extends in the horizontal direction, the work carried on the upper surface of the first conveyor 21 is independent in the vertical direction with respect to the horizontal plane. That is, the self-supporting axis of the self-supporting posture of the workpiece is a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane.
When this work is sent to the rear part of the first conveyor 21, it is introduced into the introduction part of the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R. The distance between the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R in the introduction portion is larger than the width of the workpiece, and at this time, the workpiece is not sandwiched between the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R. When the workpiece is further fed and reaches the boundary between the introduction part and the clamping part (a clamping conveyance part for clamping and conveying), the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R corresponding to the front end F of the left and right guide members 4L and 4R ( The clamping start point) begins to clamp the workpiece.
In the workpiece transfer apparatus 1 according to the present invention, the left and right guide members 4L and 4R have a plurality of front end portions F scattered on a vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane at the boundary between the introduction portion and the sandwiching portion. , And a plurality of dots are scattered on a line perpendicular to the horizontal plane. For this reason, when the workpiece enters the clamping portion, the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R come into contact with each other in a linear manner so that the workpiece is first clamped. Thus, since the clamping start location is linear, the workpiece is not tilted back and forth when it is clamped by the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R, and the workpiece can be clamped in a self-supporting posture. The workpiece sandwiched in a self-supporting posture is conveyed rearward with an upward inclination in the sandwiching portion.
According to the workpiece conveyance device 1 of the present invention, the workpiece can be conveyed with an upward inclination while maintaining the self-supporting posture of the workpiece.

The workpiece conveyed by the clamping unit is released from the clamping of the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R at the boundary between the clamping unit and the opening part, and reaches the opening part. The distance between the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R in the open part is larger than the width of the work. Therefore, the work that has reached the open part moves away from the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R and moves to the upper surface of the second conveyor 22. Since the left and right guide members 4L and 4R have a plurality of rear end portions B scattered on the vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane at the boundary between the sandwiching portion and the open portion, the workpiece is separated from the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R. In addition, it is difficult to tilt the workpiece back and forth.
After the fact, the work is conveyed from the front of the second conveyor 22 to the rear.

<Use of the work conveying apparatus of the present invention>
The workpiece transfer apparatus 1 of the present invention can be used for transferring various workpieces, and its application is not particularly limited.
Here, an example of the workpiece inspection method of the present invention will be described. The workpiece inspection method according to the present invention includes a first conveyor that transports a workpiece in the horizontal direction, a second conveyor that is spaced apart from the first conveyor and that transports the workpiece in the horizontal direction, a first conveyor, The system which is arrange | positioned between 2 conveyors and has the conveying apparatus which conveys a workpiece | work diagonally is used. The workpiece conveyed in the horizontal direction from the first conveyor is sandwiched by the conveying device from the end of the first conveyor, separated from the first conveyor, conveyed by the conveying device, and the first conveyor and the second conveyor. After the bottom surface of the workpiece is inspected, the transfer device transfers to the second conveyor.
For example, the workpiece transfer device 1 (transfer system) is used as a transfer device used in this workpiece inspection method. Hereinafter, an example will be described.
FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a system that implements a workpiece inspection method using a workpiece transfer apparatus.
This workpiece inspection system includes the above-described workpiece transfer device 1, the first conveyor 21, and the second conveyor 22, and further includes a bottom camera 25 that photographs the bottom surface of the workpiece. You may have the camera which images the front surface, side surface, rear surface, top surface, etc. of a workpiece | work as needed.
As described above, the work transported from the first conveyor 21 is transported obliquely upward by the clamping unit of the work transporting apparatus 1. Since the clamping part of the workpiece conveyance apparatus 1 is arrange | positioned between the 1st conveyor 21 and the 2nd conveyor 22, the bottom face of a workpiece | work is exposed while it is conveyed by the workpiece conveyance apparatus 1. FIG. At this time, the bottom surface of the workpiece can be inspected by photographing the bottom surface of the workpiece with the bottom camera 25. In the inspection, the image taken by the bottom camera 25 may be visually confirmed, but since it is preferably mechanically processed, the discriminator having a program for comparing the standard image with the imaged to judge pass / fail. (Not shown) is preferably used.

