JP2024102265A - Egg container transfer device and egg container transfer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an egg container transfer device and an egg container transfer system capable of transporting egg containers to a storage body having a height restriction.

SOLUTION: An egg container transfer device 4 of the present invention comprises: an alignment conveyor 9 that aligns egg containers 2; a hand section 10 having a lower plate unit on which the egg containers 2 are placed; an alignment push section 11 that pushes the egg containers 2 on the alignment conveyor 9 and places them on the hand section 10; and a hand transfer section 12 to which the hand section 10 is attached and that transfers the hand section 10 to predetermined positions (egg container loading position X11 and refilling position X2). The hand section 10 comprises an upper plate section arranged with a space on which the egg containers 2 are placed on the upper side of the lower plate section, a plate drive section for moving the lower plate section and the upper plate section so as to be parallel to and relatively apart from each other in one direction of the egg containers 2, and a pushing section which contacts at least the side of the egg container 2 so that the egg container 2 placed on the lower plate is separated from the lower plate when the lower plate and the upper plate are relatively moved by the plate drive section.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

This application relates to an egg container transfer device and an egg container transfer system.

Conventionally, there has been known an egg container transfer device that includes an adsorption unit having an adsorption pad that adsorbs egg containers, a suction means connected to the adsorption unit, and a transfer mechanism to which the adsorption unit is attached (for example, Patent Document 1). However, such an egg container transfer device has a problem in that it cannot transport egg containers to a storage body that has a height restriction such as a rack.

JP2018-177325A

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an egg container transport device and an egg container transport system that can transport egg containers to a storage body that has height restrictions.

The egg container transfer device comprises an alignment conveyor that aligns egg containers, a hand unit having a lower plate portion on which the egg containers are placed, an alignment push unit that pushes the egg containers on the alignment conveyor and places them on the hand unit, and a hand transfer unit to which the hand unit is attached and that transfers the hand unit to a predetermined position. The hand unit comprises an upper plate portion arranged above the lower plate portion with a space for placing the egg containers on it, a plate drive unit that moves the lower plate portion and the upper plate portion so that they are parallel and relatively separated in one direction of the egg containers, and a push unit that comes into contact with at least a side of the egg container so that the egg container placed on the lower plate portion is separated from the lower plate portion during the relative movement of the lower plate portion and the upper plate portion by the plate drive unit.

In addition, in the egg container transfer device, the aligning conveyor may have a plurality of first convex portions arranged along a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the aligning conveyor, and the lower plate portion may have a plurality of second convex portions arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the first convex portions at the same intervals as those between adjacent first convex portions.

The egg container transport system includes an egg container transport conveyor that supplies and transports the egg containers, the egg container transport device, and a transport push unit that pushes the egg containers on the egg container transport conveyor onto the alignment conveyor.

The egg container transfer system may also be configured to include a container transport unit that transports a container that contains the egg containers to a loading position at which the egg containers are loaded, and a container discharge unit that moves the container with the egg containers loaded from the loading position.

In the egg container transport system, the alignment conveyor may be disposed at a lower position than the egg container transport conveyor.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an egg container transport system according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating an egg container transport conveyor and an aligning conveyor according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a left side view illustrating a hand unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a rear view illustrating the hand unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a right side view of the container for explaining an example of loading egg containers into the container according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a front view of the container for explaining an example of loading egg containers into the container according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a front view illustrating an alignment conveyor according to another embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the egg container transport system will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. Note that in each figure, the dimensional ratio of the drawing does not necessarily match the actual dimensional ratio, and the dimensional ratios between the drawings do not necessarily match.

As shown in FIG. 1, an egg container transfer system 1 according to this embodiment includes an egg container transfer conveyor 3 that supplies and transfers egg containers 2, an egg container transfer device 4 that moves the egg containers 2 to a predetermined position, and a transfer push unit 5 that pushes the egg containers 2 on the egg container transfer conveyor 3 onto the egg container transfer device 4.
a container transport unit 7 that transports a container 6 that accommodates egg containers 2 to a loading position X1 where the egg containers 2 are loaded; and a container discharge unit 8 that moves the container 6 on which the egg containers 2 are loaded from the loading position X1.
The apparatus includes an evacuation unit 13 for evacuating the egg containers 2, and an input unit (not shown) for inputting a loading pattern of the egg containers 2.

