JP6451286B2 - Article transport system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article conveying system that picks up an article from an upstream conveying apparatus and transfers the article onto a downstream conveying apparatus.

  The suction pad arranged along the periphery of the rotating base is moved along the circular path, the article is picked up by the suction pad from the upstream supply conveyor, and the articles are sequentially transferred to the downstream discharge conveyor orthogonal to the supply conveyor. An article transfer device to be mounted is known (Patent Document 1). In this configuration, the suction pad can rotate with respect to the rotation base portion, and the transfer pad can rotate with respect to the rotation base portion so that the article does not rotate during transfer. As a result, when handling vertically long articles, articles arranged in a line with the longitudinal direction facing the transport direction in the supply conveyor are aligned with the short direction (width direction) in the transport direction on the discharge conveyor at the transfer destination. Can be aligned.

Japanese Patent No. 5438873

  In the same configuration, when both conveyors are continuously operated in accordance with the peripheral speed of the suction pad, the article placement pitch (the center-to-center distance between articles) is equal in both conveyors. For this reason, the distance between the articles increases on the discharge conveyor side in which the short direction of the articles coincides with the transport direction. Thus, when a plurality of articles are packed together in a carting machine on the downstream side of the discharge conveyor, it is necessary to separately provide a mechanism for packing the placement pitch of the articles on the discharge conveyor.

  On the other hand, it is also conceivable to place the article on the discharge conveyor with the placement pitch reduced at the time of transfer. As the same method, for example, a bar for aligning articles at regular intervals is provided on the discharge conveyor, and the article is placed between the bars by setting the conveying speed of the discharge conveyor slower than the peripheral speed of the suction pad. A method is conceivable. However, in this method, since the speeds of the suction pad and the discharge conveyor are different, an impact due to the speed difference is applied to the article during placement. In order to keep the impact small, it is necessary to reduce the speed difference, and it is difficult to employ when the aspect ratio of the article is large.

  As another method, the transport speed of the discharge conveyor is set slower than the transport speed of the supply conveyor, the rotation speed of the rotation base is made variable, and the peripheral speed of the suction pad is set on the supply conveyor side of the supply conveyor. According to the conveyance speed, it can be considered that the discharge conveyor side matches the conveyance speed of the discharge conveyor. However, this method complicates the rotation control and mechanism of the rotation base portion. Further, since there is a limit to the acceleration / deceleration of the rotation base portion, it cannot always be effectively used.

  This invention makes it the subject to vary the mounting pitch in a supply conveyor and a discharge conveyor with a simple structure in the goods conveyance system provided with the goods transfer apparatus.

  The article conveying system of the present invention crosses the first conveying means that sequentially conveys a plurality of articles toward the pick-up position and the plurality of articles that are sequentially placed at the placement position in the conveying direction of the first conveying means. A second transport means for transporting in the direction of movement, and a plurality of holding heads provided at predetermined intervals, and each of the holding heads is moved along a circulation path including the picking position and the mounting position. In the article transport system for transferring an article from the first transport means to the second transport means by placing the article picked up at the pick-up position on the placement position, the second transport means includes: It is characterized in that the transport direction of the second transport means and the movement direction of each holding head when passing through the placement position are arranged so as to be inclined by a predetermined angle.

Further, the article has a shape having, for example, a longitudinal direction, and the article is transported on the first transport unit in a posture in which the longitudinal direction is directed to the transport direction of the first transport unit, and the transfer unit moves the holding head around the vertical axis. The article is rotated and transferred so that the article is conveyed on the second conveying means in a posture in which the longitudinal direction is in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the second conveying means.

  According to the present invention, in the article transport system provided with the article transfer device, the placement pitches of the supply conveyor and the discharge conveyor can be varied with a simple configuration.

It is a top view which shows the layout of the article conveyance system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing along the AA line of the article transfer apparatus of FIG. 1 when a holding head exists in a transfer position. It is a top view which shows the layout of the article | item conveyance system of 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partial plan view showing a layout of an article transport system according to a first embodiment of the present invention provided with an article transfer device.

