JP3254042B2 - Container alignment 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 container aligning apparatus for aligning an upright container, which is conveyed in an unaligned state on a conveyor, in accordance with the arrangement of containers to be packed in the case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for aligning containers arranged in a case in accordance with the arrangement of containers to be packed in a case, which is carried out as a step prior to packing the containers in an unaligned state conveyed on a conveyor into a case, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 01-60364. Is described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. The apparatus disclosed in the publication is shown in FIGS.

In these figures, 101 is a conveyor frame, 102a, 102b, and 102c are partition plates,
Reference numeral 3 denotes a bearing of the adjusting shaft 106, 105 denotes a flat conveyor (hereinafter referred to as a conveyor), 107 denotes a handle attached to the adjusting shaft 106, and 108 denotes an article to be conveyed by the conveyor 105, that is, a container.

A plurality of adjustment shafts 106 are arranged along the conveyor 105 and are arranged orthogonally to the flow direction of the conveyor 105 (hereinafter, referred to as a conveyor width direction), and are rotatably supported by the conveyor frame 101 via bearings 103. I have. By turning a handle 107 attached to one end of the adjustment shaft 106, a drive system capable of rotatably interlocking the plurality of shafts 106 via the gear box 116 and the connection shaft 117 is provided.

[0005] The partition plates 102a, 102b, 102c
Ring-shaped flanges 115, 114, 114a respectively
And a central flange 115 is provided on the conveyor frame 1.
01 is fixed by a bracket 112 fixed to the upper part of the bracket. The flanges 114, 115, 114a
As shown in FIG. 7, each of the rollers 113 has a pair of rollers 113 on its inner periphery, and the rollers 113 move by engaging with the grooves 111, 111a of the cylindrical groove cams 110, 110a. Cylindrical groove cam 1
10, 110a are spline teeth 106 which are slidable in the axial direction with respect to the shaft 106 and whose rotation is engaged with each other.
The rotation of the shaft 106 is stopped by the cylindrical groove cam 11.
0, 110a to rotate the cylindrical groove cams 110, 110a. FIG. 8 shows cylindrical groove cams 110 and 110a.
The figure shows the groove portions 111 and 111a developed on the outer periphery of the development.

[0006] By turning the handle 107, the shaft 10
6, the cylindrical groove cams 110, 110a rotate, and the pair of rollers 113 provided on the inner periphery of the flanges 114, 114 move along the grooves 111, 111a, so that the flanges 114, 114a move in the width direction. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, the partition plates 102b and 102c attached to the flanges 114 and 114a also move in the width direction. In this example, in practice, the flange 115 and the partition plate 102a attached to the flange 115 are fixed,
With this as the center, the partition plates 102b, 102c on both sides
Can be moved in the width direction of the conveyor.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show partition plates 102a and 102, respectively.
c is an explanatory view of a state where the moving, by rotating the handle 107, the width of the partition plate is shown that vary in unison from W ₁ partition plate 102a as the center to the W _2. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, usually, compared to a small article,
Large containers often require a small number of rows to be packed in a case, and must be economical in terms of conveyor width. In this example, by forming the groove of the cylindrical cam 110a into the shape of the groove 111a shown in the developed view of FIG. 8, the flanges 114a at both ends and the partition plate 102c attached to the flange 114a are located at a predetermined position together with the other partition plate 102b. The width of the partition plate 102a, 1 is increased as shown in FIG.
02b, 102c.

The apparatus for aligning containers in accordance with the arrangement of containers to be packed in the case described above includes a plurality of partition plates movable in the width direction of the conveyor, a ring-shaped flange mounted on each partition plate, and a conveyor. A rotatable adjustment shaft installed in the width direction and slidably and non-rotatably fitted on the adjustment shaft;
A cylindrical groove cam provided with two groove portions, the flange is fitted on the outer periphery of the cylindrical groove cam, a pair of rollers provided on the inner periphery of the flange are engaged with the groove portion of the cylindrical groove cam, The following effects are obtained by adjusting the width of the partition plate according to the arrangement of the containers to be packed.

(1) By operating the handle of the adjusting shaft, the width of the partition plate can be changed all at once in a short time.

[0010] (2) The spacer parts conventionally required become unnecessary, and the management thereof is released.

(3) When the number of rows changes depending on the size of the container, by changing the shape of the groove portion of the cylindrical groove cam, it can be put to practical use without uneconomically increasing the machine width.

