JP3430220B2 - Pallet centrifugal dehydrator - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pallet dewatering device for dewatering a pallet made of metal such as aluminum, synthetic resin or wooden, which is carried by a forklift or the like, after washing, and a centrifugal dewatering device used therefor. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, by packing a package on a pallet and moving the pallet by a forklift,
It is designed to be easily loaded and unloaded from transport vehicles such as trucks. This pallet has recently become obliged to be cleaned because hygiene control is required due to the placement of the packaged items. Therefore, the pallet is washed by hand or by spraying a low-pressure or high-pressure cleaning liquid, and after cleaning, it is dried by blowing a high wind speed and a large amount of warm air.

In the drying step after the washing, if any washing liquid remains, bacteria may grow and the washing effect may be lost. Further, since it damages the corrugated cardboard for packaging the products and the papers, it is required to surely dry without leaving water drops.

[0004]

However, in the conventional drying process using hot air, the pallet has a width of, for example, 1
000mm-1200mm, length 800-1200m
m, the height is as large as 150 mm to 300 mm, and it has a fork insertion port on the side for inserting the fork of the forklift, so it takes a relatively long time to completely dry the entire pallet, and the treatment per hour The capacity is about 60 sheets, which is a bottleneck when cleaning pallets.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention, the prior art has been made in view of the unsolved problems of the palette when centrifugally dehydrated, high-speed centrifugal dehydration pallet on turntable is reliably held have the purpose of providing a centrifugal dehydrator of pallets can be performed.

[0006]

[0007]

[0008]

[0009]

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object
The centrifugal dehydrator pallets according to claim 1, high-speed centrifugal dehydrator to a palette for centrifugally dehydrated pallets were washed with a washing solution, a turntable rotatably disposed in a sealed casing body, the turntable A rotary drive source for rotary driving, a chain conveyor for transporting and supporting the pallet arranged on the turntable, a first holding means for holding the pallet on the chain conveyor in contact with the pallet from above, and the pallet And a second holding means for regulating the rotation of the pallet by inserting the positioning member into the pair of fork insertion holes formed on the side surfaces of the pallet.

In the invention according to claim 1 , the pallet is conveyed to a predetermined position by the chain conveyor on the turntable, and the pallet is supported by the chain conveyor, and the first holding means contacts the pallet from the information. By holding the positioning member of the second holding means into the pair of fork insertion holes formed on the side surface of the pallet, the rotation of the pallet is surely restricted, and in this holding state, The turntable is driven by a rotary drive source at high speed. At this time, since the contact area between the pallet, the chain conveyor supporting the pallet, and the first and second holding means is extremely small while the pallet is held, all the cleaning liquid remaining on the pallet is blown off,
Residual water droplets can be removed in a short time.

Further, centrifugal dehydrator palette according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the chain conveyor is in a state in which the turntable is stopped at a predetermined position, forward and backward to the fixing portion of the case body It is characterized in that it is configured to be rotationally driven by being connected to a rotational drive mechanism that is freely arranged. In the invention according to claim 2 , since the chain conveyor is rotationally driven by connecting the rotary drive mechanism to the chain conveyor while the turntable is stopped at the predetermined position, the rotary drive mechanism is mounted on the turntable. It is not necessary to place it in the
The rotary drive source of the turntable can be downsized and its capacity can be reduced.

Furthermore, a centrifugal dehydrator palette according to claim 3, the inventor odor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second holding means, positioned according to the distance between the pair of forks insertion hole of the pallet It is characterized in that the distance between the members can be adjusted. In the invention according to the third aspect , the rotation of the pallet can be reliably regulated by the positioning member by adjusting the distance between the positioning members in accordance with the change in the size of the pallet.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are a front view with a front plate removed and a plan view with a top plate removed, showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a water draining device to which the pallet P is transferred from a cleaning device 2 for cleaning the pallet P. The water draining device 1 drains the pallet P by, for example, inclining it backward and then drains it to the centrifugal dehydrator 3. After being transferred and subjected to centrifugal dehydration, the pallet P after the centrifugal dehydration is dried by blowing a drying gas in the drying device 4 and then transferred to a stacking device (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the water draining device 1 includes a first chain conveyor 12 for receiving the washed pallet P from the washing device 2 on a pedestal 11 having a predetermined height and conveying it to the right. Arranged, this first chain conveyor 1
The second chain conveyor 13 is arranged on the right end side of 2,
A pallet inclining mechanism 14 as a pallet inclining means for inclining the pallet P downward and rearward is provided so as to face the right side half of the second chain conveyor 13, and further, the first
A pallet delivery mechanism 15 for delivering the pallet P between the second chain conveyors 12 and 13 is provided.

Here, the first chain conveyor 12 is
The left and right pairs of four sprockets 1 are paired so that the left-right direction spacing is about 650 mm and the front-back direction spacing is, for example, 800 mm shorter than the minimum width 900 mm of the pallet P.
2a are arranged, and a pair of left and right sprockets 12a are provided.
It has a configuration in which a pair of endless chains 12b are wound between them.

