JP5819071B2 - Operation method of boxing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for operating a boxing device. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique for switching an operation pattern of a boxing device.

  As shown in FIG. 5, an alignment conveyor 2 capable of aligning the articles 1 by accommodating the articles 1 between a plurality of partition plates 2 </ b> A is used as a conveying means for the articles 1 of the boxing device 10.

  In this alignment conveyor 2, a plurality of partition plates 2A are erected on an endless belt 2V, and an article storage portion 2C is formed between the partition plates 2A. Then, when the partition plate 2A is folded back from the lower side to the upper side at the end of the collator unit 5, the articles 1 conveyed from the article supply conveyor 3 in the X direction in the figure one by one into the article storage unit 2C. It is thrown.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the articles 1 in the article storage section 2 </ b> C are aligned at the article extrusion position 9 by the conveying operation of the partition plate 2 </ b> A of the alignment conveyor 2 in the collator section 5. Then, the article 1 is extruded to the side of the alignment conveyor 2 (Y direction in FIG. 5) by the extrusion plate 4.

  Thereafter, the plurality of articles 1 are held so as to be sandwiched from both sides by a pair of holding plates (not shown). Then, when the pair of shutter members (not shown) are opened so as to be divided into left and right parts, the article 1 in this state is moved to the suction means (not shown) for the article 1 and the lifting means (not shown) for the article 1. )). As a result, the article 1 is stored in an exterior box (for example, a cardboard box; not shown) disposed below the shutter member.

  Here, the “collator unit 5” refers to a collection place of the articles 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the articles 1 conveyed by the article supply conveyor 3 are accommodated in the alignment conveyor 2. This corresponds to the part of the aligning conveyor 2 that is loaded and accommodated one by one in the part 2C and aligned at the article extrusion position 9.

  In the boxing device 10 described above, when the supply capability of the article supply conveyor 3 fluctuates, it is convenient to be able to correct the transport operation (such as the moving speed of the partition plate 2A) of the partition plate 2A of the alignment conveyor 2 in accordance with such variation. It is.

  Therefore, a control method has been proposed in which the movement speed of the storage pockets of the alignment conveyor is corrected at a predetermined correction timing when the article conveyance interval on the article supply conveyor fluctuates (see Patent Document 1). . Further, Patent Document 1 also describes obtaining the article conveyance interval and the correction timing based on output signals of one or two photoelectric sensors arranged on the article supply conveyor.

JP 2002-284308 A (see FIG. 1 and paragraphs 0020, 0025, 0030)

  By the way, in the conventional boxing apparatus 10, the endless belt 2 </ b> V (for example, chain belt) of the collator unit 5 is always rotating at a level that can be adapted to the maximum supply capability of the articles 1 to the alignment conveyor 2 in the article supply conveyor 3. . Therefore, even when the articles 1 are supplied from the article supply conveyor 3 to the alignment conveyor 2 under the supply capacity lower than the maximum supply capacity in the collator section 5, the endless belt 2V of the collator section 5 is Excessive rotational motion is achieved at a level that can accommodate the maximum supply capacity. For this reason, the movement performance of the endless belt 2V of the collator 5 is unnecessarily high when the supply capability of the articles 1 to the alignment conveyor 2 in the article supply conveyor 3 is set lower than its maximum supply capability. . As a result, in the conventional boxing device 10, the centrifugal force that directs the article 1 in the article storage unit 2 </ b> C outward and the load on the endless belt 2 </ b> V may work excessively.

  For the reasons described above, the inventors of the present invention still have room for improvement in the conventional boxing device 10 in reducing the risk of causing the article 1 to jump out of the article storage unit 2C and reducing the excessive load on the endless belt 2V. Judging that there is.

  In Patent Document 1, as described above, the movement speed of the accommodation pocket of the articles on the alignment conveyor is corrected in accordance with the change in the conveyance interval of the articles on the article supply conveyor. Moreover, in patent document 1, the lack detection of goods is intended so that the empty space generation | occurrence | production of the accommodation pocket of the goods of an alignment conveyor may be prevented.

