JP4726160B2 - Article transfer apparatus, boxing apparatus using the same, and article transfer method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to an article transfer device , a boxing device using the same , and an article transfer method .
[0002]
[Prior art]
As one of the packaging forms, there is a collective box in which a plurality of box-shaped products are stored in a large box. As a boxing device for manufacturing such a collective box body, a blank carton in which a large box body is developed is taken out one by one and transported, and boxed in the middle of the transport (only the lid portion is opened). On the other hand, the products to be boxed are grouped into a product group of a predetermined number by the accumulating device, and the product group is handled (gripped) by the transfer device and supplied into the boxed box. Then, a collective package is manufactured by closing a cover part.
[0003]
Further, for example, when the product is a medicine, there is a case where a booklet describing the effect of the medicine is stored in the box together with the product. In such a case, conventionally, noh books are stored in the box exclusively by hand. At this time, there are a case where a written book is supplied into the box before storing the product and a case where the written book is placed on the product after storing the product.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The above-described conventional manual supply method for manuals has the following problems. That is, first, since human labor is required, workability is reduced, and full automation of the boxing process is hindered. In addition, there is a risk of forgetting to enter a book. Furthermore, in the case of the method of supplying a written book first, it is difficult to check the presence of a written book after the product is stored in a box.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described background. The object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and automatically store a sheet such as a letter in a box together with a product (article). Another object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer device , a boxing device using the same , and an article transfer method that can reliably supply a sheet to a box and check the presence or absence of the sheet.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the article transfer device according to the present invention, the surface of the article is covered with the sheet so that at least one side of the sheet protrudes outside the surface, and the article is placed on the sheet. And an article transfer device for transferring the article into the box , wherein the article is held at the article delivery position by an article gripping portion having a pair of sandwiching plates for gripping the article and an opening / closing drive mechanism for opening and closing the sandwiching plate. An article gripping part (corresponding to “clamping plate 27” in the embodiment) stored in the box, and a drive device (in the embodiment, moving the article gripping part in a space including the article receiving position and the article delivery position) In the article transfer device comprising “main body base 21, first and second turning arms 22, 24, connecting portion 23, etc.”, a sheet is placed between the pair of sandwiching plates. (In the embodiment, corresponds to the "suction cup 28") adsorption unit (in the embodiment corresponds to the "calligraphy 10") to adsorb further wherein the suction means comprises a movable together with the article gripping portion, The opening / closing drive mechanism opens and closes the pair of sandwiching plates while approaching and separating from each other while maintaining a parallel state and moves forward and backward, and when retreating, the tip of the sandwiching plate is positioned behind the suction means. The sandwiching plate is operated, and when the article gripping portion reaches the article receiving position by the driving device, the sheet that the suction means sucks in the state in which the sandwiching plate is retracted is the sheet of the article. opposite to the surface, the opening and closing drive mechanism wherein the side surface of at least one side of the article of the sheet by operating so as to narrow the distance between the clamping plates together when forward movement of the clamping plate The article is interposed between the holding plates and configured sandwiching and gripping by the clamping plate, when the article gripper reaches the article transfer position by the driving device, to release the adsorption of the sheet In addition, the opening / closing drive mechanism releases the gripping by the clamping plate, releases the article, and puts the sheet together with the article into the box in a state where at least one side of the sheet wraps around the surface of the article. It was set as the structure accommodated (Claim 1).
[0007]
The article transfer method according to the present invention includes an article gripping portion provided with a pair of sandwiching plates for gripping an article, a suction means for sucking a sheet provided between the pair of sandwiching plates, and the suction of the article gripping portion. The holding plate is moved together with the means, and the holding plate opens and closes while moving in a parallel state while maintaining a parallel state, and moves forward and backward, and when retracted, the tip of the holding plate is positioned behind the suction means. This is an article transfer method using the article transfer apparatus. Then, the suction means sucks the sheet with the clamping plate retracted , the article gripping portion moves in front of the article, and the sheet sucked by the suction means faces the surface of the article . In this state, the pair of sandwiching plates move forward and approach and sandwich and grip the article so that at least one side of the sheet wraps around the surface from the surface of the article to the sandwiching plate and the article. A step of interposing an end portion of the sheet between, the article gripped by the article gripping portion is moved to the opening side of the box with the lid open, and the gripping by the sandwiching plate is released to release the article And releasing the adsorption of the sheet and releasing the sheet together with the article into the box (claim 2).
