JP2021102448A - Article accumulation transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article accumulation transfer device which can accumulate a plurality of articles which are conveyed by a supply conveyor without causing collapse of the articles and which can supply them to a conveyance conveyor as aligned accumulated articles.SOLUTION: A conversion part 13 is disposed which includes a plurality of buckets 12 side by side in the lateral direction, being separated from a conveyance terminal end of a supply conveyor 11. First transfer means 14 is included for transferring an article 10 which is conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 to the bucket 12. An operation mechanism 16 is included which moves the plurality of buckets 12 in a relatively approaching/being separated manner so as to change the interval of the lateral arrangement direction of accumulated articles W accumulated in the buckets 12, and which rotates each bucket 12 so as to covert the direction of the accumulated articles W. A conveyance conveyor 15 is disposed on the opposite side from the supply conveyor 11 by sandwiching the conversion part 13, and second transfer means 17 is included which collectively takes up the plurality of accumulated articles W whose direction is converted by the operation mechanism 16 and whose interval in the lateral arrangement direction has been changed from the plurality of buckets 12 and transfers it to the conveyance conveyor 15.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an article accumulation transfer device that accumulates articles transported in multiple rows and transfers the accumulated articles to a conveyor.

An apparatus for accumulating articles and supplying them to the next process is known as Patent Document 1. In the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, articles that are placed flat on a supply conveyor and transported are dropped into an accumulation bucket of an accumulation conveyor provided at the end of the transfer, and are stacked in the accumulation bucket. It is configured to push out the above-mentioned article group from the accumulation bucket toward the next process and deliver it.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-104586

In the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the articles discharged from the transport end of the supply conveyor are dropped into the accumulation bucket and accumulated, the articles are likely to collapse in the accumulation bucket, and the articles are likely to collapse from the accumulation bucket. There is a problem that it becomes impossible to deliver a group of articles in an aligned state to the process. In addition, since the accumulated article group is delivered to the next process in the same direction, it is pointed out that it is difficult to respond to the request to change the direction of the article group.

An object of the present invention is to provide an article accumulation transfer device capable of supplying a plurality of articles transported by a supply conveyor to a transfer conveyor as an integrated product that is accumulated and arranged without collapsing the load. ..

The article accumulation transfer device of the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is
A supply conveyor (11) that transports the article (10) in multiple rows in the horizontal direction that intersects the transport direction,
A plurality of receiving members (12) provided apart in front of the transfer end of the supply conveyor (11) and capable of accommodating an integrated product (W) in which a plurality of articles (10) are accumulated are arranged in the lateral direction. Conversion unit (13) prepared for
By picking up the article (10) conveyed by the supply conveyor (11) and transferring it so as to be accommodated in the plurality of receiving members (12), the article (12) is contained in the plurality of receiving members (12). The first transfer means (14) and the first transfer means (14) in which 10) are integrated so as to be aligned in the transport direction or the reverse direction by the supply conveyor (11) to form an integrated product (W).
Conveyor conveyor (15), which is arranged on the opposite side of the conversion unit (13) from the supply conveyor (11) and whose transport direction intersects the transport direction of the supply conveyor (11).
An operating mechanism (16) capable of moving the plurality of receiving members (12) relatively close to each other and rotating each receiving member (12) about an axis in the vertical direction.
A plurality of integrated products (W) in which the receiving member (12) is operated by the operating mechanism (16) so that the side-by-side spacing and orientation of the plurality of integrated products (W) are the transport intervals and transport directions of the conveyor (15). W) is provided with a second transfer means (17) that is taken up from the receiving member (12) and transferred to the transfer conveyor (15).
According to the invention of claim 1, it is possible to satisfactorily deliver an integrated product in which a plurality of articles are accumulated to a conveyor without causing a load collapse in the receiving member. Further, since the orientation of the integrated product can be changed, it is possible to respond to the request for changing the orientation of the integrated product.

In the invention according to claim 2, the actuating mechanism (16) includes a multi-node pantograph mechanism (22) in which the receiving member (12) is rotatably supported around a vertical axis and the receiving member (12). It is characterized by having a rotation mechanism (23) that moves a cam member (38) that engages with a cam follower (42) that is arranged in 12) and rotates integrally to rotate a receiving member (12). And.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the side-by-side spacing of the plurality of integrated products can be changed so as to be evenly spaced, and the orientation of the plurality of integrated products can be changed with a simple configuration.

