JP2716941B2 - Container reversal discharge 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 reversing / discharging apparatus for a container which discharges contents by mainly holding, ascending, and reversing a container containing a granular material such as a medicine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As this kind of reversing discharge device, there is a device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-270891. The device includes a pair of left and right gripping fingers that largely extend right and left and perform a linear motion right and left, and a driving air cylinder is provided for each finger, and the whole is rotated as a rotating body to invert the container. Structure.

[0003]

Since the left and right container gripping fingers each have a structure in which a gripping air cylinder is provided, the gripping mechanism becomes large and the gripping air cylinder is provided on the rotating body side. As the weight of the body itself increases, the piping between the air cylinder and the pneumatic unit on the non-rotating member side has a complicated structure, and the cost increases. Furthermore, since the pipe itself moves with the rotation of the rotating body,
Poor durability of piping.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the mechanism for inverting and driving the container gripping arm, to improve the rotation performance by suppressing the weight of the rotating body, to drive the container gripping arm, or to open and close the slide gate. The purpose of this is to simplify the piping structure by arranging on the elevator side.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
An elevating body rotatably supported by a support column is provided with a support shaft rotatably via a bearing, a pair of container gripping arms is provided at the tip of the support shaft so as to be openable and closable, and the container gripping arm is an actuator for gripping. In the reversing and discharging device for a container in which the supporting shaft is interlockingly connected to the rotation actuator, a gripping cylinder is provided on the elevating body as a gripping actuator. The push rods which are integrally advanced and retracted in the axial direction with the same axis but are relatively rotatable are connected to each other, the support shaft is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the telescopic rod and the push rod are fitted and supported in the support shaft, The tip of the push rod is linked to the container gripping arm via a link mechanism, and the container gripping arm is opened via the push rod and link mechanism by the expansion and contraction of the gripping cylinder. To make it in, as a rotary actuator, fitted with a reversing motor to the elevating body, it is characterized in that it meshed with the gear fixed to the output gear of the reflected rotating motor to the outer periphery of the support shaft.

[0006]

[0007]

[0008]

The container gripping cylinder extends and pushes the push rod forward to close the container gripping arm via the transmission mechanism. Further, the chute descends and is fitted to the container.

Next, the lifting body is raised to a predetermined height,
By driving the reversing motor and rotating the support shaft,
Invert the container integrally with the gripping arm.

At this time, the push rod rotates integrally with the transmission mechanism and the gripping arm. However, since the rotation is not transmitted from the push rod to the telescopic rod, the telescopic rod of the gripping cylinder does not rotate.

At the end of the reversal, the engaging portions of the opening / closing cylinder and the slide gate provided on the lifting / lowering body are engaged with each other. By operating the opening / closing cylinder in this state, the slide gate is opened and the contents are discharged.

[0012]

1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention, but show a reversing discharge device suitable for handling a drum D containing a medicine as a container.

In FIG. 1, a column 1 is rotatably mounted on a floor of a factory or the like, and incorporates an appropriate lifting drive mechanism such as a chain hanging type or a ball screw type.
The lifting / lowering drive mechanism raises / lowers the lifting / lowering body 3 on the front surface.

The elevating body 3 includes a bearing case 5 for reversing, an air cylinder 6 for gripping disposed on the rear side of the bearing case 5, and a reversing bearing with a brake disposed on the lower side of the bearing case 5. It has a motor 7 and a gate opening / closing air cylinder 10 at the lower end.

A cylindrical support shaft 13 projecting horizontally forward is rotatably supported in the bearing case 5 via a bearing 12, and a front end of the support shaft 13 has a U-shaped bracket 1.
4 are integrally fixed. At the front end of the bracket 14, a pair of left and right container gripping arms 15 is supported via a pair of right and left vertical hinges 11 so as to be openable and closable.

The vertical width W of the container gripping arm 15 has a dimension substantially corresponding to the distance between the upper end collar 8 of the drum D and the intermediate reinforcing rib 9, so that the drum D does not slide down.

A large-diameter drive gear 20 is provided on the outer periphery of the support shaft 13.
The drive gear 20 is engaged with the output gear 21 of the reversing motor 7, and the rotation of the reversing motor 7 rotates the support shaft 13 via the gears 21 and 20 to reverse the drum D. It has become.

