JP4241249B2 - Article processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an article processing apparatus provided with an accumulating apparatus for temporarily accumulating articles to be processed between an upstream processing apparatus and a downstream processing apparatus. .

  For example, an article processing apparatus that forms a bag-like container such as an infusion bag, welds a port (plug), and then fills and seals the bag-like container with a liquid such as an infusion is conventionally known. (See Patent Document 1).

  In the article processing apparatus as described above, if the welded stopper is not immediately attached, poor welding occurs. Therefore, in order to prevent the port welding device from being stopped even if the filling sealing device which is the downstream processing device stops due to some trouble, the port welding device which is the upstream processing device and the downstream filling seal There is a need for an accumulator that stores a bag-like container with a port welded to the apparatus.

JP 2000-313076 (page 3-5, FIG. 1)

  A configuration in which an accumulator is provided between an upstream processing apparatus and a downstream processing apparatus has been widely used in conventional apparatuses for processing containers such as bottles. However, in the case of a bag-like container, since it is difficult to accumulate, an article processing apparatus provided with an accumulating apparatus has not been known yet.

  The article processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention is provided with a supply station that supplies articles intermittently, an accumulator station that is disposed adjacent to the supply station, and a plurality of stages stacked on the accumulator station. A moving table, a moving means capable of moving the uppermost moving table of each station to the other station, a supporting table installed in the supply station and a lifting unit for moving up and down the supporting table installed in the accumulator station, Control means for controlling the operation of the lifting means, and when accumulating articles, after lowering the support base of the supply station, the uppermost moving base of the accumulator station is moved onto the supply station and supplied It is characterized in that it is stacked on a station support or moving table.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article processing apparatus comprising: a supply station for intermittently supplying articles; an accumulator station disposed adjacent to the supply station; and a plurality of stages stacked on the supply station. Moving table, moving means capable of moving the uppermost moving table of each station to the other station, a support table installed in the supply station, and a lifting unit for moving up and down the support table installed in the accumulation station And a control means for controlling the elevating means, and when accumulating articles, after lowering the support station of the accumulator station, the mobile station on the supply station is moved onto the accumulator station and the accumulator station It is characterized by being stacked on a support table or a moving table.

  The article processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that a plurality of stages of moving tables are installed at an accumulation station or a supply station, and the moving table is sequentially moved to the supply station side or the accumulation station side. Since the articles are accumulative, it is possible to accumulate the articles in a line-up so that the articles such as bag-like containers are necessary and can be processed immediately after resuming operation.

  A supply station and an accumulator station are arranged adjacent to each other, a moving means is stacked on one of these stations, a moving means for moving the moving table between the stations, a lifting means for raising and lowering the support base of each station, By providing this, it is possible to accumulate the articles in the arrangement on the supply station when the articles are supplied from the upstream article processing apparatus to the downstream article processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a part of the entire article processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention with a part omitted, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main part of this embodiment, and FIG. FIG. Articles conveyed by the article supply conveyor 2 (in this embodiment, a bag-like container 4 filled with a liquid such as an infusion) are supported by a support 10 of the article supply station 8 by a transfer robot 6 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). Moved up. Further, an article processing station 12 is arranged adjacent to the supply station 8 in the longitudinal direction (lower side in FIG. 1), and the bag-like container 4 transferred to the supply station 8 is further transferred to the processing station 12. After that, the material is supplied into the rotary filling and sealing device 16 by the supply / discharge robot 14.

  A discharge conveyor 18 is disposed between the downstream end 2a of the article supply conveyor 2 and the rotary filling and sealing device 16, and the bag-like container 4 processed in the rotary filling and sealing device 16 is supplied and discharged. Is taken out by the robot 14 and discharged onto the discharge conveyor 18.

  Although not shown in detail in the rotary filling and sealing device 16, the rotating body 20 is provided with a plurality of article holding means, and each article holding means holds the bag-like container 4 and rotates as the rotating body 20 rotates. Transport. The rotating body 20 is rotationally moved intermittently by a rotation driving means (not shown). In this embodiment, the rotary filling and sealing device 16 has a plurality of processing stations such as a supply / discharge station, a filling station and a sealing station, and the rotary body 20 is stopped at each of these stations while the bag is stopped. The container 4 is filled and sealed.

  In this embodiment, the supply conveyor 2 that conveys the bag-like containers 4 supplied to the rotary filling and sealing device 16 is linearly arranged toward the rotary filling and sealing device 16, and this rotary filling and sealing device. A downstream end 2 a is installed at a position slightly away from 16. Further, a plug welding device 22 for attaching the plug 4 a to the bag-like container 4 is provided on the upstream side of the supply conveyor 2.

