JP5468419B2 - Boxing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a boxing device using an impeller.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a packing device using a paddle mechanism is known as an article boxing device.

  This packing apparatus includes a bag transporting conveyor, a pair of paddle mechanisms arranged so as to face each other, and a box conveyor for positioning a box at a predetermined position below the pair of paddle mechanisms. When boxing is performed, the box is positioned at a predetermined position by the box conveyor, the bags to be boxed are arranged on the paddle of the paddle mechanism by the bag conveyor, and then the paddle is rotated to rotate the paddle. Are placed in a box (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-220405

  By the way, in recent years, in a series of processes for weighing objects, bagging, inspection, bag boxing, etc., the processing capacity of equipment such as quality inspection devices and sorting devices arranged upstream of the boxing device has improved. However, improvement in processing capability is also demanded for boxing equipment.

  However, if the rotational speed of the paddle mechanism (hereinafter referred to as an impeller) is simply increased in order to improve the processing capacity, an article dropped from the impeller will hit the impeller blade approaching from above, As a result, the falling posture of the article may be disturbed, and the posture of the packed article may be greatly disturbed. In particular, an article having a large area in the horizontal direction, such as an article packaged in a pillow bag, has a slow drop speed at the initial stage of dropping, and is therefore easily disturbed by striking against a blade.

  Therefore, it has been difficult for the conventional boxing apparatus to increase the rotational speed of the impeller and improve the processing capacity.

  In order to solve the above problems, a boxing device according to the present invention includes an article transfer device, and three or more first shafts arranged so as to extend from a central portion to a peripheral portion in a rotationally symmetrical manner with respect to a rotational shaft and the center of the rotational shaft. Each of which has a predetermined number of flat blades and is arranged so as to face each other, and the first pair of blades are arranged on the sides facing each other. In each rotation direction (hereinafter referred to as a first predetermined individual rotation direction) that moves downward, an angle obtained by dividing 360 degrees by the first predetermined number (hereinafter referred to as a first unit angle) Any one blade of the first pair of impellers (hereinafter referred to as the first pair of blades) is rotated synchronously so as to stop at a first reference angular position aligned substantially horizontally. A dropping device and the first reference angular position A box supply device for positioning a box opened upward at a predetermined position below the first pair of blades, wherein the article transfer device is located at the first reference angular position. A plurality of articles are transported on the pair of blades so that they are aligned with each other, and the dropping device rotates the first pair of impellers in the first predetermined individual rotation direction, thereby the first pair of the blades. A boxing device configured to drop downward a plurality of articles arranged on the blades of the blade, wherein the dropping device is configured to move from the first reference angular position in the first predetermined individual rotation direction. The speed in the second angle range from the predetermined angle position to the first unit angle position is lower than the speed in the first predetermined angle range to the position of the predetermined angle smaller than the first unit angle. The first pair of It is configured to rotate the roots wheel.

  By the way, when the speed of the next blade is high, the next blade catches up with the dropped article being accelerated and dropped by natural fall.

  However, according to this configuration, since the impeller rotates so that the speed in the second angle range is lower than the speed in the first predetermined angle range, the drop during the acceleration fall due to the natural drop is dropped from the impeller It is difficult for the article to be caught up by the next blade approaching from above, and the posture of the packaged item struggled by the blade can be prevented from being disturbed. Therefore, the processing speed of the boxing device can be improved by increasing the rotational speed of the impeller.

  In the boxing device according to the invention, the boxing device is provided between the dropping device and the predetermined position where the box is to be located, and is arranged so as to extend from the central portion to the peripheral portion in a rotationally symmetrical manner about the rotation shaft and the center of the rotation shaft Each of the two or more second predetermined number of plate-like blades, each having a second pair of impellers arranged so as to face each other, and the second pair of impellers An angle (hereinafter referred to as a second unit) obtained by dividing 360 degrees by the second predetermined number in each rotational direction (hereinafter referred to as a second predetermined individual rotational direction) in which each blade moves downward on the opposite side. Each one of the second pair of impellers (hereinafter referred to as the second pair of blades) stops at a second reference angular position that is substantially horizontally aligned. A temporary holding device that rotates synchronously The temporary holding device receives the plurality of articles dropped from the dropping device on the second pair of blades at the second reference angular position, and holds them for a certain period of time. The second pair of impellers may be configured to drop onto the box by rotating in the second individual rotation direction.

