JP4902397B2 - Automatic article moving device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem of having difficulty in moving articles because there is no moving device capable of moving articles easily deformed or getting out of shape, without putting them in a container while preventing them from being deformed or getting out of shape. <P>SOLUTION: A moving mechanism is provided with an article loading/unloading device. The article loading/unloading device is constituted by putting a belt from the bottom face of a moving plate around to the upper face in ring shape with a fixed length. When the moving plate is slid forward in the ring-like belt, the belt front side can scoop up the articles without causing them to get out of shape, and when the moving plate is slid backward in the belt, articles on the belt front side can be unloaded without getting out of shape. A moving mechanism can move the article loading/unloading device longitudinally and laterally. The articles scooped up onto the belt are moved forward or laterally by the moving mechanism to be transferred to the other location, and the article loading/unloading device is returned into the original position by retreating to be kept ready for scooping up the following articles. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention is not limited to solids and regular products, but also semi-solids, irregular products, soft and kneaded materials that are easily deformed, powders and granules not contained in containers, etc. The present invention relates to an article automatic movement device that can be moved up without being deformed or deformed and automatically moved to another place.

  Containers for irregular shapes such as mayonnaise, fresh cream, yogurt, semi-solid materials such as pudding and tofu, hamburger dough, pastry and Japanese confectionery materials, kneading materials such as strawberries and bamboo rings, and other soft materials that are easily deformed Moved to contain. However, they may want to move without being contained in a container.

  Conventionally, there is no moving device that can move articles that are easily deformed without being deformed or deformed without being housed in a container. Therefore, a moving device that can move these articles without being deformed or deformed. Appearance was desired in various industries.

According to the automatic article moving apparatus of the present invention, as described in claim 1, the article supplied to the article supply unit is taken out from the article supply unit by the article suspending device, and the article suspending device is moved by the moving mechanism to In the automatic article moving apparatus for transferring the article from the loading / unloading apparatus to the takeover carrier, the article loading / unloading apparatus is provided in the movement mechanism, and can be moved back and forth or / and laterally moved / and raised / lowered by the movement mechanism, The loading and unloading device is configured such that the belt is circulated in a ring shape on the bottom surface side and the top surface side of the moving plate, and one or more places in the rotating direction are fixed to have a constant ring length. The belt can be slid back and forth in the direction, and when the moving plate is slid forward from the belt fixing position, the front side of the belt moves from the moving plate bottom side to the moving plate top side. When the belt is pulled out, the belt rear side is pulled out from the moving plate upper surface side to the moving plate bottom surface side, and when the moving plate is slid rearward from the belt fixing position, the belt front side is pulled back from the moving plate upper surface side to the moving plate bottom surface side. The side is fed back from the bottom side of the moving plate to the top side of the moving plate, the article dropping device is disposed behind the article supplying unit, and the moving mechanism causes the front end of the belt between the article supplying unit and the article on it. set rearwardly between, the belt rear side moving plate top surface with the fixing portion of the belt is slid forward from the belt attachment places the mobile plate in the belt without moving the belt front side fed to the moving plate upper side Can be pulled up from the side to the bottom surface side of the moving plate and the article on the article supply unit can be scooped up on the belt front side, and after the scooping up, the moving mechanism The front end of the belt is set close to the takeover conveyance body by moving back and forth or / and laterally moving / and moving up and down, and the moving plate is moved from the belt fixing point without moving the belt fixing portion. When sliding backward, the front side of the belt is pulled back from the upper surface side of the moving plate to the bottom surface side of the moving plate, and the rear side of the belt is sent back from the bottom surface side of the moving plate to the upper surface side of the moving plate. It can be lowered onto the carrier, and after being lowered, it can be moved back and forth or / and laterally moved and / or raised and lowered by the moving mechanism to return to the original position before the movement.

  The automatic article moving apparatus according to the present invention is the automatic article moving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the article unloading apparatus slides the moving plate in the belt so that the front side of the belt moves from the moving plate bottom side to the moving plate upper surface. It is also possible to cut the belt by pulling the belt rear side from the moving plate upper surface side to the moving plate bottom surface side and scooping up the articles continuously supplied to the article supply section above the belt front side.

