JP3430812B2 - Automatic article supply device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to rectangular box-shaped articles such as medicine boxes, cigarette cartons and various confectionery boxes.
The present invention relates to an automatic article supply device used for picking a specified number of items.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of apparatus, for example, a picking apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-58932 has been provided. In this conventional configuration, an article storage section that can store a plurality of articles in a vertical stack is arranged in an inclined manner, and a support plate that supports the lower surface of the article and an article storage frame are provided in the article storage section. Has been. At the bottom of the article storage unit, a dispensing unit that dispenses the lowest item from the outlet is provided. Further, article push-up means for pushing up the second-stage article from the lowest-order article and separating the article from the lowest article is provided on the bottom of the article storage section on the side opposite to the outlet.

According to this conventional configuration, the lowest item supported by the support plate is ejected from the ejection port by operating the conveyor type ejection unit. At this time, the air cylinder of the article pushing-up means is operated to move the pushing-up member forward so that the pushing-up surface (inclined surface) formed on the pushing-up member is brought into contact with the lower corner of the second-stage article. As a result, the articles in the second and higher stages are pushed up, thereby reducing the frictional resistance when the lowest article is thrown out.

[0004]

However, according to the above-described conventional structure, when pushing up the pushing surface of the pushing-up member to push up the article group of the second step or more, the pushing step surface is brought into contact with the pushing step surface. The lower corners of the eye product are easily deformed, such that the value of the product (commercial value) is reduced. Further, since a drive source for the article lifting means, that is, an air cylinder or the like is required, the ejection portion becomes complicated and expensive.

Therefore, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention provides an automatic article supply device capable of cutting out the article in the lowermost stage with less frictional resistance without deforming or damaging the article in the second stage. This is the purpose.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is to provide an automatic article supply apparatus which can eliminate the need for a separate drive source.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an automatic article supply apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is such that an article is stacked at the bottom of a storage case. This is an automatic article feeder that cuts out the above items, and the storage case has a cutout opening at the front of the lower part.
An article support which has a lowermost stage article and which is inclined in two directions including a cutting direction and which receives the lowermost stage article, and a lowering section which moves the lowermost article to the cutout side. A device is provided, and the article support is moved downward with respect to the article receiving position when the article is cut out by the cutting device.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the invention, before cutting out, the article supporter supports the lowermost article at the article receiving position, and densely steps the second article on the lowermost article. It is piled up. When the article support is moved downward with respect to the article receiving position when the article is cut out by the cutting device, the bottommost article moves downward, but the second-stage article does not follow down integrally due to its own weight. Thus, a gap is formed between the upper surface of the lowermost article and the lower surface of the second article. Therefore, the cutting-out movement of the lowermost article to the cutting-out opening side can be performed without much sliding friction due to the gap. Then, after the cutting of the lowermost article is completed, the article support is moved upward, and then moved to the article receiving position to receive the article in the second step.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic article feeder according to the above-mentioned first aspect, the downward movement of the article support body is performed by swinging downward on the side remote from the cutout port. It is characterized by being performed by.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, before cutting out, the article support body is swung upward around the fulcrum to the article receiving position. When the product is cut out by the cutting device, by swinging the product support downward around the fulcrum, the lowermost product supported by this product support also inclines in the same direction, so that the upper surface of the lowermost product is A wedge-shaped gap is formed between the lower surface of the second stage article and the lower surface of the second stage article. Before the cutting of the lowermost article is completed, the lower edge of the rear end of the second step of the article is brought into contact with the article support, and the lower surface of the front end is contacted with the upper edge of the rear end of the lowermost article. It comes into contact with them and takes an inclined posture. Further, after the cutting of the article in the lowermost stage is completed, the article support is swung upward and moved to the article receiving position to receive the article in the second stage.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the automatic article feeder according to the above-mentioned first or second aspect, the downward movement of the article support is caused by a cam acting on the lower surface side of the article support. It is characterized by being performed by rotation.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, before cutting out, the cam causes the longest portion to act, and the article support is moved upward to the article receiving position. When the product is cut out by the cutting device, the cam is forcibly rotated to act the shortest portion, so that the product support can be moved downward. Then, after the cutting of the lowermost article is completed, the longest portion of the cam is made to act on the article support, so that the article support can be swung upward and moved to the article receiving position.