For example, when the workpiece is a box-type paper container such as a brick pack, folding and / or joining of the flap forming the bottom surface may be insufficient. This work inspection method is useful for finding such defective products.
Inspection of the bottom surface of a work such as a box-shaped paper container conveyed in a self-supporting posture on a horizontal conveyor belt in a production line is complicated because the bottom surface cannot be seen. In this regard, as in the workpiece inspection system of the present invention, the workpiece conveyance device 1 is provided between the first conveyor 21 and the second conveyor 22, and the workpiece conveyance device 1 conveys the bottom surface by floating. Inspection can be performed easily and reliably.

  Moreover, the said workpiece conveyance apparatus 1 conveys a workpiece | work by upward inclination. When the first conveyor 21 and the second conveyor 22 are installed on the same horizontal plane (the same height), if the workpiece conveying device 1 that conveys in the horizontal direction is used, the workpiece is transferred from the first conveyor 21 to the workpiece conveying device 1. Since the height of the bottom surface of the workpiece does not change in a series of processes to be transferred to the second conveyor 22 through the second conveyor 22, when the workpiece is transferred from the workpiece transfer device 1 to the second conveyor 22, the bottom corner portion of the workpiece is the second conveyor. The probability that the workpiece will fall on the upper surface of 22 is increased. In this regard, when the workpiece transfer device 1 transfers the workpiece diagonally as in the present invention, the bottom corner of the workpiece is the upper surface of the second conveyor 22 when the workpiece is transferred from the workpiece transfer device 1 to the second conveyor 22. Therefore, it is possible to shift the workpiece on the second conveyor 22 in a self-supporting posture.

In addition, the workpiece conveyance apparatus of this invention is not restricted to the said 1st Embodiment, A design change can be suitably carried out in the range which this invention intends. Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the description, configurations and effects different from those of the first embodiment will be mainly described, and configurations similar to those of the first embodiment will be described. In some cases, the term or reference is used as it is, and the description of the configuration is omitted.
In addition, a workpiece transfer device according to another embodiment described below is appropriately incorporated in the transfer system and workpiece inspection system described in the first embodiment, instead of the workpiece transfer device of the first embodiment.

[Second Embodiment of Work Conveying Device]
In the workpiece transfer device 1 according to the first embodiment, the left guide pieces 41L, 42L, 43L and the right hide pieces 41R, 42R, 43R are each composed of one plate-like body extending in the front-rear direction. May be.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the left guide pieces 41 </ b> L, 42 </ b> L, 43 </ b> L and the right hide piece may be divided into two front and rear. The right guide piece is not shown in FIG.
Specifically, the first left guide piece 41L includes a first left front guide piece 411L and a first left rear guide piece 412L. The second left guide piece 42L includes a second left front guide piece 421L and a second left rear guide piece 422L. The third left guide piece 43L includes a third left front guide piece 431L and a third left rear guide piece 432L. The rear end portions B1 of the first to third left front guide pieces 411L, 421L, 431L and the front end portions F1 of the first to third left rear guide pieces 412L, 422L, 432L are respectively perpendicular to the horizontal plane (reference plane). It is formed in a straight line that does not extend on the direction line. For example, the rear end portions B1 of the first to third left front guide pieces 411L, 421L, 431L and the front end portions F1 of the first to third left rear guide pieces 412L, 422L, 432L are parallel to the rotation axis direction, respectively. It is formed in a straight line. The first to third left front guide pieces 411L, 421L, 431L and the first to third left rear guide pieces 412L, 422L, 432L are arranged with a gap between the rear end B1 and the front end F1.

[Third Embodiment of Work Transfer Device]
The left and right endless belts 3L and 3R in the work transfer device 1 of the first embodiment have flat back surfaces, but prevent the endless belts 3L and 3R from meandering (such as displacement of the pulley in the axial direction or oblique running). Therefore, a conventionally known meander prevention mechanism or meander adjustment mechanism may be added.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, as a meandering prevention mechanism, a belt having a flat belt shape (which may be a V belt) having a protrusion 35 around the back surface, a grooved drive pulley 53 and a grooved driven pulley 54 are used. May be. By inserting the belt protrusion 35 into the grooves 53a and 54a of the pulleys 53 and 54, the left endless belt 3L can rotate with almost no meandering.
When the protrusion 35 is provided on the back surface of the left endless belt 3L, the left guide pieces 41L, 42L and 43L may be in contact with the protrusion 35, but preferably, to avoid the protrusion. Divided vertically.
As described above in the first embodiment, even in the workpiece transfer apparatus 1 in which the left guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L are divided into the upper and lower parts in this way, the front end portions F of the guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L are described. Is extended on a line perpendicular to the horizontal plane (reference plane), so that the workpiece can be held in a self-supporting posture.
In FIG. 7, the left and right guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L are divided into front and rear as described in the second embodiment, and further, the width thereof is larger than the width of the belt. Yes.
Although the right endless belt and the right guide member are not shown in FIG. 7, the configuration of the present embodiment can also be adopted for them.

