JP3206847B2 - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article transfer apparatus used in various processing lines for articles, and more particularly to an article transfer apparatus using a holder for transferring an article in a state in which a lower part of the article is accommodated. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an article transfer apparatus using a holder of this type, when an article is to be extracted from the holder in accordance with the work flow, a support mechanism for supporting the holder and a gripping mechanism for gripping the article. It is widely practiced to cause relative movement between the two and to extract (see Jpn.
0, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-166621). However, in the conventional transfer device, since the transfer line of the article extracted from the holder is located above the transfer line of the holder, the holder is particularly required to perform processing operations such as printing and inspection on the bottom surface of the article. Had trouble working. For this reason, conventionally, when printing or the like is performed on the bottom surface of an article, the processing is performed through an opening formed in the bottom of the holder, or a separate line is provided downstream to perform the processing. Was. Also, in the conventional transfer device, the article and the holder can be ejected separately, but it is possible to remove a defective product or to partially eject a specific type of article selectively. Was unsuitable for

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and facilitates processing operations such as printing and inspection on the bottom surface of an article. It is an object of the present invention to provide an article transfer device which can be adapted to partial separation and discharge for selective discharge of the product.

[0004]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support mechanism for supporting a holder for accommodating a lower part of an article and transporting the article, and a grip for gripping the article. A state in which the gripping mechanism is horizontally displaced from a transfer line of the holder by making the gripping mechanism movable in a horizontal direction while removing the article from the holder by relative movement with respect to the mechanism. Wherein the processing for the article is performed. Further, according to the invention described in claim 2, the article is moved from the holder by the relative movement of a support mechanism that holds a lower part of the article and supports a holder that transports the article and a gripping mechanism that grips the article. And withdrawing the gripping mechanism so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and ejecting only the article in a state where the gripping mechanism is horizontally displaced from the transfer line of the holder, the holder and the article are separated. It is separated and discharged.

[0005]

As described above, in the present invention, by moving the gripping mechanism of the article in the horizontal direction, the processing on the article is performed in a state where the gripping mechanism is shifted from the transfer line of the holder in the horizontal direction. Processing such as printing and inspection on the bottom surface is easy. Further, by moving the gripping mechanism of the article in the horizontal direction, the gripping mechanism is separated from the holder by ejecting only the article while the gripping mechanism is shifted from the transfer line of the holder in the horizontal direction. , It is possible to selectively discharge defective products and articles of a specific type.
In addition, since the separation and discharge are performed in the order of discharging only a predetermined article in the middle of the transfer and then storing and discharging the remaining articles together with the empty holder in the holder, the holder in the circulation transfer line of the holder is used. The total number does not change.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall layout according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a holder conveyor constituting an introduction line, and articles such as containers to be transferred are transferred with their lower parts being accommodated in holders 2 on the holder conveyor 1. The holder 2 accommodating the article is rotated by a stopper mechanism 3 via a star wheel 4 with a rotary-type article processing apparatus 5.
Supplied to In the article processing apparatus 5, as described later, the article is provided with a holding mechanism for holding the article and a holder 2.
Is removed from the holder 2 by a relative movement with respect to a support mechanism for supporting the
Various processes are performed while being transferred along the transfer line L2 which is shifted from the horizontal direction. The article transfer line L2 has a branch point B formed downstream of the part where the predetermined processing is completed, and is connected to the discharge wheel 6 in a state where the article is horizontally shifted from the transfer line L1 of the holder 2. Into a transfer line L3 and a transfer line L4 that moves above the transfer line L1. In the drawing, reference numeral 7 denotes a bottom labeler, 8 denotes an ink jet device, 9 denotes a reading camera, and 10 denotes a type checking barcode reader.