A chute support arm 16 is rotatably supported on the upper surface of the bracket 14 via a horizontal support shaft 17, and the conical chute 1 is mounted on the chute support arm 16.
8 is fixed. A slide gate 23 is provided at the tip of the chute 18 so as to open and close a discharge port at the tip of the chute 18.

The locking bolt 3 having an engagement ring 35a is attached to the chute support arm 16 and the container gripping arm 15.
5 and a manual lock mechanism including a protrusion 36 engageable with the engagement ring 35a. Lock bolt 3
5 is fixed to the chute support arm 16 so that the screw boss 3
7, and the protrusion 36 is fixed to the gripping arm 15. That is, the engagement ring 35a is
To rotate the locking bolt 35 to rotate the ring 35
a, the chute 18 is moved to the drum D
Is fastened to the upper end opening.

The container holding air cylinder 6 is arranged coaxially with the support shaft 13, and its telescopic rod 24 protrudes into the support shaft 13 and is fitted and supported. Telescopic rod 2
A push rod 25 having a coaxial core is disposed on the front side of the push rod 4. The push rod 25 is fitted and supported in the support shaft 13, and moves integrally with the telescopic rod 24 in the axial direction. Are rotatably connected. For example,
As shown in FIG. 8, an engagement projection 38 having an enlarged cylindrical head 38a is integrally formed at the front end of the telescopic rod 24, while an engagement hole 39 is formed at the rear end of the push rod 25. The head 38a is accommodated in the engagement hole 39 so as to be relatively rotatable.

The front end of the push rod 25 projects into the U-shaped bracket 14 as shown in FIG. 1 and is connected to the container gripping arm 15 via a first link mechanism 26 for opening and closing the container gripping arm. It is operatively connected to the chute support arm 16 via a second link mechanism 27 for opening and closing the chute.

In FIG. 2 showing a cross section taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, the distance (opening width) C between the left and right ends when the container gripping arm 15 is opened is larger than the outer diameter of the drum D. D can be inserted between the container gripping arms 15 from the front.

Next, the first link mechanism 26 will be described. In FIG. 4, a pair of left and right drive links 30 is rotatably connected to a single vertical support shaft 28 provided at the distal end of the push rod 25, and the vertical support shaft 28 It is a common fulcrum portion A of the drive link 30. The two drive links 30 extend right and left in a Y-shape, and the distance between the distal ends of the two drive links 30 is wider than the distance between the left and right hinges 11. On the other hand, a bracket 31 is formed on the container gripping arm 15 so as to protrude rearward in the vicinity of the hinge, and the drive link 30 is provided at the rear end of the bracket 31.
Are rotatably connected via a support shaft 33, and the axis of the support shaft 33 is a movable fulcrum B of each drive link 30.

As the push rod 25 advances, the two drive links 30 advance while increasing the opening angle, whereby each container gripping arm 15 rotates around the hinge 11 in the closing direction.

For the forward movement of the drive link 30,
The outer rear edges of the hinges 11 serve as stopper portions, and when the two drive links 30 are aligned, in other words, the left and right movable fulcrum portions B and the common fulcrum portion A at the rod tip end are shown in FIG. When the two drive links 30 are substantially straight as shown in FIG. 5, the two drive links 30 are brought into contact with the rear end edge of the hinge 11 and locked. At this time, the drum D is in the maximum clamp state, and the drum D is gripped with a predetermined gripping pressure.

Second link mechanism 27 for opening and closing the chute
Will be described with reference to FIG. A downwardly projecting bracket 40 is formed on the lower surface of the U-shaped bracket 14, and a pair of right and left “レ” -shaped links 42 is rotatably supported on the bracket 40 via a horizontal fixed support shaft 41. ing. A long hole is formed at the upper end of the link 42, and the long hole is engaged with the pins 45 on both the left and right sides of the tip of the push rod. The front upper end of the link 42 is pivotally connected to the chute support arm 16 via a connection rod 44 extending upward. That is, when the push rod 25 moves forward, the link 42 rotates clockwise around the fixed support shaft 41, lowers the chute support arm 16 via the connecting rod 44, and mounts the chute 18 on the upper end of the drum D.