Egg container 2 has ears 2a (see FIG. 2) that close a hinged lid to prevent egg container 2 from opening. In this application, egg container 2 refers to a general container filled with eggs (not shown). Egg container 2 has a bottom part with a concave-convex shape that matches the shape of an egg, and an upper part with either a flat shape or a concave-convex shape that matches the shape of an egg. In addition, the number of eggs that can be filled in egg container 2 (4, 6, 10,
The size of the egg container 2 varies depending on the size of the eggs (SS size to LL size).
The size of the egg container 2 varies depending on the size of the egg container 2.
can be used with egg container 2 that contains 10 eggs (SS size to LL size). However,
Without being limited thereto, the egg container 2 may contain 4, 6, or 12 eggs.

In this embodiment, the container 6 is a typical four-tiered rack (see Figs. 5 and 6) with a loading width of 580 mm and a height of each tier of 270 mm, but is not limited thereto.
The egg containers 2 are loaded on the racks that are the containers 6 and transported to each delivery store.
This eliminates the need to display the egg containers 2 on a shelf (they can be sold while loaded on a rack). This, for example, eliminates the need to display the egg containers 2, which can reduce labor costs.

The egg container transport conveyor 3 is a belt conveyor, and transports the egg containers 2 (e.g., L size) sorted by egg size upstream in the forward/backward direction D2 downstream with the short side of the egg container 2 at the front.
For example, egg containers 2 of different egg sizes (e.g., large size and medium size) may be transported on the egg container transport conveyor 3.

The egg container transfer device 4 includes an alignment conveyor 9 for aligning the egg containers 2, a hand unit 10 for placing the egg containers 2, and an alignment push unit 1 for pushing the egg containers 2 on the alignment conveyor 9 onto the hand unit 10.
The apparatus includes a hand transfer unit 1 having a hand unit 10 attached to its tip and a hand transfer unit 12 for transferring the hand unit 10 to a predetermined position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the alignment conveyor 9 is a conveyor belt 9 on which the egg containers 2 are aligned and placed.
a, a belt drive unit 9b that drives the conveyor belt, and a belt control unit (not shown) that controls the belt drive unit 9b. In this embodiment, the alignment conveyor 9 is a belt conveyor that can align six egg containers 2 in the short direction, but is not limited thereto.

The aligning conveyor 9 is disposed at a lower position than the egg container transport conveyor 3. In this embodiment, the conveyor step H1 between the aligning conveyor 9 and the egg container transport conveyor 3 is 5 mm, but is not limited to this. With this configuration, when the egg size is L size or larger, the egg container 2 placed on the aligning conveyor 9 is first transferred to the egg container 2 placed on the aligning conveyor 9.
Therefore, for example, the egg containers 2 can be loaded compactly in the container 6, and a larger number of egg containers 2 can be loaded in the container 6.

The conveyor belt 9a includes a plurality of first protrusions 90a arranged along a direction (front-rear direction D2) perpendicular to the conveying direction (left-right direction D1) of the conveyor belt 9a. In this embodiment, the first protrusions 90a are arranged in a straight line along the perpendicular direction and around the entire outer circumference of the conveyor belt 9a, but are not limited thereto. For example, the first protrusions 90
a may be formed of a plurality of protrusions along the above-mentioned orthogonal directions and provided around the entire outer periphery of the conveyor belt 9a.

The interval between adjacent first convex portions 90a is a fixed first convex portion pitch P1. In this embodiment, the first convex portion pitch P1 is 48 mm, but is not limited to this. This allows the concave portions of the uneven shape in the lower part of the egg container 2 to fit into the first convex portions 90a, preventing the egg container 2 from slipping on the conveyor belt 9a.

