JP2018172198A - Conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an article other than an article stored in a space between adjacent conveyance rods from being unintentionally conveyed.SOLUTION: A conveyor 1 includes: an inclined guide plate 21 inclined to a horizontal plane; a pair of endless chains 36 that is provided on both sides of the inclined guide plate 21 and of which a part is provided along the inclined guide plate 21; a plurality of conveyance rods 40 which are suspended between the endless chains 36 and are disposed at intervals in a continuous direction of the endless chains 36; a driving motor 37 which moves the conveyance rods 40 suspended between portions 36a of the endless chains 36 upward along the inclined guide plate 21 on the inclined guide plate 21 by circularly driving around the endless chains 36 so that a part 36a of the endless chain 36 moves in an upward direction of the inclined guide plate 21; and an adjustment mechanism 50 which adjusts an interval between the conveyance rods 40 suspended between portions 36a of the endless chains 36 and the inclined guide plate 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyor for conveying articles.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conveyor for conveying stick-shaped foods. Hereinafter, the reference numerals used in Patent Document 1 are shown in parentheses, and the technique described in Patent Document 1 will be briefly described.

  A pair of left and right endless chains (82) are stretched over the sprockets (81a, 81b, 81c, 81d), and a part of the endless chain (82) is provided along the rail (84). A large number of cross bars (83) are bridged between the left and right endless chains (82), and these cross bars (83) are arranged at equal intervals in the continuous direction of the endless chain (82). A portion of the endless chain (82) between the sprocket (81c) and the sprocket (81b) is provided along the inclined portion of the rail (84), and the sprocket (81b) and the sprocket (81a) of the endless chain (82). ) Is provided along the horizontal portion of the rail (84).

  As the endless chain (82) is circulated, the cross bar (83) moves along the rail (84). Each time the cross bar (83) passes under the hopper (6), the rod-shaped food (1) is accommodated between the cross bar (83) through which it passes and the next cross bar (83). The rod-shaped food (1) accommodated between the adjacent crossbars (83) is conveyed along the rail (84) by the crossbar (83).

Japanese Patent No. 4903399

  By the way, if the diameter of the rod-shaped food (1) is greatly different from the diameter of the crossbar (83), the rod-shaped food (1) and the crossbar (83) accommodated between the adjacent crossbars (83) The stick-shaped food (1) is caught and the other stick-shaped food (1) is unexpectedly conveyed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to prevent articles other than the articles housed in the space between adjacent conveying bars (crossbars) from being unexpectedly conveyed.

  The main invention for solving the above problems is a guide inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, a pair of endless members provided endlessly on both sides of the guide, a part of which is provided along the guide, A plurality of conveying rods spanned between the endless members and arranged at intervals in the continuous direction of the endless member, and a portion of the endless member provided along the guide, By rotating the endless member so as to move in the direction, the transport rod that is spanned between the portions of the endless member provided along the guide is moved along the guide on the guide. A drive unit that moves up; and an adjustment mechanism that adjusts a distance between the transport rod and the guide that are spanned between portions of the endless member provided along the guide. It is bare.

  By adjusting the distance between the transport rod and the guide spanned between the portions of the endless member provided along the guide, the adjustment mechanism adjusts the distance between the guides in the space between the adjacent transport rods. The depth can be adjusted to the diameter of the article. Therefore, other articles are not caught by the adjacent transport rods or the articles between them. Therefore, it can prevent that other articles | goods will be conveyed unexpectedly.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, other articles | goods are not caught on an adjacent conveyance stick | rod or the articles | goods between them, and it can prevent that other articles | goods are conveyed unexpectedly.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the conveyor. FIG. 2 is a side view of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 3 is a side view of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a state before adjustment of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a state after adjustment of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a state before adjustment of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a state after adjustment of the main part of the conveyor.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below are given various technically preferable limitations for carrying out the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the conveyor 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a pool conveyor 90 is provided on the upstream side of the conveyor 1, and a packaging device 95 is provided on the downstream side of the conveyor 1. The pool conveyor 90 is a roller conveyor, a belt conveyor, or a chain conveyor. When an operator supplies a plurality of bar-shaped articles 2 to the pool conveyor 90, the bar-shaped articles 2 are supplied to the conveyor 1 by the pool conveyor 90 in a state where the bar-shaped articles 2 are tilted sideways. The bar-shaped articles 2 supplied to the conveyor 1 are moved one by one by the conveyor 1 in a direction (the direction from left to right in FIG. 1) perpendicular to the axial direction of the bar-shaped article 2 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1). ) To the packaging device 95. The rod-shaped article 2 conveyed from the conveyor 1 to the packaging device 95 is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 by the conveyance device of the packaging device 95 and packaged by the packaging device 95 on a packaging material.

