JP2925235B2 - Automatic washing and drying equipment for moving containers with lids - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cleaning and drying apparatus for a moving container with a lid for transferring various powders between a raw material supply position and various processing positions. It is widely used in the fields of manufacturing and processing powders of foods, pharmaceuticals, etc., in addition to the fields of manufacturing and processing synthetic resin powders.

[Conventional technology]

The industrial field dealing with powders and granules is a wide field such as foods, pharmaceuticals, chemistry, synthetic resins, etc. The means for transferring powders and granules can be carried out by pneumatic transportation, gravity drop, etc. according to fluids.
However, in a factory where it is necessary to use a common facility to process various kinds of powders, it is convenient to carry out the raw material transfer using a container.

In the case of transferring a granular material in a moving container with a lid, it is necessary to deal with contamination (contamination) of the granular material in the container when changing the target granular material. In order to appropriately deal with the switching between types and lots, a moving container for transportation and a forklift truck or an automatic guided vehicle are used. Used after washing and drying.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a washing and drying apparatus for a moving container with a lid shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. In this specification, the front door
The side where 11, 21 is located, that is, the upper side of the paper in FIGS. 7 and 2, is called the front side, and the back side is called the rear side.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the conventional cleaning / drying apparatus has a cleaning chamber 1 'and a drying chamber 2' connected to each other, both of which are provided with front doors 11, 21, and a boundary between the two chambers. sliding openable side door S ₂ is partitioned in the rear direction. At the top of the washing chamber 1 ', a washing nozzle 14 for washing the inside of the container is arranged so as to move up and down, and at the same time, a washing nozzle 15 for washing the outside of the container is arranged at an appropriate position on each side of the room. A blower 25 and a heater 24 are arranged above the drying chamber 2 ', and hot air is blown from the heater 24 into the drying chamber.

Further, 'the in lifter 12 and the roller conveyor C ₁ having a container Ashi受13, drying chamber 2' cleaning chamber 1 is in the installed lifters 22 and the roller conveyer C ₂ having a container Ashi受23, The roller conveyors C ₁ and C ₂ are arranged in a straight line on an inclined line, and when the lifters 12 and 22 rise, the container leg supports 13 and 23 are on both sides of the conveyors C ₁ and C ₂ and above the conveyor surface. It is arranged to go out.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a conventional movable container with a lid has a material input opening (not shown) at the center of the top plate of a container body 70 having container legs 73 at the four lower corners. Has a pair of support pieces 71, 71, and a discharge lid 72 at the lower end of one side surface. The discharge lid 72 is rotatably supported via a cam bolt 74 to which a cam 75 engaging and disengaging from the latch dock 76 of the container body is fixed, and a bolt packing 77, and a discharge lid packing 78 is provided on the inner peripheral surface. I have. The upper lid 60 has a pair of ears 62 protruding on both sides and a pin hole 61 'on the upper surface.

The washing and drying of the moving container with the lid was performed according to the following operation flow. That is: [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional work, only the cleaning operation and the drying operation of the container body can be automatically performed, but it is necessary to remove the upper lid and the discharge lid before entering the cleaning chamber. The cleaning was manual, and the opening and closing of the surface doors of the cleaning room and the drying room were also manual, and the degree of automation was low.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate or improve the conventional problems by fully automating the washing and drying of containers or by dramatically increasing the degree of automation.

[Means and actions for solving the problem]

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a warehousing station 3 provided with means for automatically opening a container lid, and a washing chamber 1 provided with means for automatically washing by injecting or jetting a washing liquid into and out of the container. And a drying chamber 2 provided with a drying means for automatically drying the adhered cleaning liquid, and a delivery station 4 for attaching a lid, are provided with side doors S ₃ , S ₂ , S which can be partitioned and opened at respective boundaries. ₄ arranged in line according to the work flow,
Lifters 32, 12, 22, 42 and conveyors C ₃ , C ₁ , C ₂ ,
The C ₄ is disposed.

Therefore, if the transporter puts the moving container with the lid to be cleaned on the lifter 32 of the storage station, the lid of the container is automatically opened at the storage station, and after the lifter 32 aligns the container with the cleaning chamber, side can carry a container opened the door S ₃ to the cleaning chamber, after the completion of the cleaning work, to load the container to open the side door S ₂ in the drying chamber, after drying work is completed, the side door S ₄
When opened, the containers could be transferred to the exit station, and after the lids were reattached at the exit station, the containers could be transported to the predetermined position by the transport vehicle, and the washing and drying of the movable containers with lids could be automated.