The rotation of the conveyor belt 9a in the conveying direction (left-right direction D1) is controlled by a belt control unit in units of one pitch (first convex portion pitch P1). When the egg containers 2 are packed together and aligned, for example, after an egg container 2 is placed on the conveyor belt 9a, before the next egg container 2 is placed,
The conveyor belt 9a is rotated by two pitches. When the egg containers 2 are aligned with a gap between each other, for example, after an egg container 2 is placed on the conveyor belt 9a, the conveyor belt 9a is rotated by three pitches before the next egg container 2 is placed on the conveyor belt 9a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hand unit 10 includes a lower plate 10a on which the egg container 2 is placed, and
and a plate driving unit 10c that moves the lower plate 10a and the upper plate 10b in parallel and relatively away from each other in one direction of the egg container 2. In this embodiment, the upper plate 10b and the plate driving unit 10c are attached to a hand transfer unit 12, and the lower plate 10a is attached to the plate driving unit 10c, but this is not limited thereto. Here, the one direction of the egg container 2 refers to the longitudinal or lateral direction of the egg container 2, or a direction parallel or perpendicular to the direction in which the hinge lid is opened.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lower plate portion 10a includes a plurality of second protrusions 100a arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the first protrusions 90a at the same intervals as the intervals between adjacent first protrusions 90a, and a plate driving unit 10c.
and a lower plate mounting portion 101a (see FIG. 3) that is attached to the lower plate.

The interval between adjacent second protrusions 100a is a constant interval, the second protrusion pitch P2. In this embodiment, the first protrusion pitch P1 and the second protrusion pitch P2 are the same interval, but this is not limited to this. The same interval means that they are substantially the same interval and includes an offset of up to 5 mm. With this configuration, the concave portions of the uneven shape of the lower part of the egg container 2 are aligned with the second protrusions 100.
a, and thus the egg containers 2 on the lower plate portion 10a can be prevented from shifting. This allows, for example, the egg container transfer device 4 to load the egg containers 2 while maintaining the egg containers 2 aligned in the container 6. Note that Fig. 4(a) shows a state in which six egg containers 2 are stacked, and Fig. 4(b) shows a state in which five egg containers 2 are stacked.
This is an example of a stacked state.

As shown in Figure 3, the upper plate portion 10b comprises an upper plate main body portion 100b located above the egg container 2 placed on the lower plate portion 10a, an extrusion portion 101b that contacts at least the side (the side opposite to the front-to-rear direction D2) of the egg container 2 so that the egg container 2 placed on the lower plate portion 10a moves away from the lower plate portion 10a when the lower plate portion 10a and the upper plate portion 10b move relative to each other by the plate driving portion 10c, and an upper plate mounting portion 102b for mounting to the hand transfer portion 12.

In this embodiment, the plate driving unit 10c drives the lower plate unit 10a to move in the opposite direction to the front-rear direction D2. At this time, the pushing unit 101b and the upper plate main body unit 100b are not linked to the operation of the lower plate unit 10a, and limit the lateral (opposite side to the front-rear direction D2) and upward (up-down direction D3) movements of the egg container 2.

In this embodiment, the extrusion portion 101b and the upper plate body portion 100b are flat plates, but are not limited thereto. For example, the upper plate body portion 100b may be made of a plurality of rod-shaped members arranged with their longitudinal direction aligned in the left-right direction D1.

In this embodiment, the pushing part 101b is connected to the upper plate main body part 100b, but is not limited thereto. For example, the pushing part 101b may be connected to the upper plate attachment part 102b, or may be provided in the hand transfer part 12. In addition, by adjusting the position of the pushing part 101b in the front-rear direction D2, egg containers 2 containing 4, 6, or 12 eggs can also be moved by the egg container transfer device 4.

The plate driving unit 10c includes a plate driving main body 100c that is attached to the hand transport unit 12, and a plate moving unit 101c that is attached to a lower plate mounting unit 101a and moved by the plate driving main body 100c. In this embodiment, the plate driving unit 10c is an air cylinder, but is not limited thereto.