The rotating shaft 12c for supporting the right sprocket 12a has a front and rear face plate 1a as shown in FIG.
And 1b, and a sprocket 12d is provided at their protruding ends, and a rotary shaft 12 extending through the front and rear face plates 11a and 11b in parallel with the rotary shaft 12c.
e is disposed, an endless chain 12g is wound between sprockets 12f and 12d disposed at both ends of the rotary shaft 12e, and further disposed inside the front plate 1a of the rotary shaft 12e. An endless chain 12k is provided between the sprocket 12h and a sprocket 12j attached to the rotating shaft of the electric motor 12i with a brake and a clutch.
Is wrapped around. Further, a photoelectric sensor 12m for detecting the arrival of the pallet P is provided on the upper left portion of the right sprocket 12a.
Is provided.

Also, in the second chain conveyor 13, the space between the left and right of the sprocket 13a is about 1550 mm, and
The first chain conveyor 12 has the same configuration as that of the first chain conveyor 12 except that it is set to be about 2.5 times longer than the first chain conveyor 12.
Corresponding parts are indicated by reference numeral 13 with the same alphabet. Here, the transport speed of the second chain conveyor 13 is set to be about twice as fast as the transport speed of the first chain conveyor 12, and the pallet P to be transported is a stopper provided between the endless chains 13b on the right end side in FIG. When the pallet P comes into contact with 13s, it is detected by a limit switch (not shown) provided on the left side surface of the stopper, and when the limit switch is turned on, the electric motor 1
The 3i clutch is disengaged to stop the transportation of the pallet P.

Here, the stopper 13s includes an air cylinder 13u arranged on the mount 11 so that the piston rod 13t moves up and down, and the piston rod 13t.
When the piston rod 13t is contracted, the stop piece 13v is at the lower retracted position where it does not contact the pallet P, and the piston rod 13t can be extended from this state. Due to
The stop piece 13v comes to a stop position where it comes into contact with the right end surface of the pallet P.

The pallet inclining mechanism 14 includes a lift mechanism 14a arranged so as to face a front end of the pallet P conveyed by the second chain conveyor 13 when the pallet P is stopped by the stopper 13s, and the lift mechanism 14a. A support mechanism 14b for supporting the rear end of the pallet P arranged at a position facing the rear end opposite to the mechanism 14a and a front end of the pallet P that moves up and down according to the lifting of the lift mechanism 14a. The air injection mechanism 14c for injecting air to the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the lift mechanism 14a includes a pair of left and right air cylinders 14d and 14e arranged at intervals substantially corresponding to the left and right length of the pallet P stopped by the stopper 13s. These air cylinders 14d, 1
Support rod 14 bridged between piston rods 14f of 4e
g, and a support roller 14h which is rotatably arranged at the center and left and right ends of the support rod 14g and contacts the lower surface of the pallet P. In addition, the support mechanism 14b
Of the pallet P attached to the front end side of the support member 14i having a through hole in the front-rear direction fixed to the pedestal 11, the support shaft 14j inserted into the through hole of the support member 14i. The L-shaped support portion 14k that supports the lower end portion on the rear end side and the support shaft 14 that is screwed into the support member 14i.
The position of the L-shaped support portion 14k is adjusted according to the width of the pallet P by loosening the positioning bolt 14m and moving the support shaft 14j in the front-back direction. .

The air injection mechanism 14c is guided along an arcuate guide rail 14n centered on the support mechanism 14b, and is vertically moved in accordance with expansion and contraction of the piston rod 14f in the air cylinders 14d and 14e of the lift mechanism 14a. The support bracket 1 has a support bracket 14o.
Blower nozzles 14p and 14q are arranged at the left and right positions of 4o facing the pair of left and right fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 formed in the pallet P, with their air outlets facing the pallet P. 14q
Compressed air is supplied from a blower 14r disposed below the gantry 11.

The pallet delivery mechanism 15 is arranged on the lower side of the first chain conveyor 12 in parallel with the air cylinder 15a, and on the left and right ends of the support bracket 15c attached to the piston rod 15b thereof. It is composed of an air cylinder 15e for moving the installed piston rod 15d forward and backward, and a support plate 15f for supporting the central portion of the front and rear ends in the transport direction of the pallet P attached to the tip of the piston rod 15d of the air cylinder 15e. There is. The piston rods 15b and 15d of the air cylinders 15a and 15e are normally contracted so that the left and right support plates 15f are sprocket 1 of the first chain conveyor 12.
At the pallet receiving position, which is the lower side of the pallet P conveyed at the positions corresponding to 2d and 12f, the tip of the pallet P passes over the left support plate 15f and is detected by the photoelectric sensor 12m in this state. When the tip of the pallet P reaches the right side support plate 15f with a slight delay, the piston rods 15d of the left and right air cylinders 15e are
Is extended. In response to this, the left and right support plates 15f support the central portion of the lower surface of the pallet P and lift it so as to separate it from the first chain conveyor 12 upward, and in this state, the piston rod 15b of the air cylinder 15a is extended. The supporting plate 15f is moved to the right side at a high speed, for example, about 600 mm at a speed higher than the conveying speed of the second chain conveyor 13, and the piston rod 15d of the air cylinder 15e is contracted at the end of the movement or slightly before that, thereby supporting the supporting plate. 15f is lowered to transfer the pallet P onto the second chain conveyor 13, and then the piston rod 15b of the air piston 15a is contracted to return to the pallet receiving position.

