JP5729172B2 - Transport positioning equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport positioning facility including a plurality of trays on which articles are placed and a transport positioning device that transports the trays .

  Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that rotates individual trays in the process of transporting a plurality of trays on which articles are placed by a conveyor and aligns the postures of the plurality of trays with respect to the transport direction in which the trays are transported. ing. In addition, when the article placed on the tray is fruit and vegetables, in order to transmit the light beam used to measure the sugar content of the article to the article, it is possible to introduce the light beam to the lower side of the article placed on the tray. It is disclosed in Patent Document 2. It is desired to reduce the time required for tray rotation and sugar content measurement as described above, and to increase the number of articles that can be conveyed per predetermined time.

JP 2008-290797 A JP-A-11-101749

Accordingly, the present invention is advantageous to increase the speed for conveying the articles, yet an object to provide a plurality of feed transportable posture to enable you quickly align it to the tray positioning equipment.

The transport positioning equipment of the present invention includes a plurality of trays on which articles are placed and a transport positioning device that transports the trays, and the plurality of trays are transported in a process of transporting the plurality of trays by a conveyor. A transport positioning facility that aligns the postures of the plurality of trays with respect to the transport direction,
The tray includes a lower surface and an edge of the lower surface, and includes a base that is conveyed by a conveyor that supports the lower surface, and a placement member that is disposed above the base and receives an article. One front strut and two rear struts for supporting the mounting member on the base are provided at the front and rear, and the one front strut and the two rear struts are separated from each other in the front-rear direction. It is biased toward the edge and includes one concave engaging portion that opens downward so that the longitudinal direction is the longitudinal direction,
The transport positioning device has a second transport member having a first transport means for operating the first support member in the transport direction, and a second support member having a circular cross-section endless belt that can be immersed in the engaging portion of the tray. The second support member is arranged higher than the first support member of the first transport unit at a position parallel to the first transport unit, and the second support member is moved from the first support member in the transport direction. A third support member having a height equal to or lower than the first support member of the first transport unit is disposed between the second transport unit operating at a higher speed, and the first transport unit and the second transport unit. And a third transport means for operating the third support member in the transport direction, wherein the first support member of the first transport means and the second support member of the second transport means cover the lower surface of the tray. Supporting, the first support member and the second support By rotating the tray based on the difference in operating speed with the material, the position of the engaging portion of the tray is matched with the second supporting member, and the second supporting member is placed on the engaging portion of the tray. By immersing the tray, the tray is lowered to align the postures of the plurality of trays to a constant posture, and the third support member of the third transport means supports the lower surface of the tray.
A second support member provided with a light source that transmits light to an article placed on the tray from a side or obliquely forward in the transport direction, and provided in the transport positioning device at an engaging portion of a base provided in the tray; When the tray is immersed, the tray takes a posture in which the one front support is directed forward in the transport direction.
Furthermore, the mounting member provided in the tray has an annular shape centered above the base, and the positions of the two rear struts with respect to the one front strut are determined in the circumferential direction of the mounting member. Is assigned at an angle of 150 ° or more.

According to the present invention, in the transport positioning equipment, the transport positioning device is configured such that the operating speed of the third support member of the third transport means is the first support member of the first transport means and the second transport means. The average speed of the operation with the second support member.

  According to the transport positioning device of the present invention, in the process of transporting the tray by the conveyor, the tray is rotated so that the position of the engaging portion of the tray matches the second support member, and the tray engaging portion is moved to the first position. 2 The support member can be immersed. As a result, the rotation of the tray is restricted, and the posture of each tray in the transport direction is determined. Further, when the second support member is immersed in the engaging portion of the tray, the second support member is immediately supported by the third support member of the third transport unit. For this reason, since the time required for the above steps can be shortened to the minimum, the transport positioning apparatus according to the present invention is advantageous in increasing the speed of transporting the article or shortening the process thereof.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the speed at which the third support member of the three transport means operates is an average speed of the operation of the first support member of the first transport means and the second support member of the second transport means. In this case, the speed at which the first transport unit and the second transport unit transport the tray while rotating the tray is substantially equal to the speed at which the third transport unit transports the tray, so that the transport is performed by the third transport unit. Another tray following this does not catch up with the tray, and it is possible to prevent the articles placed on the individual trays from colliding with each other.

