JP2019038624A - Article stopping device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article stopping device capable of smoothly moving a stopper while suppressing an increase in distance that the stopper moves by inertia after stopping an operation of a drive source.SOLUTION: The article stopping device includes: a stopper 11 for stopping an article W on a conveying path by moving to a position to contact the article W in progress on the conveying path from a position to pass the article W without contacting the article W in progress; first and second guide members 12 and 13 disposed opposite to each other across the stopper 11 in a direction D orthogonal to a moving direction of the stopper 11 and guiding the movement of the stopper 11 by contacting respectively with the stopper 11; and a rubber material 23 giving a restoring force to the first guide member 12 from an opposite side of the stopper 11. The first guide member 12 is provided movably in the direction D and is pressed against the stopper 11 by the restoring force of the rubber material 23.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an article stopping device that stops an article being conveyed at a predetermined position.

In equipment for conveying articles along a conveyance path by a conveyor, an article stopping device having a stopper is used to stop the article at a predetermined position (see Patent Document 1).
The article stopping device has a drive source such as a motor or a fluid cylinder, and the drive source can stop the article by moving a stopper arranged at a position not in contact with the article being conveyed to a position in contact with the article. Put it in a state.

In the article stopping device, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when adopting a structure in which the long stopper 100 is moved in the longitudinal direction, guide members 101 to 104 that guide the stopper 100 in the longitudinal direction are provided. By using it, the stopper 100 can be moved stably.
In the example in which the metal stopper 100 moves vertically as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the resin guide members 101 to 104 are arranged so as to surround the stopper 100 from front, rear, left and right.
The guide members 101 to 104 are attached in close contact with the metal plates 105 to 108 provided outside the guide members 101 to 104, respectively. The metal plates 105 to 108 are fixed to the conveyor 109.

The stopper 100 is moved up and down by the operation of the motor, and can be stopped at the upper limit position so that the upper part of the stopper 100 protrudes upward from the conveyor 109 and can be stopped. It becomes a non-protruding state and an article is passed.
If the limit switch detects that the stopper 100 has moved to a predetermined position and stops the operation of the motor to stop the stopper 100, there is no need to use a motor with a brake function, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Simplification of design can be achieved.

JP 2000-72246 A

Here, the size of the flat cross section of the stopper 100 cannot be completely matched at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the stopper 100 due to the limit of processing accuracy. Therefore, if a clearance is not provided between the stopper 100 and the guide members 101 to 104, the frictional force generated between the stopper 100 and the guide members 101 to 104 is large at a location where the flat cross section of the stopper 100 is maximized. Thus, there arises a problem that the stopper 100 cannot move smoothly.

This problem can be avoided by providing a clearance between the stopper 100 and the guide members 101 to 104, but in this case, the frictional force generated between the stopper 100 and the guide members 101 to 104 when the stopper 100 moves up and down is small. In addition, the distance that the stopper 100 moves due to inertia after the motor is stopped is increased.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an article stopping device that can smoothly move the stopper and suppress the distance that the stopper moves due to inertia after stopping the operation of the drive source. For the purpose.

The article stopping device according to the present invention that meets the above object moves from a position that allows the article to pass through the conveyance path in a non-contact manner to a position that contacts the article that is in progress on the conveyance path. A first and second guide members that are arranged opposite to each other with the stopper sandwiched in a direction D orthogonal to the moving direction of the stopper and that respectively contact the stopper and guide the movement of the stopper; A rubber material that applies a restoring force to the first guide member from the opposite side of the stopper, and the first guide member is provided so as to be movable in the direction D, and the restoring force of the rubber material Pressed against the stopper.

In the article stopping device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the rubber material is in contact with the first guide member.

In the article stopping device according to the present invention, the first and second guide members are arranged in parallel in a plate shape, and the stopper is provided with first and second surfaces that are in surface contact with the first and second guide members. It is preferable that a contact surface is provided.

The article stopping device according to the present invention is disposed oppositely across the stopper in a direction D orthogonal to the moving direction of the stopper, and each of the first and second guide members contacts the stopper and guides the movement of the stopper, Since the first guide member is movably provided in the direction D and is pressed against the stopper by the restoring force of the rubber material, the stopper member The stopper can be moved in a state in which a predetermined range of friction force is generated between the first guide member and the first guide member and between the stopper and the second guide member. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly move the stopper, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the distance that the stopper moves due to inertia after stopping the operation of the drive source that generates the driving force for moving the stopper.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which passes the article | item of the article | item stop apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which stops the article | item of the article | item stop apparatus. (A), (B) is the P-P 'sectional view of Drawing 1, and the Q-Q' sectional view of Drawing 1, respectively. It is explanatory drawing which shows arrangement | positioning of the 1st, 2nd guide member, a rubber material, and a stopper. (A), (B) is description of the article | item stop apparatus which concerns on a prior art example, respectively.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the article stopping device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a position that allows the article W to pass through the conveyance path in a non-contact manner (hereinafter, “ Stopper 11 that stops the article W by moving from the position A (also referred to as “position A”) to a position (hereinafter also referred to as “position B”) that contacts the article W in progress on the conveyance path, and guidance that guides the movement of the stopper 11 Members 12 and 13 (first and second guide members). Details will be described below.

