JP4350856B2 - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an article transfer device for transferring an article placed in a first posture at a first station to a second station in a second posture different from the first posture.
[0002]
[Prior art and problems]
For example, in a packaging line for bottled products such as bottled juice and bottled products such as detergents in bottled containers, in order to efficiently fill the bottles and bottles with liquids, the containers must be aligned and accumulated in an upright state. Is required. As a stacking device therefor, a first transport conveyor extending in the horizontal direction that transports containers in a rollover state, and a second transport conveyor that is continuous with the first transport conveyor and extends substantially in the vertical direction and has a partition plate, The one with is known.
[0003]
In the conventional apparatus, a plurality of rollover containers that have been transported in the horizontal direction by the first transport conveyor are aligned by moving from the first transport conveyor into the partition plates of the second transport conveyor. Furthermore, the state shifts to a standing state during the conveyance by the second conveyance conveyor.
[0004]
However, in the said conventional apparatus, the width | variety of the partition plate of a conveyance conveyor is set with the magnitude | size and shape of the container to convey, For this reason, it cannot respond easily to the change of the magnitude | size and shape of a container.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and an object thereof is to provide an article transfer device that can easily cope with changes in the size and shape of a container.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The article transfer device according to the first aspect of the invention includes a first transport conveyor that transports a plurality of articles in a rollover state and in a randomly placed state, and a first transport at the downstream end of the first transport conveyor. A second conveyor that is disposed in a direction intersecting with the conveyor and conveys a plurality of articles in an upright state, and is provided between the first conveyor and the second conveyor, and the first conveyor from the first conveyor Article transfer means for transferring articles to the two conveyors. The article transfer means is a plurality of articles that are arranged in alignment along the transport direction of the second transport conveyor and that can detachably adsorb and hold the plurality of articles transported by the first transport conveyor in a rollover state. It has a suction pad and an arm member that can turn each suction pad 90 degrees in a vertical plane. And each suction pad is swung between the 1st station arrange | positioned at the 1st conveyance conveyor side and the 2nd station arrange | positioned on the 2nd conveyance conveyor by the drive of an arm member. Thus, a plurality of articles are transferred at a time from the first station to the second station.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the respective articles are taken out from the first conveyor and moved to the respective suction pads arranged in the first station while being turned over. A loader to be held by the pad is further provided.
[0008]
According to the invention of claim 3, the eaves member into which the article that has shifted to the standing state is inserted and held is disposed on the conveying surface of the second conveying conveyor.
[0009]
An article transfer device according to a fourth aspect of the invention includes a first transport conveyor that transports a plurality of articles in a rollover state and in a randomly placed state, and a first transport at a downstream end of the first transport conveyor. A second conveyor that is disposed in a direction intersecting with the conveyor and conveys a plurality of articles in an upright state, and is provided between the first conveyor and the second conveyor, and the first conveyor from the first conveyor And two article transfer means for transferring articles to the two conveyors. Each article transfer means includes a plurality of suction pads that are juxtaposed along the transport direction of the second transport conveyor and that can detachably suck and hold a plurality of articles transported by the first transport conveyor in a rollover state. And an arm member capable of turning each suction pad 90 degrees in a vertical plane. In each article transfer means, by driving the arm member, between the first station disposed on the first transport conveyor side and the second station disposed on the second transport conveyor. The plurality of articles are transferred from the first station to the second station at a time and alternately between the article transfer means by rotating the respective suction pads.
[0010]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of articles randomly arranged in the rollover state (first posture) conveyed by the first transport conveyor remain in the rollover state on the plurality of suction pads in the first station. Adsorbed and held. By swinging the arm member from this state, the article sucked and held by each suction pad shifts to a standing state (second posture) and moves to the second station. In the second station, each suction pad by releasing the suction and holding state of the article, the article is transferred onto Oite second conveyor to a second station.
[0011]
In this case, since the article shifts from the rollover state to the standing state by the turning of the arm member, the suction pad and the arm member can be used as they are even if the size or shape of the article changes. Thereby, a highly versatile article transfer device that can easily cope with changes in the size and shape of the article can be realized. In addition, in this case, a plurality of articles can be transferred from the first station to the second station at a time.
[0012]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the article conveyed by the first conveyor is taken out by the loader and is suction-held on each suction pad by the loader at the first station.
[0013]
According to the invention of claim 3, when the article is transferred to the second conveyor, the article is inserted into the flange member disposed on the conveyance surface of the second conveyor, and the article is the flange member. It is conveyed by the second conveyor while being held by the.
[0014]
According to invention of Claim 4, two goods transfer apparatuses are provided between the 1st, 2nd conveyance conveyor, and in each goods transfer means, it is a plurality with respect to the 2nd station from the 1st station. Since the transfer of the articles is performed at once and alternately, the transfer process of the articles can be performed efficiently.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 is a schematic plan view of an article transfer device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic front view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of an article transfer device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view thereof.
[0016]
[First Embodiment]
1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In these drawings, a (first) transport conveyor 1 that transports containers 10 such as bottles and bottles in the direction of the arrow is disposed. A container transfer device 2 is provided on the side of the downstream end of the conveyor 1.
