JP2021169325A - Container automatic assembly device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an assembly device for a folding container with a lid, which can correspond to a folding container with a lid, shifts left and right upper lids of the container from a lid-closing posture to a lid-opening posture and shifts the posture of left and right side plates and front and right side plates from a lying posture to a standing posture, can carry out a series of container assembly process, in which the container is shifted from a folding form to an assembly form, at one place at a time, and can save a space.SOLUTION: A container automatic assembly device includes: a stationary part that places a container; a raising mechanism that displaces left and right side plates from a lying position to a standing position by raising an upper frame of the container in a direction away from a lower frame; a lid-opening mechanism that displaces left and right upper lids of the container in a lid-closing posture from the lid-closing posture to a lid-opening posture as the upper frame of the container is lifted by the raising mechanism; and a side plate locking mechanism that displaces front and rear side plates from a lying posture to a standing posture by invading the inside of the container and pressing the front and rear side plates from an inside to an outside as the left and right upper lids of the container are opened by the lid-opening mechanism.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic container assembly device.

Conventionally, in order to deliver a delivered item from a delivery source to a plurality of delivery destinations at a distribution site, a folding container that can be folded and stored when not in use and can be assembled and stored in the delivered item when in use. Is used.

As shown in FIG. 18B, this folding container generally has a plan-viewing and bottomed lower frame B, and an upper frame F and a lower frame B, which are the same as the plan-viewing top frame F. Left and right side plates LP and RP that face each other to form a long side wall, and front and rear side plates FP and BP that face each other and form a short side wall between the upper frame F and the lower frame B. The LP and RP are rotatably pivotally attached to the upper frame F and the lower frame B, and can be bent inward between the upper frame F and the lower frame B via a pivotal branch, so that the front and rear side plates FP and BP can be bent inward. Has a basic structure in which the lower end portion is rotatably pivotally attached to the upper frame F and the lower end portion can be engaged with one side end of the lower frame B.

That is, in the folding container, after the delivered object is taken out at the delivery destination, each plate is bent or rotated from the assembled form in which each plate is vertically extended and extended between the upper frame and the lower frame in an upright posture. It is made into a folded form in which the upper plate and the lower frame are overlapped in a prone position, and after being returned to the delivery source, the folded form is changed to an assembled form and used for delivery of the delivered goods.

In order to automatically assemble such a foldable container from the foldable form to the assembled form, it is engaged with the upper frame of the foldable container at the bottom of the plurality of stacked foldable foldable containers. A holding body that holds the same upper frame at a predetermined height position, a lowering machine that lowers the lower frame downward by its own weight from the upper frame held at a constant height by the holding body, and an upright extension of the left and right side plates, and the same lowering machine. Folding equipped with a front-rear side plate pressing machine, which is arranged on the lower side and invades the folding container in an upright and extended state of the left and right side plates carried from the lowering machine and presses the front-rear side plates from the inside to the outside. An automatic assembly device for tatami mat containers (see, for example, Patent Document 1) has been proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-002227

By the way, in the logistics industry in recent years, folding containers with lids that prevent intruders such as dust and rainwater from entering the container have become widespread so as not to inadvertently impair the commercial value of the delivered goods. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 18 (b) and 18 (c), the folding container with a lid (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a container) is pivotally supported by double doors on the left and right sides of the upper frame, and has a square shape inside the upper frame F. A pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT that open and close facing each other are provided facing each other. That is, in the folded form of the container C with a lid, as shown in FIG. 18A, not only the plates FP, BP, LP, and RP are in the inverted posture, but also the left and right upper lids LT and RT are in the closed posture.

Therefore, when the container is changed from the folded form to the assembled form by the above-mentioned conventional device, it is necessary to open the upper opening inside the upper frame which is the entrance of the front / rear side plate pressing machine. There is a problem that the burden of opening the lid is increased, such as setting the lid open posture.

Further, in the conventional device, the constituent members corresponding to each assembly process from the folded form to the assembled form are continuously connected, such as setting each plate in a substantially standing posture or pressing the front and rear side plates to complete the standing posture of each plate. However, due to its structure, it was necessary to install the components for each assembly process in different places, which inevitably increased the size and required a large installation space at the transport source. ..

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can be applied to a folding container with a lid. Assembly of a folding container with a lid that can save space by performing a series of container assembly processes that change the posture from the folding form to the assembly form at one time by shifting the posture to the standing posture. Provide the device.

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the automatic container assembly device according to the present invention has (1) a plan-viewing upper frame and a plan-viewing and bottomed upper frame arranged below the upper frame. A pair of left and right side plates that face each other on the left and right between the upper frame and the lower frame, and a pair of front and rear side plates that face each other on the front and back between the upper frame and the lower frame are provided. The left right side plate is rotatably connected to the left and right sides of the upper frame and the lower frame, and can be bent inward at a predetermined position in the vertical direction via a pivotal portion along the longitudinal direction, so that the pair of front and rear side plates can be bent inward. Is rotatably connected on the front-rear side of the upper frame, the lower end portion can be engaged with the front-rear side end portion of the lower frame, and is rotatably connected on the left-right side of the upper frame. Regarding a folding container with a lid provided with a pair of left and right upper lids for opening and closing the inner upper opening, the folding container in which the left and right upper lids are closed and the left and right side plates and the front and rear side plates are in an inverted position is described. An automatic container assembly device in which the left and right upper lids are opened and the left and right side plates and the front and rear side plates are in an upright position. An ascending mechanism that engages with the left and right side portions of the upper frame of the folded container to raise the upper frame from the lower frame in a direction away from the lower frame and displaces the left and right side plates from an inverted posture to an upright posture. As the upper frame is raised by the raising mechanism, the left and right upper lids are engaged with the front and rear side edges of the pair of free ends of the left and right upper lids in the closed posture of the folding container placed in the stationary portion. A lid-opening mechanism that displaces the lid from the closed posture to the lid-opening posture by rotating the lid in the lid-opening direction, and a pair of left and right upper lids that are displaced in the lid-opening posture by the lid-opening mechanism. Invades the inside of the folding container and abuts on the inner side surfaces of the pair of front and rear side plates, and spreads the pair of front and rear side plates from the inside to the outside, and lowers the lower ends of the pair of front and rear side plates, respectively. It is composed of a side plate locking mechanism that engages with the front and rear end portions of the frame to displace the pair of front and rear side plates from the lying position to the standing position, and also arranges a base frame around the stationary portion to raise the frame. The mechanism is composed of a left side raising mechanism portion and a right side raising mechanism portion arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame, respectively, and the lid opening mechanism includes a left side lid opening mechanism portion and a right side arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame, respectively. The side plate locking mechanism is composed of an opening mechanism portion, and the side plate locking mechanism includes a front side plate locking mechanism portion and a rear side plate lock arranged in an intermediate upper portion between the left and right side raising mechanism portions of the raising mechanism. It is characterized by being composed of a mechanical part.

The automatic container assembly device according to the present invention is also characterized in the following points.
(2) The ascending mechanism extends along the length of the left and right side portions of the upper frame of the folding container, and engages with a pair of upper frames so as to be engaged in close proximity to the left and right side portions of the upper frame. A pair of frame elevating bodies that are connected to the frame at predetermined positions of the pair of upper frame engaging frames and that can be raised and lowered on the left and right outer sides of the folding container to raise and lower the upper frame engaging frame. The left and right side raising mechanism portion is configured by the above.
(3) The upper frame engaging frame has an engaging projection that is inserted into and engaged with a recess formed at a predetermined position on the left and right side portions of the upper frame.
(4) The lid opening mechanism includes a pair of lid opening arms that are pivotally attached to each other at the front and rear side ends of the frame elevating body so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and a pair of tip ends of the lid opening arms. A lid receiving claw body that is pivotally attached so as to be able to support the front and rear side edges of the free ends of the left and right upper lids of the folding container from below at the tip portion, and the left and right side opening mechanism portions. That was configured.
(5) The lid receiving claw body comes into contact with the front and rear side edges of the pair of left and right upper lids free ends as the pair of lid opening arms rotate downward, and an upward reaction force is generated. It is necessary to have a claw body urging means that rotates in the given state to take a tilted posture and returns to a standing posture in the absence of the upward reaction force.
(6) The side plate locking mechanism includes a support frame arranged at an upper position of the stationary portion, an arm guide body arranged on the support frame and capable of descending from the support frame to the inside of the folding container. A pair of link rods whose base ends are rotatably supported at the central portion in the front-rear direction of the support frame, and an arm guide body whose base ends are rotatably supported by the tips of the pair of link rods. A pair of front and rear side plates that are rotatably pivotally supported at the front and rear ends of the arm guide and swing back and forth in a direction away from each other as the arm guide body descends, pressing the pair of front and rear side plates downward from the inside to the outside. The front-rear side plate locking mechanism portion is configured by the front-rear side plate pressing arm and the front-rear side plate pressing arm.
(7) A container stationary means for forming the stationary portion at a predetermined position on a transport surface for transporting the folded container in a folded form is provided by the raising mechanism, the lid opening mechanism, and the side plate locking mechanism. It has a transport mechanism that enables the folded container as assembled to be transported to the lower side of the stationary portion.
(8) The arrangement position of the lid opening mechanism is such that the transport mechanism holds the pair of left and right upper lids rotated in the lid opening direction by the lid opening mechanism at a position higher than the height of the upper frame. To have a pair of closing guides that gradually narrow the distance between each other and extend from the lower side in the transport direction.

According to the invention of claim 1, the upper frame of the container is raised by an ascending mechanism to make the left and right side plates in a bent state, centering on a folded container that is stationary and stationary in a stationary portion. At the same time, the left and right upper lids are displaced from the closed posture to the open posture by the lid opening mechanism to open the upper opening inside the upper frame to secure the entrance of the side plate lock mechanism. The container can be assembled by engaging the front and rear side plates with the lower frame by the side plate locking mechanism and displacing the front and rear side plates from a substantially horizontal posture to a substantially vertical standing posture.

