JP2831437B2 - Conveyor container holding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a container holding mechanism for fixing a container to an upper surface of a conveyor when the container is transported by the conveyor.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a mechanism for fixing a container to a conveyor, for example, a mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-31681 is known.

In other words, this mechanism includes a container conveyor that fixes a container to a frame body and supports and conveys the container integrated with the machine frame to a holder, and an item that conveys the item while holding the item in a concave portion formed on the conveyance surface. And a conveyor section in which the conveyors are opposed to each other in a rotating portion of a sprocket around which the article conveyor is wound, and the article is covered with the container.

Therefore, the articles flowing on the article conveyor are covered with the containers flowing on the container conveyor in the transport section. Then, the container is lowered with the rotation of the container conveyor, but in order to sandwich the container and the article between the container conveyor and the article conveyor, the container is pressed against the article conveyor side and the article is removed from the container. It is structured to be transported without falling off.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, such a conventional mechanism has a structure in which the article conveyor and the container conveyor run in parallel in the transport section in order to bring the container into close contact with the article conveyor.

Therefore, this mechanism has a problem that the structure is complicated because a plurality of conveyors are required, it is easy to break down, and the maintenance is inferior.

In particular, this mechanism is for supplying an article to a container, and in a parallel running section of both conveyors, a mechanism for transporting the container and an article conveyor for transporting the article to be supplied to the container are provided. There is a problem in that it is difficult to handle it because it is necessary to adjust the timing and the mechanism needs to be precise, so that the adjustment and initial setting at the time of use must be carefully performed.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor container holding mechanism having a simple structure and excellent in durability and maintainability.

[Means for solving the problem]

The present invention relates to a mechanism for holding a container having a flange formed on a part of a peripheral side surface on a conveying surface of a conveyor, wherein the conveying surface of the conveyor has a position on the flange of the container and a distance from the flange. Position the slider that can slide between the
A holding gap is formed between the slider and the conveyor surface of the conveyor, and an inclined surface continuous with the holding gap is formed on a side of the slider facing the container, and the slider is positioned on the flange. The above-mentioned problem is solved by forming a conveyor container holding mechanism in which an elastic body biased to the above is connected to the slider.

[Action]

By supplying the container between the sliders on the conveyor transport surface and further pressing the container in the slider direction, the container slides down on the inclined surface of the slider of the container, and finally, the flange portion moves between the slider and the conveyor transport surface. Slip into the holding gap between them. In this state, the flanges on both sides of the container are locked between the slider and the conveyor surface, and the container is held on the conveyor side.

On the other hand, by pressing the slider in a predetermined direction,
The slider on the flange moves, and the locking of the flange is released.
In particular, when the conveyor transport surface is facing down,
The container loses the support of the slider and falls by its own weight.

By releasing the pressing of the slider, the slider returns to the initial standby position where the container is sandwiched by the elastic body, and the above operation can be repeatedly performed.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7. In the present embodiment, this holding mechanism is used in a device for supplying dry noodles N as articles to a cup C as a container in a so-called cup noodle manufacturing process.

The cup C is a cylindrical container having an opening at the upper surface and a taper having a smaller diameter from the opening to the bottom. An outer flange is formed around the periphery of the opening to form a cup. The portion becomes the flange C _F.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the device with a simplified structure. As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus includes a transport conveyor 1 that transports the dried noodles 1 at equal intervals in the transport direction and a cup supply mechanism 3 that supplies a cup C from above the dried noodles N.
And a locking mechanism 4 for locking the cup C to the conveyor 1
And an unlocking mechanism 6 for removing the cup C from the conveyor 1.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the conveyor, and FIG.
FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. As shown in these figures, the conveyor 1 has a chain 12 running in parallel to the left and right.
(Only the left chain is shown)
13, the center of the end of the plate 13 is pivotally supported by a pin 14, and the plurality of plates 13 are connected to each other.

In the upper surface 13a of the plate 13, a plurality of (six in the present embodiment) recesses are provided in a direction transverse to the transport conveyor 1.
Forming 15. That is, the concave portion 15 is a positioning concave portion when the dried noodles N are placed, and the transported noodles of the transport conveyor 1 are arranged in a plurality of rows in the width direction.
Are also arranged and conveyed in the longitudinal direction.