The automatic article moving apparatus of the present invention has the following effects.
1. The shape, size, quantity, and properties of movable items that can be moved without being deformed or deformed even if they are irregularly shaped or easily deformed on a table or conveyor. It is possible to move without being restricted by the above, and it is possible to perform a moving operation that has been impossible until now.
2. Items on tables, conveyors, etc. can be automatically picked up by belts and automatically moved (transferred) onto other tables, conveyors, etc. It is possible to construct a fully automatic movement system by being integrated with other automatic devices. In addition, it can be used in various fields other than food.
3. In a production line for candy, confectionery, etc. Since it can move on place and other materials, it can be used not only as a moving device but also as a quantitative cutting device.
4). Since the equipment for lifting and lowering articles can be raised, in the production line for koji and confectionery, raw materials for koji kneading, unshaped articles such as confectionery dough and koji are continuously fed from the article supply device such as a kneader to the article supply section. Can be moved back and forth, laterally and obliquely without the movable plate and belt coming into contact with these irregular shaped articles.
5. Since the goods can be automatically moved, it is possible to work even in an environment where it is difficult for humans to work, even in a narrow place, a high place or the like.
6). Since the article loading and unloading apparatus is composed of a moving plate and a belt that circulates in a ring shape, the structure of the automatic moving apparatus is simplified.
7). Since the article can be put down on the belt by simply sliding the moving plate back and forth, the operation is simple.
8). Since the slide of the moving plate is a slide in the ring-shaped belt, the longest moving range of the moving plate is the length of the ring-shaped belt, and the article can be loaded and unloaded even in a narrow place.

(Embodiment 1)
An example of the automatic article moving apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIGS. Although the article automatic moving apparatus of the present invention can be used for moving articles other than liquid and gas, this embodiment is an example in which the article is a confectionery and the confectionery is transferred from a belt conveyor to another belt conveyor. It is a form.

  The article W conveyed by the belt conveyor (article supply unit) 50 in FIG. 1 is scooped up on the belt front side 4a of the article unloading device 52 as shown in FIG. 2 (the moving plate 1 in FIG. 2), the belt 4 is moved up in the direction of arrow B in FIGS. 1 and 2, and then the article unloading device 52 is lifted (in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 3, it moves forward (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 3) to the takeover conveyance body (belt conveyor) 53 in front of the article supply unit 50 and takes over the article W on the belt front side 4a at that position. After dropping (replacement) on the body (belt conveyor rotating in the direction of arrow E in FIGS. 1 to 3) 53, the article unloading device 52 retracts (returns back) to the original position before advancement. ), Descent back to the original position before ascending (arrow F direction in Fig. 3) To) be. Thereafter, the article W is picked up by the article loading / unloading device 52, the article loading / unloading device 52 is lifted, the article loading / unloading device 52 is advanced above the takeover carrier 53, and the article W is lowered to the takeover carrier 53 ( The article W on the article supply unit 50 can be repeatedly moved (transferred) by repeatedly retreating the article placing and unloading device 52 and descending after the retreat.

  In FIG. 1, the lifting body 55 is fixed to the lifting shaft 56, and the lifting body 55 can be lifted by mounting the lifting shaft 56 on the main body frame 54 arranged and fixed behind the article supply unit 50. It is as. A horizontally long movable body 59 is attached to a guide groove 58 formed on the inner surface of the side arm 57 of the elevating body 55 so as to be movable forward and backward of the side arm 57. Is equipped. The article unloading device 52 is disposed behind the article supply unit 50 and is movable back and forth as the moving body 59 moves back and forth.

