JP6306930B2 - Collecting and discharging equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article stacking and discharging apparatus capable of executing the stacking of articles and the discharging of the stacked articles formed by stacking articles in parallel.

  This type of article stacking and discharging apparatus includes a transport conveyor that intermittently transports articles, a stacking conveyor that stacks a predetermined number of articles loaded from the downstream end of the transport conveyor in the vertical direction, and forms stacked articles. The stacked articles formed in the stacking conveyor are sequentially positioned at the discharge position defined at the bottom of the stacking conveyor, and discharged from the stacking position to the outside of the stacking conveyor (for example, Patent Document 1 and FIG. 5 to FIG. 8).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-321318

In the case of the article accumulation and discharge device of Patent Document 1, in order to enable the formation of the accumulation article and the discharge of the accumulation article in parallel, the end of the transport conveyor is in accordance with the arrival timing of the accumulation article to the discharge position. It moves up and down along the stacking conveyor so that the input position of articles from the transport conveyor to the stacking conveyor can be varied.
For this reason, since the input speed of articles from the conveyor, that is, one cycle time from formation to ejection of the stacked articles is restricted by the ascending / descending speed of the conveyor, the article accumulation / discharge device of Patent Document 1 has a cycle time of Shortening (speeding up) is difficult.

  The present invention has been made based on the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article accumulation / discharge device that can shorten the cycle time from formation to discharge of an accumulation article without being restricted by the ascending / descending speed of the terminal end of the conveyor.

The above-mentioned object is achieved by the article integrated discharge device of the present invention,
A conveyor for intermittently loading articles;
A pair of stacking conveyors arranged in front and back as viewed in the direction of loading of the articles and operable independently of each other;
Each of the stacking conveyors sequentially receives articles loaded from the transport conveyor , and each time an article is received, the received articles correspond to the thickness of one article along the vertical common stacking path to the stacking completion position. to at Rukoto intermittently lowered by the amount, the common integrated with paths along the intermittent downward movement of forming an integrated article article is accumulated, discharge position the integrated article along said common integrated path from the accumulation position a pair of the accumulation conveyor to be carried out alternately and continuously lowering operation for lowering continuously until,
Discharging means for discharging the accumulated articles lowered to the discharge position out of the common accumulation path,
Each of the accumulation conveyors is
An accumulating seat that descends in the common accumulating path with the intermittent and continuous descending operation, and is used for accumulating the articles;
It is positioned with an interval longer than the interval corresponding to the height of the accumulated article from the accumulation seat, and accumulated from the intermittent lowering operation of the accumulation seat at the end of the accumulation process of the article during the continuous lowering operation. A restraining member that descends in conjunction with the stacking seat while restraining the lifting of the article and the stacking article from above.
Including
The discharging means is
A horizontal base member having an opening which defines the discharge position, is capable of receiving the accumulated article from the accumulation seat, and allows the accumulation seat and the holding member to pass through;
A discharge pusher for discharging the accumulated article received by the base member from the discharge position to the outside of the common accumulation path on the base member;
Including
The discharging operation of the accumulated article by the discharging pusher is performed in a state where the accumulated article at the discharging position is sandwiched between the base member and the holding member (Claim 1).

  According to the article stacking and discharging apparatus described above, the continuous lowering operation of one stacking conveyor and the intermittent lowering operation by the other stacking conveyor are performed during the operation of the discharging means, and the stacking of articles and the discharging of the stacked articles are performed in parallel. It becomes possible.

On the other hand, during the continuous lowering operation from the intermittent lowering operation of the stacking seat at the end of the stacking process of the articles, the holding member descends in conjunction with the stacking seat. it is lifted from the gap amount but only current product seat between, collapse of accumulation of an article or an integrated article of the integrated process is suppressed by the upper pressing member.

Furthermore, the discharge operation of the integrated article by the discharge pusher since carried out Nde write sandwiched integrated article up and down between the base member and the pressing member, also allows fast discharge of the integrated article.

Preferably, each stacking conveyor further includes a pair of endless belts each having a half of the stacking seat and capable of traveling in one direction, the endless belts being spaced apart from each other in the width direction of the conveyor and arranged vertically. (Claim 2 ). In this case, the half of the collecting seats in each endless belt cooperate with each other to form a collecting seat. Each endless belt is also provided with a half of the restraining member (claim 3 ), and the half of the restraining member cooperates with each other to form the restraining member.
Further, each endless belt is preferably provided with two sets of a collection seat and a holding member (claim 4 ). In this case, when one set is in the common integrated path and is in use, the other set waits outside the common integrated path.

  The article collecting and discharging apparatus according to the present invention according to claims 1 to 6 can perform the formation and discharging of the stacked articles in parallel with the end of the conveyor being fixed, and can shorten the cycle time from the formation of the stacked articles to the discharging. It becomes.

