JP6559962B2 - Posture change mechanism and boxing device provided with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a posture changing mechanism and a boxing device including the posture changing mechanism.

  In a factory that manufactures products packaged in film bags, a boxing device that automatically packs a plurality of the packaging articles in a cardboard box is often used for shipment.

  The boxing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-219123) has a posture changing mechanism that turns the posture of the packaged article by 90 degrees. This posture changing mechanism is the same for a packaging article oriented in the width direction so as to be parallel to the long side of the rectangular bottom surface of the cardboard box and a packaging article oriented in the width direction so as to be parallel to the short side. It is provided in order to increase the number of packaging articles accommodated per cardboard box by being mixed in the cardboard box.

  In order to increase the efficiency of the product production line, it is necessary to operate the boxing device at high speed. However, an article wrapped in a film bag tends to be unstable in posture because its outer shape is easily deformed. For this reason, in the posture changing mechanism that operates at high speed, the packaged article is oriented in an inappropriate direction, which may hinder subsequent processes.

  An object of the present invention is to accurately change the posture of a packaged article in a boxing device and improve the efficiency of a production line.

  The attitude changing mechanism according to the first aspect of the present invention changes the attitude of an article conveyed from upstream to downstream along the conveying path. The conveyance path has a width that spreads horizontally from the center line. The posture changing mechanism includes a contact portion, a first side wall member, and a first support portion. The abutting portion is installed off the center line. The abutting portion is configured to be able to abut a part of the article being conveyed in order to promote the change of the attitude of the article. The first side wall member is installed on the side opposite to the contact portion with respect to the center line. The first side wall member extends in parallel with the center line. The first support portion supports the first side wall member so that the first side wall member can move in the intersecting direction intersecting the center line.

  According to this configuration, the separation distance between the first side wall member and the contact portion can be adjusted. Accordingly, it is possible to favorably maintain the degree of attitude change or rotation of the conveyed article.

  The posture changing mechanism according to the second aspect of the present invention is the posture changing mechanism according to the first aspect, wherein the first side wall member includes a belt conveyor.

  According to this structure, the belt conveyor contained in the 1st side wall member can assist the conveyance by applying force to articles | goods. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately convey the article in contact with the first side wall member without unreasonably staying.

  The posture changing mechanism according to the third aspect of the present invention is the posture changing mechanism according to the first or second aspect, further comprising an automatic movement mechanism. The automatic movement mechanism moves the first side wall member in the crossing direction.

  According to this configuration, for example, in combination with a system that detects the size of an article to be conveyed, it is possible to efficiently perform a suitable posture change for an article of various sizes.

  The posture changing mechanism according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the posture changing mechanism according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the upstream side end portion of the first side wall member is upstream of the contact portion. It is in.

  According to this configuration, the article to be conveyed can easily come into contact with the first side wall member. Therefore, it is possible to guide the end of the article in contact with the downstream, thereby prompting the article to change its posture.

  A posture changing mechanism according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the posture changing mechanism according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising a second side wall member. The second side wall member is installed on the same side as the contact portion with respect to the center line.

  According to this configuration, the second side wall member limits the movement of the article whose posture is changed. Therefore, a more accurate posture change can be performed.

  The posture changing mechanism according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the posture changing mechanism according to the fifth aspect, wherein the second side wall member includes a belt conveyor.

  According to this structure, the belt conveyor contained in the 2nd side wall member can assist the conveyance by applying force to articles | goods. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately convey the article in contact with the second side wall member without unreasonably staying.

  The posture changing mechanism according to the seventh aspect of the present invention is the posture changing mechanism according to the fifth or sixth aspect, further comprising a second support portion. A 2nd support part supports a 2nd side wall member so that the angle of the extension direction of a 2nd side wall member can be changed.

  According to this structure, the space | interval of a 1st side wall member and a 2nd side wall member can be set so that it may become so narrow that it goes downstream, for example. Therefore, for example, the posture change of a small article can be performed more accurately.

