JP6824672B2 - Goods transport device and goods transport / binding system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article transport device. The present invention also relates to an article transport / bundling system including the article transport device.

Collect towels, sheets, etc. (hereinafter referred to as towels) used in hotels and hospitals, wash them, bundle the washed towels into a predetermined size, and deliver them to hotels and hospitals again. There is an industrial form .

Conventionally, all the work of putting towels stacked in a predetermined size on a binding device (see Patent Document 1) has been performed manually, so that labor costs are high in addition to the danger of the work. Therefore, it is convenient to be able to mechanize the work of hanging towels stacked in a predetermined size on the binding device.

Jikkenhei No. 5-54210

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The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article transporting device capable of stably, reliably and quickly supplying an article to a predetermined position. The present invention also provides an article transporting / binding system including the article transporting device.

To solve the above problems, an article carrying apparatus according to the present invention comprises a conveyor, a support structure movable aerial support this conveyor, and by the movement of the air of the support structure with objects product can be transported, a product transport apparatus capable of feeding the article on said support structure by said conveyor, said support structure, and the article receiving position for receiving the article, the article It is characterized in that it moves to a binding transfer position for exchanging the goods with the binding device and an article sending / receiving position for sending out the articles bound by the binding device (claim 1).

In the present invention, the rough movement of the article is carried out by the movement of the support structure in the air, and the fine movement of the article is carried out by the operation of the conveyor on the support structure with the position of the support structure fixed. Will be executed. Since the support structure moves in the air, it is easy to transport the article quickly. Further, by controlling the operation of the conveyor on the support structure while the position of the support structure is fixed, stable and reliable position control of the article becomes possible. The support structure receives the article on the conveyor at the article receiving position and supplies the article to the binding device at the binding transfer position. Then, the articles bound by the binding device are received on the conveyor at the binding transfer position, and the bound articles are sent out at the article delivery position.

As a preferred embodiment, the conveyor is provided with a conveyor and a support structure that supports the conveyor and can move in the air, and the article can be conveyed by the movement of the support structure in the air, and the conveyor. An article transporting device capable of transporting the article on the support structure, provided with a control device for controlling the article transporting device, and changing the input of working conditions to the control device for each lot of articles. In the present invention, an embodiment in which a wide variety of multi-shaped articles can be handled is illustrated (claim 2). Also in one embodiment of this embodiment, the rough movement of the article is performed by the movement of the support structure in the air, and the fine movement of the article is carried out by the conveyor on the support structure with the position of the support structure fixed. It is executed by the operation of. Since the support structure moves in the air, it is easy to transport the article quickly. Further, by controlling the operation of the conveyor on the support structure while the position of the support structure is fixed, stable and reliable position control of the article becomes possible. Furthermore, it can mechanically handle a wide variety of multi-shaped articles.

As a preferred embodiment, a conveyor and a support structure that supports the conveyor and can move in the air and rotate in a horizontal plane are provided, and articles are conveyed by the movement of the support structure in the air. An embodiment in which the article can be transported on the support structure by the conveyor is illustrated (claim 3).

As a preferred embodiment, an embodiment including a movement control device connected to the support structure and moving the support structure in the air is illustrated (claim 4).

As a preferred embodiment, an embodiment including a movement control device connected to the support structure to move the support structure in the air and rotate in a horizontal plane is illustrated (claim 5). As the movement control device, for example, the support structure is moved along a guide rail arranged in the air, and the vertical position and orientation of the support structure can be changed and controlled with respect to the guide rail. A manipulator known in itself or a thing can be adopted.

The article transporting / bundling system according to the present invention includes a conveyor and a support structure that supports the conveyor and can move in the air, and the article can be transported by moving the support structure in the air. The conveyor comprises an article transporting device capable of transporting the article on the support structure , and a binding device that receives and binds the article from the article transporting device (claim 6). According to the present invention, since the article is transported to the bundling device by the article transport device, there is no danger to the worker and the work efficiency is improved unlike the case of manual operation.