[Fourth Embodiment of Work Conveying Device]
Moreover, the auxiliary | assistant guide part which supports the back surface of right-and-left endless belt 3L, 3R may be provided in the introduction part and / or the opening part as needed.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the auxiliary guide portions 81 and 82 are disposed in the introduction portion and the open portion, and are in contact with the back surface of the left endless belt 3 </ b> L similarly to the guide member 4 </ b> L. The auxiliary guide portions 81 and 82 are provided to stabilize the traveling of the left endless belt 3L, and assist the smooth movement of the left endless belt 3L from the introduction portion to the clamping portion and from the clamping portion to the opening portion.
The auxiliary guide portions 81 and 82 and the guide member 4L may be configured separately (in the case of being configured separately, the auxiliary guide portions 81 and 82 are attached to the housing portion), as in the illustrated example. Further, they may be formed integrally. Since the auxiliary guide portions 81 and 82 and the guide member 4L are integrally formed, the endless belt 3L can run more smoothly.
Although the right endless belt and the right guide member are not shown in FIG. 8, an auxiliary guide portion may be provided in at least one of the introduction portion and the opening portion.

[Fifth Embodiment of Work Transfer Device]
In the above embodiments, the front end portions F of the first to third left guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L and the front end portions F of the first to third right guide pieces 41R, 42R, and 43R are respectively in a horizontal plane. On the other hand, it is formed in a straight line extending in the vertical direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, each front end F may be a corner (dot). However, in FIG. 9, the 1st thru | or 3rd right guide piece and those front-end parts are not represented.
Thus, even when the corner portion of the guide piece is the front end portion F, each front end portion F is arranged on a line perpendicular to the horizontal plane (reference plane), so that the guide members 4L and 4R are The front end portions F are scattered on the vertical direction line. Therefore, there are a plurality of clamping start points in the clamping part, and the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R are in linear contact with the workpiece when the workpiece enters the clamping part. First, it comes to pinch. Therefore, it is possible to hold the work in the self-standing posture with the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R.
The rear end B of the guide piece may also be a corner.

[Sixth Embodiment of Work Conveying Device]
In each of the embodiments described above, the belt pieces are exemplified by flat belts or flat belts having protrusions on the back surface, but the belt pieces are not limited thereto, and are, for example, circular or elliptical in sectional view. A belt such as the above may be used (not shown).
Further, in each of the above embodiments, the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R are composed of a plurality of belt pieces. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R are each composed of one belt. May be. In this case, as the left and right endless belts, flat belts or flat belts having protrusions on the back are used.
The left guide member 4L included in the left endless belt 3L formed of one belt may be configured by a plurality of guide pieces 41L, 42L, and 43L as in the above embodiments (see FIG. 10). Or you may be comprised from one member. However, in FIG. 10, the right endless belt and the right guide piece are not shown.
When the left guide member 4L is composed of one member, the front end F of the left guide member 4L is a straight line extending in the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane (reference plane) as shown in FIG. Formed. The left guide member 4L has a front end F that extends on a line perpendicular to the reference plane. The same applies to the rear end B.
Further, when the left guide member 4L is composed of one member, the front end F of the left guide member 4L extends on a vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane (reference plane) as shown in FIG. You may be comprised from several parts. The left guide member 4L has front end portions F that are scattered on a line perpendicular to the reference plane. The same applies to the rear end B.
Similarly, the right guide member provided in the right endless belt may be composed of a plurality of guide pieces, or may be composed of one guide (not shown).