That is, the lifting mechanism, the lid opening mechanism, and the side plate locking mechanism arranged in a relative movement and positional relationship around the stationary portion allow the left and right side plates to be placed at the container's stationary location without the respective mechanisms interfering with each other. Each assembly process of the container that carries out each posture displacement such as from the lying posture to the standing posture, from the opening posture of the left and right upper lids to the opening posture, and from the lying posture of the front and rear side plates to the standing posture can be performed at one place, and the assembly work can be performed. The efficiency can be dramatically improved, and there is an effect that space can be saved.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, in the ascending mechanism, the upper frame is sandwiched from the left and right sides by a pair of upper frame engaging frames to maintain the engaged state with the left and right side portions of the upper frame. This has the effect of preventing an accidental drop of the upper frame when the frame elevating body lifts the frame while maintaining the same engaged state. Further, it is possible to maintain the posture of the container which is stationary in the stationary portion and receives the operating stress of the lid opening mechanism and the side plate locking mechanism, and the assembly process can be carried out.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, in the ascending mechanism, recesses formed in advance at predetermined positions on the left and right side portions of the upper frame for reinforcement and weight reduction in the existing container and for the pivots of the front and rear side plates and the left and right side plates. Is used as an engaging portion in which the engaging protrusion of the upper frame engaging frame is inserted and engaged, which has the effect of making the prevention of the upper frame falling accident at the time of ascending by the frame elevating body more solid.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, in the lid opening mechanism, the tip end portion of the lid receiving claw body is moved downward by the downward rotation of the lid opening arm, and the tip portion is below the front and rear side edges of the free end portions of the left and right upper lids in the lid closed posture. By positioning it on the side and rotating it upward so as to flip up the lid opening arm, the tip of the lid receiving claw body supports the left and right upper lids at the front and rear side edges and rotates outward to make the lid open posture. It has the effect of reliably opening the upper opening of the frame.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, in the lid opening mechanism, when the lid receiving claw body comes into contact with the front and rear side edges of the left and right upper lids from above due to the downward rotation of the lid opening arm, the lid at the tip thereof. The claw receiving body can be tilted and the tip of the lid receiving claw body can be positioned below the front and rear side edges of the left and right upper lids. There is an effect that the tip of the claw body can be reliably inserted and placed between the front and rear side edges of the left and right upper lids and the upper frame.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, in the side plate locking mechanism, the front-rear side plate along the downward rotation locus of the front-rear side plate pivotally attached to the front-rear side of the upper frame via the link rod for the downward movement of the arm guide body. It can be converted to a downward swing operation of the pressing arm, and by pressing the front and rear side plates from the inside to the outside with the same front and rear side plate pressing arm, the lower end of the front and rear side plates is securely engaged with the front and rear ends of the lower frame. There is an effect that can be made to.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7, in the transport mechanism, a foldable container to be transported from the upstream side is installed in a stationary portion formed by the container stationary means, and the container is assembled by each mechanism. There is an effect that the assembly work can be carried out continuously.

Further, according to the invention of claim 8, in the transport mechanism, the pair of left and right upper lids rotated in the lid opening direction by the pair of lid closing guides are lowered at a position higher than the height of the upper frame. It supports and keeps the upper opening of the assembled container open, and slides the pair of left and right upper lids along with the operation of transporting the assembled container to the downstream side, and closes the lid at the narrow part. There is an effect that the upper opening of the container can be closed by rotating in the direction so that the pair of left and right upper lids are closed.

It is an overall perspective view which shows the structure of the container automatic assembly apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the main part structure of the container automatic assembly apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the container automatic assembly apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of the container automatic assembly apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the raising mechanism and the lid opening mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the raising mechanism and the lid opening mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic front view which shows the operating state of the raising mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic front view which shows the operating state of the lid opening mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the inverted operation of the lid receiving claw body of the lid opening mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the side plate lock mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is an enlarged front view which shows the structure of the side plate lock mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the operating state of the side plate lock mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the operating state of the side plate lock mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the structure of the transport mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is an upper perspective view which shows the structure of the transport mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of the container automatic assembly apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flow figure which shows the operation description of the container automatic assembly apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the folding container with a lid used in the container automatic assembly apparatus which concerns on this invention.

The gist of the present invention is that the upper frame having a plan view shape, the plan view shape and bottomed lower frame arranged below the upper frame, and the upper frame and the lower frame are opposed to each other on the left and right sides. A pair of left and right side plates and a pair of front and rear side plates facing each other between the upper frame and the lower frame are provided, and the pair of left and right side plates rotate on the left and right sides of the upper frame and the lower frame. The pair of front and rear side plates are rotatably connected on the front and rear sides of the upper frame so that they can be connected to each other and can be bent inward via a pivotal portion along the length at a predetermined position in the vertical direction, and the lower end portion. With a lid including a pair of left and right upper lids that can be engaged with the front and rear end portions of the lower frame, and are rotatably connected to the left and right sides of the upper frame to open and close the upper opening inside the upper frame. Regarding the folding container, the left and right upper lids are placed in the closed position and the left and right side plates and the front and rear side plates are placed in the inverted position, and the left and right upper lids are placed in the open position. This is an automatic container assembly device in which the folding container is set in an upright position, and engages with a stationary portion on which the folding container is placed and the left and right side portions of the upper frame of the folding container placed on the stationary portion. Then, the upper frame is raised from the lower frame in the direction away from the lower frame, and the left and right side plates are displaced from the lying position to the standing position. By engaging with the front and rear side edges of the free ends of the left and right upper lids in the closed posture of the folded container and rotating the left and right upper lids in the opening direction, the lid is opened from the closed posture. With the opening mechanism that displaces the lid and the opening posture displacement of the pair of left and right upper lids by the opening mechanism, the inside of the folding container placed in the stationary portion is penetrated into the pair of front and rear side plates. While abutting on the side surface, the pair of front and rear side plates are pushed out from the inside to the outside, and the lower ends of the pair of front and rear side plates are engaged with the front and rear end portions of the lower frame, respectively, and the pair of front and rear side plates are laid down. A side plate locking mechanism that displaces from a posture to an upright posture, and a base frame is arranged around the stationary portion, and the ascending mechanism is arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame, respectively. The lid opening mechanism is composed of a raising mechanism portion, and the lid opening mechanism is composed of a left side lid opening mechanism portion and a right side lid opening mechanism portion arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame, respectively. An automatic container assembly device characterized in that it is composed of a front side plate lock mechanism portion and a rear side plate lock mechanism portion arranged in an intermediate upper portion between the left and right side raising mechanism portions. Is to provide.

Further, the ascending mechanism extends along the length of the left and right side portions of the upper frame of the folding container, and a pair of upper frame engaging frames that can be engaged close to the left and right side portions of the upper frame. And a pair of frame elevating bodies that are connected to each other at predetermined positions of the upper frame engaging frame and can be raised and lowered on the left and right outer sides of the folding container so that the upper frame engaging frame can be raised and lowered. It is characterized in that the left and right side raising mechanism portion is configured.

Further, the upper frame engaging frame is characterized in that it has an engaging projection that is inserted into and engaged with a recess formed at a predetermined position on the left and right side portions of the upper frame.

Further, the lid opening mechanism includes a pair of lid opening arms that are pivotally attached to each other at the front and rear side ends of the pair of frame elevating bodies so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and a pair of tips of the lid opening arms. The left and right side opening mechanism parts are provided by a lid receiving claw body that is pivotally attached so as to be able to support the front and rear side edges of the free ends of the left and right upper lids of the folding container from below at the tip portion. It is characterized by its composition.

Further, the lid receiving claw body comes into contact with the front and rear side edges of the pair of left and right upper lids from above the front and rear side edges as the pair of lid opening arms rotate downward, and an upward reaction force is applied. It is characterized by having a claw body urging means that rotates in the tilted state to take a tilted posture and returns to a standing posture in the absence of the upward reaction force.

Further, the side plate locking mechanism includes a support frame arranged at an upper position of the stationary portion, an arm guide body arranged on the support frame and capable of descending from the support frame to the inside of the folding container, and the above. A pair of link rods whose base ends are rotatably supported at the central portion in the front-rear direction of the support frame, and a pair of link rods whose base ends are rotatably pivotally supported by the tips of the pair of link rods, and the arm guide body. A pair of the front and rear side plates are pivotally supported so as to be rotatably supported at the front and rear ends, and swing back and forth in a direction away from each other as the arm guide body descends, and the pair of front and rear side plates are pressed downward from the inside to the outside. It is characterized in that the front-rear side plate locking mechanism portion is formed by the front-rear side plate pressing arm and the front-rear side plate pressing arm.

Further, it has a container stationary means for forming the stationary portion at a predetermined position on a transport surface for transporting the folded container in a folded form, and is assembled by the ascending mechanism, the lid opening mechanism, and the side plate locking mechanism. It is characterized by having a transport mechanism capable of transporting the folded container in the form on the lower side of the stationary portion.

Further, from the arrangement position of the lid opening mechanism, the transport mechanism holds the pair of left and right upper lids rotated in the lid opening direction by the lid opening mechanism at a position higher than the height of the upper frame. It is characterized by having a pair of closing guides that gradually narrow the distance between each other and extend toward the lower side in the transport direction.

Hereinafter, regarding the present invention, [1] an overview of the container, [2] an overall overview of the container automatic assembly device, [3] a lifting mechanism, [4] a lid opening mechanism, [5] a side plate locking mechanism, and [6] a transport mechanism. [7] The electrical configuration and operation description of the automatic container assembly device will be described in this order. Regarding [2] to [7], basically, with the container as a reference, the side with the front and rear side plates facing each other is the "front side", "rear side" or "front side", "rear side", and the opposite left and right side plates. The side with the upper frame is called "left side" and "right side", the side with the upper frame is called "upper side" and "flat side", and the side with the lower frame is called "lower side" and "bottom side".

[1] Schematic Description of Container The container C assembled by the container automatic assembly device A (hereinafter, also simply referred to as the device A) is viewed in a plan view as shown in FIGS. 18 (a) to 18 (c). A rectangular upper frame F, a plan-viewing rectangular and bottomed lower frame B arranged below the upper frame F, and a long side wall are formed so as to face each other on the left and right sides between the upper frame F and the lower frame B. The lower end is engaged with the lower frame B so that the pair of left and right side plates LP and RP that are bent at the central portion and the upper frame F and the lower frame B face each other in the front-rear direction to form a short side wall. A pair of front and rear side plates FP and BP are rotatably connected on the left and right sides of the upper frame F, and a pair of left and right sides that open and close the half openings of the upper opening F3 having a plan view inside the upper frame F facing each other left and right. It is a folding container C with a lid provided with an upper lid LT and RT. Even a folding container without a lid can be assembled by the present device A.

The upper frame F has a plan-viewing shape, and is composed of front, rear, left, and right side frames F1, F1', F2, and F2'. The left and right frames F1 and F1'are formed by inwardly denting recesses F10 for the pivots of the front and rear side plates FP, BP, left and right side plates LP, and RP for reinforcement and weight reduction. Two recesses F10 for engaging with the engaging projections of the upper frame engaging frame, which will be described later, are formed on the outer sides of the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of this embodiment near the front and rear ends, respectively. Further, finger locking recesses F20 are formed at the center of the upper end edges of the front and rear frames F2 and F2', respectively. The finger locking recesses F20 have the left and right upper lids LT and RT closed, and the front and rear side edges LT10, LT10', RT10 and RT10'of the free ends of the left and right upper lids LT and RT are placed on the front and rear side frames F2 and F2'. Let it protrude outward from the upper edge of the.

The lower frame B has a bottomed shape with an open U-shape in a cross-sectional view, and as shown in FIG. It is composed of front, rear, left and right side frames B1, B1'B2, B2'.

As shown in FIGS. 18 (b) and 18 (c), the pair of left and right side plates LP and RP are the long side upper plate portions LP1 and RP1 arranged on the upper side and the long side lower plate arranged on the lower side, respectively. It is provided with two side plate portions, one for the LP2 and the other for the RP2. The long-side upper plate portions LP1 and RP1 are rotatably connected to the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the upper frame F at the upper end portion via a pivot portion below the upper frame F. Further, the long side lower plate portions LP2 and RP2 are rotatably connected to the front and rear side frames F2 and F2'of the lower frame B via the pivot portion at the lower end portion above the lower frame B. The long side upper plate portions LP1 and RP1 and the long side lower plate portions LP2 and RP2 can rotate via the pivot portion provided on the outside in a state where the end faces of the lower end portions and the upper end portions of the respective long side upper plate portions LP1 and RP1 are butted against each other. By connecting, the left and right side plates LP and RP can be bent inward.