The lid opening means of the entrance station 3 is a discharge lid unlocking machine 31 and an upper lid removing device 30, and the upper lid removed by the upper lid removing device 30 is placed on a conveyor 51 on the roof of a washing room and a drying room. When the conveyor transports the upper lid to the delivery station 4 via the cleaning device 52, the water that has washed the inside of the container flows out of the unlocked discharge lid, and the container body and the discharge lid After being cleaned, the top lid is cleaned in parallel with the container cleaning to a degree optimal for the top lid by another cleaning device without disturbing the cleaning of the upper surface of the container.

When the conveyors C ₁ and C _{2 of} the washing chamber 1 and the drying chamber 2 are inclined for self-running and both the chambers are provided with stoppers 19 and 29 for stopping the containers in fixed positions, Of the container is self-propelled by its own weight, and is accurately stopped at the stop position by the action of the stopper, so that the positioning of the container on the lifter can be automatically achieved.

Furthermore, when the front height of the lifters 12 in the cleaning chamber 1 or the lifters 12 and 22 in the cleaning chamber 1 and the drying chamber 2 are made different from each other, the container body is supported by the lifters. Then, the discharge lid can be opened larger by its own weight, and cleaning or cleaning and drying can be performed rationally.

Furthermore, the lifter 32 of the goods receipt station, because of the longitudinal direction F ₁ moves up and down direction F ₂ which is movable while placing the conveyor C _3, to the conveyor C ₃ on the lifter 32 of the mobile container with lid according to the transport vehicle The operations of placing, unlocking the discharge lid of the movable container with the lid, removing the upper lid, and transferring the container to the washing room can be automatically and smoothly performed.

Furthermore, the upper cover detachment apparatus 30 is, vertical movement F ₄ and rearward movement F ₃
And the control circuit R is equipped with a lid clamping device D, so that manual operation using a conventional tool can be completely automated, and even if a container having a different size is adopted as a movable container with a lid, the upper lid can be removed. Work can be performed.

〔Example〕

Overall configuration of the apparatus (see FIGS. 1 and 2): The cleaning chamber 1 and the drying chamber 2 are essentially made of stainless steel or the like as in the conventional apparatus, and each chamber receives a container at a fixed position. The stoppers 19 and 29 for stopping are suspended from the top plate by the suspension cylinders 18 and 28 for vertical movement, and the container legs 13 and 23 of the lifters 12 and 22 in each room are both at the front (front) height. Back (inside) heights h ₂ and h ₄ corresponding to h ₁ and h ₃
Point was lowered, and in that employs a side door S _3, S ₄ which can slide open rearward in place of the side wall W _1, W ₂ of the conventional apparatus, different from the conventional cleaning chamber 1 'and the drying chamber 2' doing.

The storage station 3 is located upstream of the cleaning room 1.
A storage station 4 is arranged downstream of the drying chamber 2, and S ₃ , S ₂ , and S ₄ of the partition doors at their boundaries are drawn out to the rear side (arrows O ₃ , O ₂ , O ₄ ). When opened, the container was set so that the container could be moved from the receiving station 3 → the washing chamber 1 → the drying chamber 2 → the discharging station 4.

Furthermore, the warehousing station 3 downward, the longitudinal movement of the direction of arrow F _1, capable of vertical movement of the arrow F ₂ lifter
There are 32 and the conveyor C _3, arrows above the station 3
F ₃ direction has the upper lid removable device 30 is movable, on the side outside after the station. 3 are installed is discharged lid unlock motor 31, unloading station 4 from above the goods receipt station 3
, A chain conveyor 51 extending on the roof of the washing room 1 and the drying room 2 is provided, and an air jet type cleaning device 52 is provided so as to cover the chain conveyor 51 above the delivery station. Part A before the storage station 3 is the position of the storage station of the carrier, and part B before the storage station 4 is the position of the storage station of the carrier. In FIG. 2, 320 and 420 are air cylinders for moving the lifter, respectively, and b is a cable carrier (registered trademark) storing a cord group for electric control.

