JP2608292B2 - Method and apparatus for transporting individual items and systematically changing their position - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for transporting individual products of the food industry in particular and for systematically changing the position thereof, wherein the individual products are transported by a supply conveyor to a conveyor device. And then individual items,
For example, for subsequent processing on a packaging machine, it is of the type supplied by a subsequent discharge conveyor and an apparatus for performing the method.

2. Description of the Related Art Automatic processing machines for individual products arriving in an irregular order, for example, cakes, for example, packaging machines that presuppose a constant arrival of individual products or knitting of individual products, for example, hose bag wrapping machines, etc. In the case of processing, it is often necessary to reorganize or collect the individual items by hand, for example by damming, and then to supply the individual items one by one to a subsequent packaging machine.

Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention Individual products are arranged on a plurality of lines, and irregularly within each line, that is, in an accidental sequence to the next work machine, for example, at predetermined intervals in rows arranged vertically and horizontally. And the nature of the item (shape, weakness,
The problem is compounded when individual articles cannot be dammed for the purpose of subsequent separation in a row because of their unacceptability (eg stickiness).

A customary method of knitting the articles randomly supplied in a plurality of lines in rows is to direct or dam the articles by means of beams or blocking members and to discharge the resulting rows. However, this method can only be applied to a solid, individually shaped article.

In order to supply individual articles strictly periodically, that is, at regular intervals in the direction of flow, German Patent Application No. 2711039 and German Patent Application No. 3147590 disclose similar devices. According to this device, a gap movable between two conveyors is periodically moved by a cam, a tension member or a fluid cylinder, and is precisely joined between two groups of articles to be separated from one another. As a result, the group formation can be completed by a change in the transport speed controlled by the time or the work.

With these devices, it is not possible to carry out grouping from individual articles which are supplied at irregular intervals, in particular irregular intervals by chance.

The possibility of compensating for accidental fluctuations in product supply is disclosed in DE-A 23 33 374,
According to this, the necessity of controlling the product supply as required by connecting or disconnecting a preceding machine is correctly stated. The device functionally supplies or demands at the inlet one new piece for each piece controlled at the outlet, in which case the apparatus is time-shifted for the incoming pieces. Can be compensated for.

All the devices described in the above-mentioned specification use a transition which can be moved between two conveyors as a transition point and utilize a variable transport speed. This allows these devices to be supplied regularly for reshuffling or to have a short-term dispensing function suitable for the called item as needed, but to remove the regular arrangement from the accidental arrangement of the items. It does not have the function of simultaneous buffering required when moving to the array.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to start from the above-mentioned drawbacks, to have an inexpensive working form, to have a simple structure, and to be able to organize and change the position of individual products within a plurality of lines. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus as set forth above, in which articles can arrive at a conveyor device at a known average arrival rate at any position relative to each other.

Means for Solving the Problems The gist of the method of the present invention which has solved the above-mentioned problem is a method for conveying individual items and systematically changing the position thereof, wherein the individual items are conveyed to a conveyor device by a supply conveyor. In which the individual articles are then supplied for subsequent processing by a subsequent discharge conveyor, wherein at least three conveyors are arranged in each line as a constant shedding conveyor device, each line comprising: At least two moving parts, which connect the conveyors and can move back and forth as viewed in the conveying direction, are arranged, whereby the length of the conveying part of each conveyor in the conveying direction is variable, and Is detected by at least one sensor at least at a stationary transition from the supply conveyor to the conveyor device, and is thereby displaceable. By controlling the position of the transition and the conveying speed of the conveyor, the position of an individual article or group of articles in a plurality of lines or only one line with respect to another individual article or group of articles. Is conveyed from the supply conveyor to the conveyor device, optionally in a number of parallel lines, and wherein each of the conveyor devices is The spacing between the articles is varied according to the desired arrangement of the articles on a line-by-line basis, and then the items on each line are conveyed to the discharge conveyor at staggered or simultaneous times.

