JP5684623B2 - Conveying device and sorting device using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport device including an endless plastic belt in which a plurality of pieces of plastic belt modules are annularly connected by a rod, and a sorting device using the transport device.

  Some conveying apparatuses that convey workpieces include a plastic belt as a conveying belt. The plastic belt is formed by connecting a plurality of pieces of plastic belt modules in a ring shape with a rod, has the advantage of being lightweight, easy to clean, and widely used for food conveyance. There are various shapes and structures of plastic belts, but generally they are constituted by a belt module and a rod as described above. The belt modules are sequentially arranged adjacent to each other along the conveyance direction. Further, the belt module is provided with an insertion hole for inserting a rod into a connecting end extending from each facing end face. Each belt module is arranged such that the connecting end serving as one end thereof is connected to the connecting end of the adjacent belt module and the insertion hole of each belt module, and the rod is inserted into the connecting insertion hole. The The rod is rotatably inserted in the insertion hole of the belt module, and forms a hinge between adjacent belt modules. The belt module is connected in an annular shape and is wound around a circulation driving means such as a roller or a sprocket.

  By the way, in the plastic belt, it is an important matter to hold the rod so as not to come off. Conventionally, a head having a diameter larger than the diameter of the rod is provided at both ends of the rod, and the head serves to prevent the rod from coming off. However, with such a rod, the head must be destroyed each time it is disassembled in order to remove the plastic belt at the time of cleaning or the like. Therefore, the operation of removing the plastic belt is complicated. In addition, since the conveyance apparatus provided with the plastic belt often uses food as a workpiece, it is desirable to clean the belt slightly. Therefore, the plastic belt needs to be configured so that the rod is not pulled out during circulation driving and can be easily pulled out during cleaning or the like.

  Further, Patent Document 1 below discloses a pivot rod that is headless and that can be easily detached during belt cleaning so that the belt can be easily disassembled. This pivot rod has a head at one end and a headless end at the other end. The pivot rod includes a retaining ring disposed at a predetermined distance from the head. The pivot rod is inserted into the opening of the module link having the same diameter as the rod. The retaining ring is slightly larger in diameter than the opening of the outermost link, and is forcedly inserted into the opening of the outermost link end, and is expanded in diameter on the rear side of the link. With this arrangement, the pivot rod is held by the retaining ring. Further, in Patent Document 1 below, such a headless pivot rod is further improved, and a pivot rod that can be easily pulled out without requiring a strict tolerance for the diameter of the outermost opening and the diameter of the retaining ring. Has been proposed.

JP 2005-47715 A

  However, according to the above-described prior art, when the rod is finally extracted from the insertion hole, a dedicated tool for twisting the rod while increasing the diameter of the insertion hole is required, and therefore the rod is easily extracted. Was not enough. Normally, the transport device is provided with a side plate to cover the side portion of the plastic belt. When the plastic belt is removed, a part of the belt is attached to the side plate while the plastic belt is wound around a roller or the like. Since the rod must be pulled out while being lifted above the upper edge, it is necessary to be familiar with the handling of the tool.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and the rod does not come out during the circulation driving of the plastic belt, and the rod can be easily pulled out without using a tool for cleaning or the like. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport device that makes it easy to remove the plastic belt.

  Also, the transport device equipped with a plastic belt will not damage the belt surface even if the work transported on the belt surface moves during transport, so the direction of the work differs from the transport direction (plastic belt circulation direction). It is suitable for use in a sorter that extrudes the material. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a sorting apparatus using the above-described transport apparatus.

Next, means for solving the above problems will be described with reference to the drawings corresponding to the embodiments.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a plurality of plastic belt modules 12 each provided with an insertion hole 14 at each end thereof, and the insertion holes 14 communicate with the belt module 12. An endless plastic belt 11 comprising a rod 15 that is disposed and inserted into the communicating insertion hole 14 to connect the belt modules 12 to each other;
In the conveying device 10 provided with a pair of rollers 16 and 16 on which the plastic belt 11 is wound and which circulates and drives the plastic belt 11,
A side plate 20 provided along the circulation direction Y of the plastic belt 11 so as to cover the side portion of the plastic belt 11 is provided, and
At least one of the rods 15a is provided so as to be freely movable in the axial direction from the insertion hole 14 of the belt module 11,
The free-moving rod 15a is prevented from coming off by coming into contact with the side plate 20.