  As described above, when the temporary holding device is provided, the article dropped from the dropping device is held by the temporary holding device while exchanging a predetermined number of boxes and empty boxes, thereby transferring the article transferring device and the dropping device. Boxing can be performed without stopping. Therefore, the processing capacity of the boxing device can be improved.

  As described above, the boxing device of the present invention has an effect that the processing capability can be improved.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the boxing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of the boxing apparatus main body with which the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the impeller with which the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the structure of the control system of the boxing apparatus main body with which the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. It is a flowchart which shows rotation control of the impeller of the dropping apparatus with which the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. It is a flowchart which shows rotation control of the impeller of the temporary holding apparatus with which the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. It is a time chart which shows operation | movement of the boxing apparatus of FIG. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the rotational speed and angular position of an impeller with which the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. It is a figure which shows roughly operation | movement of a pair of impeller of the dropping apparatus with which the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1 is equipped, (a) is a figure which shows a pair of impeller located in a reference | standard angle position, (b) is an article | item. The figure which shows a pair of impeller located in a transferable angle position, (c) is a figure which shows a pair of impeller located in a stop angle position.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout all the drawings, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a boxing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The boxing apparatus 100 is an apparatus that boxes an article packaged with a packaging material such as a pillow bag. Moreover, the boxing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, for example, stacks 12 articles in a horizontal direction for each stage, stacks them in six stages, and packs them.

  In FIG. 1, the boxing device 100 includes a belt conveyor (article transfer device) 1, a boxing device main body 2, and a box supply device 3. Further, the boxing device 100 includes the control device 4 at an appropriate place.

  The belt conveyor 1 is disposed so as to convey articles in the horizontal direction. Since the structure of this belt conveyor 1 is well-known, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. In the following, the side on which the articles are conveyed by the belt conveyor 1 is referred to as the upstream side, and the side on which the articles are conveyed is referred to as the downstream side.

  Then, an article passage sensor 12 is provided on the side of the downstream end portion of the belt conveyor 1 to detect an article passing through the downstream end portion of the belt conveyor 1. The article passage sensor 12 is constituted by an optical sensor, for example.

[Configuration of the boxing device itself]
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the boxing device main body 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the boxing device main body 2 includes a dropping device 20, a temporary holding device 40, and a support frame 60, and is disposed on the downstream side of the belt conveyor 1.

  The support frame 60 includes a leg portion 61, a dropping device support portion 62, and a temporary holding device support portion 63.

  The leg portion 61 includes a first leg portion 61a disposed on one side in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the article in plan view, and a second leg portion 61b disposed on the other side. The first leg 61a includes a bar 61aa extending in the vertical direction on the upstream side, a bar 61ab extending in the vertical direction on the downstream side, and a bar spanned between the bar 61aa and the bar 61ab. Material 61ac. The second leg portion 61b includes a bar 61ba extending in the vertical direction on the upstream side, a bar 61bb extending in the vertical direction on the downstream side, and a bar spanned between the bar 61ba and the bar 61bb. Material 61bc. The dropping device support part 62 includes an upstream support plate 62a and a downstream support plate 62b. Each of the upstream support plate 62a and the downstream support plate 62b is a plate body. The upstream support plate 62a is spanned between the bar 61aa and the bar 61ba. The downstream support plate 62b is spanned between the bar 61ab and the bar 61bb. The temporary holding device support portion 63 includes an upstream support plate 63a and a downstream support plate 63b. Each of the upstream support plate 63a and the downstream support plate 63b is a plate body. The upstream side support plate 63a is located below the upstream side support plate 62a, and is spanned between the bar 61aa and the bar 61ba. The downstream side support plate 63b is located below the downstream side support plate 62b, and spans the bar material 61ab and the bar material 61bb.

[Configuration of drop device]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the first and second impellers 21 and 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the dropping device 20 includes first and second impellers 21 and 22 and a first servo motor 28 (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first impeller 21 includes a rotating shaft 23, blades 24, 25, and 26 (a first predetermined number of flat blades), three angle members 36, an end plate 27, have.

  The rotating shaft 23 is formed in a hexagonal prism shape, and is arranged extending in parallel with the conveyance direction of the article. The rotating shaft 23 is formed to be sufficiently longer than a dimension in which, for example, two articles oriented in the longitudinal direction in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction in plan view are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 23. The upstream end and the downstream end of the rotary shaft 23 are rotatably supported by the upstream support plate 62a and the downstream support plate 62b, respectively. A plurality of screw holes (not shown) for attaching angle members 36 to be described later are formed at predetermined intervals on three side surfaces that are not adjacent to each other among the six side surfaces of the rotating shaft 23.