[0008]
Furthermore, in the boxing device according to the present invention, the conveying means for conveying the box with the lid open (corresponding to “conveying conveyor device 2” in the embodiment) and the article stored in the box are conveyed. Temporary article storage means (corresponding to “article transport conveyor 8” in the embodiment) and a sheet (corresponding to “Noh Book 10” in the embodiment) stored in the box together with the article. A storage unit (corresponding to “Noh hopper 11” in the embodiment), the article transfer device according to claim 1, and a closing unit (implementation unit) disposed on the downstream side of the transport unit and closing the lid. In this embodiment, the article transfer device holds and holds the sheet stored in the storage unit and holds the article transferred by the article transfer means. Move in the state The article and is intended to be stored in said box body, said closing means is constituted as the article provided on the downstream side of the stored position to the box body of the sheet (claim 3).
[0009]
According to the present invention, since the article transfer device has the function of sucking and holding the sheet and the function of gripping the article, the article can be held in a state where the sheet is sucked, and the sheet and the article can be held in the box as they are. Will be stored. Therefore, the sheet can be reliably stored in the box.
[0010]
Furthermore, on the structure (mechanism for holding both the sheet and the article), in the state where the article is housed in the box, the sheet is located at the portion where the lid is opened, so it is easy to determine whether or not there is a sheet from outside. I can judge. Furthermore, as described in claim 2, if both ends of the sheet are inserted into the box together with the article, the possibility that the sheet will subsequently detach from the box is suppressed as much as possible.
[0011]
The sheet of the present invention is a document (sheet) stored in a box together with an article. When the article is a medicine, it is often a book. In addition to this booklet, there are an instruction manual, a cautionary note, and other various sheets.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of a boxing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a work process diagram for explaining the operation thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, a hopper 4 is provided on the upstream side of the transport conveyor 2 of the box body 1 to temporarily store a carton 3 with a cylinder attached so as to overlap the front and rear, and the hopper 3 is disposed in front of the hopper 4. A carton raising device 5 is disposed which takes out the cartons 3 stored in the box one by one in order and raises the folded carton 3 to form the box 1 with the lid open. The carton raising device 5 is composed of a swing arm type suction cup for sequentially taking out the cardons 3 one by one, a pusher for pushing out the taken out carton, and the like.
[0013]
In this embodiment, an adhesive 6 such as hot melt is applied to the adhesive margins 3a, 3b, 3c of the carton blanks 3 'in the unfolded state as shown in FIG. 3, and the corresponding parts 3a', The adhesive margins are bonded and integrated to 3b 'and 3c' to form a cylinder, which is folded at an appropriate position as shown in FIG. The folded carton 3 with the trunk shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the hopper 4.
[0014]
On the other hand, an article transporting conveyor 8 for transporting a box-shaped article (product) 7 is arranged in parallel with the transporting conveyor 2. In the present embodiment, the article 7 is a box-shaped container that stores a pillow-packed medicine (PTP package), but is not limited to this. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the article 7 is conveyed in a state where it is in contact with the article conveying conveyor 8 in the front-rear direction.
[0015]
Further, a stacking device 19 (see FIG. 8) is provided on the downstream side (the unloading end side) of the article transport conveyor 8, and an article group 9 is formed by stacking a plurality (two in this embodiment). I am doing so.
[0016]
On the other hand, above the article conveying conveyor 8, there is provided a book hopper 11 for storing a number of book books 10 serving as sheets. These Noh books 10 are taken out one by one from the top. A bar code is printed on the noh book 10, and the noh book detection unit 12 including the bar code reader may read and analyze the bar code and enclose it together with the article 7 (a regular noh book 10). ) Or not. Then, in the case of other sheets of different books, an error display / alarm output is made and the boxing device is stopped. And this noh book 10 is accommodated in the open box 1 together with the article 7 and the article group 9.