In the invention according to claim 3, the conversion unit (13) has a receiving position (N1) for receiving the article (10) from the first transfer means (14) to the receiving member (12), and the second transfer. It is characterized in that it is provided with a position changing mechanism (26) that moves from the receiving member (12) to the delivery position (N2) where the integrated product (W) is picked up by the means (17).
According to the invention of claim 3, the integrated product can be delivered to the conveyor at high speed without interfering between the first transfer means and the second transfer means.

In the invention according to claim 4, the second transfer means (17) follows the transfer speed of the transfer conveyor (15) and delivers the integrated product (W) while moving in the transfer direction. It is characterized by.
According to the invention of claim 4, the integrated product can be satisfactorily delivered to the conveyor without causing the load to collapse.

According to the present invention, the integrated product can be satisfactorily delivered to the conveyor without the article collapsing in the receiving member. In addition, the orientation of the integrated product can be changed and the integrated product can be delivered to the conveyor.

It is a schematic front view which shows the article accumulation transfer apparatus. It is a schematic plan view which shows the supply conveyor, the conversion part and the transfer conveyor, and shows the state which the conversion part is positioned at the receiving position. It is a schematic plan view which shows a supply conveyor, a conversion part, and a transfer conveyor, and shows the conversion part in a state which is positioned at a delivery position. It is a schematic side view which shows the conversion part and the 2nd transfer means. It is schematic cross-sectional view of the main part which shows the 2nd transfer means.

