JP7114419B2 - cartoning system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cartoning system with a cartoning device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a boxing device that stores a plurality of articles inside an exterior box such as a cardboard case. The boxing device is configured, for example, to produce a boxed product by aligning a plurality of articles sequentially conveyed by a belt conveyor and pushing the plurality of articles into an exterior box arranged at a predetermined position.

In such a boxing apparatus, if the articles conveyed by the belt conveyor from the upstream side of the production line are greatly inclined with respect to the conveying direction or if there is not an appropriate interval, the articles cannot be packed well. was there. As a method for solving such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a line conveyor for conveying articles, a conveying state detection device for detecting the conveying state of articles, and a line conveyor for conveying articles, a conveying state detecting device for detecting the conveying state of articles, and and an air jet device for ejecting articles from the line conveyor by blowing air on them.

JP 2010-179969 A

By the way, in the boxing apparatus, an empty outer box is carried in from the box-making apparatus by a conveyor, and articles are contained in the outer box and carried out. For example, if an empty outer box cannot be brought in temporarily due to an abnormality in the box-making apparatus, the boxing apparatus will not be able to pack the boxes. In this case, if the articles to be boxed continue to be supplied to the cartoning device, the articles overflow the article receiving section of the cartoning device, causing a problem in the cartoning device. Previously dealt with. However, once the upstream device is temporarily stopped, it may take a long time to restore the upstream device to normal operation, resulting in a significant drop in operating rate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cartoning system capable of minimizing a decrease in operating rate when empty outer boxes cannot be supplied to a cartoning machine in time. It is an object.

In order to achieve the above object, a boxing system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a boxing device for storing a plurality of articles sequentially supplied by an article conveying conveyor in an outer box to sequentially produce boxed articles; An article removing device capable of removing articles supplied from a conveyor to the boxing device and a control device are provided, and the boxing device conveys an empty outer box brought in from the outside in one direction and and an outer box conveying device that conveys the outer box containing the articles in the one direction from the stop position, wherein the outer box conveying device conveys the outer box in the one direction. A box conveying conveyor is provided, and outer boxes are accumulated on the carry-in side of the stop position on the box conveying conveyor, and the accumulated outer boxes are conveyed one by one to the stop position, and It has a box accumulation amount detection sensor for detecting whether or not the number of accumulated boxes is N or more (N is a predetermined integer equal to or more than 2), and the control device uses the box accumulation amount detection sensor to detect the number of outer boxes. When it is detected that the accumulated number is less than N, the article removing device is configured to remove the articles to be supplied to the boxing device.

According to this configuration, when the number of accumulated outer boxes supplied to the cartoning device is reduced to less than N for a predetermined period of time, the articles to be supplied to the cartoning device are removed by the article removing device. , there is no need to temporarily stop the upstream device supplying the article. Therefore, when the supply of empty outer boxes to the cartoning device cannot be done in time, the decrease in the operating rate is reduced compared to the case of temporarily stopping the upstream device that takes a long time to return to normal operation. be able to.

The control device supplies articles to the article removing device to the boxing device on condition that the accumulated number of outer boxes is less than N continuously detected by the accumulated box amount detection sensor for a predetermined time. It may be configured to reject items.

According to this configuration, the removal of articles by the article removing device can be reduced by setting the predetermined time in consideration of the case where the exterior box brought in from the outside is temporarily interrupted.

The accumulated box amount detection sensor is configured to detect the N-th accumulated outer box on the box conveyer, supports the accumulated box amount detection sensor, and detects the position of the accumulated box amount detection sensor. The control device further comprising: a sensor position adjusting mechanism for manually adjusting the conveying direction of the box conveyer; an operation device for presetting the type of the boxed product; and a display device. stores in advance an appropriate position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor for detecting the Nth accumulated outer box corresponding to each kind of the boxed goods, and is preset by the operating device. The appropriate position of the box storage amount detection sensor may be displayed on the display based on the product type.

According to this configuration, when the operator operates the operating device to set the product type of the boxed product before starting the operation of the packaging system, the appropriate position of the box storage amount detection sensor corresponding to the product type is displayed on the display. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor to an appropriate position by operating the sensor position adjusting mechanism. Therefore, the operator can easily adjust the position of the box storage amount detection sensor according to the product type, and convenience can be improved when the product type of the boxed product is changed.

