JP2705555B2 - Refilling device for holder in container supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a holder refilling device in a container supply device, and more particularly, to a holder for refilling a holder rejected from a main transport path for some reason by returning the holder to the transport path again. To a replenishing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a method in which a holder rejected from a main transport path for some reason is returned to the original main transport path (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 54 (1988)).
-35385).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, when returning the rejected holder to the original transport path, the main transport path is stopped each time. Therefore, conventionally, a stop mechanism for temporarily stopping the main transport path is required, and moreover,
The disadvantage is that noise is generated every time the holder is stopped.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In view of such circumstances,
The present invention provides a plurality of pockets, which are arranged at equal intervals in the traveling direction on a circulating traveling delivery conveyor in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction and hold a plurality of holders in a straight line, and the delivery at a predetermined holder supply position. A holder supply mechanism for supplying a holder from one side of the conveyor to the pocket, a container supply mechanism for supplying a container to the holder held in the pocket at a container supply position located downstream of the holder supply position, At a discharge position located downstream from the container supply position, a holder discharge mechanism that discharges the holder holding the container from the pocket to the outside thereof, and further, at a position upstream from the holder supply position, the holder has been rejected. And a holder replenishing mechanism for supplying a holder to a pocket. Is shall. Further, a second invention provides a plurality of pockets which are arranged at equal intervals in the running direction of a delivery conveyor which is circulated and run in a direction orthogonal to the running direction to hold the plurality of holders in a straight line, and A holder supply mechanism for supplying a holder to the pocket from one side of the delivery conveyor at a position, and a container supply for supplying a container into the holder held in the pocket at a container supply position located downstream of the holder supply position. A mechanism and a holder discharge mechanism for discharging the holder holding the container from the pocket to the outside at a discharge position located downstream from the container supply position, and further, a holder discharge mechanism for the holder by the holder supply mechanism at the holder supply position. In synchronization with the feeding operation, the previously rejected holder is fed into the pocket from the other side of the delivery conveyor There is provided a refill device of the holder in the container supply device comprising a holder replenishment mechanism that.

[0005]

According to the above-described structure, it is not necessary to stop the holders at the above-mentioned positions in order to replenish the rejected holders. Therefore, in the present invention, there is no need for a stop mechanism for stopping the holder on the main transport path, and it is possible to prevent the generation of noise when refilling the rejected holder.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a container supply device which can supply a container 3 into a cup-shaped holder 2. The container supply device 1 includes a delivery conveyor 4 located on the lower side, and container supply means 5 disposed above the delivery conveyor 4.
And The delivery conveyor 4 can be circulated and run in the direction of the arrow, and a plurality of guide bars 6 are attached to its mounting surface at equal pitches in a direction perpendicular to the running direction. The pockets 7 are formed at equal pitches in the traveling direction by the adjacent guide bars 6, and the delivery conveyor 4 is intermittently moved by one pitch provided with the guide bars 6. Then, with the pocket 7 stopped at the insertion position A shown in FIG. 1, 24 holders 2 are inserted into the pocket 7 from the supply conveyor 8 provided at a position adjacent to the delivery conveyor 4. The holders 2 thus supplied and held in the pockets 7 are in a state where the holders 2 at adjacent positions are in contact with each other (FIG. 1).
