JP5836614B2 - Sorting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sorting device that discharges and sorts a workpiece in an appropriate conveyance direction among a plurality of conveyance paths branched on the downstream side in accordance with a workpiece inspection result or a workpiece type by an upstream inspection device. It is.

  Conventionally, quality inspections such as weight inspections and metal contamination checks have been performed on transported goods (hereinafter referred to as “workpieces”) to be inspected in production lines that produce food, etc., and normality based on the inspection results For example, as a device for sorting normal articles and defective articles by a so-called pusher system that pushes a conveyed work piece in a predetermined direction and sorts the conveyed work piece in a predetermined direction if it is defective, for example, the following patent The sorting device of Document 1 is known.

  The sorting apparatus disclosed in the following Patent Document 1 includes a conveying unit that conveys an inspected article from the inspecting unit in a predetermined conveying direction, and an inspection unit that outputs an inspection result when the inspection result of the article by the inspecting unit is different from the setting condition. Distributing means for receiving the inspection result signal and discharging the workpiece being conveyed in a direction different from the conveying direction by the pushing member, and an anti-pinch plate whose inclination angle θ changes with respect to the conveying direction when the distributing means is moved. When the means enters the conveyance path on the downstream side in the conveyance direction and discharges the work that is a defective article from the conveyance path, the posture of the pinch prevention plate is changed in accordance with the posture position of the pushing member, and the defective article is discharged during the discharge operation. This prevents the workpiece from contacting the extruding member.

JP 2007-55732 A

  However, since the apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes a mechanism that changes the posture position of the pinching prevention plate according to the posture position of the push-out member during the workpiece discharging operation, the number of parts constituting these increases, and the device There was a problem that the configuration was complicated. Moreover, since the size and shape differ depending on the work to be conveyed, the position adjustment and angle adjustment of each member are complicated.

  Furthermore, the above device is effective in high-speed sorting of relatively light and small workpieces, but if the workpiece is a large and large product, such as a large amount of business cheese or processed meat packed in cardboard, There is a possibility that the engagement by the pinching prevention member may be insufficient depending on the size and weight of the workpiece.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, when an X-ray inspection apparatus is used as an inspection apparatus and the inspection apparatus is disposed immediately before the sorting apparatus in accordance with the shortening of the transport distance in the production line, There has been a problem that the work caught on the back side is sandwiched between the X-ray leakage prevention cover that covers the outer periphery of the inspection apparatus and the cover is destroyed.

In addition, since this type of sorting device is incorporated as a processing device in a production line, there is a shift in the workpiece transfer timing set in advance depending on the situation shown in (1) to (3) below. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5A, there is a problem that the workpiece is caught due to erroneous conveyance of the workpiece, or the workpiece is accidentally discharged out of the conveyance path as shown in FIG. 5B. .
(1) A case where the workpiece supply capacity varies in the production process on the production line.
(2) When an X-ray inspection apparatus is used as the inspection apparatus, X-ray shielding curtains for preventing X-ray leakage are provided on the work carry-in side and the discharge side, respectively. A case where the pitch shifts.
(3) A case where the transfer of the workpiece conveyed from the conveying means of the inspection apparatus to the conveying means of the sorting apparatus is disturbed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a sorting device that can reliably prevent the extrusion member from being caught without depending on the shape, weight, conveyance timing, etc. of the workpiece. The purpose is that.

In order to achieve the above object, the sorting apparatus described in claim 1 of the present invention moves from the extrusion start position of the workpiece to the extrusion end position on the conveyance path 11a that conveys the workpiece W along a predetermined conveyance direction. And a sorting mechanism 13 having an extruding member 13a for sorting the workpiece in a direction different from the transport direction,
When the extruding member is moving, pinching induction is a region between the extruding start position on the carry-in side of the workpiece on the conveying path and the moving extruding member and is a movable region of the extruding member A workpiece detector 14 for detecting that a subsequent workpiece has entered the area A;
When the workpiece detection unit detects that the subsequent workpiece has entered the pinching induction region while the push member is moving from the push start position to the push end position, the push member is moved to the push end position. after moving to the control to stop the driving of the selection mechanism, the extrusion member is said subsequent to said pinching induced territory region in the workpiece detecting section during the movement to the extrusion start position from the extrusion end positions the work When it is detected that has entered, the control unit 15 that controls to stop the driving of the sorting mechanism;
It is provided with.