  The conveyor 1 includes a weir plate 11, an inclined guide plate 21, a horizontal guide plate 23, a guide 25, a brush roller 29, a pair of sprockets 31 to 35, a pair of endless chains 36, a drive motor 37, a plurality of conveying rods 40, and an adjustment mechanism. 50 etc.

  The dam plate 11 is provided in a standing state below the end 91 of the pool conveyor 90 and is fixed to the machine frame of the conveyor 1. This dam plate 11 is installed so as to have a downward slope from the position below the end 91 of the pool conveyor 90 toward the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1). The rod-shaped articles 2 supplied from the pool conveyor 90 to the conveyor 1 are blocked by the blocking plate 11 and gather on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the blocking plate 11.

The inclined guide plate 21 is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane and is inclined upward toward the downstream side. The inclined guide plate 21 is disposed so as to straddle the lower side of the blocking plate 11 from the upstream side to the downstream side. A gap 12 exists between the inclined guide plate 21 and the lower end of the blocking plate 11.
The horizontal guide plate 23 extends horizontally from the upper end of the inclined guide plate 21 toward the downstream side.

  The inclined guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide plate 23 are integrated, and the horizontal guide plate 23 is inclined with respect to the inclined guide plate 21. That is, when the plate-like member is bent, a portion upstream of the bent portion 22 becomes the inclined guide plate 21, and a portion downstream of the bent portion 22 becomes the horizontal guide plate 23. The upper surfaces of the inclined guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide plate 23 serve as a conveyance path for the rod-shaped article 2, and the rod-shaped article 2 is conveyed on the inclined guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide plate 23 from the upstream side to the downstream side. Since the inclined guide plate 21, the bent portion 22, and the horizontal guide plate 23 are seamless, the rod-shaped article 2 is smoothly conveyed.

  The horizontal guide plate 23 is fixed to the machine frame of the conveyor 1, whereby the inclined guide plate 21 is supported by the machine frame of the conveyor 1. The inclined guide plate 21 and the bent portion 22 can be elastically deformed, and the inclined guide plate 21 is provided to be tiltable with the bent portion 22 as a fulcrum by the elastic deformation. That is, the inclined guide plate 21 is tilted so as to be swung up or down with the bent portion 22 as a fulcrum. By adjusting an inclination angle of the inclined guide plate 21 by an adjusting mechanism 50 described later, an interval between the inclined guide plate 21 and a conveying rod 40 described later is adjusted. Note that the tilt angle of the tilt guide plate 21 is smaller than the height from the lower end to the upper end of the tilt guide plate 21, and the tilt of the tilt guide plate 21 may be regarded as a parallel movement of the tilt guide plate 21.

  A brush roller 29 is provided above the blocking plate 11. The brush roller 29 is disposed at a position facing the inclined guide plate 21 and is separated from the inclined guide plate 21. The axis of the brush roller 29 is parallel to the width direction of the inclined guide plate 21 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1). The brush roller 29 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow B by a motor.

  A pair of sprockets 31 are arranged on both sides of the lower end portion of the inclined guide plate 21 in the width direction (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1). A pair of sprockets 32 are arranged on both sides in the width direction of the bent portion 22 between the inclined guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide plate 23. A pair of sprockets 33 are arranged on both sides in the width direction of the downstream end portion of the horizontal guide plate 23. A pair of sprockets 34 and a pair of sprockets 35 are disposed on both sides in the width direction of the horizontal guide plate 23 and below the horizontal guide plate 23. The sprocket 34 is disposed closer to the sprocket 33 than the sprocket 35, and the sprocket 35 is disposed closer to the sprocket 32 than the sprocket 34.

  The pair of sprockets 31 are rotatably attached to the machine frame of the conveyor 1 in a state of being coaxial with a gap in the width direction. The same applies to the pair of sprockets 32-35.

  An endless chain 36 is stretched around the sprockets 31 to 35. The endless chain 36 is folded back by the sprocket 31 at the upstream end, folded back by the sprocket 33 at the downstream end, and redirected by the sprocket 32 in the middle flow.

A portion 36 a of the endless chain 36 from the sprocket 31 to the sprocket 32 passes through the gap 12 between the inclined guide plate 21 and the lower end of the weir plate 11, and further between the inclined guide plate 21 and the brush roller 29. It is inclined upward along the inclined guide plate 21 through the gap.
A portion 36 b of the endless chain 36 from the sprocket 32 to the sprocket 33 is provided horizontally along the horizontal guide plate 23.
A portion 36c of the endless chain 36 from the sprocket 33 to the sprocket 31 is pushed up by the sprockets 34 and 35, whereby the tension of the endless chain 36 is adjusted.