The pair of front and rear side plates FP and BP are rotatably connected to the front and rear side frames F2 and F2'of the upper frame F. Further, the lower end portions of the front and rear side plates FP and BP are abutted and engaged with the inside of the front and rear side frames B2 and B2'of the lower frame B, respectively. The lower ends of the front and rear side plates FP and BP and the front and rear side frames B2 and B2'of the lower frame B may be configured to be engaged with each other. That is, the front and rear side plates FP and BP are rotationally displaced from the upper frame F to engage the lower end portions with the upper end portions of the front and rear side frames B2 and B2'of the lower frame B, respectively, so that the upper frame F and the lower frame B are engaged with each other. It maintains an independent standing posture between them and fulfills the function of supporting the container C in the assembled form.

The pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT are connected to the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the upper frame F in a double door. The left and right upper lids LT and RT are in a flushed closed posture so as to close the half opening of the inner upper opening F3 on the upper frame F when the lid is closed, and the free end edges face each other and mesh with each other. It is formed in the corresponding waveform.

As shown in FIG. 18A, the container C having such a configuration has the front-rear side plate fold-down step in which the front-rear side plates FP and BP are rotated upward to be in a laid-down posture, and the left and right side plates LP and RP are inside via the pivot portion. It goes up through three folding steps: a left and right side plate lodging step in which it is bent in a direction and puts it in a lying position, and a closing step in which the left and right upper lids LT and RT above the upper frame F are turned inward to put it in a closing position. The frame F and the lower frame B are overlapped and folded to be transformed from the assembled form to the folded form.

On the other hand, in the container C, as shown in FIG. 18C, the left and right upper lids LT and RT above the upper frame F are rotated outward to open the lid, and the left and right side plates LP and RP are pivotally supported. The left and right side plate standing process in which the front and rear side plates FP and BP are rotated downward to engage the lower end with the lower frame B and the front and rear side plates are in an upright posture. After three assembly steps, a pair of long side walls and a pair of short side walls are formed between the upper frame F and the lower frame B by the left and right side plates LP, RP and the front and rear side plates FP, BP in an upright posture, respectively. It transforms from the tatami form to the assembled form.

[2] Overall Overview of the Container Automatic Assembly Device Next, an overall overview of the container automatic assembly device will be described in detail based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing the configuration of the container automatic assembly device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the main configuration of the container automatic assembly device, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the container automatic assembly device, and FIG. 4 is a container automatic assembly device. It is a front view which shows the structure of an assembly apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus A is a stationary portion for imposing a transport mechanism 5 for transporting the container C and a foldable container C formed in the middle of the transport surface of the transport mechanism 5. 1 and a raising mechanism 2 for transforming the container C stationary in the stationary portion 1 from the folded form to the assembled form container C, a lid opening mechanism 3, and a side plate locking mechanism 4 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, these stationary portions 1 and the respective mechanisms 2, 3, 4, and 5 are arranged at predetermined positions of the base frame 6 assembled by the plurality of vertical and horizontal frame portions 61 and 62. .. In particular, the stationary portion 1, the raising mechanism 2, the lid opening mechanism 3, and the side plate locking mechanism 4 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4), which are the assembly main parts of the container C, are shown in FIGS. As shown in the above, the base frame 6 is provided on a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped square frame 60 arranged at the center in the longitudinal direction.

That is, the present device A has a base frame 60a arranged around the stationary portion 1, and the ascending mechanism 2 is composed of a left side ascending mechanism portion 2L and a right side ascending mechanism portion 2R arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame 60a, respectively. The lid opening mechanism 3 is composed of a left side lid opening mechanism portion 3L and a right side lid opening mechanism portion 3R arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame 60a, respectively, and the side plate lock mechanism 4 is a left and right side raising mechanism of the raising mechanism 2. It is composed of a front side plate lock mechanism portion 4F and a rear side plate lock mechanism portion 4B arranged in an intermediate upper portion between the portions 2L and 2R.

That is, in the present device A, the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 are arranged relative to the base frame 60a on the left and right sides and the upper side with the stationary portion 1 as the center, and the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 are arranged. The container C placed in the stationary portion 1 is configured so that various automatic assembly operations for transforming the container C from the folded form to the assembled form can be executed at the same location.

The stationary portion 1 is in an immovable stationary state in which the folded container C is oriented in a certain direction, and when the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 carry out the corresponding assembly steps for the container C, respectively. The stationary posture is maintained so that the container C subjected to the working stress by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 does not inadvertently displace its posture.

That is, the stationary portion 1 has a stationary surface 10 having substantially the same plan-viewing shape as the lower frame B of the container C for imposing the container C, and each assembly mechanism is on the left-right side and the upper side with the identification surface 10 as the center. By arranging 2, 3 and 4, it is configured as a virtual square space (a part surrounded by a broken line in FIGS. 2 to 4) and substantially the same as the outer shape of the container C in the assembled form.

Further, the stationary portion 1 opens the front and rear sides of the virtual square space, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the container insertion port 11B for inserting the container C having a folded rear opening into the stationary portion 1 In addition, the front opening is configured in the container outlet 11F for taking out the container C transformed from the folded form to the assembled form by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 in the stationary portion 1.

Further, the stationary portion 1 is a stationary portion that regulates the left-right and front-rear movements of the container C placed on the stationary surface 10 by the container stationary means 51 that abuts and engages with the front-rear outer side of the lower frame B of the container C. It is configured so that it can be placed in a state.

The container stationary means may be any means as long as it can abut and engage with at least the front and rear outer sides of the lower frame B to maintain the posture of the container C. good. Although details will be described later, the container stationary means of this embodiment is composed of a pair of front and rear container stoppers 510a and 510b that can be inverted at the front and rear side edges of the stationary surface 10.

As a result, the stationary portion 1 functions as an assembly work table for the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 arranged on the left, right, upper and lower sides thereof to stably carry out the container assembly process. The container C is placed on the stationary surface 10 in the stationary portion 1 with the left and right sides parallel to the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1 and the front and rear sides parallel to the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the ascending mechanism 2 is configured by arranging the left ascending mechanism 2L and the right ascending mechanism 2R on the left and right sides of the base frame 60a, that is, on the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1, respectively. .. The ascending mechanism 2 abuts and engages with the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the upper frame F of the container C placed in the stationary portion 1 by the left and right side ascending mechanism portions 2L and 2R, and sandwiches the upper frame F from the left and right sides. Then, it is raised from the lower frame B in the direction of separation to displace the left and right side plates LP and RP from the lying posture to the standing posture. That is, the ascending mechanism 2 executes the left and right side plate standing steps in the assembling step of the container C.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lid opening mechanism 3 has the left side lid opening mechanism portion 3L and the right side lid opening mechanism portion 3R arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame 60a, that is, on the front and rear sides and the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1, respectively. It is composed of. The lid opening mechanism 3 has a pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT in a closed posture of the container C placed in the stationary portion 1 by the left and right side lid opening mechanism portions 3L and 3R as the upper frame is raised by the raising mechanism 2. Engage with the front and rear side edge portions LT10, LT10', RT10, RT10'of the free end portion, and rotate the left and right upper lids LT and RT in the lid opening direction to displace from the lid closing posture to the lid opening posture. That is, the lid opening mechanism 3 executes the lid opening step in the assembly step of the container C.

The raising mechanism 2 and the lid opening mechanism 3 are used to open the left and right upper lids LT and RT of the folded container C by the lid opening mechanism 3 and to raise the upper frame F of the folded container C by the raising mechanism 2. It is configured to shorten the cycle time of the container assembly process by performing the operations at the same time. In other words, the apparatus A is configured so that the raising mechanism 2 and the lid opening mechanism 3 are synchronously interlocked to perform the left and right side plate standing steps and the lid opening steps of the container C at the same time.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the side plate locking mechanism 4 has a front side plate locking mechanism portion 4F arranged at an intermediate upper portion between the left and right side raising mechanism portions 2L and 2R of the raising mechanism 2, that is, an upper position of the stationary portion 1. It is composed of a rear plate lock mechanism portion 4B. The side plate lock mechanism 4 invades the inside of the container C settled in the stationary portion 1 by the front and rear side plate lock mechanism portions 4F and 4B as the left and right upper lids LT and RT are displaced by the lid opening mechanism 3 to form a pair. While contacting the inner side surfaces of the front and rear side plates FP and BP, the front and rear side plates FP and BP are expanded from the inside to the outside, and the lower ends of the front and rear side plates FP and BP are engaged with the front and rear side frames B2 and B2'of the bottom plate portion B3. The front and rear side plates FP and BP are displaced from the lying position to the standing position. That is, the side plate lock mechanism 4 executes the front-rear side plate standing process in the assembly process of the container C.

As described above, the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 are arranged so as to perform relative operations to realize each assembly process of the container C, centering on the foldable container C which is stationaryly stationary in the stationary portion 1. It is arranged in the base frame 60a (square frame 60). The container C deformed from the folded form to the assembled form by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 in the stationary portion 1 is conveyed to the downstream side of the stationary portion 1 by the transfer mechanism 5 shown in FIG. Used for storage and delivery.

[3] Lifting Mechanism Next, a specific configuration of the lifting mechanism 2 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configurations of the ascending mechanism and the lid opening mechanism, FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the configurations of the ascending mechanism and the lid opening mechanism, and FIG. The front view and FIG. 7B are schematic front views showing the ascending posture in the operating state of the ascending mechanism.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7B, the ascending mechanism 2 extends along the lengths of the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the upper frame F of the container C, and the left and right side frames F1 and F1 of the upper frame F. A pair of left and right upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'that can be engaged in close proximity to'and a pair of left and right upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20' are connected at predetermined positions, respectively, and are outside the left and right sides of the container C. A pair of left and right frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'that can be moved up and down by one side to raise and lower the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'are provided to form left and right side raising mechanism portions 2L and 2R.

That is, the left and right side raising mechanism portions 2L and 2R are the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'that move up and down in conjunction with the elevating drive unit 26, and the slide drive portions 24 and 24 that are connected to the upper ends of the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'. It is composed of upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'that operate in close proximity to each other.

The left and right raising mechanism portions 2L and 2R, that is, the pair of upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'and the pair of frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'are the stationary portions 1 (stationary) in front view as shown in FIG. The surface 10) is arranged line-symmetrically with respect to the center line (indicated by a alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6) extending in the front-rear direction at the center portion in the left-right direction of the stationary portion 1 on the outside on the left-right side.

The pair of upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'are long strips extending along the left and right side edges of the stationary portion 1 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively, and the pair of frame elevating bodies 21 and 20'. A plate forming a vertical surface to the frame elevating body 21, 21'as shown in FIG. 6 via flat plate-shaped brackets 23, 23'protruding and fixed inward to the stationary portion 1 with respect to the upper portion of the 21'. The surfaces 20a and 20a'are connected to each other so as to face each other.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pair of upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'with respect to the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the upper frame F due to the slide stress of the slide drive units 24 and 24'that operate synchronously, respectively. It is possible to move close to each other from the left and right sides. The slide drive units 24 and 24'may be any as long as they can apply slide stress to the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20', and may be, for example, a drive cylinder or a drive motor.

The slide drive units 24, 24'of this embodiment are drive cylinders 240, 240' having drive rods 241, 241' that move forward and backward as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b). The drive cylinders 240 and 240'are fixed so that the tip direction of the drive rod 241 is directed to the inside of the stationary portion 1 and the advance / retreat direction of the drive rod 241 is along the left-right side direction of the stationary portion 1. The upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'are provided at the tip of the drive rod 241 so that the plate surfaces 20a and 20a'face each other and form a vertical surface.