It is the schematic front view which showed the articles | goods integrated discharge device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows the collection | stacking / discharge | emission procedure of articles | goods in order of (A)-(D).

Referring to FIG. 1, an article accumulation / discharge device according to an embodiment includes a conveyor 10. The conveyor 10 extends horizontally and intermittently conveys the articles X to be stacked toward the terminal end 10e. In this embodiment, the article X has a thin box shape.
A common stacking path 12 is disposed adjacent to the front end 10e of the transport conveyor 10 in front of the transport conveyor 10, and the common stacking path 12 extends vertically downward from the end 10e of the transport conveyor 10. In FIG. 1, the axis 12a of the common integration path 12 is indicated by a one-dot chain line.

The common accumulation path 12 is partitioned by the front guide 14, the rear guide 16, and the pair of accumulation conveyors 18 and 20, and has a cross-sectional area that can receive the article X. Specifically, the front guide 14 and the rear guide 16 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction and extend vertically when viewed in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 10.
In this embodiment, as is apparent from FIG. 2, a pair of front and rear guides 14 and 16 are provided, and these front and rear guides 14 and 16 are separated from each other in the width direction of the conveyor 10 and in the transport direction. The depth of the common accumulation path 12 is defined.

The pair of stacking conveyors 18 and 20 are arranged at the front and rear as viewed in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 10 and basically have the same configuration. Therefore, here, the accumulation conveyor 18 on the front side will be noted and the accumulation conveyor 18 will be described.
The stacking conveyor 18 includes a pair of endless belts 22, which are separated from each other in the width direction (left and right) of the conveyor 10 and define the width of the common stacking path 12 along the width direction of the conveyor 10. That is, the endless belt 22 has belt surfaces facing each other, and the width of the common integration path 12 is defined between these belt surfaces.

  As is apparent from FIG. 1, each endless belt 22 is looped between upper and lower pulleys 24, 26. In this embodiment, the upper pulley 24 is a driven pulley and the lower pulley 26 is a drive pulley. Therefore, for example, a servo motor 28 is connected to the pulley shaft of the pulley 26. Therefore, each endless belt 22 is driven by the servo motor 28 on the corresponding side and travels in one direction in conjunction with each other. That is, each endless belt 22 travels in the direction in which the belt surface defining the width of the common accumulation path 12 descends in the common accumulation path 12 (the direction of arrow F in FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 3, for example, two integrated seat halves 30 h are attached to each endless belt 22, and these integrated seat halves 30 h have a plate shape and are separated from each other in the circumferential direction of the endless belt 22. Yes. As the pair of endless belts 22 circulate, one integrated seat half 30h of one endless belt 22 is linked with the corresponding one integrated half 30h of the other endless belt 22 into the common integrated path 12. It enters from above and cooperates with each other in the common accumulation path 12 to form one accumulation seat 30.

Therefore, when the article X is put into the common stacking path 12 from the terminal end 10e of the transport conveyor 10, the stacking seat 30 can receive the put article X and every time the article X is repeatedly put in. Article X is accumulated on accumulation seat 30, and accumulation article Y is formed.
Needless to say, the remaining stacked half halves 30h of the endless belts 22 also cooperate with each other to form the stacked seats 30.

  Further, each endless belt 22 is also provided with a plate-like holding half 32h that is paired with each integrated seat half 30h. The restraining half 32h of one endless belt 22 and the corresponding restraining half 32h of the other endless belt 22 are interlocked with each other in the common stacking path 12 at least before the collection of the article X on the stacking seat 30 is completed. The holding member 32 is formed in cooperation with each other above the stacking seat 30.

  For example, an interval longer than the interval corresponding to the height of the integrated article Y is ensured between the integrated seat half 30h and the restraining half 32h forming a set along the circumferential direction of the endless belt 22. Therefore, when the article X is put into the common stacking path 12 from the terminal end 10e of the transport conveyor 10, the article X is not caught and the article X can be put in smoothly.

Although the rear stacking conveyor 20 has the same configuration as the stacking conveyor 18 as described above, the stacking conveyor 20 that performs the same function as that of the stacking conveyor 18 has the same function as the stacking conveyor 18 in order to make the distinction different from the stacking conveyor 18. Each part is indicated by a symbol obtained by adding 1 to the numerical value of the corresponding reference symbol on the accumulation conveyor 18 side, and only the difference between the accumulation conveyors 18 and 20 will be described below.
As is clear from the comparison between FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the integrated seat halves 30h and 31h have opposite shapes, and the holding halves 32h and 33h have the opposite shapes as well. This endless belt 22, 24, 32 3 are due to the fact that are arranged one behind.