The predetermined processing operation on the article is performed while the article is transferred along the transfer line L2. When the article reaches the branch point B, the article is sorted into the transfer line L3 and the transfer line L4. become. That is,
Defective products and articles of a specific type are selectively transferred to the transfer line L3 side, and the remaining articles are transferred to the transfer line L4.
The articles transferred to the transfer line L3 side further control the discharge timing from the discharge wheel 6 in accordance with the output signals from the reading camera 9 and the bar code reader 10, so that in the case of defective products, the storage section 11 And the articles selected as the specific type are distributed to the discharge conveyor 13 connected to another processing device or the like. Also, the article transferred to the transfer line L4 side returns to just above the transfer line L1 of the holder 2, and then lowers by the relative movement between the gripping mechanism of the article and the support mechanism of the holder 2. Is housed in the holder 2, and in the housed state,
Is discharged to a discharge conveyor 15 connected to another processing device or the like via the processing unit.

Next, the operation of the article transfer apparatus will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a rotary type article processing apparatus. In the drawing, reference numeral 16 denotes a rotating shaft of the article processing apparatus 5, and a lower portion of the rotating shaft 16 is provided with a driving disc 1 around which a gear meshing with a driving gear (not shown) is formed.
7 is fixed, and the rotating shaft 16 is rotatably driven via the driving disk 17. Around the periphery of the drive disk 17, a support base 19 that constitutes a support mechanism for the holder 2 corresponding to each holder 2 that accommodates and transfers a lower part of an article 18 such as a container via a shaft 20. And is slidably supported by a well-known lifting cam mechanism or the like disposed below (not shown) so as to move up and down according to the rotation angle. Further, a support disk 21 is fixed to the upper part of the rotary shaft portion 16, and a gripping mechanism 22 for gripping the article 18 is supported via the support disk 21 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. I have. FIG. 3 illustrates a specific example of the gripping mechanism 22. The gripping mechanism 22 includes an appropriate number of gripping pieces 24 rotatably supported by a support shaft 23. FIG. FIG. 4B shows a state before the gripping operation in which the pieces 24 are spread, and FIG. The operation control of the gripping pieces 24 is performed through the supply control of the pressurized fluid to the working cylinder 25, and the piston 26 is operated by the fluid pressure to drive the tapered member 27 up and down to thereby control the upper end of each gripping piece 24. It is performed by inserting and removing between rollers 28 attached to the section.

Next, the supporting disk 21 of the gripping mechanism 22
Will be described more specifically. FIG.
As shown in (1), the gripping mechanism 22 is supported by a distal end portion of a horizontal moving member 29 slidably supported in a horizontal direction with respect to the supporting disk 21 so as to be able to move up and down. In the drawing, reference numeral 30 denotes a sliding bearing of the horizontal moving member 29, and 31 denotes a gripping mechanism 22.
Working cylinder for lifting. A cam follower 3 which is loosely fitted in a cam groove formed in a cam plate 32 fixed to a fixed side of the apparatus main body is provided at an inner end of the horizontal moving member 29.
The grip mechanism 22 is configured to move in the horizontal direction by being guided by the cam groove.
As shown in FIG. 4, the cam groove C is formed so as to coincide with the trajectory of the article transfer line L2, and at the branch point B, the aforementioned transfer line L3 and transfer line L4
It is branched according to. In the figure, 34 is this branch point B
The cam surface 35 for selecting the transfer line L3 side and the transfer line L4
It has a cam surface 36 for selecting the side, and is configured so that the course can be controlled by selectively contacting the control cam follower 38 by sliding with the operation cylinder 37 shown in FIG.

