JP6708908B2 - Conveyor - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a conveyor that conveys articles.

Patent Document 1 discloses a conveyor that conveys rod-shaped food. Hereinafter, the reference numerals used in Patent Document 1 are shown in parentheses, and the technique described in Patent Document 1 will be briefly described.

A pair of left and right endless chains (82) are spanned on the sprockets (81a, 81b, 81c, 81d), and a part of the endless chain (82) is provided along the rail (84). A large number of crossbars (83) are bridged between the left and right endless chains (82), and these crossbars (83) are arranged at equal intervals in the continuous direction of the endless chain (82). The portion of the endless chain (82) between the sprocket (81c) and the sprocket (81b) is provided along the inclined portion of the rail (84), and the sprocket (81b) and the sprocket (81a) of the endless chain (82). ) Is provided along the horizontal part of the rail (84).

The crossbar (83) moves along the rail (84) as the endless chain (82) is rotated. Each time the crossbar (83) passes under the hopper (6), the bar-shaped food product (1) is housed between the crossbar (83) and the next crossbar (83). The rod-shaped food products (1) housed between the adjacent crossbars (83) are conveyed by the crossbars (83) along the rails (84).

Japanese Patent No. 4903399

By the way, if the diameter of the rod-shaped food (1) is significantly different from the diameter of the crossbar (83), the rod-shaped food (1) and the crossbar (83) housed between the adjacent crossbars (83) are different from each other. The stick-shaped food product (1) is caught and another stick-shaped food product (1) is unexpectedly conveyed.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to prevent the articles other than the articles accommodated in the space between the adjacent conveying bars (crossbars) from being unexpectedly conveyed.

The main invention for solving the above problems is a guide inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and a pair of endless members provided endlessly on both sides of the guide, a part of which is provided along the guide, A plurality of transport rods that are bridged between the endless members and arranged at intervals in the continuous direction of the endless member, and a portion of the endless member that is provided along the guide is provided on the upside of the guide. By rotating the endless member so as to move in the direction, the transport rod hung between the portions of the endless member provided along the guide is guided along the guide on the guide. A drive unit for moving up, an adjusting mechanism for adjusting a distance between the guide bar and the guide bridged between portions of the endless member provided along the guide, and an adjusting mechanism for the guide. A horizontal guide that extends horizontally from the upper end and is fixed, and that is integrated with the guide, and the adjusting mechanism tilts the guide with the upper end of the guide as a fulcrum, whereby A conveyor for adjusting a distance between the guide and the guide .

By adjusting the distance between the guide and the guide spanned between the parts provided along the guide of the endless member by the adjusting mechanism, the space between the adjacent guides up to the guide The depth can be adjusted according to the diameter of the article. Therefore, other articles do not get caught on the adjacent transport rods or articles between them. Therefore, it is possible to prevent other articles from being unexpectedly conveyed.

According to the present invention, another article is prevented from being caught by the adjacent transport rods or the article between them, and it is possible to prevent the other article from being unexpectedly transported.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the conveyor. FIG. 2 is a side view of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 3 is a side view of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a state before adjustment of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing a state after the adjustment of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing a state before the adjustment of the main part of the conveyor. FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view showing a state after the adjustment of the main part of the conveyor.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below have various technically preferable limitations for carrying out the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the conveyor 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a pool conveyor 90 is provided on the upstream side of the conveyor 1, and a packaging device 95 is provided on the downstream side of the conveyor 1. The pool conveyor 90 is a roller conveyor, a belt conveyor or a chain conveyor. When the worker supplies the plurality of rod-shaped articles 2 to the pool conveyor 90, the rod-shaped articles 2 are fed to the conveyor 1 by the pool conveyor 90 in a state of being laid sideways. The rod-shaped articles 2 supplied to the conveyor 1 are conveyed one by one by the conveyor 1 in a direction (direction from left to right in FIG. 1) orthogonal to the axial direction of the rod-shaped articles 2 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1). ) To the packaging device 95. The rod-shaped article 2 transported from the conveyor 1 to the packaging device 95 is transported in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 by the transport device of the packaging device 95, and is packaged in a packaging material by the packaging device 95.

The conveyor 1 includes a dam plate 11, an inclined guide plate 21, a horizontal guide plate 23, a guide 25, a brush roller 29, a pair of sprockets 31 to 35, a pair of endless chains 36, a drive motor 37, a plurality of transport rods 40, and an adjusting mechanism. Equipped with 50 etc.

