JP6867865B2 - Container removal device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container taking-out device for taking out cup-shaped containers housed in a packing box in a stacked state from the packing box.

Conventionally, the configuration described in Patent Document 1 is known as a container unloading device. In the packing box processed by this container taking-out device, a group of containers formed by stacking a large number of containers is arranged in a form of, for example, 4 rows and 3 columns, and is stored in a state of being put in an inner bag. At the container take-out position, the packing box is tilted with the opening facing sideways, and the first row of containers exposed to the opening is taken out. In this taking-out operation, a pressing member for pressing the outer surface of the packing box is provided in order to prevent the container group located on the back side of the packing box from popping out from the opening.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-199289

In the container ejecting device provided with the pressing member as described above, when the packaging box is ejected after the container group is ejected, there is a problem that the inner bag is caught by the pressing member, which hinders the ejecting operation. Further, there is also a problem that the packing box is deformed by the pressing member repeatedly pressing the packing box, and the container group cannot be taken out smoothly. On the other hand, it is possible to omit the pressing member and return the packing box to the horizontal state except when taking out the container group, but in such a configuration, the posture of the packing box is in the tilted state and the horizontal state. Since it is repeated between intervals, the time required for the extraction operation becomes long.

The present invention smoothly removes the container group from the packing box without providing a pressing member for preventing the container group from popping out from the packing box and without changing the posture of the packing box for each removal operation of the container group. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container taking-out device which can be taken out.

The present invention provides a support means for supporting a packing box containing a group of containers formed by stacking cup-shaped containers with the opening facing sideways, and taking out the group of containers by holding the group of containers and taking them out of the packing box. Means and support means for changing the means and the support means between a first posture in which the packing box is supported in a substantially horizontal state and a second posture in which the opening is inclined so as to face diagonally downward, and a packing. A support table capable of supporting the container group on substantially the same plane as the mounting surface on which the container group is placed on the inner surface of the box, and an engaging means capable of engaging and holding the container group on the support table. The container group taking-out means is a container that is set to the container receiving posture corresponding to the second posture and is held on the support table by the engaging means in a state where the supporting means is set to the second posture. It is characterized by removing the flock from the packing box.

Preferably, the container group taking-out means brought into contact with the container group on the support table is gradually separated from the opening in a state where the support means is set to the second posture and the engagement by the engaging means is disengaged. The container group on the support table is held by the container group taking-out means, and the container group in the packing box is transferred onto the support table.

According to the present invention, the container group is smoothly packed without providing a pressing member for preventing the container group from popping out from the packing box and without changing the posture of the packing box for each removal operation of the container group. Can be taken out of the box.

It is a top view which shows the container transport system which applied one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the container group housed in a packing box. It is a side view which shows the support mechanism and the holding mechanism when the support mechanism faces a holding mechanism, and the container group in a packing box is defined in an upright state. It is a figure which shows the state which the first container group is held by the holding mechanism, and the container group of a second row is held by a support table and an engaging member. It is a figure which shows the state which the first container group is separated from the container group of the 2nd row, and is transferred to a container supply magazine. It is a figure which shows the state which the holding mechanism approached a packing box in order to take out the container group of the 2nd row from a packing box.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 shows a container transport system to which one embodiment of the present invention is applied. In this figure, the conveyor 11 extends in the left-right direction, and conveys the packing box B in the direction of arrow A (to the right in the figure). The packing box B is placed on the conveyor 11 with the opening D facing upward, and each packing box B contains a large number of cup-shaped containers C. As shown in FIG. 2, the containers C are stacked on each other to form a container group E, and are housed in the packing box B in a state of being put in the inner bag F. Four container groups E are exposed in the opening D, but in this embodiment, layers composed of four container groups E are stacked in four stages in the packing box B. That is, 16 container groups E are housed in the packing box B.

A mounting portion 12 on which the packing box B is mounted is provided in the middle of the conveyor 11. The conveyor 11 is a roller conveyor formed by arranging a large number of rollers, and the mounting portion 12 has a support mechanism (support means) having a bottom support member 21 (see FIG. 3) capable of passing through a gap between the rollers. ) 20 is provided. As will be described later, the support mechanism 20 rolls the packing box B on the conveyor 11 by 90 ° so that the surface of the opening D is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the mounting portion 12, and this rollover. Support in the state (see FIG. 3). In the vicinity of the support mechanism 20, a holding mechanism (container group taking-out means) 30 is provided which takes out the container group E from the packing box B, holds it, and delivers it to the container supply magazine 13. The holding mechanism 30 can simultaneously hold four container groups E exposed to the opening D of the packing box B, and is provided at the tip of a robot arm 31 that can rotate in a horizontal plane.

