JP2018131299A - Container alignment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container alignment apparatus capable of transporting containers in a state the longer directions of containers are aligned in a conveyance direction by a simple structure.SOLUTION: A conveyor consisting of an upstream-side conveyor 10, an intermediate conveyor 11 and a downstream-side conveyor transports cross-sectionally-flat containers C. Side guides 15 extend along a conveyance direction of the conveyors 10, 11 and segment a conveyance lane for containers C. Abutment members 21 are provided below a conveyance plane of the conveyors 10, 11 and have upper edge parts 22 extending in a direction intersecting with the conveyance direction, in a section where side guides 15 are arranged. The abutment members 21 move vertically between an elevated position the upper edge part 22 projects from the conveyance plane and a lowered position the upper edge part 22 retracts from the conveyance plane.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a container alignment apparatus that aligns a number of empty containers made of, for example, resin while being conveyed.

  Conventionally, what was disclosed by patent documents 1, 2 as a container alignment device is known. In these apparatuses, the wide conveyor is divided into a plurality of conveyance lanes by side guides extending in the conveyance direction. That is, the containers are supplied in a random posture in the upstream portion of the transport conveyor, but are transported in a posture in which the longitudinal direction is directed to the conveyor transport direction in each transport lane, and according to the image information obtained from the visual device, the robot Is taken up by.

Japanese Patent No. 2970732 JP-A-6-340321

  If the cross-sectional shape of the container is circular, it is easy to roll, so that the container is guided by a side guide and aligned in a line in each conveyance lane. On the other hand, when the cross-sectional shape of the container is flat, it is difficult to roll, so that the container may be conveyed to a section without the side guide while leaning against the side guide. In such a case, the container moves to the adjacent conveyance lane and comes into contact with another container, and it is determined that the conveyance is abnormal by the image processing of the visual device, and the picking operation by the robot may not be executed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a container aligning device capable of transporting containers with a simple structure in a state where the longitudinal directions of the containers are aligned in the transport direction.

  The container alignment apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a transport conveyor that transports containers having a flat cross-sectional shape, a side guide that extends along the transport direction of the transport conveyor, and divides a container transport lane, and a side guide. In the section, a contact member having an upper edge portion provided below the conveyance surface of the conveyance conveyor and extending in a direction crossing the conveyance direction, a rising position where the upper edge portion protrudes from the conveyance surface, and an upper edge portion It is characterized in that it includes elevating drive means for elevating the abutting member between the lowered position where the retracted position is retracted from the conveying surface.

  The present invention is provided with an overlap eliminating means for canceling the overlapping state of the containers, which is provided on the upstream side of the abutting member in the conveying direction in the conveying conveyor and abuts on the containers overlapping vertically on the conveying conveyor. Also good.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the container alignment apparatus which can convey a container in the state with which the longitudinal direction of the container was aligned with the conveyance direction by simple structure can be provided.

It is a top view which shows the container alignment device which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the drive mechanism which raises / lowers a contact member. It is the front view which looked at the upstream of the upstream conveyor in the downstream edge part of an upstream conveyor.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In the present embodiment, the container C to be transported is a resin-made empty container, and mayonnaise is filled in, for example, a filling process on the downstream side (right side in the drawing) from the illustrated transporting process. The container C has a flat cross-sectional shape, and has a mouth K at one end in the longitudinal direction and a bottom T at the other end, and the mouth K is closed. Therefore, the container C is lightweight, its posture is unstable, and it is easily affected by external force while being transported.

  In the present embodiment, the conveyor is divided into three parts, and includes an upstream conveyor 10, an intermediate conveyor 11, and a downstream conveyor 12. Each of these conveyors 10-12 is a wide belt conveyor. A hopper outlet 13 is provided above the upstream end of the upstream conveyor 10, and a large number of containers C are supplied from the hopper outlet 13 onto the upstream conveyor 10 in a random posture.