The pallet centrifugal dehydrator 3 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, it has a rectangular tubular case body 31 fixed to the floor, and the left and right side surfaces of the case body 31 are provided with insertion windows 32L and 32R for inserting the pallets P, respectively.
Opening and closing doors 33L and 33R are provided in the insertion windows 32L and 32R, respectively, and are opened and closed by being guided vertically by guide frames (not shown) provided at the left and right positions, respectively.
3L and 33R are opened and closed by air cylinders 34L and 34R.

At the center of the case body 31, a shaft is provided with a thrust bearing 35 arranged on the floor and a radial bearing 38 fixed to a mounting plate 37 supported by four supporting columns 36 on the floor. A rotary shaft 39 having a vertical direction is rotatably supported, and a toothed pulley 40 having a relatively large diameter is rotatably disposed on the rotary shaft 39, and a case body 31 is provided.
As shown in FIG. 6, a vector inverter motor 41 is fixed to the outside of the toothed pulley 40, and a toothed pulley 42 having a diameter of about ⅕ of the toothed pulley 40 is attached to the output shaft of the motor 41. Timing belt 43 between 42
Is wound to form a speed reducer, and toothed pulleys 40, 4
2, the motor 41 and the timing belt 43 constitute a rotary drive source.

A square turntable 44 made of stainless steel is fixed to the upper end of the rotary shaft 39 projecting upward from the radial bearing 38. Turntable 4
4 is composed of a lower surface plate 45 fixed to the rotating shaft 39, and an upper surface plate 47 arranged on the lower surface plate 45 by four support columns 46 formed at four corners thereof so as to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance. A rotary shaft 48 is fixed to the central portion of the upper plate 47, and the rotary shaft 48 is rotatably supported by a radial bearing 50 on the upper plate 49 of the case body 31.

Then, when the chain conveyor 51 stops at the predetermined stop position on the upper surface of the upper plate 47 of the turntable 44, the pallet P conveyed from the drainer 2 is received and the turntable 4 is received.
It is arranged so that the pallet P after being transported to the central portion of 4 and subjected to centrifugal dehydration is carried out to the drying device 4 in the subsequent stage. The chain conveyor 51 is provided on both end sides of rotary shafts 51c and 51d rotatably supported between left and right end portions of support plates 51a and 51b formed at symmetrical positions with respect to the center of rotation of the upper plate 47. Sprocket 51e, 51f is attached,
The transport chains 51g and 51h are wound between the sprockets 51e and 51f.

Then, connecting clutches 51i and 51j are attached at point symmetrical positions, that is, diagonal positions, with respect to the rotation center points of the rotating shafts 51c and 51d, respectively, and are rotationally driven to the front side opposed to the connecting clutch 15i in FIG. Mechanism 51
k is provided. This rotary drive mechanism 51k is shown in FIG.
As is clear with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 6, the rodless cylinder 5 fixed to the upper end of the pillar 51m vertically installed on the floor surface.
The electric motor 5 is attached to the moving table 51o that moves forward and backward in the direction of 1n.
1p is provided, and a coupling clutch 51r that is coupled to the coupling clutches 51i and 51j is attached to the tip of a rotary shaft 51q that projects forward from the electric motor 51p. Here, in the state of FIG. 6 in which the movable table 51o is retracted, the coupling clutch 51r is set so as to be located outside the rotation trajectory of the coupling clutches 15i, 15j, and by moving the movable table 51o forward from this state. , Coupling clutch 51r
Is connected to the connecting clutch 15i or 15j,
By rotating 1c or 51d, the pallet P is conveyed from the left to the right as viewed in FIG.

Further, the upper plate 47 of the turntable 44 is provided with a first holding mechanism 52 as a first holding means for pressing and holding the four corners on the upper surface side of the pallet P stopped at a fixed position. At the same time, a second holding mechanism 53 is provided as a second holding means that is inserted into the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 formed on the side surface orthogonal to the transport direction of the pallet P and faces the inner inner wall.

In the first holding mechanism 52, air cylinders 52a are arranged at positions facing the four corners of the pallet P when the pallet P stops at fixed positions on the upper surface of the upper plate 47, and the piston rods of the air cylinders 52a are arranged. 52b is protruded from the lower surface side, and a pressing and holding plate 52c which comes into contact with the upper surface of the pallet P is attached to the front end of the pallet P of the pressing and holding plate 52c.
A rubber sheet 52d is adhered to the contact surface with. Then, in the standby state where the piston rod 52b is contracted, the lower surface of the rubber sheet 52d of the pressure holding plate 52c is retracted to a position higher than the maximum height of the pallet P to be loaded, and from this state, the pallet P is in a fixed position. When stopped, the air cylinder 52a is actuated, the piston rod 52b is extended, and the rubber sheet 52d of the pressure holding plate 52c is extended.
Contacts the upper surface of the pallet P and holds the pallet P with the chain conveyor 51 while being pinched.