The configuration of the support mechanism 20 and the holding mechanism 30 will be described with reference to FIG. The support mechanism 20 has a bottom support member 21, and the bottom support member 21 is a plurality of plate-shaped members that can pass through the gaps between the rollers 14 of the conveyor 11. Each bottom support member 21 has a bottom support member 21a that supports the bottom portion of the packing box B, and first and second lateral support portions 21b and 21c that extend vertically from the bottom support portion 21a. The bottom support member 21 can be rotated around the support shaft 22 along the arrow K by the rotation driving device (posture changing means) 28, and the packing box B is directed toward the mounting portion 12 (FIG. 1) by the transport conveyor 11. The bottom support portion 21a is in a horizontal state and is located below the upper surface of the roller 14, and the lateral support portions 21b and 21c are upright and parallel to the side surface of the packing box B ( Not shown in FIG. 3). When the packing box B reaches the mounting portion 12, the bottom support member 21 rotates 90 ° clockwise in FIG. 3, whereby the side of the opening D of the packing box B faces sideways and faces the holding mechanism 30. However, the container group E is defined in the upright state (shown in FIG. 3). Further, when the container group E is taken out from the packing box B, the packing box B is inclined toward the holding mechanism 30 side as described later.

The first lateral support portion 21b located on the lower side in FIG. 3 is provided with a box suction portion 23 and a box tapping portion 24. The box suction portion 23 is provided close to the bottom support portion 21a, and can suck the side surface of the packing box B by negative pressure. The box tapping portion 24 is provided to tap the side surface of the packing box B (located below in FIG. 3) at a predetermined cycle. That is, in a state where the packing box B is inclined with the opening D facing downward (see FIGS. 4 to 6), the box tapping portion 24 hits the lower side surface of the packing box B, so that the container group E becomes the packing box B. It becomes easy to move to the opening D side along the inner wall surface. Further, the support table 26 is provided on the first lateral support portion 21b via the bracket 25. The support table 26 is provided so that the container group E can be supported on substantially the same surface as the mounting surface on which the container group E is placed on the inner surface of the packing box B, and is discharged from the opening D of the packing box B. The lower surface of the container group E is supported. The support table 26 may be set slightly lower than the mounting surface so that the container group E can smoothly transfer from the mounting surface.

The second lateral support portion 21c located on the upper side in FIG. 3 is provided with a box pressing portion 41 and a box expanding portion 42. The box pressing portion 41 is provided close to the bottom supporting portion 21a and can press the side surface of the packing box B. That is, when the bottom support member 21 rotates 90 ° to lift the packing box B from the top of the conveyor 11 and move it toward the holding mechanism 30, the box pressing portion 41 cooperates with the box suction portion 23 to lift the packing box B. Stable. On the other hand, when the box expanding portion 42 tilts the packing box B and discharges the container group E, the upper side surface of the packing box B is sucked by a negative pressure, so that the inner wall surface of the packing box B and the container group E are discharged. The friction with the upper end portion is reduced, and the movement of the container group E is promoted.

Further, the arm 43 is swingably attached to the tip of the second lateral support portion 21c via the pin 40. The arm 43 is connected to the piston of the first air cylinder 44 attached to the second lateral support portion 21c, and swings with respect to the second lateral support portion 21c. A link mechanism 45 is provided at the base of the arm 43, and an engaging member (engaging means) 46 capable of engaging with the uppermost container of the container group E is provided at the swinging end of the link mechanism 45. The base of the link mechanism 45 is connected to the piston of the second air cylinder 47 attached to the arm 43, and the engaging member 46 moves up and down by the action of the second air cylinder 47 and the link mechanism 45.

The holding mechanism 30 is attached to the tip of the robot arm 31 (FIG. 1) and can rotate not only in a horizontal plane but also in a vertical plane. A support plate 39 with which the container group E abuts is provided on the front surface side of the main body 32 of the holding mechanism 30. In the main body 32, an upper lock claw 33 and a lower lock claw 34 are swingably provided on the upper part and the lower part, respectively, and an upper claw swinging air cylinder 35 and a lower claw swinging air cylinder 36 are provided on the back surface of the main body 32. Provided. The upper lock claw 33 is connected to the pin 50 via a connecting member 37, and the arm 51 fixed to the pin 50 is connected to the piston of the upper claw swinging air cylinder 35. The connecting member 37 is provided with an air cylinder 38 for raising and lowering the upper claw that drives the upper lock claw 33 up and down. The lower lock claw 34 is connected to the pin 52 via a connecting member 55, and the arm 53 fixed to the pin 52 is connected to the piston of the lower claw swinging air cylinder 36. An end suction member 54 is provided below the pin 52 of the main body 32, and the end suction member 54 is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown).