(Embodiment 2)
4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the automatic article movement apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, the article W is a confectionery dough, and the article W (FIG. 4) continuously supplied from the article supply device 60 to the article supply unit 61 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the side 4a is cut and scooped up, and then the article unloading device 52 ascends and advances over the takeover conveyance body (belt conveyor) 53 in front of the article supply unit 61. After the article W on the belt front side 4a is lowered (replaced) onto the takeover conveyance body (belt conveyor) 53, the article lowering device 52 moves back to the original position before the advance, and after the reverse, The belt is lowered to the original position, and then the front slide of the belt front side 4 a, the lifting / lowering of the article 52, the advancement of the article lifting / lowering apparatus 52 above the takeover conveyance body 53, and the article W to the takeover conveyance body 53. Down (Replacement), reversing the article loading and unloading device 52, and the descent after the retreating are repeated, so that the article W continuously supplied to the delivery port (article supply unit) 50 can be moved (transferred) while being repeatedly cut. It is.

  Also in FIG. 4, the lifting body 55 is connected to two lifting shafts 56, and the lifting shaft 56 is attached to a main body frame 54 arranged and fixed at the rear of the article supply unit 50 so that the lifting shaft 56 can be lifted and lowered. It goes up and down as it goes up and down. A horizontally long movable body 59 is attached to the guide groove 58 on the inner surface of the side arm 57 of the elevating body 55 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction of the side arm 57), as shown in FIG. An article unloading device 52 is attached. This article unloading device 52 is also arranged behind the article supply unit 61 as shown in FIGS.

(Embodiment of elevating mechanism and forward / backward moving mechanism)
An example of the lifting mechanism of the lifting shaft 56 and the back-and-forth moving mechanism of the moving body 59 shown in FIGS. In FIG. 6, when the motor M1 rotates in the forward direction, the motor M1 can be rotated to the main body frame 54 but cannot be moved up and down, and the rotating gear 63 rotates in the same direction. When the motor M1 is rotated in the reverse direction, the fixed rotation gear 63 is rotated in the reverse direction, the lifting shaft 56 is lowered, and the lifting body 55 is lowered. When the motor M2 in FIG. 6 rotates forward, the drive gear 64 rotates forward and the moving body 59 moves forward. When the motor M2 rotates backward, the drive gear 64 rotates backward and the moving body 59 moves backward. As the moving body 59 moves up and down, the article loading / unloading device 52 mounted thereon moves up and down in the same direction, and as the moving body 59 moves back and forth, the article loading / unloading device 52 moves in the same direction. It is.

(Embodiment of an article loading / unloading device)
The operation principle of the article unloading device 52 will be described with reference to FIGS. The article unloading device 52 can scoop up the article W of FIG. 7 onto the front side 4a of the belt 4 as shown in FIG. 8 without breaking the shape. A belt 4 is provided that circulates from the bottom surface 2 to above the top surface 3. The belt 4 has a fixed portion 5 in which both end portions 5a and 5b are overlapped and fixed with a fixture 6 from above and below to form a fixed ring shape, and the rear end portion of the movable plate 1 is connected to a bracket 7. The bracket 7 is connected to the motor M3 through a power transmission chain 8 and a power transmission gear 9. The bracket 7 moves forward when the motor M3 rotates forward and the power transmission gear 9 rotates. When the power transmission chain 8 rotates forward, the moving plate 1 moves in the ring-shaped belt 4 along with the arrow A in FIG. When the motor M3 rotates in the reverse direction and the power transmission gear 9 and the power transmission chain 8 rotate in the reverse direction, the motor M3 moves backward, and the moving plate 1 moves backward (returns) in the ring-shaped belt 4 with the backward movement. It is.

  The moving plate 1 is a rectangular flat plate having a thickness of about 1 mm, and is made of a rust-resistant material such as stainless steel or resin. The shape and size of the movable plate 1 can be selected according to the application. The shape is not limited to a flat plate, but is a shape that makes it easy to pick up an article in a container on which a product W is placed, for example, a flat plate shape with a bottom surface and an upper surface curved in an arc, a cylindrical shape, or a semi-cylindrical shape with an upper opening It can also be. The thinner the tip 1a (FIG. 7) of the moving plate 1, the easier it is to enter under the article W.

