JP2023145183A - Article conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article conveying device which is equipped with a gripper consisting of a pair of grip pieces provided on adjacent movable elements and has a wide range of common use for articles that can be held by the gripper even if the movement range of adjacent movable elements is limited.SOLUTION: Each gripper 3 of the linear conveying device 6 (article conveying device of the present invention) includes a grip piece 3A provided on one adjacent movable elements 16 and a grip piece 3B provided on the other adjacent movable elements 16. When holding the smallest container 2 with the gripper 3, the adjacent movable elements 16 are brought closest to each other, and the pair of grip pieces 3A and 3B are moved horizontally with respect to the movable elements 16 to bring them closer to each other ( (See Figure 3(c)). When holding the largest container 2 with the gripper 3, the adjacent movable elements 16 are separated as much as possible, and the pair of grip pieces 3A and 3B are moved horizontally with respect to the movable elements 16 to maximize the separation. (see Figure 3(d)).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an article conveying device, and more particularly to an article conveying device using a linear motor, in which an article is held and conveyed by a gripper provided over a pair of adjacent movers.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, linear conveyance devices that convey articles using linear motors have been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). In such conventional linear conveyance devices, one grip piece is attached to one movable element, and the article is conveyed while holding the front and back of the article using a gripper (holding means) consisting of a pair of adjacent grip pieces. ing.

Patent No. 6334556 US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0176659

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional linear conveyance device, when attempting to hold articles with different dimensions in the conveyance direction, by adjusting the interval between adjacent movers, the interval between a pair of adjacent grip pieces can be adjusted. is changed to match the dimensions of the item. Specifically, when holding an article with a small dimension in the conveyance direction with a gripper, the distance between a pair of adjacent grip pieces, that is, adjacent movers, is set narrowly, and the gripper holds an article with a large dimension in the conveyance direction. When holding, it is necessary to set a wide interval between a pair of adjacent grip pieces, that is, a movable element.
By the way, since the grip piece is provided on the movable element, when holding a small article with the gripper, the limit is a position where adjacent movable elements do not interfere with each other.
Further, for example, when the article is a container and the container is held by a plurality of grippers each consisting of a pair of grip pieces and is transported to a position of a filling device and filled with liquid, adjacent filling nozzles in the filling device are It is necessary to match the pitch of adjacent containers to the pitch. Therefore, when holding a large container with a gripper, the limit is a position that does not interfere with the mover of the gripper holding an adjacent container. In this case, increasing the moving range of the movable element also increases the pitch of the filling nozzles, which is not preferable because the filling device itself becomes larger and the manufacturing cost increases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an article equipped with a gripper that can widen the range of shared use of held articles even if the movement range of adjacent movers for moving a pair of grip pieces constituting the gripper is limited. An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyance device.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides a plurality of movable elements, a stator for linearly driving the movable elements along a predetermined conveyance path, and one movable element among two adjacent movable elements. One grip piece provided on the other movable element, and the other grip piece provided on the other movable element,
The grip pieces of the two movers constitute a gripper that holds the article, and the two movers are moved synchronously to transport the article held by the gripper along the conveyance path. In the article conveyance device,
The gripper is provided with each of the grip pieces movable in the conveying direction of the article relative to the movable element provided with the grip piece, and also positions each grip piece in the conveying direction on the movable element provided with the grip piece. A positioning mechanism is provided to
The positioning mechanism positions one grip piece and the other grip piece on the upstream side or the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the mover, depending on the width in the conveyance direction of the article held by the gripper. That is.

According to such a configuration, the range of articles that can be held by the gripper can be widened, so that an increase in manufacturing costs can be suppressed and a highly versatile article conveying device can be provided.

