JP5250514B2 - Article supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, by aggregating the article coming is fed transportable by a plurality relates to an article supply device for supplying the packaging machine.

  As a conventional technique, the bucket is intermittently driven every time the articles conveyed in a line from the previous process are sequentially transferred into the bucket of the bucket conveyor at a predetermined interval on a conveying means such as a conveyor. And when the articles | goods accommodated in the bucket move to a predetermined | prescribed position, the technique in which the articles | goods in a some bucket are taken out collectively and transferred toward the packaging machine of a post process is known (patent document 1). ).

  In this way, when there is a need to increase the number of production by increasing the number of products to be packaged or boxed and packed into a predetermined number of articles conveyed from the previous process, It is possible to increase the processing capacity of the packaging machine (the number of packages per unit time) and the like so as to quickly package the articles accumulated in the bucket.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-75109

  However, if there is a delay in the supply of goods from the previous process during high-speed packaging processing, the goods will not be in time for the supply of goods to the packaging machine in the subsequent process, and the goods will be in the proper position on the transport path of the packaging machine. The transfer defect that it is not mounted is invited. As a result, when the post-process is a packaging machine that heat seals the cylindrical film with the article contained in the cylindrical film, such as a horizontal bag making and filling machine, Since the article is displaced from an appropriate position, a sealing failure is caused.

  It is an object of the present invention to obtain an apparatus capable of transferring an article in accordance with the timing of supplying an article to a packaging machine in a subsequent process when a delay occurs in the supply of the article conveyed from the preceding process during high-speed packaging processing. Objective.

The article supply apparatus 1 according to the invention of claim 1 includes the following conveyor 5 and transfer means 7. The transport conveyor 5 sequentially receives the articles 4 transported to the plurality of partition sections 10 arranged in parallel in the transport direction at the receiving position A and transports them to the discharge position B. Transfer means 7 includes a gripper 16 for taking out by grasping the partition portion 10 or al article 4 of multiple moved to the discharge position B, and the article 4 to the gripping portion 16 is taken out from the conveyor 5 feed該搬in accordance with the supply timing of the supply conveyor 6 which is connected to the hull EARLY 3 is placed on the supply conveyor 6. Said difference in processing capability is a packaging number per predetermined time of the number of articles 4 per predetermined conveyed to conveyor 5 times with the packaging machine 3 occurs, partition portion 10 up to the previous Sharing, ABS unloading position B When the storage amount of the article 4 stored in the container is changed, if the condition for increasing the storage amount of the article 4 is satisfied, the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 is lowered and the storage amount of the article 4 is decreased. When satisfied, the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 is increased, and the storage amount of the article 4 is changed. Also, said grip portion 16 at the discharge position B which is changed gripping the plurality of articles 4 moves in the direction of conveying with article 4 in the conveyor on 5 in response to changes in the storage amount of the article 4 It was configured as follows.

  In the invention of claim 2 premised on the invention of claim 1, the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 is a reference when the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 is balanced against the number of articles 4 received per the predetermined time. It can be changed based on a lower set value and a higher set value than the reference value of the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3, and the higher set value of the packaging machine 3 with respect to the reference value than the lower set value. The range of change in processing capacity is set small.

  The invention according to claim 3 based on claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the packaging machine 3 is a horizontal bag making and filling machine that seals the cylindrical film supplied with the article by thermal welding by a sealing means. The processing capacity can be changed based on a setting value for increasing the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 and a setting value for decreasing the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3, and the high setting value and the low setting value. The width of the change was set to a value within a range in which poor heat welding of the film can be avoided.

  The invention according to claim 4, which presupposes any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conveyor 5 is an endless conveyor provided with a plurality of compartments 10 for receiving individual articles 4. It is configured.

  6. The invention according to claim 5, which presupposes any one of the inventions according to claims 1 to 4, wherein the packaging machine 3 is a horizontal product that seals the cylindrical film supplied with the article by heat welding using a sealing means. In the bag filling machine, the transfer means 7 conveys the plurality of articles 4 rotated in the horizontal direction in a state where the gripping part 16 is taken out from the partition part 10 on the supply conveyor 6. It is placed in a sashimi stack while moving downstream in the direction.