A hole 16 is formed in the center of the recess 15 so as to penetrate the back surface 13b of the plate 13, and an extruded body 17 is inserted therethrough. The pressing body 17 has a rod-shaped main body 17a and a disc-shaped table formed on the upper end thereof and on which the dried noodles N are placed.
17b and a flange 17c formed at the lower end of the main body 17a. A spring 17d is press-fitted between the back surface 13b of the plate 13 and the flange 17c. That is, although the main body 17a of the pressing body 17 is urged inward of the transport conveyor 1, the table 17b is prevented from coming off and locked on the plate 13 side.

On both sides of the concave portion 15, a cup holding mechanism 2 for locking the cup C placed on the concave portion 15 is formed.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the holding mechanism, and FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of the same mechanism. The holding mechanism 2 includes a guide hole 21 extending from the center in the width direction of the plate 13 in the traveling direction of the transport conveyor 1, a slider 22 fitted and slidable in the guide hole 21, and a slider 22 And a spring 23 for urging the conveying conveyor 1 rearward in the traveling direction.

That is, the slider 22 includes a central portion 22a disposed in the guide hole 21, a plate-like holder 22b at an upper end thereof, and an operation protrusion 22c protruding at a lower end, and the holder 22b and the operation protrusion 22c are formed. The slider 22 is fitted in the guide hole 21 as a stopper to prevent the slider 22 from sliding along the guide hole 21. Also, a central portion 22a of the slider 22
A rod 21a disposed parallel to the inside of the guide hole 21 is fitted into the hole 22d formed in the guide hole 21. The spring 23 is externally fitted to the rod 21a to move the slider 22 rearward in the traveling direction of the transport conveyor 1. It is energizing.

Further, an inclined surface 22e facing upward is formed at each of the left end and the right end of the holder 22a. Further, a step 22f continuous from the inclined surface 22e is formed below the inclined surface 22e, and when the cup C is placed in the concave portion 15, the flange portion _CF is formed at the step 22f. Penetrating into the holding gap S,
While this cup C is held on both sides, in order to move the slider 22 to the traveling direction of the conveyor 1 the holder 22a is moved from above the flange portion C _F, a structure in which the holding of the cup C is released ing.

Note that, of the plurality of sliders 22 on the plate 13, two sliders 22 disposed at both ends of the plate 13 are adjacent to only one concave portion 15, so that the two
2e and the holding gap S are formed only on one side thereof.

The transport conveyor 1 having the structure described above is mounted on a transport sprocket 7 which is supported by a machine frame (not shown). The upper side is a forward path 1A, the lower side is a return path 1C, and a folded portion wound around the transport sprocket 7. Is the rotating part 1B.

The cup supply mechanism 3 is arranged above the outward path 1A of the transport conveyor 1. This cup supply mechanism 3 has a bottom facing upward,
It holds a number of stacked cups C with the opening part on the lower side, and puts the cups C on the dried noodles N by dropping the cups C in order from the bottom in synchronization with the movement of the dried noodles N. This is a mechanism having a structure that has already been widely used, for example, as described in JP-B-54-26948.

The locking mechanism 4 for the cup C is disposed near the cup supply mechanism 3. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5,
The mechanism 4 has a rod body 41 extending in a direction crossing the conveyor 1 and both ends of which are engaged with guide frames 11 (only the left guide frame is shown) on both sides of the conveyor 1. A cylinder fixed to the machine frame (not shown) in the center of the body 41
It is fixed to 42. And from this rod body 41 to the plate 13
Arm 43 is extended toward both sides of the concave portion 15 of
At the tip of the push plate 44, which opens downward in a C-shape
Is fixed. And the tip of this pushing plate 44
It is positioned so as to abut against the flange portion C _F of the cup C disposed on the recess 15. That is, the locking mechanism 4
Lowering the push plate 44 by actuation of the cylinder 42, at the same time the cup C is dropped from the cup supply mechanism 3, the tip presses the flange portion C _F of the cup C downwards, the slider
The structure is such that it is forced into the holding gap S of the 22.

The locking mechanism 4 is controlled by a control mechanism (not shown) so as to synchronize with the movement of the conveyor 1 and the cup supply mechanism 3.

Inside the conveyor 1, an extrusion conveyor 18 is arranged. The extrusion conveyor 18 is stretched over an extrusion sprocket 19A fixed coaxially with the conveying sprocket 7 and an auxiliary sprocket 19B having a smaller diameter than the extrusion sprocket 19A. When the length of the portion of the extruded body 17 protruding inside the conveyor 1 is defined as length X, the interval between the extruder 18 and the conveyor 1 is smaller than the length X at the position of the auxiliary sprocket 19B. At the position of the extrusion sprocket 19A, it is set to be narrower than the length X, and the interval between the two is narrower as it approaches the transport sprocket 7, that is, the rotating portion 1B of the transport conveyor 1. A guide plate 20 is arranged in parallel below the outward path of the extrusion conveyor 18 to support the extrusion conveyor 18 so that the extrusion conveyor 18 does not bend when the extrusion body 17 comes into contact with the guide plate 20.