0). When 24 holders 2 are supplied and held in the pocket 7 at the insertion position A, the guide bar 6 moves by the above-mentioned one pitch, so that the pocket 7 holding the holder 2 is an adjacent downstream container. At the supply position B, and when stopped at the supply position B, 24 containers 3 are supplied into the holders 2 from above by the container supply means 5. At this time, at the insertion position A, 24 holders 2 are inserted into the pockets 7 from the supply conveyor 8 as described above. Next, the guide bar 6 is further
When moved to the downstream side by the pitch, the pocket 7 holding the holder 2 containing the container 3 moves to the discharge position C and stops there. At the discharge position C, the pocket 7 held in the pocket 7 by discharge means (not shown). The individual holders 2 are discharged onto a discharge conveyor 11 disposed orthogonal to the delivery conveyor 4. In this manner, 24 holders 2 are inserted into each pocket 7 at the insertion position A, and then the containers 3 are respectively supplied into the 24 holders 2 by the container supply means 5 at the supply position B, and then the discharge positions C The holder 2 is ejected from the pocket 7 at. Next, the configuration of the container supply means 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. The container supply means 5 includes a chute 12 provided at the uppermost position and directed vertically downward, a first delivery mechanism 13 movably provided at a position directly below the chute 12, and a first delivery mechanism 13.
The second delivery mechanism 14 is disposed immediately below the delivery mechanism 13, that is, at the supply position B. The chute 12 is partitioned at predetermined pitches p in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 3 by walls 12a and 12b at front and rear positions and a plate-like member (not shown) having the inside thereof arranged vertically. A total of twelve vertical passages 12c are formed. Instead of such a configuration, each of the passages 12c may be formed by a pipe through which the container 3 can pass. A container aligning device (not shown) is provided above the chute 12, and the twelve containers 3 arranged so that the bottoms thereof face down by the container aligning device are supplied into each passage 12c of the chute 12. It has become. At the position of the lower end portion 12d of the chute 12, a first stopper member 16 which is advanced and retracted by the cylinder mechanism 15 is provided. The first stopper member 16 is shown by a dashed line in FIG. It is designed to be reciprocated to the retracted position. And, when in the forward position, the lowermost container 3 supplied into the passage 12c.
To prevent the container 3 and the container 3 located above it from passing therethrough, while allowing the container 3 to fall downward when in the retracted position. ing. Further, a second stopper member 17 is provided at a predetermined height position of the rear wall portion so as to penetrate the wall portion (FIG. 3). The second stopper member 17 is attached to the tip of the cylinder mechanism, and is moved forward and backward in synchronization with the first stopper member 16. When the twelve containers 3 located on the lowermost side are dropped downward from the lower end portion 12d of the chute 12 by the second stopper member 17, the second container 3 from the lower side in the chute 12 is moved to the lowermost side. The container 3 does not fall after the container 3. Therefore, by moving the first stopper member 16 forward and backward, the holding state of the 12 containers 3 can be released from the lower end portion 12d of the chute 12 at a time and dropped down. 1st delivery mechanism 13, 2nd delivery mechanism 1
Before describing the configuration of 4, the process of supplying the container 3 into the holder 2 by the container supply means 5 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. That is, first, the lower end portion 12 of the chute 12
The twelve containers 3 dropped from d are supported by the lower first delivery mechanism 13 (FIGS. 8A and 8B). Next, the first delivery mechanism 13 holding the twelve containers 3 is moved in parallel by half the pitch p (FIG. 8).
(C)) In this state, the twelve containers 3 held by the first delivery mechanism 13 and the twelve lowermost containers 3 held by the chute 12 are simultaneously dropped (FIG. 8D).
As a result, 24 containers 3 are held on the second delivery mechanism 14 at a pitch of half the above-mentioned pitch p.
When the holding state of the container 3 by the delivery mechanism 14 is released, 2
The four containers 3 fall down and are located at the supply position B 2
It is supplied into the four holders 2 (FIG. 8E). In brief, in the present embodiment, the supply position B
The container 3 is supplied into the 24 holders 2 located in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the first delivery mechanism 1
3 is provided with a pair of guide rails 18 supported on the fixed frame in parallel with the pocket 7 and horizontally.