  In the first aspect of the invention, when the condition for increasing the storage amount of the articles accommodated in the compartment of the conveyor is satisfied, the processing capacity of the packaging machine is lowered and the condition for decreasing the storage amount of the articles is satisfied. By increasing the processing capacity of the packaging machine and changing the amount of articles stored, the number of articles that can be supplied at each article supply timing is stored in the conveyor, even when the conveyor is not large, during high-speed packaging. can do.

Also, at the discharge position changes according to the change in the storage amount of the object products, because the gripping portion grips the plurality of articles moving in the direction of conveying with the article on the conveyor, the position of the article with partition section Even if it changes, the article can be securely grasped and taken out from the conveyor.

From the above it, even if there is delay in an article coming be sent transportable at the time of high-speed packaging process, the combined article was retained in the conveyor to the article supply timing to the packaging machine in a subsequent step, supplied to the precise location be able to.

  In the invention of claim 2, the processing capacity of the packaging machine is higher than the reference value of the processing capacity of the packaging machine, which is a reference when the processing capacity of the packaging machine is balanced with respect to the number of articles received per predetermined time. Since the width of change with respect to the reference value is set smaller than the lower set value, articles are easily stored on the conveyor. For this reason, at the time of high-speed packaging processing, even if there is a delay in the articles conveyed from the previous process, the articles stored on the conveyor are supplied to the correct position in accordance with the article supply timing to the packaging machine in the subsequent process. be able to.

  In the invention of claim 3, the processing capacity is changed based on a setting value for increasing the processing capacity of the packaging machine and a setting value for decreasing the processing capacity of the packaging machine, and the change between the high setting value and the low setting value. Since the width of is set to a value in an appropriate range that does not cause poor thermal welding even if the film conveyance speed changes when the packaging capacity is changed, the occurrence of defective packaging can be prevented.

  In the invention of claim 4, the conveyance conveyor is configured by an endless conveyor provided with a plurality of partition portions, so that when the articles conveyed from the previous process are stored in the partition portions, Since the next article is accommodated in the partition section, each article can be reliably taken out and placed.

  In the invention of claim 5, the article rotated in the horizontal direction with the gripping portion taken out from the partitioning portion of the conveyor is placed on the supply conveyor in a sashimi stack while moving downstream on the conveyor direction. By simply adding the means to the transfer means, there is no need to separately arrange the means, and the article supply apparatus can be downsized.

(A) is a schematic plan view of an article supply apparatus and a horizontal bag making and filling machine in both the front and rear processes, and (b) is a schematic side view of a conveyor and a robot arm of the article supply apparatus. It is a control block diagram of this apparatus. It is the schematic which shows the articles | goods mounted in the sashimi pile shape, and the support piece which supports it. (A) is the figure which looked at the article | item of FIG. 3 from diagonally upward, (b) is the figure which looked at this article | item from diagonally downward. (A) is the figure which looked at the articles | goods conveyed toward the packaging machine in the state arranged in the sashimi pile shape and arranged in two rows from diagonally upper direction, (b) saw this article | item from diagonally downward FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (a), packaging machines 2 and 3 are disposed in the pre-process and post-process of the article supply apparatus 1. Although not shown, the packaging machines 2 and 3 are formed into a cylindrical shape by forming a belt-like film drawn from the raw fabric roll into a cylindrical shape by bag making means, and applying a vertical seal 4a by heat welding to the cylindrical film. A well-known horizontal bag making and filling machine that supplies articles into the film at predetermined intervals, performs a horizontal seal by thermal welding on the tubular film between the articles by a sealing device (sealing means), and cuts the tubular film. It is.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 3, the article supply apparatus 1 is conveyed at predetermined intervals from the packaging machine 2 in the previous process, for example, an article such as a food packaged with rice crackers or the like. A transfer conveyor 5 for collecting a plurality of articles 4 and a transfer means for holding a plurality of articles 4 collected on the conveyor 5 and placing the articles 4 on a supply conveyor 6 connected to a packaging machine 3 in a subsequent process The parallel link type robot 7 is provided. The robot 7 is supported by a frame 1a, and an article detection sensor 9 for detecting the article 4 on the discharge conveyor 8 connected to the packaging machine 2 in the previous process is disposed on the frame 1a.