The extrusion conveyor 18 and the extrusion sprocket 19
A, the auxiliary sprocket 19B, the guide plate 20, the hole 16 and the extruded body 17 constitute an extruding mechanism for extruding the dried noodles N toward the cup C side.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the unlocking mechanism, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of the unlocking mechanism.

The lock release mechanism 6 is a cam wheel fixed coaxially with the transport sprocket 7 as shown in FIGS. 1, 6 and 7.
61, a link mechanism 62 connected thereto, and an operating claw 63 locked at the tip of the link mechanism.

The cam wheel 61 is formed on its periphery with the same number of protrusions 61a (9 in the apparatus of the present embodiment) as the number of cups C fed out each time the transport sprocket 7 makes one rotation.

Further, the link mechanism 62 includes an upper end of the first link 64 which is disposed on the cam wheel 61 side and a lower end of which is supported on a machine frame (not shown), and an upper end of a third link 66 which also supports a halfway portion with the machine frame. ,
They are connected by a second link 65. First link
Numeral 64 has a shape bent in a U-shape so as to protrude toward the cam wheel 61, and a cam follower 67 of a small wheel is pivotally supported at the bent portion. Then, a return spring 68 is bridged between the machine frame and the first link 62A, and this is biased toward the cam wheel 61, so that the cam follower 67 always contacts the peripheral side surface of the cam wheel 61. Has become.

The third link 66 has one upper arm 66a having an upper end connected to the second link 65, and is fixed to the lower end of the upper arm 66a. A horizontal bar 66b and a plurality of (seven in the present embodiment) lower arms 66c fixed to the horizontal bar 66b at positions corresponding to the sliders 22, each having a small wheel attached to the lower end of the lower arm 66c The operating claw 63 is pivotally supported. The operating claw 63 is positioned so as to be in contact with the operating protrusion 22c of the slider 22, and the link mechanism is synchronized with the rotation of the cam wheel 61.
When the arm 62 moves, the operating claw 63 comes into contact with the operating protrusion 22c passing through the position one by one to move the same.

Note that a receiving conveyor 9 is arranged below the return path 1C of the transport conveyor 1 so as to run in parallel therewith.

 Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the dried noodles N placed on the plate 13 of the conveyor 1 move on the outward path 1A as the conveyor 1 advances. When the dried noodles N reach just below the cup supply mechanism 3, the cup supply mechanism 3
Puts the cup C on the dried noodle N and at the same time
The cup locking mechanism 4 operates to lock the cup C on the holding mechanism of the rate 13.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the pushing plate 43 of the cup locking mechanism 4, by allowing abutment of the distal collar portion C _F of the cup C, and pressing it downwards. At this time,
This flange portion _CF comes in contact with the holder 22a of the slider 22,
By further pushing plate 43 pushes the flange portion C _F is lowered slides on the inclined surface 22e of the holder 22a, and finally the holder
It penetrates into the holding gap S on the lower side of 22a. Then, the cup C is would be fixed to both sides in the plate 13 at its flange portion C _F, cup C is held on the conveying surface of the conveyor 1.

When the dried noodle N and the cup C further advance, the lower end of the extruded body 17 protruding from the lower surface of the conveyor 1 is pushed by the extrusion belt 18.
Abut. The extruding belt 18 moves the extruded body 17 sequentially in the direction of the rotating unit 1B.
The extruded body 7 has a spring 17
It moves upward against the urging of d and presses the dried noodles N toward the cup C side.

Therefore, in the rotating portion 1B of the transport conveyor 1, the dried noodles N rotate while the dried noodles N are pressed toward the cup C, and the dried noodles N do not move freely in the cup C. Then, the cup C which has been conveyed with the bottom on the forward path 1A is turned upside down upon reaching the return path 1C, and the dried noodle N is supported in the cup C by its own weight. Become. At this time, the cup C is in a state that does not fall by the both sides of the flange portion C _F holder 22a is supported.

As the extruded body 17 moves away from the rotating part 1B,
The pressing by the extrusion belt 18 is lost again and the spring 17d
To return to the original position.