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention. 2(a) is a front view of the main part of FIG. 1, FIG. 2(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2(c) is the main part along line II-II of FIG. Sectional view of the section. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing containers of different sizes being held by the grippers shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c); FIG. FIG. 4(a) is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which adjacent movers in a conventional device are brought closest to each other to minimize the gap between the grippers, and FIG. 4(b) is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which adjacent movers in a conventional device are separated to the maximum distance. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the distance between the grippers is maximized. FIG. 5(a) is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which adjacent movers in this embodiment are brought closest to each other to minimize the gap between the grippers, and FIG. 5(b) is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which adjacent movers in this embodiment are separated to the maximum extent. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the distance between the grippers is maximized. 6(a) is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the gripper, etc. of the present invention, FIG. 6(a) shows a state in which a small diameter container is held by the gripper, and FIG. 6(b) shows a state in which a large diameter container is held by the gripper. It shows the case. 7(a) and 7(c) show a case where a large container is held by the gripper; FIG. (b) and FIG. 7(d) show the case where a small container is held by a gripper. 8 is a side view showing the engagement relationship between the grip piece and the cam of the gripper shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a filling system for filling a container 2 with liquid. In this filling system 1, a large number of grippers 3 holding containers 2 are made to circulate in the direction of the arrow along a circulation conveyance path R, and a feeding robot 4 moves the containers to the grippers 3 stopped at a feeding position A. After the container 2 is supplied and held, the container 2 held by the gripper 3 is conveyed to the filling position B and stopped, where the filling device 5 fills the container 2 with a predetermined amount of liquid. It has become.
The filling system 1 includes a linear conveyance device 6 as an article conveyance device that holds and conveys containers 2 with grippers 3, and is disposed at a supply position A in a circulation conveyance path R of the linear conveyance device 6, and is configured to transport empty containers 2. A supply robot 4 that supplies the gripper 3, a filling device 5 that is disposed at a filling position B downstream of the supply position A in the circulation conveyance path R and fills the container 2 with liquid, and a filling position in the circulation conveyance path R. A capping device 7 installed at a capping position C downstream of the capping device B, an inspection device 8 installed at an inspection position D downstream of the capping device 7 for inspecting the container 2, and a discharge position downstream of the inspection position D. It is equipped with an ejecting robot 9 provided at E and a control device 11 that controls the operation of these components.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, a ferri plate 12 supporting the bottom of the container 2 is arranged from the supply position A to the discharge position E on the downstream side in the transport direction, and the container 2 is held by the gripper 3 and transported. is supported by the Ferri plate 12 and slides on its surface. A nut member 13 is connected to the lower part of the ferri plate 12, and this nut member 13 is screwed into a ball screw 14 arranged in the vertical direction. The ball screw 14 is rotated by a servo motor M1, and the operation of the servo motor M1 is controlled by the control device 11. When the height or shape of the container 2 to be processed is changed, the height of the Ferri plate 12 can be changed by rotating the servo motor M1 by a required amount by the control device 11. This allows the gripper 3 to hold the body of the container 2 at a suitable height position.
A linear supply conveyor 15 is arranged parallel to the circulation conveyance path R at the supply position A, and the empty containers 2 arranged vertically in an upright state are supplied to the supply device A by the supply conveyor 15 and stopped. It has become so. A supply robot 4 is disposed in the supply device A, and the supply robot 4 grasps the empty containers 2 on the supply conveyor 15, widens the distance between adjacent containers 2, and then transfers them onto the ferri plate 12 at the supply position A. The container 2 is held by the eight grippers 3 that are stopped.
The gripper 3 consists of a grip piece 3A provided on one adjacent movable member 16 and a grip piece 3B provided on the other adjacent movable member 16. The body is held from the front and back in the conveyance direction (see FIG. 3). As described above, the container 2 held by the gripper 3 is supported by the ferriplate 12 and slides on the surface thereof. The container 2 to be filled with liquid has a body and an upper end opening, and the liquid is filled inside from the upper end opening.

The linear conveyance device 6 as an article conveyance device includes a pair of upper and lower rails 17 arranged along an endless circular conveyance route R, and is arranged over the entire area of the circular conveyance route R between these upper and lower rails 17. , an electromagnetic coil unit 18 in which a large number of electromagnetic coils are provided at predetermined intervals, and a large number of movers 16 that are arranged adjacent to the electromagnetic coil unit 18 and that are guided by rails 17 and move on a circulation conveyance path R. It is equipped with The electromagnetic coil unit 18 constitutes a stator of the linear motor for the movable element 16.
A permanent magnet 19 is embedded in the movable element 16 so as to face the electromagnetic coil unit 18, and a plurality of rollers 16A at upper and lower positions that roll along the guide surfaces of the upper and lower rails 17 are rotatably provided. . In this embodiment, the grip piece 3A provided on one adjacent movable element 16 (the movable element 16 on the upstream side in the conveying direction) and the grip piece 3A provided on the other adjacent movable element 16 (the movable element 16 on the downstream side in the conveying direction) The provided grip piece 3B constitutes a gripper 3 that holds the container 2 (see FIG. 3).