When the rotary shaft 16 is driven to rotate via the driving disk 17, the lifting and lowering operation cylinder 31 and the operation cylinder 25 for driving the gripping piece 24 are actuated in accordance with the rotation angle. The supply control of the pressurized fluid is performed, and the gripping operation by the gripping mechanism 22 on the article 18 housed and transferred in the holder 2 is performed. Thereafter, the support base 19 constituting the support mechanism of the holder 2 is lowered via the shaft portion 20 by a known lift cam mechanism or the like (not shown) or the gripping mechanism 2 is moved by the lift operation cylinder 31.
2 rises and the article 18 is removed from the holder 2. Thereafter, a horizontal moving member 29 supported slidably in the horizontal direction with respect to the supporting disk 21 is guided by a cam follower 33 which is loosely fitted in a cam groove C formed in a cam plate 32, and is horizontally moved. , And various processing operations are performed as described above while the gripping mechanism 22, that is, the article 18 is transferred along the transfer line L2. In this case, since the transfer line L2 of the article 18 is displaced horizontally with respect to the transfer line L1 of the holder 2, the holder 2 does not hinder the work as shown in FIG. Is greatly improved. When reaching the branch point B, the operation cylinder 37 is driven and controlled by output signals from the reading camera 9 and the type checking bar code reader 10, and defective products and articles of a specific type are selectively transferred to the transfer line. Transferred to the L3 side, the remaining articles are transferred to the transfer line L4.
Will be transferred to Further, as described above, if the article 18 transferred to the transfer line L3 is defective by the discharge wheel 6, the article 18 selected as the specific type is processed by the discharge conveyor 12 connected to the storage unit 11 in another process. The articles 18 sorted to the discharge conveyor 13 connected to the apparatus and the like and transferred to the transfer line L4 side
And are discharged to a discharge conveyor 15 connected to another processing device or the like via a star wheel 14 together. In addition,
In the above description of the embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a rotary type processing apparatus has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a linear type processing apparatus or used as an article sorting apparatus.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained based on the configuration. (1) Since the processing is performed in a state where the gripping mechanism of the article is shifted in the horizontal direction from the transfer line of the holder, processing operations such as printing and inspection on the bottom surface of the article are easily performed, and the workability is greatly improved. (2) By moving the gripping mechanism of the article in the horizontal direction, it is possible to separate and discharge the article by discharging only the article in a state where the gripping mechanism is shifted from the transfer line of the holder in the horizontal direction. By controlling the position, defective products or articles of a specific type can be selectively discharged. (3) The separation and discharge are performed in the order of discharging only predetermined articles during the transfer, and then storing and discharging the remaining articles together with the empty holder in the holder. Is discharged, there is no change in the total number of holders in the circulation transfer line with respect to the holders, so that there is no need to replenish the holders for continuous operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a layout according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of a specific example of the gripping mechanism of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the cam plate showing a branch point portion of the cam groove of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a branch point portion of the cam groove.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Holder Conveyor 2 Holder 3 Stopper Mechanism 4 Star Wheel 5 Article Processing Device 6 Discharge Wheel 7-10 Each Treatment Device 12,13 Discharge Conveyor 14 Star Wheel 15} Discharge conveyor 16} Rotary shaft 18} Article 20} Shaft for lifting / lowering 22> Grasping mechanism 29> Horizontal moving member 31> Operating cylinder for lifting / lowering 32> Cam plate 33> Cam follower 34 ‥‥ control cam 35, 36 ‥‥ cam surface 37 ‥‥ working cylinder 38 ‥‥ control cam follower L1 ‥‥ holder transfer line L2 ‥‥ article transfer line

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 47/90-47/92 B65G 47/84-47/86

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A relative movement between a support mechanism for accommodating a lower part of an article and a holder for transferring the article and a gripping mechanism for gripping the article, withdrawing the article from the holder, An article transfer apparatus in an article processing apparatus, wherein the gripping mechanism is configured to be movable in a horizontal direction, and the gripping mechanism performs processing on the article in a state where the gripping mechanism is shifted in a horizontal direction from a transfer line of the holder. 2. A relative movement between a support mechanism that accommodates a lower part of an article and supports a holder that transports the article and a gripping mechanism that grips the article, withdraws the article from the holder, The gripping mechanism is configured to be movable in the horizontal direction, and only the article is discharged in a state where the gripping mechanism is horizontally displaced from the transfer line of the holder, thereby separating and discharging the holder and the article. Characteristic article transfer device.