Further, in the article automatic feeder according to claim 4 of the present invention, in the structure according to claim 3 described above, the article support is provided so as to be vertically swingable about a side remote from the cutout port as a fulcrum. The slicing device comprises a conveyor whose drive direction is the slicing direction, and a cam is provided on the rotary shaft of the conveyor.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 4, when the conveyor is cut out and moved, the cam integral with the rotary shaft is forcibly rotated so that the shortest portion of the cam can act on the article support side. Can be swung downward with the side remote from the cutout as a fulcrum.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
It will be described with reference to the drawings. 2 to 4, the article conveying conveyor 1 is of a belt conveyor type or a roller conveyor type, and conveys an order-picked article group. A hopper 2 with a shutter for receiving the group of articles from the article transport conveyor 1 is provided outside and below the transport end of the article transport conveyor 1.

Below the hopper 2, there is arranged a case conveyor 3 whose conveying direction is orthogonal to that of the article conveyor 1. This case conveyor 3
Is a belt conveyor type or a roller conveyor type, and a case 4 made of a cardboard box, a resin box or the like is carried into the lower part of the hopper 2 and stopped, and the case 4 that has received the article group from the hopper 2 is subjected to the next process To carry out.

An automatic article supply device 20 for cutting out (order picking) articles from the article conveyance conveyor 1 is provided outside the proper place in the conveyance path of the article conveyance conveyor 1.

That is, a frame body 10 in which a large number of article automatic supply devices 20 are arranged is provided.
Is a pair of end frames 11 in the transport direction of the article transport conveyor 1.
And a plurality of horizontal frames 16 arranged between these end frames 11.

The end frame 11 has a pair of leg members 12 which are inclined at a predetermined angle Θ ₁ so that the upper part is closer to the center of the conveyor.
And an upper connection member provided between the upper ends of these leg members 12
13 and an intermediate connecting member 14 provided between the intermediate members, which are formed in an A shape when viewed from the transport direction, and the leg members 12 are located on both sides of the transport path, thereby carrying the article transport conveyor. It is arranged across one. An adjustable landing body 15 is provided at the lower end of each leg member 12. The horizontal frame 16 is
Between the outer surfaces of the leg members 12 facing each other in the transport direction, they are respectively arranged in upper and lower three stages (a plurality of stages).

The automatic article feeder 20 is mounted between the outer surfaces of the horizontal frame 16 so that the automatic article feeder 20 is inclined at a predetermined angle Θ ₁ along the horizontal frame 16 and arranged on both sides of the article conveyor 1. It Further, a large number of automatic article feeders 20 are arranged on both sides of the article transport conveyor 1 along the transport direction, in which case the upper part is the lower transport side and the lower part is the upper transport side, and a predetermined angle Θ ₂ It is installed with an inclination.

Storage case 21 of the automatic article supply device 20
Is made of a mold material having an L-shaped cross section, and is connected to the horizontal frames 16 in the upper and middle stages via a connector 22 in a state where both sides thereof are positioned on the inclined sides in two directions. Therefore, the group of articles 5 stacked and stored in the storage case 21 is in a state of being pressed against the inner surfaces of both sides due to the inclination direction thereof, so that when descending due to its own weight, sliding contact friction occurs between the inner surfaces of both sides. Occurs.

It is possible to adjust the predetermined angle Θ ₂ in the carrying direction, that is, the frictional force, by passing the connecting member 22 as a bolt body through a long hole formed on the side of the storage case 21. The shape and size of the article 5 to be stored can be dealt with by adopting the storage case 21 having different widths on both sides.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 to 9, a cutout port 23 is formed in the lower front surface of the storage case 21 by lacking a side on the article transport conveyor 1 side, and this cutout port 23 is formed. Is set so that the article 5A in the lowermost stage is allowed to pass but the article 5B in the second stage from the lower side is not allowed to pass.

Below the storage case 21, there is provided a cutting device 30 for moving the lowermost article 5A to the cutting port 23 side. The cutting device 30 is composed of a conveyor whose driving direction R is the cutting direction. To be done.

That is, a plate frame-shaped bracket 31 is connected to the lower horizontal frame 16 via a connecting tool 32.
The lower part of the plate-shaped conveyor frame 33 is connected to the upper part of 31 via a connecting tool 34. And conveyor frame
A cylindrical bearing case 35 whose cylinder axis direction is the left-right direction is connected to the cutout 23 side at the upper part of 33 through a connecting tool 36.
37 via a cylindrical drive shaft (an example of conveyor rotation shaft) 38
Is rotatably provided.

The bearing case 35 includes the connecting member.
A motor 39 is attached to serve also as 36, and an output shaft 40 from this motor 39 is inserted into the drive shaft 38 and interlocked therewith. A timing drive pulley 42 is attached to the outside of the drive shaft 38 via a plurality of connecting tools 41.