As a preferred embodiment, the binding device exemplifies an embodiment including a pressing member that presses an article to be bound and a stringing device that hangs a string on the article pressed by the pressing member and binds the article. (Claim 7). In this way, since the string is hung by the string hooking device in a state where the article to be bound is pressed by the pressing member, the article can be reliably bound even when the article has high compressibility.

As a preferred embodiment, the bundling device exemplifies an aspect in which the bundling device includes a feeding device for feeding the bound articles to the article transporting device (claim 8). In this way, the bound articles are reliably delivered to the article transport device.

As a preferred embodiment, the delivery device includes a rotation roller as the pressing member (claim 9). In this way, the rotating roller exerts both the article pressing action and the article sending action, so that a rational structure without waste is obtained.

It is a top view of the article transporting and binding system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 is a view on arrow II-II of FIG. It is an enlarged side view of the support structure in FIG. It is a perspective view of the binding device in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the transmission member between the drive part of the binding device of FIG. 4 and a main cam. It is sectional drawing which shows the transmission mechanism including the actuating clutch included in the binding device of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the shifter fork which constitutes a part of the clutch for actuating the binding device of FIG. 4, and the main cam. It is a perspective view which shows the other operation stage of the part shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the one place binding system of towels. It is explanatory drawing of the two-place binding system of towels.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article transport / binding system 21 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an article transport device 22 and a binding device 23 that receives and binds articles A from the article transport device 22. .. The article transport device 22 includes a conveyor 24, a support structure 25 that supports the conveyor and can move in the air, and a movement control device 33 that is connected to the support structure 25 and moves the support structure 25 in the air. And. The article transfer device 22 can convey the article A by moving the support structure 25 in the air, and can also convey the article A on the support structure 25 by the conveyor 24.

The support structure 25 is bound by the article receiving position P1 for receiving the article A from the inlet side conveyor 26, the binding transfer position P2 for exchanging the article A between the binding device 23, and the binding device 23. The article A is moved to the article sending position P3 for sending the article A to the outlet side conveyor 27. The support structure 25 receives the article A from the inlet side conveyor 26 on the conveyor 24 at the article receiving position P1. Next, the support structure 25 moves in the air to reach the binding transfer position P2. By the operation of the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 at the binding transfer position P2, the article A is supplied to the binding device 23. Then, the article A is bound by the binding device 23, and the bound article A is returned on the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 at the binding transfer position P2. After that, the support structure 25 moves in the air to reach the article delivery position P3. By the operation of the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 at the article delivery position P3, the article A is delivered to the outlet side conveyor 27.

The support structure 25 that has sent the bundled article A to the outlet side conveyor 27 at the article sending position P3 returns to the article receiving position P1, and then repeats the same process. Such a series of operations is automatically controlled by a control device 28 including a computer.

The inlet side conveyor 26 includes an upstream side conveyor 29 and a standby conveyor 30 connected to the upstream side conveyor 29. As these conveyors 29 and 30, in addition to belt conveyors, conveyors of an appropriate type known per se, such as roller conveyors, can be used.

As an example of an article, the upstream conveyor 29 conveys towels A that are folded to a predetermined size and stacked in a predetermined number of sheets, and are supplied to the standby conveyor 30. The size of the towels A during transportation (flat size in the folded state and the number of stacked sheets) is different for each lot, and by changing the input of working conditions to the control device 28 for each lot, It can be used for various types and shapes of towels. The size of towels A folded and the number of stacked towels A to be combined into one united size differs for each customer, but as described above, a wide variety of multi-shapes that meet the needs of individual customers. It can be mechanically handled for towels A.