  Alternatively, the third transport unit may be omitted, and the tray may be supported by the second support member of the second transport unit when the second support member is immersed in the engaging portion of the tray. In this case, the number of parts of the transport positioning apparatus according to the present invention can be reduced, and the structure can be simplified.

  In the tray and the tray support structure according to the present invention, a concave engaging portion that is opened downward is formed in a portion that is biased toward the edge portion of the lower surface of the base, and the second support member is immersed in the engaging portion. In this state, the tray can be positioned on the second support member such that the front support is directed forward in the transport direction. For this reason, for example, when a light source is installed on the side of the conveyor in order to measure the sugar content of an article such as fruit and vegetables, the front strut and the two rear struts do not block the light from the light source. The front strut and the two rear struts can be positioned relative to the light source so that they can be introduced underneath. In addition, the tray according to the present invention has a structure in which the placing member is supported at three positions by the front strut and the two rear struts. Therefore, the front strut and the two rear struts are further thickened or enlarged. Thus, sufficient strength for stably supporting the article can be obtained.

  In particular, when the positions of the two rear struts with respect to the front struts are each assigned to the circumferential direction of the mounting member at an angle of 150 ° or more, the light from the light source is obliquely forward in the transport direction from the lower side of the mounting member. Since it can be introduced, the time for transmitting light to the article placed on the placing member in the process of transporting the tray can be made relatively long. Therefore, the tray and the tray support structure according to the present invention are advantageous in increasing the accuracy of measuring the sugar content of the article and setting the speed at which the article is conveyed by the conveyor.

The top view explaining the operation | movement which the conveyance positioning device which concerns on embodiment of this invention conveys a tray. (A) is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 1, (b) is the sectional view on the BB line of FIG. (A) is a perspective view which shows the example which the belt conveyor applied as a 1st conveyance means of the conveyance positioning device which concerns on embodiment of this invention supports a tray, (b) is the roller conveyor applied as the means supports a tray The perspective view which shows the example to do. The top view explaining the operation | movement which the conveyance positioning device which concerns on other embodiment of this invention conveys a tray. The top view of the tray which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The rear view of the tray which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 5 which shows the usage example of the tray which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 6 which shows the tray which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) is the front view of the tray which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is the bottom view. (A) is a modified front view of the tray according to the embodiment of the present invention, (b) is a bottom view thereof.

  The form of the conveyance positioning apparatus according to the present invention will be described as Examples 1 and 2, and the form of the tray and the support structure thereof will be described as Example 3. FIG. 1 shows a transport positioning device 5 that uniformly aligns the postures of a plurality of trays 1 with respect to the transport direction in which the plurality of trays 1 are transported in the process of transporting a plurality of disc-shaped trays 1 by a conveyor 3. Show. An arrow f points forward in the transport direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, the tray 1 includes a lower surface 7, an edge portion 9 of the lower surface 7, and a groove-shaped engagement portion 11 formed at a portion biased to the edge portion 9 of the lower surface 7. It is sufficient if it is prepared and can place any article. The conveyor 3 includes a first transport unit 15 that operates the first support member 13 in the transport direction, a second transport unit 19 that operates the second support member 17 in the transport direction at a higher speed than the first support member 13, and And third transport means 23 for moving the third support member 21 in the transport direction.

  The first conveying means 15 may be a belt conveyor. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3A, the first support member 13 is an endless belt 29 wound around a pulley 27 rotated by a rotating machine. This means traveling in the direction of f. Alternatively, the first transport means 15 may be a roller conveyor. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3B, the first support member 13 is a plurality of rollers 25 arranged in parallel in the transport direction, and the operation of the first support member 13 is performed by the plurality of rollers 25 of the tray 1. This means that a plurality of rollers 25 are driven by a rotating machine so that a propulsive force in the direction of arrow f acts on the lower surface 7. Since the width of the first support member 13 is wider than that of the engaging portion 11, the engaging portion 11 does not enter the first support member 13. Reference numeral 31 in FIG. 1 indicates a casing that supports the pulley or roller, or a bottom plate that supports the lower surface of the tray 1 at substantially the same height as the first support member 13.