  The free movement is such movement that the rod 15a is pulled out of the insertion hole 14 by gravity when the plastic belt 11 is tilted, for example. That is, the freely moving rod 15a is inserted through the insertion hole 14 in an extremely smooth state.

  According to such a configuration, by providing at least one rod 15a out of the plurality of rods 15 connecting the plurality of belt modules 12 so as to be freely movable in the axial direction from the insertion hole 14, the rod 15a can be easily extracted, and the plastic belt 11 can be easily removed. Further, the freely moving rod 15 a is held by the insertion hole 14 because it is prevented from being detached by the side plate 20 during the circulation driving of the plastic belt 11.

  The conveying device according to claim 2 is characterized in that the freely moving rod 15 a is provided so as to be distinguishable from other rods 15.

  Specifically, the length of the freely moving rod 15a is configured to be distinguishable by changing the length of the rod 15a from the other rods 15 or changing the color.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to easily find the rod 15a that freely moves from among the plurality of rods 15 connecting the plurality of pieces of belt modules 12.

  The conveying apparatus according to claim 3 is characterized in that either one or both of the free-moving rod 15a and the side plate 20 with which the rod 15a abuts are made of a wear-resistant material.

  According to such a configuration, even when the rod 15a freely moves during the circulation driving of the plastic belt 11 and comes into contact with the side plate 20, the mutual wear of the freely moving rod 15a and the side plate 20 is reduced.

The sorting device according to claim 4 is a sorting device using the transfer device 10 according to claim 1, 2 or 3,
Sorting provided with sorting means 2 disposed on one side of the transport device 10 and discharging the workpiece W transported to the transport device 10 from the belt surface of the plastic belt 11 to the other side of the transport device 10. In device 1,
The side plate 20 provided on the other side portion of the conveying device 10 is provided such that the upper edge 21a is higher than the lower half of the end surface of the rod 15 and lower than the belt surface. It is characterized by being.

  According to such a configuration, the work W can be discharged by the sorting means 2 while exhibiting the function of retaining the free-moving rod 15a.

  According to the transport device of the present invention, the rod does not come off during the circulation driving of the plastic belt, and conversely, the rod can be easily pulled out without using a tool during cleaning or the like. As a result, the plastic belt can be easily removed, and cleaning and the like are facilitated.

  Further, it is possible to easily find a rod that freely moves from among a plurality of rods connecting a plurality of belt modules. Thereby, it becomes possible to remove the plastic belt more easily.

  Further, even if the rod freely moves and contacts the side plate during the circulation driving of the plastic belt, it is possible to reduce the mutual wear of the freely moving rod and the side plate.

  In addition, according to the sorting device according to the present invention, even when the transport device is used as the transporting device, the work can be discharged by the sorting device while exhibiting the function of preventing the free-moving rod.

It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of embodiment (sorting apparatus) of this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows the conveying apparatus in the embodiment. (A) It is a front view which shows the conveying apparatus in the embodiment. (B) It is an enlarged view of the Z section in (a). (A), (b) It is a perspective view which shows how to remove the plastic belt of the conveying apparatus in the embodiment. It is a front view which shows the modification of the embodiment (sorting apparatus).