An article aligning device 31 is attached to the standby conveyor 30. The article aligning device 31 includes a pair of aligning plates 32, 32 that are simultaneously controlled to move in the approaching and separating directions. The pair of alignment plates 32, 32 are simultaneously driven in the approaching and separating directions by a driving member such as an air cylinder (not shown) so that the towels A received from the upstream conveyor 29 are brought to the center of the standby conveyor 30 so as not to fall. Shape it. The towels A arranged on the standby conveyor 30 are transferred onto the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the support structure 25 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The support structure 25 includes columns 34 arranged at the four corners, a top plate 35 connecting the upper ends of the columns 34, and a bottom plate 36 connecting the lower ends of the columns 34 at the four corners. A connecting portion 37 for connecting the movement control device 33 is formed in the central portion of the upper surface of the top plate 35. A conveyor 24 is arranged on the bottom plate 36.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the conveyor 24 is horizontal between a pair of idler rollers 38, 38 arranged parallel to each other and at the same horizontal height and the pair of idler rollers 38, 38. A belt 39 to be wound around the belt 39, a drive roller 40 for rotationally driving the belt 39, and a belt drive motor 41 for rotationally driving the drive roller 40 are provided. Each of the idle rollers 38, 38 is rotatably supported by the bottom plate 36 or the support column 34. The output shaft 43 of the belt drive motor 41 is driven and connected to the rotating shaft 42 of the drive roller 40 via an appropriate transmission mechanism 44. The belt drive motor 41 is controlled by the control device 28. Reference numeral 45 in FIG. 3 indicates a tension roller that abuts on the lower surface of the conveyor 24. The drive unit of the conveyor 24 including the belt drive motor 41 and the drive roller 40 is covered with the safety cover 46.

The support structure 25 is provided with a conveyor pressing member 47 that presses the towels A on the conveyor 24 against the conveyor 24. In the illustrated example, rodless cylinders 48 as pressing drive members are arranged along the columns 34 at the four corners, and the pressing members on the conveyor are placed between the sliders 49 of these rodless cylinders 48 via the connecting member 50. The pressing plate 47 is horizontally supported. Each rodless cylinder 48 is controlled by the control device 28.

As shown in FIG. 2, with the support structure 25 at the article receiving position P1, the standby conveyor 30 and the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 operate together, and the towels A on the standby conveyor 30 support the support structure 25. It is transferred onto the conveyor 24 of the structure 25. When the towels A reach the central position of the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25, the operation of the standby conveyor 30 and the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 is stopped by the control signal from the control device 28.

As shown in FIG. 3, after receiving the towels A on the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25, all the sliders 49 of the four rodless cylinders 48 are lowered while always maintaining the same height. The pressing plate 47 descends while maintaining the horizontal state. As a result, the towels A on the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 are pressed against the conveyor 24. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the towels A on the conveyor 24 from collapsing or falling off when the support structure 25 is moved in the air. Since the support structure 25 can be moved in the air at a higher speed, the towels A can be transported more quickly. When the movement of the support structure 25 in the air is completed, all the sliders 49 rise while always maintaining the same height, so that the pressing plate 47 rises while maintaining the horizontal state. As a result, the towels A on the conveyor 24 are released.

As the movement control device 33 of the support structure 25, an appropriate device known per se can be adopted. Although not shown, for example, a support structure that is moved along a guide rail arranged in the air so that the vertical position and orientation of the support structure can be changed and controlled with respect to the guide rail is adopted. can do.