  In the transport conveyor 5, a plurality of partition members 10 a are disposed at equal intervals on an endless chain 11, and partition portions 10 that can accommodate articles 4 are formed between the partition members 10 a. The conveyor 5 is arranged on the downstream side of the discharge conveyor 8 so that each section 10 receives the articles 4 conveyed at predetermined intervals from the packaging machine 2 in the previous process through the discharge conveyor 8 at a receiving position A. The article 4 is conveyed by a servo motor 13 provided with an encoder 12 as described later.

  The robot 7 is of the same type as that disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-234615, and a plurality of robot arms 15 driven by the servo motor 14 are attached to the tips of suction chambers, suction pads, and the like. A gripping portion 16 is provided in which an adsorbing means (not shown) is provided. The gripping part 16 can move three-dimensionally while maintaining a horizontal state by each robot arm 15 and can rotate in a horizontal plane, while moving along the transfer line on the transfer conveyor 5, A predetermined number of articles 4 accommodated in the plurality of compartments 10 at the discharge position B are gripped by air suction at a time and moved upward, and moved to the supply conveyor 6 while maintaining the level in the gripped state. . Furthermore, the gripping part 16 moves along the transport line on the supply conveyor 6 and rotates 180 degrees in the horizontal plane to change the direction of the article 4. That is, the gripping unit 16 repeats the above-described series of movements between the transport conveyor 5 and the supply conveyor 6 by the robot arm 15.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control means 17 includes a servo motor 13 and an encoder 12 disposed on the conveyor 5, an article detection sensor 9, a servo motor 14 disposed on the robot 7, and the packaging machine 3. It is connected to the control means 18 and the article supply apparatus 1 is driven as follows.

  Each time the article 4 on the discharge conveyor 8 immediately before being delivered from the packaging machine 2 to the compartment 10 at the receiving position A of the conveyor 5 is detected by the article detection sensor 9, the control means 17 detects the detected article. 4 is accommodated in the partition section 10 at the receiving position A, the servo motor 13 of the conveyor 5 is driven so as to move the partition section 10 by one toward the discharge position B side. In response to a pulse from the attached encoder 12, data corresponding to the position of the earliest partition unit 10 accommodated in the partition unit 10 is updated as needed.

  In this manner, the section between the receiving position A and the discharging position B is sequentially moved toward the downstream side of the discharging position B determined by accommodating the article 4 in the dividing portion 10 that has reached the receiving position A. The article 4 is continuously stored in the part 10. In that case, the conveyance processing speed which conveys the articles | goods 4 of the conveyance conveyor 5 is set to the substantially same speed corresponding to the processing capacity (the number of packages per predetermined time) of the packaging machine 2 of the previous process.

  The discharge position B of the conveyor 5 is a position where the gripping unit 16 of the robot 7 grips the articles 4 accommodated in a predetermined number of partitioning units 10 including the earliest partitioning unit 10 at a time. It changes in the range of the position Q.

  Since the storage amount of the articles 4 is insufficient until the first partition section 10 reaches the position P after the transport conveyor 5 starts to store the articles 4 in the partition section 10, the robot 7 and the subsequent packaging The machine 3 is set so as not to operate. When the earliest section 10 reaches the position P, the robot 7 and the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process start to operate.

  When the robot 7 obtains the article supply timing of the supply conveyor 6 by a pulse of an encoder (not shown) attached to a servo motor (not shown) that drives the supply conveyor 6 from the control means 18 of the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process, The drive is controlled by the control means 17 so as to match the supply timing. Therefore, the timing at which the robot 7 grips the plurality of articles 4 accommodated in the partition section 10 and the timing at which the plurality of articles 4 are placed on the supply conveyor 6 are substantially equal to the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process. It changes corresponding to the following changes.