The accumulated box amount detection sensor is configured to detect the N-th accumulated outer box on the box conveyer, supports the accumulated box amount detection sensor, and detects the accumulated box amount detection sensor to detect the N-th accumulated box amount detection sensor. It further comprises a sensor moving mechanism for moving in the conveying direction of the conveyer, and an operating device for performing an operation for setting the type of the boxed product, wherein the control device corresponds to each type of the boxed product. The appropriate position of the box storage amount detection sensor for detecting the N-th stored packaging box is stored in advance, and the box storage amount detection sensor is positioned based on the product type preset by the operating device. It may be configured to control the sensor moving mechanism so that the position becomes the proper position.

According to this configuration, when the operator operates the operating device to set the product type of the boxed product before starting the operation of the boxing system, the position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor is automatically set to the appropriate position according to the product type. adjusted to This eliminates the need for the operator to adjust the position of the box accumulation amount detection sensor according to the product type, thereby further improving the convenience when the product type of the boxed product is changed.

The present invention has the configuration described above, and has the effect of being able to provide a cartoning system capable of minimizing a decrease in the operating rate when the supply of empty outer boxes to the cartoning apparatus is delayed. Play.

FIG. 1(A) is a plan view showing an outline of an example of the boxing system of this embodiment, and FIG. 1(B) is a front view showing an outline of an example of the boxing system. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the internal configuration of an example of the boxing device. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an example of an outer box conveying device and the like. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the control system of the cartoning system. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a sensor moving mechanism for the box storage amount detection sensor.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding elements throughout all the drawings, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

(embodiment)
[overall structure]
FIG. 1(A) is a plan view showing an outline of an example of the boxing system of this embodiment, and FIG. 1(B) is a front view showing an outline of an example of the boxing system.

The boxing system of the present embodiment includes a boxing device 100 and an article removing device 300 capable of supplying articles conveyed from an article conveying conveyor 400 to the packing apparatus 100 and selectively removing articles. there is Articles W are sequentially supplied from an upstream device (such as a packaging machine) in a production line to an article conveying conveyor 400, and the articles W are conveyed by the article conveying conveyor 400 to a boxing system.

[Configuration of article removing device]
The article removing device 300 has a belt conveyor 302 , an air jet device 301 and an article state detection sensor 303 . The belt conveyor 302 and the air jet device 301 are controlled by the control device 30 (FIG. 4), and the output signal of the article state detection sensor 303 is input to the control device 30 . In this embodiment, the belt conveyor 302 is controlled so that the article W is conveyed at a constant speed.

The air jet device 301 has a function of ejecting the article W from the belt conveyor 302 by blowing air. The air jet device 301 has an air nozzle 301a and an air valve 301b. The discharge port of the air nozzle 301 a has a horizontally elongated shape, and opens toward the upper side of the belt conveyor 302 . Therefore, when air is emitted from the air nozzle 301a, the air blows straight through the belt conveyor 302 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the articles W. As shown in FIG. The air valve 301b is a so-called electromagnetic valve, the opening and closing of which is controlled by the controller 30 (FIG. 4). When the air valve 301b is opened, compressed air is discharged from the air nozzle 301a. If necessary, air may be discharged from below the conveying path of the articles W to float the articles W so that the articles W can be easily removed.

The article state detection sensor 303 can be composed of, for example, a photoelectric sensor provided with a light projecting section 303a and a light receiving section 303b. The light projecting part 303a is arranged above the gap between the article transport conveyor 400 and the belt conveyor 302, and the light receiving part 303b is arranged below the gap between the article transport conveyor 400 and the belt conveyor 302 so as to face the light projecting part 303a. are placed in Note that both the light projecting portion 303a and the light receiving portion 303b are positioned near the center of the belt conveyor 302 in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. The light projected from the light projecting section 303a (hereinafter referred to as "detection light") passes between the article transport conveyor 400 and the belt conveyor 302 and is received by the light projecting section 3b. That is, the transport path of the article W and the optical axis of the article state detection sensor 303 intersect. When the light receiving portion 303b does not receive the detection light projected by the light projecting portion 303a, it is determined that the article W is interposed between the light projecting portion 303a and the light receiving portion 303b.