As shown in Fig. 3(a), when the lower plate 10a is moved toward the hand transfer unit 12 by the plate drive unit 10c, the egg container 2 placed on the lower plate 10a also moves together with the lower plate 10a. Then, as shown in Fig. 3(b), when the egg container 2 hits the push-out unit 101b, the egg container 2 cannot move further together with the lower plate 10a and slides on the lower plate 10a. As a result, the egg container 2
The portion of the egg container 2 placed on the lower plate portion 10a decreases, and the egg container 2 can be lowered into the container 6 at the egg container angle α. This allows the egg container 2 to be lowered from the lower plate portion 10a even in a container 6 that has a restriction in the height direction, for example.

Here, when the egg container 2 is lowered, the egg container angle α can be reduced by the upper plate main body portion 100b coming into contact with the upper end portion of the egg container 2. This makes it possible to, for example, increase the accuracy with which the egg container 2 is lowered at the target position.

In the case of egg containers 2 with an uneven upper portion, the egg containers 2 are loaded by fitting the uneven convex portion of the lower portion of the next egg container 2 into the uneven concave portion of the upper portion of the egg container 2 previously loaded in the housing 6. Setting the egg container angle α makes it easy to fit the convex portion at the tip of the egg container 2 into the concave portion. Note that since the concave portion and the convex portion are each inclined, the convex portion and the concave portion can be fitted along their respective inclinations as long as the deviation from their respective centers is within ±15 mm.

1, the hand transfer unit 12 includes a first slide unit 12a attached to a floor and movable in a left-right direction D1, a second slide unit 12b attached to a movable unit (not shown) of the first slide unit 12a and movable in a vertical direction D3, a third slide unit 12c attached to a movable unit (not shown) of the second slide unit 12b and movable in a front-rear direction D2, and a slide control unit (not shown) that controls the movements of the slide units 12a to 12c. In this embodiment, the slide units 12a to 12c are electric sliders made of aluminum, but are not limited thereto.

The third slide portion 12c is a first mounting portion (not shown) for mounting the upper plate mounting portion 102b.
and a second mounting part (not shown) for mounting the plate driving main body part 100c. This allows the hand transfer part 12 to move the hand part 10 to a predetermined position in three dimensions. The predetermined positions are a replenishing position X2 where the egg containers 2 on the alignment conveyor 9 are placed on the hand part 10, and a plurality of egg container loading positions X11 where the egg containers 2 are loaded on the containers 6 at the loading position X1.

The replenishing position X2 is a position where the heights (vertical direction D3) of the alignment conveyor 9 and the lower plate portion 10a (see FIG. 3) for placing the egg containers 2 match, and the first convex portion 90a and the second convex portion 100a match when viewed from above (vertical direction D3). However, this is not limited thereto, and for example, the height of the lower plate portion 10a may be about 10 mm lower than the height of the alignment conveyor 9, and the surface of the lower plate portion 10a may not be parallel, but may be inclined about 10 degrees downward toward the direction in which it is pushed by the alignment push portion 11. The gap between the alignment conveyor 9 and the lower plate portion 10a is a maximum of 20 mm.

The egg container loading position X11 is determined by the loading pattern of the egg containers 2 input to the input unit, and the position of the hand transport unit 12 is determined by the loading pattern of the egg containers 2 input to the input unit. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the initial egg container loading position X11 is
The egg container loading position X11 is located at the rear side (front-rear direction D2) of the first tier of the container 6. The egg container loading position X11 then changes to the upper side of the rear side of the first tier of the container 6 until it reaches the number of tiers of egg containers 2 in the loading pattern. When it reaches the number of tiers of egg containers 2 in the loading pattern, the egg container loading position X11 changes to the front side of the first tier of the container 6 (the opposite side in the front-rear direction D2), and then changes to the upper side again.

In this way, the egg container loading position X11 changes position in the front-rear direction D2 and the up-down direction D3 until the egg containers 2 are loaded up to the top level of the container 6 according to the loading pattern. With this configuration, the egg container transport system 1 can automatically load the egg containers 2 into the container 6. This allows the egg containers 2 to be accurately loaded into the container 6 using a loading method that differs depending on the supply store.