In the present embodiment, the article stopping device 10 is provided in a conveyor (an example of a conveyance facility) C that conveys the article W along the conveyance path, as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 </ b> A, and 3 </ b> B, the article stopping device 10 includes four plate-like base members 14 to 17 that form a rectangular tubular support frame 14 a, and a base Plate-shaped guide members 12, 13, 18, and 19 that are provided in a space surrounded by the members 14 to 17 and form the rectangular tube body 20 are provided.

The base members 14 to 17 are made of metal and are fixed to the conveyor C. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the base members 14 and 15 are arranged in parallel to face each other, and the base members 16 and 17 are arranged in parallel to face each other between the base members 14 and 15. .
As shown in FIG. 3B, the base members 14 to 17 are fixed by a plurality of bolts 21 that penetrate the base members 14, 15, and 16 and a plurality of bolts 21 a that penetrate the base members 14, 15, and 17. Yes.

The guide members 12, 13, 18, and 19 are made of resin, and the guide members 18 and 19 are arranged in parallel to face each other as shown in FIGS. The guide members 12 and 13 arranged vertically are arranged in parallel so as to face each other between the guide members 18 and 19. The guide member 13 is fixed to the base member 15 with a plurality of bolts 22 and is in surface contact with the base member 15. The guide member 18 is fixed to the base member 16 with a plurality of bolts (not shown) and is in surface contact with the base member 16, and the guide member 19 is fixed to the base member 17 with a plurality of bolts (not shown) and is in surface contact with the base member 17. Yes.

A plate-shaped rubber material 23 is provided between the guide member 12 and the base member 14 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3B, the rubber material 23 is in surface contact with the guide member 12 and the base member 14 on one side and the other side, respectively. The guide member 12 and the rubber material 23 are attached to the base member 14 by a plurality of bolts 24, respectively. Each low head bolt 24 has a head 26 that is entirely accommodated in a recess 25 formed inside the guide member 12 (the side not in surface contact with the rubber material 23), and penetrates the guide member 12 and the rubber material 23. The front side is inserted into a female screw hole 27 formed in the base member 14. In FIG. 4, the bolts 21 and 21a are not shown.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A, 4B, and 4, the stopper 11 is a long metal member, and an approximately half region in the longitudinal direction is within the rectangular tube body 20. In the state of being arranged, it is attached to the rectangular tube 20 so as to be movable. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B), the regions of the stopper 11 arranged in the rectangular tube 20 include side wall portions 11a and 11b and side wall portions 11a arranged in parallel. Side wall portions 11c and 11d perpendicular to 11b are provided, and a cross section of the region of the stopper 11 (a cross section in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the stopper 11) is rectangular.

The stopper 11 has side wall portions 11a and 11b (first and second contact surfaces that are in surface contact with the guide members 12 and 13, respectively) in surface contact with the guide members 12 and 13, respectively, and the side wall portions 11c and 11d are in the guide member 18. , 19 are arranged close to each other. A clearance (in this embodiment, a clearance in the range of 0.2 to 1.0 mm) is provided between the side wall 11c of the stopper 11 and the guide member 18 and between the side wall 11d of the stopper 11 and the guide member 19. It has been.

The base members 14 to 17, the guide members 12, 13, 18, 19 and the rubber material 23 are long along the longitudinal direction of the stopper 11 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. The stopper 11 protrudes from the square cylinder 20 on the front side and the base side, and a rack portion 28 is formed on the base side of the stopper 11 in the longitudinal direction of the stopper 11 as shown in FIGS.

The article stopping device 10 includes a motor (an example of a drive source) 30, a gear 31 that is rotationally driven by the operation of the motor 30, and limit switches 32 and 33 that stop the operation of the motor 30.
The gear 31 meshes with the rack portion 28, and when the gear 31 is rotationally driven by the operation of the motor 30, the stopper 11 is applied with the force in the longitudinal direction of the stopper 11 and moves in the longitudinal direction of the stopper 11.

The gear 31 is rotationally driven in a counterclockwise direction in a state where the rotation direction of the motor 30 is switched and the direction of rotational driving is switched and the stopper 11 is disposed at the position A (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, the stopper 11 is moved to a position B where the front side of the stopper 11 contacts the article W. Then, the gear 31 is driven to rotate clockwise to move the stopper 11 disposed at the position B to a position A where the stopper 11 is not in contact with the article W as shown in FIG.