The action of taking out the container group E from the packing box B will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. When the packing box B is lifted from the transport conveyor 11 by the bottom support member 21, one side surface of the packing box B is sucked by the box suction portion 23, and the other side surface of the packing box B is pressed by the box pressing portion 41. Therefore, when the bottom support member 21 rotates 90 ° to move the packing box B toward the holding mechanism 30, the packing box B is stably held at a predetermined position with respect to the bottom support member 21. In this way, the bottom support member 21 is set to the first posture in which the packing box B is supported in a substantially horizontal state by the action of the rotation driving device 28 (FIG. 3).
In this state, the arm 43 is in a state of being rotationally displaced in the counterclockwise direction from the state of FIG. 3, and the engaging member 46 is retracted above the upper side surface of the packing box B. On the other hand, the holding mechanism 30 is located at a position facing the opening D of the packing box B, and the upper lock claw 33 and the lower lock claw 34 are retracted to a position away from the packing box B as shown by a broken line. The end suction member 54 is sucked to the side surface of the container located at the lower end of each container group E exposed to the opening D of the packing box B.

The support mechanism 20 is changed from the first posture to a second posture in which the opening of the packing box B is tilted diagonally downward by rotating clockwise, for example, about 30 ° in the figure (FIGS. 4 to 6). ). At this time, the box suction portion 23 and the box expansion portion 42 are operating, the packing box B is held at a predetermined position with respect to the bottom support member 21, and the upper side surface is sucked upward to be inside the packing box B. The wall surface is separated from the upper edge of the uppermost container of each container group E. At the same time as the support mechanism 20 rotates, the holding mechanism 30 also rotates clockwise in synchronization with the support mechanism 20, and is set to the container receiving posture corresponding to the second posture. Next, the holding mechanism 30 moves in the lower right direction of the drawing along the inclination angle of the packing box B, and the container group E at the head is supported by the container at the lower end being sucked by the end suction member 54. It moves downward and moves to the support table 26 in a state of being in contact with the support table 26. Further, by driving the box tapping portion 24, the other container group E in the packing box B moves to the opening D side along the mounting surface of the packing box B while vibrating up and down.

When the leading container group E comes out of the packing box B, moves to the support table 26, and further moves and partially protrudes from the support table 26, the lower lock claw 34 rotates clockwise to be the most of the container group E. It engages with the lower surface and supports the lowermost surface of the container group E. At the same time, the upper lock claw 33 rotates counterclockwise and enters the container located at the uppermost part of the container group E. On the other hand, the second row of container groups E located immediately behind the first container group E comes out of the packing box B and moves to the support table 26. At the same time, the arm 43 is rotated clockwise so that the engaging member 46 faces the direction perpendicular to the second lateral support portion 21c, and the second air cylinder 47 operates and engages. The member 46 engages with the topmost container of the container group E, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. As a result, the container group E in the second row is held by the support table 26 and the engaging member 46.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the holding mechanism 30 is further moved and the leading container group E is separated from the support table 26, the upper lock claw 33 is lowered by the action of the upper claw elevating air cylinder 38, and the container group E is moved. Press down on the top container. As a result, the container group E is sandwiched in the vertical direction and is held by the upper lock claw 33, the lower lock claw 34, and the support plate 39. On the other hand, the end suction member 54 is blocked from the negative pressure source, and the container group E is released from the end suction member 54. Then, the container group E is transferred to the container supply magazine 13 (FIG. 1) by the robot arm 31, the upper lock claw 33 rotates clockwise, and the lower lock claw 34 rotates counterclockwise, whereby. The container group E is delivered to the container supply magazine 13. In the transfer operation by the robot arm 31, the holding mechanism 30 maintains the inclined state as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, so that the container group E is held in a state of leaning against the support plate 39 and is stably transferred.

After that, the holding mechanism 30 returns to the position facing the opening D of the packing box B again, until the end suction member 54 and the support plate 39 come into contact with the container group E in the second row supported on the support table 26. Advance. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the engaging member 46 rises to release the engagement with the container group E, and the end suction member 54 sucks to the lowermost container. After that, as the holding mechanism 30 gradually separates from the opening D of the packing box B, the container group E in the second row moves downward in a state of being in contact with the support plate 39 and begins to separate from the support table 26. After that, when it protrudes from the support table 26, it is held by the upper lock claw 33 and the lower lock claw 34 almost at the same time. Further, due to the action of the box tapping portion 24, the other container group E in the packing box B moves to the opening D side along the inclined surface while vibrating up and down, and is transferred onto the support table 26. After that, when the above-mentioned operation is repeated and all the container groups E are taken out from the packing box B, the bottom support member 21 rotates again toward the conveyor 11 side and waits until the next packing box B arrives.

