JP2022173902A - Article accumulator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article accumulator adapted to prevent the occurrence of great line pressure on an article supply conveyor while suppressing the positional collapse of an article on an arraying conveyor.SOLUTION: An article accumulator 10 comprises: an article supply conveyor 12 that supplies an article M; an article arraying conveyor 14 that receives articles M in units of a predetermined number from the article supply conveyor 12 and arrays and accumulates the articles M while carrying them; a transfer device 16 that transfers the articles M on the article supply conveyor 12 in units of the predetermined number onto the article arraying conveyor 14; and a takeout device 18 that takes the articles M accumulated on the article arraying conveyor 14 out of the article arraying conveyor 14. The transfer device 16, when transferring the articles M onto the article arraying conveyor 14, shifts transfer positions P1-P5 downstream by a predetermined distance each time transferring the predetermined number of articles M onto the article arraying conveyor 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an article stacking apparatus that transfers a predetermined number of articles from an article supply conveyor to an article alignment conveyor on the side and stacks articles in predetermined rows and columns on the article alignment conveyor.

After the containers continuously conveyed in one line on the article supply conveyor are dammed by a stopper and accumulated in a predetermined number in the accumulation section of the article supply conveyor, the accumulated predetermined number of containers are continuously traveled laterally by a pusher. There is known an article stacking and aligning device that stacks and aligns containers in a predetermined row and a predetermined column on an article aligning conveyor by sequentially pushing the containers to predetermined positions on the aligning conveyor (Patent Document 1). However, in the article accumulating and aligning apparatus of Patent Document 1, the containers accumulated in the accumulating portion on the article supply conveyor cannot be pushed out to the aligning conveyor until the containers lined up on the aligning conveyor are taken out. A large line pressure is applied to the container in the accumulation section. This can lead to container deformation and collapsing, and also reduces throughput.

In order to address such a problem, an article stacking apparatus has been proposed in which an alignment conveyor is divided into a first stacking conveyor on the upstream side and a second stacking conveyor on the downstream side (Patent Document 2). In the same article stacking apparatus, as soon as the stacking of the articles on the first stacking conveyor is completed, the stacked items are moved to the second stacking conveyor at high speed. Removal of articles from the alignment conveyor occurs at a second accumulation conveyor. That is, when the accumulation of articles on the first accumulation conveyor is completed, the first accumulation conveyor is immediately emptied. can be pushed out. This prevents the development of line pressure on the article supply conveyor.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-34180 Japanese Patent No. 6547475

In the configuration of Patent Document 2, although it is possible to prevent the occurrence of line pressure in the article supply conveyor, acceleration and deceleration when transferring articles from the first accumulation conveyor to the second accumulation conveyor at high speed, The posture of the article is lost due to the transfer between the two accumulating conveyors, and the article may fail to be taken out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to prevent the occurrence of a large line pressure on an article supply conveyor while suppressing the collapse of the posture of articles on an alignment conveyor.

An article accumulating apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises an article supply conveyor that supplies articles, an article alignment conveyor that receives articles from the article supply conveyor in units of a predetermined number, aligns and accumulates the articles while conveying them, and Articles comprising transfer means for transferring the articles on the article supply conveyor onto the article alignment conveyor in units of a predetermined number, and take-out means for taking out the articles accumulated on the article alignment conveyor from the article alignment conveyor. In the stacking device, when transferring the articles onto the article aligning conveyor, the transfer means shifts the transfer position downstream by a predetermined distance each time the predetermined number of articles are transferred onto the article aligning conveyor. characterized by moving to

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the article stacking apparatus according to the first aspect, after transferring a specified number of articles onto the article aligning conveyor, the article aligning conveyor is stopped until the articles are taken out by the retrieving means. It is characterized by

An article accumulating apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention comprises an article supplying conveyor that continuously supplies articles, and an article aligning conveyor that receives articles from the article supplying conveyor in units of a predetermined number, aligns and accumulates the articles while conveying them. a transferring means for transferring the articles on the article supply conveyor onto the article aligning conveyor in units of the predetermined number; and a taking-out means for taking out the articles accumulated on the article aligning conveyor from the article aligning conveyor. , when a specified number of articles are transferred onto the article aligning conveyor, the article aligning conveyor transports the articles stacked on the article aligning conveyor to a pick-up position and then stops, and While the article aligning conveyor is stopped, the retrieving means retrieves the articles stacked at the retrieving position, and the transfer means moves the first row of articles on the article aligning conveyor to the first transfer position. It is characterized in that the following article row is transferred to a second transfer position upstream of the first transfer position.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a large line pressure on the article supply conveyor while suppressing the collapse of the posture of the articles on the alignment conveyor.

