JP2505084B2 - Alignment and supply device for multiple articles - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to liquids such as beverages,
The present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning and supplying a plurality of articles used in the packaging industry for filling a predetermined bottle with seasoning liquid or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a supply device for an article, that is, a bottle supply device used in the filling and packaging industry of a predetermined bottle of a liquid such as a beverage and a seasoning liquid, that shown in FIG.

In this device 80, one bottle 81 is provided with a feed conveyor 84 obliquely intersecting with the conveyor 83, which is obliquely intersecting with the conveyor 83 such as a belt provided with a plurality of rows of guides 82 having a width of the bottle 81. Arranged so that a transfer path 85 that can pass therethrough is formed, and a large number of bottle groups placed on each row along the guide 82 on the bottle conveyor 83 are sent along with the transfer of the conveyor 83. The conveyors 84 sequentially feed the transfer path 85, and the bottles 81 are lined up in the transfer path 85.
Was sent to the desired processing step by the transfer conveyor 86.

When the bottle 81 is transferred by the device 80, since the outer periphery of the bottle 81 moves on the bottle conveyor 83 while contacting the guide 82, the printing surface and the label are scratched and the commercial value of the bottle 81 is increased. Lower.

The last bottle 81 in each row of the bottle conveyors 83 is not subject to the supporting force of the rear portion of the next bottle 81, so that the bottles often fall on the conveyors 83 due to vibrations or the like. Also, when the bottles are clogged at the start end of the transfer path 85 when they are sequentially aligned by the feed conveyor 84 and fed into the transfer path 85, the operator must repair the bottle posture each time, The purpose of high-speed transfer of bottles is not achieved,
Further, since the worker must always be on standby so as to cope with a bottle transfer failure in the vicinity of the device 80, labor saving cannot be achieved. There were various problems such as.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and receives one block of an article from an article unloading means and transfers the article from one side to the other side. In the article delivering means to be held, while holding the front and back of the article to prevent the article from falling due to transportation,
The article sorting and feeding means sorts each article in each column of one block, and the articles can be continuously and stably fed to the next process, and further, there are no scratches generated during the transportation, which is stable and high. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for aligning and feeding a plurality of articles, which is capable of high-speed conveyance of articles according to efficiency.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The means of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is an article unloading means in which a large number of articles are stacked in a block form of columns and rows, and is connected to the article unloading means. An article delivery means comprising a restraining member for receiving one block of articles from the carry-out means on a transfer member and transporting the block from one side to the other side, and contacting the front part and the rear part of the article block, and the article delivery The article distribution / introduction means provided so as to be connected to the other side of the means is arranged, and the article distribution / introduction means distributes the block-shaped articles on the terminal end of the article delivery means into a plurality of predetermined rows. A plurality of sets of article distributing members and a plurality of rows of articles corresponding to the number of sorting rows to be placed adjacent to the article delivering and receiving means and to which the article row from the article sorting member is placed and sent to the next step. Aligned supply of a plurality of articles having a feeding member In the configuration of the location.

[0008] Also, an article carrying-out means in which a large number of articles are stacked in a column and a row in a block form, and article delivering means for connecting one block of the article from the carrying-out means to transfer the article from the carrying-out means. The article delivery / introduction means provided so as to be connected to the other side of the article delivery / delivery means is provided, and the article delivery / delivery means is provided between the article unloading means and the article delivery / introduction means, and is provided above the article delivery / delivery means. It is composed of a transfer member for placing the article and transferring it from one side to the other side, and an article restraining member that is provided above the transport member so as to oppose the article of one block on the transport member. A plurality of locking members that come into contact with the front and rear portions to prevent the product from falling down, and an operating member that is linked to the locking members to selectively elevate and lower the locking members to the side and the upper side of the product. , In cooperation with the operating member, to move back and forth on the transfer member substantially in parallel It comprises a moving member and a stopper arranged at the end of the transfer member to regulate the stop position of the transferred article, and the article distribution / introduction means is a block-like member on the terminal end of the article delivery means. An article sorting member consisting of a plurality of sets for sorting articles into a predetermined plurality of rows,
Arrangement of a plurality of articles having a plurality of rows of article feeding members corresponding to the number of sorting rows for placing the article rows from the article sorting member and sending them to the next process, adjacent to the article delivery means. In the configuration of the supply device.