A large number of electromagnetic coils provided in the electromagnetic coil unit 18 are individually excited by the control device 11 at required timings. The control device 11 synchronizes the pair of adjacent movable elements 16 and moves them along the circular conveyance path R, thereby circularly conveying each gripper 3 consisting of grip pieces 3A and 3B provided on the pair of movable elements 16. While moving along the route R, the moving position and moving speed during movement can be individually controlled.
By exciting the electromagnetic coils at predetermined positions along the circulation transport route R, the control device 11 moves the grippers 3 provided across the pair of adjacent movers 16 to predetermined positions A to E along the circulation travel route R. It is possible to circulate at a high speed and stop at a desired position. Thereby, the container 2 held by the gripper 3 is transported from the supply position A to the discharge position E by the linear transport device 6. In addition, by adjusting the distance between a pair of adjacent movers 16 in the conveying direction by the control device 11, the distance between the pair of grip pieces 3A and 3B can be adjusted, thereby allowing containers 2 of different sizes to can be held by the gripper 3. Note that the basic configuration of a linear conveyance device that moves a movable element by linear drive is conventionally known, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

Here, the conveyance of the container 2 by the gripper 3 of the linear conveyance device 6 and the processing performed at each position A to E will be explained with reference to FIG. 1.
When the eight grippers 3 are stopped above the Feli plate 12 at the supply position A and the empty container 2 in the upright state is supplied to the supply device A by the supply conveyor 15, the supply robot 4 moves to the supply conveyor. After gripping the empty container 2 on the top 15, the distance between adjacent containers 2 is widened, and then the eight grippers 3 stopped at the supply position A are made to hold the container 2. At this time, the bottom of the container 2 is supported by the ferriplate 12 as described above.
When the containers 2 are held by the grippers 3 at the supply position A, the six grippers 3 holding empty containers 2 are moved to the filling position B and stopped. The filling device 5 is provided with six filling nozzles (not shown) arranged at equal pitches along the conveying direction of the container 2, and the container 2 held by the six grippers 3 and stopped at the filling position B is , located on the lower side of each of the six filling nozzles. Then, a predetermined amount of liquid is filled into the six containers 2 by the filling nozzle of the filling device 5.
Thereafter, the six grippers 3 holding the containers 2 filled with liquid are transported to the capping position C and stopped there. A capping device 7 is disposed at the capping position C, and caps are attached to the upper end openings of the six containers 2 to close them.
Thereafter, the gripper 3 holding the container 2 with the cap attached is conveyed to the inspection position D and stopped. An inspection device 8 is disposed at the inspection position D, and the inspection device 8 inspects every four containers 2 for the presence of foreign matter, defective capping, and the like.
The container 2 that has been inspected by the inspection device 8 at the inspection position D is then transported to the discharge device E and stopped. At the discharge position E, a discharge robot 9 and a discharge conveyor 21 are arranged.The discharge robot 9 takes out four containers 2 at a time from the gripper 3 stopped at the discharge position E, and transfers them onto the discharge conveyor 21. It is designed to be handed over.
The containers 2 delivered onto this discharge conveyor 21 are conveyed downstream. On the other hand, the gripper 3, which is empty after the container 2 is taken out at the discharge position E, is moved to the supply position A and stopped there again. Note that the containers 2 determined to be defective as a result of the inspection by the inspection device 8 are delivered to the discharge conveyor 21 and then rejected from the discharge conveyor 21 by a reject device (not shown).
In this way, the filling system 1 of the present embodiment sequentially transports the container 2 held by the gripper 3 of the linear transport device 6 from the supply position A to the discharge position E along the circulation transport path R, and into the container 2. Filling with liquid followed by capping and necessary inspections are performed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, based on the above-mentioned configuration, the pair of grip pieces 3A and 3B constituting the gripper 3 can be moved horizontally along the conveying direction with respect to the movable element 16 on which they are provided. The container 2 is characterized in that the gripper 3 can hold the container 2 in multiple ways.
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the configurations of a pair of adjacent movers 16 and the grip pieces 3A and 3B of the gripper 3 provided thereon will be described.
A base member 22 is horizontally connected to the upper part of each movable element 16, and a rotating shaft 23 is fixed to the center of the upper surface of the base member 22 (center in the conveyance direction) so as to face vertically upward.