  The belt 4 is a thin film-like or woven film or sheet, which is difficult to adhere to an article and is made of a slippery material such as Teflon (registered trademark) or nylon, or other material sheet surface. A film coated with a film having good peelability is suitable. The belt 4 shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 is rotated once from the bottom surface 2 side to the upper surface 3 side of the movable plate 1, but can be rotated two or more times if necessary. The belt 4 may be formed in advance in a ring shape so that the movable plate 1 can be inserted into the inside from the side opening.

  The fixing tool 6 for fixing the belt 4 is composed of two square bars 6a and 6b as shown in FIG. 7, and a bolt / nut is sandwiched between the upper and lower square bars 6a and 6b with the fixing part 5 of the belt 4 sandwiched therebetween. They are connected and fixed with connecting tools such as screws. The upper surface of the lower square bar 6a and the bottom surface of the upper square bar 6b are formed with recesses and projections that can be engaged with the fixing portions 5 of the belt 4, and the belt 4 sandwiched between the recesses and projections is formed. The position is difficult to be displaced. By this fixing, the length of the ring-shaped belt 4 is kept constant.

  The fixture 6 is fixed to the bottom surface side of the tip of the housing 10 (FIGS. 7 and 8) of the article dropping device 52. As shown in FIG. 9, the housing 10 has a horizontally long rectangular tube shape, and has an opening 12 on the bottom surface. A bracket 7 protrudes downward from the opening 12, and the movable plate 1 is fixed to the protrusion. .

  The operation principle of the article unloading apparatus in the article automatic movement apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This explanatory view is a case where the fixed portion 5 of the belt 4 is held at a fixed position and the movable plate 1 is slid back and forth. FIG. 11A shows the case where the movable plate 1 has moved forward most. FIG. 11B shows the time when the movable plate 1 is retracted, and FIG. 11C shows the time when the movable plate 1 is most retracted.

  The belt 4 is fed forward together with the movable plate 1 at the position of FIG. 11A, and the belt is fed to the front upper surface side of the movable plate 1 when the movable plate 1 is retracted to the position of FIG. The front side 4a is pulled toward the bottom surface side of the moving plate 1, the belt rear side 4b is sent to the rear upper surface side of the moving plate 1, and when the moving plate 1 is retracted to the position of FIG. Further, the belt rear side 4b is further pulled to the rear upper surface side of the moving plate 1 by being pulled toward the bottom surface side of the moving plate 1, and the belt rear side 4b at the upper rear side of the moving plate 1 becomes longer. On the contrary, when the moving plate 1 is advanced from the position of FIG. 11C to the position of FIG. 11B, the belt rear side 4b is pulled back to the bottom surface side of the moving plate 1, and the moving plate 1 is moved to FIG. When the belt is advanced from the position (b) to FIG. 11A, the belt rear side 4 b is further extended to the bottom surface side of the moving plate 1, and the belt front side 4 a is sent to the front upper surface of the moving plate 1 and becomes longer.

(Embodiment of a method for putting down articles)
1 (a) to 12 (c) with reference to 12 (a) to (c), an example in which an irregular shaped article such as mayonnaise, fresh cream or the like is scooped up and placed on the belt 4 using the article dropping device 52 of FIG. This will be described below. As shown in FIG. 12A, the belt front end 4c is set behind the article W on the table T, and the fixing portion 5 of the belt 4 is set at a fixed position (for example, Y- in FIGS. 11A to 11C). (On line Y) and keep it from moving back and forth. In this state, the motor M3 is rotated to slide the moving plate 1 forward from the fixed portion 5 in the belt 4 and the belt front side 4a is fed from the bottom surface side of the moving plate 1 to the upper surface side of the moving plate 1 while moving the moving plate 1 Is gradually moved between the table T and the article W. By this approach, the article W is crushed on the belt front side 4a as shown in FIG. 12 (b) and is lifted thereon, and the article W is further slid by the moving plate 1 and continuously fed out on the belt front side 4a. As shown in c), the belt is completely scooped up (raised) on the belt front side 4a. In this case, the belt front end 4c is not pushed under the article W, but pulled up by the rotation of the belt front side 4a, so that the article W does not generate friction, and the article W is not deformed or deformed. Raise onto 4a. Incidentally, if the moving plate 1 and the belt front end portion 4c are made to enter (push) under the article W without sliding the moving plate 1 and raising the belt front side 4a to the upper surface side of the moving plate 1, the article W Since friction is generated between the belt tip 4c and the article W, the article W is pushed by the belt tip 4c to be deformed and deformed. Depending on the case, the article may not easily rise on the W belt front side 4a, or may not rise. When the lifting of the article is completed, the rotation of the motor M3 is stopped and the front slide of the movable plate 1 is stopped. The lifting can be carried out more smoothly as the tip 1a (FIG. 11) of the moving plate 1 is thinner. The raising of the article can be performed in the same manner even for an article other than the irregular shaped article.

