JP4786055B2 - Article alignment device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is used in an article conveyance line such as a canned beverage production line for beer, soft drinks, etc., for example, and relates to an article alignment apparatus that aligns a large number of articles conveyed in a plurality of rows into a small number of rows during conveyance. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in canned beverage production lines such as beer and soft drinks, beverage cans are generally conveyed to a taste inspection machine, a labeler, or the like in the final inspection process after a warmer (pastoriser, retort, etc.) process. Since the warmer process is a bulk process, and the taste inspection machine / labeler is a process for each can, an article alignment device that aligns a plurality of articles in a single line after the warmer is required.
[0003]
A conventional article alignment apparatus 100 (see FIG. 4) is arranged by arranging a plurality of conveyors 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 side by side while sequentially shifting to the downstream side in the conveying direction. A large number of articles transported by the upstream conveyor are gradually shifted to the side by the transport guide 107 disposed diagonally to the left or right of the transport direction of the conveyor, and placed on the side of the upstream conveyor. Are moved sequentially to the downstream conveyor where the speed is high, and the articles transferred to the downstream conveyor are sequentially increased and sent to the downstream side to widen the interval between the articles and reduce the number of rows, and finally It was supposed to be aligned in one row.
[0004]
On the other hand, in factories and production lines where new production lines are being constructed, refurbished, or equipment is being improved in response to the diversification of products, production efficiency, and speedup, production lines are reduced in space and efficiency. Has become a major issue.
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the inventors have arranged the downstream conveyors on the same left and right sides of the upstream conveyor, on the left side in the illustrated example, The width W1 in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the entire apparatus is the sum of the widths of all the conveyors 101 to 106, and the problem that the installation space becomes large, and the conventional conveyor on the downstream side is conventionally increased. Pay attention to the problem that just by arranging the conveyors on the left and right sides of the conveyor, there are many wasted parts where goods are not placed on the conveyor on the downstream side, the length of the conveyors 101 to 106 is increased, and the cost of the apparatus is increased. As a result of intensive development, the idea was to arrange a plurality of conveyors alternately on the left and right along the conveying direction of the articles. Reduce, This has led to the completion of the present invention by overcoming the serial task.
[0005]
The object of the present invention is to reduce the installation space as much as possible, shorten the length of the conveyor as much as possible, save space, and reduce the cost of the apparatus. Is to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a plurality of conveyors arranged along the conveyance direction of articles, and a large number of articles conveyed by an upstream conveyor are laterally moved by a conveyance guide. In an article alignment apparatus that shifts, sequentially moves to a high-speed downstream conveyor disposed on the side of the upstream conveyor, and aligns articles being conveyed in a plurality of rows in a small number of rows,
In the configuration in which the plurality of conveyors are alternately arranged on the left and right sides in the conveyance direction of the article, the downstream conveyor disposed on the side of the upstream conveyor overlaps the upstream conveyor by a predetermined length. In addition, the article is arranged so as to be shifted to the upstream side in the conveying direction, and the article can be moved laterally between the conveyors through the overlapped portion.
[0007]
In addition, if at least one of the conveyors is composed of a conveyor group composed of a plurality of parallel conveyors, and the conveyor transport speeds of each conveyor group are the same, it is possible to handle a case where a large number of articles are transported. Can and is effective.
Furthermore, it is preferable to provide an auxiliary guide arranged in parallel with the conveyance guide at a predetermined interval on the conveyor.
Furthermore, it is effective to narrow the conveyance width regulated by the conveyance guide and the auxiliary guide from the upstream side toward the downstream side.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments.
1 and 2 show an article alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article aligning apparatus 1 includes six conveyors from the first to sixth conveyors C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6. Are arranged alternately in left and right rows along the transport direction.
In this example, the conveyors are alternately arranged in the left and right columns. However, in order to cope with a large amount of articles to be conveyed, the conveyors are alternately arranged in two rows on the left and right, or three rows on the left and right. Alternatively, the apparatus may be provided with an article buffering function by alternately arranging four columns on each side. Thus, when comprised by the conveyor group which consists of a parallel several conveyor, each conveyor conveyance speed which comprises each conveyor group is the same speed.
In the figure, the first, third and fifth conveyors C1, C3 and C5 are arranged in series on the right side, and the second, fourth and sixth conveyors C2, C4 and C6 are arranged in series on the left side. It is arranged. Each conveyor is almost the same length, and the downstream conveyor is shifted to the upstream side in the transport direction so that the adjacent upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor overlap by half the length. Has been. Here, by considering the relationship between the amount of articles to be conveyed and the speed of the conveyor, the overlapping length of the adjacent upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor may be adjusted. Moreover, the conveyance surface of the adjacent upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor is the same height, and the articles | goods 10 can move to the side between conveyors through the overlapped part.
[0009]
Further, in this example, the width of each conveyor is the widest at the first conveyor C1 on the most upstream side and becomes narrower in stages, so that the width of the final sixth conveyor C6 is approximately the width of one row of articles. Therefore, all the conveyors are within the width of the first conveyor C1 at the uppermost stream and the second conveyor C2 at the next stage. The intermediate third, fourth, and fifth conveyors C3, C4, and C5 have the same width.