  The posture changing mechanism according to the eighth aspect of the present invention is the posture changing mechanism according to the seventh aspect, further comprising an automatic turning mechanism. The automatic turning mechanism changes the angle in the extending direction of the second side wall member.

  According to this configuration, for example, in combination with a system that detects the size of an article to be conveyed, a more suitable posture change can be efficiently performed on articles of various sizes.

  A boxing device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention includes a posture changing mechanism, a stacking mechanism, and a pushing mechanism. The posture changing mechanism relates to any one of the first to eighth viewpoints. The accumulation mechanism accumulates a plurality of articles. The pushing mechanism pushes a plurality of accumulated articles into the box.

  According to this configuration, the boxing device includes the accurate and high-speed posture changing device. Therefore, the processing speed of the boxing device can be improved.

  According to the posture changing mechanism according to the present invention, the degree of posture changing or rotation of the article can be suitably maintained. Further, in the boxing device equipped with the posture changing mechanism, the processing speed can be improved.

The perspective view of the structure of the boxing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The partial top view of the attitude | position change mechanism mounted in the boxing apparatus of FIG. The fragmentary perspective view of the attitude | position change mechanism of FIG. The fragmentary perspective view of the attitude | position change mechanism of FIG. The perspective view of the pushing mechanism mounted in the boxing apparatus of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are specific examples of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

(1) Overall Configuration FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a boxing device 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The boxing device 500 is for receiving the articles WP packaged in a bag one by one from the packaging device installed in the previous stage of the boxing device 500 and packing a predetermined number of articles WP in the box.

  The boxing device 500 includes a posture changing mechanism 100, a stacking mechanism 200, and a pushing mechanism 300.

  The attitude changing mechanism 100 receives the articles WP one by one from a packaging device (not shown), conveys the articles WP from upstream to downstream, and changes the attitude of the articles WP as necessary.

  The stacking mechanism 200 stacks a predetermined number of articles WP.

  The push-in mechanism 300 receives a predetermined number of articles WP accumulated by the accumulation mechanism 200, aligns them, and packs them in a box.

(2) Detailed configuration (2-1) Posture change mechanism 100
FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the posture changing mechanism 100. The posture changing mechanism 100 includes a transport mechanism 10, a first guide member 21, a second guide member 22, a contact portion 30, a rotating plate 40, a first side wall member 51, and a second side wall member 52. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, the posture changing mechanism 100 has an auxiliary transport mechanism 15.

(2-1-1) Transport mechanism 10
Returning to FIG. 2, the transport mechanism 10 transports the article WP in the transport direction F from upstream to downstream. The conveyance mechanism 10 consists of a belt conveyor. The conveyance path formed by the conveyance mechanism 10 extends in the conveyance direction F and has a width that extends in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction F. The two sides extending in the transport direction F in the transport path are equally spaced from the center line C, which also extends in the transport direction F, by a half dimension of the width.

(2-1-2) First guiding member 21
The first guide member 21 is for aligning the articles WP. The 1st guide member 21 is installed so that it may incline with respect to the conveyance direction F in planar view. Due to this inclination, the article WP moves close to the second guide member 22 described later.

  The first guide member 21 is a belt conveyor that operates at a speed aligned with the transport mechanism 10. In other words, the first guide member 21 has a higher conveyance speed than the conveyance speed of the conveyance mechanism 10 according to the inclination of the installation so that the component of the conveyance speed in the conveyance direction F matches the conveyance speed of the conveyance mechanism 10. Works with. Thereby, the article WP can be reliably guided.

(2-1-3) Second guiding member 22
The second guide member 22 is for aligning the articles WP in cooperation with the first guide member 21. The second guide member 22 is installed in parallel with the center line C of the transport path in plan view.

  The second guide member 22 is also a belt conveyor that operates at a speed aligned with the transport mechanism 10. Thereby, the article WP can be reliably guided.