However, in the present embodiment, a manipulator (robot arm) 33 connected to the support structure 25 is illustrated as a particularly suitable movement control device. Among the manipulators 33, a compact and high-speed manipulator 33 that has a compact mechanism and excellent operating performance so that it can be installed in a limited space in a factory in a space-saving manner and high work efficiency can be obtained. It is preferable to adopt.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manipulator 33 stands on a base 51 fixed to the ground of a factory or the like, a turntable 52 arranged on the base 51, and the turntable 52. A body 53, an arm 54 connected to the body 53, a hand 55 connected to the tip of the arm 54 (see FIG. 3), and a finger 56 connected to the tip of the hand 55 (see FIG. 3). , Equipped with. The fingers 56 are connected to a connecting portion 37 provided on the upper surface of the top plate 35 of the support structure 25.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the manipulator 33, there is a first rotation shaft X1 between the base 51 and the turntable 52. There is a second rotation shaft X2 between the turntable 52 and the body 53. There is a third rotation shaft X3 between the body 53 and the arm 54. As shown in FIG. 3, there is a fourth rotation axis X4 between the arm 54 and the hand 55. There is a fifth rotation axis X5 between the hand 55 and the finger 56. The rotation operation of each part centering on each rotation shaft X1 to X5 is driven by a servomotor (not shown) arranged for each rotation shaft as a drive source. These servomotors are controlled by the control device 28.

The first rotation axis X1 is a vertical axis for rotating the turntable 52 of the manipulator 33 on the base 51 in a horizontal plane. The second rotation shaft X2 is a rotation shaft for swinging the body 53 up and down on the turntable 52. The third rotation shaft X3 is a rotation shaft for swinging the arm 54 up and down on the body 53. The fourth rotation shaft X4 is a rotation shaft for swinging the hand 55 back and forth on the arm 54. The fifth rotation axis X5 is a vertical axis for rotating the finger 56 with respect to the hand 55 in a horizontal plane.

The manipulator 33 is controlled by the control device 28 to rotate each of the constituent parts around the first to fifth rotation shafts X1 to X5, and the support structure 25 can be freely arranged three-dimensionally. Change the position and posture. As a result, the support structure 25 keeps the horizontal state in the order of the article receiving position P1 → the binding transfer position P2 → the article sending position P3 → the article receiving position P1 again (this is repeated thereafter) at high speed in the air. The position is changed accurately. Since each position P1 to P3 is a predetermined fixed position, the operation of the manipulator 33 is automatically executed by a control signal from the control device 28 based on a predetermined program set in advance.

Bundling device 23, as shown in FIG. 4, the bundling pressing member 57 for pressing the towels A being bundled, for binding by applying a strap to the pressed towels A This bundling pressing member 57 HimoKake The device 58 is provided. The stringing device 58 is provided by a stringing arm 1, a binding mechanism 2 for forming a knot and cutting a string, a driving unit thereof, a fixed table 3 on which an article A to be bound is placed, an auxiliary table 4, and the like. It is composed. The auxiliary table 4 is provided at the pivot portion of the strapping arm 1, and the strapping is performed through the gap G between the auxiliary table 4 and the fixed table 3 by the rotation of the strapping arm 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the drive unit is composed of a drive motor 5, a main shaft 9 and a main cam 10 that rotate once for each binding via reduction gears 6 and 7, and the main cam 10. One rotation causes the strapping arm 1 to rotate one or more times, and then the binding mechanism 2 operates.

The transmission mechanism 8 is provided with a one-turn clutch 11 to ensure that the main shaft 9 makes one turn for each binding. As this clutch, a shifter fork 11 interlocking with the main cam 10 is usually used as shown in the figure. As shown in FIG. 6, the pulley 12 directly rotated by the drive motor 5 and the friction plate 15 of the bush 14 connected to the gear 6 via the transmission shaft 13 are brought into contact with or separated from each other by the shifter fork 11. The main cam 10 is rotating.

A pedal 16 (see FIG. 4) is provided at the lower part of the binding device 23, and the pedal 16 is a shifter fork 11 via a rod 17, a link 18, and a slider 19 interlocking with the link 18, as shown in FIG. It is configured to work with. The drive motor 5 is always driven during the bundling operation.

In the binding device 23, the pedal 16 is originally intended for the operator to step on. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the pedal 16 is configured to automatically operate from the viewpoint of mechanization of work. That is, an air cylinder 59 is arranged in the vicinity of the pedal 16 as an example of the pedal driving member. By one advance operation of the operating rod 60 of the pedal driving air cylinder 59, the same movement of the pedal 16 as when the pedal 16 is stepped on once is achieved. The pedal driving air cylinder 59 constitutes an air circuit including an air pump (not shown). The operation of the pedal driving air cylinder 59 is controlled by the control device 28.

