JP4120060B2 - Carton removal device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a carton take-out device, and more particularly, to a carton take-out device that takes out one carton at a time by a take-out means, such as a one-touch carton, which is folded flat and accommodated in a carton magazine or a carton hopper. is there.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Cartons in which a number of flatly folded cartons are stacked and accommodated in a carton magazine or hopper, taken out one by one by a take-out means equipped with a suction cup, etc., and then the cartons are opened and delivered to a conveyor. A take-out device is conventionally known.
[0003]
By the way, in recent years, as the carton, a one-touch carton that does not require a folding process or a gluing process and forms a wall and a bottom in four directions immediately after opening is widely used. When the one-touch carton is folded, the four wall surfaces face each other so that they are in close contact with each other, and the bottom surface is folded into the lower part of the close wall surface, and further upright on the upper part of one wall surface. In this state, the lid is connected. When the one-touch carton having such a configuration is folded, the lower side where the bottom part is folded has a thickness several times that of the upper part. Therefore, when a large number of one-touch cartons are stacked, the bottom side is thick and the upper side is thin and unstable, so it is unstable, so that it is conveyed in an upright state while holding the front and back with fingers, The carton is supplied to the take-out part.
[0004]
As described above, conventionally, the one-touch carton is divided into a certain number of pieces and conveyed by pressing the front and back with fingers attached to the chain conveyor, and at the take-out position, the rear side is supported by the fingers and the front side is It is stopped in a state where it is held by a plurality of holding claws, and is taken out one by one from the front side by taking-out means provided with a suction cup or the like.
[0005]
Conventional carton take-out devices hold a group of upright cartons from the front and back by holding claws and fingers, and take out one by one from the front side where the holding claws are provided. It can be held stably while the number of cartons such as one-touch cartons held between the fingers and the rear fingers is large, but when the number of cartons is gradually removed and the number gradually decreases, There was a problem that the carton would collapse because the pressure applied by the fingers would not work.
[0006]
Accordingly, the present inventors have invented and filed a carton take-out apparatus that can stably hold a carton even if the number of the carton is taken out sequentially (Japanese Patent Application No. 9-136084). FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a simplified configuration of the carton take-out device described in the above publication. The carton take-out device includes a plurality of fingers 10 attached to the endless chain 8 at predetermined intervals, and these fingers. A support rail 28 that supports the lower surface of the carton C that is pushed by 10, a lift rail 30 that has one end connected to the downstream side of the support rail 28, and the other end that can be moved up and down, and the lift rail 30. Posture changing means such as an air cylinder 36 for raising the tip and tilting the lift rail 30 and a cam or the like for tilting the finger 10 (10-1) supporting the back of the carton C moving on the lift rail 30 backward (FIG. (Not shown), a fixed stopper 34 that is fixed on the lift rail 30 and supports the lower end of the front surface of the carton C, and the inclined lift rail 3 (Although not shown are adapted to retrieve adsorbed by suction cup) extraction means for taking out a carton C of the upper one by one and a.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the carton take-out device described in the above publication, the suction cups of the carton take-out means are sucked while being pressed against the top carton C and taken out sequentially. For this reason, when the leading carton C is taken out and the pressing pressure on the carton C is released, the carton C's posture is disturbed by the elastic force of the carton C itself, and the carton C that is taken out next may fall down. In particular, when the size of the carton C is small, the weight is light with respect to the elastic force of the carton C, so that there is a problem that the carton C tends to lie down.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a carton take-out device that can hold a carton such as a one-touch carton in a stable posture and can reliably take out the carton. is there.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A carton take-out device according to the present invention includes an endless chain, a plurality of fingers that are attached to the endless chain at a predetermined interval, hold and convey the carton in an upright state, and a carton that is moved by being pushed by the fingers. A support rail that supports the lower surface, a lift rail that is swingably connected to the downstream end of the support rail, a lifting means that lifts and tilts the tip of the lift rail, and a carton that has moved over the lift rail. A posture changing means for tilting the fingers behind and a take-out means for taking out the cartons on the inclined lift rail one by one; and a pressing plate arranged to be movable forward and backward on the lift rail; A carton pressing means comprising a moving means for moving the pressing plate forward and backward in the carton direction is provided.