Further, an article unloading means in which a large number of articles are stacked in blocks of columns and rows and an article unloading means are connected to each other, and one block of articles from the unloading means is received on a transfer member. From one side to the other side, and an article delivery means consisting of a restraining member that comes into contact with the front and rear parts of the article block, and an article distribution and delivery means provided in connection with the other side of the article delivery means. The article sorting and feeding means is provided.
An article distribution member composed of a plurality of sets for distributing the block-shaped articles on the terminal end of the article delivery means into a plurality of predetermined rows and an article row from the article delivery member adjacent to the article delivery means. And a plurality of rows of article feeding members corresponding to the number of sorting rows to be placed and sent to the next step, the article sorting member being a movable body that is movable forward and backward to a lateral guide, A movable body that can be lifted and lowered by a lifting member,
A plurality of rows of suspension bodies corresponding to the distribution rows connected to the movable body at a predetermined interval by a space adjusting member that can be laterally moved, and the suspension bodies are arranged and distributed under the suspension body, respectively. A plurality of gripping members for gripping a row of articles, the article feeding member, a cradle that is laid horizontally corresponding to each row of the suspension at the end of movement of the article sorting member, An arrangement and supply device for a plurality of articles is provided, which comprises a conveying member arranged on a cradle to hold the front and rear of a plurality of articles transferred and transfer the articles from one side to the other side.

[0010]

The apparatus for aligning and feeding a plurality of articles of the present invention constructed as described above has the following operation. The articles on the article unloading means are transferred by the unloading means to the article delivering and receiving means in the state of a group of articles in one block in a plurality of rows and columns.

In this state, the block-shaped article transferred onto the transfer member in the article transfer means is transferred from the start end to the end of the transfer member while being held between the front and back of the transfer member by the restraining member, and the front side thereof at the end. The stop position of the product is positioned by the stopper.

Then, the gripping members of the suspending body of the article distributing member are made to correspond to a plurality of rows in the container group reaching the end of the transfer member, for example, four rows, and the lifting member lowers the gripping members to lower the article group. After gripping each row in
Again, while operating the elevating member and the advancing / retreating member to move to the starting end of the article feeding member, the gripping member is adjusted by the interval adjusting means to adjust the pitch in the width direction according to the row of articles to be supplied, When the article group is placed on the cradle, preparation for delivery can be performed.

Further, if the article feeding member is operated, the number of articles
The products are transferred to the desired process line by line without causing the products to collapse.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an apparatus for aligning and supplying a plurality of articles according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 shows an outline of an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention.
Which is provided at the beginning of the liquid filling and packaging line,
The article 2 supplied by the device 1 is a PET bottle or the like for filling and packaging soft drinks, fruit drinks, etc.
Article unloading means 3 in which a large number of items are accumulated, and the article unloading means 3
Basically, the article delivery means 4 connected to the above and the article distribution and delivery means 5 connected to the other side of the article delivery means 4 are connected.

The article unloading means 3 described above is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, one block in which a large number of articles 2 are vertically and horizontally aligned and placed on a pallet 6 is formed, and several blocks are stacked on the upper part of the article 2 group via a separator plate 7, and the elevating member 8 is arranged.
The articles are raised and lowered one by one to correspond to the transfer upper surface of the article delivering means 4, and a carrying-in means 9 for delivering one block at a time is provided above the article 2 group.

The carrying-in member 9 engages with a lateral guide 11 supported by a column 10 or the like, with a moving body 13 which is movable by an advancing and retracting means 12 so that the article 2 is attached to one end of the moving body 13. A pushing plate 14 that engages with the rear side of the group is hung down, and a receiving plate 15 that abuts with the front side of the group of articles 2 is rotatably supported by a spindle 16 at the other end. Both plates are attached and, when carrying in the article delivery means 4,
14 and 15 are for pushing the group of articles 2 by the advancing and retracting means 12 while holding the group of articles 2.

The advancing / retreating means 12 is shown as a rack and pinion type in FIG. 3, but any conventional means such as a fluid cylinder type or a screw shaft type for advancing / retreating the moving body 13 is adopted. It is possible, and also the receiving plate 15 described above.
After the article 2 group is transferred onto the article delivering means 4, the article 2 group is jumped up by the operating means (not shown) about the support shaft 16 when the moving body 13 retreats. It is configured not to come into contact with.