(2-1-4) Contact part 30
The abutting portion 30 is a member that is installed on one side of the transport path, away from the center line C. Part of the article WP conveyed from the upstream abuts against the abutting portion 30, thereby inducing a change in posture of the article WP.

(2-1-5) Rotating plate 40
The rotating plate 40 is installed adjacent to the contact portion 30 on the same side as the contact portion 30 with respect to the center line C and upstream of the contact portion 30. The rotating plate 40 can be swung as indicated by the arrow M0. Depending on the weight and size of the article WP, the rotating plate 40 can push the article WP by turning, thereby promoting the posture change of the article WP. Alternatively, the rotating plate 40 may not be operated. This is because, depending on the weight and size of the article WP, it may be preferable to change the posture of the article WP when the rotating plate 40 is stopped.

(2-1-6) First side wall member 51
The first side wall member 51 guides the article WP that has begun to change its posture and takes a desired final posture.

  The first side wall member 51 is installed in parallel to the center line C and on the opposite side of the contact portion 30 with respect to the center line C. The upstream side end portion 51 a of the first side wall member 51 is positioned upstream from the contact portion 30 by a distance L. On the other hand, a portion of 50% or more of the entire length of the first side wall member 51 is located downstream of the contact portion 30.

  The first side wall member 51 is a belt conveyor that operates at a speed aligned with the transport mechanism 10. Thereby, the article WP can be reliably guided.

  The first side wall member 51 can translate in the direction indicated by the arrow M1 so as to handle articles WP of various sizes. This parallel movement is automatically performed by the mechanism shown in FIG. If this mechanism and a system for detecting the size of the article WP are used in combination, it is possible to efficiently perform a suitable posture change for the article WP of various sizes.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first side wall member 51 is supported by the first support portion 60. The first support part 60 includes a base plate 61 and a pair of support beams 62. The first side wall member 51 is fixed to the base plate 61. The base plate 61 is supported by a pair of support beams 62, and can slide on the base plate 61 in the direction of the arrow M1.

  The first side wall member 51 is driven in the direction of the arrow M <b> 1 by the automatic movement mechanism 70 together with the base plate 61. The automatic movement mechanism 70 includes a motor 71, a shaft 72, a roller 73, and a belt 74. The motor 71 rotates the shaft 72. The rotation of the shaft 72 is transmitted to a roller 73 fixed to the shaft 72. Due to the rotation of the roller 73, the belt 74 suspended on the roller 73 rotates along an elliptical track. The base plate 61 is fixed to the belt 74.

  That is, the first side wall member 51 is moved in the direction of the arrow M1 by the power of the motor 71.

(2-1-7) Second side wall member 52
Returning to FIG. 2, the second side wall member 52 cooperates with the first side wall member 51 to guide the article WP and to take a desired final posture.

  The second side wall member 52 is installed on the same side as the contact portion 30 with respect to the center line C and downstream of the contact portion 30. The second side wall member 52 can change the angle of installation as indicated by an arrow M2 so that articles WP of various sizes can be handled. This change in angle is automatically performed by the mechanism shown in FIG. If this mechanism and a system for detecting the size of the article WP are used in combination, it is possible to efficiently perform a suitable posture change for the article WP of various sizes.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second side wall member 52 is supported by the second support portion 80. The second support unit 80 includes a base plate 81 and a support member 82. The second side wall member 52 is fixed to the base plate 81. The base plate 81 is supported by a support member 82, and can slide while turning as indicated by an arrow M2.

  The second side wall member 52 is turned together with the base plate 81 by the automatic turning mechanism 90 as shown by the arrow M2. The automatic turning mechanism 90 includes a motor.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the second side wall member 52 is a belt conveyor that operates at a speed aligned with the transport mechanism 10. Thereby, the article WP can be reliably guided. When the second side wall member 52 is oriented at an angle inclined with respect to the transport direction F, the second side wall member 52 matches the component of the transport speed in the transport direction F with the transport speed of the transport mechanism 10. As described above, the operation is performed at a conveyance speed faster than the conveyance speed of the conveyance mechanism 10 according to the angle.