On this guide rail 18, a movable frame 21 constituted by connecting two plate-like upper and lower plates is slidably mounted. The movable frame 21 is connected to a piston 22a of a cylinder mechanism 22 provided on the fixed frame side. When the cylinder mechanism 22 is not operated, the movable frame 21 is stopped at the holding position shown by a solid line in FIGS. 4 and 5, but when the cylinder mechanism 22 is operated, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. The entire movable frame 21 is the guide rail 1
It moves to a release position on the right side by half the pitch p along line 8. A pair of upper and lower guide shafts 23 and 24 are axially supported on the movable frame 21 along the guide rails 18 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The pair of left and right plate-like guides 25 for guiding the section
Are connected every half pitch. The distal ends of the pair of plate-like guides 25 project outward beyond the front end surface of the movable frame 21, and the space between them
Is allowed to pass. As shown in FIG. 6, one guide shaft 23 is connected to the screw shaft 26 and the pair of gears 2.
7 and is linked to the motor 28 via
By rotating the motor 28 in the forward and reverse directions, the guide shaft 23 can be moved in the axial direction by a required amount, whereby a pair of left and right plate-like guides 25 are separated according to the outer diameter of the container 3. The interval can be adjusted. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of vertical bar-shaped guides 31 is connected to the front end surface of the movable frame 21 located between the pair of left and right plate-shaped guides 25. The outer side facing the rod-shaped guide 31 is covered by a vertical wall surface 30. In the present embodiment, a receiving portion that receives the container 3 is configured by a pair of left and right plate-shaped guides 25 and a space surrounded by the bar-shaped guide 31 and the wall surface 30. Further, a third stopper member 32 is provided at every other receiving portion, that is, at an intermediate position between each pair of plate-like guides 25 corresponding to one pitch p of the adjacent passages 12c described above. As shown in FIG. 4, the bases of the third stopper members 32 are connected to support shafts 3 provided on the movable frame 21 side.
3 is rotatably fitted thereto and is linked to a cylinder mechanism 34 provided on the movable frame 21. The cylinder mechanisms 34 linked to the third stopper members 32 are operated in synchronization with each other. When the movable frame 21 is stopped at the holding position as shown in FIG. The guide 25 projects horizontally to the center of the guide 25 and is supported horizontally. Each of the third stopper members 32 at the holding position is connected to each of the passages 12c of the chute 12 described above.
It is located just below. Therefore, as described above, when the first stopper member 16 of the chute 12 is retracted, the twelve containers 3
Falls downward, and the twelve containers 3 fall between the respective plate-like guides 25 of the first delivery mechanism 13 located immediately below and are supported by the third stopper member 32. In this state, the cylinder mechanism 22 is operated,
The entire movable frame 21 is moved in parallel by the above half pitch and stopped at the release position. Therefore, the container 3 supported by the third stopper member 32 is connected to the adjacent passages 12.
c and a pair of plate-like members 2 at a position where the third stopper member 32 is not provided.
5 are located immediately below each passage 12c. Then, in this state, the third stopper members 32 are simultaneously retracted, and simultaneously the first stopper members 16 on the chute 12 side are simultaneously retracted. Therefore, each passage 1
The twelve containers 3 supported at the lowermost position in 2c pass between the plate-like guides 25 located immediately below and fall on the second transfer mechanism 14 on the lower side to be supported, and the first transfer is performed. Since the twelve containers 3 held by the mechanism 13 are also released from the holding state, they are dropped and supported on the lower second delivery mechanism 14. Thereafter, the first delivery mechanism 13 stopped at the release position returns to the original holding position and stops. Thus, in the present embodiment, the pitch p of the adjacent passages 12c is
24 containers 3 at half the pitch of the second delivery mechanism 1
4 is supported. Next, the second delivery mechanism 14 will be described with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 7 and FIG.