The control device 30 inputs the detection signal of the article state detection sensor 303, and determines the inclination of the article W with respect to the conveying direction based on the time during which the detection light is blocked by the article W (the duration of the detection signal indicating the detection of the article W). is calculated, and the air jet device 301 is controlled so that air is blown from the air nozzle 301 a to the article W whose inclination with respect to the conveying direction is a certain level or more, and the article W is removed from the belt conveyor 302 . Further, the control device 30 calculates the distance between the adjacent articles W based on the time period during which the detection light is blocked by the article W, and calculates the distance between the two articles W that are in contact with each other in front and behind. The air jet device 301 is controlled to eject both articles from the belt conveyor 302 by blowing air. Also, if the distance between the successive articles W is less than the allowable range, one or both of the successive articles W are ejected from the belt conveyor 302 by blowing air. Air jet device 301 is controlled.

As described above, the article removing device 300 selectively removes the articles W by the air jet device 301 according to the conveying state of the articles W supplied to the cartoning device 100, thereby allowing the cartoning device 100 to remove the articles W. Packing (accommodation) in the exterior box 110 can be performed normally. Note that the article removing device 300 can be configured using various devices such as a damper and a pusher instead of the air jet device 301 .

[Configuration of cartoning device]
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the internal configuration of an example of the boxing device 100. As shown in FIG.

The boxing device 100 of the present embodiment is a device that sequentially produces boxed products by arranging a plurality of items W in which food items are bagged or boxed and stored in an exterior box 110 in an aligned state. For the sake of convenience, the cartoning apparatus 100 will be described with the front, rear, left, and right directions as shown in FIG. Note that up and down shown in FIG. 2 are true.

This boxing apparatus 100 includes a supply conveyor 200, an alignment conveyor 6 for aligning a plurality (predetermined number) of articles W sequentially supplied from the supply conveyor 200 and conveying them to a predetermined alignment position T, and a push-out operation of a push-out plate 70. A pushing device 7 for pushing out a plurality of articles W from an aligning position T of an aligning conveyor 6 to an article placement position A on a pair of floor plates 11 in an aligned state, and an article comprising a plurality of articles W pushed out to the article placement position A. A stopper plate 17 that abuts against the group, a holding device 18 that positions (adjusts the posture of) the group of articles together with the stopper plate 17 by holding down the group of articles pushed out to the article placement position A from the pushing direction, and the article placement position. A clamping device 8 that clamps the group of articles pushed out to A from the horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction of extrusion, a floor opening/closing device 10 that opens and closes a pair of floor plates 11 on which the group of articles is placed, and an outer box for the group of articles. 110, an outer box lifting device 21 for lifting and lowering the outer box 110 below the floor plate 11, an outer box conveying apparatus 20 having a box conveyer 22 for conveying the outer box 110, and a boxing apparatus 100. It has a control device 30 that controls the operation of the whole cartoning system, an operation display 50, and a frame 1 that supports each component of the cartoning device 100 at a predetermined position. The boxing device 100 is also equipped with an alarm (buzzer, revolving light, etc.) for notifying the operator of an abnormality. This alarm device may be included in the operation display device 50 .

[Supply conveyor]
The supply conveyor 200 is composed of, for example, a belt conveyor, conveys the articles W sequentially supplied from the belt conveyor 302 of the article removing device 300 , and supplies them to the alignment conveyor 6 .

[Alignment conveyor]
The aligning conveyor 6 aligns a plurality of articles W in an upright state in a row. A plurality of fins (partition plates) 61 are provided on the transport surface 60a of the track at intervals in the transport direction. The plurality of fins 61 form a series of storage portions 62 capable of storing articles W on the endless track 60 between the fins 61 .

The endless track 60 has four annular belts supported by a pair of sprockets 63 . The four annular belts are divided into two each to constitute a first belt group 64 and a second belt group 65 . A plurality of fins 61 are attached to each of the first belt group 64 and the second belt group 65 . The first belt group 64 is rotationally driven by one sprocket 63 , and the second belt group 65 is rotationally driven by the other sprocket 63 . Each of the pair of sprockets 63 is driven by a separate motor. As a result, the first belt group 64 and the second belt group 65 can be driven to circulate independently of each other, and one of the belt groups repeats temporary stops to receive the article W in the storage section 62 at the article take-in position S. and the operation of holding the article W in the storage section 62 stopped at the alignment position T by the other belt group can be performed at the same time.