  At least one of the sprockets 31 to 35 (for example, the sprocket 31) is connected to the drive motor 37, and the endless chain (roller chain) 36 is circulated by the drive motor 37. The rotation direction of the endless chain 36 is a direction from the sprocket 31 toward the sprocket 33 via the sprocket 32.

  A plurality of conveying rods 40 are attached to the endless chain 36. These conveying rods 40 are arranged at equal intervals in the continuous direction of the endless chain 36 and are spanned between the endless chains 36 on both sides. Therefore, when the endless chain 36 is circulated by the drive motor 37, the transport rod 40 moves upward on the inclined guide plate 21 from the sprocket 31 toward the sprocket 32, and then the transport rod 40 moves from the sprocket 32 to the sprocket 33. It moves on the horizontal guide plate 23 in the horizontal direction.

  A curved guide 25 is provided on the downstream side of the horizontal guide plate 23 from above the downstream portion of the horizontal guide plate 23 to the front of the horizontal guide plate 23. The guide 25 is separated from the horizontal guide plate 23, and the conveying rod 40 passes between the horizontal guide plate 23 and the guide 25.

  Here, when attention is paid to the gap 12 between the lower end of the blocking plate 11 and the inclined guide plate 21, the transport rod 40 sequentially passes through the gap 12. Each time the transport rod 40 passes through the gap 12, one of the crowds 3 of the rod-shaped articles 2 pooled downstream from the barrier plate 11 is the transport rod 40 that has passed through and the next transport rod 40. It is accommodated in the space 41. Hereinafter, the space 41 between the adjacent conveyance rods 40 is referred to as the accommodation space 41.

  The rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the accommodating space 41 come out of the crowd 3 of the other rod-shaped articles 2 (see arrow A in FIG. 1) and are guided by the inclined guide plate 21 so as to rise up the inclined guide plate 21. It is conveyed downstream. Thereafter, the rod-shaped article 2 conveyed to the upper end of the inclined guide plate 21 is guided by the horizontal guide plate 23 and is conveyed downstream on the horizontal guide plate 23. The rod-shaped article 2 conveyed to the downstream end of the horizontal guide plate 23 is guided by the guide 25 and dropped, and is supplied to the conveyance device of the packaging device 95.

  When the number of rod-shaped articles 2 in the crowd 3 is reduced, the pool conveyor 90 is driven, and the plurality of rod-shaped articles 2 are replenished to the crowd 3. Here, on / off of the pool conveyor 90 is manually controlled by an operator. Alternatively, when the rod-shaped articles 2 of the crowd 3 are detected by the sensor, the pool conveyor 9 is stopped, and when the rod-shaped articles 2 of the crowd 3 are not detected by the sensor, the pool conveyor 9 is activated.

  By the way, if the interval between the conveying rod 40 moving along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21 is narrow, the accommodation space 41 is shallow (here, the depth of the accommodation space 41 is along the inclination guide plate 21). (Refers to the distance from the plane circumscribing the plurality of moving rods 40 to the guide plate 21). On the other hand, if the interval between the conveying rod 40 moving along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21 is wide, the accommodation space 41 is deep.

If the depth of the storage space 41 is greatly different from the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, the other rod-shaped article 2 is caught by the rod-shaped article 2 or the conveyance rod 40 accommodated between the adjacent conveyance rods 40. There is a possibility that another rod-shaped article 2 may be conveyed unexpectedly. For example, if the accommodation space 41 is shallower than the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, the rod-shaped article 2 protrudes from the accommodation space 41 (see FIG. 4). Therefore, another rod-shaped article 2 is further accommodated between the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the adjacent accommodating spaces 41 and is conveyed together (see FIG. 4).
On the other hand, when the accommodation space 41 is deeper than the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, the space around the single rod-shaped article 2 that is accommodated between the adjacent conveying rods 40 is widened (see FIG. 6). Therefore, the other rod-shaped article 2 is accommodated in the space, and these rod-shaped articles 2 are conveyed (see FIG. 6).

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to appropriately adjust the depth of the accommodation space 41 according to the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, the interval between the conveying rod 40 that moves along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21 is set. Adjustment is possible by a manual adjustment mechanism 50.

The adjustment mechanism 50 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a base plate 51 is disposed below the inclined guide plate 21, and the base plate 51 is fixed to the machine frame of the conveyor 1. Screw shafts 61 and 71 are provided in the base plate 51 so as to pass through, and the screw shafts 61 and 71 are rotatably attached to the base plate 51 by bearings. The screw shafts 61 and 71 are perpendicular to the part 36a from the sprocket 31 to the sprocket 32 of the endless chain 36, and are also perpendicular to the conveying rod 40 provided in the part 36a.