When the binding device 23 is not activated, the friction plate 15 is separated from the pulley 12, and as shown in FIG. 7, the key 20 of the main cam 10 is located at the locking portion 19a of the slider 19, so that the main cam 10 does not rotate. When the operating rod 60 of the pedal driving air cylinder 59 moves back and forth once during binding, the slider 19 moves via the rod 17 and the link 18 to be disengaged from the key 20, and the friction plate 15 is released. Touches the pulley 12 and the main cam 10 rotates. Next, the operating rod 60 of the pedal driving air cylinder 59 retracts to return to the state before the operation, and after one rotation of the main cam 10, the key 20 engages with the locking portion 19a of the slider 19, and at the same time, the friction plate. 15 is separated from the pulley 12 and the operation is stopped.

After the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 is connected to the fixed table 3 of the binding device 23, the towels A are conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 4 by the operation of the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 and the fixed table. It is supplied on 3 and the auxiliary table 4. When the towels A reach a predetermined position on the fixed table 3, a control signal is sent from the control device 28, and the operation of the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 is stopped. Then, the towels A are pressed by the binding pressing member 57 and then bound by a string, and after the binding is completed, they move in the direction indicated by the arrow C in FIG. 4 and are returned onto the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25. .. Since the article A to be bound is hung by the string hooking device 58 while being pressed by the binding pressing member 57, even the article A having high compressibility such as towels can be reliably bound.

In the illustrated example, as the binding pressing member 57, as shown in FIG. 4, a roller that can move up and down above the fixed table 3 of the binding device is exemplified. Both ends of the support shaft of the roller 57 are supported up and down and rotatably between a pair of roller columns 61 and 61 erected on the fixed table 3. For example, a rodless cylinder (not shown) can be used as the elevating drive source of the roller 57, and an electric motor (not shown) can be used as the rotation drive source of the roller 57. The rodless cylinder and the electric motor are controlled by the control device 28.

As shown in FIG. 9, the roller 57 receives the towels A on the fixed table 3 and then descends before the operation of the stringing device 58 to press the towels A and presses the towels A on the fixed table 3. Fixed to. As a result, it is possible to prevent the towels A from moving when the stringing device 58 is operated. When the binding is completed, the roller 57 rotates in the direction of returning the towels A on the fixed table 3 to the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25. At the same time, the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 also operates, and the towels A are returned to the central portion of the support structure 25.

In the illustrated example, the roller 57 and its drive mechanism act as a pressing device for fixing the towels A on the fixed table 3, and the bound towels A are supported from the fixed table 3 on the conveyor of the structure 25. It also acts as a sending device for sending to 24. As another example of the delivery device, a mode in which a reciprocating moving plate (not shown) that horizontally moves along the upper surface of the fixed table 3 by a drive source such as an air cylinder can be adopted.

When the towels A are bound at one place, the binding is completed by the above steps. Therefore, the support structure 25 is moved to the article delivery position P3, the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 is operated, and the towels A are bound. Towels A are sent out to the outlet side conveyor 27.

As described in the section of the problem to be solved by the invention, since the towels A to be bound are of various types and shapes, some of them have a long stacked state. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, it is preferable to bind the towels A at two points at both ends in the longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the first binding is performed in the same manner as described above with reference to FIG. When the first bundling is completed, the roller 57 and the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 are operated to temporarily return the towels A onto the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25. Then, by operating the manipulator 33, the support structure 25 is moved to a position where it does not interfere with the binding device 23, and is rotated 180 degrees around the fifth rotation axis X5 (see FIG. 3) in the horizontal state.