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment (sorting device 1), the work W such as food that is sent from the preceding conveyor 50 and is transported to the transport device 10 is discharged by the sorting means different from the transport direction Y. It is a device that pushes and moves in the direction X (in this embodiment, the direction orthogonal to the transport direction Y) and discharges the workpiece W from the transport surface.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transport apparatus 10 includes a plastic belt 11 as a transport belt for transporting the workpiece W. As shown in FIG. 3, the plastic belt 11 includes a plurality of pieces of plastic belt modules 12 and a plurality of rods 15. The belt module 12 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape. Moreover, the rod 15 is formed in a true cylinder shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, each belt module 12 is formed so as to be divided into a plurality of module pieces 13 in the axial direction of the rod 15 inserted through the insertion hole 14. Here, a combination of all the module pieces 13 arranged in the axial direction of the rod 15 is referred to as a single belt module 12. In other words, a belt width unit module connected by the rod 15 to form the plastic belt 11 is referred to as a belt module 12. The belt modules 12 are sequentially arranged adjacent to each other along the transport direction Y. Further, the belt module 12 is provided with an insertion hole 14 for inserting the rod 15 into each opposing connecting end. Each belt module 12 is arranged such that a connecting end serving as one end of the belt module 12 communicates with a connecting end of the adjacent belt module 12 and the insertion hole 14, and a rod 15 is inserted into the communicating insertion hole 14. Are connected to each other. The rod 15 is rotatably inserted into the insertion hole 14 of the belt module 12, and forms a hinge between the adjacent belt modules 12 and 12. The belt module 12 is sequentially connected by a rod 15 to form a plastic belt. Finally, both ends of the plastic belt are connected by a rod 15 to form an endless plastic belt 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an endless plastic belt 11 in which a belt module 12 is annularly connected by a rod 15 is wound around at least a pair of rollers 16 and 16 which are circulation drive means of the belt 11. Has been. As shown in FIG. 1, one of the pair of rollers 16, 16 (in the example shown in FIG. 1, the roller disposed in the circulating direction of the plastic belt 11, that is, the downstream side in the conveyance direction Y of the workpiece W) is The main roller is connected to the drive motor 17, and the other roller is a driven roller. A conveyor composed of the plastic belt 11 and a pair of rollers 16 and 16 is mounted on a base 19 supported by a leg 18. In addition, the belt surface of the plastic belt 11 which comprises a conveyor becomes a conveyance surface of the workpiece | work W. FIG. In this embodiment, the roller 16 is used as the circulation driving means of the plastic belt 11, but a sprocket or the like may be used.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the conveyor has a conveying direction Y so as to cover the circulating direction of the plastic belt 11 wound around the pair of rollers 16, 16, that is, both sides of the conveying direction Y of the workpiece W. A pair of side plates 20, 20 are provided along. Of the pair of side plates 20 and 20, the upper edge 21a of the side plate 20 (20A) disposed on the other side portion of the transport apparatus 10 on the side from which the workpiece W is discharged by at least the sorting means described later has the workpiece W Is provided at a position higher than the lower half portion of the end face of the rod 15 on the upper belt surface (conveyance surface) to be conveyed and at a position lower than this conveyance surface. In addition, the side plate 20 (20B) disposed on one side of the transport device 10 is such that the upper edge 21a is higher than the lower half of the end surface of the rod 15 on the transport surface, like the side plate 20A, and It may be provided at a position lower than the conveyance surface, or may be provided at a position higher than the conveyance surface as in a modification shown in FIG. The pair of side plates 20A and 20B are provided so that the lower edge 21b is at a position lower than at least the upper half of the rod 15 of the belt 15 on the lower side of the conveying surface of the plastic belt 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the plastic belt 11 is slack in the lower belt when wound around the rollers 16 and 16 due to its characteristics. Therefore, the lower edges 21b of the side plates 20A and 20B are at least lower than the upper half of the rod 15 that has reached the lowest position of the plastic belt 11 in such a slack state (two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 2). Is a lower position). In this embodiment, the lower edges 21b of the side plates 20A and 20B are in a low position such that the lower edge portions of the side plates 20A and 20B completely cover the rod 15 of the lower belt. Further, the side plates 20A and 20B are positioned such that both side edges 21c and 21d cover at least one of the left and right halves of the rod 15 that has reached the most upstream and downstream side in the transport direction Y of the plastic belt 11. Is provided.