The nuts 60 and 70 are fixed to the lower surface of the inclined guide plate 21, the ends of the screw shafts 61 and 71 are engaged with each other by the nuts 60 and 70, and the screw shafts 61 and 71 and the inclined guide plate 21 are substantially orthogonal to each other. The nuts 60 and 70 are fixed to the inclined guide plate 21, and the inclined guide plate 21 moves in the axial direction of the screw shafts 61 and 71 by the rotation of the screw shafts 61 and 71. The nut 60 is disposed on the back side of the gap 12, and the nut 70 is disposed at a position away from the gap 12 upward.
Further, the nut 60 is disposed on the back side below the position facing the brush roller 29. The nut 70 is disposed on the back side slightly below the position facing the brush roller 29 (see FIG. 1). However, the nut 70 may be disposed on the back side of the position facing the brush roller 29, or may be disposed on the back side above the position facing the brush roller 29.

  Bevel gears 62 and 72 are provided at the other ends of the screw shafts 61 and 71, and the bevel gears 62 and 72 mesh with the bevel gears 63 and 73. The bevel gears 63 and 73 are directly connected to the bevel gears 65 and 75 by shafts 64 and 74 that are rotatably attached to the machine frame of the conveyor 1. The bevel gears 65 and 75 mesh with the bevel gears 66 and 76. The bevel gears 66 and 76 are directly connected to the handles 67 and 77 by a shaft rotatably attached to the machine frame of the conveyor 1 and are directly connected to rotation angle meters (rotation angle gauges) 68 and 78 by the shaft. Yes. The rotation angle meters 68 and 78 measure and display the rotation angles of the handles 67 and 77.

By using the adjustment mechanism 50 as described above, it is possible to adjust the distance between the conveying rod 40 that moves along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21.
Specifically, when the operator rotates the handles 67 and 77 in one direction, the screw shafts 61 and 71 are rotated so as to be loosened with respect to the nuts 60 and 70. Then, the nuts 60 and 70 and the inclined guide plate 21 are moved away from the base plate 51. Thereby, the space | interval of the conveyance rod 40 and the inclination guide plate 21 which move along the inclination guide plate 21 becomes narrow (refer FIG. 3).
On the other hand, when the operator rotates the handles 67 and 77 in the other direction, the screw shafts 61 and 71 rotate so as to be tightened with respect to the nuts 60 and 70. Then, the nuts 60 and 70 and the inclined guide plate 21 move so as to approach the base plate 51. Thereby, the space | interval of the conveyance rod 40 and the inclination guide plate 21 becomes wide (refer FIG. 2).

  As described above, the position of the inclined guide plate 21 is adjusted by the rotation of the handles 67 and 77, and the depth of the accommodation space 41 is adjusted to be approximately equal to the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2. By doing so, two rod-shaped articles 2 are not accommodated in one accommodating space 41, and another rod-shaped article 2 is accommodated between the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the adjacent accommodating spaces 41. Absent. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the rod-shaped article 2 other than the rod-shaped article 2 housed in the housing space 41 from being unexpectedly conveyed. This effect will be described more specifically.

When the rod-shaped article 2 has a large diameter, and the rod-shaped article 2 protrudes greatly from the accommodation space 41 (see FIG. 4), the operator rotates the handles 67 and 77 so that the conveying rod 40 and the inclined guide plate The space | interval with 21 is expanded (refer FIG. 5). By doing so, the depth of the accommodation space 41 is made substantially equal to the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the rod-shaped article 2 other than the rod-shaped article 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 is not easily caught by the rod-shaped article 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41. Therefore, the rod-shaped article 2 other than the rod-shaped article 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 can be prevented from being unexpectedly conveyed.
On the other hand, when the rod-shaped article 2 is drawn into the housing space 41 due to the small diameter of the rod-shaped article 2 (see FIG. 6), the operator rotates the handles 67 and 77 to incline with the transport rod 40. The space | interval with the guide plate 21 is narrowed (refer FIG. 7). Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the depth of the accommodation space 41 is substantially equal to the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, and the rod-like article 2 other than the rod-shaped article 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 is prevented from being unexpectedly conveyed. it can.

  In addition, the interval between the conveying rod 40 and the inclined guide plate 21 may be adjusted by rotating only one of the handles 67 and 77, or the conveying rod 40 may be adjusted by rotating both the handles 67 and 77. And the interval between the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21 may be adjusted. Further, the rotation directions of the handles 67 and 77 may be reversed, and one of the nuts 60 and 70 may be brought closer to the conveying rod 40 and the other may be separated from the conveying rod 40.