  The article supply station 8 is disposed on the side of the downstream end 2 a of the supply conveyor 2. The supply conveyor 2 intermittently conveys two bag-like containers 4 at a time, and four bag-like containers 4 can be placed on the support base 10 of the article supply station 8. Yes.

  As described above, the four bag-like containers 4 can be placed on the article supply station 8, and the article supply station 8 is adjacent to the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the article supply station 8. An article processing station 12 for processing the bag-like container 4 transferred from the article supply station 8 is installed. The support base 24 of the article processing station 12 has substantially the same size as the support base 10 of the article supply station 8, and can place four bag-like containers 4 in the same arrangement. In the article processing station 12, for example, when filling with the rotary filling and sealing device 16, in order to facilitate insertion of the filling nozzle, processing such as expanding the filling ports of the four bag-like containers 4 is performed.

  An article transfer robot 6 that moves over the downstream end 2a of the supply conveyor 2, the article supply station 8 and the article processing station 12 to deliver the bag-like container 4 is disposed (not shown in FIG. 1). (See FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). The article transfer robot 6 traverses the supply conveyor 2 and the article processing station 12 on both sides thereof, and crosses the supply conveyor 2, the article supply station 8, and the processing station 12 at the upper ends of the both supports 26. And a first robot hand 30 and a second robot hand 32 that are movable along the horizontal member 28 and that can move up and down.

  Two suction cups 34 are attached to the first robot hand 30 so that the two bag-like containers 4 can be sucked simultaneously. The first robot hand 30 intermittently transfers four bag-like containers 4 onto the support 10 of the article supply station 8 from the supply conveyor 2 that conveys two bag-like containers 4 at a time. Place.

  In addition, four suction cups 36 are attached to the second robot hand 32 so that the four bag-like containers 4 can be sucked simultaneously. The second robot hand 32 sucks and holds the four bag-like containers 4 placed on the support table 10 of the article supply station 8 at a time and places them on the support table 24 of the processing station 12. ing. The number of bag-like containers 4 placed on the article supply station 8 and the article processing station 12, or the number of bag-like containers 4 held by the first robot hand 30 and the second robot hand 32 at a time, etc. The quantity is not limited.

  An accumulator station 38 is disposed adjacent to the side of the article supply station 8. The article supply station 8 and the accumulation station 38 are arranged in parallel to the side of the supply conveyor 2. This accumulator station 38 is a bag in which the stopper 4a is attached by the stopper welding device 22 which is the upstream container processing apparatus when the filling and sealing apparatus 16 which is the downstream container processing apparatus stops due to some trouble or the like. Used for temporarily accumulating the container 4.

  The configuration of the supply station 8 and the accumulation station 38 will be described with reference to FIGS. A support base 39 is installed at the accumulation station 38 so as to be movable up and down. A ball screw 40 is attached to the lower surface of the support base 39, and a pulley 44 with a nut that is rotatably supported by a lower base 42 is screwed to the ball screw 40. Accordingly, by rotating the pulley 44 with a nut, the ball screw 40 and the support base 39 attached to the upper end thereof are moved up and down. A servomotor 46 (see FIG. 6), which is driven and controlled by a control means (not shown), is disposed adjacent to the ball screw 40. A drive pulley 48 connected to a drive shaft 46a of the servomotor 46 and the nut are provided. When the transmission belt 50 is wound around the pulley 44 and the pulley 44 with a nut is rotated by the servo motor 46, the ball screw 40 is moved up and down. The servo motor 46, the drive pulley 48, the transmission belt 50, the pulley 44 with a nut, the ball screw 40, and the like constitute an elevating means 51.

  A plurality of shafts 52 are attached to the lower surface of the support base 39, and each of these shafts 52 is fitted in a guide tube 54 fixed on the base 42. When the support base 39 moves up and down by driving the servo motor 46, the shaft 52 is guided by the guide cylinder 54 and the rotation of the support base 39 is restricted. Note that the mechanism for raising and lowering the support base 10 of the supply station 8 has the same configuration as the mechanism for raising and lowering the support base 39 of the accumulation station 38. The description is omitted.

  In this embodiment, a plurality of movable carriages 56 are stacked and placed on the support base 39 of the accumulation station 38. Rails 56a, 39a, and 10a are provided on both sides of the upper surface of each of the movable carriage 56 and the support base 10 of the supply station 8 and the support base 39 of the accumulator station 38, respectively. The wheels 58 are provided, and these wheels 58 move along the rails 10a, 39a, and 56a. Therefore, when the moving carriage 56 is moved from one station 8 or 38 to the other station 38 or 8, the moving carriage 56 can be moved smoothly without shifting to the left or right in the moving direction.