According to the sorting apparatus of the present invention, during the workpiece sorting operation by the sorting mechanism , the workpiece detection unit moves the subsequent workpiece into the pinching induction area A while the pushing member is moving from the pushing position end position to the pushing start position. When it is detected that the selection mechanism is stopped, the driving of the selection mechanism is stopped, so that it is possible to prevent pinching by a subsequent workpiece and a selection operation failure.

Furthermore, when the workpiece detection unit detects a subsequent workpiece that has entered the pinching induction area A and the extrusion member is moving from the extrusion start position to the extrusion end position, the extrusion member is moved to the extrusion end position and then sorted. By controlling to stop the sorting operation by the mechanism, it is possible to prevent the jamming by the pushing member after performing the sorting operation of the work that is a defective product, and to reliably perform the sorting of the defective product and enter the pinching induction region A. It is possible to prevent the subsequent workpiece from being caught.

It is a schematic top view which shows the apparatus structure of the sorting device based on this invention. (A), (b) It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the selection mechanism. (A) It is explanatory drawing which shows the processing operation when a workpiece | work is non-defective. (B) It is explanatory drawing which shows the processing operation when a workpiece | work is inferior goods. (C) It is explanatory drawing which shows the processing operation at the time of sorting operation interruption. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of clamping of the workpiece | work at the time of using an X-ray inspection apparatus as an inspection apparatus. (A) It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the clamping of the workpiece | work conveyed erroneously. (B) It is explanatory drawing which shows the example by which the workpiece | work conveyed erroneously was discharged | emitted out of the conveyance path.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by this embodiment, and all other forms, examples, operation techniques, etc. that can be implemented by those skilled in the art based on this form are included in the scope of the present invention. .

  In this specification, the “sorting position” is a position where the sorting mechanism starts a defective workpiece conveyed from the inspection apparatus, and the “extrusion start position” is a sorting operation of the defective workpiece by the sorting mechanism. This is a position where the movement of the extrusion member is started, and is an initial position where the extrusion member waits without performing a sorting operation when the workpiece is a non-defective product. The “extrusion end position” is a sorting mechanism for defective products by the sorting mechanism. Each position is defined as a position where the pushing member moved during operation pushes the workpiece.

  In addition, as a workpiece conveyance direction, the “non-defective product conveyance direction” is a direction in which a workpiece determined to be non-defective by the inspection device (in this embodiment, the same direction as the workpiece conveyance direction from the inspection device), The term “defective product conveyance direction” is defined as a direction in which a workpiece determined as a defective product by the inspection device is conveyed (in this embodiment, a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the workpiece from the inspection device).

[Device configuration]
First, the configuration of the sorting apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sorting apparatus 1 of this example receives a workpiece W conveyed from an inspection apparatus 20 (for example, an X-ray inspection apparatus, a metal detection apparatus, and a weight inspection apparatus) disposed on the upstream side of the apparatus. On the conveyance path 11 a based on the conveyance means 11 that conveys in the conveyance direction, the defective product conveyance means 12 that conveys the workpiece W determined as a defective product in the inspection apparatus 20 in the defective product conveyance direction, and the inspection result from the inspection apparatus 20 The sorting mechanism 13 that sorts the workpiece W in the non-defective product transport direction or the defective product transport direction, and the subsequent workpiece W that is transported next to the workpiece W sorted by the sorting mechanism 13 The workpiece detection unit 14 that detects whether or not the pushing member 13a is in the pinching induction region A where pinching is likely to occur when the pushing member 13a moves back in the defective conveyance direction, and drive control of each unit constituting the sorting device 1 are performed. And a control unit 15.

  When the inspection start is instructed by, for example, a button operation or a switch operation, the inspection device 20 sequentially carries in the workpieces W and executes a predetermined inspection, and the sorting device 1 in advance for each workpiece starting from the end of the inspection. (That is, a signal for controlling the driving timing of the sorting mechanism 13 determined based on the transport speed of the workpiece W, the weight of the workpiece W, the transport pitch of the workpiece W, and the sorting operation time by the sorting mechanism 13). Output along with pass / fail judgment information.

  The conveying means 11 is configured by a circular conveying belt that circulates around a conveying belt roller that is rotatably supported in a direction orthogonal to the non-defective conveying direction, and the conveying belt and the conveying belt roller cooperate with each other. The work W on the transport path 11a is transported in the non-defective product transport direction. The transport means 11 carries in the work W from the inspection apparatus 20 based on the control from the control unit 15 and transports the work W determined to be non-defective to a subsequent post-processing section (not shown). It is transported to.