  However, following the control method of Patent Document 1, if the moving speed of the endless belt 2V of the alignment conveyor 2 is frequently switched every time a missing article is detected, it is not necessarily effective in reducing the excessive load on the endless belt 2V. . For example, an excessive speed switching operation with the endless belt 2V may cause a decrease in the life of the endless belt 2V.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a method for operating a boxing device in which the risk of jumping out of an article out of the article storage unit and the excessive load on the endless belt are reduced as compared with the conventional example. The purpose is to do.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an alignment conveyor for aligning articles along the moving direction of the endless belt using an article accommodating portion formed by a plurality of partition members standing on the endless belt. Detection of detecting an article supply capability of the article supply conveyor in the article supply conveyor for supplying the articles one by one to the article storage unit and delivery of the article between the article supply conveyor and the alignment conveyor And a control device capable of receiving an output signal of the detection means, and a method of operating a boxing device comprising:
The operation pattern of the alignment conveyor is divided according to the processing capacity of the articles on the alignment conveyor in the delivery of the articles,
The control device samples the supply capacity of the article on the article supply conveyor using the detection means, extracts a maximum value of the supply capacity of the article based on the sampling data, and conforms to the maximum value There is provided a method for operating a boxing apparatus that adjusts the processing capacity of the article using a set value of the operation pattern.

  As described above, in the operation method of the boxing apparatus of the present invention, the processing capacity of the articles of the alignment conveyor is adjusted using the set value of the operation pattern that matches the maximum value of the article supply capacity of the article supply conveyor. The risk of causing the article to jump out of the container and the excessive load on the endless belt are reduced as compared with the conventional example.

  Further, in the operation method of the boxing device according to the present invention, the control device monitors the supply capacity of the article by using the detection unit, so that the upper limit of the processing capacity of the adjusted article is exceeded. When supply is detected, the operation pattern may be switched in a direction to increase the processing capacity of the article.

  As described above, it is possible to adjust the processing capacity of the articles on the alignment conveyor so that the articles can be appropriately processed even when the articles are supplied exceeding the upper limit of the processing capacity of the adjusted articles (that is, the articles can be received by the collator unit).

  Moreover, in the operating method of the boxing apparatus of this invention, you may further provide the drive device which gives a drive force to the pulley on which the said endless belt was hung. An input value for driving the rotating shaft of the driving device may be used for setting the operation pattern.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the driving | running method of the boxing apparatus in which the risk of jumping out an article | item out of an article | item storage part and the excessive load to an endless belt reduces more than a prior art example is obtained.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a boxing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a part of the alignment conveyor and the article supply conveyor of the boxing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the boxing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram used for explaining the operation pattern setting of the alignment conveyor of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional boxing device.

Hereinafter, preferred 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 symbols throughout the drawings, and description of the overlapping elements may be omitted or simplified. Further, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment. That is, the description of the following embodiment only illustrates the characteristics of the operation method of the boxing device.
(Embodiment)
[Configuration of boxing equipment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a boxing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a part of the alignment conveyor and the article supply conveyor of the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the boxing device 100 of the present embodiment is an article storage portion 2C formed by a plurality of partition plates 2A (a partition member made up of a plurality of fins) standing on an endless belt 2V. , The alignment conveyor 2 that can align the articles 1 along the moving direction of the endless belt 2V, the article supply conveyor 3 that can supply the articles 1 to the article storage portion 2C one by one, the article supply conveyor 3 and the alignment conveyor A reflection type photoelectric sensor 20 (detection means) for detecting the supply capability of the article 1 of the article supply conveyor 3 in the delivery of the article 1 to and from the control unit 30, and a control device 30 capable of receiving an output signal of the photoelectric sensor 20. .

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the alignment conveyor 2 and the article supply conveyor 3 are arranged side by side along the conveyance direction (X direction) of the articles 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the alignment conveyor 2 includes a pair of pulleys 2R on which a plurality of endless belts 2V are suspended (illustration of pulleys on the side away from the article supply conveyor 3 is omitted), and a servo motor (Drive device) It is comprised so that any one of both pulleys 2R can be driven as a drive pulley using 2D. On the other hand, the article supply conveyor 3 includes a pair of pulleys 3R (illustration of pulleys on the side away from the alignment conveyor 2 is omitted) on which an endless belt 3V is hung, and both pulleys using a servo motor (drive device) 3D. Any one of the 3Rs can be driven as a drive pulley.

  The reflective photoelectric sensor 20 is a sensor that obtains an output signal by detecting reflected light, which is emitted from a light projecting unit (not shown), reflected by the article 1 at a light receiving unit (not shown). In the present embodiment, the photoelectric sensor 20 is arranged such that its detection window faces the endless belt 3 </ b> V of the article supply conveyor 3. Thereby, the presence or absence of passage of the article 1 can be detected using the photoelectric sensor 20, and the detection result can be transmitted to the control device 30 as an output signal.