The gist of the apparatus of the present invention for performing the method of the present invention is as follows.
Consisting of an arbitrarily large number of lines, comprising a supply conveyor and a conveyor device and a discharge conveyor for transporting the articles and simultaneously changing the position of the articles according to the desired arrangement of the articles,
In an apparatus for transporting individual articles and systematically changing the position thereof, at least three conveyors consisting of a pulling member and a deflecting roller are sequentially arranged in the transport direction for each line of a conveyor apparatus of a fixed length. In each line, a transition portion that can move in the transport direction and the opposite direction is disposed between each of the conveyors, whereby the transport direction length of the transport portion of each conveyor is variable, and The transitions are formed from linearly guided and movable carriages supporting deflection rollers for the tension members, the position of each transition movable by starting the conveyor device and the transport of the conveyor. At least one sensor for detecting individual items for controlling the speed is arranged at each immovable transition from the supply conveyor to the conveyor device for each line; By means of a variable number of drives, the conveyor speeds of the conveyors of each line and all lines can be varied independently of one another.

According to the method of the present invention, according to the method of the present invention, the individual articles arriving side by side in a random and following distribution and consecutively and arbitrarily in a large number of lines can be formed without contacting each other. The position can be changed, so that at the outlet of the device the rows and columns arranged in a vertical and horizontal direction, the staggered arrangement or the arbitrary grouping are performed in a cyclical repetition.

With the device according to the invention, the production costs are low, in particular the disadvantages of the device disclosed in DE-A-271 11039 are avoided, that is to say only via one side of the belt. The actuated drive of the pair of rollers to be moved, which is actuated, travels twice the distance of the gap to be moved or of the movable transition, whereby (because this moving device has to be mounted in the belt body). ) The travel distance of the belt gap is limited to at most half the length of the conveyor. By arranging the entire movable roller on the carriage and thereby aligning the linear drive arrangement, the construction disclosed in DE-A-3147590 makes use of the effective length of the conveyor. Significantly reduced. The above-mentioned advantages of the device according to the invention also occur in embodiments.

EXAMPLE As shown in FIG. 1, two upper movable transitions
3, interposed 4,5 and two lower movable transitions 6,7
The conveyors 1, 2, and 3 are assembled in the frame, and the individual articles to be conveyed are supplied from the supply conveyor 10 to the associated conveyors 1, 2, and 3.
Via 3 to the discharge conveyor 11 and further to the discharge location.

The conveyors 1, 3 with fixed rollers 12 to 17 have the same structure and are used in a mirror-symmetric arrangement. Driving of these conveyors 1,3 is performed by motors 31,33 whose rotation speed is variable via selectively one of fixed rollers 12-17.

The conveyor 2 likewise has a contrasting structure. This conveyor is driven by a motor 32 whose rotation speed is also variable via a fixed roller 18. 4th for relatively heavy structures
The structure shown in the figure was selected, which may be necessary,
The large diameter of the drive roller 34 is made possible.

Transitions 4, 5 that can move in the transport direction and the opposite direction are arranged between the conveyors 1, 2, 3 for each line, and the movable transitions 4, 5 ,belt,
Deflection rollers 20,21; 22,23; 2 for tension members consisting of timing belts, chains or combinations thereof
4, 25; 26, 27, and is formed of a linearly guided and movable carriage.

The movable transitions 4 to 7 located between the conveyor 1 and the conveyor 3 have the axes of the deflection rollers 20, 21; 22, 23; 24, 25; 26, 27 of the respective movable transitions. Joined together,
In addition, the rollers shown in FIG. 1 are commonly configured to be able to move in the direction of the individual articles to be conveyed.

According to this configuration, all three conveyors 1, 2, 3 are 1
Only the tension rollers 19 provide the required tension.

According to this configuration of the conveyor, during the movement of one of the lower movable transitions 6, 7, which are better accessible for the mounting of the linearly acting drive, the movable upper part respectively located above it The transitions 4, 5 move the same distance-but in opposite directions.

In that case, the movement of the movable transitions 6, 4, which are connected to one another, is likewise the movable transitions 7, 5, which are also connected to one another.
Is not affected by the movement of the other, and vice versa. Similarly, the independently adjustable speeds of the three conveyors 1, 2, 3 are not affected by the movement of the movable transition.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show two possible embodiments of the two required drive belt units, in which the drive of the movable transition is effected by a crank rocker. In this embodiment, the rollers 35 and 36 make it unnecessary to incorporate the support plate 30 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. In this example,
Four conveyors of exactly the same construction are used in the arrangement shown, and the features already mentioned are both intermediate conveyors 2.
a and 2b are operated synchronously, and in short,
Occurs when the function of the conveyor 2 shown is taken over.

