JP4297266B2 - Noodle container transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport device for a container containing noodles that continuously transfers containers containing noodles to a receiving conveyor.

  For example, an apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is known as a transport apparatus for a container containing noodles. In this apparatus, noodles placed on the plate of the conveyor are moving along the conveyor path. When the noodles placed on the plate come directly below the cup supply mechanism, the cup supply mechanism is activated to place the cup on the plate so as to cover the noodles. And a cup latching mechanism act | operates and the collar part of a cup is stopped to the holding mechanism of a plate.

Then, as the plate travels on the conveyor forward path and passes through the rotating part, the bottom of the cup is placed on the lower side to store the noodles, and the lock release mechanism is operated on the conveyor return path to hold the cup by the holding mechanism. Unlock the buttocks. Thereby, a cup falls below and it is delivered to the pallet of the receiving conveyor currently running along the lower side of a conveyor return path.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-20420 (FIG. 1)

By the way, when the cup containing noodles falls downward in the conveyor return path, the apparatus of Patent Document 1 is arranged on the pallet due to the repulsive force when the cup collar comes off from the holding mechanism or the drop impact on the receiving conveyor. As a result, the cup may vibrate and the posture becomes unstable, and there is a possibility that it cannot be normally delivered to the receiving conveyor.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when the container is transferred to the receiving conveyor, the container can be transferred to the receiving conveyor in a stable posture without giving vibration or impact to the container. It aims at providing the conveyance apparatus of a container.

  The invention described in claim 1 is a polygonal columnar rotary conveyor that rotates about a horizontally extending axis, and a surface facing upward of the rotary conveyor is a mounting surface, and the noodle that has been conveyed is the mounting surface described above The noodle conveyor to be transported to the container, the container engaging member provided around the mounting surface so that the collar provided around the opening of the container can be engaged, and the container having the bottom on the upper side. A container supply mechanism for supplying the noodles on the surface so as to cover the nail portion with the container engaging member, a receiving conveyor disposed below the rotary conveyor, and rotation of the rotary conveyor. A container delivery mechanism for delivering the container containing the noodles with the bottom on the bottom side, which is transferred to a surface facing the lower side of the rotary conveyor, and a posture holding means for holding the posture of the container; The container delivery mechanism A container holding part that moves in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and the container holding part horizontally moves toward the container that is transferred to the surface facing the lower side of the rotary conveyor, thereby While releasing the engagement state with the container engaging member by movement, simultaneously holding the outer periphery of the container, and moving the container holding portion downward, the container is transferred to the receiving conveyor, The posture holding means is a device that holds the posture of the container until the delivery operation of the container to the receiving conveyor by the container holding unit is completed.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the apparatus for transporting the noodle-containing container according to claim 1, wherein the container engaging member includes a constriction extending in the direction in which the container moves, and the constriction. It was set as the structure provided with the nail | claw part which protruded in the mountain shape, and the engagement clearance gap in which the collar part of the said container provided below this nail | claw part fits.
In addition, the invention described in claim 3 is the adsorption device for holding the noodle-containing container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the posture holding means holds the outer peripheral surface of the container with a suction force.