Upper lid removing device 30 (see FIGS. 3A to 5): The upper lid removing device 30 includes a main body vertical frame 303, a main body horizontal frame 304, and a series of devices connected to the main body frame. The structure is such that the upper device D can be moved up and down together with the support frame and the entire upper cover removing device 30 can be moved back and forth. That is, the main body horizontal frame 304 has two pairs of left and right rail sandwiching wheels 302 (FIG. 4B).
02 sandwiches a rail 301 fixed in the front-rear direction to the upper frame of the storage station 3, and the main body frame has a rail 3 having a connection piece 307 projecting laterally from the rail 3 as an operation point.
Performing back-and-forth movement in the arrow F ₃ direction by the actuation of the fixed air cylinder 306 to 01 side. Note that b in FIGS. 3A and 3B
Is a cable carrier (registered trademark) of electric wires for controlling various movements of the top cover removing device. The main body vertical frame 303 includes a pair of left and right vertical guide posts P, P, and a lifting hydraulic cylinder 305 between the posts P, P (FIG. 4B). The supporting device supporting frame composed of the vertical supporting frame 308 and the horizontal supporting frame 309 is a lifting cylinder.
305 is connected to the guide post P, which is slidable in the vertical direction of the arrow F ₄ by P (Figure 4A). The upper surface of the horizontal support frame 309 is Yes by placing the servo motor M _3, the lower surface cover sandwiched device D are axially supported rotatably. The gear G ₁ of the gear G ₂ and the motor M ₃ on the rotation axis X of the lid sandwiched device D meshes (No. 4C view).

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the lid holding device D, in which a pair of left and right holding members 313 are fixed to the mounting plate 312, respectively.
The ends of the 312 sliding piece 311 is fixed, such that each sliding piece 311 is fitted slidably in the guide rails 310, two mounting plates 312 to move the arrow F ₅ by the air cylinder 315, respectively It is configured. Therefore, the lid holding device D is a cylinder
315 control operation by servants gripping of the upper lid by the proximity or dehiscence of the both clamping pieces 313 (Figure 6A 61) was挾着or release, of the arrow R about the axis X by controlling the rotation of the motor M ₃ times Movement is possible.

Transfer cleaning device (Figures 3A, Figure 3B) of the upper lid: Yes stretched is unloading station upper to the chain conveyor 51 passes above the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber from receipts station upper wheel 50 which is rotated by a motor M ₅ conveyor 51 to move the arrow F ₆ direction by. The cleaning device 52 covers the path of the conveyor 51 in a form that permits only the passage of the chain conveyor 51 and the lid on the conveyor at the upper part of the delivery station, and a plurality of air nozzles N are disposed in the cleaning device 52. I have. Note 53 is a stopper of the top cover to move in the conveyor 51, and a limit switch (not shown) to stop the motor M _5.

Container used (Figs. 6A, 6B, 8A, 8B): The moving container with lid used in the practice of the present invention has the same container body and discharge lid as before (Figs. 8A, 8B), and only the upper lid is new. It is something. That is, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a gripping margin 61 having a V-shaped cross section and having a ridge protruding outward is fixed to the upper surface of the upper lid 60, and ears are provided from both sides of the lid.
62 are protruding.

Work flow: An unmanned transport vehicle (AG)
V) is transported to the AGV storage station position (FIG. 1A). Next, the AGV removes the container from the lifter 3 at the receiving station 3.
2, when the discharge lid is transferred with the rear face, the lifter 32 is lifted in response to a command, sets the container to the open position of the upper lid, and stops. Therefore, the lid holding device D is a hydraulic cylinder 305
And it stops at the upper lid gripping position. And clamping the gripping margin 61 of the upper lid 60 with scissors action of both clamping pieces 313 after receiving the signal by the operation of the cylinder 315, then turning the top cover 60 by rotation of the lid sandwiched device D according to the rotation of the motor M ₃ Then, the ear 62 is detached from the support piece 71. Next, the lid holding device D is raised together with the support frame by the lifting cylinder 305 (arrow F ₄ ), and further by the action of the cylinder 306.
Performing forward arrow F ₃ along the rail 301 as a whole upper cover detachment apparatus 30. After the lid clamping device D places the upper lid 60 on the chain conveyor 51, the device 30 is retracted. At this time, the lifter 32 has already descended, and then the lifter retreats (F ₁ ).
Then, the cam bolt 74 of the discharge lid 72 at the lower part of the rear surface of the container is turned by the engagement rotation of the pawl T at the tip of the discharge lid unlocking machine 31, and the lock between the cam 75 and the latch dock 76 is released. It is in a state of being hung by the hinge H. Then lifter 32 carrying the container is advanced by the movement arrows F _1, increased to the cleaning chamber level with vertical movement moves (arrow F _2), then open sliding side doors S ₃ to the rear, the chain conveyor C _The container is put into the cleaning chamber 1 by the operation of ₃ . If the container is placed in a cleaning chamber, the container is free-running in an inclined conveyor C _1, abuts stop hanging stopper 19. Then closes the side door S _3, supporting the containers of the container legs 73 at the four container Ashi受13 rises the lifter 12, and raised containers from the conveyor C ₁ held in place. In this state, the height h ₁ of the two front container legs 13 is the height of the two rear container legs 13.
higher than h ₂ (Fig. 1), the container is inclined rearward, the lower end is open outward by its own weight to the discharge cover 72 of the lower container rear.