  The second conveying means 19 is a belt conveyor provided at a position parallel to the first conveying means 15, in other words, a position away from the first conveying means 15 in a direction crossing the conveying direction. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the second support member 17 has a groove shape that prevents the endless belt 33 having a circular cross section that can be immersed in the engaging portion 11 of the tray 1 from being bent downward. An endless belt 33 is wound around a pulley supported by a liner 34 and rotated by a rotating machine similar to the first conveying means 15. The operation of the second support member 17 means that the endless belt 33 travels in the direction of the arrow f. The third conveying means 23 is a belt conveyor or roller conveyor similar to the first conveying means 15 except that it is disposed between the first conveying means 15 and the second conveying means 19. The third support member 21 is the same element as the plurality of rollers 25 or the endless belt 29.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, the tray 1 transported in the direction of the arrow f by the conveyor 3 has the lower surface 7 of the first support member 13 of the first transport means 15 and the second support means 19 of the second transport means 19. 2 supported by the support member 17. In this state, the tray 1 takes an inclined posture in which the lower surface 7 is lifted by the second support member 17 higher than the first support member 13. Further, since the speed at which the second support member 17 operates is faster than the speed at which the first support member 13 operates, a rotational force is generated in the tray 1 based on the difference between the two speeds, and the tray 1 is in the direction of the arrow α. Rotate. When the tray 1 tilted in this way rotates, the peripheral edge of the lower surface 7 of the tray 1 contacts the first support member 13 at a single point, so that the tray 1 is placed between the lower surface 7 of the tray 1 and the first support member 13. The extra frictional force that prevents the rotation is not generated, and the tray 1 can smoothly rotate at a relatively high angular velocity. The point P is attached to the tray 1 to represent the process of turning the tray 1.

  The tray 1 that rotates in the direction of the arrow α matches the position of the engaging portion 11 directly above the second support member 17. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2B, the second support member 17 is immersed in the engaging portion 11, so that the rotation of the tray 1 is restricted. At the same time, the lower surface 7 of the tray 1 becomes lower than the second support member 17, and the tray 1 assumes a horizontal posture in which the lower surface 7 is received by the third support member 21 of the third transport means 23. In this state, the tray 1 is transported in the direction of the arrow f according to the operation of the third support member 21 of the third transport means 23.

  According to the transport positioning device 5, the tray 1, and the tray support structure described above, the tray 1 can be transported in a desired posture by rotating the tray 1. For example, a barcode attached to the tray 1. Can be read by a barcode reader installed on the side of the conveyor 3, the barcodes of all trays 1 can be directed to the front of the barcode reader. Alternatively, the postures of all the trays 1 can be made uniform with respect to the light beam for measuring the sugar content of the fruits and vegetables placed on the tray 1.

  Further, when the second support member 17 is immersed in the engaging portion 11 of the tray 1, the lower surface 7 of the tray 1 can be immediately supported by the third support member 21 of the third transport unit 23. For this reason, since the time required for the process from turning the tray 1 to restricting the turning of the tray 1 when the tray 1 is in a desired posture can be shortened to a minimum, the conveyance positioning device 5 and the tray 1 can be shortened. , And the support structure of the tray is advantageous for increasing the speed at which the articles are conveyed or for shortening the stroke.

  The speed at which the third support member 21 of the third transport means 23 operates is the average speed of the operation of the first support member 13 of the first transport means 15 and the second support member 17 of the second transport means 19. preferable. In other words, the operating speeds of the first support member 13 of the first transport means 15, the second support member 17 of the second transport means 19, and the third support member 21 of the third transport means 23 are shown in FIG. When V1, V2, and V3 are satisfied, it is preferable that (V1 + V2) / 2 = V3. In this case, the speed at which the first transport means 15 and the second transport means 19 transport the tray 1 while rotating the tray 1 and the speed at which the third transport means 23 transports the tray 1 can be made substantially equal. The other trays 1 that follow the tray 1 that is transported by the unit 23 do not catch up, and the articles placed on the individual trays 1 can be prevented from colliding with each other.

  In the following sentence, the elements described above will continue to have the same reference numerals regardless of their illustration. As shown in FIG. 4, the conveyor 37 of the transport positioning device 35 according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a first transport unit 16, a second transport unit 19, a drive guide unit 39, and a guide rail 41. Prepare.