Next, a preferred embodiment of the article accumulation / transfer device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article accumulation / transfer device according to the embodiment serves as a receiving member capable of accommodating a supply conveyor 11 that conveys articles 10 in multiple rows and an integrated article W that integrates a plurality of articles 10. The conversion unit 13 including a plurality of buckets 12, the first transfer means 14 for transferring the article 10 on the supply conveyor 11 so as to be accommodated in the plurality of buckets 12, and the supply conveyor 11 sandwiching the conversion unit 13 A transfer conveyor 15 arranged on the opposite side, an operating mechanism 16 capable of changing the side-by-side spacing and orientation of a plurality of buckets 12, and a second transfer in which the integrated product W is picked up from the buckets 12 and transferred to the transfer conveyor 15. Means 17 and. In the embodiment, a plurality of pouches are connected as the article 10 and a continuous bag having different lengths and widths is targeted, but the outer shape thereof is not limited to a rectangle, and the orientation can be specified by printing or the like. It may be.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the supply conveyor 11, articles 10 manufactured by a bagging machine such as a vertical bag-making filling machine are arranged in a plurality of rows (6 rows in the embodiment) in the horizontal direction intersecting the transport direction. A plurality of articles 10 whose lengths are placed and transported in a flat state along the transport direction, are transported to the transfer end of the supply conveyor 11, are blocked by a stopper 18, and are lined up in the horizontal direction are transferred to the first transfer. It is transferred to the bucket 12 of the conversion unit 13 by the mounting means 14 in the direction of being conveyed by the supply conveyor 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, as the first transfer means 14, a robot such as a parallel link robot provided with a handling unit 21 provided with a holding means 20 at the end of a robot arm 19 that can freely move in a three-dimensional space. Is used. The holding means 20 of the first transfer means 14 is provided with suction portions 20a capable of sucking the articles 10 in each row conveyed by the supply conveyor 11, and each article 10 is sucked by the suction section 20a, respectively, and the supply conveyor is provided. It is configured to collectively pick up a plurality of articles 10 arranged in the horizontal direction from 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the conversion unit 13 is provided in front of the transfer end of the supply conveyor 11. In the embodiment, two conversion units 13 are arranged so as to be separated from each other in the lateral direction (before and after the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor 15) orthogonal to the transfer direction of the supply conveyor 11. Each conversion unit 13 is provided with as many buckets 12 as the number of rows of articles 10 conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 so as to be arranged in the horizontal direction, and a pantograph mechanism 22 for changing the horizontal arrangement interval of the buckets 12 and buckets. The operating mechanism 16 includes a rotating mechanism 23 that rotates (converts) the direction of the integrated product W by rotating 12 around an axis in the vertical direction at a predetermined angle (horizontal rotation in the embodiment).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the conversion unit 13 is a pair of guide rails 24 extending in the front-rear direction along the transport direction of the supply conveyor 11 separated in the lateral direction which is the arrangement direction of the buckets 12. A rectangular frame-shaped base member 25 is supported on the base members 25 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and the pantograph mechanism 22 and the rotation mechanism 23 are arranged on the base member 25. In the operating mechanism 16, the conversion unit 13 receives the article 10 from the first transfer means 14 into the bucket 12 (see FIG. 2), and the integrated product W from the bucket 12 by the second transfer means 17. The position changing mechanism 26 is provided so as to move to the delivery position N2 (see FIG. 3) where is picked up. The position changing mechanism 26 includes a first linear slide mechanism 27 connected to the base member 25 and a first drive motor 28 such as a servomotor that operates the first linear slide mechanism 27, and the first drive motor 28. By operating the first linear slide mechanism 27, the bucket 12 together with the base member 25 is placed at a receiving position N1 biased toward the supply conveyor side along the guide rails 24 and 24 and a delivery position N2 biased toward the transport conveyor side. It is configured to move in parallel with.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pantograph mechanism 22 has an intersecting portion formed by intersecting two links 29, 30 or an overlapping portion formed by overlapping the ends of the two links 29, 30. A plurality of link units 32 rotatably connected by a shaft member 31 are configured as a multi-node pantograph mechanism 22 in which the ends of links 29 and 30 in adjacent link units 32 are rotatably connected by connecting pins 33 and 33. Then, the bucket 12 is arranged so as to rotate integrally with the shaft member 31 of each link unit 32. In the embodiment, the shaft member 31 of the link unit 32 on one end side in the arrangement direction of the link unit 32 is rotatably supported by the fixed support member 34 fixed to the base member 25, and the other link unit 32 is supported. The shaft member 31 is rotatably supported by a movable support member 35 that is movably supported in the lateral direction with respect to the base member 25. Further, a movable support member 35 for supporting the shaft member 31 of the link unit 32 on the other end side in the arrangement direction of the link units 32 is connected to the second linear slide mechanism 36 extending in the lateral direction, and the second linear is connected. By operating the slide mechanism 36 by a second drive motor 37 such as a servomotor, the shaft members 31 of the adjacent link units 32 can be separated from each other or approach each other with the shaft member 31 of the link unit 32 on one end side as a base point. The pantograph mechanism 22 expands and contracts by moving so as to change the side-by-side spacing of the plurality of buckets 12. With the pantograph mechanism 22 contracted, the side-by-side spacing of the buckets 12 in the vertical orientation, which will be described later, is set to a spacing that can accommodate the articles 10 without changing the row spacing of the articles 10 arranged in the horizontal direction on the supply conveyor 11. At the same time, with the pantograph mechanism 22 extended, the side-by-side spacing of the buckets 12 in the sideways posture, which will be described later, is such that the side-by-side spacing of the integrated products W housed in the plurality of buckets 12 is the transport interval of the conveyor 15. Set to match. In the embodiment, the two conversion units 13 and 13 are arranged so that the fixed support members 34 and 34 in the pantograph mechanisms 22 and 22 are located close to each other, and the pantograph mechanisms 22 are on the other side. It is configured to shrink toward the side closer to the conversion part side and extend toward the side away from the current collector.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the bucket 12 has a rectangular bottom plate 12a in which the shaft member 31 is connected so as to rotate integrally, and a plurality of supports erected on the edge of the bottom plate 12a. It is configured to open upward from the walls 12b and 12c, and the article 10 received from above can be laminated on the bottom plate. The support walls 12b, 12c are the first support walls 12b, 12b erected at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the bottom plate 12a, and the first support walls 12b, 12b erected apart from each other in the longitudinal direction at both ends of the bottom plate 12a in the lateral direction. An integrated product W composed of two support walls 12c and having a plurality of articles 10 stacked in a bucket 12 between adjacent second support walls 12c and 12c, a holding member 44, which will be described later in the second transfer means 17. A vacant space S that allows pinching by 44 is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a plurality of the rotating mechanisms 23 are arranged laterally spaced apart from a cam member 38 on which a cam portion 38a such as a cam groove extending in the lateral direction is formed (Example). The third linear slide mechanism 39, 39 (two) and the third drive motor 40 such as a servomotor that operates the third linear slide mechanism 39 are provided, and a plurality of third drive motors 40, 40 are used. By operating the third linear slide mechanisms 39 and 39 in synchronization, the cam member 38 has a first position M1 (see FIG. 2) and a second position M2 (see FIG. 2) that are separated from the base member 25 in the front-rear direction. It is configured to move to (see FIG. 3). Further, the rotation mechanism 23 includes a cam follower 42 rotatably supported by a lever member 41 arranged to rotate integrally with the shaft member 31, and the cam follower 42 moves with respect to the cam portion 38a. Engaged as possible. In the embodiment, by moving the cam member 38 between the first position M1 and the second position M2, the bucket 12 in which the cam follower 42 engages with the cam portion 38a is configured to rotate horizontally by 90 degrees. To. Specifically, when the cam member 38 is in the first position M1, the bucket 12 in which the cam follower 42 engages with the cam portion 38a is in a vertical posture (see FIG. 2) in which the longitudinal direction is along the front-rear direction, and the cam member 38 is in the first position. At the two positions M2, the bucket 12 in which the cam follower 42 engages with the cam portion 38a is configured to be in a lateral posture (see FIG. 3) in which the longitudinal direction is along the lateral direction. That is, the bucket 12 has a posture in which the article 10 transferred from the supply conveyor 11 by the first transfer means 14 can be accommodated in the first position M1 of the cam member 38 while being conveyed by the supply conveyor 11. Therefore, at the second position M2 of the cam member 38, the integrated product W housed in the bucket 12 is set to be in a posture facing the transfer by the transfer conveyor 15.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the second transfer means 17 drives an air cylinder or the like so as to sandwich the integrated product W housed in each bucket 12 in the conversion unit 13 from both sides in the lateral direction. A hand portion 45 including a pair of holding members 44, 44 that are moved close to each other by means 43 is arranged on the moving member 46 laterally separated by the same number as the bucket 12. The second transfer means 17 includes a lateral moving means 47 that moves the moving member 46 in the lateral direction along the conveying direction of the conveyor 15, and a front-back moving means that moves the moving member 46 in the front-rear direction that is orthogonal to the lateral direction. A 48 and an ascending / descending moving means 49 for moving the moving member 46 in the vertical direction are provided. The lateral moving means 47 is connected to a lateral moving body 51 movably supported by a lateral guide rail 50 extending in the lateral direction, and a toothed belt or the like wound around a pair of pulleys 52, 52 separated in the lateral direction. An endless cord 53 and a lateral movement drive motor 54 such as a servomotor that drives the endless cord 53 in a traveling manner are provided, and a front-rear moving body 55 is arranged on the laterally moving body 51 that laterally moves by the endless cord 53. There is. The front-back moving means 48 includes a front-back linear slide mechanism 57 that is arranged on the front-back moving body 55 and is connected to a back-and-forth movement drive motor 56 such as a servomotor, and the front-back moving body that moves back and forth by the front-back movement linear slide mechanism 57. In 55, the moving member 46 is supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction via a plurality of guide rods 58, 58. The elevating moving means 49 includes a vertical moving driving means 59 such as an e-cylinder arranged on the front-rear moving body 55, and the piston rod of the vertical moving driving means 59 is connected to the moving member 46. The ascending / descending moving means 49 holds the hand portion 45 together with the moving member 46 at a holding position where the integrated product W housed in the bucket 12 can be held, an ascending position where the integrated product W is separated upward from the bucket 12, and the transfer conveyor 15. Move to the release position where the integrated product W is delivered. In the embodiment, the ascending position and the releasing position are set to the same height level. The front-rear moving means 48 moves the hand portion 45 together with the moving member 46 to a forward position above the bucket 12 located at the delivery position N2 and a backward position above the conveyor 15. The lateral moving means 47 laterally moves the hand portion 45 together with the moving member 46 between the positions above the two conversion portions 13 and 13, and the hand together with the moving member 46 that has moved above the transport conveyor 15. The portion 45 is laterally moved toward the downstream side in the transport direction at a speed that follows the transport speed of the transport conveyor 15. The speed at which the hand portion 45 is laterally moved toward the downstream side is set to be substantially the same as the transfer speed of the transfer conveyor 15, and when the integrated product W is delivered from the second transfer means 17 to the transfer conveyor 15. It is configured to prevent the integrated product W from collapsing due to the speed difference.