The second holding mechanism 53 opposes the front and rear side surfaces of the pallet P to be carried in and out when the turntable 44 of the top plate 47 is stopped at a fixed position, as enlargedly shown in FIGS. Mounting brackets 53a are attached to the lateral center positions of the left and right sides, respectively.
The air motor 53b is disposed inside the plate portion projecting upward of the upper plate 47a of a, with its output shaft facing outward in the front-rear direction, and the screw shaft 53 is provided at the tip of this output shaft via a joint 53c.
d is connected, and two guide shafts 53e and 53f are arranged in parallel with the screw shaft 53d. The nut 53g is screwed onto the screw shaft 53d, and the sliding cylinders 53h and 53i are slidably mounted on the guide shafts 53e and 53f.
Sliding support plate 5 having elongated hole 53j formed in 53i in the front-back direction
3k is attached, and a positioning member 53m that is inserted into the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 of the pallet P is disposed outside the sliding support plate 53k. The positioning mechanism 53m includes, for example, a left-hand thread portion 53n formed of a left-hand thread in the left half portion and a right-hand thread portion 53o formed of a right-hand thread in the right half portion.
And a pivot shaft 5 having a width across flat 53p formed in the center
3q is rotatably supported by bearings 53r fixed to the outer side surface of the sliding support plate 53k at the left and right ends and the central part thereof, and the left screw portion 53n and the right screw portion 5 of the rotating shaft 53q.
Nuts 53s and 53t are screwed into 3o, respectively, and positioning pins 53u and 53v are formed in the nuts 53s and 53t, which extend inward through the long holes 53j and are inserted into the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 of the pallet P. Have a configuration. It should be noted that each of the screw portions 53n is attached to the rotating shaft 53q.
Nuts 53s and 53t at positions closer to the center of 53 and 53o.
A stopper 53w for restricting the inward movement of the is formed. Further, the positioning pins 53u and 53v are provided with the long holes 5
The portion facing 3j is formed to have a width across flat 53x, and the long hole 5
The rotation is restricted by 3j.
Further, a reflective photoelectric sensor 53y is provided at a position of the sliding support plate 53k facing the side surface of the pallet P, and this photoelectric sensor 53y detects that the sliding support plate 53k is close to the side surface of the pallet P. This detection signal is wirelessly transmitted to a control device (not shown) installed outside the case body 31.

Therefore, with the sliding support plate 53k in the retracted position in which the tips of the positioning pins 53u and 53v are outside the maximum width of the pallet P, the space B1 between the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 of the pallet P to be conveyed. Accordingly, the spanner 53x of the rotary shaft 53q is engaged with a spanner to rotate the rotary shaft 53q, whereby the positioning pin 53q is rotated.
u and 53v are adjusted so as to closely face the inner inner walls of the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2, and when the pallet P is stopped at a fixed position in this state, the control device reversely controls the air motor 53b, for example. Sliding support plate 5
When the 3k is slid toward the pallet P, the positioning pins 53u and 53v are inserted into the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2, and the sliding support plate 53k comes into close proximity to the side surface of the pallet P, the photoelectric sensor 53y detects it. When the signal is transmitted wirelessly and is received by the control device, the driving of the air motor 53b is stopped, after which the centrifugal dehydration is completed and the turntable 44 is stopped at the fixed position, the air motor 5
3b is driven in the normal direction and the sliding support plate 53k is returned to the retracted position.

Further, the turntable 44 is provided with guide bars 55 for guiding the front and rear side surfaces of the pallet P which is respectively conveyed to the outside of the chain conveyor 51, and these guide bars 55 are formed on the upper surface plate 47 of the columns 55a. Is mounted on the inner end of a sliding shaft 55c guided in the front-back direction by a guide cylinder 55b mounted on the upper end of the sliding shaft 55c.
Is loosened by tightening the tightening bolt 55d screwed into the guide tube 55b so that it can slide in the front-rear direction. The guide bar 55 is positioned in accordance with the width of the pallet P conveyed in this state, and then the tightening bolt 55d. The sliding of the sliding shaft 55c is prohibited by tightening.

On the other hand, stoppers 56 are provided at the front and rear positions on the right end side of the top plate 49 of the case body 31 for stopping the pallets P respectively loaded into the pallets P at fixed positions. The stopper 56 is provided on the sliding plate 5 that is slidable in the left-right direction.
In the retracted position in which the piston rod 56c of the air cylinder 56b is contracted, the lower end of the piston rod 56c is spaced above the upper surface of the upper surface plate 47. Extends the piston rod 56c to lower the lower end to a stop position where it abuts against the right end surface of the pallet P, and when the pallet P comes into contact with this, a limit switch (not shown) is turned on.

The lower surface of the lower plate 45 of the turntable 44 is for forcibly stopping the turntable 44 when the rotation speed of the turntable 44 becomes equal to or lower than a preset rotation speed in the vicinity of a preset stop. Stop plate 57 is provided, and when the turntable 44 stops at a fixed position, an air cylinder 57a fixed to the mounting plate 37 is provided at a position facing the stop plate 57.
A contact member 57c that contacts the stop plate 57 is attached to the piston rod 57b of 7a.