A timing driven pulley 43 is provided on the side of the conveyor frame 33 opposite to the cutout port 23. This timing driven pulley 43 allows the idle driven shaft 44 to rotate freely.
Is guided by a long hole 45 formed in the conveyor frame 33, is movable toward and away from the drive shaft 38, and has a tension mechanism 46 that moves the driven shaft 44 in the separating direction. It is provided between 33.

A timing belt 47 is provided between the pulleys 42 and 43.
Is wound, and at two places (a plurality of places or one place) equally divided in the lengthwise direction on the outer surface of the timing belt 47, the protrusions 48 for pushing the article are continuously provided integrally toward the outside. Has been done. The conveyor frame 33 has brakes.
49, a motor drive device 50, a control device 51 and the like are provided.

By the above 31 to 51, the cutting device 30
In this case, the upper path of the timing belt 47 is arranged so as to be perpendicular to the inclination of the storage case 21 at the predetermined angle Θ ₁ . The upper path portion of the timing belt 47 is configured such that the lower surface of the timing belt 47 is slidably contacted with the belt receiving portion 33A formed by bending the upper end of the conveyor frame 33.

Below the storage case 21, an article support 60 for receiving the article 5A at the lowermost stage is provided. The article supports 60 are provided on both sides of the slicing device 30 so as to be distributed in a pair on the left and right sides, each of which is made of a C-shaped mold material, and is arranged along the slicing direction with its open portion facing downward. Then, the article support 60 is the cutting device 30.
It is configured to be moved downward with respect to the article receiving position when the article is cut out by.

That is, on the side away from the cut-out port 23, the conveyor frame 33 has a cylindrical shaft in the left-right direction.
61 is provided, and the article support body 60 is attached to both ends of a support shaft 62 which is inserted into the cylindrical shaft 61. Here, the support shaft 62 is of a bolt-nut type, and is freely rotatably inserted into the cylinder shaft 61, and the left and right article supports 60 are integrated. As a result, the article support 60 is provided so as to be vertically swingable with the support shaft 62 on the side remote from the cutout 23 as a fulcrum.

In order to swing the article support 60 up and down, a cam that acts on the lower surface side of one article support 60 is provided. This cam is composed of an inner cam body 63A and an outer cam body 63B whose cam surfaces have the same shape.
A and 63B are located outside the timing drive pulley 42, and the connector 41 to which the timing drive pulley 42 is attached
It is provided on the drive shaft 38 side also as a group. At that time the cam body
63A, 63B, through-holes 64A through which the connector 41 group is inserted,
A group of 64B is provided, and the groups of through holes 64A and 64B are formed in an arcuate elongated hole so that the phases of both cam bodies 63A and 63B can be individually changed in the rotation direction.

A pair of cam rollers 66A and 66B are provided on the lower surface side of one article support body 60, that is, the lower portion, via a bolt type left and right direction pin 65. These cam rollers 66A and 66B are provided on both cam bodies 63A. , 63B are individually contacted from above. In order to ensure the contact, spring bearing pins 67 and 68 are provided in the intermediate portion of the article support 60 and the conveyor frame 33, respectively, and a tension spring 69 is provided between the spring bearing pins 67 and 68. It is provided.

Here, the article support 60 is a cam body 63A, 63.
When it is swung upwards by B, its article support surface 60
a is made a little parallel to the upper path of the timing belt 47 so as to be parallel to the article receiving position, and the cam body
The rotation of 63A and 63B causes the support shaft 62 on the side away from the cutout 23 to swing downward (move downward).

The operation of the above-described embodiment will be described below. The article group 5 is stored in the storage case 21 of each article automatic supply device 20 by type. At this time each storage case
21 is made of L-shaped cross-section material and is open to the outside, so stacking, which is storage, can be easily performed from the outside, and the stacking amount (storage amount) can be easily grasped, Replenishment can be done accurately and quickly. Further, the stacked article group 5 is in a state of being pressed against the inner surfaces of both sides due to the inclination of the storage case 21 in two directions, so that the stacked article is aligned and stacked with the inner surfaces of both sides when descending due to its own weight. Sliding friction will occur between them.

For example, when there is an order from a store, the product type and quantity are input to the control unit (computer), and the automatic article supply device 20 corresponding to the product type cuts out the product 5 according to an instruction from the control unit. I do. This cutting operation is performed once or repeatedly a plurality of times according to the quantity. In the case of a large amount, a plurality of article automatic supply devices 20 that store the same type are simultaneously cut out to shorten the cutout time (picking time) for one store.