The delivery mechanism 14 includes a pair of left and right guide shafts 36 and 37 pivotally supported in parallel with the pocket 7 on a fixed frame. Each of the guide shafts 36 and 37 is provided with a pair of left and right plate-like guides 38, and each plate-like guide 38 is located at a position directly below the above-described plate-like guide 25 on the first delivery mechanism 13 side. The guide shaft 36 is linked to a motor 28 ′ via a screw shaft 26 ′ and a pair of gears 27 ′. When the motor 28 ′ is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, the distance between the left and right plate-shaped guides 38 is increased. 3 can be adjusted according to the outer diameter. A pair of right and left rod guides 41 supported in the vertical direction are provided between the pair of plate guides 38, and the outer side facing the rod guides 41 is a wall surface continuous from the upper side. Covered by 30.
The pair of plate-shaped guides 38, the rod-shaped guides 41, and the wall surface 30 constitute a receiving unit that receives the container 3. In the present embodiment, the pair of rod-shaped guides 41
Is attached to the tip of a swing arm 42 that opens and closes in synchronization. The swing arm 42 is linked via a link 43 to a cylinder mechanism 44 attached to a fixed frame. Then, the first delivery mechanism 13 and the chute 12
When a total of 24 containers 3 are dropped from each of the passages 12c as described above, the swing arm 4
2 is closed, so that the container 3 can be dropped in the space surrounded by the pair of left and right bar guides 41 and the pair of plate-shaped guides 38 and the wall surface 30 at the closed position, that is, each receiving portion. ing. On the other hand, the swing arm 42 is opened when the container 3 is supplied into the holder 2, thereby increasing the distance between the two rod-shaped guides 41. Thus, when the holder 2 containing the container 3 moves from the supply position B to the discharge position C, the lower end portions of both rod-shaped guides 41 do not abut on the upper portion of the container 3 in the holder 2. Further, as shown in FIG.
Is provided with a fourth stopper member 45 movable to the position of the lower end of the wall surface 30. When the fourth stopper member 45 is at the forward position shown in FIG. 3, the fourth stopper member 45 is located inside the wall surface 30 and is in contact with the bottom of the container 3.
On the other hand, when in the retracted position, the container 3 is allowed to fall without contacting the bottom of the container 3. As described above, the second delivery mechanism 14 uses the above-described chute 1
A pair of rod-shaped guides 41 and plate-shaped guides 38 are provided at a pitch that is one half of the pitch p of 2. In general, the fourth stopper member 45 is positioned at the forward position to prevent the passage of the container 3. I am trying to do it. Then, when the fourth stopper member 45 is in the forward position, each of the first delivery mechanism 13 and the chute 12 is moved to the first position.
Since the two containers 3 are dropped, the dropped 24 containers 3 are held between the plate-shaped guides 38 of the second delivery mechanism 14 and supported by the fourth stopper members 45. The pitch of the container 3 supported by the second delivery mechanism 14 is
Since the pitch matches the pitch of the 24 holders 2 in the pocket 7 at the supply position B, the fourth stopper member 4
When the container 5 is retracted to the retracted position, the holding state of the 24 containers 3 is released, and each container 3 is supplied into the holder 2 located below. As described above, the container supply means 5 of the present embodiment includes the first delivery mechanism 13 and the second delivery mechanism 14.
Thereby, the container 3 can be supplied to the holder 2 at a pitch of half the pitch P of the passage 12 c adjacent to the chute 12. As a result, the 24
The container 3 can be supplied into the individual holders 2. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the processing capacity of the apparatus can be improved without increasing the number of passages 12c in the chute 12. For such an embodiment,
Conventionally, both delivery mechanisms 13 and 14 are not provided. Therefore, conventionally, in order to improve the processing performance of the apparatus, it is necessary to increase the number of adjacent passages 12c in the chute 12, and in that case, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus increases and the apparatus increases in size. A defect has occurred. Note that the second delivery mechanism 14 in the above embodiment may be omitted. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the third stopper members 32 are provided in every other receiving portion of the first delivery mechanism 13, but the third stopper members 32 may be provided in all the receiving portions. And
In that case, first, the containers 3 are held at every other receiving portion in the first delivery mechanism 13, and then, each receiving portion is moved in parallel by a half pitch of the pitch p, and then the remaining one is moved.