  The article W picked up as shown in FIG. 12C is returned to the table T as follows. The belt front end 4c in FIG. 12C is brought into contact with (set) on the table T, and the fixing portion 5 of the belt 4 is set at a fixed position (for example, on the YY line in FIGS. 11A to 11C). In this state, when the motor M3 is rotated in the reverse direction and the moving plate 1 is slid rearward from the fixed portion 5 in the belt 4, the belt front side 4a in FIG. It is pulled back to the bottom side. By this pulling back, the article W on the belt front side 4a is sent out (lowered) onto the table T as shown in FIG. 12B, and the belt front side 4a is moved to the moving plate 1 by the further rear slide of the moving plate 1. Is further pulled back to the bottom surface side and completely lowered onto the table T as shown in FIG. Also in this case, since friction does not occur between the belt front end portion 4c and the article W, the article W is not deformed or deformed, and remains on the belt front side 4a on the table T. Taken down (returned). When the article W is completely returned, the motor M3 is stopped and the backward movement of the movable plate 1 and the return of the belt 4 are stopped. This article unloading can be performed in the same manner even for articles other than the irregular shaped articles, and can be performed more smoothly as the tip portion 1a (FIG. 11) of the moving plate 1 is thinner.

(Elevating body, operation of equipment lifting equipment)
The back-and-forth movement and the up-and-down movement of the article loading / unloading apparatus in the article automatic movement apparatus of the present invention may be operations other than those described above. For example, when moving forward after scooping up the article, it will move forward with the raised height without raising, move up and back after lowering the article, move back and forth with the raised height, etc. It can also be activated. In addition to forward and backward movement, lateral movement to the left and right (including oblique lateral movement) is also possible. The forward / backward movement, lateral movement, and lifting / lowering operations can be determined according to the structure and function of the moving article supply device, the structure and function of the transfer destination, table, etc., and two or more operations should be performed separately. It can also be. These operations can be designed in advance by a computer program, and the actual operation can be automatically controlled by the computer program.

  The article automatic transfer apparatus of the present invention includes sugar, salt, chemical seasoning, powder such as medicine, soy, rice, capsule, chip and other granular materials (rose article not contained in a container), fungus species, culture medium, It can be used for loading and unloading all items such as agricultural products, seafood, food, clothing, industrial products, and mailed items. It can also be used to lift or unload elderly people, people who have difficulty walking, etc. during treatment, treatment for illness, and so on.