  As described above, according to the apparatus for supplying noodles to the container of the present invention, the container holding portion of the container delivery mechanism moves horizontally toward the container transferred to the surface facing the lower side of the rotary conveyor, The container is released from the engagement state by the horizontal movement of the container, and at the same time, the outer periphery of the container is held, and the container holding part moves downward, so that the container is transferred to the receiving conveyor, and the attitude Since the holding means holds the container posture until the container delivery operation to the receiving conveyor by the container holding unit is completed, the container is hardly subjected to vibration or impact until it is delivered to the receiving conveyor, and has a stable posture. Containers can be delivered to a receiving conveyor.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a transport device for a container with noodles according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an apparatus for supplying noodles to a container as one embodiment.
The noodle container transport device (hereinafter simply referred to as the present device) of the present embodiment includes a supply rotator 2 that rotates around a horizontally extending axis, and a noodle conveyor that transports the noodles N to the supply rotator 2. 4, a cup supply mechanism 6 for supplying the cup C toward the supply rotator 2, and a cup delivery mechanism 10 for removing the cup C containing noodles N from the supply rotator 2 and delivering it to the receiving conveyor 8. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the noodle conveyor 4 has a pair of drive sprockets 4b, 4b spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction at the upper part on the conveying surface 4a. The pair of drive sprockets 4b, 4b has a pair of chains 4c, 4c is spanned, and both ends of the noodle push-out bar 4d are connected between the pair of chains 4c and 4c. Then, by rotating and driving the pair of drive sprockets 4b and 4b in the direction of the arrow, the noodle push-out bar 4d moves in the direction of the arrow together with the pair of chains 4c and 4c, and a plurality of rows placed in a row on the transport surface 4a The noodle N is conveyed toward the supply rotating body 2 while being pushed from the rear side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the supply rotator 2 has a quadrangular prism shape and is configured to rotate at a predetermined angle around a horizontally extending axis P. And this supply rotation body 2 makes the some surface 2a-2d of the surface which faces upwards the mounting surface on which the said some noodles N conveyed from the noodle conveyor 4 are mounted. A pair of cup engaging members 12 are provided at positions surrounding the placement surfaces 2a to 2d.
As shown in FIG. 3, the cup engaging member 12 is a member in which a constricted portion 12 a and a claw portion 12 b projecting in a mountain shape from the constricted portion 12 a extend in the width direction of the supply rotating body 2. Yes, the gap 12c below the claw portion 12b is an engagement gap into which the collar portion C1 provided around the opening of the cup C enters.

  The cup supply mechanism 6 is disposed above and below the supply rotating body 2 so as to be movable up and down, sucks and holds the cup C with the bottom as an upper side, and descends toward the placement surfaces 2a to 2d on which the noodles N are placed. Device. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when the cup supply mechanism 6 is lowered toward the placement surface 2a, the collar portion C1 of the cup C held by suction is elastically deformed along the inclined surface of the claw portion 12b. Then, when it moves to the engagement gap 12c, it returns elastically. When the suction holding of the cup supply mechanism 6 is released and the cup C is raised, the cup C is engaged with the cup engaging member 12 with the bottom as an upper side.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the cup delivery mechanism 10 includes a pair of upper sprockets 10 a and 10 b that are horizontally disposed below the supply rotator 2 so as to be parallel to the axis P of the supply rotator 2, and The upper chain 10c spanned between the pair of upper sprockets 10a, 10b, and the shaft of the supply rotating body 2 having the same diameter as the upper sprockets 10a, 10b at the lower positions of the pair of upper sprockets 10a, 10b and at the same interval A pair of lower sprockets 10d, 10e arranged horizontally so as to be parallel to P, a lower chain 10f spanning the pair of lower sprockets 10d, 10e, and the same moving position of the upper chain 10c and the lower chain 10f The connected connecting bar 10g is fixed to the connecting bar 10g via a bracket 10h. And a cup delivery plate 10i.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the cup delivery plate 10 i is formed with an engagement notch 10 j that is notched in a semicircular shape that is substantially the same as the outer peripheral shape of approximately half the height of the cup C. Here, on the upper surface of the cup delivery plate 10i, there is disposed a suction portion 16 that sucks and holds the outer peripheral surface of the cup C held by the engagement notch 10j with a suction force. The suction unit 16 generates a suction force when receiving the cup C from the supply rotating body 2, and stops the suction force when delivering the cup C to the receiving conveyor 8.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the receiving conveyor 8 is a conveyor in which a large number of cup receiving pallets 8b are connected to the chain 8a at a predetermined interval, and the supply rotating body is formed by spanning the chain 8a on the direction changing sprocket 8c. A position where the cup receiving pallet 8b moves in the horizontal direction at a position below 2 is defined as a cup receiving position In. A support plate 8d that temporarily supports the bottom of the cup C received in the cup receiving pallet 8b is disposed below the cup receiving pallet 8b at the cup receiving position In.