  Of the plurality of rods 15, at least one rod 15 a is provided so as to be freely movable in the axial direction from the insertion hole 14 of the belt module 12. Here, the free movement is a movement in which the rod 15a is pulled out of the insertion hole 14 by gravity when the plastic belt 11 is tilted, for example. That is, the freely moving rod 15a is inserted through the insertion hole 14 in an extremely smooth state. Further, the rods 15 other than the free-moving rod 15 a are prevented from coming off and are held in the insertion holes 14. Therefore, the rods 15 other than the freely moving rod 15a do not come into contact with the side plates 20A and 20B.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the freely moving rod 15 a is provided so as to be distinguishable from the other rods 15, and is longer than the other rods 15 so as to be distinguished from the other rods 15 at first glance. It is. The freely moving rod 15a is made of an abrasion resistant material such as ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. The entire free-moving rod 15a may be made of a wear-resistant material, but only the both end portions 22 contacting the side plates 20A and 20B of the rod 15a may be made of a wear-resistant material. Further, the side plates 20A and 20B may be made of a wear-resistant material together with the rod 15a, or only the side plates 20A and 20B may be made of a wear-resistant material. Further, in this embodiment, the free-moving rod 15a is made longer than the other rods 15, that is, the length is changed, and the rod 15a is different from the other rods 15, for example. You may make it identify as a color.

Here, a procedure for removing the plastic belt 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the plastic belt 11 wound around the pair of rollers 16 and 16 has a slack due to its characteristics. Therefore, the upper belt surface, which is the conveying surface, can be freely lifted upward. The moving rod 15a can be pulled up above the upper edge 21a of the side plate 20A. At this time, the freely moving rod 15a can be distinguished from other rods 15 by visual observation. And as shown in FIG.4 (b), the plastic belt 11 is disassembled and can be easily removed by pulling up the plastic belt 11 and pulling out the rod 15a by hand. When the plastic belt 11 is pulled up and the belt 11 is tilted, the rod 15a moves freely and comes out of the insertion hole 14 without permission.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sorting device 1 includes the sorting unit 2 described above in addition to the above-described transport device 10. The sorting unit 2 is disposed at one end of the transport device 10. The sorting means 2 is mounted on the base 5 supported by the legs 4. The sorting means 2 is a so-called pusher sorter, and the sorting gate 3 moves the workpiece W on the transport surface of the plastic belt 11 in the discharge direction X and pushes it out from the transport surface.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a cylinder 9 is fixed on the base 5 in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction Y of the workpiece W (see FIG. 5). The cylinder 9 is provided with a telescopic rod 6, and the tip of the rod 6 is positioned slightly outside the one side portion of the transport device 10 (plastic belt 11) in the standby position (retraction position). . The cylinder 9 may be a hydraulic or pneumatic drive cylinder or an electrically operated solenoid, in short, as long as it has a force necessary to push the workpiece W and can freely reciprocate the rod 6. Good.

  On the upper surface of the base 5, guide rods 7, 7 that are linearly guided on both sides of the cylinder 9 centering on the cylinder 9 are provided so as to linearly reciprocate in the axial direction.

  The sorting gate 3 is fixed to the tip of the rod 6. The sorting gate 3 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member that is long in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the rod 6 (conveying direction Y), and is connected to the rod 6 on the rear surface side of the center portion thereof. Further, the front surface of the sorting gate 3 is disposed at a position substantially coincident with one side edge of the plastic belt 11 at a standby position (retraction position). After waiting for the workpiece W conveyed at this position, when the workpiece W is conveyed to the conveying device 10, it is moved onto the conveying surface of the plastic belt 11 by the cylinder 9 driven at a predetermined timing, and the other side of the plastic belt 11 is moved. Is moved to the position of the part (pushing position), and the work W is pushed out of the conveying surface. At this time, excessive friction and interference with the plastic belt 11 should be avoided between the lower end surface of the sorting gate 3 and the conveying surface of the plastic belt 11 to the extent that the work W or the fingers of the operator are not caught. A slight gap is provided so that After the workpiece W is pushed out, the cylinder moves in the reverse direction, and the sorting gate 3 returns to the original standby position.

  On the upper surface of the base 5, a substantially rectangular box-shaped cover 8 is attached so as to cover the drive portion of the sorting gate 3 such as the cylinder 9, the rod 6, and the guide rod 7. The cover 8 has an open front surface on which the sorting gate 3 is disposed and a lower surface disposed on the base 5. The front surface of the cover 8 is covered with the rear surface of the sorting gate 3, and the lower surface is covered with the upper surface of the base 5. Therefore, the drive part of the selection gate 3 is covered with the cover 8 so that it cannot be seen from the outside.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the rod 15a that freely moves during the circulation drive of the plastic belt 11 does not come off in the transport device 10, and conversely, the rod 15a can be removed without using a tool during cleaning or the like. The plastic belt 11 can be easily removed and the plastic belt 11 can be easily removed.