In FIG. 7, the crank oscillator 40 has grooves 4 at both ends.
1 and 42 are engaged with the deflection rollers 22 and 23. When the crank swinging body 40 swings and moves with the rollers 22, 23 to the position shown by the dotted line in FIG. 7, the conveyors 1, 2a and the movable transition section 4 also move to the position shown by the dotted line. Move,
Thereby, the lengths of the conveyors 1 and 2a change.

The device of the present invention allows for multiple functional histories,
All produce the same result. According to the simulation by the computer, the driving mode described below is good.
In that case, the conveyor device does not create an absence of individual items or cannot discharge excess individual items that exceed the internal buffer capacity. This means, in essence, that for each location of the formation to be formed within a limited time, one piece is provided at the entrance of the device and, in short, the average arrival rate of the pieces is reduced. Means that it must correspond to the average emission rate. Otherwise, vacancies will occur in the ejected group organization or a device is needed that will reduce the number of pieces to the number that the device can receive. What is important is that the articles can be supplied randomly, for example based on a Gaussian distribution. In one embodiment of the invention for charging at 100 rows per minute, a gap corresponding to, for example, up to 5 individual articles in a continuous manner, in other words without intervals between the individual articles or corresponding to the average arrival rate interval. Similarly, a large number of individual articles can be supplied without deviation from the selected group formation at the outlet.

The arrival rate and the emission rate can also be made variable-correspondingly to one another. For example, when the production amount of the machine placed before has fluctuated, it is necessary to consider the fluctuation of the arrival rate. In that case, it is necessary to configure the device and the control mechanism in accordance with the maximum possible arrival rate. In this case, a reduction in the supply results in a corresponding gap at the outlet between the group formations and, in extreme cases, between the rows.

 The functional principle within each line is as follows.

(1) Individual items that reach the immobile transition 8 of the device at arbitrary intervals with an average arrival rate are placed on the conveyor 1 one after the other so that the individual items do not touch each other and have a small distance and the same length. It is arranged as.

(2) A group (group) of individual items collected in this way
Are conveyed on a conveyor 2 by a movable transition 4, 5 running together, separated from the preceding group and the following group during the movement, in which case the individual goods run ahead of the group. With a movable transition 5
The gap with the individual products still remaining on the conveyor 3 in the previous recycling is closed.

(3) The conveyor 3 supplies the individual products in the desired order via the immobile transition 9 to the conveyor 11 for discharge.

The above is done arbitrarily in multiple lines synchronously or with selective interaxial displacement. Specifically, the following processes are performed in each line in the processes described in (1) to (3).

A sensor, which can be a photocell, detects the leading edge of the piece as it enters the immobile transition 8. Control mechanism allowed to continue running the conveyor 1 at a speed V ₁ of the individual articles by the length. In that case, the length of the individual articles may be known and constant, or may be detected during passage by the already mentioned or other sensors. Due to the time constants which are essential for starting and braking the conveyor elements, there is a fixed spacing between the pieces to be arranged on the conveyor 1. This interval is caused simply by choosing larger by a predetermined amount relative to the speed of the feed conveyor 10 the speed V ₁ of the conveyor 1. (In this case, the speed V ₁ is 60 mm in length,
Advantageously 12-1 if the charge is 100 pieces per minute per line
5m / min). Similarly, the spacing may be pre-established on a conveyor located in front of the device.

Conveyor 1 receives the first item and the second item
When the individual product is directly, optionally followed by contact with the first individual articles, the conveyor 1 travels at a speed V ₁ without stopping until receiving a total length of the individual articles. In that case, a gap occurs for the first individual item. In this case, the movable transition 4 simultaneously runs ahead of the first piece of speed V ₁ , so that the conveying and feeding processes on the conveyors 2 and 3 described below are independent of this movement. Can be implemented.

The conveyor 1 starts and receives whenever an individual enters the immovable transition section 8 and, unless another individual enters, on a supply conveyor 10 running at a constant speed, in other words between the two individual parts. Stop as long as there is a gap in.