  By the way, if there is a slight deficiency in the adjustment of the distance between the conveying rod 40 and the inclined guide plate 21, the rod-shaped article 2 other than the rod-shaped article 2 accommodated in the accommodating space 41 is sometimes unexpectedly conveyed. In that case, the rod-shaped article 2 that has been conveyed unexpectedly is removed by the rotating brush roller 29. Although there is a deficiency in adjusting the distance between the conveying rod 40 and the inclined guide plate 21, the deficiency is insignificant, so that there is no bar-shaped article that passes without being brushed off by the brush roller 29.

  Here, the hardness (elastic coefficient) and material of the bristle material of the brush roller 29 are appropriate for the rod-shaped article 2. Therefore, the rod-shaped article 2 that is conveyed unexpectedly is surely wiped off by the brush roller 29 and is not damaged by the brush roller 29.

  As mentioned above, although the form for implementing this invention was demonstrated, the said embodiment is for making an understanding of this invention easy, and does not limit this invention to the said embodiment. Further, the above embodiments may be changed or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. Several changes from the above embodiment will be described below, but some changes described below may be combined as much as possible.

(1) The endless chain 36 in the above embodiment may be changed to an endless timing belt, and the sprockets 31 to 35 may be changed to timing pulleys.

(2) In the above embodiment, the adjustment mechanism 50 is a manual type, but it may be operated by a power source such as a motor. Specifically, the output rotation shaft of the motor is directly connected to the bevel gears 66 and 76, and the bevel gear 66.76 is driven by the motor, so that the inclined guide plate 21 is brought into contact with and separated from the conveying rod 40. Also good.

(3) In the said embodiment, although the inclination guide was the plate-shaped guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide was the plate-shaped guide plate 23, these may be a rail (bar). In this case, the inclined guide rail and the horizontal guide rail are connected to one. Further, a plurality of inclined guide rails and a plurality of horizontal guide rails are arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

(4) In the embodiment described above, the adjusting mechanism 50 adjusts the distance between the inclined guide plate 21 and the conveying rod 40 at two positions, that is, at the positions of the nuts 60 and 70. On the other hand, the adjusting mechanism 50 may adjust the interval between the inclined guide plate 21 and the conveying rod 40 at one place, or adjust the interval between the inclined guide plate 21 and the conveying rod 40. There may be. That is, the gear mechanism of the adjustment mechanism 50 is not limited to two.
Here, when the adjustment mechanism 50 adjusts the distance between the inclined guide plate 21 and the conveying rod 40 at one location, the adjustment location is on the upstream side (downward) from the position facing the brush roller 29. When the adjustment mechanism 50 adjusts the distance between the inclined guide plate 21 and the conveying rod 40 at two or more locations, at least one adjustment location is upstream (downward) from the position facing the brush roller 29. Thereby, on the upstream side of the brush roller 29, the frequency of unexpected conveyance of the bar-shaped articles 2 other than the bar-shaped articles 2 stored in the storage space 41 is reduced. For this reason, the frequency with which the rod-shaped article 2 conveyed unexpectedly is brushed off by the brush roller 29 decreases.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the adjustment mechanism 50 uses a gear mechanism, but may use a mechanical element such as a link mechanism, a slider link mechanism, a cylinder / piston mechanism, or the like. Further, hydraulic power or air pressure may be used for power transmission from the handle or power source to the inclined guide plate 21.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveyor, 2 ... Bar-shaped article, 21 ... Inclined guide plate (guide), 31-35 ... Sprocket, 36 ... Endless chain (endless member), 37 ... Drive motor, 40 ... Conveying rod, 50 ... Adjustment mechanism

Claims (2)

A guide inclined with respect to a horizontal plane;
A pair of endless members provided endlessly on both sides of the guide, part of which is provided along the guide;
A plurality of transport rods spanned between the endless members and arranged at intervals in the continuous direction of the endless members;
A portion of the endless member provided along the guide by driving the endless member so as to move a portion provided along the guide of the endless member in an upward direction of the guide. A drive unit that moves the transporting rod spanned between the guide and the guide along the guide;
An adjustment mechanism that adjusts the interval between the transport rod and the guide that is spanned between the portions of the endless member provided along the guide;
Conveyor equipped with. The guide further includes a horizontal guide that extends horizontally from the upper end of the guide and is integrated with the guide,
The conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment mechanism adjusts an interval between the transport rod and the guide by tilting the guide with an upper end of the guide as a fulcrum.

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