A support block 24 is arranged above the rotating shaft 23, and a fixed shaft 25 is fixed to the center of the upper part of the support block 24 so as to face vertically upward. A mounting base 26 is horizontally fixed to the upper end of this fixed shaft 25. A grip piece 3A is horizontally connected to one of the adjacent mounting bases 26, and a grip piece 3B is horizontally connected to the other adjacent mounting base 26.
A vertical through hole is formed in the main body (lower portion) of the support block 24, and the upper end (free end) of the rotating shaft 23 is rotatably passed through the through hole. That is, the support block 24 is swingably provided on the rotating shaft 23, and the grip piece 3A (3B) is attached to it via an attachment base 26 fixed to a fixed shaft 25 erected on the support block 24. There is.
One end of a connecting shaft 27 is connected to a side portion of one of the adjacent support blocks 24 (the left support block 24 in FIG. 2(a)). A horizontal through hole is formed in the other adjacent block 24 (the support block 24 on the right side in FIG. 2(a)) along the conveying direction, and the other end side of the connecting shaft 27 is formed in this through hole. The area is slidably penetrated. In this embodiment, the grip piece 3A and the mover 16 provided thereon are located on the upstream side in the transport direction, and the grip piece 3B and the mover 16 provided thereon are located on the downstream side in the transport direction.
A large diameter stopper portion 27A is formed at the other end of the connecting shaft 27 (the right end in FIG. 2(a)) to prevent the support block 24 passing through the connecting shaft 27 from falling off the connecting shaft 27. There is. When the adjacent movers 18 approach or separate, the pair of adjacent support blocks 24 and the pair of grip pieces 3A and 3B provided on their upper parts are guided by the connection shaft 27 and can approach or separate in the conveyance direction. It has become.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the support block 24 and the grip piece 3A (3B) above the support block 24 are swingable with respect to the rotary shaft 23 and the movable element 16 located below it, and the grip pieces 3A and 3B are When the provided swingable support block 24 moves along the connecting shaft 27, the gripper 3 consisting of the grip pieces 3A and 3B holds the container 2 and moves around the corner of the circulation conveyance path R. The grip pieces 3A and 3B are kept parallel in orientation. Note that the support block 24 may be fixedly attached to the movable element 16, or the connection shaft 27 may not be provided.

A pair of adjacent grip pieces 3A and 3B face each other at the same height, and a recess for holding the body of the container 2 is formed in their opposing surfaces (see FIG. 3).
As shown in FIG. 3, a concave-shaped space is formed on the distal end side of the mounting base 26, and two linear guide shafts 26A along the conveyance direction are attached thereto.
Two guide holes 3Aa, 3Ba are formed in the grip pieces 3A, 3B, respectively, and by penetrating the guide shaft 26A into the guide holes 3Aa, 3Ba and arranging the grip pieces 3A, 3B, the grip pieces 3A, 3B is movable along the guide shaft 26A.
A connecting pin 29 is attached vertically to the base of the grip pieces 3A, 3B, and the lower end of this connecting pin 29 is inserted downward by passing through between the two guide shafts 26A attached to the attachment base 26. It protrudes to. A tension spring 28 is attached across the upper ends of the connecting pins 29 of the grip pieces 3A, 3B and the upper surfaces of the bases of the mounting bases 26, 26, respectively.
A lever 32A is arranged horizontally on the lower side near the mounting base 26 of the grip piece 3A, which is on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and the upper small diameter part of the fixed shaft 25 is passed through the through hole 32a in the center of the lever 32A. I'm letting you do it. Further, a lever 32B is arranged in a horizontal state on the lower side adjacent to the mounting base 26 of the grip piece 3B, which is downstream in the conveyance direction, and the upper small diameter of the fixed shaft 25 is inserted into the through hole 32a in the center of the lever 32B. (See FIG. 2(c)). Thereby, the levers 32A and 32B can swing around the fixed shaft 25 as the center of rotation.
An oval through hole 32b is bored at one end of the levers 32A, 32B on the side of the connecting shaft 27 (tip side), and the connecting pin 29 of the grip piece 3A (3B) is inserted into this through hole 32b. ing. Further, engagement pieces 32Aa and 32Ba are attached to the rear end sides of the lever 32A and the lever 32B, respectively. These engaging pieces 32Aa and 32Ba are provided at different heights, so that the engaging pieces 32Aa and 32Ba can be placed in the overlapping position without colliding in the upper and lower positions (see FIG. 2). a)).