1 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of an article stacking device that is an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the article stacking device of FIG. 1; It is a figure for demonstrating the transfer operation|movement by the transfer apparatus in this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the transfer operation|movement by the transfer apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating another transfer operation|movement by the transfer apparatus in 2nd Embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of an article stacking apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention. 2 is a schematic side view of the article stacking apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.

The article stacking device 10 is arranged adjacent to an article supply conveyor 12 which continuously conveys articles M in a line, and to the side of the article supply conveyor 12, and sequentially receives articles M from the article supply conveyor 12 in units of a predetermined number. An article aligning conveyor 14 for aligning and stacking articles M in a predetermined row and predetermined column (a specified number), and a transfer device for collectively transferring a predetermined number of articles on the article supply conveyor 12 to the article aligning conveyor 14. 16, and an article pick-up device 18 for collectively taking out a specified number of articles M accumulated on the article alignment conveyor 14. - 特許庁

Articles M, which are, for example, covered round cup containers, are fed from an introduction conveyor 20 via a supply wheel 22 to the upstream side of the article supply conveyor 12 at predetermined intervals. The article supply conveyor 12 is, for example, continuously run at a constant speed, and a movement restricting member 13 is arranged on the conveying surface on the downstream side. The movement regulating member 13 is movable along the conveying direction by an endless chain 13A arranged along the conveying direction of the article supply conveyor 12, and is in contact with the leading article M to regulate its movement while supplying articles. It moves downstream of the conveyor 12 at a constant speed slightly slower than the transport speed of the article supply conveyor 12 . As a result, the articles M supplied at predetermined intervals are transported on the article supply conveyor 12 in close contact with each other as they move downstream. For example, a plurality of movement restricting members 13 are provided on the endless chain 13A at predetermined intervals, and are inserted from below into the gaps between the articles M supplied from the supply wheel 22 at predetermined intervals at the upstream end of the supply wheel 22 . The endless chain 13A is circulated so as to divide the rows of articles M by the number of articles (predetermined number, for example, 10) transferred by the transfer device 16 at one time, and is moved to the first article M in each divided row. The restricting member 13 is engaged.

The upstream end of the article alignment conveyor 14 is positioned adjacent to the side of the article supply conveyor 12 and its conveying direction is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the article supply conveyor 12 . The transfer device 16 is arranged downstream of the article supply conveyor 12 and above the article supply conveyor 12 so as to be able to move between the article supply conveyor 12 and the article alignment conveyor 14 . The transfer device 16 includes a suction head 24 capable of sucking the top surface (lid) of a predetermined number (10 in FIG. 1) of the articles M stacked on the downstream side of the article supply conveyor 12 by the movement regulating member 13 . . That is, the articles M on the article supply conveyor 12 are picked up by the suction head 24 in units of a predetermined number and transferred to the article alignment conveyor 14 .

Each suction head 24 is held at the lower end of an elevating rod 26 arranged vertically, and the elevating rod 26 is lifted and lowered by an elevating mechanism 28A driven by an elevating motor 28. As shown in FIG. The lifting mechanism 28A is held on a guide rail 30 arranged along the conveying direction of the article alignment conveyor 14, and can reciprocate in the conveying direction of the article alignment conveyor 14 by being driven by a motor 30A. Further, the guide rail 30 is held on a guide rail (not shown) arranged along the conveying direction of the article supply conveyor 12, and is driven by a second motor (not shown) to reciprocate in the conveying direction of the article supply conveyor 12. It is possible. In FIG. 2, the suction head 24 that has picked up the articles M is lowered, and the articles M are placed on the article alignment conveyor 14 (solid line). The state (dashed line) is drawn.