As shown in FIG. 4, the hand portion 45 is provided with a pressing portion 61 that is moved up and down by a driving means 60 such as an air cylinder, and the pressing portion 61 is an integrated product W sandwiched by the sandwiching members 44, 44. Is lowered when it is transferred to the conveyor 15, and the integrated product W is pressed against the conveyor bed 63, which will be described later, of the conveyor 15.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyor 15 of the packaging machine is arranged on the side opposite to the supply conveyor 11 with the conversion unit 13 interposed therebetween so that the conveyor 11 is orthogonal to the conveyor 11. There is. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the transport conveyor 15 is a push conveyor provided with push members 62a at predetermined intervals on a circularly running endless chain 62, and is placed on the transport bed 63 by the second transfer means 17. The placed integrated product W is supplied to the packaging portion of the horizontal bag-making filling machine. In the transport bed 63, the integrated product W whose orientation has been changed by 90 degrees by the horizontal rotation of the bucket 12 in the conversion unit 13 has the length of the article 10 in the transport direction along the transport direction of the transport conveyor 15, and the push member 62a. It is placed according to the transport interval. That is, the transport direction of the integrated product W transported by the transport conveyor 15 is 90 degrees horizontally different from the transport direction of the article 10 transported by the supply conveyor 11. The left and right sides of the integrated product W placed on the conveyor 15 are guided by the article guides 64 and 64 and conveyed toward the packaging portion.