  When the earliest section 10 containing the articles 4 reaches the position P, the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process is balanced against the number of articles 4 that the conveyor 5 receives per predetermined time. When the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 is set as a reference value, a signal is sent from the control means 17 to the control means 18 in order to operate the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process with a processing capacity that is a set value lower than the reference value.

  Therefore, the state in which the processing speed at which the robot 7 takes out the article 4 accommodated in the partition unit 10 and places the article 4 on the supply conveyor 6 continues to be slower than the conveying processing speed of the conveying conveyor 5 continues. By gradually increasing the storage amount, the earliest partition 10 in which the article 4 is accommodated moves from the position P toward the downstream position Q.

  When the earliest compartment 10 in which the article 4 is accommodated reaches the position Q, the packaging machine 3 is operated at a set value that is approximately 1 to 2% higher than the above-mentioned reference value for the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process. For this purpose, a signal is sent from the control means 17 to the control means 18.

  Therefore, the state in which the processing speed at which the robot 7 takes out the article 4 accommodated in the partition unit 10 and places the article 4 on the supply conveyor 6 continues to be faster than the conveyance processing speed of the conveyance conveyor 5 continues. As the storage amount gradually decreases, the earliest partition 10 in which the article 4 is accommodated moves from the position Q toward the upstream position P.

  And when the earliest division part 10 in which the article 4 is accommodated reaches the position P, the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process is set to a value that is about 3% lower than the above-mentioned reference value, and the packaging machine 3 is A signal is sent from the control means 17 to the control means 18 for operation.

  In this way, when the condition of increasing the storage amount of the articles 4 is satisfied when the earliest section 10 in which the articles 4 are accommodated reaches the position P of the conveyor 5, the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 is reduced, When the previous partition 10 reaches the position Q and the condition for reducing the storage amount of the article 4 is satisfied, the operation of increasing the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 is repeated, and the earliest partition in which the article 4 is accommodated. 10 always changes in the range between the position P and the position Q, and even if the timing for receiving the article 4 from the packaging machine 2 in the previous process is delayed, the article 4 can be supplied to the packaging machine 3 without delay. Is maintained.

  The processing capacity of the post-processing packaging machine 3 is about 1 to 2% higher than the reference value when the earliest compartment 10 in which the article 4 is accommodated reaches the position Q, and when the position P is reached. By lowering by about 3% from the reference value, the articles 4 can be stored on the conveyor 5 when the processing capacity of the packaging machine 2 in the previous process is lowered.

  Moreover, it is preferable to set the difference in the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 set at the position P and the position Q to less than 15% according to the properties such as the material and thickness of the packaging material, and most preferably to about 5%. preferable. This is because when the width of the change in the processing capacity exceeds 15%, a defect occurs in the welding of the film by the sealing means, and the value in the above range that can avoid it is adopted.

  The gripping portion 16 of the robot 7 lifts upward in a state where the plurality of articles 4 are sucked and gripped from the discharge position B of the transport conveyor 5 and is turned 180 degrees in the horizontal plane, and then transports the articles 4 on the supply conveyor 6. In addition, the back surface of the article 4 on which the vertical seal 4a is formed in the pillow packaged product obtained in the previous process as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 by moving at a speed faster than the moving speed of the conveyor 5. Each article 4 is placed on the supply conveyor 6 in the form of sashimi so that each is directed downward.

  At that time, the back surface of the article 4 on the most downstream side in the conveyance direction among the articles 4 placed in a sashimi-like shape is supported by the support pieces 19 arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction of the supply conveyor 6. .

  Then, the plurality of articles 4 placed on the supply conveyor 6 in a sashimi-stacked state are conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Supplied and the required transverse seal is applied by the sealing means. And it is discharged from the packaging machine 3 as a pillow packaged product.