The width of each conveyor is appropriately set by considering the relationship between the amount of articles to be conveyed and the speed of the conveyor.
The conveyors C1 to C6 have the same configuration, and the second conveyor C2 will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 1B, the chain 11 that is chain driven and the chain that drives the belt 11 are used. And a drive mechanism 12. The chain drive mechanism 12 is a drive source disposed on an extension of a sprocket 13 disposed at the front and rear ends of each conveyor, a chain 14 spanned between the sprockets 13, and a shaft 15 coupled to one sprocket 13. And a motor M with a reduction gear. The belt 11 is wound around, for example, a roller (not shown) that is rotated synchronously by the chain 14.
[0010]
By this chain drive mechanism 12, the speeds V1, V2, V3, V4, V5 and V6 of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth conveyors C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6 are ,
V1 <V2 <V3 <V4 <V5 <V6,
The downstream conveyor is set to be faster.
[0011]
In addition, on each conveyor, a large number of articles conveyed by the upstream conveyor are gradually shifted to the side and sequentially moved to the fast downstream conveyor located on the side of the upstream conveyor. The first and second conveying guides meander the article 10 in a meandering direction from left to right in the order of the first conveyor C1 to the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth conveyors C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6. , Third, fourth and fifth guides 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 are provided.
[0012]
The guides 21 to 25 are arranged obliquely in the front half of each conveyor, and the first, third, and fifth guides 21, 23, and 25 on the right side are the first, third, and fifth conveyors. A straight line extends obliquely from the right-side center portion of the yaw C1, C3, C5 toward the left front end. Further, the left and second guides 22 and 24 on the left side extend obliquely and linearly from the left center part of the second and fourth conveyors C2 and C4 toward the right front end. Here, the conveyance guide may be installed in a curved shape so as to be inflated toward the article to be conveyed, so that the article can be easily displaced laterally.
Furthermore, the 1st thru | or 5th auxiliary guides 31-35 arrange | positioned diagonally in parallel with the said 1st thru | or 5th guides 21-25 are provided in the latter half part of each conveyor. The first to fifth auxiliary guides 31 to 35 regulate the conveyance width of the articles pushed out by the first to fifth guides 21 to 25. This makes it possible to reduce the width of each conveyor as much as possible. This conveyance width is set so as to be smoothly conveyed according to the quantity, speed, etc. of the article.
[0013]
In addition, left and right inlet guides 41L and 41R that are parallel to each other are provided on the left and right side edges of the front half of the first conveyor C1, and the left and right outlets that are parallel to each other on the left and right edges of the rear half of the sixth conveyor C6. Guides 42L and 42R are provided.
The auxiliary guides 31 to 35 are arranged obliquely in the rear half of each conveyor, and the left, first, third and fifth auxiliary guides 31, 33 and 35 are the second, fourth and sixth conveyors. C2, C4, and C6 extend linearly from the right rear end toward the left center and are connected to the left inlet guide 41L, the second and fourth guides 22 and 24, and the left outlet guide 42L, respectively, in a zigzag shape. A bent left side guide 40L is formed. Each connecting portion of the first auxiliary guide 31, the second guide 22, the third auxiliary guide 33, the fourth guide, and the fifth auxiliary guide 35 is formed with a linear portion 43L parallel to the transport direction.
[0014]
Further, the second and fourth auxiliary guides 32 and 34 on the right side extend in a straight line obliquely from the left rear end of the third and fifth conveyors C3 and C5 toward the center of the right side, respectively. , The fifth guides 21, 23, 25 and the right outlet guide 42R are connected to form a right side guide 40R which is bent in a zigzag manner. Each connecting portion of the second auxiliary guide 32, the third guide 23, the fourth auxiliary guide 34, and the fifth guide 25 is formed with a linear portion 43R parallel to the transport direction.
[0015]
In this embodiment, each conveyance between the first guide 21 and the first auxiliary guide 31 on the inlet side, between the second guide 22 and the second auxiliary guide 32, and between the fifth guide 25 and the fifth auxiliary guide 35 on the outlet side. The conveyance width of the path is narrowed in a tapered shape from the upstream side toward the downstream side. This is because a large amount of articles are arranged more efficiently between the first guide 21 and the first auxiliary guide 31 and between the second guide 22 and the second auxiliary guide 32. Further, the space between the fifth guide 25 and the fifth auxiliary guide 35 is for finally restricting the article 10 to one row and smoothly guiding it between the left and right outlet guides 42L and 42R.
The conveyance width between the intermediate third and fourth guides 23 and 24 and the third and fourth auxiliary guides 33 and 34 is the same.
[0016]
The left and right side guides 40L and 40R are mounted on a machine frame 50 that supports the first to sixth conveyors C1 to C6, as shown in FIGS. 1 (B), 2 (A), and (B). It is supported from the left and right sides through the guide bracket 51. The machine frame 50 is supported at a predetermined height from the floor surface by the support legs 52.