Then, the vector inverter motor 41 for rotationally driving the turntable 44 and the rotational driving mechanism 51k.
Electric motor 51p, rodless cylinder 51n, and air cylinder 56 of a stopper 56 that regulates the transport stop position.
b, the air cylinder 52a of the first holding mechanism 52, the air motor 53b of the second holding mechanism 53, and the air cylinder 57.
a is sequence-controlled by a control panel CP including a programmable controller 60, for example.

As shown in FIG. 10, the programmable controller 60 detects a magnetic sensor 62 facing a permanent magnet 61 disposed at a corner of the turntable 44 when the turntable 44 stops at a fixed position. signal,
The detection signal of a photoelectric stop position sensor 63 configured by a light emitting element and a light receiving element that detect that the pallet P has reached the position of the stopper 56 that regulates the transport stop position, and the photoelectric sensor 53y of the second holding mechanism. A detection signal is input, and based on these, the vector inverter motor 41, the electric motor 51p, the rodless cylinder 51n, the air cylinder 52a, the air motor 53b, and the air cylinder 57a are drive-controlled.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drying device 4 has a box-shaped case body 71, and the drainer for carrying the pallet P after centrifugal dehydration carried out from the centrifugal dehydration device 3 into the case body 71. Having a chain conveyor 72 having a configuration similar to the second chain conveyor 13 of the device 1,
At the end of the chain conveyor 72, a blowing nozzle 73 that blows warm air over the pallet P over the entire width direction from below, and a blowing nozzle 73 that blows warm air over the pallet P over the entire width direction from diagonally above. The spray nozzle 74 is provided. Then, in order to supply warm air to the blowing nozzles 73 and 74, a compressor 75 that forms compressed air outside the case body 71 and a heater 76 that heats the compressed air output from the compressor 75 to about 80 ° C. to 100 ° C. The hot air output from the heater 76 is provided to the blowing nozzles 73 and 74.

On the carry-out side of the drying device 4, there is provided a carry-out chain conveyor 80 for carrying the pallets P to a stacking device for stacking the external pallets P. On the other hand, each case body of the drainer 1, the centrifugal dehydrator 3 and the dryer 4 is provided with an exhaust port on the upper surface, and exhaust ducts 82, 83 and 84 each having a damper 81 are connected to these exhaust ports, respectively. The ducts 82 to 84 are connected at one place and connected to the suction side of the axial fan 85.
The discharge side of 5 is open to the outside through an exhaust duct 86. Therefore, the moisture generated in the drainer 1, the water droplets generated in the centrifugal dehydrator 3 and the steam generated in the dryer 4 are sucked by the axial fan 85 and exhausted to the outside.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
Now, suppose that the synthetic resin pallet P shown in FIG. 11 is washed and dried in the washing and drying line. This pallet P is not standardized and has various lengths L, widths W and heights H, and a distance B between the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 for inserting the forks of the forklift formed on the side surface.
1 and B2 are also different. Therefore, in the washing and drying line,
The pallets P of the same type are aligned and the length L direction is unified as the transport direction. Then, the position of the support mechanism 14b of the pallet tilting mechanism 14 of the draining device 3 is adjusted according to the width W of the pallet to be washed and dried, and the position determining member 53m of the second holding mechanism 53 of the centrifugal dehydrator 3 is rotated. By rotating the shaft 53q, the positioning pins 53u and 53
The interval of v is set to the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF of the pallet P.
The positioning pins 53u and 53v are set so as to closely face, for example, the inner inner walls of the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2, according to the distance B1 between the two.

In this state, the pallet P is passed through the cleaning device 2 at a predetermined conveying speed to inject the cleaning liquid at a high pressure for cleaning and then rinsed with water to rinse out the cleaning liquid. Then, when the washed pallet P is delivered to the first chain conveyor 12 of the water draining device 1, the pallet P is conveyed rightward by the first chain conveyor 12 at a conveying speed synchronized with the conveying speed of the cleaning device 2, When its tip is detected by the photoelectric sensor 12m, when the tip of the pallet P reaches the right side support plate 15f of the transfer mechanism 15, the air cylinder 15e is actuated to extend the piston rod 15d and the left and right support plates. The pallet P is lifted from above the first chain conveyor 12 at 15f. In this state, the air cylinder 15a is actuated to extend the piston rod 15b thereof, whereby the pallet P is conveyed at high speed to the pallet inclining mechanism 14 side, and before or at the time when the extension of the piston rod 15b is completed, The second chain conveyor 13 in which the piston rod 15d is contracted so that the pallet P is set to a transport speed higher than that of the first chain conveyor 12.
Placed on top. After that, when the right end of the pallet P comes into contact with the stopper 13s, this is detected by a limit switch (not shown), and accordingly, the clutch of the electric motor 13i is disengaged and the conveyance of the second chain conveyor 13 is stopped. At the same time, the piston rods 14f of the air cylinders 14d and 14e of the pallet tilting mechanism 14 are extended to raise the front end side of the pallet P, and the blower nozzles 14p and 1 of the air injection mechanism 14c are moved.
Compressed air is blown from 4q to the front end surface of the pallet P and the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2. Therefore, the rear end of the pallet P has the L-shaped support portion 1 of the support mechanism 14b.
By being supported by 4k, it inclines backward and the cleaning device 2 uses the cleaning device 2 for the outer surface of the pallet P and the fork insertion hole HF.
1 and the water droplets adhering to HF2 flow down to the rear end face side to drain water, and the water droplets flow down to the blower nozzle 14p.
And 14q to accelerate the compressed air. At the same time, the stopper 13s is lowered to allow the pallet P to pass.