  The article transport system 10 according to the first embodiment includes an article transfer device 11, a supply conveyor 12 (first transport means), and a discharge conveyor (second transport means) 14. The article transfer device 11 is a device that transfers the article S conveyed on the supply conveyor 12 onto the discharge conveyor 14, and a predetermined number (for example, twelve) holding heads H1 to H12 for holding the article S. Is provided. In the first embodiment, the holding heads H1 to H12 are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the circular circulation movement path CP1, and are circulated and moved at a predetermined speed.

  In the layout illustrated in FIG. 1, the supply conveyor 12 and the discharge conveyor 14 are arranged so that their transport directions are substantially orthogonal to each other. The supply conveyor 12 is arranged along one tangent line of the circulation movement path CP1, and the articles S are picked up from the supply conveyor 12 by the holding heads H1 to H12 at the contact point between the tangent line and the circulation movement path CP1 (pickup position P1). ). The peripheral speed (tangential speed) Vt of the holding heads H1 to H12 and the transport speed V1 of the supply conveyor 12 are set to be substantially equal at the picking position P1.

  On the other hand, the discharge conveyor 14 is disposed such that the transport direction forms a predetermined angle θ (0 ° <θ <90 °) with respect to the traveling direction of the holding heads H1 to H12, that is, the tangential direction of the circulation movement path CP1. The upstream portion of the discharge conveyor 14 is disposed below the circulation movement path CP1. That is, the articles S are delivered from the holding heads H1 to H12 to the discharge conveyor 14 in the vicinity of the intersection of the center line in the transport direction of the discharge conveyor 14 and the circulation movement path CP1 (placement position P2). The angle θ is preferably in the range of about 35 ° to 55 °, but in this embodiment, the case of θ = 60 ° is exemplified.

  For example, a horizontal pillow packaging machine (not shown) is connected to the upstream side of the supply conveyor 12. The articles S are individually packaged in a horizontal pillow packaging machine, and then supplied to the supply conveyor 12 with the longitudinal direction directed in the transport direction, and are aligned in a row on the supply conveyor 12 at a predetermined placement pitch Pt1. The supply conveyor 12 is continuously operated at a constant conveyance speed V1, and the articles S are sequentially conveyed toward the picking position P1 at the placement pitch Pt1. The articles S are sequentially picked up from the supply conveyor 12 by the holding heads H1 to H12 at the picking position P1, and transferred toward the discharge conveyor 14 in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing along the circulation movement path CP1. At this time, the holding heads H1 to H12 are rotated, and for example, the direction of the article S is maintained in the direction at the picking position P1.

  The mounting position P2 is a position where the holding head (H1 to H12) is rotated counterclockwise by an angle φ from the picking position P1 along the circulation path CP1, and when θ = 60 °, φ = 150 ° ( = Θ + 90 °). The discharge conveyor 14 is continuously operated at a constant transport speed V2 that is slower than the transport speed V1 of the supply conveyor 12. The articles S are aligned in a line with the mounting pitch Pt2 narrower than the mounting pitch Pt1 of the supply conveyor 12 in the short direction toward the transport direction, and are transported to a downstream carting machine (not shown).

  Here, the transport speed V2 of the discharge conveyor 14 is set to be equal to the speed component in the transport speed V2 direction at the placement position P2 of the article S held by the holding heads H1 to H12. Here, since the speed component in the direction of the conveyance speed V2 of the holding heads H1 to H12 (article S) at the placement position P2 is Vt · cos θ, V2 = Vt · cos θ. As described above, since the peripheral speed Vt of the holding heads H1 to H12 is set equal to the transport speed V1 of the supply conveyor 12, the transport speeds V1 and V2, the peripheral speed (tangential speed) Vt of the holding heads H1 to H12, The relationship of V1 = Vt and V2 = V1 · cos θ is established between the angles θ.