  The angle member 36 is formed in a shape in which a plate member is bent 90 degrees along a center line extending in the longitudinal direction of the angle member 36, and a rotary shaft attachment portion 36a is formed on one side through the bent portion, and the other side. A blade attachment portion 36b is formed. Therefore, the rotating shaft attachment portion 36a and the blade attachment portion 36b are orthogonal to each other. The angle member 36 is formed to have substantially the same length as the rotation shaft 23. Each of the rotating shaft attachment portion 36a and the blade attachment portion 36b has a plurality of screw insertion holes (not shown) at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction. The angle member 36 is inserted into the screw insertion hole of the rotation shaft attachment portion 36 a and attached to the rotation shaft 23 by a screw 37 screwed into a screw hole formed on the side surface of the rotation shaft 23.

  The blades 24, 25, and 26 are plate materials each formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and are formed in substantially the same shape. The length in the longitudinal direction of the blades 24, 25, 26 is formed substantially the same as the length of the angle member 36, and the length in the width direction of the blades 24, 25, 26 is the same as that of the rotating shaft 23 of the first impeller 21. It is formed to be shorter than ½ of the distance from the rotation shaft 23 of the second impeller 22 described later. One surface of the blades 24, 25, and 26 is a surface on which the article is placed, and is smoothly formed so that the article can be slid. The blades 24, 25, and 26 are each formed with a plurality of screw insertion holes (not shown) at predetermined intervals along one end portion in the longitudinal direction. The blades 24, 25, and 26 are respectively attached to the blade attachment portion 36b by screws 38 that are inserted into the screw insertion holes of the blades 24, 25, and 26 and screwed into the screw holes of the blade attachment portion 36b. Accordingly, the blades 24, 25, and 26 are disposed so as to extend from the center portion of the rotating shaft 23 to the peripheral portion, and are disposed at 120 ° intervals in the circumferential direction with respect to the rotating shaft 23. Further, the tips of the blades 24, 25, 26 constitute free ends.

  The end plate 27 is formed in a disc shape, and is fixed to the downstream end of the rotating shaft 23 coaxially with the rotating shaft 23. The radius of the end plate 27 is formed substantially the same as the length from the central axis of the rotating shaft 23 to the tips of the blades 24, 25, 26. In the present embodiment, the shape of the end plate 27 is a disc shape, but is not limited to this, and may be a triangular or hexagonal plate.

  Therefore, the 1st impeller 21 is formed in the rotational symmetry which overlaps with the 1st impeller 21 located in the original position whenever it rotates 120 degree | times.

  The second impeller 22 is formed in a mirror image symmetrical form with the first impeller 21. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  The first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 are arranged to face each other. The first and second blades 24, 25, and 26 of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are arranged such that the surfaces formed smoothly when the blades 24, 25, and 26 are located on the sides facing each other. It is attached to the impellers 21 and 22. Thus, the 1st and 2nd impellers 21 and 22 comprise a pair of impellers (1st pair of impellers). And the space | interval of the rotating shaft 23 of the 1st impeller 21 and the rotating shaft 23 of the 2nd impeller 22 is formed sufficiently long, for example than the length of the longitudinal direction of articles | goods. Further, as described above, the length in the width direction of each of the blades 24, 25, 26 is ½ of the distance between the rotation shaft 23 of the first impeller 21 and the rotation shaft 23 of the second impeller 22. Since the gap is formed between the blades positioned at a reference angle position, which will be described later, and the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 rotate, the first impeller 21 is formed. The blades of the second impeller 22 do not overlap with each other. This gap is set to a sufficiently small dimension with respect to the longitudinal dimension of the article.

  The downstream end of the belt conveyor 1 and the upstream ends of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are arranged adjacent to each other in plan view. Further, the rotary shafts 23 and 23 of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are respectively disposed below the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 1. Thus, the articles conveyed by the belt conveyor 1 are transferred from the belt conveyor 1 to the first and second impellers 21 and 22. Therefore, the belt conveyor 1 constitutes the “article transfer device” of the present invention.