In this drainer 1, the transport speed of the second chain conveyor 13 is set higher than the transport speed of the first chain conveyor 12, and the transfer mechanism 15 is also provided.
Since the pallet P is transferred from the first chain conveyor 12 to the second chain conveyor 13 at a high speed, the pallet tilting mechanism 14 keeps the pallet P tilted and held at a transfer speed synchronized with the first chain conveyor 12. It can be taken longer than when P is transported, and draining of the pallet P can be reliably performed.

After a lapse of a predetermined time, the piston rods 14f of the air cylinders 14d and 14e of the lift mechanism 14a are contracted, and the pallet P is correspondingly contracted.
Is lowered and placed on the second chain conveyor 13, and in this state, the clutch of the electric motor 13i in the second chain conveyor 13 is engaged to drive the second chain conveyor 13. Then, the pallet P is carried out to the centrifugal dehydrator 3.

At this time, in the turntable 44 of the centrifugal dehydrator 3, the piston rod 57b of the air cylinder 57a is extended, and the abutment portion 57c formed at the tip of the piston rod 57b is formed on the lower surface of the turntable 44. And is stopped at a fixed position, and in this state, the chain conveyor 51 is ready to receive the pallet P carried out from the drainer 1. In this state, the connecting clutch 51i of the chain conveyor 51 faces the connecting clutch 51r of the rotary drive mechanism 51k as shown in FIG. 6, and the rodless cylinder 51n is operated to connect the connecting clutch 51r to the connecting clutch 51i. Then, the chain conveyor 51 is rotationally driven by rotationally driving the electric motor 51p. At this time, the air cylinder 34
The L and 34R piston rods are contracted to open / close the door 33.
When L and 33R are raised to open the insertion windows 32L and 32R and the pallet P after centrifugal dehydration is placed on the chain conveyor 51, this pallet P is transferred to the unloading chain conveyor 80. .

In this state, the pallet P is drained from the draining device 1.
When the pallet P is transferred to the chain conveyor 51, the pallet P is conveyed to the center of the turntable 44, and the right end of the pallet P contacts the stopper 56, thereby turning on the limit switch and turning on the electric motor of the rotary drive mechanism 51k. 51p is stopped and rodless cylinder 5
1n is retracted, the coupling clutch 51r is retracted outside the rotation region of the turntable 44, and the air cylinder 3
4L and 34R are operated in reverse, the opening / closing doors 33L and 33R are lowered, and the insertion windows 32L and 32R are closed. At the same time, the piston rod 52b of the air cylinder 52a of the first holding mechanism 52 is extended so that the rubber sheets 52d of the pressing and holding plate 52c come into contact with the four corners of the upper surface of the pallet P, which causes the pallet P to move to the chain conveyor 51. The first holding mechanism 52 is sandwiched and held. Further, the air motor 53b of the second holding mechanism 53 is rotationally driven, the sliding support plate 53k moves to the pallet P side, and the positioning pin 5
3u and 53v are inserted into the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 of the pallet P so as to closely face the inner wall surfaces thereof.
When the sliding support plate 53k approaches the side surface of the pallet P, the photoelectric sensor 53y is turned on, which stops the rotation of the air motor 53b. At this time, the sliding support plate 53k has a nut 53g screwed to the screw shaft 53d.
Since it is attached to the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2, the positioning pins 53u and 53v can be reliably removed from the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 without moving in the axial direction of the screw shaft 53d even when the rotation of the air motor 53b is stopped. Can be prevented.

In this manner, the piston rod 56c of the air cylinder 56b in the stopper 56 is contracted and raised to the upper retracted position while the pallet P is held on the turntable 44, and the pallet P of the air cylinder 57a is moved. When the piston rod 57b is contracted, the contact portion 57c is separated from the stop plate 57 and the rotation restriction state of the turntable 44 is released, and then the vector controller motor 41 is rotated by the programmable controller 70 as shown in FIG. It is driven to rotate according to the drive pattern. That is, first, for example, in the first 3 seconds, the rotational speed is increased to 300 rpm required for centrifugal dehydration, and when the rotational speed reaches 300 rpm, this state is maintained for 12 seconds, and then the low speed rotational speed is reduced by, for example, 3 seconds. After decelerating to 30 rpm and maintaining this state for 1 second, for example, the energization of the vector inverter motor 41 is stopped when the detection signal is obtained from the magnetic sensor 62, and
The turntable 44 is forcibly stopped at a fixed position by extending the piston rod 57b of the air cylinder 57a that constitutes the rotation stop mechanism to bring the contact portion 57c into contact with the stop plate 57.