  Further, at the placement position P2, the holding heads H1 to H12 (article S) have a velocity component Vt · sin θ in the width direction of the discharge conveyor 14 (direction perpendicular to the transport direction). Therefore, when the article S is delivered to the discharge conveyor 14, the article S may shift in the width direction of the discharge conveyor 14 and jump out of the discharge conveyor 14. Therefore, in this embodiment, around the placement position P2 of the discharge conveyor 14, the side of the discharge conveyor 14 located on the downstream side of the placement position P2 with respect to the circulation path CP1 (the lower side of the discharge conveyor 14 in FIG. 1). Is provided with a pop-out prevention guide 16 on the side. This prevents the article S delivered from the holding heads H1 to H12 from shifting in the width direction of the discharge conveyor 14 at the placement position P2.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the article transfer apparatus (transfer means) 11 of this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the article transfer device 11 taken along line AA in FIG.

  The article transfer device 11 includes a shaft 22 that is pivotally supported on a fixed portion such as a base via a bearing 20 and rotates about a rotation axis X. The shaft 22 is connected to a motor 26 via a gear train 24 and is driven to rotate at a desired rotational speed by the motor 26. A disc-shaped rotating plate 28 is provided at the upper end of the shaft 22 and is rotated together with the shaft 22. An outer shaft 30 corresponding to each of the holding heads H <b> 1 to H <b> 12 is pivoted substantially upright via a bush 32 on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating plate 28, and its vertical movement is restricted by the bush 32. .

  For example, an inner shaft 34 subjected to, for example, spline processing is inserted into the outer shaft 30 from the lower end of each outer shaft 30, and the inner shaft 34 can move up and down with respect to the outer shaft 30 and rotate together. Connected. At the lower end of the inner shaft 34, holding heads H1 to H12 are provided.

  The inner shaft 34 is rotatably supported by the bush 36 at a predetermined height, and movement in the vertical direction with respect to the bush 36 is restricted. Bushes 36 that engage with each of the inner shafts 34 are connected to cam followers 40 via arms 38, respectively. The cam followers 40 are respectively engaged with elevating cams 46 held by a fixed plate 44 fixed to a stay 42 fixed to a base or the like. A bush 45 is interposed between the fixed plate 44 and the shaft 22.

  The raising / lowering cam 46 is provided concentrically around the rotation axis X, and the raising / lowering cam 46 controls the vertical movement of the holding heads H1 to H12. That is, when the rotation plate 28 is rotated by the motor 26, the outer shaft 30, the inner shaft 34, the holding heads H1 to H12, and the cam follower 40 are integrally rotated around the rotation axis X. The outer shaft 30, the inner shaft 34, and the holding heads H1 to H12 provided at the distal end thereof are rotated by a rotation mechanism described later, and the inner shaft 34 and the holding heads H1 to H12 further follow the shape of the lifting cam 46. Moved up and down.

  The holding heads H <b> 1 to H <b> 12 are provided with suction pads 48 that come into contact with the top surface of the article S and suck the article S by negative pressure at the tips thereof. The upper end of each of the outer shafts 30 is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown) via the air pipe 50, and suction in the holding heads H <b> 1 to H <b> 12 is communicated with the air pipe 50. This is done through a suction path (not shown) provided in the interior. The air pipe 50 is connected to the outer shaft 30 via the rotary joint 52, and the air pipe 50 is prevented from being twisted by the rotation of the outer shaft 30.

  For rotation of the outer shaft 30, for example, a center pulley 54 that rotates integrally with the shaft 22 is provided at the upper end of the shaft 22, and a pair of upper and lower pulleys having the same number of teeth as the center pulley 54 in each of the outer shafts 30. 56 and 58 are provided integrally and connected by a timing belt. For example, the center pulley 54 and the lower pulley 56 of one outer shaft among the twelve outer shafts 30 are first connected by a timing belt. The upper pulley 58 of the outer shaft is connected to the upper pulley 58 of the adjacent outer shaft (for example, upstream in the conveying direction) with another timing belt, and the next outer shaft is alternately alternately arranged with the lower pulley and the upper pulley. Hang the timing belt around the upper and lower pulleys. When the number of teeth of the center pulley 54 and the upper and lower pulleys 56 and 58 of the outer shaft 30 is the same as in the present embodiment, the direction of the holding head always faces the same direction, so the article is conveyed on the supply conveyor 12. The sheet is transferred to the discharge conveyor 14 while maintaining its posture.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the placement pitches of the supply conveyor and the discharge conveyor can be varied only by adjusting the arrangement and the conveyance speed of the discharge conveyor with respect to the article transfer device rotated at a constant speed. it can. Thereby, the setting range of the rotational speed of the transfer device can be widened, and the impact at the time of placing the article on the discharge conveyor can be reduced.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the article conveyance system 60 of 2nd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. In the article transfer device 11 of the first embodiment, the circulation movement path of the holding heads H1 to H12 is a circular track, but in the second embodiment, the shape of this circulation movement path is different from that of the first embodiment. In addition, about another structure, it is substantially the same as 1st Embodiment, About the same structure, the description is abbreviate | omitted using the same referential mark.