This embodiment has the following effects.
* When the condition for increasing the storage amount of the articles 4 accommodated in the compartment 10 of the transport conveyor 5 is satisfied, the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 is lowered, and when the condition for decreasing the storage amount of the articles 4 is satisfied, packaging is performed. By increasing the processing capacity of the machine 3 and changing the amount of articles 4 stored, the number of articles that can be supplied at each article supply timing can be increased without increasing the size of the conveyor 5 during high-speed packaging. 5 can be stored.

  Further, when gripping the article 4 whose position changes in accordance with the change in the storage amount of the article 4 at the discharge position, the gripping portion 16 is moved in the direction to be transported together with the article 4 on the transport conveyor 5. Even if the position of 4 changes together with the partitioning section 10, the article 4 can be securely grasped and taken out from the conveyor 5.

  Therefore, even when the article 4 conveyed from the previous process is delayed during the high-speed packaging process, the article 4 stored on the conveyor 5 is fed to the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process and supplied to an accurate position. be able to.

  * For example, even if the supply of the articles 4 from the packaging machine 2 in the previous process is temporarily interrupted, a predetermined number of articles 4 are stored at the discharge position B of the transport conveyor 5, so that the packaging in the subsequent process Packaging machine to prevent the generation of empty bags without delaying the supply of the articles 4 to the machine 3, without generating empty bags due to the delay of the supply of the articles 4 to the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process When stopping 3, it is not necessary to frequently stop and start the packaging machine 3.

  * Assuming that an article 4 is defective in the packaging machine 2 in the previous process and the actual processing capacity in the previous process is lower than the calculated value, the article 4 accommodates the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process. When the earliest section 10 is reached to the position Q, it is about 1 to 2% higher than the reference value, and when it reaches the position P, it is about 3% lower than the reference value to change the processing capacity. Since the widths of the articles 4 are different, the articles 4 are easily stored on the conveyor 5.

  * If the range of change in the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 exceeds 15%, there is a possibility of causing poor welding of the film by the sealing means. Therefore, the difference in the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 set at the position P and the position Q About 5% is set to avoid poor film welding due to the sealing means.

  * When the transport conveyor 5 is configured by an endless conveyor provided with a plurality of partition sections 10, the article 4 conveyed from the previous process is rotated when it is stored in the partition section 10, and the next section Since the next article is accommodated in the portion 10, the individual article 4 can be reliably taken out and placed.

  * Means for placing the article 4 rotated in the horizontal direction in a state where the gripping part 16 is taken out from the partitioning part 10 of the conveyor 5 on the supply conveyor 6 in a sashimi stack while moving downstream on the conveyor direction By simply adding to the robot 7, it is not necessary to separately provide the means, and the article supply apparatus 1 can be downsized.

* Position information of the earliest compartment 10 containing the article 4 can be obtained accurately and reliably by the encoder 12.
For example, the following embodiment may be configured as follows.

  In the present embodiment, the position of the earliest compartment 10 in which the article 4 is accommodated is obtained based on the pulse of the encoder 12, but the position of the article 4 in the compartment 10 at the position Q to position P is indicated by a photoelectric sensor or an image. You may monitor using a sensor etc. For example, the presence or absence of the article 4 with respect to the partition unit 10 may be detected by separate photoelectric sensors at the position Q and the position P, or one photoelectric sensor is installed between the position Q and the position P, and the article 4 It is also possible to switch the processing capacity of the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process when a predetermined time has elapsed since the detection of the above.

  In the present embodiment, one article 4 is accommodated in one partition 10, but a plurality of articles 4 may be accommodated in one partition 10. Moreover, the accommodation form of the articles | goods 4 in the partition part 10 may maintain the state which accepted the articles | goods 4 and laid down, or may stand up.

  In the conveyor 5 according to the present embodiment, the partition members 10a of the partition unit 10 are arranged on the endless chain 11 at equal intervals. However, the partition member 10a is self-propelled by a roller, and the interval between the partition members 10a. May be configured to be non-uniformly arranged.

  In the present embodiment, the plurality of articles 4 are sucked together by the suction means provided in the gripping portion 16, but a plurality of claws are arranged on the gripping portion 16 so that the articles are gripped by the claws. It may be.