The article delivery means 4 is basically constructed by a transfer member 17 and a restraining member 18, and the transfer member 17 is, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, Provided between the article unloading means 3 and the article sorting / feeding means 5 to be described later for intermittently transferring the group of articles 2 from one side to the other side in a predetermined row, for example, four rows, A belt in which endless belts are stretched over the driving and driven rollers 19 and 20 or a conveyor in which an endless rail type circulating member 21 is suspended is used.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the restraining member 18 comes into contact with the front and rear portions of one block of the article 2 group on the transfer member 17 to prevent the article 2 from falling sideways. Multiple (three sets in the figure) locking members 22, 2 to prevent
3, 24 are suspended by operating members 25, 26, 27 such as fluid cylinders so that they can be moved up and down, and the operating members 25, 26, 27 are screw shafts 29 horizontally mounted on front and rear mounting bodies 28, 28. , 30 and 31 are attached to moving pieces 32, 33 and 34 screwed together, and this screw shaft 2
The moving members 35, 36, 37 that can be numerically controlled by stepping, servo motors, fluid cylinders, etc. are linked to one end of 9, 30, 31 and can be stopped by controlling them. The position is controlled.

Further, a stopper 39 with an adjusting member 38 such as a servomotor is provided at the end of the transfer member 17, and the stop position of the transferred product 2 is determined by this stopper 39. The position can be appropriately adjusted in accordance with the change in outer shape, that is, the difference in outer diameter.

The above-mentioned article distributing / feeding means 5 is provided at the transfer end of the transfer member 17 in the article delivery means 3 and the start end of the transfer means 40 as shown in FIG. Block-shaped article 2 transferred in multiple rows
A predetermined row of the group, for example, four rows is supplied to the transfer means 40, and as shown in FIG.
41 and an article feeding member 42.

Of these, the article distributing member 41, as shown in FIG. 7, is a suspension body 43, 43 which is associated with the movable body 60 in each of the rows.
... are connected at a predetermined interval by a space adjusting means 44, and a gripping member 45 of a vacuum type, a mechanical type by rotating the locking claws, or an air tube type is attached to the lower part of the suspensions 43, 43. A large number of 45 ... Are attached, and the movable body 60 is supported by a lateral guide 46.
It is suspended by 48 so that it can be lifted up and down, and by linking an advancing / retreating member 49 such as a servomotor to the moving body 47, as described above, the transfer end of the transfer member 17 and the start end of the transfer means 40 in the article transfer line are provided. Can be moved appropriately.

Further, the interval adjusting means 44 is the suspension body.
The outermost one of 43 is screwed to the screw shaft 50 provided on the movable body 60, and the other one is loosely fitted to the shaft 50, and
A tuning member 51, such as a pantograph, for tuning the respective spacing adjustments is linked to the upper part of the 43, 43 ...
An arbitrary pitch of the suspensions 43, 43 ... Can be obtained by controlling and rotating the 50 by a driving member 52 such as a stepping motor or a servomotor.

The article feeding member 42 is provided on the starting end side of the transfer means 40, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the pedestal 53 corresponding to each row (for example, four rows). 5 on both sides
4 and 55 are supported parallel to each other across the row of the second group of articles.
Pushing pieces 5 that come into contact with the front end or the rear end of the second group of articles 4 and 55
6 and 57 are fixed to each other, and the connecting rods 54 and 55 are rotated by a rotating member 58 by stepping, a servomotor, etc. and an advancing / retreating member 59 controlled by a stepping, servomotor, or a fluid cylinder, etc. Also, it is freely movable in the front-back direction.

Therefore, the operation of one embodiment of the device of the present invention will be described. In the article unloading means 3 in which the articles 2 are stacked in a predetermined manner, the bottom position of the article 2 group to be transferred by operating the elevating member 8 is described as follows. Transfer member in delivery means 4
It corresponds to the upper surface of 17.

Then, the pushing plate 14 and the receiving plate 15 in the carry-in member 9 are brought into contact with the front side and the rear side of the group of articles 2 which are one block, and the articles 2 are moved by vibration or inertia force caused by the transfer. Hold it so that it does not fall.