  FIG. 3 is a partial plan view showing a layout of the article transport system 60 of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the article transport system 60 of the second embodiment includes the supply conveyor 12 and the discharge conveyor 14 as in the first embodiment, and the article is an article transfer device (transfer) of the second embodiment. Means) 61 is transferred from the supply conveyor 12 to the discharge conveyor 14.

  The circulation movement path CP2 of the article transfer device 61 has, for example, a track field shape (rounded rectangle), and the first and second semicircular movement paths C1 and C2 are connected to the first semicircular movement paths C1 and C2. , Second linear movement paths L1 and L2. The circulation movement path CP2 is configured by, for example, an endless belt or a chain, and includes, for example, 14 holding heads H1 to H14 arranged at predetermined intervals along the same path CP2.

  In FIG. 3, the first semicircular movement route C1 of the circular movement route CP2 is arranged on the upper right side of the drawing, and the second semicircular movement route C2 is arranged on the lower left side. That is, the long side of the circulation movement path CP2 is arranged with an angle α with respect to the transport direction of the supply conveyor 12. The supply conveyor 12 is disposed along the tangent line of the first semicircular movement path C1 that forms an angle of about α with the long side (first and second linear movement paths L1, L2) of the circulation movement path CP2. The article S conveyed on the supply conveyor 12 is picked up by the holding heads H1 to H14 at the contact point between the tangent line and the first semicircular movement path C1 (pickup position P3).

  The articles picked up by the holding heads H1 to H14 are transferred counterclockwise along the first semicircular movement path C1, and then transferred toward the second semicircular movement path C2 along the first straight path L1. Is done. The first straight path L1 crosses the discharge conveyor 14 on the way, and at this time, the articles S being transferred are sequentially transferred to the discharge conveyor 14 (placement position P4). Thereafter, the holding heads H1 to H14 are transferred counterclockwise along the second semicircular movement path C2, and again reach the first semicircular movement path C1 via the second linear movement path L2, and the article at the picking position P3. S is picked up from the supply conveyor 12. In the second embodiment, the transport direction of the discharge conveyor 14 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to, for example, the transport direction of the supply conveyor 12, and the transport direction of the discharge conveyor 14 is the traveling direction (first direction) of the circulation movement path CP2. It is arranged so as to form an angle θ (= 90 ° −α) with respect to the direction along the linear movement path L1.

  The supply conveyor 12 is continuously operated at the conveyance speed V1, and the articles S are conveyed on the supply conveyor 12 at the placement pitch Pt1. The conveyance speed V1 is set equal to the peripheral speed Vt of the holding heads H1 to H14 in the first and second semicircular movement paths C1 and C2. On the other hand, the discharge conveyor 14 is continuously operated at a transfer speed V2 that is slower than the transfer speed V1, and the articles S are transferred on the discharge conveyor 14 at a placement pitch Pt2 that is narrower than the placement pitch Pt1. While the holding heads H1 to H14 move on the first semicircular movement path C1, the holding heads H1 to H14 are rotated by, for example, a motor, and the articles S held on the holding heads H1 to H14 are placed on the supply conveyor 12. The first straight movement path L1 is transferred while maintaining the orientation at.

  Here, the transport speed V2 is set equal to the speed component in the transport direction of the discharge conveyor 14 of the holding heads H1 to H14 (article S) at the placement position P4, but in the first and second linear paths L1 and L2. Since the speed of the holding heads H1 to H14 in the traveling direction is equal to the absolute value of the peripheral speed Vt, the transport speed V2 of the discharge conveyor 14 is set to Vt · cos θ. That is, as in the first embodiment, the relationship between the conveyance speeds V1 and V2, the circumferential speed (tangential speed) Vt of the holding heads H1 to H14, and the angle θ is V1 = Vt and V2 = V1 · cos θ. Is established.

