JP6260152B2 - Article conveying device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus, and more particularly to an article conveying apparatus that converts an article conveyed in a parallel state parallel to the conveying direction into an orthogonal state orthogonal to the conveying direction and can convey the article.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an article transport apparatus that can transport an article that has been transported in a parallel state parallel to the transport direction into an orthogonal state that is orthogonal to the transport direction is already known (Patent Document 1).
The article conveying apparatus includes a supply conveyor that conveys articles in a parallel state parallel to the conveying direction, and a bucket conveyor that is disposed at a front end portion of the supply conveyor in a direction orthogonal thereto, and the supply conveyor The articles conveyed by the above are fed out from the leading end of the supply conveyor, and the articles fed from the leading end of the feeding conveyor and dropped are received by each bucket of the bucket conveyor.
According to the article conveying apparatus, an article conveyed in a parallel state parallel to the conveying direction can be converted into an orthogonal state orthogonal to the conveying direction and conveyed by the bucket conveyor.

Japanese Patent No. 4830396

However, since the supply conveyor and the bucket conveyor are arranged in a direction orthogonal to each other in the above article transport apparatus, there is a risk that the articles sent from the supply conveyor cannot be reliably received by the bucket and jump out of the bucket. there were. This was particularly noticeable when trying to increase the speed of the article conveying apparatus.
In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides an article conveying apparatus that can reliably change the direction of an article even if the article conveying apparatus is speeded up.

That is, the present invention provides an article supply means for conveying an article in a parallel state parallel to the conveyance direction, and a plurality of article holding means for receiving and conveying the article in a parallel state supplied from the article supply means in the same direction. A circulation path that circulates and guides each article holding means along an endless movement trajectory; a permanent magnet or an electromagnetic coil provided in each article holding means; and a circulation path that is disposed along the circulation path. The other of the permanent magnet and the electromagnetic coil, a control device for controlling the movement of each article holding means by supplying a current to the electromagnetic coil, and the posture of each article holding means are parallel to the article conveying direction. A first posture converting means for converting into a parallel position and an orthogonal position orthogonal to the conveying direction of the article,
The control device maintains a wide interval between the article holding means so that the article holding means do not come into contact with each other when the posture of each article holding means is in a parallel position, and supplies the article in this state. in synchronism with the articles to be supplied from the means to operate the respective article holding means by receive an article, is conveyed by narrowing the spacing between the article holding means Once orientation of the article holding means a perpendicular position by the posture converting means ,
Furthermore, the 2nd attitude | position conversion means which converts the articles | goods holding means converted into the orthogonal position by this 1st attitude | position conversion means into the erect position where an article | item becomes an erect state is provided in the downstream of the said 1st attitude | position conversion means. It is characterized by that.

According to the above configuration, the article holding means receives the parallel articles supplied from the article supply means and conveys them in the same direction, so the supply conveyor and the bucket conveyor are orthogonal to each other as in the conventional apparatus. The article supplied from the article supply means can be delivered smoothly and reliably as compared with the case where the article is delivered in the direction in which it is placed. Therefore, it is easy to cope with speeding up.
Further, the control device maintains a wide interval between the article holding means so that the article holding means do not come into contact with each other when the posture of each article holding means is in a parallel position. When the posture of the article holding means reaches the orthogonal position, the article holding means is transported with a narrow interval, so that it can be delivered to the downstream device in a state where the article interval is narrowed.
Further, in the present invention, since the second posture changing means is provided on the downstream side of the first posture changing means, the article holding means converted into the orthogonal position by the first posture changing means is set so that the article is in an upright state. Can be converted into an upright position.