[0017]
Here, in the present invention, the article transfer device 20 is provided to sequentially acquire the Noh book 10 and the article group 9 and store them in the box 1 with the lid 1a open at the article delivery position. . The detailed configuration of the article transfer device 20 will be described later.
[0018]
At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, two articles 7 (article group 9) are accommodated in the box 1 and, further, on the surface of the article group 9 on the upper side (the lid 1a side) opening side, It arrange | positions so that 10 may wind. In other words, both ends of the book 10 are inserted between the article 7 and the side surface of the box 1. Thereby, when it sees from the exterior, while the presence or absence of the written book 10 can be confirmed easily, there is also no possibility that the written book 10 may be reliably stored and moved away from the box 1 during movement.
[0019]
Further, a folding and sealing device 13 serving as a closing means for folding the flap 1b and the lid 1a in that order is disposed on the upstream side of the transport conveyor 2, and in this folding and sealing device 13, the lid 1a of the opened box is opened. After that, the label 14 is pasted and sealed so as to straddle the end of the lid 1a and the side surface 1c of the box 1. Thereby, a collective box as shown in FIG. 6 is completed.
[0020]
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the course of the box body 1 is changed further by 90 degrees by the discharge conveyor 15 whose conveyance direction is different by 90 degrees in the vicinity of the unloading end on the downstream side of the conveyor 2. Then, the date of manufacture and other necessary information are printed on the side surface of the box 1 by the laser marking device 16 arranged on the upstream side of the carry-out conveyor. Further, the pusher 17 disposed on one side surface on the downstream side of the carry-out conveyor 15 is pushed out to the alignment discharge unit 18 side by side in a state of being aligned five by one. Thereby, it is carried out in a state where five are arranged in a horizontal row.
[0021]
Next, a preferred embodiment of the article transfer device 20 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a rotatable first turning arm 22 is attached on the main body base 21, and a second turning arm 24 is attached to the tip of the first turning arm 22 via a connecting portion 23. In addition, an operation section main body 25 including an article gripping section and suction means is attached to the tip of the second turning arm 24.
[0022]
The swivel arms 22 and 24 are swung at an arbitrary angle by a drive mechanism built in the main body base 21 and the connecting portion 23, respectively, so that the operation unit main body 25 at the tip of the second swivel arm 24 is moved in a three-dimensional space. It can be moved to any position. Since this drive mechanism can use a mechanism similar to a normal robot, manipulator, etc., detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0023]
The operation unit main body 25 is arranged coaxially with the second turning arm 24 and is rotatable about its axis. Further, a pair of sandwiching plates 27 and 27 are provided on the distal end side, and a suction disk 28 capable of sucking a book is provided between the pair of sandwiching plates 27 and 27. And since the operation part main body 25 can rotate to the surroundings of an axis | shaft, as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, the plate | board surface is horizontal, ie, both plates are located up and down, as shown in FIG. And the posture in which the plate surface is rotated in the vertical direction, that is, the posture in which both plates are positioned on the left and right (of course, the posture of other angular positions is taken during the rotation). As a result, the article group 9 that overlaps the upper and lower two stages is sandwiched between the upper and lower sandwiching plates 27 and 27, the first and second pivot arms 22 and 24 are pivoted, and are clamped at the supply position to the box 1. As the two articles 7 are raised, the postures can be arranged side by side along the traveling direction (see FIG. 2 for each posture).
[0024]
And as a more concrete structure of the operation part main body 25, it has become like FIG. 9, FIG. That is, a drive motor 31 that rotates forward and backward is attached to the outside of the frame body 30, and a first arm 32 is attached to an output shaft 31 a of the drive motor 31. As a result, the first arm 32 rotates forward and backward within a predetermined angle range around the output shaft 31a.