  Further, at the placement position P4, the holding heads H1 to H14 (article S) have a velocity component Vt · sin θ in the width direction of the discharge conveyor 14 (direction perpendicular to the transport direction). Therefore, as in the first embodiment, when the article S is delivered to the discharge conveyor 14, the circulation path CP <b> 2 is placed around the placement position P <b> 4 of the discharge conveyor 14 so that the article S does not jump out of the discharge conveyor 14. On the other hand, a pop-out prevention guide 16 is provided on the side of the discharge conveyor 14 located on the downstream side of the mounting position P4 (the side on the lower side of the discharge conveyor 14 in FIG. 1). This prevents the article S delivered from the holding heads H1 to H14 from shifting in the width direction of the discharge conveyor 14 at the placement position P4.

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, substantially the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Further, in the configuration of the second embodiment, compared to the first embodiment, layout options satisfying desired conditions (for example, V1 = Vt and V2 = V1 · cos θ) are increased, and the degree of freedom in design is increased.

  Note that the number of holding heads in the present embodiment is an example, and the number of holding heads may be larger or smaller than that in the present embodiment. In addition, the shape of the circulation movement path is not limited to the shape of the first and second embodiments, and may be configured by a combination of arbitrary curves and straight lines.

  In this embodiment, the transport direction of the supply conveyor and the discharge direction of the discharge conveyor are arranged substantially perpendicularly, but the angle formed by the transport direction of the supply conveyor and the tangential direction of the circulation path is the tangent of the circulation path. It is only necessary that the angle formed with the direction is different, and the conveying directions of both conveyors do not necessarily have to be orthogonal. In addition, the rotation ratio of each holding head is not limited to this embodiment. If the placement pitch of the article is changed in the supply conveyor and the discharge conveyor, the direction of the article (longitudinal direction) in each conveyor is changed. Is not limited to this embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the placement pitch in the discharge conveyor is reduced from the placement pitch of the supply conveyor. However, the operation of the discharge conveyor, the article transfer device, and the supply conveyor in this embodiment is reversed, and the placement pitch is changed. It can also be set as the structure expanded. In the second embodiment, the holding head is moved on the circulation path using an endless transport body such as an endless belt or a chain. However, the endless transport body is not limited to these.

10, 60 article transport system 11, 61 article transfer device (transfer means)
12 Supply conveyor (first transport means)
14 Discharge conveyor (second transport means)
16 Guide for popping out 20 Bearing 22 Shaft 24 Gear train 26 Motor 28 Rotating plate 30 Outer shaft 32, 36 Bush 34 Inner shaft 38 Arm 40 Cam follower 42 Stay 44 Fixing plate 45 Bush 46 Lifting cam 48 Adsorption pad 50 Air piping 52 Rotary joint CP1, CP2 Circulating movement path H1 to H14 Holding head P1, P3 Picking position P2, P4 Placement position S Article

Claims (2)

First conveying means for sequentially conveying a plurality of articles toward a pick-up position;
Second transport means for transporting the plurality of articles sequentially placed at the placement position in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the first transport means;
A plurality of holding heads provided at predetermined intervals, and a transfer means for moving each holding head along a circulation movement path including the pick-up position and the placement position described above,
In the article transport system for transferring an article from the first transport means to the second transport means by placing the article picked up at the pick-up position at the placement position,
The second conveying means is arranged such that the conveying direction of the second conveying means and the moving direction of each holding head when passing through the mounting position are inclined by a predetermined angle. Article transport system. The article has a shape having a longitudinal direction, and the article is conveyed on the first conveying means in a posture in which the longitudinal direction is directed to the conveying direction of the first conveying means,
The transfer means has a rotating mechanism for rotating the holding head around a vertical axis, and the article is conveyed in the second direction with the longitudinal direction oriented in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the second conveying means. The article conveyance system according to claim 1, wherein the article is rotated and transferred so as to be conveyed on the means.

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