  The defective product conveying means 12 is composed of a plurality of rollers arranged in a rotatable manner in parallel with the non-defective product conveying direction, and a defective product W discharge side (conveying path in FIG. 1) in the adjacent conveying means 11. The workpiece W sorted by the sorting mechanism 13 is transported in the defective product transport direction from the lower side end of 11a.

  The sorting mechanism 13 includes an extruding member 13a and a driving unit 13b. The sorting mechanism 13 distributes the workpiece W conveyed based on the control of the control unit 15 in a predetermined conveyance direction (non-defective product conveyance direction or defective product conveyance direction). Sorting out.

  The extruding member 13a is made of, for example, a plate-shaped member made of stainless steel plate, and has a central portion on the back side of the abutting surface that abuts against a defective workpiece W during the sorting operation, and a tip portion of a movable member 13c of the driving means 13b described later Are joined so that the contact surface is perpendicular to the transport path 11a. Further, the contact surface of the pushing member 13a has a contact area that can be stably pushed in the defective product conveying direction without being influenced by the size or shape of the workpiece W. Therefore, in the extruding member 13a of this example, as shown in FIG. 1, a rectangular shape whose longitudinal direction is the non-defective product conveyance direction so that even a heavy and large workpiece W can be stably discharged in the defective product conveyance direction. When viewed from above in the vertical direction, the connection shape with the movable member 13c forms a T-shape. The pushing member 13a is not particularly limited as long as it is a material having rigidity capable of being discharged without being deformed when contacting the workpiece W which is a defective product to be conveyed.

  The driving means 13b is constituted by a driving device such as a pneumatic or hydraulic driving cylinder, a stepping motor, and the like, and is provided at a position facing the defective product conveying means 12 across the conveying path 11a. Further, the driving means 13b moves forward and backward along the defective product conveyance direction to transmit its own driving force to move the pushing member 13a within a movable range surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. In the case of a rod and stepping motor, a shaft connected via a power transmission mechanism that converts the rotational force of the motor into a straight direction is provided. The driving means 13b waits the pushing member 13a at the pushing start position without driving the movable member 13c based on the waiting signal from the control unit 15. Further, the drive means 13b moves the movable member 13c forward and backward along the defective product conveyance direction based on the selection execution signal from the control unit 15, thereby causing the push member 13a to move to the push start position shown in FIG. It is reciprocated between the extrusion end positions shown in 2 (b). Further, the driving unit 13b stops driving the movable member 13c based on the driving stop signal from the control unit 15 and interrupts the sorting operation.

  The work detection unit 14 is a light projecting / receiving sensor configured by a light projecting / receiving device that projects and receives light and a reflection mirror that reflects the projected light. The workpiece detection unit 14 is sandwiched by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 1 when the pushing member 13 is reciprocating between the extrusion start position and the extrusion end position during the sorting operation of the workpiece W which is a defective product. The subsequent work W has entered the induction area A (the area between the pushing start position on the conveying side of the work W on the conveying path 11a and the pushing member 13a being moved, and the movable area of the pushing member 13a). Is detected, a workpiece detection signal based on this detection is output to the control unit 15. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a light projecting / receiving device is provided at the work W carry-in side end of the driving means 13b, and a reflection mirror is provided at the work W carry-in side on the back surface side of the pushing member 13a. However, the work detection unit 14 only needs to be able to detect the entry of the work W into the above-described sandwiching induction area A. For example, a subsequent work W is inserted into the sandwiching induction area A from the monitoring image captured by the imaging unit. You may make it detect having entered.

  The control unit 15 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer such as a CPU, a ROM, or a RAM, and performs drive control of each unit constituting the sorting device 1. Further, the control unit 15 performs drive control of the sorting mechanism 13 based on the pass / fail judgment information (non-defective product judgment information, defective product judgment information) from the inspection apparatus 20, the sorting timing signal, and the workpiece detection signal from the workpiece detection unit 14. Yes.