The articles M sucked by the suction head 24 on the article supply conveyor 12 are lifted by the lifting mechanism 28A and moved onto the article alignment conveyor 14 along the guide rails 30 by the motor 30A. After that, it is lowered by the lifting mechanism 28A, placed at a predetermined transfer position (described later) on the article alignment conveyor 14, and released. When picking up the article M on the article supply conveyor 12, the article M is moved by the article supply conveyor 12, so the transfer device 16 drives the second motor to cause the suction head 24 to follow the article M. to move in the transport direction. When the transfer of the articles M to the article alignment conveyor 14 is completed, the suction head 24 is returned to its original position and the same process is repeated.

The article take-out device 18 collectively takes out a prescribed number of articles M (in this embodiment, 10 rows×10 columns, 100 in total) accumulated on the article alignment conveyor 14 , and is placed adjacent to the downstream side of the article alignment conveyor 14 . It is transferred to the container C placed on the container placement section 32 arranged in the container C. The article pick-up device 18 is arranged over the article aligning conveyor 14 and the container placement section 32 and has a guide rail 18A along the conveying direction of the article aligning conveyor 14 . A slider 18B that slides along the guide rail 18A is attached to the guide rail 18A, and the slider 18B is driven by a motor 18C to reciprocate on the guide rail 18A.

Further, the slider 18B is provided with a vertically extending lifting rod 34 that is lifted and lowered by a lifting mechanism (not shown), and a suction disk 36 is attached to the lower end of the lifting rod 34 . The suction discs 36 are capable of sucking the top surfaces (lids) of a specified number of articles M stacked on the article alignment conveyor 14, respectively. When the article pick-up device 18 picks up the articles M stacked on the article alignment conveyor 14, the lift mechanism lifts the suction disk 36, and the motor 18C moves it above the container placement section 32. As shown in FIG. The moved suction disk 36 is then lowered by the lifting mechanism, places a specified number of articles M in the container C placed on the container placing section 32, and releases the same. After releasing the article M, the suction disk 36 is returned to its original position by driving the lifting mechanism and the motor 18C, and the same process is repeated. In FIG. 2, the state in which the suction disk 36 is lowered on the article alignment conveyor 14 and has attracted the top surface of the article M is shown by a solid line. The dashed line shows the state just before the sprocket is pulled down and lowered.

As shown in FIG. 2, the container placement section 32 is composed of a plurality of rotating rollers 32A arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveying direction of the article alignment conveyor 14. As shown in FIG. The container C, which is placed on the container placing section 32 and accommodates the specified number of articles M, is transferred to the side opposite to the article alignment conveyor 14 by the rotation of the rotating roller 32A, and the adjacent containers are stacked. is moved to section 38. The container stacking section 38 is also composed of a plurality of rotating rollers 38A arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveying direction of the article alignment conveyor 14. As shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the container C is supplied from the container supply section 40 arranged adjacent to the side of the container placing section 32 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the container supply unit 40 sequentially supplies containers C using a container supply device 40A. The container supply device 40A is made up of a plurality of parallel plate members that can move back and forth along the gap between the rotating rollers 32A and that can move up and down, for example. At the time of container supply, the plate member is raised to a position where the upper side thereof is higher than the rotating roller 32A, and the container C of the container supplying section 40 is placed on the plate member and moved above the rotating roller 32A. After that, the plate member is lowered until its upper side is positioned lower than the rotating roller 32A. As a result, the container C is placed on the rotating rollers 32A, and the plate member is returned to the container supply section 40. As shown in FIG. When the container C on the container placing section 32 is discharged to the container stacking section 38, the same processing is repeated.

Next, the article transfer operation of the transfer device 16 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the article supply conveyor 12 and the article alignment conveyor 14 arranged in chronological order. The figure shows how they are transferred, aligned, and accumulated. Incidentally, FIG. 3 shows a state in which five rows (A) to (E) of articles M are accumulated on the article alignment conveyor 14 for convenience.