Further, on the upstream side of the alignment conveyor 6, an article pickup detection sensor 69 such as a photoelectric sensor is provided to detect the article W transferred to the article pickup position S. As shown in FIG. The alignment conveyor 6 sequentially receives the articles W transferred from the supply conveyor 200 at the article take-in position S, changes the posture of the articles W from the lying posture to the upright posture, aligns them in a line, and moves to the alignment position T. transport.

[Extruder]
The push-out device 7 includes a flat push-out plate 70 having a plurality of slits 71 for avoiding the fins 61 . The pushing plate 70 is guided by a rail member (not shown) by the driving force of a driving device (not shown), and is positioned along one side of the alignment conveyor 6 at a retracted position (the position shown). ) and a predetermined advance position on the other side of the alignment conveyor 6, it is configured to advance and retreat in the horizontal direction. The pushing plate 70 advances from the retracted position (moves in the x direction) to the advanced position, so that the plurality of articles W aligned on the alignment conveyor 6 pass through the passage portion 73 and reach the article placement position A. pushed out to A pair of guide plates 74 are provided in the passage portion 73 to prevent the pushed articles W from scattering.

Therefore, the plurality of articles W accommodated in the series of accommodation sections 62 positioned at the alignment position T are pushed out in the x direction by the push-out plate 70 to form a group of articles aligned in the same direction as the conveying direction of the alignment conveyor 6. Then, it is placed on the article placement position A set on the closed floor plate 11 .

[Stopper plate]
The stopper plate 17 is fixed to the frame 1 so as to face the ejector plate 70 positioned at the advanced position. Therefore, the plurality of articles W pushed out to the article placement position A by the pushing plate 70 abut against the stopper plate 17, and are aligned in the direction Y in which the pair of holding plates 80 face each other on the article placement position A. be placed.

[Pressing device]
The pressing device 18 includes a pressing member 19 and a driving device (not shown) such as a servomotor for swinging the pressing member 19 . The pressing member 19 has a pressing position indicated by a solid line and a retracted position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line) in which the pressing member 19 is rotated toward the alignment conveyor 6 from this pressing position. configured to oscillate between

By positioning the pressing member 19 at the retracted position indicated by the two-dot chain line, it is possible to avoid contact with the push-out plate 70 when the push-out plate 70 advances and retreats. On the other hand, after the ejector plate 70 is retracted, the pressing member 19 is positioned at the pressing position to press the upper side surface of the group of articles ejected by the ejector plate 70, and together with the stopper plate 17 is positioned at the article placement position A. The position of each article W in the article group in the width direction is arranged.

[Pinching device]
The clamping device 8 has a pair of holding plates 80 . The pair of holding plates 80 are arranged above the pair of floorboards 11 on extension lines of the pair of guide plates 74 . When the plurality of articles W are pushed out by the push-out plate 70, an area defined by the pressing member 19 positioned at the pressing position, the stopper plate 17, and the pair of holding plates 80 is formed on the floor plate 11. be. This area constitutes the article placement position A. FIG.

A horizontally extending shaft 81 is provided on the back surface of each holding plate 80 . Each shaft 81 is configured such that the pair of holding plates 80 move forward and backward in directions toward and away from each other by a driving device (not shown). By advancing the pair of holding plates 80 in the direction toward each other, the group of articles positioned at the article placement position A is pressed between the pair of holding plates 80 from the alignment direction Y, and the articles W are brought into close contact with each other. can be done.

[Floor opening/closing device]
The floor opening/closing device 10 is provided on the side of the alignment conveyor 6 and includes a pair of floorboards 11 extending in the horizontal direction. The pair of floorboards 11 are supported at their edges by a plurality of rollers arranged on the frame 1, and are configured to be movable back and forth so that their opposing end surfaces are in contact with each other and separated from each other. The pair of floorboards 11 are configured to be driven to open and close by the driving force of a driving device (not shown). When the pair of floorboards 11 are driven backward, the end surfaces of the floorboards 11 are separated from each other, and an opening is formed directly below the article placement position A (the floorboards 11 are opened).