In the case where the upper part of the egg container 2 is uneven, the stacking pattern is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, in each stage of the container 6, 6 egg containers 2 are stacked from the bottom (opposite side in the vertical direction D3) in a stacking order of 5, 6, 5, 6, 4 ...
The egg containers 2 are stacked in the order of one pitch. In a tier with five egg containers 2, a gap of one pitch (first convex portion pitch P1) is provided between the egg containers 2. This allows, for example, pressure caused by stacking on the egg containers 2 to be released, and prevents the eggs in the egg containers 2 from cracking. This also prevents, for example, the stacked egg containers 2 from collapsing. The stacking pattern is as follows:
However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the top of the egg container 2 is flat, the egg container 2 is loaded directly above the previously loaded egg container 2.

As shown in Figure 1, when the second convex portion 100a (see Figure 4) is positioned on the extension of the first convex portion 90a (see Figure 2) at the replenishment position X2, the alignment push portion 11 pushes the egg container 2 toward the hand portion 10, thereby transferring it from the alignment conveyor 9 to the lower plate portion 10a.

The transporting push unit 5 has a retraction means (not shown) for preventing contact in the transport direction (front-back direction D2) between the next egg container 2 transported by the egg container transporting conveyor 3 and the part of the transporting push unit 5 that pushes the egg container 2 after pushing the egg container 2 onto the alignment conveyor 9. In this embodiment, the retraction means moves the part of the transporting push unit 5 that pushes the egg container 2 in the up-down direction D3, but is not limited to this.

The container transport section 7 includes a plurality of container transport conveyors 7a that transport the containers 6 to the claw insertion position X3, and a first container transport section 7b that transports the containers 6 transported from the container transport conveyors 7a from the claw insertion position X3 to the loading position X1. In this embodiment, the plurality of container transport conveyors 7a have a rotation axis in the vertical direction D3, and are arranged in two units so as to sandwich the containers 6 in the left-right direction D1, and two more units are arranged in the front-rear direction D2, but this is not limited to this. Note that if the size of the containers 6 is changed, this can be accommodated by changing the installation position of the container transport conveyor 7a in the left-right direction D1.

The first container transport portion 7b includes a first claw portion 70b having a claw for hooking the container 6, a first claw moving portion 71b for moving the first claw portion 70b in the left-right direction D1, and a first claw sliding portion 72b for moving the first claw portion 70b and the first claw moving portion 71b in the front-back direction D2.

When the claw of the first claw portion 70b is inserted into the container 6 at the claw insertion position X3, the first claw portion 70
The claw of the first claw slide portion 72b is caught on a part of the container 6, and the container 6 is moved by the movement of the first claw slide portion 72b.
After the container 6 is transported to the loading position X1, the first claw slide portion 72b is moved to the claw insertion position X3 with the first claw portion 70b removed from the container 6.
Move to.

The container discharge unit 8 includes a second container transfer unit 8a that transfers the container 6 loaded with the egg containers 2 from the loading position X1 to the discharge position X4, a container push unit 8b that pushes out the container 6 at the discharge position X4, and a plurality of container discharge conveyors 8c that discharge the container 6 pushed out by the container push unit 8b in the front-rear direction D2. In this embodiment, the plurality of container discharge conveyors 8c are arranged in two units with the vertical direction D3 as the rotation axis to sandwich the container 6 in the left-right direction D1, but this is not limited to this. Note that when the size of the container 6 is changed, it can be accommodated by changing the installation position of the container discharge conveyor 8c in the left-right direction D1.

The second container transport section 8a comprises a second claw section 80a having a claw for hooking the container 6, a second claw moving section 81a which moves the second claw section 80a in the forward/backward direction D2, and a second claw slide section 82a which moves the second claw section 80a and the second claw moving section 81a in the left/right direction D1.

At the loading position X1, the claw of the second claw portion 80a is inserted into the storage body 6, so that the second claw portion 80a
The claw of the second claw slide portion 82a is caught on a part of the container 6, and the container 6 can be transported to the discharge position X4 by the movement of the second claw slide portion 82a. After the container 6 is transported to the discharge position X4,
The claw slide portion 82a moves to the loading position X1 in a state in which the second claw portion 80a is removed from the container 6. With this configuration, the egg container transfer system 1 can automatically replace the containers 6. Thereby, for example, the egg container transfer system 1 can automatically load egg containers 2 into a plurality of containers 6.