As shown in FIG. 1, the servomotors 28 and 29 of the stacking conveyors 18 and 20 are electrically connected to a controller 34, which individually operates the servomotors 28 and 29, that is, the stacking conveyors 18 and 20. Control. Details of the control here will become clear from the following description regarding FIG.
On the other hand, a plate-like base member 36 is horizontally disposed below the accumulation conveyors 18 and 20, that is, below the front and rear guides 14 and 16 described above. The base member 36 forms the bottom of the common stacking path 12, and a gap larger than the height of the stacked article Y is secured between the bottom and the front and rear guides 14 and 16. Further, the base member 36 further extends toward the front of the common accumulation path 12, that is, toward the front of the front guide 14.

  The base member 36 that forms the bottom of the common stacking path 12 is formed with openings (not shown) that allow the above-described stacking seats 30 and 31 and the holding members 32 and 33 to pass therethrough. Can receive the accumulated article Y formed on the accumulation seat 30 or 31 from the accumulation seat 30 or 31 at the bottom of the common accumulation path 12.

  Further, a discharge pusher 38 as discharge means is disposed below the rear guide 16, and the discharge pusher 38 reciprocates in the front-rear direction (the direction of arrow H in FIG. 1) along the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor 10. Is possible. Therefore, after the accumulated article Y is transferred to the bottom of the common accumulation path 12, the discharge pusher 38 moves in the horizontal direction toward the accumulated article Y, so that the accumulated article Y is placed on the base member 36. 12 is discharged outside.

At this time, as is apparent with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the discharge pusher 38 passes between the holding halves 32 h or 33 h forming the holding members 32 or 33.
The accumulated articles Y discharged out of the common accumulation path 12 are then transferred to, for example, a film packaging machine, and film-wrapped by this film packaging machine.

FIG. 5 shows a procedure for stacking / discharging the article X performed by the operation control of the stacking conveyors 18 and 20 by the controller 34 described above.
The state of FIG. 5A shows a process in which, for example, the stacking seat 30 is arranged on the common stacking path 12 and the articles X are stacked on the stacking seat 30. Specifically, prior to performing the stacking operation, the stacking seat 30 is positioned at an initial position slightly lower than the upper end surface of the transport conveyor 10, and receives an article X that is put into the common stacking path 12 from the end of the transport conveyor 10.

  Thereafter, the stacking seat 30 receives the intermittent operation of the stacking conveyor 18 and is lowered by an amount corresponding to the thickness of one article X. The receipt of the article X and the intermittent lowering operation of the stacking seat 30 are repeated at a high speed, whereby the stacked article Y in which a predetermined number of articles X are stacked on the stacking seat 30 is quickly formed (FIG. 5B). )reference). In the case of the present embodiment, the accumulated article Y includes five articles X.

  In the above-described stacking process, the restraining member 32 is disposed above the stacking seat 30 at a position higher than the terminal end 10e of the transport conveyor 10. Such a restraining member 32 suppresses the lifting from above, even if each of the articles X in the accumulation process on the accumulation seat 30 floats with the intermittent lowering of the accumulation seat 30 at the end of the accumulation process. Contributes to stable movement.

  On the other hand, during the stacking operation of the article X on the stacking seat 30, the stacked article Y has already been received below the common stacking path 12, that is, at the discharge position on the base member 36, and is used to form the stacked article Y. The stacking seat 31 on the stacking conveyor 20 side is disposed below the base member 36, while the holding member 33 that forms a set with the stacking seat 31 is disposed directly above the stacked article Y, so that the stacking seat 31 is lifted by the lowering operation. Even if it occurs, the lift is completely converged, and the accumulated article Y at the discharge position is sandwiched between the base member 36 and the restraining member 33. The accumulated article Y on the discharge position is formed by the previous accumulation operation of the article X with respect to the accumulation seat 31.

  In this state, the discharge pusher 38 moves in the horizontal direction from the standby position, and discharges the stacked articles Y on the discharge position to the outside of the common stacking path 12. At this time, since the accumulated article Y is in a state of being sandwiched between the base member 36 and the holding member 33, the accumulated article Y can be stably discharged from the discharge position. Thereafter, the discharge pusher 38 moves backward and is positioned again at the standby position.

  On the other hand, the discharging operation of the stacked articles Y is performed in parallel with the stacking operation of the articles X on the stacking seat 30, and thereafter, the stacking articles Y on the stacking seat 30 as shown in FIG. When the formation is completed, the accumulation seat 30 is positioned at the accumulation completion position. Thereafter, upon receiving the intermittent operation of the stacking conveyor 18, the stacking seat 30 performs a high-speed continuous lowering operation together with the stacked articles Y from the stacking completion position toward the discharge position (see FIG. 5C). At this time, even if the stacked article Y is lifted from the stacking seat 30, the holding member 32 is also lowered in conjunction with the stacking seat 30, so that the lifting of the stacked article Y is suppressed by the holding member 32, and the holding member 32 is stacked. The collapse of the load of the article Y (the collapse of the stacking of the article X) is prevented.