The container 3 is received and held in every other receiving section. As a result, the containers 3 are held in all of the 24 receiving sections, and are returned to their original positions from that state. Then, in this state, all the third stopper members 32 are retracted and released, so that the 24 containers 3 fall down. Such a configuration may be used. Further, in the above embodiment, a total of two receiving portions, a receiving portion having the third stopper member 32 and a receiving portion not having the third stopper member 32, are provided for each passage 12c of the chute 12. In other words, a total of three receiving portions may be provided for each passage 12c of the chute 12. In that case, a third stopper member 32 is provided for each of two of the three receiving portions. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, a holder replenishing mechanism 46 is provided at a position adjacent to the delivery conveyor 4, and the holder 2 rejected for some reason is inserted into the pocket 7 of the delivery conveyor 4. Can be replenished. The holder replenishing mechanism 46 is provided on the opposite side to the supply conveyor 8 with the delivery conveyor 4 interposed therebetween, and has an L-shaped mounting plate 47 supported at a predetermined height.
And a first extrusion cylinder 48 that moves back and forth above the mounting plate 47 in parallel with the traveling direction of the delivery conveyor 4, and moves in a direction orthogonal to the delivery conveyor 4 above the mounting plate 47,
A second method for refilling the previously rejected holder 2 into the pocket 7 of the delivery conveyor 4 from above the mounting plate 47.
An extrusion cylinder 49 is provided. The rejected holder 2 is placed on the mounting plate 47 on the first extrusion cylinder 48 side.
A replenishment conveyor 52 for replenishment is provided above. In the present embodiment, the holder 2 rejected from the side opposite to the supply conveyor 8 is replenished by the holder replenishing mechanism 46 into the pocket 7 at the insertion position A or the pocket 7 upstream from the insertion position A. Supply. That is, FIG. 12 shows a step of replenishing the holder 2 by the holder replenishing mechanism 46. First, the rejected holder 2 is supplied onto the mounting plate 47 on the first extrusion cylinder 48 side by the replenishment conveyor 52. Then, the first extrusion cylinder 48 moves the holder 2 to the position of the second extrusion cylinder 49 (FIG. 12).
(A)). In the meantime, the container 3 is supplied to the holder 2 in the pocket 7 at the supply position B as described above, and the holder 2 to be discharged from the pocket 7 is discharged from the pocket 7 at the discharge position C on the downstream side. I'm waiting.
At the same time, at the insertion position A, the supply conveyor 8
As a result, the 24 holders 2 are gradually inserted into the pockets 7 (FIGS. 12A and 12B). Next, the holder 3 on the replenishing side in contact with the second extrusion cylinder 49 of the holder replenishing mechanism 46 moves the second extrusion cylinder 49 parallel to the pocket 7 and to the right by a predetermined amount. It is inserted from the left side into the pocket 7 located one upstream from A (FIG. 12B). During this time, the insertion position A
The supply conveyor 8 inserts the 24 holders 3 into the pockets 7, and the containers 2 are supplied into the holders 2 of the pockets 7 at the supply position B. At the same time, the holder 2 is ejected from the pocket 7 located at the ejection position C (FIGS. 12B and 12C). Thereafter, since the guide bar 6 moves by one pocket, the pocket 7 into which only one holder 2 has already been inserted upstream of the insertion position A is located at the insertion position A. At the same time,
The pocket 7 which has been at the insertion position A up to that point is located at the supply position B, and the pocket 7 which has been at the supply position B moves to the discharge position C (FIG. 12D). Thereafter, 23 holders 2 are supplied from the supply conveyor 8 into the pocket 7 which is already at the insertion position A and holds only one holder 2, so that the holder 7 at the insertion position A has a total of 24 holders 2.
Are supplied (FIG. 12 (e), FIG. 12).
