JP3674637B2 - Equipment boxing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention is intended to provide a novel article boxing device capable of reducing the size of the device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There is known a boxing device that automates the operation of shaping a folded corrugated cardboard into a box and stuffing articles into the box. For example, the boxboard is performed through the steps shown in FIG.
[0003]
That is, when the articles b, b,... Are conveyed by the conveyor a, the articles b, b,... Are stacked as the elevator c descends, and are pushed out when the number reaches a predetermined value. The articles are accumulated in the stack e by being moved in the horizontal direction by the mechanism d. In addition, partition plates f, f,... Are inserted in a timely manner between the stacked article groups.
[0004]
When the stack e is full, the group of articles is moved in the horizontal direction by the filling mechanism g and packed into the cardboard box h. A sliding mechanism using a cylinder or the like is used for the pushing mechanism d and the filling mechanism g.
[0005]
The cardboard boxes h are stacked in an initially folded state, and are taken out and shaped by a dedicated supply mechanism.
[0006]
When the articles are packed into the shaped cardboard box h by the filling mechanism g, the cardboard box h is transferred to another place and the flaps i, i,... After that, sealing work is performed. For example, as shown in the figure, a tape attaching mechanism for moving the craft tape j to close the flap, or a hot melt mechanism for applying a heat-pressure bonding by applying an adhesive to the flap, although not shown, is used.
[0007]
The corrugated cardboard box h whose one end is sealed is further transferred, raised by being rotated at an angle of 90 ° around the axis along the conveying direction, and then sent to the labeling process and the inspection process.
[0008]
As described above, the boxing operation includes a series of operations such as loading of articles, transfer to a stack, removal and shaping of cardboard, packing of a group of articles into a cardboard box, sealing of cardboard boxes, and raising of cardboard boxes. This is done by an arranged mechanism.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the conventional boxing operation, the cardboard box storing the group of articles is transferred to another place and the flap is folded and sealed, so the total distance of the movement of the cardboard is increased. Therefore, there is a problem that the installation area of the apparatus becomes large.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problem, the boxing apparatus for articles according to the present invention transports at least a robot having a suction portion in a hand and folded boxes stacked in a vertical direction in a folded state, and supplies them around the robot. Supply means, shaping means for taking out the folded box and shaping it into a box, storage means for storing the article in the folded box, folding lid folding means for folding the folding lid of the folding box, and sealing means for sealing the folding lid In the boxing device for goods provided, the step of shaping the folding box with the hand of the robot and then opening and holding the upper and lower folding lids slightly up and down, the step of folding the folding lid, and the step of sealing the folding box are performed in substantially the same place the robot hand, flaps folding means, placed around the Oribako after shaping the sealing means, one stage from cardboard group by adsorption portion of the robot After moving into position removed Lumpur, which was as well as shaping into a box shape by the shaping means, for accommodating the articles in Oribako slightly open state an upper flaps by the suction unit is there.
[0011]
[Action]
According to the present invention, a robot hand having a suction part and a shaping means , a folding lid folding means, a sealing means, etc. are arranged around the shaped folding box, so that the robot can shape the folding box and then the upper and lower folding lids. Since the process of opening and holding a little, the process of folding the folding lid, and the process of sealing the folded box can be performed at substantially the same place, it is not necessary to transport the folded box in these processes, thereby reducing the installation area of the apparatus. it can.
[0012]
【Example】
Details of the boxing apparatus for articles of the present invention will be described below according to the illustrated embodiment.
[0013]
FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 show an outline of an article boxing apparatus according to the present invention, and the illustrated embodiment shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a compact disk (hereinafter referred to as “CD”) boxing apparatus. It is.
[0014]
1 is a boxing device, and CDs 2, 2,... Are conveyed on a conveyor 3 and stacked by a stacking unit 4 as indicated by an arrow A in FIG.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 3, the stacking unit 4 has an elevator 5, and the elevator 5 descends every time CD 2 is carried by the conveyor 3, and thereby CD 2 is sequentially stacked.
[0016]
Reference numeral 6 denotes an extrusion mechanism, which is provided to extrude the CD group 7 stacked to a certain height in the horizontal direction and transfer it to the stack 8.
[0017]
A partition plate insertion unit 9 inserts a partition plate 10 between the CD group 7 and the previously transferred CD group 7 when the CD group 7 is transferred to the stack 8 by the push-out mechanism 6. .
[0018]
Reference numeral 11 denotes a filling mechanism (see FIGS. 1 and 2), which is provided for moving the CD groups 7, 7... Horizontally and storing them in a cardboard box when the stack 8 is full. ing.