The rotating shaft 23 of the first impeller 21 is directly connected to the output shaft of the first servomotor 28. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the output shaft of the first servo motor 28 is connected to the second impeller via a driving gear 30, a driven gear 31, a driving pulley 32, a driven pulley 33, and a timing belt 34. It is connected to 22 rotation shafts 23. Specifically, the driving side gear 30 is fitted to the output shaft of the first servomotor 28. The driven gear 31 meshes with the driving gear 30 and the gear ratio between the driving gear 30 and the driven gear 31 is 1: 1. The driven gear 31 and the driving pulley 32 are fixed coaxially. The driven pulley 33 is fixed coaxially with the rotating shaft 23 of the second impeller 22. The pulley ratio of the driving pulley 32 and the driven pulley 33 is 1: 1. The timing belt 34 is stretched between a driving pulley 32 and a driven pulley 33. As a result, when the output shaft of the first servo motor 28 rotates, the rotating shaft 23 of the first impeller 21 and the rotating shaft 23 of the second impeller 22 rotate in synchronization in the opposite directions. A tensioner (not shown) for adjusting the tension of the timing belt 34 is provided at an appropriate position.
The first servomotor 28 includes a first encoder 28a that detects the rotation angle of the output shaft (see FIG. 4).

  In the present embodiment, the rotation shafts 23 of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 are arranged to extend in parallel with the conveyance direction of the article in a side view, but are not limited thereto. It only has to be arranged extending in parallel with the conveying direction of the article in plan view.

  In this embodiment, the rotation axis is formed in a hexagonal column shape, and the number of blades of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 is three. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The shaft may be formed in a quadrangular prism shape, the number of blades of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 may be four, and the four blades may be attached to the four side surfaces of the rotating shaft, respectively. In such a case, each of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 is formed in a rotationally symmetrical manner that overlaps with the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 that are originally located each time the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 are rotated 90 degrees.

[Configuration of temporary holding device]
As shown in FIG. 1, the temporary holding device 40 includes a pair of third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 and a second servomotor 48 (see FIG. 4). The third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 and the second servo motor 48 have the same configuration as the first and second impellers 21 and 22 and the first servo motor 28 of the dropping device 20, respectively. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  And the upstream edge part of each rotating shaft 23 of the 3rd impeller 41 and the 4th impeller 42 is rotatably supported by the upstream support plate 63a. And the downstream end part of each rotating shaft 23 of the 3rd impeller 41 and the 4th impeller 42 is rotatably supported by the downstream support plate 63b.

  A boxing position P is set below the temporary holding device.

[Configuration of box feeder]
The box supply device 3 includes a roller conveyor 65. Since the configuration of the roller conveyor 65 is well known, detailed description thereof is omitted. The roller conveyor 65 is provided to extend in parallel with the belt conveyor 1 so as to pass through the boxing position P.

  A boxing position detection sensor 66 is provided on the side of the downstream end of the boxing position P, and detects that the downstream end of the box conveyed by the roller conveyor 65 is positioned at the downstream end of the boxing position P. To do. The boxing position detection sensor 66 is constituted by an optical sensor, for example.

[Configuration of control system]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control system of the boxing device 100. Hereinafter, the control system of the boxing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The control device 4 included in the boxing device 100 includes, for example, a control unit 71 composed of a CPU and a storage unit 72 composed of ROM, RAM, and the like. The control unit 71 includes a dropping device control unit 75 that controls the operation of the dropping device 20, a temporary holding device control unit 76 that controls the operation of the temporary holding device 40, and a box feeding device control that controls the operation of the box feeding device 3. Part 77. The dropping device control unit 75 controls the rotation of the first servo motor 28 and thus the first and second impellers 21 and 22 via the first driver 73, and the temporary holding device control unit 76 controls the second driver 74. The second servomotor 48, and thus the third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 are controlled via the second servomotor 48. A predetermined control program is stored in the storage unit 72, and the operation of the boxing device 100 is controlled by the control unit 71 reading and executing these control programs. The dropping device control unit 75, the temporary holding device control unit 76, and the box supply device control unit 77 are functions realized by executing the control program in this way. The article passage signal output from the article passage sensor 12 is input to the dropping device controller 75. The box passage signal output from the boxing position detection sensor 66 is input to the temporary holding device control unit 76 and the box supply device control unit 77. Further, the angular position detection signals output from the first encoder 28a of the first servo motor 28 and the second encoder 48a of the second servo motor 48 are input to the dropping device control unit 75 and the temporary holding device control unit 76, respectively. .

  The storage unit 72 includes the above-described predetermined control program, and speed information (first and second r1 and r2 to be described later) of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 to be described later input to the control device 4 from an input device (not illustrated). Position information (first deceleration angle position, second deceleration angle position, and stop angle position, which will be described later), and standby time (T1 and T2 which will be described later) are stored.

  In addition, the arrow in a figure shows the transmission direction of a signal.