Next, the operation of the article accumulation / transfer device according to the embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the six articles 10 conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 and blocked by the stopper 18 are sucked by the suction portion 20a of the first transfer means 14 and taken up from the supply conveyor 11. The first transfer means 14 transfers the picked-up article 10 so as to be accommodated in each of the vertically oriented buckets 12 located at the receiving position N1 while being conveyed by the supply conveyor 11. When a predetermined number of articles 10 are laminated in the bucket 12 in the same direction by the first transfer means 14 and a plurality of articles 10 are accumulated in the bucket 12 to obtain an integrated product W, the conversion unit 13 tells the conversion unit 13. The first linear slide mechanism 27 is operated by the first drive motor 28 of the position change mechanism 26, and the base member 25 moves from the receiving position N1 toward the delivery position N2. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the second linear slide mechanism 36 is operated by the second drive motor 37 of the pantograph mechanism 22, and the shaft members 31 on which the buckets 12 are arranged move so as to be separated from each other. As a result, the pantograph mechanism 22 is extended so that the six buckets 12 are arranged side by side at equal intervals. Further, the third linear slide mechanisms 39, 39 are operated by the third drive motors 40, 40 of the rotation mechanism 23 to move the cam member 38 from the first position M1 to the second position M2, whereby the cam member Each bucket 12 that engages with the cam portion 38a of the 38 via the cam follower 42 is rotated 90 degrees horizontally, and the orientation of the housed integrated product W is changed to the lateral orientation.

As shown in FIG. 3, at the delivery position N2 of the base member 25, the six buckets 12 are spaced apart from each other at equal intervals corresponding to the transfer intervals of the transfer conveyor 15. The integrated product W is converted into a sideways posture that is oriented toward the transfer on the transfer conveyor 15. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the second transfer means 17 positions the hand portion 45 arranged on the moving member 46 at the delivery position N2 by the front-back moving means 48 and the lateral moving means 47. It is positioned above one of the conversion units 13 and the hand unit 45 is lowered to the holding position by the elevating moving means 49. In each hand portion 45, the pair of holding members 44, 44 are brought close to each other by the driving means 43, and the integrated product W housed in the bucket 12 is placed from both sides in the lateral direction via the empty space S of the bucket 12. Hold it.