In this state, when the advancing / retreating means 12 is operated to move laterally along the lateral guide 11 onto the transfer member 17, a large number of the second group of articles are placed on the transfer member 17 in one block. It

Then, the restraining member in the article delivery means 4
The locking members 22, 23 of 18 are lowered and come into contact with the front side and the rear side of the article 2 group by the operation of the operation members 25, 26, so that they are held again and the transfer of the transfer member 17 is started.

At this time, the moving members 35 and 36 of the restraining member 18 are operated, and the locking members 22 and 23 also move at the same speed in synchronization with the transfer of the transfer member 17, as shown in FIG. 6 (a). The group of articles 2 is transferred from the state to the position shown in FIG. 6 (b).

The locking member 23, which is in contact with the front side of the second group of articles, is pulled up to above the articles by the operating member 26 and the moving member 36, as shown in FIG. 6 (b).
By means of the moving member 35, the locking member 22 is moved back to the starting end position of the transfer member 17, and at the same time, the locking member 22 is moved back to the locking member 22 located on the rear side of the article 2 group.
24 is also an article 2 which has completed the transfer of one block by the moving member 37
After moving to the rear side of the group, the operating member 27 makes contact with the rear side of the group of articles 2.

By repeating this operation intermittently and sequentially, the group of articles 2 on the article unloading means 3 is transferred to the article delivery means 4.

On the other hand, the holding members 45, 45 ... Of the suspensions 43, 43 ... Are made to correspond to the four horizontal rows in the group of articles 2 on the article delivery means 4, and the lifting members 48 lower the holding members 45, 45. After the second group of articles is gripped, the lifting member 48 and the advancing / retreating member
The group of articles 2 is placed on the receiving table 53 by manipulating 49 to move it to the start end of the transfer means 40 and adjusting the widthwise pitch thereof according to the two rows of articles supplied by the interval adjusting means 44. Then, preparation for the transfer to the transfer means 40 is ready.

Then, one of the connecting rods 54 is extended by the advancing / retreating member 49 on one side of the two rows of articles so that the pushing piece 56 is positioned at the front end of the two rows of articles, and the other connecting rod 55 is similarly pushed. After the 57 is positioned at the rear end of the second row of articles, the rotating members 58 are respectively operated to rotate the connecting rods 54, 55, that is, the pushing pieces 56, 57 inward, so that the front and rear ends of the second row of articles are moved. Since they come into contact with each other, when the advancing / retreating members 59, 59 are operated in this state, the article 2 group is smoothly transferred to the transfer means 40 while being held by the pushing pieces 56, 57 in the front and rear thereof without causing the article 2 to collapse. To be done.

Among the pushing pieces 56 and 57, the one positioned forward with the transfer, that is, the one that was in contact with the rear end of the preceding second group of articles, is the next article supplied to the receiving table 53. By making contact with the front ends of the second group, a cyclical holding operation can be continuously performed. Further, the one positioned forward along with the transfer is returned to the starting point by the advancing / retreating means 59, and again the above-mentioned. Performs the specified action.

[0036]

As described above, the apparatus for aligning and feeding a plurality of articles according to the present invention is capable of transferring a large number of articles at one time in the case of the article group whose posture is likely to be unstable when placed on the transfer means or the like. In addition, even if the vibration or the inertial force during the transfer is received, the transfer can be surely carried out without causing a fall accident of the article.

Further, since the transfer can be carried out without following the guides or the like, there is no contact of the articles with the guides or the like, and the printing surface or the label is scratched and the commercial value is lowered. There is nothing to do.

Particularly, in the present invention, one block of articles delivered from the article unloading means to the article delivering means is sorted into each column, and the articles are continuously fed to respective article feeding members corresponding to the sorting. Moreover, since it can be fed stably, continuous automation of article processing in the next step can be achieved. And so on.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing an example of an embodiment of an apparatus for aligning and supplying a plurality of articles according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view in which a part of FIG. 1 is omitted.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the article unloading means in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the article delivery means in FIG.

5 is a plan view of FIG.