The top view which shows the Example of this invention. The front view of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the III-III line of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the IV-IV line of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the VV line of FIG. The enlarged plan view of the principal part of FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the article 1 of the present embodiment has a mouth portion of a vertically long flexible tube container 1a sealed with a cap 1b, and the container 1a is transparent. The bag 1c is housed and sealed. The article supply means 2 that conveys the article 1 continuously conveys the article 1 in a fallen parallel state in which the longitudinal direction of the article 1 is parallel to the conveyance direction and so that the cap 1b is on the front side in the conveyance direction. Thus, the articles 1 can be sequentially sent out from the front end portion 2a of the article supply means 2 in a state of being overturned.
In the present embodiment, the two article supply means 2 are arranged in parallel on the left and right sides, and the articles 1 in a fall state are each randomly conveyed in a row. That is, the two article supply means 2 are configured to continuously convey the articles 1 such that the cap 1b is in front of the conveyance direction, but the positions of the articles 1 are the left and right article supply means 2. They are not transported together. Therefore, the delivery timing of the articles 1 sent out from the tip 2a of each article supply means 2 is also random.
For this purpose, a sensor 7 is provided at the tip 2a of each article supply means 2 to detect the presence / absence of the article 1 sent from here.

Linear conveying means 3 are respectively provided below the front end portion 2a of each article supply means 2. That is, two linear conveying means 3 are arranged in parallel on the left and right as well as the two article supply means 2. Each linear conveying means 3 includes an endless circulation passage 4 (see FIG. 2) formed in an elliptical shape in the vertical plane, and each circulation passage 4 is slightly lower than the article supply means 2. It arrange | positions so that it may become in a line with the longitudinal direction of each goods supply means 2 in a position.
Each circulation passage 4 is provided with a plurality of article holding means 5, and each article holding means 5 is circulated and guided in one direction along the circulation path 4. Each article holding means 5 includes a box-shaped article holding case 6. Each case 6 holds a support plate 6 a that holds the bottom surface (side surface) of the overturned article 1 and both sides of the article 1. Two side plates 6b to be held, and a bottom plate 6c for holding the bottom of the article 1 when the article 1 is erected.
That is, each case 6 can support the bottom portion of the article 1 in an upright state with the bottom surface 6c and the three side surfaces with the support plate 6a and the two side plates 6b. One of the four side surfaces of the article 1 is open, and the top surface is also open.

As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, each of the article holding means 5 includes a carriage 11, and each carriage 11 is attached to a guide rail 12 provided on the outer periphery of the circulation passage 4 so as not to drop off. is there.
Each carriage 11 is provided with a bracket 13. A rotary shaft 14 is rotatably supported on each bracket 13, a first cam follower 15 is provided at the lower end of each rotary shaft 14, and a rotary plate 16 is provided at the upper end. Each is attached. The article holding case 6 is swingably connected to the tip of each rotating plate 16, and a second cam follower 17 is provided on the case 6 side of the connecting portion.

As shown in FIG. 3, each linear transport means 3 includes a permanent magnet 18 provided on a carriage 11 constituting each article holding means 5, and the guide rail 12 has a large number along the longitudinal direction thereof. The electromagnetic coil 19 is provided. A control device (not shown) can control the supply of current to each electromagnetic coil 19, and can thereby control the movement of all the article holding means 5 separately.
Contrary to the above embodiment, a permanent magnet 18 is provided along the longitudinal direction on the guide rail 12 side, and an electromagnetic coil 19 is provided on the carriage 11 side, and current supply to each electromagnetic coil 19 is controlled. Accordingly, the movement of all the article holding means 5 can be controlled.

The first cam follower 15 is engaged with the first cam rail 21. The first cam rail 21 reciprocally rotates the rotating shaft 14 via the first cam follower 15 according to the shape thereof, and rotates the rotating shaft 14. The rotating plate 16 and the article holding case 6 can be reciprocally rotated (see FIGS. 3 and 4).
In this embodiment, the article holding case 6 of the article holding means 5 is parallel to the conveying direction of the article 1 as shown in FIG. 6 by the cam mechanism including the first cam follower 15 and the first cam rail 21. The first posture conversion means 22 is configured to convert the position into an orthogonal position orthogonal to the article conveyance direction.

The first cam rail 21 is provided endlessly along the guide rail 12, and as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, the article 1 that the article holding means 5 is sent out from the front end portion 2 a of the article supply means 2. The shape of the first cam rail 21 is set so that the article holding case 6 is in a parallel position parallel to the conveying direction of the article 1 at the position where the article is received. Thus, the article 1 sent out from the tip 2a of the article supply means 2 can be reliably received by the article holding case 6.
On the other hand, when the article holding case 6 moves forward while holding the article 1, the shape of the first cam rail 21 is set so that the article holding case 6 is in an orthogonal position perpendicular to the conveying direction of the article 1 ( (See FIG. 6).