  In addition, it may replace with the photoelectric sensor 20 as this detection means, and may use another sensor (for example, ultrasonic sensor etc.).

  The control device 30 includes, for example, a microcontroller including a CPU and a ROM and RAM memory in which a control program and control parameters of the CPU are stored. The CPU of the control device 30 controls the operation of the entire boxing device 100 by executing a control program stored in the memory. For example, the control device 30 controls driving of the servo motors 2D and 3D. Moreover, in the boxing apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the control apparatus 30 also controls switching of the operation pattern of the alignment conveyor 2 based on the output signal of the photoelectric sensor 20 (details will be described later).

  Note that the control device 30 is not necessarily configured by a single control device, and a plurality of control devices are arranged in a distributed manner, and they are configured to control the operation of the boxing device 100 in cooperation with each other. May be.

As described above, the hardware of the boxing device 100 of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the conventional boxing device 10 of FIG. The operation (operation method) of the boxing device described later is characteristic. Therefore, detailed description of the configuration common to both is omitted here.
[Operation of boxing device]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the boxing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  A control program and control parameters for executing each operation flow of FIG. 3 are stored in the memory of the control device 30 in advance.

  The control program and the control parameters are read from the memory of the control device 30 to the CPU at the start of operation of the boxing device 100. Based on this control program, the control device 30 performs the following operations of the boxing device 100. Execute while controlling each part.

  First, when the operation start button (not shown) of the boxing device 100 is pressed by the user, the setting value of the driving pattern (the “first driving pattern” described later) in which the processing capacity of the article 1 is maximized in the boxing device 100. Is used to start the operation of the alignment conveyor 2 (step S301).

  In this state, the control device 30 constantly monitors the output signal of the photoelectric sensor 20 and uses the output signal for a predetermined sampling time (for example, 1 minute), using the output signal, the article 1 on the article supply conveyor 3. Sampling data on the supply capacity is acquired (step S302).

  The sampling time may be configured to be set to an arbitrary value by the user.

  For example, the control device 30 can acquire the timing when the tip portion 1A (see FIG. 2) of each article 1 on the endless belt 3V passes through the photoelectric sensor 20 using the photoelectric sensor 20. Then, every time the article 1 passes through the photoelectric sensor 20 (for example, every time the front end portion 1A of the article 1 passes just below the detection window of the photoelectric sensor 20), the adjacent article 1 (the preceding article 1 and the following article). 1) can obtain the time difference of the timing of passing through the photoelectric sensor 20. Thus, the control device 30 can predict the number of articles 1 through which the article 1 passes the photoelectric sensor 20 within a predetermined unit time (for example, one minute) from this time difference (hereinafter, this quantity is referred to as “article 1”. May be abbreviated as “the predicted number of passages of That is, in the boxing device 100 of the present embodiment, the control device 30 can sample the estimated number of passages of the article 1 every time the article 1 passes the photoelectric sensor 20, and the estimated number of passages of the article 1 is respectively The supply ability of the articles | goods 1 of the article | item supply conveyor 3 when each of the articles | goods 1 passes the photoelectric sensor 20 is represented.

  Next, the control device 30 extracts the maximum value of the supply capability of the article 1 of the article supply conveyor 3 based on the sampling data in step S302 (step S303). Specifically, the control device 30 can extract the maximum value of the predicted number of passing articles 1 as the maximum value of the supply capacity of the articles 1 of the article supply conveyor 3.

  And the control apparatus 30 adjusts the processing capacity of the articles | goods 1 in the alignment conveyor 2 automatically using the setting value of the operation pattern of the alignment conveyor 2 which adapts to the maximum value of step S302 (step S304).

  Here, in Table 1 below, an example of setting the operation pattern of the alignment conveyor 2 is shown. In addition, it is good to comprise the driving | running pattern of Table 1 so that it can set arbitrarily by a user.

  In the boxing device 100 according to the present embodiment, as shown in Table 1, the operation pattern of the alignment conveyor 2 is the transfer of the articles 1 between the article supply conveyor 3 and the alignment conveyor 2. It is divided into four patterns according to the processing capability.

  Specifically, the number of articles 1 processed on the aligning conveyor 2 (the number of articles 1 that can be received on the collator unit 5) is 120 to 101 packs / minute, the first operation pattern, and 100 to 91 packs / minute. "Second operation pattern" for minutes, "third operation pattern" for 90 to 71 packs / minute, "fourth operation pattern" for 70 to 51 packs / minute, and "fifth operation for 50 packs / minute or less" “Pattern” is exemplified.