In the slide drive unit 24, the advance distance from the most retracted position to the most advanced position of the drive rod 241 is set so that the plate surfaces 20a and 20a'of the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20's connected to the tip of the rod are above the container C. It slides in a state of being parallel to the outer surfaces of the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the frame F, and controls the distance to engage the engaging protrusions 25 and 25'described later with the recesses F10.

That is, in the slide drive unit 24, at the most retracted position of the drive rods 241 and 241', the engaging projections 25 and 25'of the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'are the left and right side frames F1 and F1 of the upper frame F of the container C. Driven so as not to interfere with', and at the most advanced position of the drive rods 241 and 241', the engaging protrusions 25 and 25'are engaged with the recesses F10 of the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the upper frame F. do.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 7 (b), the left and right side frames F1 of the upper frame F are attached to the front and rear side ends of the plate surfaces 20a and 20a' facing each other of the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'. Two engaging protrusions 25, 25'corresponding to insertion into the two recesses F10 formed at the front and rear ends of F1'are projected, for a total of four.

The engaging protrusions 25 and 25'are substantially cylindrical as shown in FIG. 5, and as shown in FIG. 7A, the engagement protrusions 25 and 25'are close to the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the folded container upper frame F. Along the direction, the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'protrude outward from the plate surfaces 20a and 20a'. The protruding lengths of the engaging protrusions 25 and 25'are set to be equal to or less than the groove depth of the recess F10.

The frame elevating body 21 has a substantially square shape in a side view, is arranged on the left and right outer sides of the stationary portion 1 as shown in FIG. 6, and maintains a constant interval on the front and rear sides as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. The front and rear vertical frame portions 210a and 210b extending in the vertical direction and a pair of upper and lower horizontal frame portions 211a and 211b extending in the horizontal direction at the upper and lower ends of the front and rear vertical frame portions 210a and 210b are provided.

Brackets 23, 23'are provided at the center of the upper horizontal frame portions 211a, 211a'toward the inside of the stationary portion 1. Further, the upper horizontal frame portions 211a and 211a'are provided with left and right upper lid receiving stays 212 and 212'that receive the pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT in a closed posture by the lid opening mechanism 3, respectively.

The left and right upper lid receiving stays 212 and 212'are erected on the front and rear sides of the upper horizontal frame portions 211a and 211a'as shown in FIGS. The receiving surfaces 212a and 212a'that abut the left and right upper lids LT and RT at the tips of the support rods 212b and 212b'bent in a shape are provided so as to face the inside of the stationary portion 1 and diagonally upward.

The frame elevating body 21 is configured to be able to move up and down by the driving force of the elevating drive unit 26 arranged below the base frame 60a. The elevating drive unit 26 may be any as long as it can apply elevating power to the frame elevating body 21. The elevating drive unit 26 of this embodiment is a drive motor 260, and is arranged at the center of the lower position of the stationary unit 1 as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 (b).

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 7 (b), the drive motor 260 is pivotally mounted with a drive shaft 261 that is rotationally driven by the power of the motor. The drive shaft 261 extends between the pair of frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'with the rotation direction (tangential direction due to rotation) being along the front-rear side direction of the stationary portion 1.

At both ends of the drive shaft 261, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), side view elliptical cam plates 27, 27'are rotatable integrally with the drive shaft 261 at an oval-shaped center of gravity. It is pivotally attached.

On the outside of the elliptical tip of the cam plates 27, 27', a rotating body 270, 270', which has the same rotation direction as the rotation direction of the cam plates 27, 27', is rotatably attached to the outside of the tip. The rotating bodies 270 and 270'are loosely fitted in the cam groove portions 27a and 27a'provided in the lower horizontal frame portions 211b and 211b'.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the cam groove portions 27a and 27a'are approximately the same length as the lower lateral frame portions 211b and 211b, and the cam follower rails 270a having an L-shaped cross section extend back and forth. The cam follower rails 270a and 270a'and the lower horizontal frame portion 211b, respectively, by facing the L-shaped open side of the 270a'and hanging them on the lower horizontal frame portions 211b and 211b'at the upper part of the L-shaped long side. It is formed as an L-shaped inner space formed with 211b'.

That is, the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'are linked to the elevating drive unit 26 via the cam structure formed by the cam plates 27 and 27'and the cam groove portions 27a and 27a'. As a result, as the cam plates 27, 27'rotated by the drive motor 260 via the drive shaft 261 rotate, the rotating body 270, 270'at the tip thereof is rotationally displaced up and down around the drive shaft 261. The frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'can be moved up and down by moving in the front-rear direction while being guided by the cam grooves 27a and 27a'.

Further, on the left and right outer sides of the front-rear vertical frame portions 210a and 210b, two elevating guide shafts 28a and 28b extending in parallel with the front-rear side vertical frame portions 210a and 210b are fixed to the base frame 60a and two on the front-rear side. It is standing upright. Guide bushes 29 that are loosely fitted to the elevating guide shafts 28 are fixed to the lower portions of the front and rear vertical frame portions 210a and 210b, respectively. That is, the frame elevating body 21 is guided by the elevating guide structure by the elevating guide shafts 28a and 28b and the guide bushes 29a and 29b, and slides in the vertical direction.

As described above, the frame elevating body 21 transmits the driving force transmitted from the elevating drive unit 26 to the cam structure by the cam plate 27 and the cam groove portion 27a, and the elevating guide structure by the elevating guide shafts 28a and 28b and the guide bushes 29a and 29b. It is converted into elevating power via the above, and can be ascended on the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1.

The elevating drive unit 26 shows the moving distance of the frame elevating body 21 from the lowest descent position to the highest ascending position by the height of the container C in the assembled form, that is, in FIGS. 18 (b) and 18 (c). The distance is controlled to be the same as the vertical length of the left and right side plates LP and RP in the standing posture.

That is, the elevating drive unit 26 is located at a position where the upper frame engaging frame 20 faces the upper frame F of the foldable container C fixed in the stationary portion 1 in the descending posture state in which the frame elevating body 21 is in the most descending position. On the other hand, in the raised posture state in which the frame elevating body 21 is in the highest raised position, the left and right side plate LPs in the standing posture extend upright as the upper frame F engaged with the upper frame engaging frame 20 is pulled up from the lower frame B. It is controlled so that it is positioned at the same height as the vertical length and height of the RP.

As described above, as shown in FIG. 7A, the ascending mechanism 2 uses the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'of the left and right side ascending mechanism portions 2L and 2R to form the upper frame F of the folded container C, respectively. Engage close to the left and right side frames F1 and F1'so as to be sandwiched from the left and right sides.

In such a state, even if the container C receives the operating stress of the lid opening mechanism 3 and the side plate locking mechanism 4, which will be described later, the identification position is solid, and the execution of the assembly process by each assembly mechanism 2, 3 and 4 is stabilized. ..

Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the frame elevating bodies 21, 21 while maintaining the engagement state of the left and right upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'with the left and right side frames F1 and F1'. When'is raised, the upper frame F of the container C is pulled up from the lower frame B, and the left and right side plates LP and RP between the upper frame F and the lower frame B are in an upright extended state and can be in an upright posture.

[4] Closure Opening Mechanism Next, a specific configuration of the lid opening mechanism 3 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a schematic front view showing an operating state of the lid opening mechanism, and FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing an inverted operation of the lid receiving claw body of the lid opening mechanism.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 8 (a) and 8 (b), the lid opening mechanism 3 rotates in the vertical direction facing each other at the front and rear side ends of the pair of frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'. A pair of potentially pivotally attached opening arms 30 and 30'and the tip of the arm are pivotally attached so as to be inverted. The left and right side lid opening mechanism portions 3L and 3R are composed of a pair of lid receiving claw bodies 31 and 31'that can support the portions LT10 and LT10'from below.

That is, the left and right side lid opening mechanism portions 3L and 3R can be tilted by the lid opening arms 30 and 30'that are synchronously rotated up and down by the lid opening drive portions 32 and 32'and the tips of the lid opening arms 30 and 30'. It is configured to include lid receiving claw bodies 31, 31'which are pivotally supported by the lid.

The left and right side opening mechanism portions 3L and 3R rotate the lid opening arms 30 and 30'up and down in synchronization with each other, and rotate the lid opening arms 30 and 30'up and down in the above-mentioned left and right side raising mechanism. The frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'of the parts 2L and 2R are interlocked and controlled so as to be synchronized with the vertical elevating operation. The mechanism 2 is configured to simultaneously raise the upper frame F of the folded container C.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lid opening arms 30 and 30'of the left and right lid opening mechanism portions 3L and 3R are located outside the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1 in a plan view, and are front and rear of the central portion in the left and right direction of the stationary portion 1, respectively. Arranged line-symmetrically with respect to the center line extending in the direction (indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6), and as shown in FIG. A pair of left and right sides are provided on the front side, for a total of four.

The pair of lid opening arms 30 and 30'at the front and rear ends of the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'are intended to be relatively opposed to each other on the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1. For example, it also includes a state in which the center point of the stationary portion 1 is arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the center in a plan view. That is, the two opening arms 30 and 30'corresponding to opening the pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT of the container C are at least one on the left and right outer frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'of the container C, respectively. It is in a state of being arranged one by one.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lid opening arms 30 and 30'are rotated up and down at the front and rear outer positions of the container C placed on the stationary portion 1 so as not to interfere with the container C, and when they are rotated up and down. The tip portions 310, 310'of the lid receiving claw bodies 31, 31'are provided on the frame elevating bodies 21, 21'at positions where they interfere with the front and rear end portions of the container C.

That is, for the lid opening arms 30 and 30', the total rotation radius of each other is set to be equal to or less than the length of the front-rear edge of the stationary portion 1, and the mutual rotation direction (tangential direction due to rotation) is set to the front-rear direction of the stationary portion 1. The frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'are arranged on the outside of the side end portion so as to be parallel to the left and right side directions of the stationary portion 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the lid receiving claw bodies 31 and 31'are at positions where the tip portions 310 and 310'overlap the front and rear end portions of the stationary portion 1, that is, the left and right upper lid LTs of the container C stationary in the stationary portion 1. , RT is attached to the tip of the lid opening arms 30 and 30'at a position overlapping the front and rear side edges LT10 and LT10'of the free end portion of the RT and so that the inverted displacement direction is along the front and rear side direction of the stationary portion 1.

That is, the lid receiving claw bodies 31 and 31'have their tip portions 310 and 310'directed to the inside of the stationary portion 1 and the inverted displacement direction is orthogonal to the rotational displacement direction of the lid opening arms 30 and 30'. It is pivotally installed at the tip of 30, 30'.

The pair of lid opening arms 30 and 30'in such a relative arrangement relationship are provided at the side ends of the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, respectively. It can be rotated in the vertical direction by the driving force of the driving units 32 and 32'.

The lid-opening drive units 32 and 32'are drive motors 320 and 320' having drive shafts 321 and 321' that rotate synchronously, and the axial direction of the drive shafts 321 and 321'is the front-rear side direction of the stationary unit 1. Four of them are arranged at the left and right side ends of the upper horizontal frame portions 211a and 211a'of the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'with the shaft tips facing outward.