  In parallel with the above-described continuous lowering operation of the stacking seat 30, the stacking conveyor 20 is intermittently operated independently, and the intermittent operation is performed by moving the holding member 33 disposed above the discharge position from the bottom of the common stacking path 12. While being pulled out downward (see FIG. 5 (B)), the stacking seat 31 different from the stacking seat 31 forming a set with the holding member 33 is positioned at the initial position as shown in FIG. 5 (C). Therefore, thereafter, the accumulation of the article X on the accumulation seat 31 is continuously continued.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5D, the stacking operation of the articles X on the stacking seats 31 is repeated in the same manner as described above, while the stacking seats 30 are discharged together with the stacked articles Y, that is, the base member 36. Placed on top. Thereafter, the stacking conveyor 18 is further intermittently actuated, the stacking seat 30 is lowered together with the holding member 32 forming a set, and the stacking seat 30 is pulled out below the base member 36, whereby the stacked article Y on the stacking seat 30. Is received by the base member 36, while the hold-down member 32 is positioned immediately above the stacked article Y and reaches the same state as in FIG. 5A, and thereafter, the above-described stacking / discharging procedure is similarly repeated.

  As is apparent from the above description, the article stacking and discharging apparatus according to the present embodiment performs the stacking operation of the articles X and the discharging operation of the stacked articles Y in parallel without being restricted by the lifting / lowering operation of the conveyor 10. Therefore, the cycle time from the accumulation of the article X to the discharge of the accumulated article Y can be greatly shortened, and the high-speed accumulated article Y can be formed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.
For example, the stacking conveyors 18 and 20 can be realized by one endless belt, and the number of stacking seats provided in the stacking conveyors 18 and 20 is not limited to two, and may be three or more. Moreover, the shape of the half body which forms an accumulation seat and a control member can be changed arbitrarily.
Furthermore, the article X does not necessarily have a box shape, and may be in the form of a bag such as a retort food.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conveyor 12 Common accumulation path 14 Front guide 16 Rear guide 18, 20 Accumulation conveyors 22, 23 Endless belts 28, 29 Servo motors 30, 31 Accumulation seats 30h, 31h Accumulation half members 32, 33 Repression members 32h, 33h Repression Half body 34 Controller 36 Base member (discharge position)
38 Discharge pusher (discharge means)

Claims (4)

A conveyor for intermittently loading articles;
A pair of stacking conveyors arranged in front and back as viewed in the direction of loading of the articles and operable independently of each other;
Each of the stacking conveyors sequentially receives articles loaded from the conveyor, and each time the articles are received, the received articles are equivalent to the thickness of one article along the vertical common stacking path to the stacking completion position. min only Rukoto intermittently lowered to, the common integrated with paths along the intermittent downward movement of forming an integrated article the article is integrated with, discharged along the common integrated route said integrated article from the integrated completion position a pair of the accumulation conveyor to be carried out alternately and continuously lowering operation for lowering continuously to a position,
Discharging means for discharging the accumulated articles lowered to the discharge position out of the common accumulation path,
Each of the accumulation conveyors is
An accumulating seat that descends in the common accumulating path with the intermittent and continuous descending operation, and is used for accumulating the articles;
It is positioned with an interval longer than the interval corresponding to the height of the accumulated article from the accumulation seat, and accumulated from the intermittent lowering operation of the accumulation seat at the end of the accumulation process of the article during the continuous lowering operation. A restraining member that descends in conjunction with the stacking seat while restraining the lifting of the article and the stacking article from above.
Including
The discharging means is
A horizontal base member having an opening which defines the discharge position, is capable of receiving the accumulated article from the accumulation seat, and allows the accumulation seat and the holding member to pass through;
A discharge pusher for discharging the accumulated article received by the base member from the discharge position to the outside of the common accumulation path on the base member;
Including
The integrated article discharging apparatus, wherein the integrated article is discharged by the discharge pusher while the integrated article at the discharge position is sandwiched between the base member and the holding member . Each of the stacking conveyors further includes a pair of endless belts each having a half of the stacking seat and capable of traveling in one direction, and these endless belts are spaced apart from each other in the width direction of the conveyor and arranged vertically. The article integrated discharge device according to claim 1 . 3. The article integrated discharge device according to claim 2 , wherein each of the endless belts includes a half of the holding member. 4. The article accumulation and discharge device according to claim 3 , wherein each of the endless belts includes two sets of the accumulation seat and the holding member.

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