[Operation example]
Next, an operation example of the boxing device 100 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 of the dropping device 20, and shows an operation example of the dropping device 20.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the control of the third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 of the temporary holding device 40, and shows an operation example of the temporary holding device 40.

  FIG. 7 is a time chart showing the operation of the boxing device 100.

  FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the speed and the angular position of the first and second impellers 21 and 22. The vertical axis in FIG. 8 indicates the speed of the first and second impellers 21 and 22, and the horizontal axis indicates the angular position of the first and second impellers 21 and 22.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the first and second impellers 21 and 22, and (a) shows the first and second impellers 21 and 22 located at the reference angular position. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the first and second impellers 21 and 22 positioned at the article transferable angular position, and FIG. 5C is the first and second impeller 21 positioned at the stop angular position. , 22.

  First, before starting the operation, an input device (not shown) sends the speed information of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 to be described later (r1 and r2 to be described later) as operation parameters to the control unit 71. ), Position information (first deceleration angle position, second deceleration angle position, and stop angle position, which will be described later), and standby time (T1 and T2 which will be described later). The control unit 71 stores these operation parameters in the storage unit 72. Thereby, these operation parameters are set in the control unit device 4.

  Then, in the initial state, the dropping device control unit 75, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9A, based on the position information input from the first encoder 28a of the first servomotor 28, the first and first Any one of the two impellers 21 and 22 (first pair of blades) is arranged at a reference angular position (first reference angular position) in which the first and second blades are substantially horizontally aligned. Either one of the impellers 21 and 22 is stopped (S100). Further, in the initial state, the temporary holding device controller 76, as shown in FIG. 6, based on the position information input from the second encoder 48a of the second servo motor 48, the third and fourth impellers 41. , 42 at the reference angle position (second reference angle position) in which any one of the blades (second pair of blades) is substantially horizontally aligned is arranged at the third and fourth impellers 41, 42. Any one of the blades is stopped (S120).

  The reference angular position is a value of one of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 or the third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft 23 in plan view. It is an angular position where any one of the blades is arranged substantially horizontally. Specifically, the reference angular position refers to any one of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 or the third and fourth impellers in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft 23 in plan view. This is a rotational angular position that is rotated 25 degrees upward or downward with respect to the angular position in which any one of the impellers 41 and 42 is horizontally aligned.

  Further, the box supply device control unit 77 starts the roller conveyor 65, conveys the box B1 that does not contain the article opened upward, and stops the roller conveyor 65 when the boxing position detection sensor 66 detects the box. The box B1 is positioned at the boxing position P.

  Hereinafter, in this operation example, in the initial state, as shown in FIG. 9A, the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are positioned at the reference angular position, and the third and fourth impellers 41. , 42 are assumed to be positioned at the reference angular position.

  Next, the belt conveyor 1 is started. Articles are placed on the belt conveyor 1 at predetermined intervals, whereby the belt conveyor 1 transfers the articles to the dropping device 20 at predetermined time intervals. Here, the time for which two articles are transferred to the dropping device 20 is one cycle time. The article A1 conveyed by the belt conveyor 1 is detected by the article passage sensor 12 and transferred onto the blades 24 and 24 when passing through the downstream end of the belt conveyor 1. The article A1 transferred to the blades 24, 24 of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 slides on the smooth blades 24, 24 of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 and moves. Then, it collides with the end plate 27 and stops.

  The article A2 conveyed by the belt conveyor 1 next to the article A1 is detected by the article passage sensor 12 and transferred onto the blades 24 and 24 when passing the downstream end of the belt conveyor 1. The article A2 transferred to the blades 24 and 24 of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 slides on the smooth blades 24 and 24 of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 and moves. Then, it collides with the article A1 and stops.

  Thereby, the article A1 and the article A2 are arranged in a line in the transport direction of the belt conveyor 1. As described above, since the surfaces on which the articles of the blades 24 and 24 of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 are placed are formed smoothly, the articles are sequentially transferred from the belt conveyor 1 to the dropping device 20. Thus, the respective articles can be slid and moved on the surfaces on which the articles of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are placed, and can be arranged in a line. The articles A1 and A2 are transported on the transport path of the belt conveyor 1 in the longitudinal direction in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in plan view.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the dropping device control unit 75 determines that the number of articles detected by the article passage sensor 12 has reached two (S101), and waits for a time T1 (see FIG. 7) (S102). ). T1 is a time set based on the time until the article A2 that has passed through the article passage sensor 12 is transferred from the belt conveyor 1 to the dropping device 20 and collides with the article A1 and stops. This time is determined based on calculations, experiments, simulations, and the like. Thereafter, the dropping device control unit 75 moves the first and second impellers 21 and 22 in the respective rotation directions in which the respective blades move downward on the side where the first and second impellers 21 and 22 face each other. It is rotated to a stop angle position rotated 120 degrees (first unit angle) in (first predetermined individual rotation direction) (S103). Then, as the first and second impellers 21 and 22 rotate, the articles A1 and A2 supported by the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are dropped (dropped) downward. Then, the pair of blades 25 and 25 next to the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are positioned at the reference angular position.