[0012]

However, in the case of the above-mentioned prior art, the swing plate 120 adjacent to the partition plate and located on the upstream side of the conveyor, that is, the partition plates 102a, 102b, 102 is used.
The container is driven by a drive device provided separately on the upstream side and swings back and forth to smoothly flow the containers conveyed in an unaligned state on the conveyor, by the partition plates 102a, 102b, and 102c.
Plural rows of rocking plates 120 guided between 102c
Are attached by a round bar or a square pipe attached to the conveyor frame 101.

For this reason, the type (shape,
First, the width of the partition plates 102a, 102b, and 102c can be simultaneously adjusted by operating the handle 107 of the adjustment shaft 106 according to the size of the partition plate.
Although it can be changed in a short time, the swinging plate 120 is adjusted in the width direction by adjusting the width of the partition plates 102a, 102b, 102c and then sliding on the round bar or the square pipe to which the partition plate 102a, 102b, 102c is attached in accordance with the width. Have to do.

In addition, as a practical matter, the partition plate 102
When adjusting the a, 102b, 102c and the rocking plate 120, a number of rocking plates 120 must be slid on a round bar or a square pipe, and this slide adjustment is surprisingly heavy and heavy labor. Has the disadvantage that it takes a considerable amount of time.

Therefore, the present invention provides a container aligning apparatus for aligning upright containers conveyed in an unaligned state on a conveyor in accordance with the arrangement of containers to be packed in a case. An object of the present invention is to provide a container aligning device capable of simultaneously and easily adjusting the interval between the partition plates and the intervals between the plurality of swing plates.

[0016]

For this reason, the container aligning apparatus of the present invention is arranged horizontally at the upstream end of the partition plate for guiding and aligning the upright containers conveyed on the conveyor therebetween, in the width direction of the conveyor. A swinging plate whose downstream end is pivotally mounted on the arranged shaft, and is mounted in the width direction of the conveyor at a height at which an upright container conveyed on the conveyor can pass at the upstream end of the swinging plate. The guide member whose flow end is connected to the upstream end of the rocker plate, and the guide material that connects the rocker plate, are rotated around an axis that pivotally connects the rocker plate to the partition plate. And a driving device for swinging so as to generate a component in the conveyor moving direction.

[0017]

According to the container aligning device configured as described above,
Since the swing center axis of the swing plate is provided on the partition plate and does not hinder the swing of the swing plate, and the swing plate and the partition plate are fixed in the width direction of the conveyor. If the partition width between the plurality of partition plates is adjusted according to the type of the containers to be aligned, the spacing between the plurality of swing plates can be adjusted simultaneously according to the partition width.

Further, by means of a guide member connected to the upstream end of the swing plate, the width direction of the conveyor at the upstream portion of the swing plate and the partition plate can be set at the same time, and a driving device required for swinging the swing plate. Transmission mechanism from the transmission becomes unnecessary.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the container aligning device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are views showing an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire apparatus, and FIG. 2 is an AA view of FIG.

Prior to packing the containers 1 in a case, the containers 1 are aligned in accordance with the arrangement of the containers 1 housed in the case. That is, at the end of the conveyor 2 to which the unaligned containers 1 are conveyed, partition plates 3 of the number and length corresponding to the arrangement of the containers 1 to be aligned are provided on the conveyor downstream and upstream of the conveyor 2. Is mounted on the conveyor frame 5 so that the arrangement position can be adjusted in the width direction. In this case, the upstream side of the partition plate 3 is disposed horizontally in the width direction of the conveyor 2 at an upper position of the upstream end portion of the partition plate 3 through which the upright container 1 conveyed on the conveyor 2 can pass. The lower end of the partition plate 3 is connected to a guide member 4 provided across the upper portion of the conveyor 2 via a driven arm 10 constituting an upper end portion of a swing plate 11 that swings about a shaft 9. Guide members 4 ′ provided on the conveyor frame 5 across the conveyor 2 are connected to each other, and these connection portions enable adjustment in the width direction.