  Upright stoppers 60 are provided on both sides of the supply station 8 and the accumulator station 12 that are disposed adjacent to each other, and restrict the position of the moving carriage 56 in the moving direction. In the normal operation of the article processing apparatus according to this embodiment, the upper surface of the support 10 of the supply station 8 is positioned at substantially the same height as the transport surface of the supply conveyor 2 and is stacked on the accumulation station 38. The height of the upper surface of the movable carriage 56 located at the top of the movable carriages 56 is set to be substantially the same plane as the conveying surface of the supply conveyor 2.

  On the side of the supply station 8 and the accumulator station 38, there is provided a moving means 62 for moving the moving carriage 56 between these stations 8,38. The moving means 62 includes a rodless cylinder 64 for lateral movement, an elevating cylinder 66 attached to the rodless cylinder 64, and a piston rod 66a of the elevating cylinder 66 via a horizontal member 68. And an attached pusher 70. On the other hand, an engagement plate 72 is attached to the surface of the movable carriage 56 opposite to the supply station 8. The movable carriage 56 of the accumulator station 12 can be moved to the supply station 8 by engaging the pusher 70 with the engagement plate 72 and moving the pusher 70 laterally by the rodless cylinder 64. Further, the movable carriage 56 of the supply station 8 can be returned to the accumulation station 38 by operating the rodless cylinder 64 with the pusher 70 engaged with the opposite surface of the engagement plate 72.

  The supply / discharge robot 14 holds the bag-like container 4 on the article processing station 12 and supplies the bag-like container 4 to the rotary-type filling and sealing device 16 and takes out the processed bag-like container 4 from the rotary-type filling and sealing device 16. The 6-axis robot is capable of being freely discharged in each direction. In this embodiment, although not shown in detail, the hand 74 of the supply / discharge robot 14 includes a first holding unit for sucking and holding the bag-like container 4 that has not been processed, that is, before filling, and a processed or that that has been filled. A second holding portion for holding and holding the bag-like container 4, and supplying the untreated bag-like container 4 into the rotary filling and sealing device 16 and filling the processed bag-like container 4 with this filling It is discharged from the sealing device 16 onto a discharge conveyor 18. In the present invention, it goes without saying that the configuration of the supply / discharge robot 14 is not particularly limited.

  The operation of the article processing apparatus according to the above configuration will be described. Two empty bag-like containers 4 are intermittently conveyed by the supply conveyor 2. An article transfer robot 6 is installed in the vicinity of the downstream end 2 a of the supply conveyor 2. The first robot hand 30 of the robot 6 descends and the two bag-like containers 4 stopped at the downstream end 2 a of the supply conveyor 2. Adsorb and hold. The first robot hand 30 that has adsorbed the bag-like container 4 ascends at that position, moves upward above the article supply station 8, stops, and descends to support the two bag-like containers 4 on the supply station 8. Place on table 10. The first robot hand 30 moves again onto the supply conveyor 2, sucks and holds the next two bag-like containers 4 sent to the downstream end 2a and stopped, and supports the supply station 8. Move to table 10

  When the four bag-like containers 4 are placed on the support base 10 of the supply station 8, the second robot hand 32 moves onto the supply station 8 and sucks and holds the four bag-like containers 4. At this time, the first robot hand 30 moves onto the supply conveyor 2 and sucks and holds the next two bag-like containers 4. The second robot hand 32 takes out the four bag-like containers 4 from the support table 10 of the supply station 8 and moves them onto the support table 24 of the processing station 12, while the first robot hand 30 supplies the empty supply. Two bag-like containers 4 are placed on the support base 10 of the station 8.

  The first robot hand 30 reciprocates between the downstream end 2 a of the supply conveyor 2 and the supply station 8 and places two more bag-like containers 4 on the support 10 of the supply station 8. Meanwhile, in the processing station 12, the rotary filling and sealing device 16 performs a process of opening the filling port so that the filling nozzle can be easily inserted. Note that the processing performed in the processing station 12 is not limited to opening the filling port, and other processing may be performed.

  When the processing on the bag-like container 4 is completed at the processing station 12, the supply / discharge robot 14 sucks and holds these four bag-like containers and supplies them to the rotary filling and sealing device 16. In this embodiment, although a detailed description is omitted, the supply / discharge robot 14 supplies the empty bag-like container 4 to the rotary filling and sealing device 16 and the filled bag-like container 4 from the filling and sealing device 16. The bag-like container 4 filled with liquid and sealed inside is received from the article holding means (not shown) of the filling and sealing device 16 and discharged onto the discharge conveyor 18. At the same time, the filled bag-like container 4 is released and the untreated bag-like container 4 is delivered to the empty article holding means.