[0017]
The container transfer device 2 has a set of two suction pads 20 that detachably suck and hold the containers 10, and the suction surfaces 20 a of the suction pads 20 are arranged in the horizontal direction. The suction pads 20 are arranged in a plurality of rows (here, four rows) in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2, and the suction pads 20 in each row are connected by an arm member 21. The arm member 21 is connected to a rotatable support shaft 22, and can turn around the center line of the support shaft 22 by the rotation of the support shaft 22.
[0018]
Above the transport conveyor 1, a CCD camera 3 is provided for photographing the position and orientation of each container 10 on the transport surface 1a. Further, a loader (or robot arm) 4 is provided as a transfer means for transferring each container 10 on the transfer surface 1a of the transfer conveyor 1 to the suction pad 20.
[0019]
On the side of the transport conveyor 1, a (second) transport conveyor 5 that transports the container 10 transferred from the suction pad 20 to the liquid filling device (not shown) is provided. A plurality of baskets 6 are disposed on the conveyor 5. The cage 6 is a member for supporting the lower portion of the container 10 in order to prevent the container 10 from overturning, and has a hole 6a into which the container 10 is inserted. It should be noted that this kite 6 can be omitted.
[0020]
A sprocket-like stopper 8 is provided on the side of the conveyor 5 to stop the movement of the flange 6 by contacting the flange 6 on the conveyor 5. A columnar portion 6b on which the teeth 8a of the stopper 8 can come into contact is formed at the lower portion of the flange 6. Further, a chamfered portion 6c is formed in the hole 6a of the trough 6, and the chamfered portion 6c allows the container 10 to be inserted into the trough 6 more easily.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 2, the position where the suction surface 20a of the suction pad 20 is disposed in the horizontal direction is defined as a first station A, the arm member 21 is rotated, and the suction surface 20a of the suction pad 20 is disposed in the vertical direction. This position is designated as a second station B. The first station A is a transfer station where the containers 10 are transferred from the conveyor 1 to the suction pad 20, and the second station B is where the containers 10 are transferred from the suction pad 20 to the conveyor 5. It is a transfer station.
[0022]
Although not shown in the drawing, a control device is provided that controls the drive of the loader 4 based on the video signal from the CCD camera 3 and controls the rotation of the support shaft 22 and the drive of the suction pad 20. .
[0023]
In the first embodiment, a plurality of containers 10 that are randomly placed on the transport surface 1 a of the transport conveyor 1 in a rollover state are transported downstream in the transport direction by the transport conveyor 1. Each container 10 being transported is photographed by the CCD camera 3 and its video signal is input to the control device. The control device performs drive control of the loader 4 based on the input video signal.
[0024]
As a result, the loader 4 approaches the container 10 disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction on the transport surface 1a, holds the container 10, and moves from this state to the container transfer device 2 side. Then, in the first station A, the container 10 is transferred from the loader 4 to the suction pad 20. In the first station A, the suction surface 20a of the suction pad 20 is arranged in the horizontal direction, and the container 10 is sucked and held on the suction pad 20 in a rollover state (first posture) (see the solid line in FIG. 2). ). The loader 4 performs the transfer process of the containers 10 on all the suction pads 20 in a plurality of rows.
[0025]
After the transfer process is completed, the support shaft 22 is rotated. Then, the arm member 21 rotates 90 degrees, and the container 10 sucked and held by each suction pad 20 moves to the second station B. At this time, when the suction surface 20a of the suction pad 20 is arranged in the vertical direction, the container 10 shifts to an upright state (second posture) (see a one-dot chain line in FIG. 2).
[0026]
In the second station B, the teeth 8a of the stopper 8 are in contact with the columnar portion 6b of the flange 6 disposed at the head on the conveyor 5, and the flange 6 is stopped and positioned at a predetermined position. . For this reason, when the suction state of each suction pad 20 is released, each container 10 is inserted into the hole 6 a of each cage 6 on the transport conveyor 5 and transferred onto the transport conveyor 5.
[0027]
As described above, in the first embodiment, the container 10 is shifted from the rollover state to the standing state by the turning of the arm member 21 that connects the suction pads 20, so that the suction pad can be changed even if the size or shape of the container changes. 20 and the arm member 21 can be used as they are. Thereby, it can respond to the change of the magnitude | size and shape of a container easily.
[0028]
[Second Embodiment]
3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In these drawings, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment denote the same or corresponding parts.
[0029]
In the second embodiment, two container transfer devices according to the first embodiment are provided along the transport direction of the second transport conveyor 5. Corresponding to these container transfer devices 2, 2 ′, the width of the transport surface 1 a of the transport conveyor 1 is increased, and the number of baskets 6 arranged on the transport surface of the transport conveyor 5 is increased. ing.
[0030]
In the second embodiment, a plurality of containers 10 randomly placed in a rollover state on the transfer surface 1a of the transfer conveyor 1 are held by the loader 4 and transferred to the containers, as in the first embodiment. Move to the mounting device 2 side. Then, in the first station A, the container 10 is transferred from the loader 4 to each suction pad 20 of the container transfer device 2 in the rollover state (first posture) (see the one-dot chain line in FIG. 4).