  The first conveying means 16 is a belt similar to the first conveying means 15 described above except that it includes a plurality of rollers having a width of about 70% of the diameter of the tray 1 or a first support member 14 composed of an endless belt. Conveyor or roller conveyor. The drive guide means 39 winds the endless belt 43 facing the side surface of the tray 1 around the pulley 45, and causes the endless belt 43 to travel in the direction of the arrow f according to the rotation of the pulley 45 by the drive source. The guide rail 41 prevents the tray 1 from deviating from the conveyor 3 in the direction opposite to the endless belt 43.

  The tray 1 conveyed in the direction of the arrow f by the conveyor 37 is supported by the first support member 14 and the second support member 17, and the lower surface 7 is lifted by the second support member 17 higher than the first support member 14. Take a tilted posture. Further, the tray 1 rotates in the direction of the arrow α based on the difference between the speeds of the second support member 17 because the second support member 17 operates faster than the first support member 14 operates. As a result, the position of the engaging portion 11 of the tray 1 coincides with the position immediately above the second supporting member 17, and the second supporting member 17 is immersed in the engaging portion 11. At the same time, the lower surface 7 of the tray 1 becomes lower than the second support member 17, and the tray 1 is in a horizontal posture in which the lower surface 7 is received by the first support member 14 of the first conveying means 16, and the first support member 14. Is conveyed in the direction of the arrow f according to the above operation.

  The transport positioning device 35 described above omits the above-described third transport means 23, and therefore has a smaller number of parts than the transport positioning device 5 and has a simple structure. Other configurations and effects of the conveyance positioning device 35 are the same as those of the conveyance positioning device 5.

  As shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 9B, the tray 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is formed on the base 47 having a disk-like base 47 having the lower surface 7 and the edge 9 of the lower surface 7. The concave engaging portion 11, a mounting member 49 that is disposed above the base 47 and receives an article 48 that is fruit and vegetables, a front column 51 that supports the mounting member 49 on the base 47, and two rear columns 53.

  The lower surface 7 of the base 47 is received by the first support members 13, 14, the second support member 17, or the third support member 21. A bottom hole 50 for dust removal is passed through the lower surface 7 of the base 47 so that dust such as dust does not collect inside the base 48. A cross-shaped reinforcing material 52 may be stretched over the bottom hole 50. The engaging portion 11 is a groove-shaped concave portion that extends linearly in the longitudinal direction and has a rectangular cross section. The mounting member 49 is formed by attaching a tongue piece 57 for receiving the article 48 to an annular frame 55 whose center is located above the base 47. The tongue piece 57 is formed by radially cutting a disk 59 made of an elastic material.

  According to the tray 1 described above, the base is positioned on the second support member 17 in a state where the second support member 17 is immersed in the engaging portion 11 as shown in FIG. Directed forward in the transport direction. The position of the front strut 51 substantially corresponds to the point P in FIG.

  When the light source of the sugar content measuring apparatus is installed on the side of the conveyor 3 in order to measure the sugar content of the article 48, the light of the light source is placed without the front strut 51 and the two rear struts 53 blocking the light of the light source. The front strut 51 and the two rear struts 53 can be positioned with respect to the light source so that they can be introduced below 49. Further, since the tray 1 has a structure in which the mounting member 49 is supported by the front support column 51 and the two rear support columns 53 at three positions, the front support column 51 and the two rear support columns 53 are excessively thickened, or Sufficient strength for stably supporting the article 48 can be obtained without increasing the size.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the positions of the two rear struts 53 with respect to the front strut 51 are respectively assigned to the circumferential direction of the mounting member 49 at an angle of 150 ° or more, the light from the light source is transported in the transport direction. Since the two rear struts 53 do not block light when being introduced to the lower side of the mounting member 49 from the side or obliquely forward, they are mounted on the mounting member 49 in the process of transporting the tray 1. It is possible to earn a relatively long time to transmit light to the article 48. For this reason, it is advantageous to increase the accuracy of measuring the sugar content of the article 48 and to set the speed at which the article is conveyed by the conveyor 3 to be high.