As shown in FIG. 8B, the lid-opening drive unit 32 is a foldable container C placed on the stationary unit 1 at the lowermost rotation position in which the lid-opening arms 30 and 30'are in the inverted posture. Below the front and rear side edges LT10 and LT10'of the free ends of the left and right upper lids LT and RT, the tip portions 310 and 310'of the lid receiving claw bodies 31 and 31'at the tips of the lid opening arms 30 and 30'are positioned. Is controlled.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8A, the lid opening drive unit 32 is an assembled container C mounted on the stationary unit 1 at the uppermost rotation position in which the lid opening arms 30 and 30'are in the standing posture. Is controlled so as to erect each other's opening arms 30 and 30'at an expanding angle that secures a path for moving from the stationary portion 1 in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), the lid-opening drive units 32 and 32'synchronize the operations of the lid-opening arms 30 and 30', and the lid-opening arms 30 and 30'are used. It is controlled so that it is rotated downward to be in a prone position and is displaced upward to be in an upright posture.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8A, the ascending mechanism 2 rotates the lid opening arms 30 and 30'to the lowermost position in the descending posture in which the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'of the ascending mechanism 2 are in the most descending position. The lid opening arms 30 and 30'are rotated upward as the frame elevating body 21 moves up, and the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21' are raised to the maximum as shown in FIG. 8 (b). In the ascending posture state at the position, the lid opening drive units 32 and 32'are placed via the elevating drive unit 26 and the control unit so that the lid opening arms 30 and 30'are positioned at the uppermost rotation position to be in the standing posture state. It is configured in synchronization with each other.

As a result, the cycle time of the container assembly process can be shortened by eliminating the time lag between the left and right side plate erecting process of the container C by the raising mechanism 2 and the opening process of the container C by the lid opening mechanism 3. ..

As shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), the lid opening arms 30 and 30'are substantially L-shaped plates in the side view, and are substantially circular arms corresponding to the short sides of the L-shape. The bases 300, 300'and the arm main bodies 301, 301', which are substantially long strips corresponding to the L-shaped long sides, are provided.

The lid opening arm 30 rotates integrally with the drive shaft 321 by connecting the plate surface to the front-rear side direction of the stationary portion 1 and connecting the plate surface to the drive shaft 321 of the lid opening drive unit 32 at the arm base 300, and the arm The rotation direction of the main body 301 (tangential direction due to rotation) is directed to the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8A, the lengths of the pair of left and right lid-opening arms facing each other are such that the lid-opening drive units 32 rotate the lid-opening arms 30 and 30'downward to each other and take a lying posture. In this case, the lengths at which the tip portions 310 and 310'of the lid receiving claw bodies 31 and 31'are positioned below the front and rear side edge portions LT10 and LT10'of the left and right upper lids LT and RT of the folded container C. It is said.

As shown in FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (c), the lid receiving claw body 31 is pivotally supported on a bearing 33 attached to the tip of the lid opening arm 30 at a base 312 via a pivot 34 so as to be tilted backward. There is.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9 (a) to 9 (c), the lid receiving claw body 31 is a hook-shaped member having a predetermined thickness and having a substantially Z-shaped side view, and the left and right upper lids LT and RT. It has a tip portion 310 on which the tip portion 310 is placed, an upright portion 311 extending downward from the base end of the tip portion 310, and a base portion 312 extending from the lower end of the upright portion 311 in a direction opposite to the extending direction of the tip portion 310. It is composed of.

As shown in FIGS. 9 (b) and 9 (c), the tip portion 310 of the lid receiving claw body 31 has an upper surface 310a in an upright posture state of the lid receiving claw body 31 (the upright portion 311 of the lid receiving claw body 31 is substantially abbreviated). It is formed on a flat surface so as to be a horizontal surface in a vertical posture), and the left and right upper lids LT and RT of the container C can be placed. Further, the tip portion 310 of the lid receiving claw body 31 is formed on a vertical surface in which the rear surface 310b is orthogonal to the upper surface 310a and is connected to the outer surface of the upright portion 311.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the base portion 312 of the lid receiving claw body 31 has a flat surface whose lower surface 312a is parallel to the upper surface 310a of the tip portion 310 and whose rear end edge 312b is rotated by the pivot 34. It is formed in a semicircular arc on the side along the trajectory. The rear portion 312c of the base portion 312 of the lid receiving claw body 31 forms the central position of the virtual circle formed by the side view semi-arc shape of the rear end edge 312b in the side view at the pivot portion through which the pivot 34 is inserted.

The bearing 33 has an upward open U-shape in a cross-sectional view, and is formed on a flat surface with an inner bottom surface 330a. It has left and right side wall portions 331, 331', which are erected in.

That is, in the lid receiving claw body 31, the base portion 312 is arranged between the left and right side wall portions 331 and 331'with respect to the bearing 33, and the bearing 33 is formed on the lower surface 312a of the base portion 312. In a state of being in surface contact with the inner bottom surface 330a of the bottom side wall portion 330, the bearing 33 is pivotally attached to the left and right side wall portions 331 and 331'by the rear portion 312c of the base portion 312 via the pivot shaft 34.

As a result, the lid receiving claw body 31 is supported by the bearing 33 by engaging the lower surface 312a of the base portion 312 with the inner bottom surface 330a of the bearing 33 in a surface contact manner, and makes the upper surface 310a of the tip portion 310 horizontal. Be in an upright position. On the other hand, when an upward stress is applied to the tip portion 310, the lid receiving claw body 31 rotates backward about the pivot 34, and the lower surface 312a of the base portion separates from the inner bottom surface 330a of the bearing 33 and moves rearward. It becomes a leaning posture.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (c), the lid receiving claw body 31 has free ends of the pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT as the pair of lid opening arms 30 and 30'rotate downward. The claw body is urged to rotate in a state where an upward reaction force is applied to the front and rear side edge portions LT10 and LT10'from above, and to take a tilted posture, and to return to a standing posture when there is no upward reaction force. It has means 35.

The claw body urging means 35 puts the lid receiving claw body 31 in a tilted posture when an upward reaction force is applied to the tip portion 310 of the lid receiving claw body 31, and the lid receiving claw body when there is no upward reaction force. Anything can be used as long as it can give an urging force to return the 31 to the standing posture.

The claw body urging means 35 may be, for example, an elastic body such as a spring, a leaf spring, or a resin, or a drive cylinder, and the lid receiving claw body is formed by making the weight of the tip portion 310 larger than that of the upright portion 311 or the base portion 312. The center of gravity may be arranged at the tip portion 310 of the 31 so as to be eccentric toward the tip portion side with reference to the shaft attachment position.

The claw body urging means 35 of this embodiment is a pressing spring cylinder 350 including a pressing rod 352 that is constantly externally urged by an internally fitted spring 351. The pressing spring cylinder 350 is used as a bearing 33 and a lid receiving claw body 31. It is installed between the two.

Specifically, the pressing spring cylinder 350 presses the tip of the pressing rod 352 against the rear surface 310b of the tip portion 310 of the lid receiving claw body 31 and fixes it to the rear upper surface of the bearing 33, thereby fixing the bearing 33 and the lid receiving claw body 31. It is installed between the two.

As a result, when the tip portion 310 of the lid receiving claw body 31 interferes with the left and right upper lids LT and RT of the container C on the lower surface due to the downward rotational displacement of the lid opening arm 30, as shown in FIG. 9A. An upward reaction force is applied from the left and right upper lids LT and RT against the contractile elastic force of the spring 351 to cause a tilted posture in which the spring 351 rotates backward around the pivot 34 and tilts backward.

At this time, the lid receiving claw body 31 resisted the urging force of the claw body urging means 35 while sliding the tip surface of the tip portion 310 to the outer surfaces of the left and right upper lids LT, the front and rear side edge portions LT10, and RT10 of the RT. While receiving the upward reaction force, the leaning posture is maintained and the front and rear side edges are directed toward the lower positions of the LT10 and RT10.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9B, the lid receiving claw body 31 is constantly subjected to an outward pushing force from the rear end to the tip of the tip portion 310 by the contractile elastic force of the spring 351 via the pressing rod 352. Then, the upper surface 310a of the tip portion 310 is rotated about the pivot 34 to be in an upright posture.

That is, when the tip portion 310 of the lid receiving claw body 31 is fitted into the finger locking recess F20 below the front and rear side edge portions LT10 and RT10 and the upward reaction force from the front and rear side edge portions LT10 and RT10 disappears, the lid receiving claw body 31 The body 31 returns to the standing posture by the urging force of the claw body urging means 35.

As shown in FIG. 9 (c), the lid receiving claw body 31 in the standing posture in which the tip portion 310 is positioned below the front and rear side edge portions LT10 and RT10 has the left and right upper lid LTs as the lid opening arm 30 rotates upward. , The upper surface 310a of the tip portion 310 can be abutted and engaged with the lower surfaces of the front and rear side edge portions LT10 and RT10 of the RT, and the left and right upper lids LT and RT can be supported downward.

In this way, the lid opening mechanism 3 is set to the lid opening posture by rotating the left and right upper lids LT and RT in the lid closing posture outward by the lid opening arms 30 and 30'of the left and right side lid opening mechanism portions 3L and 3R, respectively. The opening step of the container C for opening the upper opening F3 of the frame F is carried out. As shown in FIG. 8B, the left and right upper lids LT and RT in the open lid posture are held in the outwardly inclined open posture by the left and right upper lid receiving stays 212 and 212'.

[5] Side plate locking mechanism Next, a specific configuration of the side plate locking mechanism 4 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the side plate locking mechanism, FIG. 11 is an enlarged front view showing the configuration of the side plate locking mechanism, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are schematic side views showing the operating state of the side plate locking mechanism.

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 (b), the side plate locking mechanism 4 is arranged on the support frame 40 arranged above the stationary portion 1 and the support frame 40, and descends from the support frame 40 to the inside of the container C. The arm guide body 41 made possible, the pair of front and rear link rods 42a and 42b whose base ends are rotatably supported at the center of the support frame 40 in the front and rear direction, and the tips of the pair of front and rear link rods 42a and 42b. A pair of front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b, each of which is rotatably supported at the ends and rotatably supported at the front and rear ends of the arm guide body 41, respectively. It constitutes 4F and 4B.

That is, the front-rear side plate lock mechanism portions 4F and 4B are configured to include front-rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b that swing in synchronization with the link rods 42a and 42b on the arm guide body 41 that moves up and down by the elevating drive unit 44. ing.

The support frame 40 is configured by fixing a plan-viewing rectangular plate-shaped base 400 to the center of the upper surface of the base frame 60a shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and the central portion of the square frame 60 below the support frame 40 is described above. The stationary portion 1 is arranged as per the street.

As shown in FIG. 10, the support frame 40 is provided with an elevating drive unit 44 that allows the arm guide body 41 to be lowered. That is, the arm guide body 41 is configured to be able to move up and down by the raising and lowering power of the raising and lowering drive unit 44.

The elevating drive unit 44 may be, for example, a drive cylinder or the like as long as it can apply elevating power to the arm guide body 41. As shown in FIG. 11, the elevating drive unit 44 of this embodiment is a drive motor 440, and the drive shaft 441 is arranged on the base 400 of the support frame 40 in the left-right direction of the stationary unit 1.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the arm guide body 41 is a skeleton having a U-shape open downward in a cross-sectional view and a substantially convex shape in a side view, and corresponds to the upper and lower horizontal sides of the U-shape and is arranged at regular intervals. It has left and right side wall portions 410 and 410', and an upper side wall portion 411 that corresponds to a U-shaped vertical side and extends between the upper ends of the left and right side wall portions 410 and 410'.