FIG. 3(a) shows the state immediately after the first article row (A) has been transferred to the article alignment conveyor 14 by the transfer device 16. FIG. At this time, the first article row (A) is transferred to the first transfer position P 1 near the upstream end of the article alignment conveyor 14 . The article aligning conveyor 14 is stopped while the first article row (A) is transferred from the article supply conveyor 12 to the article aligning conveyor 14, and the article aligning conveyor 14 is stopped at the same time as the first article row (A) is transferred. 14 downstream.

In FIG. 3(b), the second article row (B) stacked on the article supply conveyor 12 in FIG. The state immediately after being transferred is shown. While the second article row (B) is being accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12, the first article row (A) is conveyed downstream by the article alignment conveyor 14 by a certain distance. The second transfer position P2 is set so that the second article row (B) transferred to the article alignment conveyor 14 is adjacent to the trailing edge of the moved first article row (A).

In FIG. 3(c), the third article row (C) accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12 in FIG. The state immediately after being transferred is shown. While the third article row (C) is being accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12, the first and second article rows (A) and (B) are conveyed downstream by the article alignment conveyor 14 by a certain distance. The third transfer position P3 is set so that the third article row (C) transferred to the article alignment conveyor 14 is adjacent to the trailing edge of the moved second article row (B).

Similarly, in FIG. 3(d), the fourth article row (D) accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12 in FIG. The state immediately after being transferred to position P4 is shown. The first, second and third article rows (A), (B) and (C) are kept downstream by the article alignment conveyor 14 while the fourth article row (D) is accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12. transported a distance. The fourth transfer position P4 is set so that the fourth article row (D) transferred to the article alignment conveyor 14 is adjacent to the trailing edge of the moved third article row (C).

In FIG. 3(e), the fifth article row (E) accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12 in FIG. The state immediately after being transferred is shown. In FIG. 3, the fifth article row (E) is the last article row to be transferred and accumulated on the article alignment conveyor 14. In FIG. As before, while the fifth article row (E) is being accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12, the first, second, third and fourth article rows (A), (B), (C), (D) is transported downstream by a certain distance by the article alignment conveyor 14 . The fifth transfer position P5 is set so that the fifth article row (E) transferred to the article alignment conveyor 14 is adjacent to the trailing edge of the moved fourth article row (D).

At this time, the article alignment conveyor 14 is stopped, and the suction head 24 sucks and holds the top surface of each article M in the first to fifth article rows (A) to (E). After that, the first to fifth article rows (A) to (E) accumulated on the article aligning conveyor 14 are taken out from the article aligning conveyor 14 by the article take-out device 18, and are accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12 in the meantime. The next first article row (A) is transferred to the first transfer position P1. After that, the article alignment conveyor 14 is restarted and the same process is repeated. In FIG. 3(e), the position of the first article row (A) to be transferred next at the first transfer position P1 is indicated by a dashed line.

The article alignment conveyor 14 runs at a constant speed until the article alignment conveyor 14 is stopped. Therefore, when each row of the first to fifth article rows (A) to (E) is transferred onto the article alignment conveyor 14, the previously transferred article row is a certain distance ( Since the transfer position is moved downstream by the predetermined distance, the transfer position is moved downstream by the predetermined distance each time the article row is transferred. As a result, when the transfer of the last article row (here, the fifth article row (E)) to the article alignment conveyor 14 is completed, at the upstream end (first transfer position P1) of the article alignment conveyor 14, Next, an empty area for at least one line required for transferring the article line is formed. As a result, it is possible to secure a space for transferring the articles on the article aligning conveyor 14 until the articles are taken out by the taking-out means 18 after the specified number of articles are accumulated on the article aligning conveyor 14, so that the articles can be transferred. The supply conveyor 12 can be stopped by a stopper to prevent a large line pressure from being generated.

In the present embodiment, one row of empty areas is formed at the upstream end of the article alignment conveyor 14, but two or more rows of empty areas are formed if more time is required to pick up the articles by the article picking device 18. It is also possible to control the speed of the article alignment conveyor 14 and the transfer position by the transfer device 16 as described above. In this embodiment, the article aligning conveyor 14 runs at a constant speed until the article aligning conveyor 14 is stopped. It may be conveyed intermittently each time it is transferred to the top.