[0025]
The output shaft 31 a of the drive motor 31 is located on the center line of the frame body 30, and a bearing 33 is provided at a predetermined position further forward of the center line, and the second arm 34 is provided on the bearing 33. One end of the is rotatably supported in a free state. The other ends of the first and second arms 32 and 34 are supported by a coupling member 35 provided on the proximal end side of the holding plate 27 so as to be freely rotatable in a free state. At this time, the first and second arms 32 and 34 are arranged in parallel. Accordingly, when the drive motor 31 is rotated in a predetermined direction, the first and second arms 32 and 34 are also rotated following the rotation, so that the sandwiching plate 27 is moved from the position (1) indicated by the solid line in FIG. Move as indicated by dotted line (2) → (3). That is, the interval between the both sandwiching plates 27, 27 is increased. Therefore, by rotating the drive motor 31 forward and backward, the distance between the sandwiching plates 27 and 27 can be changed widely, and the article 7 (article group 9) can be sandwiched / gripped or released. .
[0026]
On the other hand, a suction disk 28 is provided on the front end surface of the frame 30, and the suction disk 28 is linked to a vacuum means (not shown) via a suction nozzle 36. As a result, when the suction disk 28 is sucked by the vacuum means while being in contact with the performance book 10, the performance book 10 is attracted to the suction board 28. Further, in the present embodiment, a spring 38 is interposed between the suction plate 28 and the front surface of the frame 30 so that the suction plate 28 can be moved forward and backward, and the article 7 (article group 9) is taken out when the book 10 is taken out. Even when the suction disk 28 comes into contact with the capacity book 10 and the article group 9 at the time of take-out, the spring 38 is elastically deformed (compressed) and the suction disk 28 moves back relatively, so It can be absorbed.
[0027]
The operation of the article transfer device 25 will be briefly described. The first and second swivel arms 22 and 24 are rotated, and the operation unit main body 25 (suction board 28) is moved in front of the book hopper 11. (State of FIG. 8). Next, the operation unit main body 25 is further moved forward (moved in a direction approaching the Noh book hopper 11), and the Noh book 10 is sucked by the suction board 28 and taken out from the Noh book hopper 11. At this time, both ends in the longitudinal direction of the booklet 10 are in contact with the inner surface of the sandwiching plate 27 to bend and are held in a substantially U-shape as a whole.
[0028]
Next, the operating unit main body 25 is moved in front of the stacking device 19, and the holding plate 27 is opened and closed, thereby holding the waiting article group 9. At this time, since both ends of the book 10 are located on the inner surface of the sandwiching plate 27, the both ends of the book 10 are sandwiched and held between the article group 9 and the sandwiching plate 27. Will be. The bar code applied to the book 10 is recognized by the book detector 12 while it is moved to the front of the stacking device 19 after the book 10 is attracted, and it is determined whether or not it is a regular book 10. To come.
[0029]
When the article group 9 is taken out in this way, the operation unit main body 25 is moved above the box 1 with the lid 1a opened to align the article group 9 with the box 1 and then the clamping plate 27. Is opened, the holding state for the article group 9 is released, and the article group 9 is supplied into the box 1 together with the bill 10. Thereby, the transfer is completed.
[0030]
In the above-described embodiment, the two swivel arms 22 and 24 and the operation unit main body 25 are attached to the second swivel arm 24 so as to be rotatable about the axis, thereby holding the clamping plate at an arbitrary position in the three-dimensional space. 27, the suction disk 28 can be moved, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the mechanism for moving and driving can take any configuration.
[0031]
In the above-described embodiment, both ends of the Noh book 10 wrap around both sides of the article group 9 so as to be in a substantially U-shape as a whole, and are sucked and held in that state so as to be transferred. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only one side of the Noh 10 (sheet) goes around the side surface of the article group 9 and is sandwiched between the holding plates 27 (Noh 10 is substantially omitted). In addition, when the book 10 is small, it may be left without such wraparound (not sandwiched between the sandwiching plates 27). Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the Noh book 10 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the article group 9 (the surface facing the lid 1a), but the present invention is not limited to this, and the article 7 (article group 9). Of course, it may be adsorbed in a state of being separated from, and moved / transferred.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in this onset bright, can accommodate the sheets or the like package insert, automatically box with the product (article). In addition, the sheet can be reliably supplied to the box and the presence or absence of the sheet can be checked.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of a boxing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an assembly process.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of carton blanks used in the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a carton pasted and folded used in the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which articles and books are stored in a box with a lid opened.
FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a collective packaging box produced by the boxing device of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of an article transfer device according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a front view showing a preferred embodiment of an article transfer device according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view showing a portion of an operation unit main body (clamping plate, suction board) which is a main part of the operation unit main body.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged front view showing a main part of the operation unit main body (clamping plate, suction board), which is a main part thereof.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Box 1a Lid 2 Conveyor apparatus 3 Blanks 4 Hopper 7 Article 8 Article conveyer 9 Article group 10 Function book (sheet)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Noh hopper 12 Noh book detection part 13 Folding and sealing apparatus 14 Label 20 Article transfer apparatus 21 Main body base 22 1st turning arm 23 Connection part 24 2nd turning arm 25 Operation part main body 27 Holding plate 28 Suction board 30 Frame 31 drive motor 32 first arm 33 bearing 34 second arm 35 connecting member 36 suction nozzle 38 spring

Claims (3)

An article transfer device that covers the surface of the article so that at least one side of the sheet protrudes outward from the surface, and transfers the article into the box together with the sheet,
An article gripping unit including a pair of sandwiching plates for gripping the article and an opening / closing drive mechanism for opening and closing the sandwiching plate ;
In the article transfer apparatus comprising a driving device that moves the article gripping portion in a space including an article receiving position and an article delivery position, and storing the article in a box at the article delivery position.
A suction means for sucking the sheet between the pair of sandwiching plates;
The suction means is movable together with the article gripping part,
The opening / closing drive mechanism opens and closes the pair of sandwiching plates while approaching and separating from each other while maintaining a parallel state and moves forward and backward, and when retreating, the tip of the sandwiching plate is positioned behind the suction means. To operate the clamping plate,
When the article gripping portion reaches the article receiving position by the driving device, the sheet that is adsorbed by the adsorption means in a state in which the holding plate is retracted faces the surface of the article, and the opening / closing drive mechanism Moves the clamping plate forward and operates to narrow the gap between the clamping plates so that at least one side of the sheet is interposed between the side surface of the article and the clamping plate, and the article is held by the clamping plate. It is configured to sandwich and grip ,
When the article gripping portion reaches the article delivery position by the driving device , the suction of the sheet is released, and the opening / closing drive mechanism releases the gripping by the clamping plate to release the article and the sheet. An article transfer apparatus characterized in that the sheet is housed in the box together with the article in a state where at least one side of the article wraps around from the surface of the article to the side surface. An article gripping unit including a pair of sandwiching plates for gripping an article, a suction unit that sucks a sheet provided between the pair of sandwiching plates, and a drive device that moves the article gripping unit together with the suction unit , An article using an article transfer device configured such that the holding plate opens and closes while moving close and apart while maintaining a parallel state, and moves forward and backward, and when moving backward, the tip of the holding plate is positioned behind the suction means. A transfer method,
A step of adsorbing the sheet by the adsorbing means in a state in which the clamping plate is retracted ;
With the article gripping part moving in front of the article and the sheet adsorbed by the adsorbing means facing the surface of the article , the pair of sandwiching plates move forward and approach to sandwich the article. A step of causing at least one side of the sheet to wrap around from the surface to the side surface of the article and interposing an end portion of the sheet between the sandwich plate and the article,
Next, the article gripped by the article gripping portion is moved to the opening side of the box with the lid open, the gripping by the clamping plate is released, the article is released, and the suction of the sheet is released And storing the sheet in the box together with the article,
An article transfer method characterized in that: Transport means for transporting the box with the lid open;
Article conveying means for conveying an article stored in the box;
A storage section for temporarily storing a sheet stored in the box together with the article;
An article transfer device according to claim 1;
A closing means disposed on the downstream side of the conveying means and closing the lid;
The article transfer device sucks and holds a sheet stored in the storage unit, and moves while holding the article conveyed by the article conveying means, and stores the sheet and the article in the box. Is what
The boxing device is characterized in that the closing means is provided on the downstream side of the storage position of the articles and sheets in the box.

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