Next, the washing nozzle 14 descends, and the washing nozzle 14 for washing the inside and the nozzle 15 for washing the outer surface (No. 7A)
(Fig.) And stop after a fixed time. After washing, water washing nozzle 14 is raised, the stopper 19 is raised, and then open the side door S ₂ of the middle partition backwards. Then, the container Ashi受13 lowering of the lifter 12 is lowered to support the container in the conveyor C _1, container enters the drying chamber 2 by self, and stops in position hanging stopper 29. Then, closing the side door S _2, the container Ashi受23 rises lifter 22
Supports the container legs 73 and removes the container from the conveyor and holds it in place. Also in this state, the front container leg support
For higher h ₄ of the height h ₃ is the rear 23, the container and the rear of the inclined, discharge cover 72 is suspended on the lower end is opened outwardly.

Next, the heater blower 25 is operated, and the heater 24 is operated.
After receiving the drying completion signal after a fixed time, the lifter 42 of the unloading station moves backward, stops at the same level as the drying chamber and at a fixed position, and opens the side door S _{4 of the} drying chamber.
There opened backwards, the lifter 22 of the drying chamber is lowered, the container C ₂
The move to unloading station and the self-propelled, the container is transferred to the unloading station by a chain conveyor C ₄ goods issue stations. Then, close the side door S ₄ of the drying chamber, AG
V moves from the receiving station position (FIG. 1A) to the discharging station position (FIG. 1B). The above steps are all automatically controlled.

On the other hand, the upper lid 60 is in parallel with the cleaning and drying process of the container, at a stage where the upper lid removable device mounting the top cover to the chain conveyor 51, is conveyed in the arrow F ₆ direction by driving the motor M ₅ based on the command . During the passage through the cleaning device 52,
The cleaning is performed by an air jet from a nozzle N that is operated according to a command, and further, the cleaning is stopped by a stopper 53 near the end of the chain conveyor 51. The conveyor 51 is also stopped by a limit switch (not shown). When the container body and the upper lid arrive at the delivery station, the operator checks the cleaning condition of the upper lid and the discharge lid, places the upper lid 60 on a temporary placing table (not shown) on the container top plate, and sets the discharge lid. 72
Is locked with a conventional tool (not shown), and the washing and drying operation of the moving container with the lid is completed.

Action and effect: If the AGV places the movable container with the lid on the lifter 32 of the loading station 3, the upper lid is removed thereafter, the discharge lid is unlocked, the upper lid is washed, and the container body is cleaned. All the operations of drying are automatically performed in a controlled order, and the cleaning is carried out under optimum conditions by different routes for the upper lid and the container body. Moreover, in the washing and drying process, the container is inclined backward due to the difference in height between the front and rear container leg supports of the container support lifter, so that the washing water inside the container flows out from the lower edge of the open discharge lid conveniently. Good washing and drying efficiency.

In addition, since the washing room and the drying room are provided with a front door for synonymous sound, even if the device breaks down, it is possible to easily switch to the conventional work method.

Modified Example: In the above-described embodiment, the operator checks the cleaning condition of the upper lid and the discharge lid, and manually closes and closes the cleaned lid. However, the operation and time during which the cleaning of the upper lid and the discharge lid are completely guaranteed. When set to, the same upper lid removal device and discharge lid unlocking machine as the entrance station are installed at the unloading station, and the front and rear movement of the upper lid removal device and the vertical movement, rotation of the lid holding device, and The upper lid is automatically set to the container in the reverse order of the operation of removing the upper lid at the storage station by the movement of the holding piece, and the pressing and rotation of the pawl T of the discharge lid unlocking device against the cam bolt 74 is performed. It is also possible to automatically close the discharge lid 72 to the container in the reverse order of operation at the entry station.

〔The invention's effect〕

The entry station, the washing room, the drying room, and the exit station are arranged in series via a partition side door,
To automatically open the container lid at the receiving station,
The transfer container with the lid can be automatically washed and dried in accordance with the processing steps. In addition, since the loading station, washing room, drying room, and unloading station each have a lifter and a conveyor, each operation in a series of processes can be smoothly performed as planned under the required stop state and required movement control. I can do it.