The dam plate 11 is provided upright below the terminal end 91 of the pool conveyor 90, and is fixed to the machine frame of the conveyor 1. The dam plate 11 is installed so as to have a downward slope from a position below the terminal end 91 of the pool conveyor 90 toward the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1). The bar-shaped articles 2 supplied from the pool conveyor 90 to the conveyor 1 are blocked by the blocking plate 11 and are gathered downstream of the blocking plate 11 (on the right side in FIG. 1).

The inclined guide plate 21 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane and is inclined upward toward the downstream side. The inclined guide plate 21 is arranged so as to extend below the dam plate 11 from the upstream side to the downstream side. A gap 12 exists between the inclined guide plate 21 and the lower end of the dam plate 11.
The horizontal guide plate 23 extends horizontally from the upper end of the inclined guide plate 21 toward the downstream side.

The inclined guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide plate 23 are integrated, and the horizontal guide plate 23 is inclined with respect to the inclined guide plate 21. That is, by bending the plate-shaped member, the portion upstream of the bent portion 22 becomes the inclined guide plate 21, and the portion downstream of the bent portion 22 becomes the horizontal guide plate 23. The upper surfaces of the inclined guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide plate 23 serve as a conveyance path for the rod-shaped article 2, and the rod-shaped article 2 is conveyed on the inclined guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide plate 23 from the upstream side to the downstream side. Since the inclined guide plate 21, the bent portion 22 and the horizontal guide plate 23 are seamless, the rod-shaped article 2 is smoothly transported.

The horizontal guide plate 23 is fixed to the machine frame of the conveyor 1, whereby the inclined guide plate 21 is supported by the machine frame of the conveyor 1. The tilted guide plate 21 and the bent portion 22 are elastically deformable, and the tilted guide plate 21 is tiltably provided with the bent portion 22 as a fulcrum by the elastic deformation. That is, the tilt guide plate 21 tilts so as to be swung up or down with the bent portion 22 as a fulcrum. By adjusting the inclination angle of the inclined guide plate 21 by the adjustment mechanism 50 described later, the interval between the inclined guide plate 21 and the transport rod 40 described later is adjusted. The tilt angle of the tilt guide plate 21 is smaller than the height from the lower end to the upper end of the tilt guide plate 21, and tilting of the tilt guide plate 21 may be regarded as parallel movement of the tilt guide plate 21.

A brush roller 29 is provided above the dam plate 11. The brush roller 29 is arranged at a position facing the inclined guide plate 21, and is separated from the inclined guide plate 21. The axis of the brush roller 29 is parallel to the width direction of the inclined guide plate 21 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1). The brush roller 29 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow B by a motor.

A pair of sprockets 31 are arranged on both sides of the lower end of the inclined guide plate 21 in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1). A pair of sprockets 32 are arranged on both sides in the width direction of the bent portion 22 between the inclined guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide plate 23. A pair of sprockets 33 are arranged on both widthwise sides of the downstream end of the horizontal guide plate 23. A pair of sprockets 34 and a pair of sprockets 35 are arranged on both sides of the horizontal guide plate 23 in the width direction and below the horizontal guide plate 23. The sprocket 34 is arranged closer to the sprocket 33 than the sprocket 35, and the sprocket 35 is arranged closer to the sprocket 32 than the sprocket 34.

The pair of sprockets 31 are rotatably attached to the machine frame of the conveyor 1 in a state of being coaxial with each other at intervals in the width direction. The same applies to the pair of sprockets 32 to 35.

An endless chain 36 is stretched over the sprockets 31 to 35. The endless chain 36 is folded back by the sprocket 31 at the upstream end, folded by the sprocket 33 at the downstream end, and redirected by the sprocket 32 in the midstream.

A portion 36 a of the endless chain 36 from the sprocket 31 to the sprocket 32 passes through the gap 12 between the inclined guide plate 21 and the lower end of the dam plate 11, and further between the inclined guide plate 21 and the brush roller 29. It inclines upward along the inclined guide plate 21 through the gap.
A portion 36b of the endless chain 36 from the sprocket 32 to the sprocket 33 is horizontally provided along the horizontal guide plate 23.
The tension of the endless chain 36 is adjusted by pushing up the portion 36c of the endless chain 36 from the sprocket 33 to the sprocket 31 by the sprockets 34, 35.