  During normal operation, by repeating the above operation, the empty bag-like container 4 conveyed by the supply conveyor 2 is supplied to the rotary filling and sealing device 18, and the bag-like container 4 after the filling and sealing is discharged. It is discharged onto the conveyor 18.

  When the downstream rotary filling and sealing device 16 stops due to a trouble or the like, it is necessary to temporarily store the bag-like container 4 to which the stopper 4a is welded by the upstream stopper welding device 22. The bag-like container 4 is accumulated using the article supply station 8 and the accumulation station 38. The operation at this time will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the support 10 of the supply station 8 is set at almost the same height as the transport surface of the supply conveyor 2 as shown in FIG. 3. The upper surface of the uppermost carriage 56 of the moving carriage 56 stacked in a plurality of stages on the support base 39 is made to substantially coincide with the upper surface of the support base 10 of the supply station 8.

  When the rotary filling and sealing device 16 as the downstream processing device stops in the above state, first, the first robot hand 30 of the article transfer robot 6 is first used in the same manner as during normal supply. The four bag-like containers 4 are moved onto the support 10 of the supply station 8 by reciprocating twice with the supply conveyor 2 (see FIG. 7).

  Next, the support base 10 of the supply station 8 is lowered by the lifting means 51. As described above, the lifting / lowering means 51 includes the servo motor 46 that is controlled by a control means (not shown), and rotates the pulley 44 with a nut via the drive pulley 48 and the transmission belt 50 by driving the servo motor 46. As a result, the screw shaft 40 and the support base 10 connected to the upper end of the screw shaft 40 are lowered. At this time, the height of the upper surface of the support base 10 is lowered from the top of the movable carriage 56 stacked on the adjacent accumulator station 38 to a height corresponding to the upper surface of the second stage.

  After the support 10 of the article supply station 8 is lowered to the same height as the second stage moving carriage 56 of the accumulating station 38, the height of the pusher 70 of the moving means 62 is lowered by the lifting cylinder 66. After matching with the height of engagement with the engaging portion 72 provided on the movable carriage 56, the rodless cylinder 64 is moved in the direction of the supply station 8 (see FIG. 8). As described above, since the height of the upper surface of the second stage mobile carriage 56 of the accumulator station 38 and the support base 10 of the supply station 8 is the same, the first stage mobile carriage 56 is the second stage mobile carriage. From the rail 56a of 56, it transfers onto the rail 10a of the support 10 of the supply station 8 and moves to the supply station 8 (see FIG. 9).

  The moving carriage 56 transferred onto the support base 10 of the supply station 8 matches the height of the upper surface of the support base 10 of the supply station 8 before the height of the upper face is lowered. The first robot hand 30 of the article transfer robot 6 performs two reciprocating motions to transfer the four bag-like containers 4 from the downstream end 2a of the supply conveyor 2. During the transfer of the bag-like container 4 to the moving carriage 56 of the supply station 8, the lifting means 51 of the accumulating station 38 is operated, so that the support base 39 on which the moving carriages 56 are stacked corresponds to one moving carriage 56. (See FIG. 10). By repeating the above operation, the bag-like container 4 can be accumulated in the article supply station 8 by the number of the moving carriages 56 stacked on the accumulation station 38.

  When the operation of the downstream rotary filling and sealing device 16 is resumed, the bag-like container 4 placed on the top of the movable carriage 56 stacked on the support base 10 of the supply station 8 is transferred to the article. It is sucked and held by the second robot hand 32 of the transfer robot 6 and supplied to the article processing station 12. While the bag-like container 4 is being picked up from the top of the movable carriage 56 stacked on the supply station 8, the lifting / lowering means 51 of the accumulator station 38 is operated to support the support base 39 of the accumulator station 38 and the support base 39. The movable carriage 56 on the top is lowered. The height of the upper surface of the uppermost mobile carriage 56 or the support base 39 of the accumulation station 38 is made to coincide with the height of the second stage mobile carriage 56 or the support base 10 of the supply station 8. In addition, the timing which raises / lowers the accumulation station 38 side is not restricted during taking out the bag-like container 4 from the supply station 8, but may be before or after that.