As shown in FIG. 1, in the linear conveying means 3 which is the upper side in FIG. 1 among the two linear conveying means 3, the first attitude converting means 22 changes the attitude of the case 6 of the article holding means 5. The posture is changed by rotating counterclockwise from a parallel position parallel to the conveyance direction of the article 1 to an orthogonal position orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the article.
On the other hand, in the linear conveying means 3 which is the lower side in FIG. 1 among the two linear conveying means 3, the first posture changing means 22 has the posture of the case 6 of the article holding means 5 parallel to the conveying direction of the article 1. The posture is changed by rotating clockwise from a parallel position to an orthogonal position orthogonal to the conveying direction of the article.
As a result, the articles 1 held by the cases 6 are aligned in directions in which the bottoms face each other.

Further, the second cam follower 17 is engaged with the second cam rail 23, and the second cam rail 23 is moved in the direction of conveying the article 1 by the first posture changing means 22 via the second cam follower 17 in accordance with the shape of the second cam rail 23. The article holding case 6 converted to the orthogonal position orthogonal to each other can be converted to an upright position where the article 1 is in an upright state (see FIGS. 4 and 5).
Therefore, in this embodiment, the article holding case 6 of the article holding means 5 is brought upright from an orthogonal position perpendicular to the conveying direction of the article 1 by the cam mechanism including the second cam follower 17 and the second cam rail 23. The second posture converting means 24 is configured to convert the state into an upright position.
As shown in FIG. 1, the fixed guide 25 that supports the front side surface of the article 1 so that the article holding case 6 is not dropped from the case 6 to the front of the article 1 case 6 when the article holding case 6 is in the upright position. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a robot 31 is provided in front of the second posture changing means 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the robot 31 can grip two rows of articles 1 simultaneously. Yes. As shown in FIG. 1, a box transport conveyor 32 is provided in front of the second posture changing means 24, and the robot 31 transports the gripped article 1 by a box transport conveyor 32. It can be stored inside.

In the above configuration, the article holding means 5 is at a standby position that is in front of the leading end 2a of each article supply means 2 in the conveying direction, for example, as shown in FIG. Is waiting at a standby position P before the vehicle is stopped. At this time, the article holding case 6 of each article holding means 5 receives the article 1 sent from the tip end portion 2 a of the article supply means 2 by the article holding case 6, and is parallel to the conveying direction of the article 1. Is in position.
From this state, the article 1 is conveyed in a random state by the article supply means 2, and when the article 1 is detected by the sensor 7, the article 1 is synchronized with the article 1 sent out from the tip 2 a of the article supply means 2. The holding means 5 is moved forward, whereby the article 1 is smoothly dropped and stored in the article holding case 6.
The article holding means 5 storing the article 1 in the article holding case 6 is continuously advanced in the same direction by a control device (not shown), and the article holding case 6 is parallel to the conveying direction of the article 1 by the first posture changing means 22. The posture is changed by horizontal rotation from the parallel position to the orthogonal position orthogonal to the conveying direction of the article 1.
At this time, that is, when the article holding case 6 is horizontally rotated from a parallel position parallel to the conveying direction of the article 1 to an orthogonal position orthogonal to the conveying direction of the article 1, the front and rear article holding means 5 are rotated horizontally. Of course, it is maintained at an interval that does not impede.