In this way, the holding mechanism 30 takes out the container group E held on the support table 26 by the engaging member 46 when returning to the position facing the opening D of the packing box B from the packing box B and supplies the containers. It is supplied to the magazine 13.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the operation of taking out the container group E from the packing box B, the support mechanism of the container group E remaining in the packing box B after the container group E in the first row is taken out from the packing box B. The protrusion from the 20 is prevented by the engaging member 46 provided on the bottom support member 21 instead of pressing the packing box B by the pressing member as in the conventional case. That is, the engaging member 46 engages with the container at the top of the container group E placed on the support table 26, and in cooperation with the support table 26, the container group E pops out of the packing box B. It is preventing. Therefore, when the packing box B from which all the container groups E have been taken out is discharged, the inner bag is not caught by the pressing member, and since the pressing member is not provided, the packing box B is not likely to be deformed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the bottom support member 21 is maintained in the inclined state during the taking-out operation of the container group E, and it is not necessary to repeat the posture of the packing box B between the inclined state and the horizontal state, so that the taking-out operation is shortened. Can be done in time.

Although the description is omitted in the above embodiment, an elevating stopper 60 may be provided on the holding mechanism 30 side of the support table 26 in order to prevent the container group E from slipping off the support table 26. That is, the elevating stopper 60 is set in the ascending position when the container group E is held on the support table 26, and is lower than the support table 26 when the container group E is handed over from the support table 26 to the holding mechanism 30. It is set to the descending position so as to be.

Further, in the transfer operation by the robot arm 31, the upper lock claw 33 does not necessarily have to press the container downward in order to maintain the state in which the container group E leans against the support plate 39, and is the uppermost stage of the container group E. It may be in a state of being inside the opening of the container (that is, a state of not touching the bottom surface of the container). In this case, even if the container group E is tilted, the upper lock claw 33 engages with the uppermost container, so that the container group E does not tip over.

As another embodiment, in order to prevent the container group E from popping out from the packing box B defined in the second posture when the container group E in the first row in the packing box B is taken out by the holding mechanism 30. A stopper plate may be provided. This stopper plate approaches so as to close the opening D of the packing box B when the packing box B is in the first posture, and after the packing box B changes to the second posture, gradually retracts and is in the first row. The container group E is transferred onto the support table 26, and when the engaging member 46 engages with the uppermost container, it retracts from the front of the packing box B. Therefore, in this configuration, the holding mechanism 30 does not perform the function of holding the container group E in the first row on the support table 26.

In yet another embodiment, instead of the box tapping portion 24, or in addition to the box tapping portion 24, the box B is tilted and / or perpendicular to the paper surface (that is, the same as the transport direction of the conveyor 11). A box swinging portion that swings in the direction) may be provided. In this case, the box suction portion 23 may be configured to be attached to a drive mechanism that reciprocates along the direction in which the box B is shaken.

12 Mounting part 20 Support mechanism (support means)
26 Support table 28 Rotation drive device (posture changing means)
30 Holding mechanism (container group removal means)
46 Engagement member (engagement means)
B Packing box C Container D Opening E Container group

Claims (2)

A support means for supporting a packing box containing a group of containers formed by stacking cup-shaped containers with the opening facing sideways.
A container group taking-out means for holding the container group and taking it out from the packing box,
A posture changing means for changing the supporting means between a first posture in which the packing box is supported in a substantially horizontal state and a second posture in which the opening is inclined so as to face diagonally downward.
A support table capable of supporting the container group on substantially the same plane as the mounting surface on which the container group is placed on the inner surface of the packing box.
It is provided with an engaging means capable of engaging and holding the container group on the support table.
The container group taking-out means is set in a container receiving posture corresponding to the second posture in a state where the supporting means is set in the second posture, and is held on the support table by the engaging means. A container taking-out device characterized by taking out a group of containers from the packing box. With the support means set in the second posture and the engagement by the engaging means disengaged, the container group taking-out means brought into contact with the container group on the support table is gradually separated from the opening. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container group on the support table is held by the container group taking-out means, and the container group in the packing box is transferred onto the support table. Extraction device.

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