A bearing 450 in which the tip of the connecting rod 45, which will be described later, is pivotally mounted is mounted on the central portion of the upper side wall portion 411 of the arm guide body 41.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 (b), a crankshaft 46 is pivotally attached to the tip of the drive shaft 441 of the drive motor 440 so as to be integrally rotatable with the drive shaft 441.

The crankshaft 46 has 45 connecting rods whose base end is rotatably pivotally attached to the tip of the drive shaft 441 of the drive motor 440 and whose tip is inserted into the insertion slot 401 of the base 400 as shown in FIG. It is rotatably pivoted to the end.

The tip of the connecting rod 45 is rotatably pivotally attached to the bearing 450 at the base end of the arm guide body 41. That is, the arm guide body 41 is linked to the elevating drive unit 44 via the crank structure of the crankshaft 46 and the connecting rod 45.

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 (b), two elevating guide shafts 47a and 47b are erected at the front and rear ends of the upper side wall portion 411 of the arm guide body 41.

Further, two shaft insertion holes are provided on the front and rear sides of the upper surface of the base 400 of the support frame 40, and the guide bushes 48a, which communicate with the shaft insertion holes and correspond to the elevating guide shafts 47a and 47b, are inserted into the elevating guide shafts 47a and 47b. 48b is erected. That is, the arm guide body 41 is guided in the vertical direction via the elevating guide structure of the elevating guide shafts 47a and 47b and the guide bushes 48a and 48b.

As described above, the arm guide body 41 transmits the driving force from the elevating drive unit 44 via the crank structure by the crankshaft 46 and the connecting rod 45, and the elevating guide structure by the elevating guide shafts 47a and 47b and the guide bushes 48a and 48b. It is converted into elevating power so that it can descend from the support frame 40 toward the central portion of the stationary portion 1.

The elevating drive unit 44 sets the descent distance from the highest ascending position to the lowest descent position of the arm guide body 41 to a distance that does not interfere with the bottom of the container C, and sets the pair of front and rear parts pivotally attached to the arm guide body 41. When the side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b swing and displace in the separation direction as the arm guide body 41 descends, the length between the tips of the pair of front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b is the length in the front-rear direction of the container C. It is controlled so that it is less than or equal to.

That is, in the elevating drive unit 44, at the highest position of the arm guide body 41, the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are bent so that the arm guide body 41 and the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b do not interfere with the container C. Positioning, at the most lowered position of the arm guide body 41, the front / rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are controlled to be positioned in the front / rear position when the front / rear side plates of the container C are in the upright posture in the extended form.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 12A to 13B, a pair of link rods 42a and 42b are provided at the center of the base 400 of the support frame 40 when viewed from the side and below the left and right ends when viewed from the front. Two rotatably pivotally supported bearings 420 and 420'are vertically installed on the left and right sides of the arm guide body 41.

In one bearing 420, as shown in FIG. 11, two link rods 42a and 42b have different tip directions, and the base end can be rotated so that the swing direction is along the front-rear side direction of the stationary portion 1. Be worn. That is, a pair of front and rear link rods 42a and 42b form a pair and are pivotally attached to the bearings 420 and 420'of the two support frames so as to be rotatable at the left and right outer positions of the arm guide body 41. Has been done.

The two link rods pivotally attached to one bearing 420 so as to be rotatable at the base end have an anterior link rod 42a whose tip is directed toward the front side of the stationary portion 1 and a tip end toward the rear side of the stationary portion 1, respectively. It is composed of a rear link rod 42b that is directed, and a pair of front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are pivotally attached to the tip thereof, respectively, so that the base ends can be rotated.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 (a) to 13 (b), one front / rear side plate pressing arm 43a is a flat plate member having a substantially L-shaped side view, and has L-shaped short side portions 430a and L. It has a character long side portion 431a.

As shown in FIG. 12A, the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b have the L-shaped short side portions 430a and 430b with the tips of the L-shaped short side portions 430a and 430b facing downward at the raised position of the arm guide body 41, and the L-shaped long side portions 431a and 431b. The base end is rotatably pivotally attached to the tip of the link rods 42a and 42b via the rotation shafts 433a and 433b, and the middle portion is attached to the left and right side wall portions 410 and 410'lower front and rear side ends of the arm guide body 41. It is pivotally attached rotatably via the rotation shafts 434a and 434b.

That is, the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are the link rods 42a and 42b rotatably fixed to the bearing 420 at the base end via the pivot, respectively, and the rotation of the front and rear side ends of the arm guide body 41 that moves up and down. It is linked to the support frame 40 and the arm guide body 41 by a link structure including the moving shafts 434a and 434b.

In other words, the front and rear side plate locking mechanism portions 4F and 4B have front and rear side plate pressing portions 40F and 40R that operate so as to press the front and rear side plates by the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b and the link rods 42a and 42b, respectively. The front and rear side plate pressing portions 40F and 40R are configured to expand and contract according to the ascending / descending operation of the arm guide body 41.

The front-rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are shown by a alternate long and short dash line in a virtual center line extending in the center in the front-rear side direction of the arm guide body 41 as shown in FIG. 12A in a side view. .) Is placed at the front-back side position that is line-symmetrical. Further, the front-rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are line-symmetrical with respect to the virtual center line (indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 11) extending at the center in the left-right side direction of the arm guide body 41 in the front view. It is placed in the side position.

That is, a total of four front and rear side plate pressing arms are provided, that is, a pair of left and right arms 43a and 43a'on the front side of the stationary portion 1 and a pair of left and right arms 43b and 43b'on the rear side of the stationary portion 1. ..

The "pair" of the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b also includes an arm facing state in which the front and rear side plates are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center point of the stationary portion 1 in a plan view in a relative arrangement relationship. In short, at least one front / rear side plate pressing arm corresponding to each of the pair of front / rear side plate FPs and BPs may be arranged on the arm guide body 41 on the front / rear side.

The L-shaped short side portions 430a and 430b of the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b rotate outward in the front-rear side direction of the stationary portion 1 as the arm guide body 41 descends from the ascending position. It functions as a pressing portion that draws a locus and abuts and presses against the inner side surfaces of a pair of front and rear side plates FP and BP.

When the arm guide body 41 is in the raised position, as shown in FIG. 12A, the link rods 42a and 42b are in an expanded posture in which the tip directions of the link rods 42a and 42b are directed outward in the front-rear side direction of the stationary portion 1. The front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are pulled upward by the arm guide body 41 in the middle portion, and the tip portions 49a and 49b are in a folded posture with the tip portions 49a and 49b facing downward. That is, in the side plate locking mechanism 4, at the highest position of the arm guide body 41, the front and rear side plate pressing portions 40F and 40R by the link rods 42a and 42b and the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are in a bent contraction posture.

On the other hand, when the arm guide body 41 descends from the ascending position, the link rods 42a and 42b are rotationally displaced as shown in FIGS. 12 (b) to 13 (b) to be in a downward extension posture. Along with this, the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are swung downward in the front-rear direction and outward so that the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are rotationally displaced via the rotation shafts 434a and 434b of the arm guide body 41 and are in the expanded posture. conduct. That is, the side plate lock mechanism 4 takes the front / rear side plate pressing portions 40F and 40R by the link rods 42a and 42b and the front / rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b in the expanded / extended posture at the most lowered position of the arm guide body 41.

As shown in FIGS. 12 (b) to 13 (b), the downward swing loci of the tip portions 49a and 49b of the front-rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b accompanying the lowering operation of the arm guide body 41 are shown in the front-rear side plate pressing arms 43a. , A curve is drawn from the upper side to the lower side along the downward rotation locus of 43b toward the outside in the front-rear direction of the stationary portion 1.

The tip portions 49a and 49b of the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are provided with a buffer to prevent the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b from being inadvertently damaged when they come into contact with the inner surfaces of the front and rear side plate FPs and BPs. In this embodiment, elastic resin rotating rollers 490a and 490b are used.

The rotary rollers 490a and 490b are rotatably pivotally attached to the tips of the front-rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b so that the rotation direction (tangential direction) rotates along the front-rear side direction of the stationary portion 1, and the roller surface is rotatably attached to the front-rear side plates. It is a pressing surface of the pressing arms 43a and 43b. The rotary rollers 490a and 490b have a drive source such as a drive motor and drive in the direction of pushing down the front and rear side plates FP and BP, that is, in the direction opposite to the downward rotation direction of the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b to be pressed. It may be configured to rotate.

In this way, the side plate locking mechanism 4 controls the downward movement of the arm guide body 41 in the front and rear side plate locking mechanism portions 4F and 4B by moving the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b via the link rods 42a and 42b. It is converted into a swing along the downward rotation locus of the FP and BP.

That is, when the elevating drive unit 44 is driven, the arm guide body 41 is opened by the lid opening mechanism 3 and the left and right side plates LP and RP are opened by the elevating mechanism 2 as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b). The lowering operation is performed through a crank structure including a connecting rod 45 and a crankshaft 46, and an elevating guide structure including elevating guide shafts 47a and 47b and guide bushes 48a and 48b toward the inside of the container C in which the erection is made.

As the arm guide body 41 descends, the pair of front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b have a link structure including link rods 42a and 42b and rotation shafts 434a and 434b at the front and rear side ends of the arm guide body 41. It expands and swings so as to separate from each other through.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 12 (b) to 13 (a), the tips 49a and 49b of the pair of front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b are in contact with the inner side surfaces of the front and rear side plates FP and BP, respectively. Draw a downward swing trajectory toward the outside.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 13A, the front and rear side plates FP and BP stand up between the upper frame F and the lower frame B by engaging the lower end portions with the front and rear side frames B2 and B2'of the lower frame B. The state is maintained, and the assembly form of the container C is completed. In this way, the side plate lock mechanism 4 executes the front-rear side plate standing step.

After executing the front-rear side plate erecting step, the front-rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b draw a locus opposite to the downward swing locus as the arm guide body 41 rises as shown in FIG. 13B. However, it is in a folded position at the upper position.

That is, when the elevating drive unit 44 is driven, the arm guide body 41 ascends from the inside of the container C in which the left and right side plates LP and RP and the front and rear side plates FP and BP are erected via the crank structure and the elevating guide structure.

Then, as the arm guide body 41 rises, the pair of front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b contract and swing so as to approach each other via the link structure.

In this way, the side plate lock mechanism 4 accommodates and arranges the arm guide body 41 and the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b at the upper position of the container C assembled by the stationary portion 1, so that the side plate lock mechanism 4 is arranged in the front-rear direction of the stationary portion 1. In the above, the container C in the assembled form can be taken out from the front side of the stationary portion 1, and the container C in the next folded form can be placed in the stationary portion 1 from the rear side of the stationary portion 1.

[6] Transport Mechanism Next, the configuration of the transport mechanism 5 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 14 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the transport mechanism, and FIG. 15 is an upward perspective view showing the configuration of the transport mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport mechanism 5 has a container stationary means 51 for forming a stationary portion 1 at a predetermined position on a transport surface 50 for transporting a folded container C, and has a lifting mechanism 2 and a lid opening mechanism. The container C assembled by the 3 and the side plate lock mechanism 4 can be transported to the lower side of the stationary portion 1.

The transport mechanism 5 is attached to the horizontal frame portion 62 horizontally laid at the center of the base frame 6 at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction, and the container C is provided by a drive conveyor 52 having a horizontal transport surface 50 on the upper surface. Is configured to be transportable.