  In this embodiment, the sashimi-shaped articles 4 are placed in a row on the supply conveyor 6 connected to the packaging machine 3, but as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the supply conveyor 6 Alternatively, multiple rows of sashimi-shaped articles 4 may be placed parallel to each other. As a specific method for placing the articles 4 in parallel with the supply conveyor 6 in this way, first, a row in which the gripping portions 16 are accommodated in a predetermined number of partitioning portions 10 including the earliest partitioning portion 10 of the transport conveyor 5. The article 4 corresponding to the minute is adsorbed and lifted at a time. Next, the article corresponding to one row including the earliest partition part 10 is again moved by moving the grasping part 16 by approximately the lateral width of the article 4 in the lateral direction intersecting the transport direction of the supply conveyor 6. 4 is adsorbed, and two rows of articles 4 are gripped. Then, in a state where the articles 4 for two rows are gripped, it can be implemented by controlling the drive so that the articles 4 are placed on the supply conveyor 6 by moving in the same manner as in the present embodiment.

Although the article 4 is directly placed on the supply conveyor 6, the article 4 may be placed in a sashimi shape on a tray that is transported on the supply conveyor 6.
In the present embodiment, a horizontal bag making and filling machine is used as the packaging machine 3 in the subsequent process. However, for example, a packaging machine such as a boxing machine or a stretch film packaging machine can be used.

  In the present embodiment, the pre-process is not limited to the packaging machine 2 and may be various article processing machines such as a manufacturing apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Article supply apparatus, 3 ... Packaging machine of a post process, 5 ... Conveyor, 6 ... Supply conveyor, 7 ... Robot (transfer means), 10 ... Compartment part, 16 ... Grasping part, A ... Receiving position, B ... Discharge position.

Claims (5)

A transport conveyor for sequentially receiving and transporting articles conveyed to a plurality of compartments arranged in parallel in the transport direction to the discharge position at the reception position;
Has a gripping portion taken out by grasping the partition portion or et multiple article moved to the discharge position, fit the supply timing of the feed conveyor connected articles gripping portion is removed from the conveying conveyor packaging machine An article supply apparatus comprising transfer means for placing on the supply conveyor,
Said difference in processing capability is a packaging number per predetermined time of the number of articles per a predetermined conveyed to conveyor time and the packaging machine occurs, the previous Sharing, ABS out articles contained in the compartment portion to the position when changing the storage amount, a condition that increases the storage amount of the article is filled low processing capacity of the packaging machine, the processing capacity of the packaging machine and conditions to reduce the storage amount of the article are met To increase the storage amount of the article,
Article, characterized by being configured to grip said plurality of article the grip portion at the discharge position has changed is moved in the direction of conveyance with the article on the conveyor according to the storage amount of the change of the article Feeding device. The processing capacity of the packaging machine is set to a lower setting value and a higher setting value than the reference value of the processing capacity of the packaging machine, which is a reference when the processing capacity of the packaging machine is balanced with respect to the number of articles received per predetermined time. The range of change in the processing capacity of the packaging machine relative to the reference value is set to be smaller in the higher set value than in the lower set value. The article supply apparatus according to 1. The packaging machine is a horizontal bag making and filling machine that seals a cylindrical film supplied with articles by thermal welding by a sealing means, and a set value for increasing the processing capacity of the packaging machine and the processing of the packaging machine The processing capability can be changed based on a setting value that lowers the capability, and the range of change between the high setting value and the low setting value is set to a value within a range that can avoid a poor thermal welding of the film. The article supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article supply apparatus is characterized. The article supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conveyor is configured by an endless conveyor having a plurality of compartments for receiving individual articles. . The packaging machine is a horizontal bag making and filling machine that seals a cylindrical film supplied with articles by thermal welding by a sealing means, and the transfer means takes out the gripping part upward from the partition part. 5. The plurality of articles rotated in a horizontal direction in a state of being stacked are placed in a sashimi shape while moving on the supply conveyor to the downstream side in the transport direction. The article supply apparatus according to one.

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