An article transfer operation in the transfer device 16 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment corresponds to the case where the article pickup device 18 takes longer to pick up an article than in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, a space for transferring the articles is secured on the article aligning conveyor 14 until the articles are taken out by the take-out device 18 after the specified number of articles are accumulated on the article aligning conveyor 14. Common with morphology.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the article supply conveyor 12 and the article alignment conveyor 14 arranged in chronological order. The figure shows how they are transferred, aligned, and accumulated. Incidentally, FIG. 4 shows a state in which five rows (A) to (E) of articles M are accumulated on the article alignment conveyor 14 for the sake of convenience.

FIG. 4(a) shows the state immediately after the first article row (A) has been transferred to the article alignment conveyor 14 by the transfer device 16. FIG. At this time, the article alignment conveyor 14 is stopped, and the first article row (A) is transferred to the first transfer position Q<b>1 separated by one article from the upstream end of the article alignment conveyor 14 . In addition, on the downstream side of the article aligning conveyor 14, there are rows of articles (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) aligned and accumulated on the article aligning conveyor 14 in the previous transfer operation. ) is on standby for retrieval by the article retrieval device 18 .

FIG. 4(b) shows the article rows (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) aligned and accumulated on the downstream side of the article aligning conveyor 14 in FIG. 4(a). A state is shown immediately after the articles have been taken out by the take-out device 18 and the running of the stopped article alignment conveyor 14 is resumed. At this time, the second article row (B) accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12 is transferred by the transfer device 16 to the second transfer position Q2 of the article alignment conveyor 14 . At the second transfer position Q2, the second article row (B) transferred to the article alignment conveyor 14 is adjacent to the trailing edge of the first article row (A) transferred to the first transfer position Q1. is set to When the second article row (B) is transferred to the transfer position Q2, the first and second article rows (A) and (B) are conveyed by the article alignment conveyor 14 to the downstream side for one article (first predetermined distance) is transported.

In FIG. 4(c), the third article row (C) accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12 in FIG. The state immediately after being transferred is shown. When the third article row (C) is transferred to the second transfer position Q2, the first, second, and third article rows (A), (B), and (C) move downstream by the article alignment conveyor 14. and one article (first predetermined distance) is transferred.

Similarly, in FIG. 4D, the fourth article row (D) accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12 in FIG. The state immediately after being transferred to the position Q2 is shown. When the fourth article row (D) is transferred to the transfer position Q2, the first, second, third and fourth article rows (A), (B), (C) and (D) are placed on the article alignment conveyor. 14, two articles (a second predetermined distance) are transferred downstream.

In FIG. 4(e), the fifth article row (E) accumulated on the article supply conveyor 12 in FIG. The state immediately after being transferred is shown. In FIG. 4, the fifth article line (E) is the last article line to be transferred and accumulated on the article alignment conveyor 14. In FIG. When the fifth article row (E) is transferred, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth article rows (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) are The alignment conveyor 14 transports two articles (a second predetermined distance) downstream.

After that, the state returns to the state shown in FIG. 4(a). That is, the article aligning conveyor 14 is stopped, and the top surface of each article M in the first to fifth article rows (A) to (E) is sucked and held by the suction head 24, and on the article supply conveyor 12 The next stacked first article row (A) is transferred to the first transfer position Q1. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the second article row (B) is transferred to the second transfer position Q2, and the first to fifth article rows (B) stacked on the article alignment conveyor 14 ( A) to (E) are taken out from the article alignment conveyor 14 by the article take-out device 18, and the article alignment conveyor 14 is restarted. After that, the processing after FIG. 4C is repeated in the same way.

According to the article transfer operation of the second embodiment, when the article aligning conveyor 14 is stopped to take out the articles M aligned and accumulated on the article aligning conveyor 14, on the upstream side of the article aligning conveyor 14, the following An empty area for at least two columns required for transferring the article columns is formed. In the second embodiment, after transferring the first article row (A) to the third article row (C) and after transferring the fourth article row (D) and the fifth article row (E) Although the transportation distance by the article alignment conveyor 14 is different, the article alignment conveyor 14 is intermittently conveyed within the same required time.