The drive conveyor 52 may be a belt conveyor capable of driving and transporting the folded or assembled container C from the upper side to the lower side, for example. The drive conveyor 52 of this embodiment employs a pair of left and right chain Kovea 520, 520'.

That is, the drive conveyors 52 are laid in parallel at regular intervals in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and have a drive source and move in the transport direction as a pair of left and right chain coveyors 520, 520', which are the same pair. The virtual plane formed by the upper surfaces of the chain cobears 520 and 520'is the transport surface 50. The pair of chain Kovea 520 and 520'are rotationally driven by being wound around a drive source provided at a predetermined position of the base frame 6 in an endless manner.

The container stationary means 51 may be any as long as it can form the stationary portion 1 by imposing the foldable container C in the central portion of the square frame 60. For example, a lift that moves the container C upward from the drive conveyor 52 or a control unit that intermittently stops the drive conveyor 52 may be used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 14, the container stationary means 51 of this embodiment is composed of a pair of front and rear container stoppers 510a and 510b that can move up and down from the transport surface 50. As shown in FIG. 14, the container stopper 510a is a claw body having a substantially trapezoidal shape as shown in FIG. 14, and is pivotally attached to a bearing 513a provided at a position below the transport surface 50 so as to be vertically rotatable at the base end. .. Further, the container stopper 510 is configured to rotate up and down by a drive source such as a drive motor.

There are two container stoppers 510a and 510b on the left and right sides between the pair of left and right chain koveas 520 and 520'in front view, and at positions near the front and rear ends of the square frame 60 in side view as shown in FIG. Two, a total of four, are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 14, the pair of front and rear container stoppers 510a and 510b have their respective engaging surfaces 511a and 511b as vertical surfaces facing each other in the transport direction in an upright posture exposed above the transport surface 50. That is, the container stoppers 510a and 510b in the standing posture abut and engage with the outer surfaces of the front and rear frames B2 and B2'of the lower frame B of the container C transported from the upper side to regulate the container transport by the drive conveyor 52. ..

On the other hand, the pair of front and rear container stoppers 510a and 510b are prevented from interfering with the container C to be transported in the laid-down posture buried below the transport surface 50.

As shown in FIG. 14, the distance between the pair of front and rear container stoppers 510a and 510b is such that the distance between the engaging surfaces 511a and 511b exposed above the transport surface 50 is equal to or greater than the front and rear length of the container C. I am trying to do it.

The container stationary means 51 is controlled so as to be interlocked with the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4, and when the folded container C is conveyed, the pair of front and rear container stoppers 510a and 510b are in an upright posture. Then, the engaging surfaces 511a and 511b exposed above the transport surface 50 engage with the container C to stop the container C and form the stationary portion 1 (stationary surface 10) on the transport surface 50.

On the other hand, when the container C is assembled by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 in the stationary portion 1, the container stoppers 510a and 510b are in an inverted posture and are buried below the transport surface 50. The container C is grounded on the drive conveyor 52 so that the container C can be transported to the downstream side of the stationary portion 1.

In this way, the transport mechanism 5 installs the foldable container C transported from the upstream side in the stationary portion 1 formed by the container stationary means 51, and reliably performs the assembly process by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3, and 4. It can be carried out, and the container C in the folded form to the assembled form can be carried out sequentially and continuously.

The transport mechanism 5 has the next folded form until the folded container C emplaced by the stationary portion 1 is assembled by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 and transported to the downstream side. The next container stopping means 55, which stops and waits for the container C on the front side of the container setting means 51, is placed in the middle of the transport direction between the uppermost side in the transport direction and the container stationary means 51 as shown in FIG. Have. The next container stopping means 55 is configured by a plate-shaped next container stopper 550 that can move up and down from the transport surface 50 by a drive source such as a drive motor, and the engaging surface faces the lower side in the transport direction. ..

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the transport mechanism 5 holds a pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT rotated in the lid opening direction by the lid opening mechanism 3 at a position higher than the height of the upper frame F of the container C. In addition, it has a pair of lid closing guides 53, 53'that gradually narrow the distance between each other and extend from the arrangement position of the lid opening mechanism 3 to the lower side in the transport direction.

The container C, which is stationary in the stationary portion 1 and transformed from the folded form to the assembled form by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4, has a cover in which the pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT are opened and the upper opening F3 is opened. The delivery is in storage.

For example, it is not possible to prevent dust from entering the container C of the assembled form during transportation, or the delivery direction is lower than that of the stationary portion 1 by a delivery storage device or a worker who stores the delivered object inside the container C of the assembled form. When the delivered goods storage means is arranged on the side, it is necessary to close the container C, and therefore, a pair of left and right closing lids so as to form a narrow portion on the lower side than the delivered goods storage means. The guides 53 and 53'are hung side by side from the base frame 6 while maintaining a constant height and a constant interval.

The lid closing guides 53 and 53'are elongated steel rods having a predetermined length and having a circular cross-sectional view, and are elongated in a straight line arranged on the left and right outer sides of the stationary portion 1 as shown in FIG. The base end straight portion 530, 530'and the inclined portion 531 and 513', which are arranged on the lower side of the stationary portion 1 and bend at the tip of the proximal straight portion 530, 530'and extend in a short shape in an inclined manner, and the stationary portion. It has a tip straight portion 532, 532'arranged on the lower side of 1 and bent at the tip of the inclined portion 531 and 513'and extended shortly in parallel with the proximal straight portion 530, 530'.

As shown in FIG. 15, the pair of left and right closing guides 53, 53'have their tip straight portions 532 and 532' facing each other inside the transport surface 50, and are centered in the width direction of the transport surface 50 along the transport direction. By arranging the extending transport center line (indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 15) in a line-symmetrical manner, the inclined portions 531 and 513'and the tip straight portion 532 and 532' facing each other are located on the lower side in the transport direction. A closed lid portion 54 (a portion surrounded by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 15) is formed in which the interval is gradually narrowed along the line.

The distance between the lid closing guides 53 and 53'is such that the inclined portions 531, 513'and the tip straight portions 532 and 532' do not interfere with the left and right upper lids LT and RT, respectively, that is, the left and right between the lid closing portions 54. The upper lid LT and RT are set at intervals that allow the lid to be closed freely.

Further, the height positions of the lid closing guides 53 and 53'are higher than the height of the upper frame F, and the left and right upper lids LT and RT are rotationally displaced at positions outside the left and right sides of the upper frame F. The left and right upper lids LT and RT are positioned to be supported downward above the upper frame F.

Further, the lid closing guides 53 and 53'may be composed of the left and right upper lid receiving stays 212 and 212'of the base end straight portions 530 and 530' that extend on the left and right sides of the stationary portion 1, and the raising mechanism 2 May be configured to be connected to the lower side portion of the base end straight portion 530, 530'and the inclined portions 531 and 513'in the state where is in the uppermost position.

In this way, the transport mechanism 5 has a pair of left and right upper lids that are rotated in the lid opening direction by the lid opening mechanism 3 by a pair of lid closing guides 53, 53'arranged on the left and right sides in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the transport direction. While maintaining the LT and RT at a position higher than the height of the upper frame F, the upper opening of the container C in the assembled form is kept open, and a pair is carried along with the transport operation to the downstream side of the installation surface of the container in the assembled form. While sliding the left and right upper lids, they are rotated in the closing direction by the closing portion 54 of the narrow portion to put the left and right upper lids LT and RT in the closing posture and close the upper opening of the container.

[7] Description of Electrical Configuration and Operation of Automatic Container Assembly Device Next, the electrical configuration and operation of this device A will be described. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the present device, and FIG. 17 is a flow diagram showing the operation of the present device. For example, the apparatus A interlocks and controls the operations of the mechanisms 2, 3, 4, and 5 by the following control unit 70 to execute an assembly step of transforming the container from the folded form to the assembled form. The control unit 70 is also intended to be configured by attaching a sensor for confirming the position and shape of the container to the stationary unit 1 and each mechanism unit 2, 3, 4, 5, and interlocking the operation correspondence of each.

As shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 70 includes a slide drive unit 24 and an elevating drive unit 26 of the ascending mechanism 2, an opening drive unit 32 of the lid opening mechanism 3, an elevating drive unit 44 of the side plate lock mechanism 4, and a transport mechanism 5. It is connected to the container stationary means 51, the drive conveyor 52, the next container stopping means 55, the container sensor 56 provided at a predetermined position of the apparatus A, and the operation panel 74, and is referred to according to the execution status of the program in the control unit 70. Or, it is configured to be controlled and driven.

Further, the control unit 70 is provided with a CPU 71, a ROM 72, a RAM 73, and the like inside, and can execute a program necessary for operating the present device A. The RAM 73 stores various tables that define the operating speeds and start-up timings of the drive units and means in the mechanisms 2, 3, 4, and 5. For example, as the table stored in the RAM 73, a table for synchronizing the operations of the respective drive units, such as rotating the lid opening drive unit 32 upward at the timing when the elevating drive unit 26 starts ascending, is stored. Further, the ROM 72 stores a program or the like necessary for the processing of the CPU 71. By such a control unit 70, each mechanism 2, 3, 4, 5 operates as follows in order to execute an assembly process for the folded container C.

First, when the folded container C is transported from the upper side of the transport mechanism 5, the control unit 70 that receives the container approach signal from the container sensor 56 operates on the container stationary means 51 of the transport mechanism 5. A signal is transmitted to operate the container stationary means 51, and the container stoppers 510a and 510b are changed from the inverted posture in which the container stoppers 510a and 510b are buried below the transport surface 50 to the upright posture exposed above the transport surface 50 (step S10).

By executing step S10, the container stoppers 510a and 510b are in an upright position on the front and rear sides of the folded container C so that they can be engaged with the front and rear frames B2 and B2'of the lower frame B of the folded container C and transported. The stationary portion 1 is formed on the surface 50. In step S10, the front container stopper 510 is first erected, then the container stopper 510'is erected, and the folded container C is positioned between the front and rear container stoppers 510a and 510b. Further, in step S10, the front and rear container stoppers 510a and 510b maintain the standing posture.

Further, the control unit 70 transmits an operation signal to the next container stopping means 55 of the transport mechanism 5 in synchronization with step S10 to interlock the next container stopping means 55, and the next container stopper 550 is buried below the transport surface 50. The posture is changed from the laid-down posture to the standing posture exposed upward from the transport surface 50 (step S11).

By executing step S11, as shown in FIG. 14, the foldable container C, which is sequentially transported from the upper side in the transport direction, is stopped by the next container stopper 550 in the upright posture on the transport surface 50, and the lower side thereof. The foldable container C placed in the stationary portion 1 on the side can be assembled by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4. In step S11, the next container stop means 55 maintains the container stop state.

Next, the control unit 70 advances the slide drive unit 24 of the ascending mechanism 2 to bring the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'close to the left and right side frames F1 and F1' (step S20).

By executing step S20, as shown in FIG. 7A, the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'approach the left and right side frames F1 and F1' of the upper frame F, and the engaging protrusions 25 and 25'are recessed. Engage with F10. When the step S20 is executed, the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'are in the lowermost position. Further, in step S20, the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'maintain a state in which the upper frame F is close to the left and right side frames F1 and F1'.

Further, the control unit 70 transmits an operation signal to the lid opening drive unit 32 of the lid opening mechanism 3 in synchronization with step S20, and the lid opening drive unit 32 is interlocked with the slide drive unit 24 to link the lid opening drive units 32 to the lid opening arms 30 and 30. Rotate the'downward from the standing position to the lying position. (Step S21).