Articles 5 cut out one after another are introduced into the article conveyor 1 and conveyed as a lump to be introduced into the hopper 2. Then, by opening the shutter of the hopper 2, the group of articles 5 is dropped into the case 4, and then the case 4 is carried out by the case transport conveyor 3 to the shipping process.

In such a picking operation, cutting out in the automatic article feeder 20 is performed as follows. That is, before cutting out, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 10 (A), the longest portions of the cam bodies 63A and 63B are positioned above, and the article support body 60 is supported by the support shaft 62.
The uppermost part of the timing belt 47 is swung up and the article supporting surface 60a is located slightly above and parallel to the upper path of the timing belt 47.

Therefore, the lowermost article 5A can be supported through its article supporting surface 60a, and the second article 5B can be supported.
Are densely stacked on the lowermost article 5A. At this time, one protrusion 48 is positioned rearward at the timing driven pulley 43.

In such a state, the automatic article supply device 20 is operated by an instruction from the control section. That is, the motor
When the drive shaft 38 is rotated by the output shaft 40 by the 39, the timing drive pulley 42 integrated with the drive shaft 38 is forcibly rotated to move the timing belt 47, and as shown in FIG. , The projection 48 is brought into contact with the rear surface of the lowermost article 5A.

At this time, the cam body 63A integral with the drive shaft 38,
The 63B is also forcedly rotated, and the longest part of the cam bodies 63A, 63B is positioned in the forward direction.
By causing the shortest portion of B to act on the cam rollers 66A and 66B, the article support 60 is swung downward with the support shaft 62 on the side away from the cutout 23 as the fulcrum. That is, the article support 60 is tilted by swinging (moving) downward with respect to the article receiving position when the article is cut out by the cutting device 30.

As a result, the lowermost article 5A supported by the article support 60 is also inclined in the same direction, but the second article 5B is located between the inner surfaces of both sides of the storage case 21 as described above. As a result of the sliding contact friction, the descent due to its own weight does not follow integrally, so that a wedge-shaped gap S is formed between the upper surface of the lowermost article 5A and the lower surface of the second article 5B. Become.

At this time, the forced rotation of the timing drive pulley 42 continues and the timing belt 47
By the forward movement of the protrusion 48 by the movement of, the lowermost article 5A is pushed and moved to the cutout port 23 side while being supported and guided by the article support surface 60a. Therefore, the rearward movement of the lowermost article 5A can be performed lightly and easily without much sliding friction between the upper surface of the lowermost article 5A and the lower surface of the second article 5B.

Then, as shown in FIG. 11 (A), before cutting out the lowermost article 5A, the second article 5 is cut.
In B, the lower corner of the rear end is brought into contact with the article support 60, and the lower surface of the front end is brought into contact with the upper corner of the rear end of the article 5A at the lowermost stage, so that it is in an inclined posture.

After the cutting of the lowermost article 5A is completed, as shown in FIG. 11 (B), the cam roller 66
By causing the longest portions of the cam bodies 63A and 63B to act on A and 66B, the article support body 60 is swung upward with the support shaft 62 on the side remote from the cutout opening 23 as a fulcrum, thereby receiving the article. The article 5B in the second stage is received by moving it to the position. At this time, attach another protrusion 48 to the timing driven pulley.
The part 43 is located rearward.

The operation of the cutting device 30 is controlled by the control device 51 based on the detection of the detection device which is appropriately arranged. In this way, the cut-out of the lowermost article 5A forms a wedge-shaped gap S between the upper surface of the lowermost article 5A and the lower surface of the second-stage article 5B, so that sliding friction does not occur much. It can be performed lightly and easily, and can be performed without applying an external force to the second-stage article 5B, that is, without deforming or damaging the second-stage article 5B.

By swinging the downward movement of the article support 60, the wedge-shaped gap S can be easily formed, and the second stage article 5B is supported by the return swing in the second stage or more. It can be done easily and accurately without having to lift a large group of articles.

Further, the downward movement and the return movement of the article support 60 can be easily and quickly performed by the rotation of the cam bodies 63A and 63B. Moreover, the cam body 63 is attached to the drive shaft 38 of the cutting device 30.
By providing A and 63B, it is possible to eliminate the need for a separate drive source and to easily and accurately adjust the timing.

As shown in FIG. 9B, by changing the phase of both cam bodies 63A, 63B in the circumferential direction, the downward movement start point and the return movement end point of the article support 60 by the cams can be changed. Can be adjusted arbitrarily and easily.

In the above embodiment, the article support
When the article is cut out by the cutting device 30, the 60 is moved downward with respect to the article receiving position by downward swinging with the side distant from the cutout opening 23 as a fulcrum. It may be of a type that moves vertically downward with respect to the article receiving position.