Next, operation | movement of this apparatus until it accommodates the noodle N in the cup C and supplies it to the cup receiving pallet 8b of the receiving conveyor 8 is demonstrated with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 6A, the noodles N that have been moved by being pushed by the noodle extrusion rod 4 d of the noodle conveyor 4 are conveyed toward the supply rotator 2. Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), when the noodles N are transferred to the placement surface 2a (the placement surfaces 2a to 2d, but only the placement surface 2a is described) of the supply rotator 2, The cup supply mechanism 6 is lowered, and the collar portion C1 of the cup C sucked and held by the cup supply mechanism 6 is moved along the inclined surface of the claw portion 12b of the cup engaging member 12 as shown in FIG. It is elastically deformed and further moved to the engagement gap 12c to be elastically restored. By this operation, the cup C is in a state of covering the noodles N on the placement surface 2a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the cup supply mechanism 6 that has released the suction retention of the cup C is raised, and the supply rotating body 2 in which the cup C is engaged with the cup engaging member 12. Rotate 180 °. By this operation, the cup C containing the noodles N moves to the lower surface of the supply rotator 2.
Next, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the connecting bar 10g of the cup delivery mechanism 10 is positioned on the left upper sprocket 10a side, the pair of upper sprockets 10a and 10b and the pair of lower sprockets 10d, 10e is rotated in the direction of the arrow at the same speed, and the suction operation of the suction unit 16 is started. By this operation, the cup delivery plate 10i moves horizontally toward the cup C, so that the outer periphery is sucked and held by the suction portion 16, and the flange portion C1 of the cup C whose outer periphery is engaged with the engagement notch 10i is The engagement member 12 slides in the engagement gap 12c. Then, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, when the cup delivery plate 10i further moves horizontally, the engagement state between the flange C1 of the cup C and the cup engagement member 12 is released. Is done.

In FIG. 7C, the cup delivery plate 10i is horizontally moved to the rightmost side. From this state, the pair of upper sprockets 10a and 10b and the pair of lower sprockets 10d and 10e are further rotated in the direction of the arrow at the same speed. Then, the connecting bar 10g descends from the right upper sprocket 10b side to the right lower sprocket 10e side. By this operation, as shown in FIG. 8A, the cup delivery plate 10i also moves to the lower cup receiving position In side while maintaining the horizontal state.
Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the cup C held and lowered by the cup delivery plate 10i and the suction part 16 is supplied into the cup receiving pallet 8b that has moved to the cup receiving position In. At this time, the cup C is placed on the support plate 8d.

Next, the pair of upper sprockets 10a and 10b and the pair of lower sprockets 10d and 10e are further rotated in the direction of the arrow at the same speed, and the suction operation of the suction portion 16 is stopped. As a result, the suction and holding of the cup C by the suction portion 16 is released, and the connecting bar 10g moves horizontally from the right lower sprocket 10e side to the left lower sprocket 10d side, as shown in FIG. Thus, the cup delivery plate 10i moves away from the cup C in the horizontal direction.
Then, when the cup receiving pallet 8b that has received the cup C at the cup receiving position In moves in the direction of travel of the receiving conveyor 8, the cup C in the cup receiving pallet 8b is at the time when the bottom is separated from the support plate 8d. Thus, the collar portion C1 is conveyed while being supported by the upper edge of the cup receiving pallet 8b.

  Therefore, in this apparatus, the cup engagement plate 10i of the delivery mechanism 10 is horizontally moved toward the cup C (the cup C containing the noodles N) transferred to the lower surface of the supply rotator 2, so that the cup is engaged. While releasing the engagement state of the member 12, the cup C is held by the engagement notch 10j and the suction force of the suction portion 16, and then the cup delivery plate 10i is lowered to the cup receiving position In, whereby the cup C is cupped. The cup is moved into the receiving pallet 8b, and then the suction force of the suction portion 16 is stopped, and the cup transfer plate 10i is moved away from the cup receiving pallet 8b, whereby the cup is moved into the cup receiving pallet 8b. C is received, and the cup C is received from the lower surface of the supply rotating body 2 while maintaining a stable posture at all times. And receiving up to put pallet 8b, since the impact by dropping the cup as in the conventional apparatus is not performing supply operation, such as those generated, can be supplied successfully cup C to the receiving conveyor 8.