When the push rod 25 is retracted, the link 42 comes into contact with the rear surface of the U-shaped bracket 14 and is locked. The locking position substantially coincides with the stroke end of the air cylinder 6.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the slide gate 23, in which a shielding plate 49 is inserted in a sandwich shape into a case 47 having an opening 48, and the handle 50 of the shielding plate 49 is pulled from the state shown in FIG. The opening 48 is opened by sliding the shielding plate 49 rearward.

A bent portion 50a is formed at the distal end of the handle 50 as shown in FIG. 6, while a U-shaped engaging metal fitting 51 is provided at the distal end of the rod 10a of the opening / closing cylinder 10. During the reversing operation, the bent portion 50a moves along the groove direction of the engagement fitting 51 and enters the groove, and contracts the rod 10a of the cylinder 10 in the reversed posture to pull the handle 50. Has become.

At the tip of the case 47, there is provided a locking roller 56 which is rotatably urged to a position where the handle 50 is always locked by a spring 53 as shown in FIG. When the bent portion 50a enters the U-shaped bracket 51,
The roller 56 is pressed against the spring 53 by the metal fitting 51 and the handle 50 is
To push it away from That is, the lock is released.

The operation will be described. (1) Before gripping the drum, the chute 18 is raised as shown in FIG. 1 and the container gripping arm 15 is open as shown in FIG. Insert Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the shielding plate 49 of the slide gate 23 is locked at the closed position by the locking roller 56 via the handle 50.

(2) When the telescopic rod 24 of the gripping air cylinder 6 is extended and pushes the push rod 25 forward, the container gripping arm 1 is moved through the first link mechanism 26.
At the same time when the shutter 5 is closed, the chute 18 descends via the second link mechanism 27.

That is, in the first link mechanism 26, from the state shown in FIG. 4, both drive links 30 advance while increasing the opening angle, and the container gripping arm 15 is closed via the bracket 31 in the closing direction around the hinge 11. And rotate.
When the two drive links 30 are advanced until they are aligned on a straight line as shown in FIG. 5, the two drive links 30 are locked by the rear edge of the hinge 11. In this state, the container gripping arm 1
5 holds the drum with a substantially predetermined gripping force.

In the second link mechanism 27, the chute 18 is lowered via the connecting rod 44 by the clockwise rotation of the L-shaped link 42 as shown in FIG. I do. After the chute is fitted, the engagement ring 35a of the locking bolt 35 is engaged with the projection 36, and the bolt 35 is rotated to lock the chute 18 on the drum can side.

(3) In the state shown in FIG. 3, the elevating body 3 rises to a predetermined height.

(4) After ascending, the drive shaft 7 rotates the support shaft 13 via the gears 21 and 20 by driving the reversing motor 7, and FIG.
The drum D is inverted as shown in FIG.

In this case, the fulcrum A of the first link mechanism 26,
Since B is aligned on a straight line, even if a large force is applied from the drum D to the container gripping arm 15 to push and spread the same, the drive link 30 is made to protrude forward from the state of FIG. Hinge 11
Is securely locked. Therefore, a decrease in the gripping force during the reversal can be prevented.

(5) In the final step of reversing, the bent portion 50a of the handle 50 of the slide gate 23 engages with the U-shaped bracket 51 of the gate opening / closing cylinder 10, and the locking roller 56 of FIG. The handle 50 is removed from the handle 50. That is, the lock of the closed state of the slide gate 23 is released.

(6) Rod 1 of open / close air cylinder 10
When 0a is contracted, the shielding plate 49 of the slide gate 23 slides rearward to open the opening 48.
Thereby, the contents are discharged.

(7) When the reversal is completed, the entire weight of the contents is applied to the chute 18 and the chute 18 is to be opened downward. However, since the chute 18 is manually fastened to the container gripping arm 15, the chute is 18 does not open.

As described above, even when the gripping air cylinder 6 has a problem such as air leakage or the like and the pressure for pushing the push rod 25 is reduced, the fulcrum portions A and B of the first link mechanism 26 are aligned. , The force by which the drum D attempts to spread the container gripping arm 15 is received by the front hinge 11 via the drive link 30. That is, the drive link 30 does not move, thus
Even if the air in the air cylinder 6 escapes, the container gripping arm 15 does not open, and the rattling or falling off of the drum does not occur.