[0019]
Reference numeral 12 denotes a horizontal articulated robot, which is in charge of the main work of the boxing work. As shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal articulated robot 12 includes a base shaft portion 14 fixed to the base 13 of the boxing device 1, and a first arm provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the base shaft portion 14. 15 and a second arm 16 provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the first arm 15, and a hand 17 provided at the tip of the second arm 16 is connected to the first arm 15 and the first arm 15. The two arms 16 are moved in the horizontal plane as the two arms 16 rotate (a range 18 indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 1 indicates a work area of the horizontal articulated robot 12). The hand 17 is configured to be rotated about a vertical axis and to be slid in the vertical direction by a driving means (not shown) provided on the second arm 16. A vacuum suction hand to which a roller is added is used.
[0020]
Reference numeral 19 denotes a corrugated cardboard supply unit (see FIGS. 1 and 4), which is composed of a conveyor 20 and a lift 21. The corrugated cardboard group 22 stacked in the vertical direction in a folded state is conveyed by the conveyor 20 to a position where it enters the work area 18 of the horizontal articulated robot 12 as shown by an arrow B in FIG. Then, the lift 21 is lifted to a predetermined supply position.
[0021]
The horizontal articulated robot 12 takes out the cardboard at the highest position with the hand 17 and then moves to the position indicated by a two-dot chain line rectangle R in FIG. 1 and then shapes the cardboard into a box shape.
[0022]
FIG. 5 shows the cardboard box 23 after shaping. The upper flaps 23a, 23a, the lower flaps 23b, 23b, the left and right side flaps 23c, 23c,. Both are not yet folded.
[0023]
25 is a flap opening unit (refer to FIG. 1), and the flaps of the cardboard box 23 are not disturbed when the CD group 7, 7,... Is inserted into the cardboard box 23 by the filling mechanism 11. It is provided to open and secure one opening 24 of the cardboard box 23.
[0024]
A flap folding unit 26 is provided for folding the side flaps 23c and 23c of the cardboard box 23, and 26b for folding the lower flap 23b of the cardboard box 23, respectively.
[0025]
Reference numeral 27 denotes a rotary table (see FIG. 2), on which the cardboard box 23 is placed. The rotary table 27 is rotatable around its vertical axis and is moved in the vertical direction by a driving means (not shown).
[0026]
Reference numeral 28 denotes a sealing unit (see FIG. 1), which is provided to close the flap of a cardboard box in which a CD group is stored using tape, adhesive or the like. The sealing unit 28 is slid along a guide member 28a that is positioned between the rotary table 27 and the base shaft portion 14 of the horizontal articulated robot 12 and extends in the horizontal direction.
[0027]
Reference numeral 29 denotes an auxiliary roller for assisting the horizontal articulated robot 12 to raise the cardboard box, and is provided in the vicinity of the flap folding unit 26b.
[0028]
The cardboard box is raised by the hand 17 and the auxiliary roller 29 of the horizontal articulated robot 12 so that the sealed surface is directed in the vertical direction, and then placed on the conveyor 30 as shown by an arrow C in FIG. , Transported.
[0029]
Reference numeral 31 denotes a label sticking device, which is provided for sticking a label on the side surface of the cardboard box carried by the conveyor 30.
[0030]
The cardboard box is transferred to the discharge conveyor 32 after labeling, and is conveyed and discharged in a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the conveyor 30 as shown by an arrow D in FIG.
[0031]
The heights of the conveyors 20 and 30 and the discharge conveyor 32 and the height of the rotary table 27 are substantially the same.
[0032]
33 is an operation panel, and 34 is a control panel. The operation panel 33 is provided in the vicinity of the filling mechanism 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and the control panel 34 is as shown in FIG. It is provided near the lower end of the side of the device.
[0033]
Reference numeral 35 denotes a robot controller for controlling the horizontal articulated robot 12 and is arranged at the bottom of the apparatus as shown in FIG.
[0034]
6 and 7 show the main part of the boxing device 1.
[0035]
FIG. 6 is a plan view mainly showing the rotary table 27 and the flap folding unit 26, and the rotary table 27 is incorporated in a part of the work table 36.
[0036]
As shown in the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 7, the rotary table 27 has a rotary shaft 27 a that is rotatably supported by bearings 38, 38 in a bearing holder 37.
[0037]
The bearing holder 37 is fixed to a support plate 39, and the support plate 39 is fixed to the upper ends of the two shafts 40 and 40. The shafts 40 and 40 are inserted through hollow cylindrical support members 41 and 41, respectively, and are supported so as to be slidable in the vertical direction while maintaining a certain distance from each other.
