JP4225389B2 - Food container tandem conveyor - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying food containers such as instant noodles in a row in a column.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Such food container cascade conveying devices are generally intended for food containers having the same shape, and the most versatile one is an endless conveyor that is called a so-called slat conveyor and is covered with flat plates. According to this endless conveyor, as long as a food container can be placed on the conveyor, the food container can be conveyed in tandem while maintaining its posture.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in a conventional food container tandem conveying device such as a slat conveyor, food containers cannot be conveyed at regular intervals. In this regard, there arises a problem that a cutting device for cutting food containers one by one is required particularly at the end portion of the conveyor. In addition, since food containers of a certain shape are usually targeted, food containers of different sizes cannot be sufficiently guided during transportation. Moreover, with the difference in the size of the food container to be transported, the height of the food container being transported also changes. With regard to these, there is a problem that the posture of the food container must be changed each time when any processing operation is performed on the food container being transported.
[0004]
The present invention has been developed in view of these problems, and food containers can be transported at regular intervals, and food containers of different sizes can be sufficiently guided during the transport, and further the food containers being transported It is an object of the present invention to provide a food container tandem transfer device that can adjust the height of the food container.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, food containers Utsuwa搬 feeding apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a device for transporting in tandem in a row state different food containers sizes, food containers placed A moving device that pushes the food containers one by one from the rear in the conveying direction along the conveying path, a guide member that guides the food containers to be conveyed from both sides in the conveying direction, and the distance between the guide members to the size of the food container A guide adjusting device that changes in accordance with the guide adjusting device, and the guide adjusting device is configured to move the two guide members parallel to the transport direction and simultaneously outward or inward on both sides of the transport direction; and A screw mechanism that is manually rotated and a conversion mechanism that converts a thrust of the screw mechanism into a rotational force to the link mechanism are provided .
[0007]
Also, food vessel conveying device according to claim 2 is the invention of claim 1, is characterized in that a conveying path adjustment device for adjusting the height of the conveying path .
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a food container tandem conveying apparatus of the present invention is applied to an instant noodle container will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0009]
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are food container cascade conveying devices for instant noodles showing an embodiment of the present invention. This tandem transfer device is a device that horizontally conveys food containers of different sizes, such as the cup container 1 of cup noodles here, as shown by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in the figure. It is. First, an outline of the apparatus will be described. In this apparatus, for example, a portal frame 2 having a height as low as the waist position of an operator is configured to be vertically long according to the conveying direction of the container 1. The portal frame 2 itself may be configured in a desired shape by appropriately combining pillar members and beam members. Hereinafter, the conveyance direction of the portal frame 2 is also referred to as a longitudinal direction, a side with respect to the conveyance direction is referred to as a width direction, and a vertical direction is also referred to as a height direction.
[0010]
A transport path 4 is provided along the transport direction of the portal frame 2 at an upper central portion of the portal frame 2 via a transport path height adjusting device 3 described later. In order to reduce the frictional resistance with the food container 1, the transport path 4 is configured so that a plurality of wires 21 arranged horizontally in the transport direction of the food container 1 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the transport direction, that is, in the longitudinal direction. Each piece is welded and integrated with the cross member 22. The transport path 4 configured as described above is provided on a pedestal 23 provided at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the portal frame 2 via a plurality of lifting mechanisms 5 which are a part of the transport path height adjusting device 3. It is arranged.
[0011]
Next, the conveyance path height adjusting device 3 will be described. First, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the elevating mechanism 5 includes a rack member 24 projecting downward from the transport path 4 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the transport path 4, respectively. A pinion 25 that meshes with the teeth of the rack member 24, a rotation shaft 26 that synchronizes the pinion 25 in series and is disposed below the longitudinal direction of the transport path 4, and the rotation shaft 26. The main body 27 is pivotally supported and accommodates the pinion 25 and the rack member 24, and the main body 27 is fixed on the mount 23 by bolts 28. That is, if the rotary shaft 26 is rotated, the pinions 25 of all the lifting mechanisms 5 are synchronously rotated, and thereby all the racks 24 are moved up and down synchronously. Is done.
[0012]
On the other hand, the transport path height adjusting device 3 includes a rotation input mechanism 6 that rotates the rotating shaft 26. That is, the rotation input mechanism 5 includes a worm wheel 29 fixed to the rotating shaft 26, a worm 30 meshing with the worm wheel 29, and the worm 30 as shown in FIGS. An input shaft 31 for rotating, a manual rotating mechanism 7 for manually rotating the input shaft 31, a main body 32 that supports the rotating shaft 26 and the input shaft 31 and accommodates the worm wheel 29 and the worm 30 The main body 32 is fixed by screws 33 on a gantry 34 that is horizontally mounted on the portal frame 2. The manual rotation mechanism 7 includes two divided main bodies 35 and 36 that sandwich the input shaft 31 and a handle 37 attached to the input shaft 31, and the upper half of the two divided main bodies. A portion 35 is fixed to the side wall of the portal frame 2 by bolts 39, and a lower half portion 36 of the two-divided main body is fixed to the upper half portion by an individual handle screw 38.