(F), FIG. 12 (g)). During this time, the holder 2 that has been rejected up to that time is inserted into the pocket 7 that is one upstream of the insertion position A by the holder replenishing mechanism 46. By repeating such an operation, the holder rejection mechanism 46 replenishes the rejected holder 2 into the pocket 7 located one upstream of the insertion position A. Thus, in this embodiment,
Although the rejected holder 2 is replenished and supplied to the pocket 7 by the holder replenishment mechanism 46, it is not necessary to temporarily stop the delivery conveyor 4 for the replenishment operation. Therefore, the delivery conveyor 4 may normally move the adjacent pockets 7 intermittently one pitch at a time. According to the present embodiment, when the holder 2 rejected for some reason is refilled into the transport path again, the holder 2 on the supply conveyor 8 is stopped every time when compared with the related art. Thus, noise when the holder 2 collides can be prevented, and a special stop mechanism for stopping the holder 2 on the supply conveyor 8 is not required. In the above embodiment, the container is refilled into the pocket 7 from the left side in FIG. 12 by the holder replenishing mechanism 46. However, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. The holder 2 may be refilled into the pocket from the same side as the supply conveyor 8. Next, FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the holder replenishing mechanism 46. The holder replenishing mechanism 46 shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 replenishes the holder 2 rejected to the pocket 7 prior to the supply of the holder 2 from the supply conveyor 8 at a position one upstream of the insertion position A. On the other hand, in the embodiment of FIG. 13, the pocket 7 located at the insertion position A is rejected from the side opposite to the supply conveyor 8 at the same time as the normal operation of inserting the holder 2 by the supply conveyor 8. The holder 2 is refilled.
Even with such a configuration, the same operation and effect as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 can be obtained.

[0007]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is no need for a stop mechanism for stopping the holder on the main transport path, and further, it is possible to prevent generation of noise when refilling the rejected holder. The effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part along line III-III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along arrow V in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a left-side portion continued from FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part along a line VII-VII in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a principle diagram showing a supply process of the container 3 by the container supply means 5;

9 is a cross-sectional view of a main part along line IX-IX in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a detailed plan view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a left side view of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a process chart showing a holder replenishment process by a holder replenishment mechanism 46;

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the holder replenishing mechanism 46.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Holder 3 Container 4 Delivery Conveyor 7 Pocket 8 Supply Conveyor (Holder Supply Mechanism) 11 Discharge Conveyor (Holder Discharge Mechanism) 46 Holder Replenishment Mechanism A Insertion Position B Supply Position C Discharge Position

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of pockets, which are arranged at equal intervals in the running direction of a delivery conveyor that is circulated and run in a direction orthogonal to the running direction and hold a plurality of holders in a straight line,
A holder supply mechanism that supplies a holder to the pocket from one side of the delivery conveyor at a predetermined holder supply position, and a container that is held in the pocket at a container supply position that is located downstream of the holder supply position. A container supply mechanism for supplying, a holder discharge mechanism for discharging the holder holding the container from the pocket to the outside at a discharge position located downstream of the container supply position, and further, an upstream side of the holder supply position , A holder replenishing mechanism for supplying a previously rejected holder to a pocket. 2. A plurality of pockets, which are arranged at equal intervals in the running direction of the delivery conveyor that is circulated and run in a direction orthogonal to the running direction and hold the plurality of holders in a straight line,
A holder supply mechanism that supplies a holder to the pocket from one side of the delivery conveyor at a predetermined holder supply position, and a container that is held in the pocket at a container supply position that is located downstream of the holder supply position. A container supply mechanism for supplying, a holder discharge mechanism for discharging the holder holding the container from the pocket to the outside at a discharge position located downstream of the container supply position, and further, the holder supply at the holder supply position. A holder replenishing device for a container supply device, comprising: a holder replenishing mechanism that supplies a holder that has been rejected up to that point to a pocket from the other side of the delivery conveyor in synchronization with a holder supplying operation by the mechanism.