By executing step S21, the lid opening arms 30 and 30'change from the standing posture to the lying posture as shown in FIG. 8A, and the tips of the lid opening arms 30 and 30'are changed to the lying posture as shown in FIG. 9B. The tip portions 310 and 310'of the lid receiving claw bodies 31 and 31'are the left and right upper lids LT of the foldable container C, and the front and rear side edge portions LT10 and LT10' of the free ends of the RT. Located in.

Next, the control unit 70 raises the elevating drive unit 26 of the ascending mechanism 2 to raise the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'via the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'(step S30).

By executing step S30, as shown in FIG. 7B, the upper frame F rises from the lower frame B via the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20', and is between the upper frame F and the lower frame B. The left and right plates LP and RP are in an upright and extended posture. In step S30, the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'are maintained in the highest raised position via the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'.

Further, the control unit 70 transmits an operation signal to the lid opening drive unit 32 of the lid opening mechanism 3 in synchronization with step S30, and the lid opening drive unit 32 is interlocked with the elevating drive unit 26 to link the lid opening drive units 32 to the lid opening arms 30 and 30. Rotate the'upward so that it changes from a prone position to an upright position. (Step S31).

By executing step S31, as shown in FIG. 9C, the left and right upper lids LT of the folded container C, the front and rear side edges LT10 and LT10'of the RT are the lid receiving claws at the tips of the lid opening arms 30 and 30'. It is supported downward by the tip portions 310 and 310'of the bodies 31 and 31', and as shown in FIG. The left and right upper lids LT and RT are rotationally displaced upward to change from the closed lid posture to the open lid posture.

That is, since the lid opening mechanism 3 is connected to the raising mechanism 2 and simultaneously raises the upper frame F and opens the left and right upper lids LT and RT, it rotates upward while ascending together with the frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'. The rotation loci of the opening arms 30 and 30'are substantially the same as the rotation loci of the left and right upper lids LT and RT that rise together with the upper frame F in the opening direction. In step S31, the lid opening arms 30 and 30'maintain the standing posture at the uppermost rotation position.

Next, the control unit 70 lowers the elevating drive unit 44 of the side plate lock mechanism 4 and folds the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b toward the front and rear side outwards via the descent of the arm guide body 41, respectively. It swings downward from the posture to the expanded posture (step S40).

By executing step S40, the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b that swing downward as shown in FIGS. 12A to 13B are in the expanded posture, and the tip portions 49a and 49b are the front and rear side plate FP. The BPs are pressed from the inside to the outside, and the front and rear side plates FP and the lower ends of the BP engage with the front and rear side frames B2 and B2'of the lower frame B, respectively.

Through the relative operation by the assembly mechanisms 2, 3 and 4 from step S20 to step S40, the left and right upper lids LT and RT above the upper frame F are rotated outward with respect to the folded container C. The lid opening process to open the lid, the left and right side plate standing process to make the left and right side plates LP and RP upright and extended via the pivot, and the front and rear side plates FP and BP to rotate downward to lower the lower end. The container C in the assembled form is obtained by executing the three assembly steps of the front and rear side plate standing steps of engaging with B and making the standing posture in a self-standing state.

Next, the control unit 70 raises and lowers the elevating drive unit 44 of the side plate lock mechanism 4, and raises the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b from the expanded posture and in the folded posture via the raising of the arm guide body 41. (Step S50). In step S31, the front and rear side plate pressing arms 43a and 43b maintain the folded posture via the arm guide body 41 at the highest position.

Further, the control unit 70 transmits the slide drive unit 24 of the ascending mechanism 2 in synchronization with step S50, and the slide drive unit 24 is interlocked with the ascending operation of the elevating drive unit 26 to move out, so that the upper frame engaging frame 20 and the upper frame engaging frame 20 The 20'is separated from the left and right side frames F1 and F1' of the container C in the assembled form (step S51).

By executing step S51, as shown in FIG. 7A, the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'are separated from the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the upper frame F and the engaging protrusions 25 and 25'and the recesses. The engaged state with F10 is released. In step S20, the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'maintain a separated state from the left and right side frames F1 and F1'of the upper frame F.

Next, the control unit 70 lowers the elevating drive unit 26 of the ascending mechanism 2 to lower the upper frame engaging frames 20 and 20'via the descending frame elevating bodies 21 and 21'(step S60). ..

Further, the control unit 70 transmits an operation signal to the container stationary means 51 of the transport mechanism 5 in synchronization with step S60, and interlocks the container stationary means 51 with the descending operation of the elevating drive unit 26 to move the container stoppers 510a and 510b. The posture is displaced from the standing posture to the lying posture (step S61).

By executing step S61, the engagement state between the container stoppers 510a and 510b of the container stationary means 51 and the container C in the assembled form is released, the stationary portion 1 is restored to the transfer surface 50, and the transfer surface 50 is used to form the assembly form. Conveyor C is conveyed to the downstream side.

Further, the control unit 70 transmits a stop signal to the next container stop means 55 of the transport mechanism 5 in synchronization with steps S60 and S61, and puts the next container stopper 550 of the next container stop means 55 in the prone position (step S62). .. By executing step S62, the container stop state by the next container stop means 55 is released, and the container C in a new folded form is transported to the container stationary means 51.

In the assembled conveyor C, which is conveyed to the downstream side of the stationary portion 1, the pair of left and right upper lids LT and RT are changed from the open lid posture to the closed lid posture by the lid closing guides 53 and 53'regardless of the control unit 70. It may be (step S70).

By repeating each step S10 to S62 in this way, it is possible to continuously carry out the assembling work of the container in which the folded container is assembled by each mechanism.

That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to deal with a folding container with a lid, and the left and right upper lids of the container are opened from the closed posture, and the left and right side plates and the front and rear side plates are displaced from the lying posture to the standing posture to move the container. A series of container assembly processes from the folded form to the assembled form can be carried out at one place at a time, and space can be saved.

A Container automatic assembly device C Folding container with lid 1 Stationary part 2 Lifting mechanism 2L Left side lifting mechanism part 2R Right side lifting mechanism part 3 Opening mechanism 3L Left side opening mechanism part 3R Right side lid opening mechanism part 4 Side plate lock mechanism 4L Front side plate Lock mechanism 4R Rear plate lock mechanism 5 Conveyance mechanism

Claims (8)

A plan-viewing upper frame, a plan-viewing and bottomed lower frame arranged below the upper frame, and a pair of left and right side plates facing each other between the upper frame and the lower frame. A pair of front and rear side plates facing each other in the front-rear direction between the upper frame and the lower frame are provided, and the pair of left and right side plates are rotatably connected to each other on the left and right sides of the upper frame and the lower frame. The pair of front and rear side plates are rotatably connected to each other on the front and rear sides of the upper frame, and the lower end portion is connected to the front and rear of the lower frame. A folding container with a lid comprising a pair of left and right upper lids that are engageable with a side end portion and are rotatably connected to the left and right sides of the upper frame to open and close the upper opening inside the upper frame. Assembly in which the left and right upper lids are in the closed posture and the left and right side plates and the front and rear side plates are in the inverted posture, the left and right upper lids are in the open posture, and the left and right side plates and the front and rear side plates are in the upright posture. It is an automatic container assembly device in the form of
A stationary part for imposing the folding container and
Engage with the left and right side portions of the upper frame of the folding container placed in the stationary portion, raise the upper frame in the direction away from the lower frame, and displace the left and right side plates from the lying posture to the standing posture. Ascending mechanism and
Along with the raising operation of the upper frame by the raising mechanism, the left and right sides are engaged with the front and rear side edges of the pair of free ends of the left and right upper lids in the closed posture of the folding container placed in the stationary portion. An opening mechanism that displaces the upper lid from the closing posture to the opening posture by rotating it in the opening direction,
With the displacement of the opening posture of the pair of left and right upper lids by the lid opening mechanism, the pair of the left and right upper lids intrudes into the inside of the folding container placed in the stationary portion and abuts on the inner side surfaces of the pair of front and rear side plates, and the pair of the above. The front and rear side plates are expanded from the inside to the outside, and the lower ends of the pair of front and rear side plates are engaged with the front and rear end portions of the lower frame, respectively, to displace the pair of front and rear side plates from the lying posture to the standing posture. With a locking mechanism and more
A base frame is arranged around the stationary portion, and the base frame is arranged.
The ascending mechanism is composed of a left-sided ascending mechanism and a right-sided ascending mechanism, which are arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame, respectively.
The lid opening mechanism is composed of a left side lid opening mechanism portion and a right side lid opening mechanism portion arranged on the left and right sides of the base frame, respectively.
The container automatic assembly device is characterized in that the side plate locking mechanism is composed of a front side plate locking mechanism portion and a rear side plate locking mechanism portion arranged in an intermediate upper portion between the left and right side raising mechanism portions of the raising mechanism. The ascending mechanism
A pair of upper frame engaging frames extending along the length of the left and right side portions of the upper frame of the folding container so as to be engaged in close proximity to the left and right side portions of the upper frame.
A pair of frame elevating bodies that are connected to each other at predetermined positions of the pair of upper frame engaging frames and that can be raised and lowered on the left and right sides of the folding container to raise and lower the upper frame engaging frame.
The automatic container assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the left-right side raising mechanism portion is configured by the above method. The automatic container assembly apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the upper frame engaging frame has an engaging projection that is inserted into and engaged with recesses formed at predetermined positions on the left and right side portions of the upper frame. The lid opening mechanism is
A pair of lid opening arms that are pivotally attached so as to face each other at the front and rear side ends of the frame elevating body and rotate in the vertical direction.
A lid claw body that is pivotally attached to the tip of the pair of opening arms so that the front and rear side edges of the free ends of the left and right upper lids of the folding container can be supported from below at the tip.
The automatic container assembly apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the left and right side lid opening mechanism portions are configured by the above method. The lid receiving claws are brought into contact with each other from above the front and rear side edges of the pair of free ends of the left and right upper lids with the downward rotation of the pair of lid opening arms, and an upward reaction force is applied. The automatic container assembly device according to claim 4, further comprising a claw body urging means that rotates in a state to take a tilted posture and returns to a standing posture in a state where there is no upward reaction force. The side plate locking mechanism
A support frame arranged above the stationary portion and
An arm guide body disposed on the support frame and capable of descending from the support frame to the inside of the folding container.
A pair of link rods whose base ends are rotatably supported at the center of the support frame in the front-rear direction,
The base ends are rotatably pivotally supported by the tips of the pair of link rods, and the middle portions are rotatably pivotally supported by the front and rear ends of the arm guide body as the arm guide body descends. A pair of front and rear side plate pressing arms that swing back and forth in the direction away from each other to press the pair of front and rear side plates downward from the inside to the outside.
The automatic container assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the front and rear side plate lock mechanism portion is configured by the above method. It has a container stationary means for forming the stationary portion at a predetermined position on a transport surface for transporting the foldable container, and is assembled by the ascending mechanism, the lid opening mechanism, and the side plate locking mechanism. The automatic container assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a transport mechanism capable of transporting the folded container to the lower side of the stationary portion. The transport mechanism moves from the arrangement position of the lid opening mechanism to the transport direction so as to hold the pair of left and right upper lids rotated in the lid opening direction by the lid opening mechanism at a position higher than the height of the upper frame. The automatic container assembly apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a pair of closing guides that gradually narrow the distance between the two and extend toward the lower side.

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