In this way, one lever 32A is interlocked with one grip piece 3A, and the other lever 32B is interlocked with the other grip piece 3B. Then, when the levers 32A, 32B are horizontally swung about the fixed shaft 25, the pair of grip pieces 3A, 3B are guided by the guide shaft 26A of the mounting base 26, and the container 2 is placed on each movable element 16. It is possible to move horizontally in the transport direction.
The grip pieces 3A, 3B are pulled toward the engaging pieces 32Aa, 32Ba of the levers 32A, 32B by the tension spring 28.
Therefore, when the lever 32A is swung around the fixed shaft 25, the left side surface of the base of the grip piece 3A (3B) shown in FIG. (upstream contact portion) and the right side of the base of the grip piece 3A (3B) are the downstream attachment portion of the guide shaft 26A on the attachment base 26. 26Bb (downstream contact portion) and the position of the other swing end (downstream end in the conveyance direction) (see FIG. 3). As a result, the grip pieces 3A, 3B are arranged at one moving end (upstream end in the carrying direction) and the other moving end (upstream end in the carrying direction) in the horizontal direction along the carrying direction with respect to the mover 16 on which they are provided. downstream end).
In this embodiment, the grip pieces 3A and 3B are moved upstream in the conveying direction on the movable element 16 by the tension spring 28, lever 32A (32B), guide shaft 26A, upstream attachment part 26Ba, downstream attachment part 26Bb, etc. A lock mechanism 33 (positioning mechanism) is configured to position the end and the downstream end.
Next, the switching mechanism 35 that switches the stop position when the levers 32A, 32B are swung will be explained. As shown in FIG. 2(b), the switching mechanism 35 includes a pair of upper and lower engaging members 36A and 36B, and a pair of upper and lower cylinders 37A and 37B for raising and lowering these members. The mating piece 32Aa and the engaging piece 32Ba are placed at an appropriate position on the conveyance path, and in this embodiment, one place is placed at the X position in FIG.
The engaging member 36A is movable up and down by a cylinder 37A facing vertically upward, and the engaging member 36B is movable up and down by a cylinder 37B facing vertically downward.
When the engaging member 36A is at the lower end due to the cylinder 37A, the engaging member 36A is located below the engaging piece 32Aa of the lever 32A, and when the engaging member 36A is raised to the upper end position by the cylinder 37A, The engaging member 32A can engage with the engaging piece 32Aa of the lever 32A.
Further, when the engaging member 36B is at the ascending end due to the cylinder 37B, the engaging member 36B is located above the engaging piece 32Ba of the lever 32B, and when the engaging member 36A is lowered to the descending end by the cylinder 37B. , the engagement member 32B can engage with the engagement piece 32Ba of the lever 32B.
The operation of the cylinders 37A and 37B is controlled by a control device 11, and the control device 11 controls the lifting and lowering operations of the cylinders 37A and 37B, thereby connecting the engagement member 36A to the engagement piece 32Aa of the lever 32A. Similarly, the engaging member 36B can be switched between a height position where it engages with the engaging piece 32Ba of the lever 32B and a height position where it does not engage. It is designed so that it can be switched to the lower position.
Here, (c) of FIG. 2 shows the levers 32A and 32B when the adjacent grip pieces 3A and 3B are opened to the maximum (separated state). When the grip piece 3A is moved downstream in the conveyance direction and the grip piece 3B is moved upstream in the conveyance direction from the position shown in FIG. 2(c) to narrow the distance between the grip pieces 3A and 3B. In this case, it is necessary to rotate the lever 32A clockwise and the lever 32B counterclockwise.
When rotating the lever 32A clockwise, the engaging member 36A at the X position is first raised to a position where it engages with the engaging piece 32Aa of the lever 32A. Next, by moving all the movers 16 on the circulation conveyance path R in the direction of supply position A→filling position B→capping position C→inspection position D→discharge position E, the engaging piece 32Aa of the lever 32A is moved. The lever 32A is engaged with the engaging member 36A to swing clockwise about the fixed shaft 25.
Furthermore, when rotating the lever 32B counterclockwise, the engaging member 36B is raised and lowered to a position where it engages with the engaging piece 32Ba of the lever 32B. Next, by moving all the movers 16 on the circulation conveyance path R in the opposite direction, that is, in the direction of supply position A → discharge position E → inspection position D → capping position C → filling position B, lever 32B The engaging piece 32Ba engages with the engaging member 36B to swing the lever 32B counterclockwise about the fixed shaft 25.