[0013]
Therefore, in this transport path height adjusting device 3, first, the screw 38 with the handle that fixes the two divided main bodies 35 and 36 is loosened, and then the handle 37 is grasped and rotated. Then, the input shaft 31 and the worm 30 fixed to the handle 37 rotate, and the worm wheel 29 and the rotating shaft 26 meshing with the worm 30 rotate while changing the rotation direction. Then, as described above, the pinions 25 of all the lifting mechanisms 5 are synchronously rotated, whereby all the racks 24 are synchronously moved up and down, and the transport path 4 is kept horizontal, for example, as shown in FIGS. Since it is moved up and down from the position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, when the conveyance path 4 is adjusted to a desired height, the handle 37 is released, and the screw 38 with the handle is tightened to divide the main body 35, 36 into two parts. When the input shaft 31 is fixed, the input shaft 31 is sandwiched between the upper half part 35 and the lower half part 36 of the two-divided main body, and cannot be rotated any further. Therefore, the height of the transport path 4 is also fixed.
[0014]
Next, the moving device 8 that conveys the container at predetermined intervals on the conveyance path 4 will be described. The moving device 8 includes a pair of endless chains 9 disposed on both sides of the conveying path 4, that is, in front of and behind the portal frame 2 via a rotatable sprocket 40, and the pair of chains. 9 is a drive source (not shown) for synchronously driving 9 and the direction in which the pair of chains 9 are arranged, that is, the conveying direction of the container 1, and at the same time, between the pair of chains 9 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the portal frame 2. And a pad member 11 attached to the center portion in the width direction of the transport path 4 among the support members 10. Therefore, if the pair of chains 9 are driven synchronously by the drive source, the support member 10 and the pad member 11 that are horizontally suspended between them are moved in the transport direction while maintaining a predetermined interval. If the container 1 is placed in front of the transport direction 10 and the pad member 11, the moving device 8 pushes the container 1 from the rear, and transports the container 1 while maintaining a predetermined interval on the transport path 4. be able to.
[0015]
Next, returning to FIG. 2 again, the food container tandem conveying apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a guide member 12 for guiding the container 1 being conveyed from the side. However, in the present embodiment, containers 1 having different sizes are transported by the same transport device, and thus a mechanism for adjusting the distance between the guide members 12 according to the size of each container 1, that is, a guide adjusting device 13 is provided. . That is, the guide adjusting device 13 regards the longitudinal upper beam 41 of the portal frame 2 as one link member and the round bar-shaped guide member 12 as another one as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example. By forming the link mechanism 14 that is regarded as a link member and forms a parallelogram with the other link members 42 and 43 connecting the two, the guide member 12 can be moved laterally in a state parallel to the longitudinal direction, that is, the conveying direction. Like that.
[0016]
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a movement input mechanism 15 for moving the guide member 12 constituting the link mechanism 14 is disposed at the longitudinal end of the portal frame 2. The movement input mechanism 15 includes a screw mechanism 16 that is manually rotated and a conversion mechanism 17 that converts a thrust of the screw mechanism 16 into a rotational force to the link mechanism 14. Among these, the screw mechanism 16 is located at the longitudinal end portion of the portal frame 2, and has an input shaft 44 disposed at the center of the upper end with the axis line oriented in the longitudinal direction, and the conveyance path side of the input shaft 44. A coaxial male screw portion 45 attached to the projecting end portion, a moving member 47 having a nut 46 screwed to the same, a two-divided main body 48, 49 holding the input shaft 44, and the input shaft 44 The upper half 48 of the two-divided main body is fixed to the side wall of the gate-type frame 2 by a bolt 52, and the lower half 49 of the two-divided main body is an individual piece. It is fixed to the upper half part 48 by a screw 51 with a handle. The moving member 47 is constructed by welding two horizontally stacked flat plates 53 to a vertical flat plate 54 in a T-shape and welding a nut 46 inside both abutting portions. A hole corresponding to the female screw of the nut 46 is formed with a hole through which the male screw 45 is inserted.
[0017]
The conversion mechanism 17 includes an arm member 55 that is rotatably attached to the moving body 47, and a connecting member 56 that rotatably connects the arm member 55 and each link mechanism 14 including the guide member 12. Consists of. The connecting member 56 also plays a role of connecting the link member 43 and the guide member 12.