[0031]
After the transfer process by the loader 4 is completed, the arm member 21 is turned 90 degrees by the rotation of the support shaft 22, and the container 10 sucked and held by each suction pad 20 is moved to the second station B to stand up (first state). 2) (see the solid line in FIG. 4).
[0032]
In the second station B, the teeth 8a of the stopper 8 are in contact with the columnar portion 6b of the flange 6 disposed at the head on the conveyor 5, and the flange 6 is stopped and positioned at a predetermined position. . For this reason, when the suction state of each suction pad 20 is released, each container 10 is inserted into each cage 6 on the transport conveyor 5 and transferred onto the transport conveyor 5.
[0033]
On the other hand, the loader 4 returns immediately above the transport conveyor 1 immediately after the containers are transferred to the respective suction pads 20 of the container transfer device 2, and this time starts the container transfer processing for the container transfer device 2 '. That is, when the container transfer device 2 performs the transfer process to the second station B, the loader 4 performs a transfer process to each suction pad 20 on the container transfer device 2 ′ side.
[0034]
Then, after the transfer process to the container transfer device 2 'side by the loader 4 is completed, the container transfer process to the transport conveyor 5 side is performed.
[0035]
As described above, in the second embodiment, the transfer processing is alternately performed by the respective container transfer devices 2 and 2 ′, so that the transfer processing of the container 10 can be performed efficiently. Further, as in the case of the first embodiment, since the container 10 shifts from the rollover state to the standing state by the turning of the arm member 21, it is possible to easily cope with changes in the size and shape of the container.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
According to the article transfer device according to the present invention as described above, by the turning of the arm member, Ya since an article held by suction into a plurality of suction pads from rollover state so as to shift to the standing state, the article size Even if the shape changes, the suction pad and the arm member can be used as they are, and this has the effect of easily dealing with changes in the size and shape of the article.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a container transfer device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the container transfer device (FIG. 1).
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a container transfer device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the container transfer device (FIG. 3).
[Explanation of symbols]
1 (First) Conveyor 2, 2 'Container Transfer Device (Article Transfer Device)
4 Loader (Transfer means)
5 (Second) Conveyor 6 袴 10 Container (article)
20 Suction pad (holding part)
21 Arm member A First station B Second station

Claims (4)

An article transfer device (2),
A first conveyor (1) for conveying a plurality of articles (10) in a rollover state and in a randomly placed state;
A second conveyor (5) disposed in a direction intersecting the first conveyor (1) at a downstream end of the first conveyor (1) and conveying a plurality of articles (10) in an upright state; ,
The article (10) is transferred between the first conveyor (1) and the second conveyor (5), and is transferred from the first conveyor (1) to the second conveyor (5). Article transfer means (2) for performing
The article transfer means (2)
A plurality of articles (10) that are arranged in line along the transport direction of the second transport conveyor (5) and transported by the first transport conveyor (1) are detachably adsorbed and held in a rollover state. A plurality of suction pads (20) capable of;
Each suction pad (20) has an arm member (21) capable of turning 90 degrees in a vertical plane,
By driving the arm member (21), the first station (A) disposed on the first transport conveyor (1) side and the second station (on the second transport conveyor (5) ( A plurality of articles (10) are transferred at a time from the first station (A) to the second station (B) by rotating the respective suction pads (20) with respect to B). Yes,
The article transfer apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. In claim 1,
While taking out each article | item (10) from 1st conveyance conveyor (1), each article | item (10) is moved to each suction pad (20) arrange | positioned in a 1st station (A) with a rollover state. And a loader (4) for holding each suction pad (20).
The article transfer apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. In claim 1,
On the transport surface of the second transport conveyor (5), a gutter member (6) into which the article (10) shifted to a standing state is inserted is disposed.
The article transfer apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. An article transfer device (2),
A first conveyor (1) for conveying a plurality of articles (10) in a rollover state and in a randomly placed state;
A second conveyor (5) disposed in a direction intersecting the first conveyor (1) at a downstream end of the first conveyor (1) and conveying a plurality of articles (10) in an upright state; ,
An article (10) is transferred between the first transport conveyor (1) and the second transport conveyor (5), and is transferred from the first transport conveyor (1) to the second transport conveyor (5). Article transfer means (2, 2 ') for performing
The article transfer means (2, 2 ')
A plurality of articles (10) that are arranged in line along the transport direction of the second transport conveyor (5) and transported by the first transport conveyor (1) are detachably adsorbed and held in a rollover state. A plurality of suction pads (20) capable of;
Each suction pad (20) has an arm member (21) capable of turning 90 degrees in a vertical plane,
In the article transfer means (2, 2 '), each of the first station (A) and the second transport conveyor (on the side of the first transport conveyor (1) is driven by the arm member (21). 5) From the first station (A) to the second station (B) by rotating each suction pad (20) with respect to the second station (B) arranged above 5) Transferring a plurality of articles (10) at a time and alternately between the article transfer means (2, 2 '),
The article transfer apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

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