On the other hand, in the return path 1B, the lock release mechanism 6
Release the lock. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the link mechanism 62 that moves in synchronization with the transport sprocket 7
The operating claw 63 at the distal end of the third arm 66 is moved forward and backward in the traveling direction of the transport conveyor 1, and the operating claw 63 abuts on the operating protrusion 22 c of the transport conveyor 1 and presses it to move the slider 22. Then, in order to holder 22a that supported the flange portion C _F of the cup C on the recess 15 is moved, the cup C falls down losing support. Then, the cup C is transferred to the receiving conveyor 9 running parallel to the lower side of the return path 1C of the conveying conveyor 1, and is conveyed to the next step, for example, a step of covering the cup C with a lid.

When the pressing of the operating claw 63 is stopped, the slider 22
It returns to the original position by the bias of the spring 23, and enters a standby state in which a new cup C can be locked.

As described above, in this apparatus, since the cup C holding mechanism 2 holds the cup C using the slider 22 having a simple structure, the cup C holding mechanism 2 is excellent in durability and maintainability, and can be attached and detached. It is possible to configure a device that can perform the operation reliably.

In particular, since the operation of the unlocking mechanism 6 of the cup C is performed by using the cam wheel 62 which rotates integrally with the transport sprocket 7, the advance of the transport conveyor 1 and the operating claw thereof are performed depending on the apparatus of this embodiment. The timing with which the cup 22 advances and retreats can be easily set, and there is no occurrence of an unlocking error of the cup C.

Further, in this apparatus for holding the cup C on the transfer surface of the transfer conveyor 1, in the rotating section 1B and the return path 1C of the transfer conveyor 1, another conveyor holding the cup C on the transfer conveyor 1 side or another conveyor. Since no mechanism is required, the structure of the device is simplified, and the device can be excellent in durability and maintainability.

In this embodiment, the concave portion 15 for positioning the dried noodles N is formed on the transport surface of the transport conveyor 1, and the holding gap S is formed between the concave portion 15 and the slider 22, as shown in FIG. Thus, the concave portion 15 may be formed in two steps to serve as a concave portion for positioning the cup C.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lock release mechanism 6 applying the cam mechanism is configured. However, the lock release mechanism 6 is not necessarily limited to this structure. For example, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, an operation claw 69 fixed to the return path 1C of the conveyor 1 may be used. That is, this mechanism has a structure in which the operating claw 69 comes into contact with the operating protrusion 22c of the slider 22 as the transport conveyor 1 advances, and the claw body 69 stops this to operate the slider 22.

Further, in these embodiments, the moving direction of the slider 22 is parallel to the traveling direction of the transport conveyor 1, but the moving direction may be other directions, for example, perpendicular to the traveling direction. Of course.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, depending on the holding mechanism of the present invention, in order to easily attach / detach the container to / from the conveying surface of the conveyor using the slider, another conveyor or mechanism for bringing the container into close contact with the conveying conveyor is required. do not do.

Therefore, the structure of the device having this holding mechanism can be simplified, and the holding mechanism can be excellent in durability and maintainability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an embodiment of an apparatus for supplying articles to a container, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a conveyor, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the structure of the holding mechanism, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the holding mechanism and the pushing plate, FIG. 6 is a side view of the unlocking mechanism, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the lock release mechanism, FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the holding mechanism, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing another structure of the lock release mechanism. 1… Conveyor (Conveyor), 1A …… Outbound, 1B…
Rotating part, 1C ... Return path, 16 ... Hole (extrusion mechanism), 17 ... Extrusion body (extrusion mechanism), 18 ... Extrusion conveyor (extrusion mechanism), 2 ... Holding mechanism, 22 ... Slider, 22e ... … Inclined surface, 23
... spring (elastic body) 3 ... cup supply mechanism (container supply mechanism) 4 ... locking mechanism 6 ... lock release mechanism C ... cup (container), _CF ... flange, N ... … Dried noodles (article), S …… Retention gap

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65G 47/80-47/96 B65G 17 / 06,17 / 46 B65B 43/48

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mechanism for holding a container having a flange formed on a part of a peripheral side surface on a conveying surface of a conveyor, wherein the conveying surface of the conveyor includes a position on the flange of the container and a distance from the flange. A slider slidable between distant positions is arranged, and a holding gap for sandwiching the flange of the container is formed between the slider and the conveyor surface of the conveyor, and the slider faces the container side. A container holding mechanism for a conveyor, wherein an inclined surface continuous with the holding gap is formed on a side surface, and an elastic body for urging the slider to a position on the flange is connected to the slider.