(2-1-8) Auxiliary transport mechanism 15
Returning to FIG. 1, the auxiliary transport mechanism 15 is for delivering the article WP transported by the transport mechanism 10 to the subsequent stacking mechanism 200. The auxiliary transport mechanism 15 is installed inclined with respect to the horizontal direction.

(2-2) Accumulation mechanism 200
As shown in FIG. 1, the stacking mechanism 200 for stacking a predetermined number of articles WP includes a first conveyor 210 and a second conveyor 220. The first conveyor 210 is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction and forms an inclined surface.

  The first conveyor 210 operates constantly.

  Until the predetermined number of articles WP are stacked, the second conveyor 220 stops or operates at a low speed. As a result, the plurality of articles WP sequentially conveyed from the posture changing mechanism 100 are stacked on the second conveyor 220 in a partially overlapping state.

  When a predetermined number of articles WP are stacked, the second conveyor 220 operates at a high speed, and passes the group of articles WP to the pushing mechanism 300 at the subsequent stage.

(2-3) Push-in mechanism 300
The push-in mechanism 300 installed at the rear stage of the stacking mechanism 200 packs the group of articles WP in a box.

  FIG. 5 shows details of the configuration of the push-in mechanism 300. The pushing mechanism 300 includes a transport mechanism 310, a stopper 320, a support plate 330, a pushing plate 340, and a box standby base 350.

  The transport mechanism 310 transports a predetermined number of groups of articles WP, and includes a belt conveyor.

  The stopper 320 is a plate material for preventing the leading movement of the group of articles WP. The support plate 330 is a plate material for supporting the tail of the group of articles WP after the push-in mechanism 300 receives the group of articles WP. The stopper 320 and the support plate 330 can move as indicated by the two-dot chain line arrow. By this movement, the stopper 320 and the support plate 330 can receive the group of articles WP from the second conveyor, or restrict the movement of the group of articles WP and align them. The stopper 320 and the support plate 330 are moved by a moving mechanism (not shown).

  The pushing plate 340 can be moved in the direction indicated by the arrow P by a moving mechanism (not shown). On the box stand 350, a box B having an open side is placed. As the push-in plate 340 approaches the box B, the group of articles WP is packed in the box B. The box stand 350 has a lifting mechanism (not shown) so that it can be lifted. As a result, the articles WP having different postures can be packed in the gaps in the box B that are generated as a result of packing the group of articles WP in the box B.

(3) Features (3-1)
In the posture change mechanism 100, the first support part 60 shown in FIG. 3 supports the first side wall member 51 so that the first side wall member 51 can be moved in the intersecting direction M1 intersecting the center line C shown in FIG. According to this configuration, the separation distance between the first side wall member 51 and the contact portion 30 can be adjusted. Accordingly, it is possible to favorably maintain the degree of attitude change or rotation of the conveyed article.

(3-2)
Since the first side wall member 51 shown in FIG. 2 is a belt conveyor, the first side wall member 51 can assist its conveyance by applying force to the article WP. Therefore, the article WP in contact with the first side wall member 51 can be appropriately conveyed without unreasonably staying.

(3-3)
The automatic movement mechanism 70 shown in FIG. 3 moves the first side wall member 51 in the intersecting direction M1 that intersects the center line C shown in FIG. According to this configuration, for example, in combination with a system that detects the size of the conveyed article WP, it is possible to efficiently perform a suitable posture change for the articles WP of various sizes.

(3-4)
As shown in FIG. 2, the upstream side end portion 51 a of the first side wall member 51 is on the upstream side of the contact portion 30. According to this configuration, the conveyed article WP is likely to come into contact with the first side wall member 51. Accordingly, it is possible to guide the end of the contacted article WP to the downstream, thereby prompting the posture change of the article WP.

(3-5)
The second side wall member 52 is installed on the same side as the contact portion 30 with respect to the center line C. According to this configuration, the second side wall member 52 restricts the movement of the article WP whose posture is changed. Therefore, a more accurate posture change can be performed.