In this embodiment, the egg container transport system 1 transports one egg container 2 per second to the alignment conveyor 9. Then, the container 6 that has finished loading the egg containers 2 at the loading position X1 can be replaced with an empty container 6 in five seconds, but the present invention is not limited to this.

As described above, the egg container transfer device 4 includes an alignment conveyor 9 that aligns the egg containers 2, a hand unit 10 having a lower plate portion 10a on which the egg containers 2 are placed, an alignment push unit 11 that pushes the egg containers 2 on the alignment conveyor 9 and places them on the hand unit 10, and a hand transfer unit 12 to which the hand unit 10 is attached and that transfers the hand unit 10 to predetermined positions (egg container loading position X11 and replenishment position X2). The hand unit 10 includes an upper plate portion 10b that is arranged above the lower plate portion 10a with a space for placing the egg containers 2 thereon, a plate drive unit 10c that moves the lower plate portion 10a and the upper plate portion 10b in parallel and relatively away from each other in one direction of the egg containers 2, and a drive unit 10c that drives the lower plate portion 10a by the plate drive unit 10c.
During the relative movement between the lower plate portion 10a and the upper plate portion 10b, the egg container 2 placed on the lower plate portion 10a is moved toward the lower plate portion 10b.
and a push-out portion 101b that contacts at least a side of the egg container 2 so as to be spaced apart from the egg container 2a.

According to this configuration, the lower plate part 10a on which the egg container 2 is placed can be pushed out by the pushing part 101b in the longitudinal direction of the egg container 2. This makes it possible to lower the height of the hand part 10 on which the egg container 2 is loaded, and the egg container 2 can be carried even to a container 6 that has a height restriction.

In addition, in the egg container transfer device 4, the alignment conveyor 9 has a plurality of first convex portions 90a arranged along a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the alignment conveyor 9, and the lower plate portion 10a has a plurality of second convex portions 100a arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the first convex portions 90a at the same intervals as the intervals between adjacent first convex portions 90a.

According to this configuration, the first protrusion 90a and the second protrusion 100a are provided in the recess of the lower part of the egg container 2.
This makes it possible to prevent the egg containers 2 from being misaligned on the aligning conveyor 9 and the hand unit 10.

The egg container transfer system 1 includes an egg container transfer conveyor 3 that supplies and transfers egg containers 2, an egg container transfer device 4, and a transfer push unit 5 that pushes the egg containers 2 on the egg container transfer conveyor 3 onto an alignment conveyor 9.

According to this configuration, the egg containers 2 transported from upstream by the egg container transport conveyor 3 can be moved by the egg container transferring device 4 to predetermined positions (egg container loading position X11 and replenishment position X2).

In addition, the egg container transfer system 1 is configured to include a container transport unit 7 that transports a container 6 containing egg containers 2 to a loading position X1 where the egg containers 2 are loaded, and a container discharge unit 8 that moves the container 6 with the egg containers 2 loaded therein from the loading position X1.

According to this configuration, the container 6 can be transported to the loading position X1 by the container transport unit 7, and the container 6 on which the egg containers 2 are loaded can be moved from the loading position X1 by the container discharge unit 8. This allows the containers 6 to be automatically replaced.

Moreover, in the egg container transport system 1, the alignment conveyor 9 is disposed at a lower position than the egg container transport conveyor 3.

According to such a configuration, the alignment conveyor 9 is located at a lower position than the egg container transport conveyor 3, so that the ears 2a of the egg containers 2 placed later on the alignment conveyor 9 can be overlapped with the ears 2a of the egg containers 2 placed earlier on the alignment conveyor 9.

The egg container transfer device 4 and the egg container transfer system 1 are not limited to the configurations of the above-mentioned embodiments, and are not limited to the above-mentioned effects. Of course, the egg container transfer device 4 and the egg container transfer system 1 can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present application. For example, it is of course possible to arbitrarily select one or more of the configurations and methods of the various modified examples described below and adopt them in the configurations and methods of the above-mentioned embodiments.