At the time of this centrifugal dehydration, a large centrifugal force acts because the weight of the pallet P is large.
The upper surface of is held by the first holding mechanism 51,
Since the positioning pins 53u and 53v of the second holding mechanism 52 are inserted into the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 of the pallet P, and the sliding support plate 53k is in contact with the side surface of the pallet P, the centrifugal force is reliably prevented. Therefore, stable centrifugal dehydration of the pallet P can be performed. Moreover,
A surface with which the sliding support plate 53k abuts and the positioning pin 53u
Fork insertion holes HF1 and HF through which the and 53v are inserted
No. 2 is drained by the pallet tilting mechanism 14 in the draining device 1 at the previous stage, so that no water droplets remain in this portion, but if necessary, it can be inserted into the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 of the sliding support plate 53k. A notch or a through hole for draining water may be formed in the facing portion.

During centrifugal dewatering, the lower surface of the pallet P is placed on the chain conveyor 51, the four corners of the upper surface are pressed and held by the first holding mechanism 51, and the side surfaces are held by the second holding mechanism 52. Holding member and pallet P
The contact area with the pallet is small, water droplets adhering to the pallet P can be reliably blown off in the circumferential direction, and centrifugal dehydration can be effectively performed. Incidentally, when a roller conveyor is used as the conveying means, the contact area with the pallet P is widened and the drainage amount is reduced, and
The increased weight on the turntable 14 requires a large driving force.

The water droplets blown off are collected by the case body 31.
Since it is sucked by the axial fan 85 through the duct 83 connected to the upper plate 49, it does not adhere to the pallet P again, the humidity in the case body 31 is prevented from increasing, and the pallet P is dehydrated. Can be reliably performed. Further, when the turntable 44 is stopped, it is forcibly stopped by the stop plate 57 and the air cylinder 57a constituting the rotation stop mechanism when the rotation speed of the turntable 44 becomes a low speed state below a predetermined speed. Therefore, the rotational position of the turntable 44 is detected, and the coupling clutch 51i or 51j becomes the coupling clutch 51r.
Since it is not necessary for the motor to perform the positioning control for accurately stopping the motor at a fixed position opposite to, a low-cost motor can be applied in this respect as well.

Then, when the turntable 44 stops at a fixed position, the air cylinder 5 in the first holding mechanism 52.
The piston rod 52b of 2a is contracted so that the rubber sheet 5
2b rises to the upper retracted position, the air motor 53b of the second holding mechanism 53 is reversely operated, the sliding support plate 53k retracts, and the positioning pins 53u and 53v are separated from the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2. Return to the retracted position. At the same time, the air cylinders 34L, 34
The opening / closing doors 33L and 33R are raised by R and the insertion window 3
2L and 32R are opened and the rotation drive mechanism 51p
After the rodless cylinder 51n is operated and the coupling clutch 51r is coupled to the coupling clutch 51i or 51j, the electric motor 51p is rotationally driven, the chain conveyor 51 is driven, and the pallet P is passed through the insertion window 32R. It is carried out to the drying device 5 in the subsequent process.

When the pallet P does not face the lower side of the piston rod 56c of the stopper 56 during the unloading of the pallet P, the piston rod 56c of the air cylinder 56b for restricting the conveyance stop position is fixed as described above. It is extended and its tip is lowered to the transport path of the pallet P. In this state, a new pallet P is received from the draining device 1 in the previous process, is transported to the transport stop position, and when the transport stop position is reached, the pallet is held by the first holding mechanism 52 and the second holding mechanism 53. While holding P, the rotation drive mechanism 51k is retracted, the piston rod 57b of the air cylinder 57a that constitutes the rotation stop mechanism is contracted, and the contact portion 57c is retracted to a retracted position that does not contact the stop plate 57. From vector inverter motor 41
Rotate and start centrifugal dehydration.

Thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated,
The pallet P received from the draining device 1 is centrifugally dehydrated and then sent to the drying device 5. In the drying device 5, when the pallet P is carried in from the centrifugal dehydrator 3, the pallet P is received by the chain conveyor 72 and is conveyed at the same conveyance speed as that of the first chain conveyor 12 of the water draining device 1 and the rear end side thereof. The compressed air output from the compressor 75 from the spray nozzles 73 and 74 is heated by the heater 76 at 80 ° C to 1 ° C.
By blowing warm air heated to 00 ° C. onto the lower surface and upper surface of the pallet P and the fork insertion holes, the residual water is completely dried and a sterilizing effect is given, and the water is transferred to the transport chain conveyor 80 in the subsequent stage. , Pallets are automatically transferred to a stacker device that stacks them one by one.

When washing and dehydrating pallets P having different sizes, the draining device 1 is used according to the pallet size.
After adjusting the position of the support mechanism 14b, the position of the stopper 56 of the centrifugal dehydrator 3 and the position adjustment of the positioning pins 53u and 53v of the positioning member 53m and the guide bar 55, the pallet P is dehydrated. Start.