[0010]
In the carton take-out device according to the present invention, a group of cartons leaning against the fingers on the back on an inclined lift rail are held in a stable state with the front side pressed by a pressing plate, and are taken out at the time of take-out. By moving the pressing plate forward and backward in time with the operation of the means, the carton can be held in a stable posture and reliably taken out.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 to 5 show a carton hopper portion of a carton take-out device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 4, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 5, FIG. 4 is a plan view, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. The carton hopper 2 is provided with a chain conveyor 4 that travels and stops intermittently. A carton such as a one-touch carton folded into a sheet is divided into a predetermined number of sheets, and is supplied to a carton take-out section A. To do. The chain conveyor 4 includes an endless chain 8 that is looped between an idle sprocket on the upstream side in the conveying direction (not shown but located on the left side of FIG. 1) and a drive sprocket 6 on the downstream side. A plurality of fingers 10 attached to the chain 8 at regular intervals, a predetermined number of cartons are held upright between the front and rear fingers 10, and the chain 8 intermittently travels to The carton is taken out and sequentially supplied to position A.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 5, the downstream drive sprocket 6 is composed of four sprockets 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D that are connected to the drive shaft 12 and rotate integrally therewith, and an upstream idle sprocket (not shown). Similarly, it consists of four sprockets, and a chain 8 (8A, 8B, 8C, 8D) is wound around each of the upstream and downstream sprockets. Each of the four chains 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D is a set, and the two chains 8A, 8B and 8C, 8D are connected by horizontal pins 14 arranged at predetermined intervals. The fingers 10 are rotatably attached to the horizontal pins 14, respectively. A horizontal pin 14 is connected to the two pairs of chains 8A, 8B and 8C, 8D at the same position in the longitudinal direction, and the fingers on both sides attached to the chains 8A, 8B and 8C, 8D of each pair 10 advances side by side as the chain 8 travels. These fingers 10 are narrow on the lower 10a side attached to the horizontal pin 14, and a portion 10b that presses the upper carton has a wide width.
[0013]
The four sprockets 6 (6A, 6B, 6C, 6D) are in pairs, and the right set 6A, 6B in FIG. 5 is fixed to the drive shaft 12, and the left set 6C, 6D. Is movable along the drive shaft 12. Similarly, an upstream idle sprocket (not shown) has a set of two sprockets fixed to the idle shaft, and the other set is movable in the axial direction of the idle shaft. By moving the two sprockets that are movable in the axial direction by an equal amount, the distance between the two pairs of chains 8A, 8B and 8C, 8D, that is, the distance between the fingers 10 on both sides is adjusted. be able to.
[0014]
A lever 16 is fixed to the rear side of the mounting portion 10 a that is rotatably supported by the horizontal pin 14 of each finger 10, and a cam follower 18 is attached to the swinging end of the lever 16. And the tension spring 19 is mounted | worn between the back side of each finger 10, and the chain 8, and the finger 10 is always attracted toward back. A horizontal fixed cam 20 is disposed below a portion where the endless chain 8 travels horizontally on the upper side (conveying side), and the cam follower 18 is located on the cam surface of the horizontal cam 20. To move. The horizontal cam 20 is at a high position (that is, a position close to the chain 8), and when the cam follower 18 is in contact with the horizontal cam 20, the finger 10 is maintained in an upright state.
[0015]
A portion that runs obliquely downward is provided between a portion where the chain 8 runs horizontally and a portion that rotates around the drive sprocket 6. Below the portion that runs obliquely below The inclined cams 22 are arranged at a distance larger than the distance between the horizontal running portion of the chain 8 and the horizontal cam 20.
[0016]
Further, an elevating cam 24 is provided below the downstream end of the horizontal running portion of the chain 8, that is, between the horizontal cam 20 and the inclined cam 22. The elevating cam 24 is connected to an operating rod of a cam elevating air cylinder 26 and moves up and down between a raised position that matches the height of the horizontal cam 20 and a lowered position that matches the height of the upper end of the inclined cam 22. be able to. When the cam follower 18 is on the ascending / descending cam 24, the finger 10 is upright, while the cam follower 18 is in the lowered position, similar to when traveling on the horizontal cam 20. The fingers 10 are inclined backward with respect to the chain 8 when they are on the elevating cam 24 and the inclined cam 22. The inclined cam 22 has a portion 22a that is close to the chain 8 at a part thereof. While the cam follower 18 is moving along the portion 22a, the finger 10 that is inclined backward is moved with respect to the chain 8. It becomes almost upright temporarily.