The second transfer means 17 in which the integrated products W of the plurality of buckets 12 are sandwiched between the hand portions 45 raises all the hand portions 45 to the ascending position by the elevating and lowering moving means 49, and a plurality of the integrated products W. Take up all at once from the bucket 12 of. Further, the second transfer means 17 moves the hand portion 45 that has risen to the ascending position to the retracted position above the transport conveyor 15 by the front-rear moving means 48, and the hand portion 45 is conveyed by the lateral moving means 47. While moving to the downstream side in the transport direction at a speed that follows the transport speed of 15, the hand portion 45 is released and the integrated product W is transferred to the transport bed 63 in accordance with the transport interval of the conveyor 15. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the holding portion 61 is lowered to press the integrated product W against the transport bed 63 to prevent the integrated product W from floating. The conversion unit 13 in which the integrated product W is picked up from the bucket 12 by the second transfer means 17 is moved by the rotation mechanism 23 while the base member 25 is moved from the delivery position N2 to the reception position N1 by the position change mechanism 26. The bucket 12 is converted into a vertical posture, and the pantograph mechanism 22 is contracted so that the plurality of buckets 12 are brought close to each other.

The first transfer means 14 performs an operation of accommodating the article 10 picked up from the supply conveyor 11 so as to be laminated in the bucket 12 of the other conversion unit 13 in which the base member 25 is positioned at the receiving position N1. .. Then, when a predetermined number of articles 10 are stacked in the bucket 12 of the other conversion unit 13 to obtain the integrated product W, the base member 25 of the other conversion unit 13 is moved toward the delivery position N2 and the pantograph. The mechanism 22 changes the side-by-side spacing of the buckets 12, and the rotation mechanism 23 changes the orientation of the buckets 12.

The article accumulation / transfer device of the embodiment picks up the article 10 conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 by the first transfer means 14, and transfers the article 10 to the bucket 12 of the conversion unit 13. Since the process is repeated a predetermined number of times to obtain a plurality of stacked products W so that the directions of the articles 10 are aligned in the bucket 12, the articles 10 collapse when the articles 10 are laminated in the bucket 12. It won't wake you up. Further, since the orientation of the integrated product W housed in the bucket 12 is changed by horizontally rotating the bucket 12 by the rotation mechanism 23, the orientation of the article 10 conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 is changed and conveyed. It is possible to meet the request for supplying to the conveyor 15. Further, since the integrated product W housed in the bucket 12 is sandwiched between the sandwiching members 44 and 44 of the second transfer means 17 and transferred to the transport conveyor 15, the articles 10 are in a complete state. The integrated product W can be satisfactorily delivered to the conveyor 15. Further, the second transfer means 17 delivers the integrated product W sandwiched between the sandwiching members 44, 44 to the conveyor 15 while moving to the downstream side in the transport direction at a speed following the transport speed of the conveyor 15. Therefore, the integrated product W can be satisfactorily delivered to the conveyor 15 without causing a load collapse.

Since the article collection / transfer device of the embodiment is configured to change the side-by-side spacing of the plurality of buckets 12 by the pantograph mechanism 22, the buckets 12 are arranged at the side-by-side spacing of the articles 10 conveyed in multiple rows by the supply conveyor 11. The side-by-side spacing of the integrated products W housed in the conveyor 15 can be changed to an equal interval according to the transport interval of the conveyor 15, and a plurality of integrated products W can be satisfactorily delivered according to the transport interval of the conveyor 15. be able to. Further, since the rotation mechanism 23 is composed of the cam member 38 and the cam follower 42, the orientation of the integrated product W can be changed with a simple configuration while allowing the pantograph mechanism 22 to change the side-by-side spacing of the buckets 12. it can.

The conversion unit 13 is transported so that the receiving position N1 biased toward the supply conveyor that receives the article 10 from the first transfer means 14 to the bucket 12 and the integrated product W are picked up from the bucket 12 by the second transfer means 17. Since it is configured to move to the delivery position N2 that is biased toward the conveyor side, the integrated product W can be delivered to the conveyor 15 at high speed without interfering with the first transfer means 14 and the second transfer means 17. It can be carried out.

The article accumulation transfer device of the embodiment includes two conversion units 13, and while the article 10 is transferred to one conversion unit 13 by the first transfer means 14, the other conversion unit 13 is performed. The integrated product W laminated on the bucket 12 can be delivered to the conveyor 15 by the second transfer means 17, and the processing capacity can be improved. Even in the configuration including two conversion units 13, the receiving position N1 of one conversion unit 13 and the delivery position N2 of the other conversion unit 13 are separated in the front-rear direction, so that the first transfer means 14 and the first transfer unit 14 are separated. 2 Each process can be performed without interfering with the transfer means 17.