In the above-described embodiment, the downward movement of the article support 60 is performed by the rotation of the cam acting on the lower surface side of the article support 60. It may be moved downward.

In the above embodiment, the cutting device 30
Is a conveyor type, and a cam is provided on the rotary shaft of the conveyor. This is a type in which the article support 60 is moved downward with respect to the article receiving position by a separately provided drive source such as a cylinder device. May be

In the above-described embodiment, the cam is formed by the pair of cam bodies 63A and 63B, but this may be a single cam body.

[0054]

According to the first aspect of the present invention described above, when the article support is moved downward with respect to the article receiving position when the article is cut out by the cutting device, the upper surface of the lowermost article and the second step are provided. A gap can be formed between the lower surface of the article and the lower surface of the article, and therefore, the cutout movement of the lowermost article to the cutout port side can be performed lightly and easily without causing much sliding contact friction due to the gap. At the same time, it can be performed without applying an external force to the second-stage article, that is, without deforming or damaging the second-stage article.

According to claim 2 of the present invention described above,
By performing the downward movement of the article support by swinging, a wedge-shaped gap can be easily formed, and the support of the second stage article by the return swing does not significantly lift the article group of the second stage or more, It can be done easily and accurately.

According to the third aspect of the present invention described above, the downward movement and the return movement of the article support can be easily and quickly performed by the rotation of the cam. Further, according to the above-mentioned claim 4 of the present invention, by providing the cam on the rotary shaft of the cutting device, a separate drive source can be eliminated and the timing can be adjusted easily and accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of an article cutout portion in an automatic article feeder according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of equipment provided with the same article automatic supply device group.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of equipment provided with the same article automatic supply device group.

FIG. 4 is a side view of equipment provided with the same automatic article supply device group.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an article cutout portion of the automatic article supply apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a view taken along line XX in FIG. 1, showing a cutting device portion of the automatic article supply device.

FIG. 7 is a cutting-out device portion of the same article automatic supply device, taken along the line YY of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a view taken along line ZZ of FIG. 1 showing a cutting device portion of the automatic article supply device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a cam in the article automatic supply device.

FIG. 10 is a side view for explaining the first half of the cutting operation in the cutting device portion of the automatic article supply device.

FIG. 11 is a side view illustrating the latter half of the cutting operation in the cutting device portion of the automatic article supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Article conveyor 3 Case conveyor 5 articles 5A Bottom item 5B Second stage article 10 frame body 20 Automatic article feeder 21 storage case 23 Cutout 30 Slicing device 38 Drive axis (conveyor rotation axis) 39 motor 42 Timing drive pulley 43 Timing driven pulley 47 Timing belt 48 protrusion 60 article support 60a Article support surface 62 Shaft (fulcrum) 63A inner cam body 63B Outer cam body 66A cam roller 66B cam roller 69 tension spring R drive direction S gap

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-8-329329 (JP, A) JP-A-8-320963 (JP, A) JP-A-8-190668 (JP, A) JP-A-8-58932 (JP , A) JP 7-315574 (JP, A) JP 7-315573 (JP, A) JP 7-309443 (JP, A) JP 7-61600 (JP, A) JP 6-239411 (JP, A) JP-A-6-135558 (JP, A) JP-A-62-21629 (JP, A) Actually open 5-12419 (JP, U) Actually open 3-125705 (JP, U) Actual development Sho 56-1453 (JP, U) Actual development Sho 48-23099 (JP, U) West German patent application publication 3317087 (DE, A1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) ) B65G 59/06 102 B65G 1/137

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An article automatic supply device for cutting out a lowermost article forward from a storage case in which articles are stacked and stored, wherein the storage case has a cutout opening in a front surface of a lower portion thereof . And
One extracting direction inclined in two directions including the downward of the housing case includes an article support for receiving the lowermost article, and excision device for moving the mouth side cut out the bottom of the article is provided, the article The automatic article supply device, wherein the support is moved downward with respect to the article receiving position when the article is cut out by the cutting apparatus. 2. The automatic article supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the downward movement of the article support is performed by downward swinging with a side remote from the cutout as a fulcrum. 3. The automatic article supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the downward movement of the article support is performed by rotation of a cam acting on the lower surface side of the article support. 4. The article support is provided so as to be vertically swingable about a side remote from the cut-out port as a fulcrum, and the cut-out device comprises a conveyor whose drive direction is the cut-out direction, and a rotary shaft of the conveyor. 4. The automatic article supply apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a cam.