At least one of the sprockets 31 to 35 (for example, the sprocket 31) is connected to the drive motor 37, and the drive motor 37 orbits the endless chain (roller chain) 36. The direction of rotation of the endless chain 36 is from the sprocket 31 to the sprocket 33 via the sprocket 32.

A plurality of transport rods 40 are attached to the endless chain 36. These transport rods 40 are arranged at equal intervals in the continuous direction of the endless chain 36 and are bridged between the endless chains 36 on both sides. Therefore, when the endless chain 36 is rotated by the drive motor 37, the conveyor rod 40 moves upward from the sprocket 31 toward the sprocket 32 on the inclined guide plate 21, and then the conveyor rod 40 moves from the sprocket 32 to the sprocket 33. It moves horizontally on the horizontal guide plate 23.

On the downstream side of the horizontal guide plate 23, a curved guide 25 is provided from above the downstream side portion of the horizontal guide plate 23 to the front side of the horizontal guide plate 23. The guide 25 is separated from the horizontal guide plate 23, and the transport rod 40 passes between the horizontal guide plate 23 and the guide 25.

Here, focusing on the gap 12 between the lower end of the dam plate 11 and the inclined guide plate 21, the transport rod 40 sequentially passes through the gap 12. Each time the transport rod 40 passes through the gap 12, one of the transport rod 40 and the next transport rod 40 through which one of the group 3 of rod-shaped articles 2 pooled on the downstream side of the dam plate 11 has passed. It is accommodated in the space 41. Hereinafter, the space 41 between the adjacent transport rods 40 will be referred to as the accommodation space 41.

The rod-shaped article 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 exits from the group 3 of other rod-shaped articles 2 (see arrow A in FIG. 1) and is guided by the inclined guide plate 21 so that the inclined guide plate 21 can be climbed up. It is transported to the downstream side. After that, the rod-shaped article 2 conveyed to the upper end of the inclined guide plate 21 is guided by the horizontal guide plate 23 and conveyed on the horizontal guide plate 23 to the downstream side. The rod-shaped article 2 conveyed to the downstream end of the horizontal guide plate 23 is guided by the guide 25 and falls, and is supplied to the conveyor of the packaging device 95.

When the number of rod-shaped articles 2 in the crowd 3 decreases, the pool conveyor 90 is driven to replenish the crowd 3 with a plurality of rod-shaped articles 2. Here, on/off of the pool conveyor 90 is manually controlled by an operator. Alternatively, when the sensor detects the rod-shaped article 2 of the crowd 3, the pool conveyor 9 is stopped, and when the sensor does not detect the rod-shaped article 2 of the crowd 3, the pool conveyor 9 operates.

By the way, when the interval between the transport rod 40 that moves along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21 is narrow, the accommodation space 41 is shallow (here, the depth of the accommodation space 41 refers to the inclination guide plate 21. The distance from the plane circumscribing the plurality of moving transport rods 40 to the guide plate 21). On the other hand, if the distance between the transport rod 40 moving along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21 is wide, the accommodation space 41 is deep.

When the depth of the accommodation space 41 is significantly different from the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, another rod-shaped article 2 is caught in the rod-shaped article 2 or the transportation rod 40 accommodated between the adjacent transportation rods 40, There is a risk that another rod-shaped article 2 may be unexpectedly conveyed. For example, if the accommodation space 41 is shallower than the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, the rod-shaped article 2 will protrude from the accommodation space 41 (see FIG. 4 ). Therefore, another rod-shaped article 2 is housed between the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the adjacent accommodation spaces 41 and is conveyed together (see FIG. 4 ).
On the other hand, if the accommodation space 41 is deeper than the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, the space around one rod-shaped article 2 accommodated between the adjacent transport rods 40 becomes wider (see FIG. 6 ). Therefore, other rod-shaped articles 2 are accommodated in the space, and these rod-shaped articles 2 are transported (see FIG. 6).

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to appropriately adjust the depth of the accommodation space 41 according to the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, the interval between the transport rod 40 moving along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21 is set. It can be adjusted by a manual adjusting mechanism 50.

The adjustment mechanism 50 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a base plate 51 is arranged below the inclined guide plate 21, and the base plate 51 is fixed to the machine frame of the conveyor 1. Screw shafts 61 and 71 are provided so as to penetrate the base plate 51, and these screw shafts 61 and 71 are rotatably attached to the base plate 51 by bearings. The screw shafts 61 and 71 are perpendicular to a portion 36a of the endless chain 36 from the sprocket 31 to the sprocket 32, and also to a conveying rod 40 provided in the portion 36a.