[0038]
The support members 41, 41 are inserted through insertion holes 42 a, 42 a formed in the attachment plate 42 at their lower end portions, and the flange portions 41 a, 41 a of the support members 41, 41 are formed on the upper surface of the attachment plate 42. It is fixed. The mounting plate 42 is fixed to the upper surface of the base 43 so as to cover a hole 43a formed in the base 43 from above.
[0039]
A flat plate 44 is fixed to the lower end portions of the shafts 40, 40, and the flat plate 44 is coupled to a sliding shaft 46 a of the actuator 46 through a floating joint 45. The upper end of the actuator 46 is fixed to the lower surface of the mounting plate 42, and the sliding shaft 46a is moved in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the actuator 46 pulls up the flat plate 44 and the shafts 40, 40, the rotary table 27 is raised as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
[0040]
Reference numerals 47 and 47 denote vacuum suction pads, which are attached to the work table 36 with the rotary table 27 interposed therebetween. The vacuum suction pads 47 and 47 have their suction surfaces facing upward, and the height of the suction surfaces is substantially equal to the height of the upper surface of the work table 36.
[0041]
Reference numeral 48 denotes a positioning actuator (shown only in FIG. 7). One side surface of the cardboard box 23 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is provided for positioning the corrugated cardboard box 23 by bringing the side surfaces into contact with stoppers 49, 49 erected on the work table 36.
[0042]
Reference numerals 50 and 50 denote rotary actuators (see FIG. 6), which are provided for the claw portions 50a and 50a to rotate and to press the portion near the end of the lower flap 23b of the cardboard box 23.
[0043]
As shown in FIG. 6, the flap folding units 26 a and 26 a are provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the work table 36, and side flaps 23 c and 23 c are provided at the tips of the sliding rods 51 a and 51 a of the cylinders 51 and 51. Claw pieces 51b and 51b for bending are attached.
[0044]
The flap folding unit 26b for folding the lower flap 23b of the cardboard box 23 is disposed between the rotary actuators 50 and 50 and near the work table 36.
[0045]
52 and 52 are pressing units disposed near the flap folding units 26a and 26a, and press the surface opposite to the sealing surface when the cardboard box is sealed. In the holding units 52 and 52, holding claws 53b and 53b are attached to the tips of sliding rods 53a and 53a of the cylinders 53 and 53, respectively.
[0046]
The flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and 9 and the schematic diagrams of FIGS. 10 to 23 explain the boxing operation.
[0047]
As shown in FIG. 8, in the boxing operation, the stacking operation of the CD group 7 onto the stack 8 and the preparation operation of the cardboard box 23 are performed in parallel.
[0048]
Steps S1 to S5 show the procedure for preparing the cardboard box. In step S1, the horizontal articulated robot 12 takes out and transports one of the cardboards prepared by the cardboard supply unit 19. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the horizontal articulated robot 12 picks up the cardboard folded by the hand 17 and pulls it up, then rotates the arm to move it to a predetermined position (the square R shown in FIG. 1). ).
[0049]
Then, in the next step S2, the cardboard is shaped into a box shape as shown in FIG. FIG. 12 schematically shows such a state, and the hand 17 has suction portions 17a and 17a (only one of them is shown in the figure) and a roller 17b. The folded cardboard is adsorbed by the adsorbing portions 17a and 17a as indicated by solid lines in the figure, but the support member of the roller 17b can be rotated with respect to the rotation fulcrum 17c by a driving means (not shown). As shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure, when the side surface of the cardboard is pushed down by the roller 17b, the cardboard that has been folded into a parallelogram when viewed from the side is shaped into a rectangular shape.
[0050]
In step S <b> 3, the cardboard box is slid and positioned by the positioning actuator 48, and the cardboard box 23 is sucked and held by the vacuum suction pads 47 and 47 of the work table 36.
[0051]
In the next step S4, as shown in FIG. 13, the flap opening unit 25 opens the flaps 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23c of the one opening 24 of the cardboard box and holds this state.
[0052]
In step S5, the side flaps 23c and 23c on the opposite side to the side where the flap is opened are closed. That is, as shown in FIG. 14, the claw portions 50 a, 50 a of the rotary actuators 50, 50 slightly lower and hold the lower flap 23 b of the cardboard box 23. At this time, the horizontal articulated robot 12 sucks the upper flap 23a of the cardboard box by the suction portion 17a of the hand 17 and lifts the upper flap 23a. The reason why the lower flap 23b is slightly lowered and the upper flap 23a is slightly raised is to prevent the upper and lower flaps from getting in the way when the side flaps 23c and 23c are bent. FIG. 15 shows how the side flaps 23c and 23c are bent by the flap folding units 26a and 26a, and the side flaps 23c and 23c are moved by moving the claw pieces 51b and 51b of the flap folding units 26a and 26a in the horizontal direction. Each can be folded. Thus, preparations for filling the CD group 7 into the cardboard box 23 are completed.