Like the conveyor 1, the movable transition 4 also moves in each case preceding the first piece until the set of pieces on the conveyor 2 is exhausted. After that, conveyor 2 becomes conveyor 1
Moves in sync with and receives another item in some cases,
Movable transition portion 4, the lower side of the array of individual commodity without affecting the array of individual articles at a relatively high speed, advantageously is returned to its starting position V ₂ = 2V _1. In other words, the individual article continuously moves on the conveyor 1 and the conveyor 2 at the speed V ₁ , during which only the movable portion 4 can move at the speed V ₂ in the opposite direction to the individual article so that only the movable portion 4 slides on the individual article. Moving.
In this case, the relative speed of the movable transition 4 with respect to the individual product is advantageously V ₂ + V ₁ = 3V ₁ .

In the starting state, since there is no preceding set, the movable transitions 4, 5 for the first set stop at their starting position.

As a result, the aforementioned number of individual products are arranged on the conveyor 1 or 2 one after the other at equal intervals.

When a set of five individual items is assembled on the conveyor 2,
Conveyance to the discharge side of the apparatus is started for this individual product.
Due to this, the conveyor 2 is driven at a speed V ₂ = 2V ₁ . (The sixth individual item can already be located on the conveyor 1, which starts the assembly as already described, with the movable transition 4 performing its separating function).

When the first piece reaches the movable transition 5, the moveable transition 5 runs immediately before the first piece and the end of the preceding set still partially present on the belt conveyor 3. Reach the department. (In the starting state, since there is no individual article on the conveyor 3 yet, the transition from the conveyor 2 to the conveyor 3 is performed without the movable transition unit 5 performing its separating function. Stop at the starting position in the first set).

Then the conveyor 2 is driven at the same speed V ₀ and the conveyor 3, the conveyor 2 on the individual product is continuously moved without disturbing the sequence onto a conveyor 3, only the transition portion 5 is movable in the meantime is as if individual article Is moved back to the starting position, advantageously at a speed V ₂ = 2V ₁ in the opposite direction to the pieces so that all the pieces of this set are placed on the conveyor 3 for discharge. Is located. At the latest, the reverse movement of the movable transition section 4 is also performed by this process. This is because the conveyor 2 has to be forcibly emptied in the meantime. A new set can now be transported.

If the device is operated on multiple lines, the "gathering" and "transporting" processes take place independently of each other in each line and staggered in time based on the accidental arrival of individual items.

In contrast, the discharge of all the lines from the side-by-side conveyor 3 to the discharge conveyor 11 takes place regularly, ie after the desired arrangement in the same cycle, exchange cycle or other cyclic sequence. In that case, the condition is maintained that in each line the average arrival rate must correspond to the average emission rate, so that, on the one hand, the number of articles located on the conveyor 3 for the emission is determined by the capacity of this conveyor. , And one piece is always provided on the other side for discharge in each line, that is, a desired arrangement pattern, for example, a pattern shown in a, b, c of FIG. 3, is formed on the discharge conveyor. With no gap.

For example, the discharge in a closed row advantageously predefines a time period which can be selected by the control mechanism, during which the conveyors of all the lines are started and synchronously successively one by one. This is done in such a way that it is placed on the running discharge conveyor 11, then stopped and another piece is placed in the next time period.

In that case, the transport distance for each start-up of the conveyor 3 can be detected by photocells or other sensors as in the assembly and transport processes. These sensors are mounted on the stationary transition and respond to the controller with the beginning and end of the piece. In this case, this control can be a sequence control, for example a stored program control. It is also advantageous to use a process computer to reduce monitoring by sensors, and in extreme cases to identify each individual item only once at the immobile transition 8.

The length of each belt is a function of the length of the article, the variability of arrival on the supply conveyor, the frequency of arrival, the coefficient of friction of the article on the conveyor and thus the possible acceleration, as well as the strategy used for control. If the arrival rate is 100 pieces per minute with a length of 60 mm pieces, the following minimum length applies to each line.

Conveyor 1 Retracted condition: Almost 1 product length = 60 mm Conveyor 2 Extended on both sides: Almost 15 products for one set of 5 individual products = 900 mm Retracted condition on both sides: Almost 120 mm Conveyor 3. Stretched state: approximately 9 pieces length = 540 mm for 1.5 sets each consisting of 5 pieces, the length of conveyor 3 must be chosen large when the variation in arrival is large.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing various possible formations after knitting of individual products, FIG. FIG. 5 is a detailed schematic side view of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the movement of a movable transition, FIG. 6 is a schematic partial side view of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a partially schematic side view of still another embodiment of the present invention. 1,2,3 …… Conveyor, 4,5,6,7 …… Movable transition, 8,
9: stationary transition section (gap), 10: supply conveyor, 11: discharge conveyor, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 ... fixed roller, 19 ... tension roller, 20, 21,22,23,2
4,25,26,27… deflection roller, 30… support plate, 31, 32, 33…
… Motor, 34 …… Drive roller, 35,36 …… Roller