[Seventh Embodiment of Work Transfer Device]
In each said embodiment, although the case where a reference plane was made into the horizontal surface was demonstrated, a reference surface is not restricted to a horizontal surface. For example, the reference plane may be a plane inclined at a required angle with respect to a horizontal plane. For example, when the work conveying apparatus 1 of the present invention is incorporated in a conveying system in which the first conveyor 21 and the second conveyor 22 convey a work at a required angle (for example, 5 degrees) with respect to a horizontal plane, the plane of 5 degrees is the reference It becomes a surface.
In addition, the workpiece conveyance apparatus 1 of this invention is not limited to when integrated in a conveyance system provided with the 1st and 2nd conveyor 22, It can be used for various uses.

  Furthermore, although the workpiece conveyance apparatus 1 in each of the above-described embodiments has exemplified the one that conveys the workpiece with an upward inclination with respect to the reference plane, it can be changed to one that conveys the workpiece with an inclination downward with respect to the reference plane. (Not shown).

[Eighth Embodiment of Work Transfer Device]
The workpiece transfer apparatus according to the eighth embodiment includes a release mechanism in addition to the configuration of any of the first to seventh embodiments.
12 and 13 are a side view and a top view of a workpiece transfer device including a release mechanism.
The release mechanism is provided in the middle of the clamping portion, and slides the workpiece downward while allowing the workpiece to be held and conveyed by the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R.
Specifically, the workpiece conveyance device 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a release mechanism above the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R and from the middle of the clamping part to the opening part. As the release mechanism, for example, a rotating belt device 6 that is in contact with the top surface of the workpiece conveyed in the clamping unit and moves the workpiece downward is used. The rotating belt device 6 includes an endless endless pressing belt 61 and belt driving devices such as a driving pulley 62, a driven pulley 63, and a tension pulley 64.
The endless pressing belt 61 travels downwardly inclined or horizontally in the section between the clamping part and the opening part of the work transfer device 1 above the left and right endless belts 3L, 3R. The endless pressing belt 61 stretched around a drive pulley or the like rotates clockwise in a side view shown in FIG.

  The endless pressing belt 61 may be composed of a plurality, but in the example shown in the figure, a single belt having a flat belt shape in top view is used. The drive pulley 62, the driven pulley 63, and the tension pulley 64 have their rotation shafts extending in the left-right direction. The width of the endless pressing belt 61 is not particularly limited. Since the endless pressing belt 61 can travel between the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R without contacting the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R, the width of the endless pressing belt 61 is the interval between the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R. Is preferably smaller.

In addition, the left and right guide pieces 41L, 41R,... (Guide members 4L, 4R) may be composed of one member, but are preferably divided into a plurality of front and rear as described in the second embodiment. (For example, divided into two front and rear). The divided guide members 4L and 4R are the same as those in the second embodiment. Preferably, in the present embodiment, the left guide pieces (the first left rear guide piece 412L, the second left rear guide piece 422L, and the third left rear guide piece 432L) corresponding to the region where the release mechanism is disposed are The position can be shifted to the opposite side to the endless belt 3R.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, a support member 72 is provided on the back surfaces of the first left rear guide piece 412L, the second left rear guide piece 422L, and the third left rear guide piece 432L via an elastic body 71. ing. The support member 72 is fixed to the housing part. On the other hand, the first to third left rear guide pieces 412L, 422L, and 432L are not directly attached to the housing part and are connected to the support member via the elastic body 71, respectively. Accordingly, the first to third left rear guide pieces 412L, 422L, and 432L can move toward the support member 72 (opposite to the right endless belt 3R) against the elastic body 71, and the elastic body By the restoring force of 71, the original position can be restored. As the elastic body 71, one that can be pushed back to the original position when the guide piece moves toward the support member 72 is used. Examples of the elastic body 71 include a leaf spring, a rubber lump, and the like in addition to a spring spring as illustrated.

  The first to third left rear guide pieces 412L, 422L, and 432L normally maintain a fixed interval between the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R. On the other hand, the first to third left guide pieces 412L, 422L, and 432L are displaced to the opposite side to the right endless belt 3R when a force is applied to the left endless belt 3L in the direction of bending inward. In the illustrated example, the first to third right rear guide pieces 412R are not provided with such a displacement mechanism, but if necessary, the first to third right rear guide pieces 412R may also be provided to the first to third right rear guide pieces 412R. The support member and an elastic body may be provided.