[Pushing device]
The push-in device 9 has a vertically extending shaft 90 and a push-in member 91 having the lower end of the shaft 90 joined to its upper surface. The shaft 90 is supported by the frame 1 so as to be able to move up and down. The shaft body 90 is configured to move up and down in the vertical direction together with the pushing member 91 by the driving force of a driving device (not shown). By lowering the pushing member 91, the pushing device 9 pushes the upper surface of the group of articles at the article placement position A downward to escape the group of articles downward from between the pair of holding plates 80, thereby opening the pair of holding plates 80. can be pushed into the outer box 110 located at the boxing position P below the floorboards 11 through the opening between the floorboards 11 of FIG. Further, in this example, the lower surface of the pushing member 91 is provided with a suction port for sucking the upper surface of the article group, and has a suction function.

[Outer box lifting device]
The outer box lifting device 21 includes a pedestal 24 on which the outer box 110 is placed, and a known lifting mechanism (not shown) for lifting and lowering the pedestal 24 . The pedestal 24 includes a plurality of bars 24a that can be embedded in the gaps between the drive rollers 22a of the box conveyor 22, and connecting members 24b that connect the bars 24a. The lift mechanism moves the pedestal 24 up and down between a predetermined lowered position where the bar 24a is buried in the gap between the driving rollers 22a and a predetermined raised position. The exterior box 110 on the pedestal 24 is configured to be at a predetermined packing position P when the pedestal 24 is at a predetermined raised position.

A restraining device 23 such as an air cylinder is attached to the pedestal 24 . The restraining device 23 is provided with a rod 23a that can move back and forth. When the pedestal 24 is in the lowered position, the rod 23a advances into the conveying path (blocking operation), whereby the outer box being transported by the box conveying conveyor 22 is removed. 110 can be stopped (blocked) at the box stop position U below the article placement position A, and the outer box 110 can be lifted from the box stop position U by withdrawing the bar 23a from the conveying path (block release operation). It can be transported downstream. A box detection sensor 25 for detecting the exterior box 110 is attached to the pedestal 24 . The box detection sensor 25 is composed of a direct reflection photoelectric sensor or the like incorporating a light projector and a light receiver.

[Outer box conveying device]
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an example of the outer box conveying device 20 and the like.

The exterior box transport device 20 includes a box transport conveyor 22, a restraining device 26 attached to the conveyor frame of the box transport conveyor 22, a box detection sensor 27, a box accumulated amount detection sensor 40, a sensor position adjustment mechanism 41, and a box pressing device. 28, and a restraining device 23 and a box detection sensor 25 attached to the pedestal 24 described above.

The box transport conveyor 22 is a drive roller conveyor provided with a large number of drive rollers 22a, and horizontally transports the exterior box 110 in one direction (y direction) by the drive rollers 22a. In addition, in FIG. 1, illustration of the drive roller 22a is omitted.

On the upstream side of the box stop position U (on the upstream side in the conveying direction y) of the box conveyer 22, a stopping device 26 having a rod body 26a that can move back and forth and a box detection sensor 27 are attached to the conveyor frame. ing. The restraining device 26 and the box detection sensor 27 are each composed of an air cylinder, a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor, or the like, similarly to the restraining device 23 and the box detection sensor 25 described above.

Furthermore, a box storage amount detection sensor 40 composed of a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor or the like is arranged on the upstream side of the box detection sensor 27 . This box storage amount detection sensor 40 is attached to the conveyor frame of the box transfer conveyor 22 via a sensor position adjustment mechanism 41 .

The sensor position adjustment mechanism 41 is composed of a sensor support block 42 to which the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 is attached, a slide bar 43, a bar support member 44, and a proper position display member TB. A lower end of the bar support member 44 is fixed to the conveyor frame, and one end of the slide bar 43 is fixed to an upper portion of the bar support member 44 . Thereby, the slide bar 43 is arranged so as to extend in a direction parallel to the transport direction y. One end of the proper position display member TB is fixed to the bar support member 44 and arranged parallel to the slide bar 43 . The appropriate position display member TB is provided with marks T1 to T4 indicating appropriate positions of the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 corresponding to each of a plurality of types of boxed products.