(Change example)
The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the examples, and can be modified as follows, for example. Further, not limited to the following modified examples, various embodiments may be adopted within the scope of the gist of the present invention for the configurations described in the examples.
(1) The number of arrangements of the conversion unit 13 may be one.
(2) The conversion unit 13 is configured to move to the receiving position N1 and the delivery position N2, but in the conversion unit 13 positioned at a fixed position, the operating mechanism 16 allows the integrated product W (bucket 12) to be arranged side by side and oriented. It is possible to adopt a configuration that changes each.
(3) In the embodiment, the receiving position N1 and the delivering position N2 are set as positions separated in the front-rear direction, but if the first transfer means 14 and the second transfer means 17 do not interfere with each other, they are laterally separated. It can be set as a position separated in the direction.
(4) The means for operating the position changing mechanism 26, the means for expanding and contracting the pantograph mechanism 22, and the means for operating the rotation mechanism 23 are not limited to the means for combining the linear slide mechanism and the drive motor, but also the link mechanism and the drive motor. Various known means such as a means combining an air cylinder or the like can be adopted.
(5) In the embodiment, the article 10 conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 is transferred to the bucket 12 by the first transfer means 14 while being oriented toward the transfer by the supply conveyor 11, but the article 10 is supplied. In relation to the transport direction of the conveyor 11 and the transport direction of the integrated product W on the conveyor 15, the article 10 is transferred to the bucket 12 by the first transfer means 14 in the direction opposite to the transport direction of the supply conveyor 11. Can be adopted. The orientation of the article 10 transferred to the bucket 12 is not limited to exactly the same as the transport direction on the supply conveyor 11 or the opposite direction, and the angle may be slightly different.
(6) In the embodiment, the plurality of integrated products W housed in the plurality of buckets 12 in the conversion unit 13 are collectively picked up by the second transfer means 17 and transferred to the transfer conveyor 15. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a plurality of integrated products W housed in the plurality of buckets 12 are divided into predetermined numbers by the second transfer means 17 and picked up and transferred to the transfer conveyor 15.

10 Articles, 11 Supply Conveyor, 12 Bucket (Receiving Member), 13 Conversion Unit 14 1st Transfer Means, 15 Conveyor Conveyor, 16 Acting Mechanism, 17 2nd Transfer Means 22 Pantograph Mechanism, 23 Rotation Mechanism, 26 Position Change Mechanism , 38 Cam member 42 Cam follower, W integrated product, N1 receiving position, N2 delivery position

Claims (4)

A supply conveyor that transports goods in multiple rows in the horizontal direction that intersects the transport direction,
A conversion unit provided with a plurality of receiving members spaced apart from each other in front of the transfer end of the supply conveyor and capable of accommodating an integrated product in which a plurality of articles are accumulated so as to be arranged in the horizontal direction.
By picking up the articles conveyed by the supply conveyor and transferring them so as to be accommodated in the plurality of receiving members, the articles are aligned in the plurality of receiving members in the direction of transportation by the supply conveyor or in the opposite direction. The first transfer means that accumulates and makes it an integrated product,
A conveyor that is arranged on the opposite side of the conversion unit from the supply conveyor and whose transport direction intersects the transport direction of the supply conveyor.
An actuating mechanism capable of moving the plurality of receiving members relatively close to each other and rotating each receiving member about an axis in the vertical direction.
The receiving member is actuated by the operating mechanism, and a plurality of integrated products whose side-by-side spacing and orientation of the plurality of integrated products are the transport intervals and transport directions of the conveyor are picked up from the receiving member and transferred to the conveyor. An article accumulation transfer device comprising a second transfer means for mounting. The actuating mechanism includes a multi-node pantograph mechanism in which the receiving member is rotatably supported around a node in the vertical direction, and a cam member which is arranged on the receiving member and engages with an integrally rotating cam follower. The article collection / transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation mechanism that moves to rotate a receiving member. The conversion unit is provided with a position changing mechanism for moving the conversion unit to a receiving position where the article is received from the receiving member by the first transferring means and a delivery position where the integrated product is picked up from the receiving member by the second transferring means. The article collection / transfer device according to claim 1 or 2. The second transfer means according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second transfer means follows the transfer speed of the transfer conveyor and delivers the integrated product while moving in the transfer direction. Goods collection and transfer device.

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