The perspective view which shows the state which is an example of the articles | goods automatic movement apparatus of this invention, and the article dropping apparatus is waiting in the back of a conveyance body. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which an article dropping device in the article automatic moving apparatus in FIG. 1 moves forward and scoops up an article on a carrier. The perspective view which shows the state which further moved forward on the takeover conveyance body after the article drop-off apparatus in the article automatic movement apparatus of FIG. The perspective view which shows the state which is the other example of the articles | goods automatic movement apparatus of this invention, and has the standby state of the article dropping apparatus behind the article supply part of an article supply apparatus. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state before the article dropping device of the article automatic movement apparatus of FIG. 4 cuts and scoops up an object supplied to the article supply unit of the article supply body. The perspective view which shows the raising / lowering mechanism of the raising / lowering body of the automatic article moving apparatus of FIGS. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state before the article dropping device of the article automatic movement apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 5 scoops up the article. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the article dropping device of the article automatic movement apparatus in FIGS. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal side view showing a state before the article dropping device in FIG. 7 scoops up the article. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal side view showing a state in which the article dropping device in FIG. 8 scoops up an article. (A)-(c) is operation | movement principle explanatory drawing of a moving plate and a belt. (A)-(c) is the explanatory drawing of suspending the article of the article suspending apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Moving plate 1a The front-end | tip part of a moving plate 2 The bottom face of a moving plate 3 The upper surface of a moving plate 4 Belt 4a Belt front side 4b Belt rear side 4c Belt front-end | tip part 5 Belt fixed part 5a, 5b Belt both ends 6 Fixing tool 7 Bracket DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 Power transmission chain 9 Power transmission gear 10 Housing | casing 12 of article loading / unloading apparatus Housing opening 50 Belt conveyor (article supply part)
52 Article loading / unloading device 53 Takeover carrier (belt conveyor)
54 Main body frame 55 Lifting body 56 Lifting shaft 57 Side arm 58 Guide groove 59 Moving body 60 Article supply device 61 Article supply unit 63 Rotating gear 64 Drive gear M1 to M3 Motor T stand W Article

Claims (2)

In the article automatic movement apparatus, the article supplied to the article supply unit is taken out from the article supply unit by the article drop-off device, the article drop-off device is moved by the moving mechanism, and the article is dropped from the article drop-off device onto the takeover carrier.
The apparatus for loading and unloading the article is equipped in the moving mechanism, and can be moved back and forth or / and laterally moved or / and raised / lowered by the moving mechanism,
In the article unloading device, the belt is circulated in a ring shape on the bottom surface side and the top surface side of the moving plate, and one or more places in the circulatory direction are fixed to have a constant ring length,
The moving plate can slide back and forth in the front-rear direction within the belt,
When the moving plate is slid forward from the belt fixing position, the belt moves forward from the moving plate bottom side to the moving plate upper surface side and the belt rear side is drawn from the moving plate upper surface side to the moving plate bottom side to move. When the plate is slid backward from the belt fixing point, the belt front side is pulled back from the moving plate upper surface side to the moving plate bottom surface side and the belt rear side is sent back from the moving plate bottom surface side to the moving plate upper surface side,
It said article placed down device is disposed at the rear of the product supply section, is set to the rear between the belt front tip and the product supply section and the article thereon by the moving mechanism, the fixed part of the belt moves Without moving the moving plate in the belt forward from the belt fixing point, the belt front side is drawn out to the moving plate upper surface side, and the belt rear side is drawn from the moving plate upper surface side to the moving plate bottom surface side. The upper article can be scooped up on the front side of the belt, and after scooping up, the front and rear movements and / or lateral movements and / or up and down are carried out by the moving mechanism, and the front end portion of the belt front side is close to the takeover carrier. When the moving plate is slid rearward from the belt fixing position without moving the belt fixing portion, the belt front side is pulled back from the moving plate upper surface side to the moving plate bottom surface side. At the same time, the belt rear side is fed back from the moving plate bottom surface side to the moving plate upper surface side, and the article scooped up to the belt front side can be lowered to the takeover carrier, and then moved back and forth by the moving mechanism or / and An automatic article moving apparatus characterized in that it can be moved back and forth and / or moved up and down to return it to its original position.   2. The article automatic moving device according to claim 1, wherein the article dropping device slides the moving plate within the belt and feeds the belt front side from the moving plate bottom surface side to the moving plate upper surface side and the belt rear side from the moving plate upper surface side. An automatic article moving apparatus characterized in that the article can be cut by pulling out to the bottom surface side of the moving plate and scooping up the articles continuously supplied to the article supply unit on the belt front side.

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