  Here, 120 degrees of the first unit angle is an angle obtained by dividing 360 degrees by the number of blades of the first and second impellers 21 and 22, that is, 3. Thereby, in a state where the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are stopped, the pair of blades 24 and 24 of the first and second impellers 21 and 22, the pair of blades 25 and 25, or the pair of blades One pair of blades 26 and 26 is positioned at the reference angular position, and the article is transferred from the article transfer device 1 onto one of the pair of blades.

  Here, the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are controlled by the dropping device control unit 75 via the first driver 73, and the rotational speeds of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 shown in FIG. And the positions of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 rotate as shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the dropping device control unit 75 first accelerates the first and second impellers 21 and 22 from the initial state to the rotational speed r1. Then, after the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 reach the rotational speed r1, the dropping device control unit 75 has the blades 24, 24 within 120 degrees from the reference angular position, and the articles A1, A2 The first impeller until reaching the first deceleration angle position set at a position where the blades 25 and 25 of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 approaching the articles A1 and A2 from above do not contact the articles A1 and A2. 21 and the second impeller 22 are rotated at a substantially constant speed. That is, the set rotational speed of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 in the first angular range (first predetermined angular range) from the reference angular position to the first deceleration angular position is r1.

  Next, the dropping device controller 75 determines that the first and second impellers 21 and 22 have reached the first deceleration angle position based on the position information input from the first encoder 28a of the first servomotor 28. When the determination is made, the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are decelerated to the rotational speed r2, and then rotated at the rotational speed r2.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9B, the articles A3 and A4 conveyed next to the article A2 are first and second during rotation of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 by the belt conveyor 1. It is transferred onto the respective blades 25, 25 of the two impellers 21, 22. Specifically, the rotation of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 causes the first and second impellers 21 and 22 to face each other on the side where the first and second impellers 21 and 22 face each other. As the blades 25, 25 move downward, the gap formed between the tips of the blades 25, 25 gradually narrows and becomes the narrowest when the blades 25, 25 are positioned at the angular position where they are horizontally aligned. Become. In this process, the article can be transferred so that the gap formed between the tip of the blade 25 of the first impeller 21 and the tip of the blade 25 of the second impeller 22 is narrowed to such a width that the articles A3 and A4 do not fall into the gap. The cycle time of the articles transferred from the belt conveyor 1 to the dropping device 20 so that the articles A3, A4 are transferred onto the blades 25, 25 by the belt conveyor 1 when the angular position (see FIG. 8) is reached. Is set. As a result, the cycle of articles transferred from the belt conveyor 1 to the dropping device 20 as compared with the case where the articles are transferred onto the blades by the belt conveyor 1 after the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are stopped. Time can be shortened and the processing capability of the boxing apparatus 100 can be improved.

  In addition, the 1st and 2nd impellers 21 and 22 are articles A1 of the 1st and 2nd impellers 21 and 22 located at the height position of the conveyance surface of the belt conveyor 1 and the article transferable angular position. The blades 24, 24 on which A2 is placed are arranged so that the height positions of the tips of the blades 25, 25 adjacent to each other in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the first and second impellers 21, 22 coincide. When set, the articles A3 and A4 can be smoothly transferred from the belt conveyor 1 to the boxing device main body 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), the dropping device control unit 75, based on the position information input from the first encoder 28 a of the first servomotor 28, the first and second impellers 21, If it determines with 22 having reached the 2nd deceleration angle position, the rotational speed of the 1st and 2nd impeller 21 and 22 will be decelerated toward 0 (stop). This 2nd deceleration angle position is a position which needs to start deceleration in order to stop the 1st and 2nd impellers 21 and 22 in a stop angle position. Thereby, the 1st and 2nd impellers 21 and 22 stop at a stop angle position. That is, the set rotational speed of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 in the second angle range (second predetermined angle range) from the first deceleration angle position to the stop angle position is r2, and the reference angle The value is smaller than the set rotational speed r1 of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 in the first angle range from the position to the first deceleration angle position. The set rotational speeds r1 and r2 are determined based on calculations, experiments, simulations, and the like.