In this embodiment, the hand unit 10 includes a lower plate portion 10a attached to a plate driving unit 10c.
However, the upper plate portion 10b may be attached to the plate driving portion 10c, and the egg container 2 may be lowered by moving the upper plate portion 10b. Also, the hand portion 10 may move the third slide portion 12c in accordance with the movement of the lower plate portion 10a or the upper plate portion 10b to lower the egg container 2.

As shown in Fig. 7, the alignment conveyor 9 has a pressing portion 9c made of an acrylic plate arranged on the upper side (vertical direction D3) of the conveyor belt 9a, and the alignment conveyor 9 and the egg container transport conveyor 3 may be at the same height (conveyor step H1 is 0 mm). In the case of a relatively large egg container 2,
Although the egg containers 2 do not fit within the first convex pitch P1 and float up, this can prevent the egg containers 2 from floating up on the alignment conveyor 9. The pressing portion 9c can be attached via a hinge, which makes it easy to remove the pressing portion 9c. The pressing portion 9c may be made of multiple rod-shaped members arranged with their longitudinal direction aligned in the left-right direction D1.

Reference Signs List 1: egg container transfer system, 2: egg container, 2a: ear portion, 3: egg container transport conveyor, 4: egg container transfer device, 5: transport push portion, 6: container, 7: container transport portion, 7a: container transport conveyor, 7b: first container transport portion, 70b: first claw portion, 71b: first claw moving portion, 72b
...first claw slide portion, 8...container discharge portion, 8a...second container transport portion, 80a...second claw portion,
81a... second claw moving portion, 82a... second claw sliding portion, 8b... container pushing portion, 8c... container discharge conveyor, 9... alignment conveyor, 9a... conveyor belt, 90a... first convex portion, 9b
...belt drive section, 9c...pressing section, 10...hand section, 10a...lower plate section, 100a...second protrusion section 101a...lower plate attachment section, 10b...upper plate section, 100b...upper plate main body section, 101b...pushing section, 1
02b...upper plate attachment portion, 10c...plate drive portion, 100c...plate drive main body portion, 101c...plate moving portion, 11...alignment push portion, 12...hand transport portion, 12a...first slide portion, 12b...second
Slide portion, 12c...third slide portion, 13...retraction portion, P1...first convex portion pitch, P2...second convex portion pitch, H1...conveyor step, α...egg container angle, X1...loading position, X11...egg container loading position, X2...replenishment position, X3...jaw insertion position, X4...discharge position

Claims (5)

An egg container transfer device that carries egg containers to a multi-stage container having a height restriction,
A transfer means for transferring a plurality of egg containers arranged in one row or one tier to each tier of the container;
The transport means is
The egg container is configured to have a hand unit that holds the egg container along any one of the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, and the direction parallel or perpendicular to the direction in which the hinge lid is opened, and a hand transfer unit having the hand unit attached to its tip.
Egg container transfer device. When transferring the egg container to the container, the hand transfer unit is located farther from the container than the hand unit.
2. The egg container transfer device of claim 1. One portion of the hand unit and one portion of the hand transport unit are connected to each other,
When the egg container held by the hand unit is transferred to a stage having a restriction in a height direction of the container, the hand unit is sent prior to the hand transfer unit, and the egg container is released from the hand unit and placed thereon.
3. An egg container transfer device according to claim 1 or 2. The hand unit is transferred to the container by the hand transfer unit along a direction parallel to a longitudinal direction of the egg container.
4. An egg container transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The transfer means is configured to transfer the egg containers to the container while changing their positions in the front-rear and up-down directions for each stage of the container that is restricted in the height direction, and when the egg containers have an uneven upper portion, the next egg container is loaded by fitting the uneven convex portion of the lower portion of the egg container that has been previously transferred to the container into the uneven concave portion of the upper portion of the egg container that has been previously transferred to the container, and when the egg containers have a flat upper portion, the next egg container is loaded directly above the previously loaded egg container.
5. An egg container transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images