When the posture of the article holding case 6 is converted to the orthogonal position by the first posture changing means 22, the control device slows the forward speed of the article holding means 5, thereby increasing the interval between the adjacent article holding means 5. It will be packed.
Then, the article holding case 6 of each article holding means 5 is changed from the article holding case 6 converted into the orthogonal position by the first attitude changing means 22 by the second attitude changing means 24, and the article 1 is in the upright state. It will be converted to an upright position. At this time, as described above, the article 1 is held so as not to fall forward from the case 6 erected by the fixed guide 25.
When all the article holding cases 6 are brought into the upright state by the second posture changing means 24, the control device reduces the interval between the article holding means 5 and conveys the article holding means 5 as many as required. In the illustrated embodiment, grouping is performed in groups of four. Then, the control device intermittently conveys a total of 16 article holding means 5 grouped in groups of 2 in 4 rows and stops them at the front position of the robot 31. Then, the robot 31 grips the caps 1b of the two rows of eight articles 1 held by the article holding means 5 together with the bag 1c, and has been intermittently supplied by the box conveyor 32 until then. The articles 1 are stored in two rows and four in each box 33.
The grouped article holding means 5 do not necessarily have to be stopped at the front position of the robot 31 and can be held by the robot 31 while moving forward at a low speed.

When the robot 31 grips and removes the article 1 from the article holding case 6 of the article holding means 5, each article holding means 5 is circulated and conveyed toward the tip 2a position of the original article supply means 2. . During this time, the posture of each article holding case 6 is first converted from the upright position to the orthogonal position by the second posture changing means 24, and then the interval between the article holding means 5 is widened by the control device, and each article holding means 5 is changed. Are widely maintained so as not to contact each other, the first posture converting means 22 converts the position from the orthogonal position to the parallel position.
Then, while maintaining the wide spacing, the article supply means 2 is sequentially moved to the position of the front end portion 2a and waits, and thereafter, the above-described operation is repeated.

Of course, when the article 31 in the article holding case 6 converted into the orthogonal position by the first attitude changing means 22 is taken out by the robot 31, the second attitude changing means 24 can be omitted. .
In the above embodiment, the cam mechanism is used for the posture changing means 22 and 24, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a motor may be used. In particular, when the rotation direction of the article holding case 6 can be freely controlled using a motor, even if the cap 1b is directed front and rear in the transport direction by the article supply means 2, the directions of the caps 1b are the same direction. Can be arranged.
Further, the second posture changing means 24 may be erected by swinging the article holding means 5 at a position substantially parallel to the robot 31.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Goods 2 Goods supply means 2a Tip part 3 Linear conveyance means 4 Circulation passage 5 Goods holding means 6 Goods holding case 11 Carriage 12 Guide rail 15 1st cam follower 16 Rotating plate 17 2nd cam follower 18 Permanent magnet 19 Electromagnetic coil 21 1st cam rail 22 First posture changing means 23 Second cam rail 24 Second posture changing means 31 Robot 32 Box transport conveyor 33 Box

Claims (2)

Article supply means for transporting articles in a parallel state parallel to the transport direction, a plurality of article holding means for receiving and transporting articles in a parallel state supplied from the article supply means in the same direction; A circulation path that circulates and guides the means along an endless movement trajectory, a permanent magnet and an electromagnetic coil provided in each article holding means, and the permanent magnet and electromagnetic that are arranged along the circulation path. The other of the coils, a control device for supplying a current to the electromagnetic coil to control the movement of each article holding means, the posture of each article holding means, the parallel position parallel to the article conveying direction, and the article First posture changing means for converting to an orthogonal position orthogonal to the transport direction of
The control device maintains a wide interval between the article holding means so that the article holding means do not come into contact with each other when the posture of each article holding means is in a parallel position, and supplies the article in this state. The article holding means is operated in synchronization with the article supplied from the means to receive the article, and when the attitude of the article holding means becomes an orthogonal position by the first attitude changing means, the interval between the article holding means is reduced. is transported,
Furthermore, the 2nd attitude | position conversion means which converts the articles | goods holding means converted into the orthogonal position by this 1st attitude | position conversion means into the erect position where an article | item becomes an erect state is provided in the downstream of the said 1st attitude | position conversion means. and an article carrying apparatus, characterized in that are. A robot that holds articles of each article holding means is provided downstream of the second posture changing means, and the control device reduces the interval between the article holding means when conveying the required number of article holding means. 2. The article according to claim 1 , wherein the articles are grouped one by one and when the robot holds the articles of the article holding means, the movement of the grouped article holding means is stopped or advanced at a slow speed. Conveying device.

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