  Above the transport conveyor, a side plate 14 and side guides 15 are provided extending from the hopper outlet 13 to the upstream end of the downstream conveyor 12 along the transport direction of the transport conveyor. It is divided into transportation lanes. The width of each transport lane is slightly larger than the width of the container C, and therefore the container C is transported in a posture in which the longitudinal direction is directed to the transport direction. The side plate 14 is a plate-like member, and is provided perpendicular to the transport surface of the transport conveyor, and is located at each outer edge of the conveyors 10 to 12. The side guide 15 is a rod-shaped member, is provided between the side plates 14, and is positioned above the transport surface of the transport conveyor.

  A plate-like contact member 21 is provided between the upstream conveyor 10 and the intermediate conveyor 11 and between the intermediate conveyor 11 and the downstream conveyor 12. That is, the contact member 21 is provided in the section where the side guide 15 is installed. As will be described later, the contact member 21 is provided below the conveying surface of the conveyors 10 to 11, and the upper edge portion 22 (FIG. 2) extends in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyors 10 to 11. It can protrude upward.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a drive mechanism (elevating drive means) 30 provided between the upstream conveyor 10 and the intermediate conveyor 11 and elevating and lowering the contact member 21. Crossing plates 25 and 26 are provided in a space between the pulley 23 around which the upstream conveyor 10 is wound and the pulley 24 around which the intermediate conveyor 11 is wound. The upper surfaces of the transition plates 25 and 26 are substantially at the same height as the transport surfaces P and Q of the upstream conveyor 10 and the intermediate conveyor 11. A block 27 extending in the width direction of the conveyors 10 and 11 is provided between the upstream conveyor 10 and the intermediate conveyor 11, and a pin 28 that supports the side guide 15 is attached to the block 27.

  The drive mechanism 30 includes a motor 31 that is a drive source for the raising and lowering operation of the contact member 21. The motor 31 is attached to a bracket 33 fixed to a fixed frame 32, and the bracket 33 is provided with a rail 34 extending in the vertical direction. A slider 35 is slidably provided on the rail 34, and the contact member 21 is attached to the slider 35 via a base member 36. On the other hand, a crank 38 is attached to the output shaft 37 of the motor 31, and the crank 38 is connected to the base member 36 via a rod 39.

  Therefore, when the motor 31 is driven, the slider 35 moves up and down along the rail 34. As a result, the contact member 21 has an upper edge 22 between a raised position where the upper edge 22 protrudes from the conveying surfaces P and Q of the conveying conveyor and a lower position where the upper edge 22 retracts from the conveying surfaces P and Q. Go up and down.

  FIG. 3 is a front view of the upstream end of the upstream conveyor 10 as seen from the upstream end thereof. As shown in this figure, the side plate 14 is attached to a fixed frame 40 provided so as to straddle the upstream conveyor 10 by a connecting member 41. The block 27 to which the pin 28 for supporting the side guide 15 is attached is attached to a support frame 42 provided below the upstream conveyor 10 of the fixed frame 40 by a connecting member 43.

  The width of the main body of the abutting member 21 is substantially the same as the width of the bracket 33, but the upper edge portion 22 is formed wider than the main body and has a width approximately the same as the width of the upstream conveyor 10. . Accordingly, when the upper edge portion 22 protrudes upward from the transport surface P of the upstream conveyor 10, it comes into contact with the lower surfaces of the containers C in all the transport lanes. The plate thickness of the abutting member 21 is considerably shorter than the length of the container C in FIG. 2, but may have a thickness of about 1/3 of the length of the container C. The shape of the cross section along the conveying direction of the conveyor 10 may be a semicircular shape.

  A chain (overlap eliminating means) 50 is provided above the upstream conveyor 10, that is, upstream of the contact member 21 in the transport direction. The upper end of the chain 50 is connected to a connecting member 44 attached to the fixed frame 40 and hangs down, and faces the transport surface P of the upstream conveyor 10. The outer peripheral surface of the chain 50 is covered with a flexible resin tube so that the container C is not damaged.