  Further, since the freely moving rod 15a is longer than the other rods 15, it is possible to easily find the freely moving rod 15a from among the plurality of rods 15 connecting the plurality of pieces of belt modules 11. Thereby, it becomes possible to remove the plastic belt 11 more easily.

  Furthermore, part or all of the free-moving rod 15a is formed of an abrasion-resistant material, so that the free-moving rod 15a freely moves during the circulation driving of the plastic belt 11 and comes into contact with the side plates 20A and 20B. Even in this case, it is possible to reduce the mutual wear of the freely moving rod 15a and the side plates 20A, 20B.

  Further, since it is not necessary to precisely process the end of the rod 15a as in the prior art, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Furthermore, according to the above-described embodiment, even when the transport device 10 is used as the transport device in the sorting device 1, the work W is discharged by the sorting device 2 while exhibiting the retaining function of the freely moving rod 15a. be able to.

  FIG. 5 shows a modification of the sorting device 1. As shown in FIG. 5, in this modified example (sorting device 1), the upper edge 21 b of the side plate 20 </ b> B at one end of the transport device 10 is disposed at a high position beyond the transport surface of the plastic belt 11. In this modification, the rear surface, not the front surface, of the sorting gate 3 is arranged at a position substantially coincident with one side edge of the plastic belt 11 at the standby position (retracted position). Also in this example, the rod 15a of the plastic belt 11 has a free-moving rod 15a, but the end 15 of the rod 15a that contacts the side plate 20A of the other end of the conveying device 10 has a diameter of the rod 15a. A head 23 having a larger diameter is provided. The other rods 15 are provided with stoppers. Therefore, in this example, the upper edge 21a of the side plate 20A at the other end of the transport apparatus 10 is arranged at a position higher than the lower half of the end face of the rod 15a that is strictly free moving as in the above-described embodiment. It is not necessary to be arranged, and it is arranged so as to be a position to suppress the movement of the freely moving rod 15a in the axial direction.

  In the above-described embodiment, a pusher sorter is used as the sorting unit 2. However, for example, when the workpiece W is a lightweight object, air is blown onto the workpiece W so that the workpiece W is attached to the plastic belt 11. It may be an air sorter that moves in the discharge direction X on the transport surface and pushes it out.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sorting device 2 ... Sorting means 10 ... Conveying device 11 ... Plastic belt 12 ... Belt module 14 ... Insertion hole 15 ... Rod 15a ... Free-moving rod 16 ... (Pair) roller 20 ... Side plate 21a ... Upper edge of side plate W … Workpiece Y… Workpiece transport direction (Plastic belt circulation direction)

Claims (4)

A plurality of plastic belt modules (12) provided with insertion holes (14) at both ends, and the belt module are arranged so that the insertion holes communicate with each other, and are inserted into the communication insertion holes. A rod (15) for connecting the belt modules to each other, and an endless plastic belt (11) formed by annularly connecting the belt modules;
In the conveying device (10) comprising the pair of rollers (16) around which the plastic belt is wound and driven to circulate the plastic belt,
A side plate (20) provided along the circulation direction (Y) of the plastic belt so as to cover the side portion of the plastic belt;
At least one of the rods (15a) is provided so as to be freely movable in the axial direction from the insertion hole of the belt module,
The free-moving rod is prevented from coming off by coming into contact with the side plate.   The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the freely moving rod (15a) is provided so as to be distinguishable from other rods (15).   3. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein either one or both of the free-moving rod (15a) and the side plate (20) with which the rod abuts are made of a wear-resistant material. A sorting device using the transport device (10) according to claim 1, 2 or 3,
Sorting means (2) disposed on one side of the transport device and for discharging the work (W) transported to the transport device from the belt surface of the plastic belt (11) to the other side of the transport device. In the sorting apparatus (1) provided,
The side plate (20) provided on the other side of the transport device has an upper edge (21a) that is higher than the lower half of the end surface of the rod (15) and lower than the belt surface. A sorting apparatus characterized by being provided to be

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