[0017]
In the article alignment apparatus having the above-described configuration, a large number of articles 10 supplied to the first conveyor C1 are spread across the width of the inlet guides 41L and 41R of the wide first conveyor C1 and conveyed in a plurality of rows. Is done. The large number of articles hit the first guide 21 in the second half of the first conveyor C1, gradually move to the second conveyor C2 side on the left side along the inclination of the first guide 21, and move to the second conveyor C2 side. The articles 10 are sequentially increased in speed, and the columns of the articles 10 extend vertically to reduce the number of columns.
Since the conveyance width between the first guide 21 and the first auxiliary guide 31 is narrowed in a tapered shape from the upstream side toward the downstream side, the articles are more efficiently aligned in combination with the speed difference between the conveyors. be able to.
Next, the row of articles 10 hits the second guide 22 arranged in the front half of the second conveyor C2, and gradually moves to the right third conveyor C3 side along the inclination of the second guide 22, and the third conveyor C3. The number of rows of articles 10 is further increased in the longitudinal direction and the number of rows is reduced.
[0018]
Next, the row of articles 10 hits the third guide 23 arranged in the front half of the third conveyor C3, and gradually moves to the fourth conveyor C4 side on the left side along the inclination of the third guide 23. The number of rows of articles 10 is further reduced by being accelerated by the four conveyor C4.
Next, the row of articles 10 hits the fourth guide 24 arranged in the first half of the fourth conveyor C4, and gradually moves to the right fifth conveyor C5 side along the inclination of the fourth guide 24, The number of rows of articles is further reduced by being increased by the five conveyor C5.
Next, the row 10 of articles hits the fifth guide 25 arranged in the first half of the fifth conveyor C5, and gradually moves toward the sixth conveyor C6 on the left side along the inclination of the fifth guide 25. The speed is increased at C6 and the number of articles is aligned in one line through the fifth auxiliary guide 35 and the outlet guides 42L and 42R, and is sent out to the next stroke.
[0019]
(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, the first to fifth auxiliary guides 31 to 35 are provided. However, the auxiliary guide is not always necessary, and as shown in FIG. Only 35 may be used. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the above embodiment, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
Of course, the article alignment apparatus of the present invention can be used not only for conveying and aligning cans in a can manufacturing line, but also for conveying and aligning various articles.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, a plurality of conveyors are alternately arranged on the left and right along the conveyance direction of the article, and the article is accelerated from the upstream conveyor by the conveyance guide. Since the apparatus is arranged in a zigzag manner on the downstream conveyor, the occupied width of the apparatus can be reduced and the installation space can be reduced as much as possible.
In addition, since multiple conveyors are alternately arranged on the left and right along the conveying direction of the articles, the waste of the conveyor can be eliminated and the length of the conveyor can be made as short as possible. Can do.
[0021]
In addition, by providing an auxiliary guide arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval on the conveyor located on the downstream side with respect to the conveyance guide, the conveyance width of the article can be regulated to a predetermined width. Space can be saved.
[0022]
Further, by narrowing the conveyance width between the conveyance guide and the auxiliary guide from the upstream side toward the downstream side, the articles can be aligned more efficiently in combination with the speed difference between the conveyors.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a plan view of an article alignment state of an article alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a partially enlarged view in which the article of FIG. 1A is omitted. .
2A is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with an article omitted, and FIG. 2B is a side view thereof.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an article alignment state of an article alignment apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional article alignment apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 article alignment device,
C1 to C6 first to sixth conveyors,
10 article 11 belt, 12 chain drive mechanism, 13 sprocket, 14 chain 15 shaft,
M motors 21-25 first to fifth guides (conveyance guides)
31-35 1st thru | or 5th auxiliary guide 40L, 40R Left, right side guide

Claims (4)

It has a plurality of conveyors arranged along the conveyance direction of articles, and a large number of articles conveyed by the upstream conveyor are shifted laterally by a conveyance guide, and are arranged on the side of the upstream conveyor. In an article alignment apparatus that sequentially moves to a conveyor on the downstream side with a high speed and aligns articles being conveyed in multiple rows in a small number of rows,
In the configuration in which the plurality of conveyors are alternately arranged on the left and right along the conveying direction of the article ,
The downstream conveyor arranged on the side of the upstream conveyor is shifted to the upstream side in the conveying direction so as to overlap the upstream conveyor by a predetermined length, and the articles are conveyed through the overlapped portion. An article alignment apparatus characterized in that it can move laterally between . The article alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the conveyors is configured by a conveyor group including a plurality of parallel conveyors, and each conveyor transport speed of each conveyor group is the same speed. The article alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an auxiliary guide disposed in parallel with the conveyance guide at a predetermined interval is provided on the conveyor. The article alignment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a conveyance width of a conveyance path regulated by the conveyance guide and the auxiliary guide is narrowed from the upstream side toward the downstream side.

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