  Moreover, in the boxing apparatus 100 of this embodiment, as shown in Table 1, the input value for driving the rotating shaft of the servo motor 3D is used for setting the operation pattern of the alignment conveyor 2.

  Specifically, the “first, second, third, fourth, and fifth operation patterns” are respectively the operations (receiving, conveying, and shifting) of the partition plate 2A (endless belt 2V) of the collator unit 5. On the other hand, the input values (speed, acceleration, deceleration, and S-curve characteristics) of the S-shaped drive 200 (see FIG. 4) of the rotation shaft of the servo motor 3D are determined as parameters.

  The above-mentioned receipt refers to the operation of the partition plate 2A at the article receiving position 11 (see FIG. 1) of the alignment conveyor 2 where the articles 1 are transferred between the article supply conveyor 3 and the alignment conveyor 2. The conveyance refers to an operation of the partition plate 2A (endless belt 2V) from the article receiving position 11 of the alignment conveyor 2 to the article extrusion position 9 (see FIG. 1) of the alignment conveyor 2. The shift refers to the operation of the partition plate 2A (endless belt 2V) from the article extrusion position 9 of the alignment conveyor 2 to the partition standby position 12 of the alignment conveyor 2 (see FIG. 1).

  The speed is set by a ratio (percentage) to the maximum speed of the rotation shaft of the servo motor 3D. As shown in FIG. 4, the acceleration / deceleration is set by time ta and tb (ms) until the rotation shaft of the servo motor 3D reaches its maximum speed. For example, when the maximum speed of the rotating shaft of the servo motor 3D is 3000 rpm and the time ta = 200 ms, the time until the rotating shaft of the servo motor 3D reaches the maximum speed is 200 ms. In this case, if the ratio is 30%, the time to reach the target speed can be estimated to be about 66.7 ms. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the S-curve characteristic is set by a delay time (filter time constant) td (ms) until reaching the target speed (however, the maximum speed is illustrated in FIG. 4). Yes. That is, by setting the delay time td, the first and last portions in the acceleration region and the deceleration region of the servo motor 3D can draw a gentle curve as shown in FIG. For this reason, in the S-shaped drive 200 of the servo motor 3D, the time to reach the target speed is delayed compared to the trapezoidal drive 300.

  In this way, in the boxing device 100 of the present embodiment, a table (Table 1) capable of setting an operation pattern corresponding to the processing capacity of the articles 1 on the alignment conveyor 2 is prepared in advance, and this table is the control device 30. Stored in memory.

  As a result, in the boxing device 100 of the present embodiment, individual adjustments of the speed, acceleration / deceleration, and filter time constant that are complicatedly entangled with each other when the processing capacity of the articles 1 on the alignment conveyor 2 is changed are not required. ), The processing capability of the articles 1 on the alignment conveyor 2 can be switched easily and appropriately.

  Referring to Table 1 above, when the maximum value in step S303 is, for example, 60 (packs / minute) in step S304, the control device 30 sets the “fourth operation pattern” that matches this maximum value. By using the value, the processing capability of the articles 1 on the alignment conveyor 2 (that is, the operation performance of the endless belt 2V of the collator unit 5) can be automatically adjusted.

  That is, in the boxing device 100 of the present embodiment, the supply capacity of the articles 1 to the alignment conveyor 2 in the article supply conveyor 3 (specifically, 60 packs / min as the maximum value of the predicted number of passing articles 1) is When it is lower than the lower limit (specifically, 101 packs / minute) of the “first operation pattern” at which the processing capacity of the article 1 is maximum, the minimum necessary value that can process the article 1 with this maximum value (60 packs / minute). The operation performance of the endless belt 2V of the collator section 5 of the alignment conveyor 2 can be lowered to the limit “fourth operation pattern”.

  Thereby, in the boxing apparatus 100 of this embodiment, it can reduce that the centrifugal force which orient | assigns the goods 1 in the goods accommodating part 2C to the outer side, and the load to the endless belt 2V act too much.

  Here, in step S <b> 304, the control device 30 constantly monitors the output signal of the photoelectric sensor 20. In step S305, the control device 30 detects the supply of the article 1 exceeding the upper limit of the processing capacity of the article 1 on the alignment conveyor 2 corresponding to the operation pattern in step S304 using the output signal of the photoelectric sensor 20. It is determined whether or not.