  After taking out the bag-like container 4 placed on the uppermost movable carriage 56 of the supply station 8 and lowering the support base 39 of the accumulator station 38 by one step, the moving means 62 moves the one side of the supply station 8 side. The upper moving carriage 56 is moved to the accumulation station 38 side. At this time, the pusher 70 is raised to a height not hitting the engaging plate 72 of the moving carriage 56 by the elevating cylinder 66 of the moving means 62, and the inner side of the engaging plate 72 (for example, on the support base 10 of the supply station 8 in FIG. 10). Is moved to the right side of the engagement plate 72 provided on the movable carriage 56 mounted on the movable carriage 56, and then moved down to a height to be engaged with the engagement plate 72, the rodless cylinder 64 is operated, and the movable carriage 56 is moved. Move to the accumulation station 38 side. Since the accumulation station 38 side is lowered by one step, the movable carriage 56 moves from the supply station 8 to the accumulation station 38.

  Thereafter, the supply station 8 side is raised by one stage of the moving carriage 56, and the bag-like container 4 on the uppermost moving carriage 56 is taken out by the second robot hand 32. Thus, after taking out the bag-like container 4 on the movable carriage 56 of the supply station 8, the operation of returning the movable carriage 56 to the accumulation station 38 was repeated, and all the movable carriages 56 were returned to the accumulation station 38 side. Then, the normal operation state is restored.

  As described above, when the rotary filling and sealing device 16 which is the downstream article processing device stops, the moving carriage 56 stacked on the accumulating station 38 is sequentially moved to the supply station 8 side to move each movement. By placing and stacking the bag-like containers 4 on the carriage 56 in the same manner as the support base 10 of the supply station 8, it is possible to store articles that are difficult to be accumulated, such as the bag-like containers 4. Moreover, since the bag-like container 4 can be accumulated in a state similar to the state where it is transferred from the supply conveyor 2 to the supply station 8 during normal operation, the article transfer robot 6 directly sends it to the processing station 12 when the operation is resumed. After the transfer and processing, the article can be supplied to the rotary filling and sealing device 16 by the article supply / discharge robot 14.

  In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of movable carriages 56 are stacked on the accumulation station 38, and at the time of accumulation, the movable carriages 56 are sequentially moved to the supply station 8 side to accumulate the bag-like container 4. Contrary to the configuration, a plurality of mobile carriages 56 are stacked on the supply station 8 side, and the uppermost mobile carriage 56 of the supply station 8 is used for supplying the bag-like container 4 during normal operation. After a predetermined number of bag-like containers 4 are placed on the uppermost movable carriage 56, the movable carriage 4 may be sequentially moved to the accumulation station 38 side and stacked.

It is a top view which simplifies and shows the whole structure of an article processing apparatus. Example 1 It is a figure which shows the principal part of FIG. FIG. 3 is a view in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2. It is a top view which shows a supply station and an accumulation station. It is a front view of a supply station and an accumulation station. It is a side view which shows the moving means and raising / lowering means of a moving trolley | bogie. It is a figure explaining the action | operation of the article processing apparatus which concerns on this Example. It is a figure explaining the action | operation of the article processing apparatus which concerns on this Example, and shows the next state of FIG. It is a figure explaining the action | operation of the article processing apparatus which concerns on this Example, and shows the next state of FIG. It is a figure explaining the action | operation of the article processing apparatus which concerns on this Example, and shows the next state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

4 Goods (bag-like containers)
8 Supply station 10 Supply station support base 38 Accumulation station 39 Accumulation station support base 51 Lifting means 56 Moving base (moving carriage)
62 Moving means

Claims (2)

A supply station for intermittently supplying articles, an accumulation station arranged adjacent to the supply station, a moving table arranged in a plurality of stages on the accumulation station, and a moving table at the uppermost stage of each station A moving means that can move to the other station, a lifting and lowering means that lifts and lowers the support base installed in the supply station and the support base installed in the accumulation station, and a control means that controls the operation of the lifting means,
When accumulating articles, the support station of the supply station is lowered, and then the uppermost moving table of the accumulation station is moved onto the supply station and stacked on the support station or moving table of the supply station. Article processing apparatus. A supply station for intermittently supplying articles, an accumulator station arranged adjacent to the supply station, a moving table arranged in a plurality of stages on the supplying station, and a moving table at the uppermost stage of each station A moving means that can move to the other station; a lifting and lowering means that lifts and lowers the support base installed in the supply station and the support base installed in the accumulation station; and a control means that controls the lifting means,
When accumulating articles, the support station of the accumulation station is lowered, and then the movable table on the supply station is moved onto the accumulation station and stacked on the support table or movable table of the accumulation station. Processing equipment.

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