[0053]
On the other hand, as shown in steps S6 to S10, the CD group 7 is horizontally fed and the partition plate 10 is inserted a plurality of times to stack the CDs 2, 2,. Collected temporarily (see FIG. 16).
[0054]
That is, in step S6, CD2 carried on the conveyor 3 is stacked by the stacking unit 4 as the elevator 5 is lowered.
[0055]
In next step S7, it is asked whether or not the stack 8 is empty. If it is not empty, the process proceeds to step S8, and if empty, the process jumps to step S9.
[0056]
In step S <b> 8, when the CD group 7 is transferred to the stack 8, the partition plate 10 is inserted by the partition plate insertion unit 9 between the CD group 7 and the previously transferred CD group 7.
[0057]
In the next step S9, when the number of CDs stacked by the stacking unit 4 reaches a predetermined number, the CD group 7 is sent in the horizontal direction by the pushing mechanism 6 and transferred to the stack 8 as shown in FIG. .
[0058]
In step S10, it is asked whether or not the stack 8 is full. If it is full, the process proceeds to step 11. If not, the process returns to step 8 to repeat steps S8 and S9.
[0059]
In step 11, as shown in FIG. 17, the CD groups 7, 7,... Accumulated in the stack 8 are stored in the cardboard box 23 by the filling mechanism 11.
[0060]
Then, in the next step S12, as shown in FIG. 18, the upper flap 23a on the side opposite to the one opened in step S4 is bent by the roller 17b of the hand 17, and the lower flap 23b is folded on the flap folding unit 26b. Can be folded by.
[0061]
In subsequent step S <b> 13, one side surface of the cardboard box 23 is closed by the sealing unit 28. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the craft tape 54 is attached to the cardboard box 23 by the horizontal movement of the sealing unit 28 along the guide member 28a.
[0062]
In the next step S14, the cardboard box containing the CD group is rotated 180 ° around the vertical axis. That is, as shown in FIG. 20, the rotary table 27 is raised by the actuator 46 to lift the cardboard box 23. Then, the hand 17 of the horizontal articulated robot 12 descends, sucks the upper surface of the cardboard box 23 by the sucking portions 17a and 17a, and rotates the cardboard box 180 degrees around the axis of the hand 17 along the vertical direction. At this time, the opening operation of the flap by the flap opening unit 25 and the suction of the cardboard box by the vacuum suction pads 47 and 47 of the work table 36 are of course canceled. When the cardboard box 23 is rotated, the rotary table 27 is lowered by the actuator 46 and returned to the original position. In this example, since the weight of the cardboard box in which the CD group 7 is stored is large, it is avoided to lift the cardboard box by the hand 17, and the cardboard box 23 is provided with the minimum necessary torque by using the rotary table 27 as an auxiliary. It is rotating.
[0063]
In step S15, after the cardboard box is positioned so as to be in the position indicated by the rectangle R in FIG. 1, the other flap of the cardboard box is closed and sealed.
[0064]
That is, in step S16, the side flaps 23c and 23c of the cardboard box 23 are bent, and in the next step S17, the upper and lower flaps 23a and 23b are bent, and then in step 18 the remaining side surface of the cardboard box 23 is sealed with the craft tape 54. (See FIG. 21). In step 19, the cardboard box 23 is rotated by 180 ° about the vertical axis.
[0065]
In step 20, the cardboard box 23 is raised so that its sealing surface is directed in the vertical direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 22, the auxiliary roller 29 is raised and the cardboard box 23 is rotated by the roller 17 b of the hand 17 as indicated by the arrow E so that one of the sealing surfaces of the cardboard box 23 is received by the auxiliary roller 29. The auxiliary roller 29 is lowered.
[0066]
Thereafter, the cardboard box 23 is transported by the conveyor 30 in step S21, and a label is attached to one side of the cardboard box 23 by the label sticking device 31 in the next step S22. The work is finished.
[0067]
The steps from the cardboard box shaping (S2) to the side flap 23c folding (S5) and the CD group 7 filling (S11) to the cardboard box raising (S20) in the above operations are shown in FIG. Since it is performed at or near the fixed position indicated by the rectangle R, the process from taking out the cardboard and shaping it into the cardboard box of the CD group, sealing the cardboard box, and raising the cardboard box is limited. This can be done and the working time can be shortened.