[0018]
Therefore, in this guide adjusting device 13, first, the screw 51 with a handle for fixing the two-divided main bodies 48 and 49 is loosened, and then the handle 50 is grasped and rotated. Then, the input shaft 44 and the male screw portion 45 fixed to the handle 50 rotate, and the nut 46 screwed to the male screw portion 45 tends to move in the longitudinal direction by a so-called screw thrust. Accordingly, the moving member 47 is moved in the longitudinal direction. The movement input of the moving member 47 in the longitudinal direction is converted into a rotational force to the link mechanism 14 including the guide member 12 via the arm member 55 and the connecting member 56 to rotate the link mechanism 14. Input. As a result, the other upper link member is rotated as a parallelogram as a fixed link member of the longitudinal upper beam 40 of the portal frame 2, so that the guide member 12, which is the one link member, While maintaining the parallel to the longitudinal direction, that is, the transport direction, it will move to the outside or move to the inside at the same time. For example, from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIGS. The interval can be adjusted. When the distance between the guide members 12 is adjusted to a desired distance in this way, the handle 50 is released and the handle-equipped screw 51 is tightened to fix the two-divided main bodies 48 and 49, so that the input shaft 44 is divided into the two-divided parts. It is sandwiched between the upper half 48 and the lower half 49 of the main body of the main body and cannot be rotated any further, so that the distance between the guide members 12 is also fixed.
[0019]
The guide member 12 can be replaced. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the positional relationship with each link member (42) can be changed. For example, in the case shown in FIG. Also, the distance between the two guide members 12 is reduced. If the guide member 12 is exchanged in this way, the gap adjustment width of the guide member 12 is further expanded, and the containers 1 having various sizes can be guided.
[0020]
Moreover, although only the container which stores instant noodles was demonstrated in the said embodiment, the food container tandem conveying apparatus of this invention is applicable to any food containers other than this.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the food container tandem transport device according to claim 1 of the present invention, by pushing the food containers one by one from the rear in the transport direction along the transport path where the food containers are placed, The distance between the food containers can be kept constant, and the distance between the guide members that guide the food containers from both sides in the transport direction can be changed according to the size of the food containers, so that the sizes are different. Food containers can also be well guided.
[0022]
Further, the thrust of the screw mechanism is rotated manually, by supplying to convert the rotational force of the link mechanism, outside or inside and on either side of the conveying direction by two guide members in the conveying direction parallel to the Since it is set as the structure moved simultaneously, the space | interval of the guide member which guides a food container from the both sides of a conveyance direction can be adjusted easily.
[0023]
Further, according to the food contents Utsuwa搬 feeding apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, because of the adjustable height of the transporting path, easily adjusted, for example, heights of different sizes food containers to be transported be able to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of the vicinity of a conveying path height adjusting device showing an embodiment of a food container tandem conveying device of the present invention.
2 is a side view showing the vicinity of an elevating mechanism in the conveyance path height adjusting device of FIG. 1. FIG.
3 is a plan view of the vicinity of a conveyance path height adjusting device in FIG. 1;
4 is a side view showing the vicinity of a rotation input mechanism in the conveyance path height adjusting device of FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is a plan view of the vicinity of a conveyance path in the guide adjusting device shown in FIG.
6 is a plan view of the vicinity of the movement input mechanism at the end of the conveyance path in the guide adjusting device shown in FIG.
7 is a front view of the mobile input mechanism shown in FIG. 6. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing another example of the guide adjusting device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 is a container 2 is a frame 3 is a conveyance path height adjusting device 4 is a conveyance path 5 is a lifting mechanism 6 is a rotation input mechanism 7 is a manual rotation mechanism 8 is a moving device 9 is a chain 10 is a support member 11 A pad member 12 is a guide The member 13 is a guide adjusting device 14, the link mechanism 15 is a movement input mechanism 16, the screw mechanism 17 is a conversion mechanism.

Claims (2)

A device that transports food containers of different sizes in a row in a row, and a moving device that pushes the food containers one by one from the rear in the transport direction along the transport path on which the food containers are placed, and the food to be transported A guide member that guides the container from both sides in the conveyance direction; and a guide adjustment device that changes an interval between the guide members according to the size of the food container. The guide adjustment device moves the two guide members in the conveyance direction. A link mechanism for simultaneously moving outward or inward on both sides in the conveying direction, a screw mechanism that is manually rotated, and a thrust of the screw mechanism is converted into a rotational force to the link mechanism A food container transport device comprising a conversion mechanism . The food container transport apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transport path adjusting device that adjusts a height of the transport path.

Images