(3-6)
Since the second side wall member 52 is a belt conveyor, the second side wall member 52 can assist the conveyance thereof by applying a force to the article WP. Therefore, the article WP in contact with the second side wall member 52 can be appropriately conveyed without unreasonably staying.

(3-7)
The second support portion 80 shown in FIG. 4 supports the second side wall member 52 so that the angle in the extending direction of the second side wall member 52 can be changed. This change in angle is indicated by the arrow M2 in FIG. According to this structure, the space | interval of the 1st side wall member 51 and the 2nd side wall member 52 can be set so that it may become so narrow that it goes downstream, for example. Therefore, for example, the posture change of the small article WP can be performed more accurately.

(3-8)
The automatic turning mechanism 90 shown in FIG. 4 changes the angle in the extending direction of the second side wall member 52 as indicated by an arrow M2 in FIG. According to this configuration, for example, in combination with a system that detects the size of the conveyed article WP, it is possible to efficiently perform a more suitable posture change with respect to the articles WP of various sizes.

(3-9)
By mounting the posture changing mechanism 100 described above on the boxing device 500 as shown in FIG. 1, the processing speed of the boxing device 500 can be improved.

(4) Modification (4-1)
In the above-described embodiment, the first guide member 21, the second guide member 22, the first side wall member 51, and the second side wall member 52 are belt conveyors. Alternatively, these members may be simple plates. According to this configuration, the cost of the posture changing mechanism 100 can be reduced.

(4-2)
In the above-described embodiment, the position and angle of the first side wall member 51 and the second side wall member 52 are automatically changed by the automatic movement mechanism 70 and the automatic turning mechanism 90, respectively. Instead, these members may be configured to be manually changed in position and angle. According to this configuration, it is possible to make a precise setting in consideration of the size and weight of the article WP.

(4-3)
In the above-described embodiment, the stopper 320 and the support plate 330 are simply movable plate materials. Instead, the stopper 320 and the support plate 330 may have a belt conveyor. According to this configuration, when the weight of the article WP is heavy, the article WP can be easily raised properly.

C center line WP article 10 transport mechanism 30 contact portion 40 rotating plate 51 first side wall member 51a upstream end portion 52 second side wall member 60 first support portion 70 automatic movement mechanism 80 second support portion 90 automatic turning mechanism 100 Posture changing mechanism 200 Accumulating mechanism 300 Pushing mechanism 340 Pushing plate 500 Box packing device

JP 2011-219123 A

Claims (7)

A posture changing mechanism for changing the posture of an article conveyed from upstream to downstream along a conveyance path having a width that spreads horizontally from the center line;
An abutting portion installed off the center line and configured to be able to abut on a part of the article being transported in order to promote the change of the posture of the article;
A first side wall member installed on the opposite side of the abutting portion with respect to the center line and extending in parallel with the center line;
A first support portion for supporting the first side wall member so that the first side wall member can move in an intersecting direction intersecting the center line;
Equipped with a,
The upstream side end portion of the first side wall member is on the upstream side of the contact portion, and the first side wall member further includes a belt conveyor.
Posture change mechanism. An automatic movement mechanism for moving the first side wall member in the crossing direction;
Further comprising
The posture changing mechanism according to claim 1 . A second side wall member installed on the same side as the contact portion with respect to the center line;
Further comprising
The posture changing mechanism according to claim 1 or 2 . The second side wall member includes a belt conveyor.
The posture changing mechanism according to claim 3 . A second support part for supporting the second side wall member so that an angle in the extending direction of the second side wall member can be changed;
Further comprising
The posture changing mechanism according to claim 3 or 4 . An automatic turning mechanism for changing the angle of the extending direction of the second side wall member;
Further comprising
The posture changing mechanism according to claim 5 . The posture changing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
An accumulation mechanism for accumulating a plurality of the articles;
A push-in mechanism that pushes the plurality of accumulated articles into a box;
Comprising
Boxing equipment.

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