The limit switch 32 is installed at a position where it can be detected that the stopper 11 is arranged at the position B, and the limit switch 33 is installed at a position where it can be detected that the stopper 11 is arranged at the position A.
The motor 30 does not have a brake function, and it is detected that the limit switch 32 detects that the stopper 11 is arranged at the position B, or the limit switch 33 detects that the stopper 11 is arranged at the position A. The operation stops at the timing.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the base member 14 is in surface contact with the rubber member 23 from the opposite side of the guide member 12 and positions the rubber member 23 so that the rubber member 23 does not move toward the base member 14. ing. The base member 15 comes into surface contact with the guide member 13 from the opposite side of the stopper 11 and positions the guide member 13 so that the guide member 13 does not move toward the base member 15. The rubber material 23 is in surface contact with the guide member 12 from the opposite side of the stopper 11.

The guide members 12 and 13 are stoppers in a direction D (in this embodiment, the direction D is also orthogonal to the guide members 12 and 13) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the stopper 11 (that is, the movement direction of the stopper 11). 11 are arranged opposite to each other and are in surface contact with the side walls 11a and 11b of the stopper 11, respectively. The guide member 12 is provided so as to be movable along the axis of the low head bolt 24 (in the direction D), and approaches the base member 14 when the rubber material 23 contracts in the direction D.

Here, the width in the direction D of the stopper 11 is different at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the stopper 11 due to the limit of processing accuracy (difference of about 0.2 mm in the present embodiment).
Therefore, when the stopper 11 moves in the direction in which the width of the stopper 11 in the direction D increases, the guide member 12 approaches the base member 14 and contracts the rubber material 23, and the contracted rubber material 23 is stopped by the guide member 12. A restoring force is applied from the opposite side of 11 and the guide member 12 is pressed against the stopper 11. When the stopper 11 moves in the direction in which the width in the direction D of the stopper 11 decreases, the guide member 12 moves in a direction away from the base member 14 by being pushed by the rubber material 23 and is in a state of being in surface contact with the stopper 11. maintain.

Therefore, when the stopper 11 moves in the longitudinal direction of the stopper 11, a predetermined range of frictional force is always generated between the stopper 11 and the guide member 12 and between the stopper 11 and the guide member 13. Therefore, when the stopper 11 moves to the position A or the position B, after the operation of the motor 30 is stopped, the stopper 11 can be prevented from moving for a long distance due to inertia.

In addition, since clearances are provided between the stopper 11 and the guide member 18 and between the stopper 11 and the guide member 19, smooth movement of the stopper 11 is prevented between the stopper 11 and the guide members 18 and 19. There will be no frictional force.
Although it is conceivable to employ a coil spring instead of the rubber material 23, when the rubber material 23 is provided, the space to be secured becomes smaller and the weight can be reduced as compared with the case where the coil spring is provided.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all changes in conditions and the like that do not depart from the gist are within the scope of the present invention.
For example, the rubber material only needs to be disposed at a position that gives a restoring force to the first guide member from the opposite side of the stopper, and a member is provided between the rubber material and the first guide member, It is also possible to prevent one guide member from contacting.

Further, the first and second guide members and the rubber material may not be plate-like, and may be, for example, a square cross section. Although the rubber material is provided for the first guide member, a rubber material for applying a restoring force from the opposite side of the stopper can also be provided for the second guide member.
And the drive source which generates the drive force which moves a stopper may not be a motor, for example, may be a fluid cylinder.

10: article stopping device, 11: stopper, 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d: side wall, 12, 13: guide member, 14-17: base member, 14a: support frame, 18, 19: guide member, 20: Square cylinder, 21, 21a, 22: bolt, 23: rubber material, 24: low head bolt, 25: recess, 26: head, 27: female screw hole, 28: rack portion, 30: motor, 31: gear, 32, 33: Limit switch, C: Conveyor, W: Article

Claims (3)

A stopper that stops the article by moving the conveyance path from a position that allows the article to pass through the conveyance path in a non-contact manner to a position that contacts the article that is in progress;
First and second guide members that are opposed to each other across the stopper in a direction D orthogonal to the movement direction of the stopper, and that respectively contact the stopper and guide the movement of the stopper;
A rubber material for applying a restoring force to the first guide member from the opposite side of the stopper;
The article stopping device, wherein the first guide member is provided so as to be movable in the direction D, and is pressed against the stopper by a restoring force of the rubber material. 2. The article stopping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rubber material is in contact with the first guide member. 3. The article stopping device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second guide members are arranged in parallel in a plate shape, and the stopper is first in surface contact with the first and second guide members. An article stopping device provided with a second contact surface.

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