  The lower end of the chain 50 abuts on the container C that is vertically overlapped on the upstream conveyor 10, but is determined so as not to contact the container C placed horizontally on the upstream conveyor 10. Therefore, when the two containers C overlapped immediately below the chain 50 pass, the lower end of the chain 50 comes into contact with the upper container C, and the upper container C falls on the transport surface P of the upstream conveyor 10 and the container C Overlapping state is eliminated.

  The chain 50 is provided in all the conveyance lanes defined by the side plate 14 and the side guide 15 in the upstream conveyor 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the chains 50 are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the width direction of the upstream conveyor 10. That is, in FIG. 1, the odd-numbered transport lane chains 50 from the top are relatively disposed on the abutting member 21 side (downstream side), and the even-numbered transport lane chains 50 are relatively positioned at the outlet of the hopper. It is arranged on the 13th side (upstream side).

The operation of this embodiment will be described.
A large number of containers C supplied from the hopper outlet 13 to the transport surface P of the upstream conveyor 10 are distributed to the transport lanes by the side plate 14 and the side guide 15. At this time, if there is a container C overlapping vertically in one transport lane, the upper container C abuts against the chain 50 and is dropped onto the transport surface P of the upstream conveyor 10. Therefore, although the overlapping state of the containers is almost eliminated in the upstream conveyor 10, the upper edge portion 22 of the abutting member 21 periodically protrudes from the conveying surfaces P and Q when transferring to the intermediate conveyor 11, so that the overlapping of the containers The condition is completely cleared and the containers C are aligned in one row for each transport lane.

  Further, when the container C is transferred from the intermediate conveyor 11 to the downstream conveyor 12, the upper edge 22 of the contact member 21 periodically protrudes from the conveying surface Q, so that the container C is pushed up from below by the upper edge 22. . Therefore, even if the container C is inclined by interfering with the side plate 14 or the side guide 15, when the container C is corrected to a horizontal state and transported to the downstream conveyor 12, the longitudinal direction thereof matches the transport direction. Aligned.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the contact member 21 is provided between the upstream conveyor 10 and the intermediate conveyor 11 and between the intermediate conveyor 11 and the downstream conveyor 12, and the contact member 21 is periodically raised and lowered. ing. Accordingly, all containers C to be transported are pushed up by at least one of the contact members 21 to correct their postures and are aligned in a state parallel to the side plate 14 or the side guide 15. Note that the amount of protrusion of the upper edge portion 22 of the contact member 11 from the transport surfaces P and Q and the period of the lifting operation are appropriately selected according to the weight, number, etc. of the containers C to be transported.

  As described above, according to the container transport device of the present embodiment, the container C can be transported in a state where the longitudinal direction of the container C is aligned with the transport direction by a simple structure that simply raises and lowers the contact member 21. it can. Therefore, even if the downstream conveyor 12 is transported to a position where the side guide 15 is not provided, the container does not roll and come into contact with the adjacent container. That is, since each container C is always transported in a state of being separated from each other, it is not determined that the container C is in an abnormal state by image processing of the visual device, and transport efficiency is improved.

10 Upstream conveyor (conveyor)
11 Intermediate conveyor (conveyor)
12 Downstream conveyor (conveyor)
15 Side guide 21 Contact member 22 Upper edge portion 30 Drive mechanism (lifting drive means)

Claims (2)

A transport conveyor for transporting containers having a flat cross-sectional shape;
A side guide extending along the transport direction of the transport conveyor and defining a transport lane of the container;
In the section where the side guide is installed, an abutting member provided below the transport surface of the transport conveyor and having an upper edge extending in a direction intersecting the transport direction;
Elevating drive means for raising and lowering the contact member between a rising position where the upper edge protrudes from the conveying surface and a lowered position where the upper edge retracts from the conveying surface A container alignment apparatus characterized by the above.   The conveyance conveyor includes an overlap eliminating unit that is provided upstream of the abutting member in the conveyance direction, and abuts against a container that overlaps vertically on the conveyance conveyor to eliminate the overlapping state of the containers. The container alignment apparatus according to claim 1.

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