(8) After the contents are discharged, the opening 48 is closed as shown in FIG. 7 by the rod 10a of the opening / closing air cylinder 10 extending again.

(9) The container D is returned to the upright posture as shown in FIG. 1 by inverting the support shaft 13 again. At this time, when the bent portion 50a is separated from the U-shaped bracket 51 of the rod 10a of the opening / closing air cylinder 10, the locking roller 56 automatically returns to the state of FIG. 7 so that the shielding plate 49 does not fall off. Lock.

(10) The chute 18 is raised, the container gripping arm 15 is opened, and the drum D is taken out.

[0045]

Another Embodiment (1) A hydraulic cylinder can be used as the container gripping actuator.

[0046]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, (1) the gripping cylinder 6 is provided on the elevating body 3 which is a non-rotating body, and is provided on the rotating body side such as the support shaft 13. The connection structure between the provided push rod 25 and the telescopic rod of the gripping cylinder can transmit power only in the axial direction, and the power transmission in the rotation direction is cut off, so that the weight on the rotating body side can be reduced and the power can be inverted. Sometimes, it is not necessary to rotate the rod itself of the gripping cylinder 6, so that the durability of the gripping cylinder 6 is improved, the rotational driving force can be reduced, and the rotation of the container becomes smooth.

(2) Since the holding cylinder 6 is provided on the elevating body 3 which is a non-rotating body, piping for supplying fluid pressure is simplified as compared with the case where the holding cylinder 6 is provided on the rotating body side.

(3) Telescopic rod 24 of gripping cylinder 6
In addition, since the push rod 25 is fitted and supported in the cylindrical support shaft 13, it is not necessary to provide a special support member for the push rod 25, and the drive mechanism can be made compact.

(4) Gear 2 fixed to outer periphery of support shaft 13
0, the rotation power is transmitted to the support shaft 13 from the outer peripheral side, so that the gears can be arranged as close as possible to the gripping arm side. Transmission loss can be reduced.

(5) A push rod 25 for opening and closing the gripping arm and a gear 20 for reversing are arranged inside and outside the one rotatable support shaft 13, and each actuator (the reversing motor 7 and From the gripping cylinder 6) to the support shaft 1
Since the power is transmitted to the gripping arm 15 via the inside and outside of the motor 3, the opening and closing and reversing power transmission mechanism can be made compact and simple while performing both opening and closing and reversing functions. And the weight of the rotating side can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical side view of a reversing discharge device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of the reversing discharge device in which both the container gripping arm and the chute are in a closed state.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a transmission mechanism when a container gripping arm is opened.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the transmission mechanism when the container gripping arm is closed.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of the reversing discharge device showing a state at the time of reversing.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a slide gate.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a connecting portion between the air cylinder and the push rod.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Prop 3 Elevating body 6 Container holding air cylinder 7 Reversing motor 13 Support shaft 15 Container holding arm 16 Shoot support arm 23 Slide gate 24 Telescopic rod 25 Push rod 26 First link mechanism (transmission mechanism) 50a Example of joint part) 51 U-shaped bracket (example of engaging part)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An elevating body supported on a support so as to be able to move up and down,
A support shaft is provided rotatably via a bearing, a pair of container gripping arms are provided at the tip of the support shaft so as to be openable and closable, and the container gripping arm is operatively connected to a gripping actuator,
In a container reversing and discharging device in which a support shaft is connected to a rotary actuator, a gripping cylinder is provided on the elevating body as a gripping actuator, and the telescopic rod of the gripping cylinder is integrally coaxial with the telescopic rod. Connect the push rod so that it can advance and retreat in the axial direction but can rotate relatively,
The support shaft is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the telescopic rod and the push rod are fitted and supported in the support shaft, and the distal end of the push rod is interlocked to the container gripping arm via a link mechanism to extend and retract the gripping cylinder. The container gripping arm is opened and closed via a push rod and a link mechanism, and a reversing motor is mounted on the elevating body as a rotation actuator, and the output gear of the reversing motor is fixed to a gear fixed to the outer periphery of the support shaft. A reversing discharge device for a container, which is engaged with the container.