  An arrow F in FIG. 8 indicates the limit in the front of the direction of light that can be introduced from the diagonally forward side of the tray 1 to the inside of the tray 1 without being blocked by the front column 51, and the arrow R is from the side of the tray 1. The rear limit of the direction of the light that can be introduced into the inside of the tray 1 without being blocked by the rear column 53 is shown. Thus, the light that can be introduced into the inside of the tray 1 from a wide range passes through the article 48 and is received by the light-receiving unit of the sugar content measuring device that is not shown in the figure installed above the article 48.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be carried out in a mode in which various improvements, modifications, or variations are added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 2A and 2B show an example in which the first support member 13 of the first transport unit 15 and the third support member 21 of the third transport unit 23 support the lower surface 7 of the tray 1 at the same height. Although shown, the third support member 21 may be disposed slightly lower than the first support member 13. In this case, when the second support member 17 is immersed in the engaging portion 11, the lower surface 7 of the tray 1 can be received by the third support member 21 if the tray 1 is tilted so that the posture of the tray 1 is lowered to the right side of FIG. it can.

  Although the tray 1 has exemplified the form in which the outer shape is circular in the plan view, the outer shape of the tray 1 may be a polygon, an ellipse, or an ellipse. The engaging portion 11 of the tray 1 does not need to be a groove-shaped recess, and is open at least below the base 47 and in the conveying direction, as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b). Any stepped part or notch may be used. The tray 1 may be in a state where the bottom hole 50 of the base 47 is closed.

  The present invention can be applied to the conveyance of all articles, or the inspection of articles conveyed by the conveyor 3.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tray, 3,37 ... Conveyor, 5,35 ... Conveying positioning device, 7 ... Bottom surface, 9 ... Edge part, 11 ... Engagement part, 13,14 .. 1st support member, 15 and 16 ... 1st conveyance means, 17 ... 2nd support member, 19 ... 2nd conveyance means, 21 ... 3rd support member, 23 ... 3rd Conveying means, 25 ... rollers, 27, 45 ... pulleys, 29, 33, 43 ... endless belts, 31 ... housing, 34 ... channel liner, 39 ... drive guide means , 41 ... guide rail, 47 ... base, 48 ... article, 49 ... mounting member, 50 ... bottom hole, 51 ... front post, 52 ... reinforcing material, 53 ... rear strut, 55 ... ring frame, 57 ... tongue, 59 ... disc.

Claims (2)

  A plurality of trays on which articles are placed; and a transport positioning device that transports the trays. In the process of transporting the plurality of trays by a conveyor, the plurality of trays with respect to the transport direction in which the plurality of trays are transported It is a transfer positioning equipment that aligns the tray posture of
  The tray is
  A base that has a lower surface and an edge of the lower surface, and is transported by a conveyor that supports the lower surface, and a placement member that is disposed above the base and receives an article,
  One front strut and two rear struts supporting the mounting member on the base are provided on the front and rear sides,
  The one front strut and the two rear struts are separated from each other in the front-rear direction,
  It is biased toward the edge of the lower surface of the base, and has one concave engaging portion that opens downward so that the longitudinal direction is the longitudinal direction,
  The conveyance positioning device includes:
  First conveyor means for operating the first support member in the conveying direction of the conveyor;
  A second support member having an endless belt having a circular cross-section that can be immersed in the engaging portion of the tray, and is higher than the first support member of the first transport unit at a position parallel to the first transport unit; A second transporting unit that disposes two support members and operates the second support member at a speed faster than the first support member in the transport direction;
  A third support member having a height equal to or lower than the first support member of the first transport unit is disposed between the first transport unit and the second transport unit, and the third support member is disposed in the transport direction. A third conveying means to be operated,
  The first support member of the first transport unit and the second support member of the second transport unit support the lower surface of the tray, and the difference in operating speed between the first support member and the second support member is caused. The tray is rotated to match the position of the engaging portion of the tray with the second supporting member, and the second supporting member is immersed in the engaging portion of the tray, so that the tray is lowered. Aligning the postures of the plurality of trays to a fixed posture, and the third support member of the third transport means supports the lower surface of the tray,
  A light source that transmits light to the article placed on the tray from a side or obliquely forward in the transport direction;
When the second support member provided in the transport positioning device is immersed in the engaging portion of the base provided in the tray, the tray takes a posture in which the one front support is directed forward in the transport direction,
  The mounting member included in the tray has an annular shape centered above the base, and the positions of the two rear columns with respect to the one front column are 150 in the circumferential direction of the mounting member. Transport positioning equipment characterized by an angle of more than °.   In the transport positioning device, the speed at which the third support member of the third transport means operates is an average speed of the operation of the first support member of the first transport means and the second support member of the second transport means. The conveyance positioning equipment according to claim 1.

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