Nuts 60 and 70 are fixed to the lower surface of the inclined guide plate 21, the tips of the screw shafts 61 and 71 are meshed with the nuts 60 and 70, and the screw shafts 61 and 71 and the inclined guide plate 21 are substantially orthogonal to each other. The nuts 60 and 70 are fixed to the inclined guide plate 21, and the inclined guide plate 21 moves in the axial direction of the screw shafts 61 and 71 by the rotation of the screw shafts 61 and 71. The nut 60 is arranged on the back side of the gap 12, and the nut 70 is arranged at a position separated upward from the gap 12.
The nut 60 is arranged on the back side below the position facing the brush roller 29. The nut 70 is arranged on the back side slightly below the position facing the brush roller 29 (see FIG. 1 ). However, the nut 70 may be arranged on the back side of the position facing the brush roller 29, or may be arranged on the back side above the position facing the brush roller 29.

Bevel gears 62 and 72 are provided at the other ends of the screw shafts 61 and 71, and the bevel gears 62 and 72 mesh with the bevel gears 63 and 73. The bevel gears 63, 73 are directly connected to the bevel gears 65, 75 by shafts 64, 74 rotatably attached to the machine frame of the conveyor 1. Bevel gears 65 and 75 mesh with bevel gears 66 and 76. The bevel gears 66 and 76 are directly connected to the handles 67 and 77 by shafts rotatably attached to the machine frame of the conveyor 1, and are directly connected to the rotation angle gauges (rotation angle gauges) 68 and 78 by the shafts. There is. The rotation angle meters 68 and 78 measure and display the rotation angles of the handles 67 and 77.

By using the adjusting mechanism 50 as described above, it is possible to adjust the interval between the transport rod 40 moving along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21.
Specifically, when the operator rotates the handles 67 and 77 to one side, the screw shafts 61 and 71 rotate so as to loosen the nuts 60 and 70. Then, the nuts 60, 70 and the inclined guide plate 21 move so as to separate from the base plate 51. As a result, the interval between the transport rod 40 moving along the inclined guide plate 21 and the inclined guide plate 21 becomes narrow (see FIG. 3).
On the other hand, when the operator rotates the handles 67 and 77 to the other, the screw shafts 61 and 71 rotate so as to be tightened with respect to the nuts 60 and 70. Then, the nuts 60, 70 and the inclined guide plate 21 move so as to approach the base plate 51. As a result, the distance between the transport rod 40 and the inclined guide plate 21 becomes wider (see FIG. 2).

As described above, the position of the inclined guide plate 21 is adjusted by rotating the handles 67 and 77, and the depth of the accommodation space 41 is adjusted to be substantially equal to the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2. By doing so, two rod-shaped articles 2 may not be accommodated in one accommodation space 41, or another rod-shaped article 2 may be accommodated between the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the adjacent accommodation spaces 41. Absent. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the rod-shaped articles 2 other than the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 from being inadvertently conveyed. This effect will be described more specifically.

When the rod-shaped article 2 has a large diameter and thus the rod-shaped article 2 largely protrudes from the accommodation space 41 (see FIG. 4 ), the operator rotates the handles 67 and 77 to move the conveyance rod 40 and the inclined guide plate. Widen the gap with 21 (see Fig. 5). By doing so, the depth of the accommodation space 41 is made substantially equal to the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the rod-shaped articles 2 other than the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 are less likely to be caught by the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the rod-shaped articles 2 other than the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 from being inadvertently conveyed.
On the other hand, when the rod-shaped article 2 has a small diameter and the rod-shaped article 2 is largely pulled into the accommodation space 41 (see FIG. 6 ), the operator rotates the handles 67 and 77 to incline the conveyance rod 40. The interval with the guide plate 21 is narrowed (see FIG. 7). Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the depth of the accommodation space 41 becomes substantially equal to the diameter of the rod-shaped article 2, and the rod-shaped articles 2 other than the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 are prevented from being inadvertently conveyed. it can.

The distance between the transport rod 40 and the inclined guide plate 21 may be adjusted by rotating only one of the handles 67 and 77, or by rotating both the handles 67 and 77. You may adjust the space|interval of the inclined guide plate 21. Further, the rotation directions of the handles 67 and 77 may be reversed so that one of the nuts 60 and 70 is brought closer to the carrying rod 40 and the other is separated from the carrying rod 40.