Here, the control contents regarding the sorting operation in the sorting mechanism 13 will be described with reference to FIG. The control based on various signals output to the sorting mechanism 13 is executed at a timing based on the sorting timing signal added to the pass / fail judgment information.
(Selection operation control)
When the non-defective product determination information as the inspection result from the inspection device 20 is input, the control unit 15 outputs a standby signal to the driving unit 13 b of the selection mechanism 13. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3A, the workpiece W that has been determined to be non-defective is controlled so that the pushing member 13a waits at the extrusion start position until the workpiece W that has been determined to be non-defective passes through the sorting mechanism 13. W is conveyed to the non-defective article conveying means 30.
In addition, when the defective product determination information as the inspection result from the inspection apparatus 20 is input, the control unit 15 controls the driving of the driving unit 13 b by the selection timing signal from the inspection apparatus 20. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, the workpiece W determined as a defective product protrudes at the timing when the workpiece W reaches the selection position and reciprocates between the extrusion start position and the extrusion end position. Then, the work W determined as a defective product is conveyed to the defective product conveying means 12.

(Screening operation interruption control)
When the workpiece detection signal from the workpiece detector 14 is input during the defective product sorting operation, the control unit 15 outputs a drive stop signal to the driving unit 13b of the sorting mechanism 13 to interrupt the sorting operation. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3C, the movement of the pushing member 13a that reciprocates between the pushing start position and the pushing end position during the sorting operation is stopped, and the subsequent workpiece that has entered the pinching induction area A is stopped. There is an effect of preventing pinching by W and sorting failure. Further, when interrupting the sorting operation, the control unit 15 outputs a drive stop signal to the driving unit 13b of the sorting mechanism 13 and controls the conveyance unit 11 to stop. As a result, the sorting operation is interrupted and the conveyance of the workpiece W by the conveyance means 11 is stopped.

  As the output timing of the sorting operation interruption control, the control for stopping the sorting operation by outputting the drive stop signal to the driving means 13b of the sorting mechanism 13 immediately after the workpiece detection signal is inputted, or the workpiece detection signal is inputted. When the extruding member 13a is moving from the extrusion start position to the extrusion end position at the time when the extruding member 13a is moved, any of the controls for outputting the drive stop signal and interrupting the sorting operation after the extruding member 13a has moved to the extrusion end position may be used. . In the case of the control by the latter, in order to prevent pinching by the pushing member 13a after executing the sorting operation of the workpiece W which is a defective product, the defective product sorting is performed reliably and the workpiece W which has entered the pinching induction region A is pinched. Can be prevented.

[Processing operation]
Next, the processing operation of the sorting apparatus 1 described above will be described. Here, it is a process after pass / fail judgment for the workpiece W when the apparatus is arranged at the subsequent stage of the inspection apparatus 20 in the production line, processing operation at the time of non-defective product judgment, processing operation at the time of defective product judgment, in the pinching induction area A The processing operation when the sorting operation is interrupted when the subsequent workpiece W enters will be described.

(Processing when determining good products)
As a processing operation at the time of non-defective product determination, it is first determined whether or not the workpiece W conveyed by the inspection apparatus 20 satisfies a predetermined standard. If the inspection result is non-defective, the non-defective product determination information indicating the inspection result Is output to the sorting apparatus 1.

  The sorting device 1 controls the workpiece W to be conveyed in the non-defective product conveyance direction based on the non-defective product determination information from the inspection device 20, so that a standby signal is output from the control unit 15 to the sorting mechanism 13. Based on the standby signal from the control unit 15, the sorting mechanism 13 causes the pushing member 13 a to stand by at the extrusion start position without driving the movable member 13 c, and causes the workpiece W conveyed from the inspection apparatus 20 to pass the non-defective product along the non-defective product conveying direction. Then, the sorting operation is finished.

(Processing when judging defective products)
As a processing operation at the time of the defective product determination, first, it is determined whether or not the work W transported in the inspection device 20 satisfies a predetermined standard. The non-defective product determination information is output to the sorting device 1.

  Since the sorting device 1 controls the workpiece W to be conveyed in the defective product conveyance direction based on the defective product determination information and the sorting timing signal from the inspection device 20, the sorting mechanism 13 is transported from the inspection device 20 based on the sorting timing signal. The workpiece W is conveyed to the defective article conveying means 12 by projecting the pushing member 13a at the timing when the workpiece W to be reached reaches the sorting position and reciprocating between the extrusion start position and the extrusion end position. finish.

(Processing when sorting operation is interrupted)
As the processing operation when the sorting operation is interrupted, first, it is determined whether or not the workpiece W transported in the inspection apparatus 20 satisfies a predetermined standard. The non-defective product determination information is output to the sorting device 1.