In the above embodiment, when dehydrating the pallet P after washing, the case where the drying device 5 with warm air is provided as a post-process of the centrifugal dehydrator 3 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. If the sterilizing effect is not required, the drying device 5 may be omitted and the centrifugal dehydration device 3 may be directly conveyed to the stacker device after centrifugal dehydration. When the apparatus 5 is installed and the drying process is not required, only the chain conveyor 72 may be driven to allow the pallet P to pass through as it is.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the front end side of the pallet P is raised by the water draining device 1 and the pallet is inclined rearward and downward is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the rear end side is not limited to this. May be raised, or one corner of the pallet P may be supported to raise the diagonal. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the rotation stopping mechanism of the centrifugal dehydrator 3 is provided on the lower surface plate 45 side has been described, but it may be provided on the upper surface plate 47 side, and further, the stop plate 57 is provided as a rotation stopping mechanism. The air cylinder 57a facing this, and its piston rod 57
Although the case where it is configured with the contact portion 57c attached to b is described, the invention is not limited to this, and the lower surface plate 45
Alternatively, the contact portion may directly contact the side surface of the top plate 47.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the rotary drive source for rotationally driving the turntable 44 of the centrifugal dehydrator 3 is the vector inverter motor 41 and the toothed pulley 4.
Although the case where it is configured with 0, 42 and the timing belt 43 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and a speed reducer may be used. Still further, in the above embodiment, the positioning pin 53 of the second holding mechanism 53 is used.
The case where u and 53v are closely opposed to the inner inner walls of the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 of the pallet P has been described. May be.

In the above embodiment, the case where the distance between the positioning pins 53u and 53v of the positioning member 53m of the centrifugal dehydrator 3 and the positions of the guide bar 55 and the stopper 56 are manually adjusted has been described. However, the size of the pallet P and the space B between the fork insertion holes HF1 and HF2 are recognized by image recognition processing or the like, and the positioning pin 53 is recognized according to the recognition result.
u and 53v spacing, guide bar 55 and stopper 5
The position of 6 may be automatically adjusted.

[0058]

[0059]

[0060]

As described above, the invention according to claim 1
According to Ming , the pallet is conveyed to a predetermined position by the chain conveyor on the turntable, and while holding the pallet on the chain conveyor, the first holding means holds the pallet by bringing it into contact with the pallet from above. Two
By inserting the positioning member of the holding means into the pair of fork insertion holes formed on the side surface of the pallet, the rotation of the pallet can be surely regulated, so that the rotation speed of the turntable is increased and centrifugal dehydration is performed. The time can be shortened, and the contact area between the pallet and the chain conveyor supporting the pallet and the first and second holding means is extremely small while the pallet is held, so that the cleaning liquid remaining on the pallet can be removed. The effect that all the water droplets can be blown off and the residual water droplets can be removed in a short time is obtained.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the chain conveyor is rotationally driven by connecting the rotary drive mechanism to the chain conveyor while the turntable is stopped at a predetermined position. It is not necessary to dispose the mechanism on the turntable, the mass of the turntable can be reduced, the inertial force can be reduced, and the rotary drive source of the turntable can be reduced in size and capacity. Further, according to the invention of claim 3,
Positioning member spacing corresponding to changes in pallet size
Rotating the pallet with the positioning member by adjusting
It is possible to obtain an effect that it is possible to reliably regulate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention with a front plate removed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the draining device.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the right side plate of FIG. 3 with the right side plate removed.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the centrifugal dehydrator with the front plate removed.

FIG. 6 is a right side view showing the centrifugal dehydrator with the right side plate removed.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view showing a second holding mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG.

9 is a right side view of FIG. 7. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a programmable controller.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a pallet.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a rotation speed pattern of the centrifugal dehydrator.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 drainer 2 cleaning equipment P pallet 3 Centrifugal dehydrator 4 drying equipment 12 First chain conveyor 13 Second chain conveyor 14 Pallet tilting mechanism 15 Pallet delivery mechanism 31 case body 40 toothed pulley 41 vector inverter motor 42 toothed pulley 43 Timing belt 44 turntable 51 chain conveyor 51i, 51j coupling clutch 51k rotation drive mechanism 51n rodless cylinder 51p electric motor 51r coupling clutch 52 First holding mechanism 52a Air cylinder 53 Second holding mechanism 53b air motor 53m positioning member 53q rotation axis 53u, 53v Positioning pin 72 Chain conveyor 73,74 Spray nozzle 75 compressor 76 heater 85 axial fan

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F26B 5/08 B04B 3/00 B65D 19/38

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pallet washed with a washing liquid is centrifugally dehydrated.
In a centrifugal dehydrator for pallets,
A turntable rotatably arranged and the turntable
A rotary drive source that drives the rotary table at high speed and the turntable.
A chain for transporting and supporting the pallet arranged on a bull
On the conveyor and the pallet on the chain conveyor.
Holding means for contacting and holding the pallet and the pallet
Positioned in a pair of fork insertion holes formed on the sides of the
A second holding hand that inserts a member to regulate the rotation of the pallet
Centrifugal dewatering device for pallets, characterized by comprising steps . 2. The chain conveyor comprises:
Cable inside the case body with the cable stopped in place.
It is connected to a rotary drive mechanism that can be moved back and forth in the fixed part.
Characterized by being configured to be rotationally driven
The centrifugal dehydrator for a pallet according to claim 1 . 3. The second holding means is a pair of pallets.
Positioning member spacing according to the distance between the fork insertion holes of the
2. It is configured to be adjustable.
Alternatively, the centrifugal dehydrator for a pallet according to item 2.