[0017]
Above the portion where the chain 8 runs horizontally, a support rail 28 is disposed that supports the bottom of the carton C that is pushed forward from the rear by the fingers 10. Two supporting rails 28 are arranged in parallel above each of the two chains 8A, 8B and 8C, 8D of each group at a small interval, and the fingers 10 attached to the chains of each group. The lower thin mounting portion 10a advances between the two support rails 28A and 28B and 28C and 28D, and the upper pressing portion 10b of the finger 10 moves above the support rails 28A, 28B, 28C and 28D. It is supposed to be.
[0018]
A lift rail 30 is swingably connected to a downstream end (right end in FIG. 1) of a support rail 28 fixed above a portion where the chain 8 travels horizontally. The lift rail 30 is also composed of four rails 30A, 30B, 30C, and 30D, which are connected to the four support rails 28A, 28B, 28C, and 28D, respectively, and the tips thereof are fixed two by two. The intermediate lift rails 30B and 30C are narrower than the support rails 28B and 28C, and a wide gap is formed between the fixed pair of rails 30A and 30B and 30C and 30D. The wide pressing part 10b of the upper part of the finger 10 can pass now (refer FIG. 4).
[0019]
Side guides 32 (32A, 32B) that support both sides of the conveyed carton C are mounted on the two outer rails 30A, 30D of the four lift rails 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D. .
[0020]
Further, a pressing means 60 for the carton C is provided on the two inner lift rails 30B and 30C. The pressing means 60 is fixed to the forward / backward moving cylinder 62 mounted above the downstream end of the lift rail 30 and the tip of the operating rod of the forward / backward moving cylinder 62, and is moved to the upstream side of the lift rail 30 by the operation of the cylinder 62. And a pressing plate 64 that moves forward and backward. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, a guide rail 66 is fixed to the side surface of each lift rail 30, and a slider 68 attached to the lower surface of the pressing plate 64 is fitted to the guide rail 66. The advance and retreat of the pressing plate 64 is guided.
[0021]
As the carton take-out means for taking out the cartons C held on the lift rails 30 of the carton hopper 2 one by one, various well-known configurations can be used. For example, as described in the above specification, a carton may be sucked and taken out by operating a robot hand having a plurality of suction cups by a robot. In this application, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the carton taking-out means in which the robot hand provided with the suction cup 70 is operated by the robot is used.
[0022]
The operation of the carton removing device according to the above configuration will be described. A predetermined number of cartons C are inserted between the fingers 10 attached to the chain 8 at regular intervals. The chain 8 travels intermittently by a distance of 1 pitch between the front and rear fingers 10. The carton C is placed on a support rail 28 fixed above the chain 8 and is pushed forward by the rear finger 10 to advance. During conveyance, the cam followers 18 attached to the levers 16 fixed to the lower rear side lower end of the fingers 10 are moving on the horizontal cams 20 arranged below, so that each finger 10 is in an upright state. Is maintained.
[0023]
The fingers 10 move forward intermittently by one pitch, and when the fingers 10 approach the downstream end of the horizontal running portion of the chain 8, the cam followers 18 attached to the back of the fingers 10 move up and down from the horizontal cam 20. Transfer onto the cam 24. At this time, the raising / lowering cam 24 is at a position raised by the operation of the raising / lowering air cylinder 26, that is, at substantially the same height as the horizontal cam 20, and the cam follower 18 smoothly moves from the horizontal cam 20 onto the raising / lowering cam 24.
[0024]
At this time, for example, the carton C that has been transported on the support rail 28 by being pressed by the finger 10 (10-1) (see FIG. 1) stopped on the downstream end of the horizontal running portion of the chain 8 is fixed. The support rail 28 is pushed out onto a liftable rail 30. In this way, while the chain 8 travels and transports the carton C, the lift air cylinder 36 connected to the tip of the lift rail 30 contracts to bring the lift rail 30 into a horizontal state.
[0025]
Thereafter, when the chain 8 stops traveling and each finger 10 temporarily stops at the positions 10-0, 10-1, and 10-2 shown in FIG. 1, the lift air cylinder 36 is operated so that the tip of the lift rail 30 is moved. While raising, the raising / lowering cam 24 is lowered by the raising / lowering cam drive air cylinder 26. The lift rail 30 is inclined as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 (in this example, is inclined about 20 degrees), while the finger 10 (10-1) carrying the carton C on the lift rail 30 is It tilts backward as shown in the figure. Then, the carton C on the lift rail 30 is in a state of leaning against the rear finger 10 (10-1). At this time, the advancing / retreating air cylinder 62 of the pressing means 60 extends the operating rod and presses the pressing plate 64 against the lower end of the leading carton C to hold the entire group of cartons C in a stable posture.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 9, the carton C supplied to the carton unloading position A is supported on the back side by the rear fingers 10 (10-1) on the inclined lift rail 30 and presses the lower part of the front surface. Since it is pressed by the plate 64, it is held in an extremely stable posture. Thus, when the group of cartons C accommodated and transported between the front and rear fingers 10 stops at the carton take-out position A, the suction cup 70 of the carton take-out means (robot hand) is moved by the operation of the robot, Suction while being pressed against the carton C.