In this way, the grip pieces 3A, 3B are switched between the upstream end position and the downstream end position in the conveyance direction.
Note that the engaging members 36A and 36B are attached so as to be swingable in the conveying direction, so that when a load is applied by engaging with the engaging pieces 32Aa and 32Ba, the engaging members 36A and 36B swing to reduce the load. .

FIGS. 3(a) to 3(f) show specific examples in which containers 2 of different sizes are held by the linear conveyance device 6 and its gripper 3 configured as described above.
First, when holding the smallest container 2 with the gripper 3, as shown in FIG. The piece 3B is positioned at the upstream end in the conveyance direction with respect to the movable element 16 on which it is provided. Then, the movers 16, 16 provided with the grip pieces 3A and 3B are brought closest to each other. Thereby, the smallest container 2 can be held by the gripper 3.
On the other hand, when holding the largest container 2 with the gripper 3, as shown in FIG. The grip piece 3B is positioned at the downstream end in the transport direction with respect to the movable element 16 on which it is provided. Then, the movers 16, 16 provided with the grip pieces 3A and 3B are separated to the maximum distance. Thereby, the largest container 2 can be held by the gripper 3.
In addition, when each container 2 having an intermediate size between the smallest container 2 and the largest container 2 is held by the gripper 3, FIG. 3(a), FIG. 3(b), FIG. 3(e), The result is as shown in FIG. 3(f). Even when holding containers 2 of different sizes between these, the distance between a pair of adjacent movers 16 in the conveying direction is adjusted, and the grip pieces 3A and 3B provided on each mover 16 are adjusted. By switching the position between the upstream end and the downstream end in the conveying direction, containers 2 of different sizes can be smoothly held by the gripper 3.
Note that both grip pieces 3A and 3B may be located on the upstream end side with respect to the mover 16, as shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 3(e), or may be located on the downstream end side. .
In addition, magnets are attached to the upstream attachment portion 26Ba and downstream attachment portion 26Bb, and iron plates or magnets are attached to the grip pieces 3A and 3B, so that the grip pieces 3A and 3B are attached to the upstream attachment portion 26Ba and the downstream attachment portion by magnetic force. The positioning may be performed using the side attachment portion 26Bb. In this case, the tension spring 28 becomes unnecessary.

According to this embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to expand the versatility of the container 2 that can be held compared to conventional grippers.
Here, using FIGS. 4 and 5, we will explain the differences between the gripper of the conventional linear conveyance device and the gripper 3 of this embodiment when filling liquid with a plurality of filling nozzles provided in the filling device. Compare and explain. It is assumed that the movers 16a and 16b in FIGS. 4 and 5 are transported from left to right.
That is, FIG. 4 shows the prior art, in which FIG. 4(a) shows a state in which adjacent movable members 16a and 16b are brought closest to each other to minimize the distance between the grippers 3, and FIG. This shows a state in which the grippers 3 are maximally separated by separating the children 16a and 16b to the maximum extent possible. Here, the pitch between adjacent filling nozzles in the filling device is 180 mm, the width of each movable element 16a, 16b in the conveyance direction is 50 mm, and the clearance when the movable element 16a and the movable element 16b are closest to each other is 5 mm. In this case, the movable range of the movable element 16a and the movable element 16b is 35 mm.
Here, ignoring the thickness of the grip pieces 3A and 3B and assuming that they are both fixedly arranged at the center of the movers 16a and 16b, the container 2 that can be held by the grip pieces 3A and 3B is The size is 55 to 125 mm.
In contrast to such conventional grippers, according to the present embodiment, the grip pieces 3A and 3B are movable in the transport direction relative to the mover on which they are provided, so that the container held by the gripper 3 can be It is possible to widen the range in which the size of 2 can be used.
That is, FIG. 5 shows this embodiment, and FIG. 5(a) shows a state in which the adjacent movers 16a and 16b are brought closest to each other to minimize the distance between the grippers 3, and FIG. This shows a state in which the movable elements 16a and 16b are separated to the maximum extent and the gap between the grippers 3 is maximized. Note that the dimensions of the movers 16a and 16b, the pitch of the filling nozzles, and other values are the same as in FIG. 4.