  Further, the cup engaging member 12 provided in the supply rotating body 2 for engaging the flange portion C1 of the cup C includes a constricted portion 12a extending in a direction in which the cup delivery plate 10i moves, and a constricted portion. When the engagement state of the hook part C1 is released, the hook part C1 is released by sliding in the engagement gap 12c below the hook part 12b. Therefore, external force such as vibration or repulsive force does not act on the cup C. Therefore, there is no possibility that the posture of the cup C becomes unstable when the engagement state of the collar portion C1 is released.

Further, since the suction portion 16 that sucks and holds the outer peripheral surface of the cup C is adopted as means for holding the posture of the cup C, an apparatus having a simple structure can be provided.
In FIGS. 6C and 6D illustrating the operation of the apparatus, the supply rotator 2 is rotated by 180 ° half a turn (half rotation), and the cup C is transferred to the lower surface of the supply rotator 2. Since the cup engaging member 12 is also received on all four side surfaces of the supply rotator 2, even if the supply rotator 2 is rotated by 90 ° and the operations shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (d) are performed, Similar effects can be obtained.
The cup delivery mechanism is not limited to the structure including the sprockets 10a to 10d and the chains 10c and 10f described above, and the same effect can be obtained even if a link mechanism is employed.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the conveying apparatus of the container containing noodles concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the noodle conveyor which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the container engaging member which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the container delivery mechanism which concerns on this invention, and the container engaged with a container engaging member. It is a figure which shows the container holding part of the container delivery mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the state which a container covered the noodles mounted in the rotary conveyor which concerns on this invention, and the state which the rotary conveyor rotated. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the container delivery mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the container holding part which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 Supply rotating body (rotary conveyor)
2a to 2d Placement surface 4 Noodle conveyor 6 Cup supply mechanism (container supply mechanism)
8 Receiving conveyor 8b Pallet for cup receiving 10 Cup delivery mechanism (container delivery mechanism)
10i Cup delivery plate (container holding part)
12 Cup engaging member (container engaging member)
12a Constricted portion 12b Claw portion 12c Engagement gap 16 Adsorbing portion (posture holding means)
C cup (container)
C1 Isobe N Noodle

Claims (3)

A polygonal column-shaped rotary conveyor that rotates about a horizontally extending axis, a noodle conveyor that transports the noodles that have been conveyed to the mounting surface, with the surface facing upward of the rotary conveyor as a mounting surface, and a container A container engaging member provided around the placement surface so that a collar provided around the opening of the container can be engaged, and a container with the bottom on the upper side so as to cover the noodle on the placement surface A container supply mechanism that engages the flange with the container engaging member, a receiving conveyor disposed below the rotary conveyor, and a rotation of the rotary conveyor that faces downward of the rotary conveyor. A container delivery mechanism that delivers the container that has been transferred to a surface and contains the noodles with the bottom on the lower side, and a posture holding means that holds the posture of the container;
The container delivery mechanism has a container holding part that moves in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and the container holding part moves horizontally toward the container that is transferred to the surface facing the lower side of the rotary conveyor, The container is released from the engagement state by the horizontal movement of the container, and at the same time the outer periphery of the container is held, and the container holding part moves downward so that the container is delivered to the receiving conveyor. As
The posture holding means holds the posture of the container until the container holding operation of the container to the receiving conveyor by the container holding portion is completed.   The container engaging member includes a constricted portion extending in a direction in which the container moves, a claw projecting in a mountain shape from the constricted portion, and a collar portion of the container provided below the claw portion. The apparatus for transporting a container with noodles according to claim 1, further comprising an engagement gap to be fitted.   The apparatus for transporting a container containing noodles according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the posture holding means is a suction portion that holds the outer peripheral surface of the container with a suction force.

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