Operation | movement of the workpiece conveyance apparatus 1 which has a release mechanism of this embodiment is demonstrated.
As described above, since the workpiece transfer device 1 has a plurality of clamping start points at the boundary between the clamping unit and the introduction unit and is scattered at intervals on a vertical line with respect to the horizontal plane, the workpiece conveyance device 1 remains in a self-supporting posture in the clamping unit. The workpiece can be clamped and conveyed.
In the present embodiment, since the release mechanism is provided, when the workpiece is conveyed rearward by the clamping portion, the top corner portion of the workpiece comes into contact with the surface of the endless pressing belt 61 in the middle of the workpiece. Further, when the workpiece advances backward in accordance with the upward inclined conveyance of the clamping unit, the workpiece clamped by the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R is pushed downward by the endless pressing belt 61 while being clamped and conveyed in a self-supporting posture (see FIG. 12 (see the virtual work indicated by reference numerals A and B). That is, the release mechanism slides the work downward while allowing the work to be nipped and conveyed in a self-standing posture by the left and right endless belts 3L and 3R. In particular, the first to third left rear guide pieces 412L, 422L, 432L (at least one of the guide members) are provided with the above-described misalignment mechanism, so that when the work is pushed down by the release mechanism, the guide Since the piece (guide member) is displaced and the clamping interval is slightly increased, the workpiece is easily slid downward.
For example, when the first conveyor 21 and the second conveyor 22 have the same height, the bottom surface of the workpiece conveyed with the upward inclination is separated from the upper surface of the second conveyor 22, but from the clamping unit as in this embodiment. When the workpiece transfer device having a release mechanism that pushes down the workpiece while being transferred to the opening portion is moved from the opening portion to the upper surface of the second conveyor 22, the distance between the bottom surface of the workpiece and the upper surface of the second conveyor 22. Can be made as small as possible. Accordingly, the workpiece can be smoothly transferred from the workpiece transfer device 1 to the second conveyor 22.

  In the present embodiment, the endless pressing belt 61 that rotates is used as the release mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a pressing plate having the same surface as the travel locus of the endless pressing belt 61 is used. It is good (not shown). Such a pressing plate is attached to the housing part. The pressing plate and endless pressing belt are the same in that the top surface of the workpiece conveyed by the clamping unit hits the surface of the pressing plate, and the workpiece slides downward by the pressing plate. This is preferable because it does not hinder the conveyance of the workpiece by the clamping unit.

The workpiece transfer apparatus of the present invention can be appropriately changed within the scope intended by the present invention.
For example, the workpiece transfer apparatus of the present invention may be a combination of two or more selected from the first to eighth embodiments, or the features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more other implementations. A feature of a form may be substituted, or a feature of one or more other embodiments may be added to one embodiment.
In addition, the release mechanism of the eighth embodiment may be appropriately incorporated in the work transfer device of the first to seventh embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work conveying apparatus 3L, 3R Endless belt 31L, 32L, 33L, 31R, 32R, 33R Belt piece 4L, 4R Guide member 41L, 42L, 43L, 41R, 42R, 43R Guide piece 6 Release mechanism F Guide member or guide piece Front edge

Claims (3)

A pair of left and right endless belts having an introduction portion into which a workpiece is introduced and a clamping portion that conveys the workpiece with an upward or downward inclination with respect to a reference surface in a state where the workpiece is held;
A guide member disposed in the sandwiching portion, the guide member guiding the travel of at least one endless belt so that the distance between the pair of left and right endless belts in the sandwiching portion is smaller than that of the introduction portion; Have
The work conveying apparatus, wherein the guide member has a front end portion extending on a vertical direction line with respect to a reference plane or a plurality of front end portions scattered on a vertical direction line with respect to the reference plane.   The release mechanism that slides the workpiece downward while allowing the workpiece to be held and conveyed by the endless belt is provided in the middle of the clamping portion of the pair of left and right endless belts. Work transfer device. Each of the pair of left and right endless belts is composed of a set of belt pieces arranged in a vertical direction,
The said guide member is comprised from the collection | aggregation | set of the guide piece with which each of each said belt piece was each comprised, The front-end part of each said guide piece is dotted on the said vertical direction line | wire. Work transfer device.

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