As shown in FIG. 5(a), when holding the smallest container 2, the grip piece 3A is positioned at the upstream end in the transport direction of the mover 16a where it is installed, and the grip piece 3B is placed at the upstream end of the mover 16a where it is installed. By bringing adjacent movers close to each other with a clearance of 5 mm while the mover 16b is positioned at the downstream end in the transport direction, it becomes possible to hold a container with a size of 5 mm.
Furthermore, when holding the largest container 2, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the grip piece 3A is positioned at the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the movable element 16a, and the grip piece 3B is positioned at the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the movable element 16b. When positioned at the downstream end, it is possible to hold a 175 mm container 2 by separating adjacent movers by a maximum distance of 75 mm.
Therefore, according to this embodiment, even if there is a limit to the movement range of the movers 16, 16 that move the pair of adjacent grip pieces 3A, 3B, the dual-use range of the container 2 held by the gripper 3 can be widened. This makes it possible to provide a linear conveyance device 6 with higher versatility than conventional ones.

Next, FIGS. 6 to 8 show the configuration of the gripper 3 and its related parts of the linear conveying device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
In this second embodiment, a mounting plate 41 is connected to the block 24 of the adjacent mover 16 in a state that covers it from above. has been established. A pair of guide holes are formed obliquely in the vertical direction at the base of the grip piece 3A, and the pair of guide shafts 42A are slidably passed through the pair of guide holes of the grip piece 3A. Further, a pair of guide holes are formed diagonally in the vertical direction at the base of the grip piece 3B, and the pair of guide shafts 42B are slidably passed through the pair of guide holes of the grip piece 3B. . Thereby, each grip piece 3A, 3B can be raised and lowered on the movable member 16 provided with them.
Positioning blocks 43A, 43B are fixed to the upper ends of each set of guide shafts 42A, 42B. Iron plates 44 are attached to the lower surfaces of the positioning blocks 43A, 43B, the lower ends of the guide shafts 42A, 42B, and the upper surface of the attachment plate 41 (see FIG. 7(a)).
In addition, magnets 45 are embedded in the upper and lower surfaces of the base of each grip piece 3A, 3B, and when this magnet 45 is magnetically attached to either the upper or lower plate 44, the grip pieces 3A, 3B are set at the rising end or the falling end. It is designed to be positioned in either direction. (See Figure 7). In other words, the upper and lower surfaces of the base of each grip piece 3A, 3B serve as contact portions that contact the plate 44 at the upper and lower positions.
A gripper 3 that holds the container 2 is configured by a grip piece 3A and a grip piece 3B provided on adjacent movers 16. The guide shaft 42B of one movable element 16 is provided so as to be inclined upward and downstream in the conveyance direction. The guide shaft 42A of the other movable element 16 is symmetrically provided with respect to the guide shaft 42B, and is inclined upwardly and upstream in the conveying direction.
Therefore, the gripper 3 consisting of the grip piece 3A and the grip piece 3B positions the grip piece 3A and the grip piece 3B at the upper ends of the guide shafts 42A and 42B while maintaining the distance between the adjacent movers 16 and 16 constant. In this case, the gap between the grip piece 3A and the grip piece 3B becomes wider than when the grip piece 3A and the grip piece 3B are located at the lower end, and it becomes possible to hold the container 2, which is wide in the transport direction, with the gripper 3. On the other hand, when the grip pieces 3A and 3B are positioned at the lower ends of the guide shafts 42A and 42B, the interval between the grip pieces 3A and 3B is narrower than when they are positioned at the upper ends, and the width of the container in the transport direction is narrower. 2 can be held by the gripper 3. That is, also in this second embodiment, the grip pieces 3A, 3B are moved in the transport direction with respect to the mover 16 on which they are provided.
In this second embodiment, a locking mechanism (positioning mechanism) is constituted by magnets 45 embedded in the upper and lower surfaces of the bases of the grip pieces 3A and 3B, and upper and lower plates 44 magnetically attached to the magnets 45.
Note that iron plates may be provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the grip pieces 3A and 3B, and magnets may be attached to the lower surfaces of the positioning blocks 43A and 43B and the upper surface of the mounting plate 41. Magnets may be attached to all of the lower surfaces of 43A and 43B and the upper surface of the attachment plate 41.