  Next, the temporary holding device 40 receives the articles A1 and A2 dropped from the dropping device 20 by the pair of blades 24 and 24 of the third and fourth impellers 41 and 42. At this time, as described above, the blades 24 and 24 are located at the reference angular position (second reference angular position). Then, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the temporary holding device control unit 76 determines that the article has been dropped from the dropping device 20 (S121) and waits for T2 time (S122), and then the packing position detection sensor 66. Whether or not the box is located at a predetermined position below the temporary holding device 40 is determined based on the box passing signal (S123). When it is determined that the box is located at a predetermined position below the temporary holding device 40, the direction in which the blades 24, 24 of the third and fourth impellers 41, 42 rotate downward (second predetermined individual The third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 are rotated 120 degrees (second unit angle) in the rotation direction) (S124). T2 is a time set based on the time from the start of rotation of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 until the third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 receive the dropped articles. This time is determined based on calculations, experiments, simulations, and the like. As a result, the articles A1 and A2 are dropped downward and put into a box B1 positioned below the temporary holding device 40.

  On the other hand, when the box B1 is not positioned at the boxing position P due to the exchange of the boxing completion box and the empty box described below, the temporary holding device control unit 76 sets the box below the temporary holding device 40 to a predetermined level. It determines with not being located. In this case, the temporary holding device controller 76 does not rotate the third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 until the box is located at a predetermined position below the temporary holding device 40. Even in this state, the belt conveyor 1 transfers the articles A3 and A4 to the dropping device 20 at a predetermined pitch, and the dropping apparatus 20 drops the transferred articles A3 and A4 to the temporary holding device 40. Accordingly, the further dropped articles A3 and A4 are stacked on the articles A1 and A2. Then, when the roller conveyor 65 eventually positions the box B1 at the boxing position P, the temporary holding device control unit 76 determines that the box is located at a predetermined position below the temporary holding device 40, and the articles A1 to A1. Drop A4 downward. As a result, the articles A1 to A4 are put into the box B1 positioned below the temporary holding device 40. As a result, the box supply device 3 transfers the articles from the belt conveyor 1 to the dropping device 20 without stopping the belt conveyor 1 while exchanging the boxes and empty boxes that have been packed with a predetermined number of articles. And the processing capability of the boxing device 100 can be improved.

  When the above operation is repeated and the box B1 is stacked with six articles of two articles arranged one by one and packed with 12 articles, the box feeder control unit 77 operates the roller conveyor 65, A new box B1 is positioned at the boxing position P.

  As described above, according to the boxing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the first angular range in the first angular range is determined from the rotational speed r1 of the first impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 in the first angular range. Since the rotational speed r2 of the impeller 21 and the second impeller 22 is configured to be small (see L1 in FIG. 8), the acceleration is caused by the natural fall by being dropped from the first and second impellers 21 and 22. It is possible to prevent the dropped dropped article from being caught up by the next blades 25, 25 approaching from above, and being prevented from being hit by the blades. Therefore, since the articles A1 and A2 are put into the box while maintaining the posture in which the articles A1 and A2 are placed in a line on the dropping device 20, it is possible to prevent the posture of the packed article from being disturbed. Compared with the case where the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are rotated at a constant speed from the reference angle position to the stop angle position (see L2 in FIG. 8), the time until the article transferable angular position is reached. Can be shortened. As a result, the cycle time of the articles transferred from the belt conveyor 1 to the dropping device 20 can be shortened. As a result, the rotational speed of the impeller can be increased and the processing capacity of the boxing device 100 can be improved.

  The temporary holding device 40 of the present invention receives the article dropped from the dropping device 20 on any one of the third and fourth impellers 41 and 42, holds it for a certain time, and then holds it. The blades 24 and 24 are configured to rotate the third and fourth impellers 41 and 42 in the direction in which the blades 24 and 24 rotate downward, drop the articles downward, and put them into the box. While exchanging the box and the empty box, the articles can be transferred to the dropping device 20 at regular time intervals without stopping the belt conveyor 1, and the processing capacity of the boxing device 100 can be improved. it can.

  In the above description, the belt conveyor 1 is exemplified as the “article transfer device”. However, the “article transfer device” is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a chute disposed on the end of the belt conveyor 1 or a conveyance conveyor. You may comprise the pusher etc. which move the mounted article to the side of the said conveyance conveyor.