Claims (14)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for transporting individual items and systematically changing the position thereof, wherein the individual items are transported by a supply conveyor to a conveyor device, and the individual items are subsequently discharged for further processing. In a type supplied by a conveyor, at least three conveyors (1, 2, 3) are arranged for each line as a conveyor device of a fixed length, and each conveyor (1, 2, 3) is provided for each line. ), At least two transitions (4,5) that can move back and forth in the transport direction are arranged, whereby the length of the transport section of each conveyor in the transport direction is variable. The position of the individual product is detected by at least one sensor at least at the immobile transition from the supply conveyor (10) to the conveyor device, whereby the position and position of each of the movable transitions (4,5); Up By controlling the conveying speed of the conveyor, a plurality of lines or phlegm 1
The position of an individual item or group of items in one line with respect to another item or group of items is varied for a predetermined period of time or over a predetermined distance section. The articles are conveyed from the supply conveyor (10) to the conveyor apparatus arbitrarily in a number of parallel lines, wherein the spacing between the articles is varied according to the desired arrangement of the articles for each line of the conveyor apparatus. Transporting the individual articles of each line to the discharge conveyor (11) at a time-shift or at the same time, and systematically changing the position of the individual articles. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control is performed by a programmable computer. 3. An optional conveyor, comprising a supply conveyor (10), a conveyor device for transporting the individual articles and simultaneously changing the position of the individual articles according to the desired arrangement of the individual articles, and a discharge conveyor (11). An apparatus for transporting and systematically changing the position of an individual product comprising a number of lines, comprising at least three conveyors (1) comprising a pulling member and a deflecting roller for each line of a conveyor device of fixed length. , 2,3) are sequentially arranged in the transport direction, and a transition section (4,5) that can move in the transport direction and the reverse direction between the conveyors (1,2,3) is provided for each line. A linearly guided and reciprocating reciprocating arrangement, whereby the conveying direction length of the conveying section of each conveyor is variable and the transition section supports deflection rollers for the tension members Is formed from a table and starts the conveyor device Each transition movable (4, 5)
And at least one sensor for detecting individual articles for controlling the position of the conveyor and the conveyor speed is arranged at an immovable transition section which transitions from the supply conveyor to the conveyor apparatus for each line, and has a variable rotation speed. By the driving devices (31 to 33), the conveyor speed of each line and the conveyor of all lines can be controlled independently of each other.
A device for transporting individual items and systematically changing their positions, characterized in that they are variable. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the conveyor comprises a belt wound around a movable deflection roller. 5. A movable transition section (6, 7) opposite to the movable transition section (4, 5), respectively, and the latter movable transition section (6, 7) is located at a predetermined position. 5. The device according to claim 3, wherein the movable part (4, 5) is movable in the opposite direction by an equal distance in the opposite direction. 6. The movement of the movable transition (4 or 6) relative to the movement of the movable transition (5 or 7) in different running directions, at different speeds and at different distances. Apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, which is performed only. 7. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the individual conveyors have different overall lengths. 8. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the movement of the movable transition is effected by means of a linear drive or a drive with a tension member. 9. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said tension member of the conveyor comprises a band, a cord, a belt, a timing belt, a chain, or a combination thereof. 10. All conveyors (1, 2,
10. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the tension of (3) is caused by the movement of one roller (19). 11. Conveyor (2) in heavy construction is driven by a roller (34) and another roller (28,2).
Apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein (9) is provided. 12. Control of the device, in particular a movable transition (4,
The control of the traveling direction of 5), the traveling speed of the movable transition parts (4,5) and the tension members of the conveyors (1,2,3) is performed by an adaptively programmable computer and detected by sensors. 12. Apparatus according to any of claims 3 to 11, wherein is performed photoelectrically or electrically. 13. The conveyor as claimed in claim 3, wherein the conveyor comprises two partial conveyors arranged one behind the other, and the driving of both partial conveyors is performed synchronously. 13. The apparatus according to any one of paragraphs 12 to 12. 14. The device according to claim 3, wherein only one line of the device is used for supplying the packaging machine.