6 is an explanatory view showing an operating state of a locking member in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing an article sorting / feeding means 5 in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view schematically showing a conventional apparatus for aligning and supplying a plurality of articles.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 articles 3 article unloading means 4 article delivering means 5 article allocating and delivering means 17 transfer member 18 restraining member 22,23,24 locking member 32,33,34 operating member 35,36,37 moving member 41 article allocating member 42 Article feeding member 60 Movable body 43 Suspension body 44 Spacing adjustment member 45 Grip member 46 Side guide 47 Moving body 48 Elevating member 53 Cradle 56,57 Conveying member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A 61-238615 (JP, A) JP-A 63-248613 (JP, A) JP-A 59-124619 (JP, A) JP-A 2- 89719 (JP, A) Actually open Sho 60-99203 (JP, U) Actually open 2-86931 (JP, U) Special public Sho 59-18248 (JP, B2) Special public Sho 57-2613 (JP, B2) Actual public Sho 52-19348 (JP, Y2) Actual public Sho 58-23786 (JP, Y2)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An article carrying-out means in which a large number of articles are accumulated in a block form of columns and rows and an article carrying-out means connected to the article carrying-out means to receive one block of articles from the carrying-out means on a transfer member. From one side to the other side, and an article delivery means consisting of a restraining member that comes into contact with the front and rear parts of the article block, and an article distribution and delivery means provided in connection with the other side of the article delivery means. The article distributing / feeding means includes a plurality of sets of article distributing members for distributing the block-shaped articles on the terminal end of the article delivering / receiving means into a predetermined plurality of rows, and the article delivering / discharging means adjacent to the article delivering / receiving means. An apparatus for aligning and feeding a plurality of articles, comprising: a plurality of articles feeding members corresponding to the number of the sorting rows for placing articles rows from the article sorting member and sending the articles to the next process. 2. An article carrying-out means in which a large number of articles are stacked in blocks of columns and rows, and article delivering means for connecting one block of the articles from the carrying-out means to be connected to the article carrying-out means. The article delivery / introduction means provided so as to be connected to the other side of the article delivery / delivery means is provided, and the article delivery / delivery means is provided between the article unloading means and the article delivery / introduction means, and is provided above the article delivering / delivering means. It is composed of a transfer member for placing the article and transferring it from one side to the other side, and an article restraining member that is provided above the transport member so as to oppose the article of one block on the transport member. A plurality of locking members that come into contact with the front and rear portions to prevent the product from falling down, and an operating member that is linked to the locking members to selectively elevate and lower the locking members to the side and the upper side of the product. , A transfer which is linked to the operation member and moves back and forth on the transfer member substantially in parallel. A member and a stopper arranged at the end of the transfer member to regulate the stop position of the transferred article, wherein the article sorting / introducing means is a block-shaped article on the terminal end of the article delivery means. A plurality of article distribution members each of which is distributed into a predetermined plurality of rows, and the article distribution member adjacent to the article delivery means, the article row from the article distribution member is placed on the distribution row number to be sent to the next step. An apparatus for aligning and feeding a plurality of articles, which comprises a plurality of rows of article feeding members corresponding to each other. 3. An article carrying-out means in which a large number of articles are stacked in a block form of columns and rows, and an article carrying-out means connected to the article carrying-out means to receive one block of articles from the carrying-out means on a transfer member. From one side to the other side, and an article delivery means consisting of a restraining member that comes into contact with the front and rear parts of the article block, and an article distribution and delivery means provided in connection with the other side of the article delivery means. The article distributing / feeding means includes a plurality of sets of article distributing members for distributing the block-shaped articles on the terminal end of the article delivering / receiving means into a predetermined plurality of rows, and the article delivering / discharging means adjacent to the article delivering / receiving means. , A plurality of rows of article feeding members corresponding to the number of sorting rows for placing the article rows from the article sorting member and sending them to the next process, and the article sorting member advances and retracts to a lateral guide. A movable body that can be freely installed, and an elevating member to the movable body. A movable body which is suspended freely, a plurality of rows of suspension bodies which are connected to the movable body at predetermined intervals and which are connected to each other by a spacing adjusting member which is movable laterally, and the suspension body, And a plurality of gripping members for gripping the sorted article rows arranged in the lower part of the body. The article feeding member corresponds to each row of the suspension body at the movement end of the article sorting member. And a pedestal that was placed horizontally,
An apparatus for aligning and feeding a plurality of articles, comprising: a conveyance member arranged on the receiving table to hold the plurality of articles transferred and to transfer the articles from one side to the other side.