  In the above description, the “box supply device” includes the roller conveyor 65. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured by, for example, a belt conveyor or a chute.

  In the above description, the downstream end of the belt conveyor 1 and the upstream ends of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 are exemplified so as to be adjacent to each other in plan view. For example, a chute may be interposed between the downstream end of the belt conveyor 1 and the upstream ends of the first and second impellers 21 and 22.

  Moreover, although the above demonstrated the structure by which the rotating shafts 23 and 23 of the 1st and 2nd impellers 21 and 22 were extended and arranged in parallel with the conveyance direction of the articles | goods of the belt conveyor 1, it is limited to this. Instead, the rotation shafts 23 and 23 of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 may be arranged so as to intersect with the article conveyance direction. For example, a chute having a substantially arc-shaped conveyance path that changes the conveyance direction by approximately 90 degrees in plan view is interposed between the downstream end of the belt conveyor 1 and the upstream ends of the first and second impellers 21 and 22. The direction in which the rotating shafts 23 and 23 of the first and second impellers 21 and 22 extend and the conveyance direction of the articles on the belt conveyor 1 may be orthogonal to each other.

  From the foregoing description, many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention are obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details of the structure and / or function may be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  The boxing device of the present invention is useful for an apparatus for boxing articles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Belt conveyor 2 Box-packing apparatus main body 3 Box supply apparatus 4 Control apparatus 12 Article passage sensor 20 Dropping device 21 1st impeller 22 2nd impeller 23 Rotating shaft 24 Blade 25 Blade 26 Blade 27 End plate 28 First servo motor 30 Driving force Side gear 31 Drive side gear 32 Drive side pulley 33 Drive side pulley 34 Timing belt 36 Angle material 37 Screw 38 Screw 40 Temporary holding device 41 Third impeller 42 Fourth impeller 48 Second servo motor 60 Support frame 61 Leg 62 Dropping device support unit 63 Temporary holding device support unit 65 Roller conveyor 66 Box filling position detection sensor 71 Control unit 72 Storage unit 73 First driver 74 Second driver 75 Dropping device control unit 76 Temporary holding device control unit 77 Box supply device control unit 100 Boxing equipment

Claims (2)

An article transfer device;
The rotating shaft and the center of the rotating shaft each have three or more first predetermined number of flat blades disposed so as to extend from the central portion to the peripheral portion in a rotationally symmetrical manner, and are disposed so as to face each other. The first pair of impellers, and the first pair of impellers are rotated in the respective directions in which the respective blades move downward on the sides facing each other (hereinafter referred to as a first predetermined individual rotation direction) In addition, for each angle obtained by dividing 360 degrees by the first predetermined number (hereinafter referred to as a first unit angle), any one of the first pair of impellers (hereinafter referred to as a first unit angle). A dropping device that rotates synchronously so as to stop at a first reference angular position in which the pair of blades are substantially horizontally aligned;
A box supply device for positioning a box opened upward at a predetermined position below the first pair of blades located at the first reference angle position;
The article transfer device transfers a plurality of articles so as to be aligned with each other on the first pair of blades positioned at the first reference angular position, and the dropping device transfers the first pair of impellers. A boxing device configured to drop a plurality of articles arranged on the first pair of blades downward by rotating in the first predetermined individual rotation direction,
In the first predetermined individual rotation direction, the dropping device has the predetermined angle from a speed in a first predetermined angle range from the first reference angle position to a predetermined angle position smaller than the first unit angle. A boxing device configured to rotate the first pair of impellers so that a speed in a second angle range from a position to a position of the first unit angle is low. Three or more second units provided between the dropping device and the predetermined position where the box is to be located and extending from the central part to the peripheral part in a rotationally symmetrical manner about the rotational axis and the center of the rotational axis. A pair of impellers having a predetermined number of flat blades, and arranged to face each other, the second pair of impellers being arranged on the sides facing each other. In each rotation direction that moves downward (hereinafter referred to as a second predetermined individual rotation direction), 360 degrees is divided by the second predetermined number (hereinafter referred to as a second unit angle). Any one of the two pairs of impellers (hereinafter referred to as the second pair of blades) is temporarily rotated so as to stop at a second reference angular position aligned substantially horizontally. A holding device;
The temporary holding device receives the plurality of articles dropped from the dropping device on the second pair of blades at the second reference angular position, holds the articles for a certain period of time, and then holds the second The boxing device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of impellers are configured to drop onto the box by rotating in the second individual rotation direction.

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