  For example, when the operation pattern of step S304 is “fourth operation pattern”, the control device 30 determines the upper limit (70 packs) of the processing capacity of the article 1 in “fourth operation pattern” based on the output signal of the photoelectric sensor 20. It is determined whether or not the supply of the article 1 exceeding / min) is detected.

  When the control device 30 has not detected supply of the article 1 exceeding the upper limit of the processing capacity of the article 1 corresponding to the operation pattern of step S304 (in the case of “No” in step S305), the article 1 is placed on the alignment conveyor 2. It is considered that it can be appropriately processed (that is, the article 1 can be received by the collator unit 5). In this case, the operation of the alignment conveyor 2 using the operation pattern of step S304 is maintained as it is.

  On the other hand, when the control device 30 detects the supply of the article 1 that exceeds the upper limit of the processing capacity of the article 1 corresponding to the operation pattern in step S304 (in the case of “Yes” in step S305), the control apparatus 30 moves the article 1 on the alignment conveyor 2. It is considered that the processing cannot be performed (that is, a mistake in receiving the article 1 at the collator unit 5). In this case, the operation pattern of the alignment conveyor 2 is immediately switched in the direction of increasing the processing capacity of the articles 1 on the alignment conveyor 2 (step S306).

  For example, when the operation pattern of step S304 is “fourth operation pattern”, the control device 30 uses the output signal of the photoelectric sensor 20 to set the upper limit (70 pack / As an example of the supply of the article 1 on the article supply conveyor 3 exceeding (min), it is assumed that the state in which the predicted number of articles 1 passed is 80 packs / minute is detected. In this case, the control device 30 sets the operation pattern of the alignment conveyor 2 as “first operation pattern”, “second operation pattern” or “third operation pattern” in which the processing capability of the article 1 is higher than the “fourth operation pattern”. Immediately switch to.

  Accordingly, the article 1 can be appropriately processed even when the article 1 is supplied exceeding the upper limit of the processing capacity of the article 1 on the alignment conveyor 2 corresponding to the operation pattern of step S304 (that is, the article 1 can be received by the collator unit 5). ) Can automatically adjust the processing capacity of the articles 1 on the alignment conveyor 2.

  At this time, since the motion performance of the endless belt 2V of the collator 5 may be unnecessarily high, the process returns to step S302, and the acquisition of the sampling data in step S302 is performed again. The operation is repeated.

  According to the operation method of the boxing device of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the risk of jumping out of the article out of the article accommodating portion and the excessive load on the endless belt as compared with the conventional example. Therefore, for example, the present invention can be used in a boxing device that can automatically and orderly store articles packed with food such as potato chips, beans, candy, etc. in an exterior box such as a cardboard box.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article 2 Alignment conveyor 2A Partition plate 2C Article storage part 3 Article supply conveyor 4 Extrusion plate 9 Article extrusion position 11 Article receiving position 12 of alignment conveyor Partition plate standby position 20 of alignment conveyor Photoelectric sensor 30 Controller 10, 100 Box packing device

Claims (3)

An article conveyer for aligning articles along the moving direction of the endless belt using an article accommodating part formed by a plurality of partition members standing on the endless belt, and one article in the article accommodating part each, an article supply conveyor for supplying, prior Symbol detection means for detecting the presence or absence of passage of an article on the article infeed conveyor, the method of operating cartoning apparatus and a control device capable of receiving an output signal of said detecting means Because
The operation pattern of the alignment conveyor is classified according to the processing capacity of the articles on the alignment conveyor in the delivery of the articles between the article supply conveyor and the alignment conveyor ,
Maximum wherein the controller obtains the time difference between the timing of pre-Symbol article on both sides in the article supply conveyor with an output signal of said detecting means passes said sensing means, the estimated passage number of the article on the basis of the time difference A method for operating a boxing device, wherein a value is extracted and a processing capacity of the article is adjusted using a set value of the operation pattern that matches the maximum value. The control device monitors the output signal of the detection means, and when the estimated number of passing articles exceeding the upper limit of the adjusted processing capacity of the article is detected, the control apparatus increases the processing capacity of the article. The operation method of the boxing apparatus of Claim 1 which switches the said operation pattern. A driving device for applying a driving force to the pulley on which the endless belt is hung;
The operation method of the boxing device according to claim 1, wherein an input value for driving the rotation shaft of the drive device is used for setting the operation pattern.

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