[0027]
After the robot confirms the adsorption of the carton C by the pressure sensor, the advancing / retreating air cylinder 62 is operated to retract the pressing plate 64 to a position away from the carton C (see FIG. 10). Next, the suction cup 70 of the robot hand is slightly retracted and then moved upward, and the top carton C adsorbed by the suction cup 70 is extracted upward (see FIG. 11).
[0028]
Thereafter, after confirming that the leading carton C has been removed by the movement signal of the robot, the advancing / retreating air cylinder 62 is operated to advance the pressing plate 64, and the carton group whose posture is about to collapse as shown in FIG. To hold the carton C in a stable posture as shown in FIG. The fact that the suction position changes as the number of the cartons C is sequentially taken out and is gradually reduced can be dealt with without any problem because it is a taking-out means by the robot, but it corresponds to the posture disturbance such as the inclination of the carton C changing. I can't. However, as described above, the carton C whose posture is disordered because the leading carton C is taken out is pushed back by the pressing plate 64 to obtain the correct posture, and then is sucked and taken out. it can.
[0029]
In the carton take-out means, since the push-out plate 64 holds the front surface of the carton C, the carton C is lifted upward and removed. However, the push-out plate 64 is advanced to keep the carton C pressed. If you try to pull upward, the next carton C will be lifted together with the first carton C that is being picked up. After the robot detects the picking signal, it will retract the pressure plate 64 and check the picking signal. After that, I try to move forward again.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, fingers that are attached to an endless chain at a predetermined interval, hold and convey the carton in an upright state, and a support rail that supports the lower surface of the carton that is pushed and moved by the finger. A lift rail that is swingably connected to the downstream end of the support rail, a lifting means that lifts and tilts the tip of the lift rail, and a finger behind the carton that has moved on the lift rail is tilted backward. A carton take-out apparatus comprising: a posture changing means for taking out; and a take-out means for taking out the cartons on the inclined lift rail one by one; a press plate disposed on the lift rail so as to be movable forward and backward; and One-touch carton by providing a carton pressing means comprising moving means for moving forward and backward in the direction The carton can be held in a stable posture, it is possible to reliably take out the extraction means.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 4, showing a main part of a carton removing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view of the carton take-out device as viewed from the downstream side, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.
3 is a view of the carton take-out device as viewed from the upstream side, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the carton removing device.
5 is a view of the carton take-out device as viewed from above, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a carton pressing means of the carton removing device.
7 is a right side view of FIG. 6. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the operation of the carton removing device.
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the carton removing device.
FIG. 11 is a view for explaining the operation of the carton removing device.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a simplified configuration of a conventional carton removing device.
[Explanation of symbols]
C Carton 8 Endless chain 10 Finger 24 Posture changing means (elevating cam)
28 Support rail 30 Lift rail 36 Lifting means (lifting air cylinder)
60 Carton pressing means 62 Moving means (advancing / retracting air cylinder)
64 Pressing plate 70 Suction means (suction cup)

Claims (2)

Fingers that are attached to the endless chain at a predetermined interval, hold and convey the carton in an upright state, a support rail that supports the lower surface of the carton that is pushed and moved by the finger, and swings at the downstream end of the support rail Lift rails connected to each other, lifting means for raising and tilting the tip of the lift rails, posture changing means for tilting the fingers behind the carton that has moved onto the lift rails, and the inclined lift rails In the carton take-out device provided with take-out means for taking out the upper cartons one by one
A carton take-out apparatus comprising carton pressing means comprising a pressing plate arranged on the lift rail so as to be movable back and forth, and moving means for moving the pressing plate forward and backward in the carton direction. The said taking-out means is provided with the adsorption means which press-fits and adsorb | sucks to the front surface of a carton, When the carton is adsorb | sucked by this adsorption means, the said press plate is retracted, It is advanced immediately after extracting. Item 4. A carton takeout device according to Item 1.

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