In this second embodiment, the switching mechanism 35 for switching the positions of the grip pieces 3A, 3B includes a pair of cams 47A, 47B that are raised and lowered by cylinders 37A, 37B, and a cam follower 48A attached to the bases of the grip pieces 3A, 3B. , 48B.
The cams 47A and 47B are provided at appropriate positions on the conveyance path of the grip pieces 3A and 3B, and are arranged so as to be able to engage with the cam followers 48A and 48B of the grip pieces 3A and 3B being conveyed.
The cam 47A can move the grip pieces 3A, 3B from the rising end to the lowering end, and the cam 47B can move the grip pieces 3A, 3B from the lowering end position to the rising end position.
When moving the grip pieces 3A, 3B to the lower end position, the cylinder 37A lowers the cam 47A, and the mover 16 is moved toward the cam 47A to engage the cam followers 48A, 48B with the cam 47A (Fig. 7, see Figure 8). On the contrary, when moving the grip pieces 3A, 3B to the raised end position, the cylinder 37B lowers the cam 47B, moves the mover 16 toward the cam 47B, and moves the cam followers 48A, 48B to the cam 47B. (See FIGS. 7 and 8). The other basic configuration is the same as the first embodiment. In this second embodiment, each member corresponding to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is given the same member number as in the first embodiment.
Even in the second embodiment having such a configuration, the grip pieces 3A and 3B can move in the transport direction relative to the mover 16 provided with them, so even in this second embodiment, the above-mentioned It is possible to obtain the same functions and effects as in the first embodiment.
In the second embodiment, the guide shafts 42A and 42B that guide the lifting and lowering of the grip pieces 3A and 3B are tilted symmetrically, but the invention is not limited to this. The guide shaft 42B may be inclined 15 degrees upstream in the conveyance direction, and the guide shaft 42B may be inclined 10 degrees downstream in the conveyance direction with respect to the vertical line.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to the linear conveying device 6 of the filling system 1 so that the container 2 is held and conveyed by the gripper 3, but articles other than the container 2 are held by the gripper 3. The above-mentioned linear conveyance device 6 can be used for the purpose of conveyance.

2... Container (article) 3... Gripper 3A... Grip piece 3B... Grip piece 6... Linear conveyance device (article conveyance device) 16... Mover 18... Electromagnetic coil unit (stator) 33... Lock mechanism (positioning mechanism)
35...Switching mechanism

Claims (5)

A plurality of movers, a stator for linearly driving the movers along a predetermined conveyance path, one grip piece provided on one of the two adjacent movers, and the other. and the other grip piece provided on the movable element,
The grip pieces of the two movers constitute a gripper that holds the article, and the two movers are moved synchronously to transport the article held by the gripper along the conveyance path. In the article conveyance device,
The gripper is provided with each of the grip pieces movable in the conveying direction of the article relative to the movable element provided with the grip piece, and also positions each grip piece in the conveying direction on the movable element provided with the grip piece. A positioning mechanism is provided to
The positioning mechanism positions one grip piece and the other grip piece on the upstream side or the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the mover, depending on the width in the conveyance direction of the article held by the gripper. An article conveyance device for A mounting base for attaching the grip piece is arranged above the movable element,
The article conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the attachment base has a shaft extending in the conveyance direction, and the gripper is movably provided on the shaft. The mounting base includes an upstream contact part that comes into contact with a grip piece that moves upstream in the conveyance direction to determine the upstream position of the grip piece, and an upstream contact part that comes into contact with a grip piece that moves downstream in the conveyance direction to determine the upstream position of the grip piece. 3. The article conveying device according to claim 2, further comprising a downstream contact portion for determining the downstream position of the piece. One of the adjacent movable elements is provided with an inclined shaft whose upper side is inclined toward downstream in the conveying direction, and the other movable element is provided with an inclined axis whose upper side is inclined toward upstream in the conveying direction,
2. The article conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the grip piece is provided so as to be movable up and down in an oblique direction along the inclined axis. An upper contact portion that contacts the upper surface of the grip piece located above the tilt axis, and a lower contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the grip piece located below the tilt axis, A magnet is arranged on at least one of the upper surface and the upper abutting part, and a magnet is arranged on at least one of the lower face of the grip piece and the lower abutting part, so that the grip piece is brought into contact with the upper abutting part and the lower abutting part. 5. The article conveyance device according to claim 4, wherein the contact portion is magnetically attachable.

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