[0068]
In the above example, kraft tape is used to seal the cardboard box, but hot melting with an adhesive may be performed. That is, as shown in FIG. 23A, first, adhesives 56, 56,... Are applied in a streaky manner to the side flaps 23c, 23c of the cardboard box 23 by a hot melt gun 55, and then, FIG. ), The upper and lower flaps are bent and the thermocompression bonding member 57 is pressed against the upper and lower flaps 23a and 23b to seal the cardboard box 23. Therefore, when performing hot melt, steps SA to SC shown in FIG. 24 may be performed instead of steps S12, S13, S17, and S18. That is, after the adhesive 55 is applied to the side flaps 23c and 23c in step SA, the upper and lower flaps 23a and 23b are bent in the next step SB, and the adhesives 56, 56,. The flaps 23a and 23b are pressure-bonded to the side flaps 23c to seal the cardboard box 23. When the thermocompression bonding member 57 is pressed against the cardboard box 23, the surface of the cardboard box 23 on the side opposite to the pressure bonding side is pressed by the pressing units 52 and 52 so that the cardboard box 23 does not move.
[0069]
In the above example, the upper and lower surfaces of the cardboard box are sealed. However, when only one surface is sealed due to the necessity of inspection, steps S14 to S19 are omitted.
[0070]
The apparatus 1 can cope with changing the size of an article or a cardboard box by changing or adjusting a relatively small number of places such as changing hands in the horizontal articulated robot 12. Versatile compared to other boxing machines.
[0071]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the boxing apparatus for articles of the present invention, a robot hand having a suction part and a shaping means , a folding lid folding means (corresponding to a flap folding unit in the above embodiment), and the like. By placing sealing means (corresponding to a sealing unit in the above embodiment) around the shaped folding box, the process of shaping the folding box by the robot and then opening and holding the upper and lower folding lids slightly, Since the step of folding and the step of sealing the folded box can be performed at substantially the same place, it is not necessary to transfer the folded box between the steps, and the space of the apparatus can be saved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a boxing device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing a boxing device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing a boxing device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a side view mainly showing a cardboard supply unit of the boxing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cardboard box.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing a work table and its peripheral part.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a work table.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the boxing operation together with FIG. 9, and this figure shows the first half of the operation.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of boxing work, and shows the latter half of the work.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a cardboard taking-out process by the robot.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a cardboard shaping process by a robot.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining cardboard box shaping.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a flap opening process of a cardboard box.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a process of opening the upper and lower flaps of the cardboard box.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a flap folding process of a cardboard box.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a CD integration process.
FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a process of storing a CD group in a cardboard box.
FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a flap closing process of a cardboard box.
FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a cardboard box sealing step.
FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing rotation of a cardboard box.
FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a cardboard box sealing step.
FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a box raising process of a cardboard box.
FIG. 23 shows a sealing process of a cardboard box by hot melt, (a) is a perspective view showing an adhesive application process, and (b) is a perspective view showing a thermocompression bonding process.
FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a sealing process using hot melt.
FIG. 25 is a perspective view for explaining a conventional boxing device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Box packing apparatus of goods 11 Filling mechanism (storage means)
12 Horizontal articulated robot (robot)
17 Hand 17a Suction part
17b Roller (shaping means)
19 Cardboard supply unit (supply means)
22 Corrugated cardboard group 23 Cardboard box (folding box)
23a, 23b, 23c Flap (folding lid)
23a Upper folding lid
26 Flap folding unit (folding lid folding means)
28 Sealing unit (sealing means)
55, 57 Sealing unit (sealing means)

Claims (2)

A robot having at least a suction part in the hand, a supply unit that conveys folded boxes stacked in a vertical direction in a folded state and supplies the folded box to the periphery of the robot, a shaping unit that takes out the folded box and shapes it into a box shape, and an article In an article boxing device comprising storage means for storing the inside of the folding box, folding lid folding means for folding the folding lid of the folding box, and sealing means for sealing the folding lid,
The robot's hand, folding lid folding, so that the process of shaping the folding box with the robot's hand and then opening and holding the upper and lower folding lids slightly up and down, folding the folding lid, and sealing the folding box are performed in approximately the same place. Means, sealing means around the folded box after shaping,
After removing one cardboard from the cardboard group by the suction part of the robot and moving it to a predetermined position, it is shaped into a box shape by the shaping means , and the article is opened with the upper folding lid slightly opened by the suction part. An article boxing device characterized by being stored in a folded box.   The boxing apparatus for articles according to claim 1, wherein after sealing one side of the folded box by the sealing means, the folded box is rotated by the rotating means and then the remaining one side of the folded box is sealed by the sealing means. Equipment boxing equipment.

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