After that, as shown in FIG. 10B, the support structure 25 is connected to the binding device 23 again, the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 is operated, and the towels A are similarly bound in the case of the first binding. Is supplied onto the fixed table 3 of the binding device 23. Subsequently, the towels A are pressed by the roller 57, and the ends of the second portion of the towels A opposite to the first location are bound by the binding device 23.

When the binding at the second location is completed, the roller 57 and the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 are operated to return the towels A onto the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25. Then, the support structure 25 is moved to the article delivery position P3 by the operation of the manipulator 33, the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 is operated, and the bundled towels A are sent out to the outlet side conveyor 27.

It should be noted that the required transfer amount of the towels A from the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 to the fixed table 3 of the binding device 23 differs between the one-point binding method and the two-point binding method. Means that can respond appropriately are needed. As an example, the length of the towels A on the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 in the longitudinal direction is grasped by a sensor, and the towels A are moved toward the fixed table 3 in the control device 28 based on the detection signal of the sensor. The delivery distance is calculated, and the operating amount of the conveyor 24 of the support structure 25 is controlled by the control device 28 based on the calculated value.

According to the article transport / binding system 21 configured as described above, a large amount of towels A can be efficiently transported and bound. Since the work of hanging the towels A on the binding device 23, which has been performed manually in the past, can be mechanized, the problem of injury to the worker by the binding device 23 can be solved. Further, the binding device 23 has a configuration in which the pedal driving member 59, the roller 57, and the driving mechanism of the roller are simply added to the conventionally known stringing device 58. Therefore, there is an advantage that the binding device 23 can be obtained at low cost.

In the present embodiment, towels A are illustrated as an example of the article, but it goes without saying that the towels A are not limited thereto. In addition to transporting and bundling cloth such as clothing, which has high compressibility like towels, various articles such as transporting and bundling boxed products can be targeted.

24 Conveyor 23 Bundling device 25 Support structure
28 Control device 33 Movement control device (manipulator)
57 Pressing member (roller, feeding device)
58 Stringing device A Article P1 Article receiving position P2 Bundling transfer position P3 Article sending position

Claims (9)

A conveyor, and a support structure movable aerial support this conveyor, as well as a transportable objects product by the movement of the air of the support structure, the support structure by said conveyor a product transport apparatus capable of feeding the article above, the support structure, the article receiving position for receiving the article, and bundling exchange position for exchanging the article with the bundling apparatus, An article transfer device that moves to an article delivery position for sending out articles bound by the binding device. A conveyor and a support structure that supports the conveyor and can move in the air are provided, and articles can be conveyed by the movement of the support structure in the air, and the conveyor can move the article on the support structure. An article transport device capable of transporting articles, which is provided with a control device for controlling the article transport device, and by changing the input of working conditions to the control device for each lot of articles, a wide variety of multi-shaped articles. An article transfer device that is designed to be compatible with. A conveyor and a support structure that supports the conveyor and can move in the air and rotate in a horizontal plane are provided, and articles can be conveyed by the movement of the support structure in the air, and the conveyor can convey articles. An article transfer device capable of transporting the article on the support structure. The article transporting device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a movement control device connected to the support structure to move the support structure in the air. The article transport device according to claim 3, further comprising a movement control device connected to the support structure to move the support structure in the air and rotate it in a horizontal plane. A conveyor and a support structure that supports the conveyor and can move in the air are provided, and articles can be conveyed by the movement of the support structure in the air, and the conveyor can move the article on the support structure. An article transporting / binding system including an article transporting device capable of transporting articles and a binding device that receives and binds the articles from the article transporting device. The article transporting / binding system according to claim 6, wherein the binding device includes a pressing member that presses an article to be bound, and a stringing device that hangs a string on the article pressed by the pressing member to bind the article. .. The article transporting / binding system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the binding device includes a delivery device for delivering the bound articles to the article transporting device. The article transporting / bundling system according to claim 8, wherein the feeding device includes a rotating roller as the pressing member.