A rocking plate 1 is provided below each driven arm 10 to smoothly guide the flow of the containers 1 conveyed in an unaligned state on the conveyor 2 between the plurality of rows of partition plates 3.
1 is attached. In the embodiment, the partition plate 3
The pivoting position between the upstream end of the oscillating plate 11 and the rocking plate 11 will be described as an example in which the pivoting position is not necessarily provided at a high position. What is necessary is that the conveyor is swung so as to generate components, and that the movement of the conveyor in the width direction can be performed integrally with the upstream side of the partition plate 3 and the swing plate 11. In this case, it is necessary to change a driving device described later from that of the embodiment. On a conveyor frame 5 on both sides of the conveyor 2, a vertical driving arm 8 driven by an air cylinder 7 constituting a driving device is provided with a shaft 9.
Is provided so as to swing about a shaft 6 having the same axis as the center. Both ends of the guide member 4 are pivotally attached to opposing side surfaces of the vertical drive arm 8. Further, at the downstream side of the partition plate 3 of the conveyor frame 5, a stopper 12 for setting the leading position of the container 1 to be accumulated on the conveyor 2 in an aligned state is attached via an air cylinder 13 so as to be capable of leading position adjustment. I have.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the air cylinder 7 reciprocates in the container aligning device 14 configured as described above, the driven arm 10 integrally attached via the guide member 4 together with the vertical drive arm 8.
And the swing plate 11 swing about the axes 6 and 9 on the same axis, but since the axes 6 and 9 are on the same axis,
The partition plate 3 can maintain a constant posture without swinging.

Next, when the width between the plurality of partition plates 3 and between the plurality of swing plates 11 is adjusted in accordance with the type of the containers 1 to be aligned, the downstream of the partition plate 3 on the conveyor 2 is The bolt (not shown) between the partition plate 3 and the guide member 4 'is loosened, and the swing plate 1
Loosen the bolts (not shown) between the driven arm 10 and the guide member 4 which constitute the upper part of the first member 1. In this state, the partition plate 3 is moved right and left in accordance with the width adjustment. If the distance adjustment is performed using a distance piece, it can be performed more efficiently. Since the partition plate 3 can be moved by sliding on sliding members provided on the guide members 4 ', 4, the partition plate 3 can be moved more easily. In addition, the swing plate 11 moves together with the partition plate 3, and the partition plate 3 is moved. By adjusting the width between them, the width between the rocking plates 11 is automatically adjusted at the same time.

Although the spacing between the plurality of partition plates 3 corresponding to the types of containers to be arranged has been described in the manual example in order to enrich the embodiment, the handles, flanges, and cylinders described in the conventional example are used. It goes without saying that the efficiency can be further improved by replacing the adjusting shaft provided with the groove cam and the gear box with the guide members 4 and 4 'of this embodiment.

[0025]

According to the container aligning apparatus of the present invention described above, it is possible to adjust the arrangement of the plurality of partition plates in the conveyor width direction corresponding to the type of the containers to be aligned by the simple structure shown in the claims. The arrangement of the plurality of swinging plates in the width direction of the conveyor according to the arrangement of the partition plates can be adjusted simultaneously and easily. Further, since the swinging plate is swung by the guide member that sets the position of the partition plate in the width direction of the conveyor on the upstream side, the driving mechanism can be further simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire container aligning apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional container alignment device.

FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view from the arrow A in FIG. 3 with different adjustment widths.

FIG. 6 is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a detailed view of a main part of a conventional guide width adjusting device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of adjustment of a conventional guide width adjusting device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of an arrangement of a conventional guide width adjusting device.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of an arrangement of a conventional guide width adjusting device.

[Description of Signs] 1 Container 2 Conveyor 3 Partition plate 4, 4 'Guide member 5 Conveyor frame 6 Shaft 7 Air cylinder constituting drive unit 8 Drive arm constituting drive unit 9 Drive arm pivot shaft 10 Swing plate Followed arm 11 constituting upper part 11 Swinging plate 14 Container alignment device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-232616 (JP, A) JP-A-58-82915 (JP, A) JP-A-63-17123 (JP, U) JP-A-3-17316 1116 (JP, U) Hikaru 3-1117 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 47/22-47/32 B65G 21/20-21/22

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An upright container in an unaligned state conveyed on a conveyor is adjusted in the width direction of the conveyor by a swinging plate provided on an upstream side to adjust the size of the upright container to be aligned. In a container aligning apparatus for guiding and aligning a plurality of rows of partition plates whose positions in the conveyor width direction are adjusted accordingly, a downstream end of the rocking plate is provided with an axis in a conveyor width direction at an upstream end of the partition plate. And a guide for setting an arrangement position of the rocking plate in the width direction of the conveyor, the upstream end of the rocking plate being erected at a height allowing passage of the upright container. A container aligning device, comprising: a driving device connected to a material, for rotating the guide material around the axis and swinging the swing plate fixed to the guide material.