In addition, an upper lid removing device is provided as a lid opening means of the storage station, and the removed upper lid is washed by a route different from the washing and drying of the container, so that the lid and the container body can be simultaneously processed.

In addition, since the conveyors of the washing room and the drying room are inclined, and the container stopper is provided, the container can be self-propelled and the stop position can be set accurately, and the process can be controlled accurately and easily. It is possible.

In addition, by tilting the container with the lifter in the cleaning chamber, the cleaning water is allowed to naturally flow out of the container, and the subsequent drying operation can be advantageously performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an internal front view thereof. FIG. 3A is a partial front view of the upper part of the device of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a plan view thereof. FIG. 4A is a schematic perspective view of the upper cover removing device, FIG. 4B is a schematic perspective view of the main body frame, and FIG. 4C is a schematic perspective view of the clamping device. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the clamping device. FIG. 6A is a plan view of an upper lid of a container used for carrying out the present invention, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view thereof. FIG. 7A is a schematic perspective view of a conventional cleaning / drying apparatus, and FIG.
FIG. 7B is an internal front view thereof. FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a conventional moving container with a lid, and FIG. 8B is a partial sectional view thereof. 1 ... washing room, 2 ... drying room, 3 ...... incoming station, 4 ... outgoing station, 11,21 ... front door, 12,22,32,42 ... lifter, 13,23 ... container legs Receiving machine, 14,15… Rinse nozzle, 18, 28… Hanging cylinder, 19, 29… Stopper, 24… Heater, 25… Blower, 30… Top lid removal device, 31… Discharge lid lock Release machine, 50 wheel, 51 chain conveyor, 52 cleaning device, 60 top lid, 61 grip, 62 ears, 70 container body, 71 support piece, 72 … Exhaust lid, 73… Container leg, 74… Cam bolt, 75… Cam, 76… Latch dock, D… Nipping device, N… Air nozzle, S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ … Side door.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mikio Hirata 2-28 Asahimachi, Omuta-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture (56) References JP-A-60-197520 (JP, A) JP-A-60-168459 (JP, U ) Actually open sho 61-47975 (JP, U) Actually open sho 51-86075 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A47L 11/00-11/40 B08B 1 / 00-3/04 B65G 47/52

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A warehousing station (3) having means for automatically opening a lid of a container, and a washing chamber (1) having means for automatically washing by injecting or jetting a washing liquid into and out of the container. ), A drying chamber (2) provided with a drying means for automatically drying the adhered cleaning liquid, and a delivery station (4) for attaching a lid at each boundary, and a side door (S) that can be opened. ₃ , S ₂ , S ₄ )
Storage station (3), washing room (1), drying room (2)
And unloading station (4) lifter (32,12,22,42) for each and conveyor _{(C 3, C 1, C} 2, C 4) automatic washing and drying apparatus of a mobile container with lid which is disposed a. The means for opening the lid of the storage station (3) comprises a discharge lid unlocking machine (31) and an upper lid removing device (30). The removing device (30) removes the upper lid removed from the container. , Placed on a conveyor (51) arranged outside the washing room (1) and the drying room (2), and the conveyor (51) conveys the upper lid to a delivery station via a cleaning device (52). Item 6. The automatic washing / drying apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The conveyors (C ₁ , C ₂ ) of the washing room (1) and the drying room (2) are inclined for self-running, and both containers (1, 2) stop the container in a fixed position. The automatic washing and drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a stopper (19, 29) for the cleaning. 4. Among the lifters in the cleaning chamber (1) and the drying chamber (2), at least the lifter in the cleaning chamber tilts and locks the container body (70) when the container leg (73) is supported. The height (h ₁ ) on the front side and the height (h ₂ ) on the rear side of the container leg support are different from each other so that the lower end of the released discharge lid (72) can be opened outward by its own weight. 4. The automatic washing / drying apparatus according to any one of items 3 to 3. 5. The storage station (3) includes a lifter (32) that can move in a front-rear direction (F ₁ ) on which a conveyor (C ₃ ) is placed and can move in a vertical direction (F ₂ ). 5. The automatic cleaning / drying apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 4. 6. The upper lid removing device (30) includes a lid holding device (D) that can move up and down (F ₄ ) and forward and backward (F ₃ ) and that can be controlled and rotated (R). Item 6. The automatic washing / drying apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 5.