In the second embodiment, after the article row (fourth article row (D)) before the last article row is transferred to the second transfer position Q2, the first, second, third, and fourth article rows (A) are transferred to the second transfer position Q2. ), (B), (C), and (D) are conveyed downstream by two articles by the article alignment conveyor 14 (FIG. 4(d)), and the last article row (fifth article row (E) ) are transferred to the first transfer position Q1, then the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth article rows (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) are transferred to the article Two articles are transferred downstream by the alignment conveyor 14 (FIG. 4(e)).

However, instead of the operations in FIGS. 4(d) and (e), as shown in FIGS. 5(d) and (e), the article row (fourth article row ( D)) is transferred to the second transfer position Q2, and then the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th article rows (A), (B), (C) and (D) are transferred to the downstream side by the article alignment conveyor 14. After transferring the last article row (fifth article row (E)) to the second transfer position Q2, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth articles Rows (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) may be transported downstream by three articles (a third predetermined distance) by article alignment conveyor 14 . That is, the transfer position and the transfer distance can be changed as required.

As described above, according to the article accumulating apparatus of the present embodiment, the article aligning conveyor is divided into two conveyors as in Patent Document 2, and the articles can be aligned without moving the articles between the two conveyors at high speed. By the time the conveyor completes accumulation of the previous group of articles, there may be space upstream of the article alignment conveyor to receive the first row of articles of the next group. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a large line pressure on the article supply conveyor while suppressing the collapse of the posture of the articles on the alignment conveyor.

Also, in this embodiment, the article supply conveyor is transferred to the article alignment conveyor by the transfer device without stopping the article supply conveyor. can also

In the present embodiment, a round cup container was described as an example, but the shape of the container is not limited to this, and the article may be of a shape other than a container. It is particularly effective in articles.

In this embodiment, the articles are supplied in one line from the supply conveyor, but the articles may be supplied in a plurality of lines, or a plurality of supply conveyors may be arranged in parallel. When the articles are supplied in a plurality of rows, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the plurality of article rows are transferred to the alignment conveyor at the same time by the transfer device.

In the transfer device of the present embodiment, the article is transferred by sucking the top surface of the article, but the transfer device is not limited to this. may be used.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 article stacking device 12 article supply conveyor 14 article alignment conveyor 16 transfer device (transfer means)
(A) to (E) 1st to 5th article rows M Articles P1 to P5 1st to 5th transfer positions

Claims (3)

An article supply conveyor that supplies articles, an article alignment conveyor that receives articles from the article supply conveyor in units of a predetermined number, aligns and accumulates the articles while conveying them, and articles on the article supply conveyor in units of the predetermined number. An article stacking device comprising transfer means for transferring articles onto the article alignment conveyor, and take-out means for taking out the articles stacked on the article alignment conveyor from the article alignment conveyor,
When transferring articles onto the article aligning conveyor, the transfer means moves the transfer position downstream by a predetermined distance each time the predetermined number of articles are transferred onto the article aligning conveyor. An article stacking device characterized by: 2. The article stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after a specified number of articles are stacked on said article aligning conveyor, said article aligning conveyor is stopped until articles are taken out by said take-out means. An article supply conveyor for continuously supplying articles, an article alignment conveyor for receiving articles from the article supply conveyor in units of a predetermined number, aligning and stacking the articles while conveying the articles, and supplying the articles in units of the predetermined number. An article stacking apparatus comprising transfer means for transferring articles on a conveyor onto the article alignment conveyor, and take-out means for taking out the articles stacked on the article alignment conveyor from the article alignment conveyor,
When a specified number of articles have been transferred onto the article aligning conveyor, the article aligning conveyor conveys the articles accumulated on the article aligning conveyor to the take-out position and then stops. During this period, the goods stacked at the take-out position are taken out by the take-out means, and the first item row on the item alignment conveyor is transferred to the first transfer position by the transfer means. An article stacking apparatus, wherein a row is transferred to a second transfer position upstream of the first transfer position.

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