By the way, if there is a slight deficiency in the adjustment of the distance between the transport rod 40 and the inclined guide plate 21, the rod-shaped articles 2 other than the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 may be inadvertently conveyed. In that case, the rod-shaped article 2 that is unexpectedly conveyed is wiped off by the rotating brush roller 29. Although the gap between the transport rod 40 and the inclined guide plate 21 is deficient in adjustment, since the deficiency is minor, there is no rod-shaped article that passes without being brushed off by the brush roller 29.

Here, the hardness (elastic coefficient) and the material of the bristle material of the brush roller 29 are appropriate for the rod-shaped article 2. Therefore, the rod-shaped article 2 that is conveyed unexpectedly is reliably wiped off by the brush roller 29, and is not damaged by the brush roller 29.

Although the embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not construed as being limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the invention includes equivalents thereof. Some of the changes from the above embodiment will be described below, but some of the changes described below may be combined as much as possible.

(1) The endless chain 36 in the above embodiment may be changed to an endless timing belt, and the sprockets 31 to 35 may be changed to timing pulleys.

(2) Although the adjusting mechanism 50 is a manual type in the above embodiment, it may be operated by a power source such as a motor. That is, specifically, the output rotation shaft of the motor is directly connected to the bevel gears 66 and 76, and the bevel gear 66.76 is driven by the motor, so that the inclined guide plate 21 comes into contact with and separates from the transport rod 40. Good.

(3) In the above embodiment, the inclined guide is the plate-shaped guide plate 21 and the horizontal guide is the plate-shaped guide plate 23, but these may be rails (rods). In this case, the inclined guide rail and the horizontal guide rail are connected in one line. Further, a plurality of inclined guide rails and a plurality of horizontal guide rails are arranged at intervals in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

(4) In the above embodiment, the adjusting mechanism 50 adjusts the distance between the inclined guide plate 21 and the transport rod 40 at two positions, that is, at the positions of the nuts 60 and 70. On the other hand, the adjusting mechanism 50 may be one that adjusts the distance between the inclined guide plate 21 and the conveying rod 40 at one place, or may adjust the distance between the inclined guide plate 21 and the conveying rod 40. It may be. That is, the gear mechanism of the adjusting mechanism 50 is not limited to two.
Here, when the adjusting mechanism 50 adjusts the distance between the inclined guide plate 21 and the conveying rod 40 at one place, the adjusting place is on the upstream side (downward) of the position facing the brush roller 29. When the adjusting mechanism 50 adjusts the distance between the inclined guide plate 21 and the transport rod 40 at two or more places, at least one adjusting place is located upstream (downward) from the position facing the brush roller 29. As a result, the frequency of inadvertent conveyance of the rod-shaped articles 2 other than the rod-shaped articles 2 accommodated in the accommodation space 41 is reduced on the upstream side of the brush roller 29. Therefore, the frequency with which the rod-shaped article 2 that has been conveyed unexpectedly is brushed off by the brush roller 29 decreases.

(5) In the above embodiment, the adjusting mechanism 50 uses the gear mechanism, but may use mechanical elements such as a link mechanism, a slider link mechanism, and a cylinder/piston mechanism. Alternatively, hydraulic power, pneumatic pressure, or the like may be used for power transmission from the handle or power source to the tilt guide plate 21.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Conveyor, 2... Rod-shaped article, 21... Inclined guide plate (guide), 31-35... Sprocket, 36... Endless chain (endless member), 37... Drive motor, 40... Conveying rod, 50... Adjustment mechanism

Claims (1)

A guide inclined to the horizontal plane,
A pair of endless members provided endlessly on both sides of the guide, a part of which is provided along the guide,
A plurality of transport rods which are bridged between the endless members and arranged at intervals in the continuous direction of the endless members,
A portion of the endless member provided along the guide by orbitally driving the endless member so as to move a portion of the endless member provided along the guide in an upward direction of the guide. And a drive unit for moving the transport rod bridged between between them upward on the guide along the guide,
Of the endless member, an adjusting mechanism that adjusts a distance between the guide and the guide rod that are bridged between the portions provided along the guide,
The guide horizontally extends from the upper end of the guide and is fixed, and includes a horizontal guide integrated with the guide ,
A conveyer in which the adjusting mechanism tilts the guide with the upper end of the guide as a fulcrum to adjust the interval between the transport rod and the guide .

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