  Since the sorting device 1 controls the workpiece W to be conveyed in the defective product conveyance direction based on the defective product determination information and the sorting timing signal from the inspection device 20, the sorting mechanism 13 is transported from the inspection device 20 based on the sorting timing signal. When the workpiece W to be moved reaches the sorting position, the pushing member 13a protrudes and reciprocates between the pushing start position and the pushing end position, thereby performing a sorting operation for carrying the workpiece W to the defective article carrying means 12. .

  At this time, when the workpiece detection unit 14 detects that the subsequent workpiece W has entered the pinching induction area A, a driving stop signal for immediately interrupting the sorting operation is output to the sorting mechanism 13, and the sorting mechanism 13. The sorting operation by is interrupted.

  Further, as another form of the processing operation when the sorting operation is interrupted, when the pushing member 13a is moving from the pushing start position to the pushing end position when the workpiece detection signal is inputted (that is, the defective workpiece W is rejected). When transporting in the good product transport direction), after moving to the extrusion end position, a drive stop signal is output to interrupt the sorting operation.

  Further, simultaneously with the output of the drive stop signal as necessary, the conveyance unit 11 is controlled to stop conveyance of the workpiece W by the conveyance unit 11.

  As described above, the sorting device 1 described above is performing the sorting operation of the workpiece W by the sorting mechanism 13 when the workpiece W determined to be defective by the inspection device 20 is transported in the defective product transport direction by the sorting operation. When the workpiece detection unit 14 detects that the subsequent workpiece W has entered the pinching induction area A, a workpiece detection signal is output to the control unit 15. When receiving the workpiece detection signal, the control unit 15 outputs a drive stop signal for interrupting the driving of the sorting unit to the sorting mechanism 13.

  As a result, the movement of the pushing member 13a that reciprocates between the extrusion start position and the extrusion end position during the sorting operation is interrupted, and the pinching and the sorting operation failure due to the subsequent workpiece W that has entered the pinching induction area A are prevented. There is an effect. In particular, when an X-ray inspection apparatus is used as the inspection apparatus 20 and the inspection apparatus 20 is arranged immediately before the sorting apparatus 1 as the transport distance in the production line is shortened, the rear side of the extrusion member 13a is used during the sorting operation. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the caught workpiece W is sandwiched between the X-ray leakage prevention cover that covers the outer periphery of the inspection apparatus 20 and the cover is destroyed.

  Further, when interrupting the sorting operation, the control unit 15 outputs a drive stop signal to the sorting mechanism 13 and controls the conveyance unit 11 to stop, so that the sorting operation is stopped and the work W by the conveyance unit 11 is stopped. Therefore, the effect of preventing pinching by the subsequent workpiece W that has entered the pinching induction area A and the sorting operation failure are further improved.

  Further, when the workpiece detection unit 14 detects the subsequent workpiece W that has entered the pinching induction area A and the push member 13a is moving from the push start position to the push end position, the push member 13a is moved to the push end position. By performing control so that the sorting operation by the sorting mechanism 13 is interrupted after the movement, it is possible to prevent pinching by the extrusion member 13a after the sorting operation of the workpiece W which is a defective product, and to reliably perform defective product sorting and pinching. It is possible to prevent pinching by a subsequent workpiece that has entered the induction area A.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sorting device 11 ... Conveyance means (11a ... Conveyance path)
12 ... Defective product conveying means 13 ... Sorting mechanism (13a ... Extruding member, 13b ... Driving means, 13c ... Movable member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... Work detection part 15 ... Control part 20 ... Inspection apparatus 30 ... Non-defective article conveyance means

Claims (1)

An extruding member that moves from the extrusion start position of the workpiece to the extrusion end position on the conveyance path (11a) that conveys the workpiece (W) along a predetermined conveyance direction and sorts the workpiece in a direction different from the conveyance direction ( A sorting mechanism (13) having 13a);
When the extruding member is moving, pinching induction is a region between the extruding start position on the carry-in side of the workpiece on the conveying path and the moving extruding member and is a movable region of the extruding member A workpiece detector (14) for detecting that a subsequent workpiece has entered the area ( A ) ;
When the workpiece detection unit detects that the subsequent workpiece has entered the pinching induction region while the push member is moving from the push start position to the push end position, the push member is moved to the push end position. after moving to the control to stop the driving of the selection mechanism, the extrusion member is said subsequent to said pinching induced territory region in the workpiece detecting section during the movement to the extrusion start position from the extrusion end positions the work A control unit (15) that controls to stop the driving of the sorting mechanism,
A sorting device characterized by comprising:

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