The sensor support block 42 is provided with a hole through which the slide bar 43 is inserted. The sensor support block 42 is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the slide bar 43 (parallel to the conveying direction y) by inserting the slide bar 43 therethrough. 43 so as to be fixable and unfixable. For example, the operator releases the fixing of the sensor support block 42 to the slide bar 43, slides the sensor support block 42 with respect to the slide bar 43, and aligns it with, for example, one of the marks T1 to T4 and fixes it. . By operating the sensor position adjusting mechanism 41 in this manner, the position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 (the position in the conveying direction y) can be set to an appropriate position.

The accumulated box amount detection sensor 40 is for detecting whether or not a predetermined minimum accumulation number or more of outer boxes 110 are accumulated on the upstream side of the restraining device 26 . In the example of FIG. 3, when three or more outer boxes 110 are stored, the outer box 110 is detected by the accumulated box amount detection sensor 40, and the box detection signal is sent from the accumulated box amount detection sensor 40 to the controller 30. output. Here, the area on the upstream side of the restraining device 26 on the box transport conveyor 22 serves as a storage area for the exterior boxes 110 .

Further, a box pressing device 28 having a pressing portion 28a is provided to send out the outer boxes 110 accumulated on the box transport conveyor 22 to the box stop position U one by one. The box pressing device 28 is configured to press the pressing portion 28 a against the second outer box 110 that is secondly accumulated counting from the restraining device 26 . The outer box 110 against which the pressing portion 28a is pressed is sandwiched between opposing members arranged to face the pressing portion 28a with the outer box 110 interposed therebetween, and the transport stop state is maintained regardless of the rotation of the driving roller 22a. do. A conveyor frame of the box transport conveyor 22 may be used as the opposing member.

In addition to the box pressing device 28, the first outer box 110 accumulated first from the restraining device 26 is released from the restraining device 26 and moved toward the box stop position U. It is only necessary to provide a configuration that can temporarily maintain the transportation stop state of the second outer box 110 when it is transported.

Here, an example of the operation of the packaging box conveying device 20 will be described. During the operation of this cartoning system, the carton transport conveyor 22 is always in a state of carrying operation.

In the box-manufacturing apparatus, empty outer boxes 110 with their top lids opened are sequentially assembled and supplied (carried in) to the box conveyer 22 . At this time, the restraining device 26 is in a restraining operation state in which the bar 26a is advanced, and the exterior box 110 on the box conveying conveyor 22 is restrained by the restraining device 26, and the box conveying conveyor 22 on the upstream side of the restraining device 26 is stopped. sequentially accumulated above. When a predetermined minimum number (three in this example) or more is accumulated, the ON state (box detection state) of the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 continues. At this time, the box detection sensor 27 is naturally in the ON state (box detection state).

When the pedestal 24 reaches the lowered position while the box storage amount detection sensor 40 and the box detection sensor 27 are in the ON state, the control device 30 causes the stop device 23 to stop the outer box 110 that has been previously packed. Release operation (withdraw the rod 23a) is performed.

Subsequently, the control device 30 controls the box pressing device 28 so that the pressing portion 28a is pressed against the second outer box 110, and the restraining device 26 is released to convey the first outer box 110. It is operated (retracts the rod 26a) and causes the stopping device 23 to perform a blocking operation (advance the rod 23a).

When the exterior box 110 is not on the pedestal 24 at the beginning of the operation, the pedestal 24 is in the lowered position, the restraining device 23 is in the restraining released state, and the restraining device 26 is in the restraining operation state. In this case, when the box storage amount detection sensor 40 and the box detection sensor 27 are turned on, the control device 30 presses the pressing portion 28a against the second outer box 110 and conveys the first outer box 110. In order to do so, the restraining device 26 is operated to release the restraint, and the restraining device 23 is restrained.

Next, the first outer box 110 is conveyed and stopped at the box stop position U by the stopping device 23 on the pedestal 24 . At this time, when the box detection sensor 25 is turned on, the control device 30 causes the restraining device 26 to perform a restraining operation and stops the pressing operation of the pressing portion 28a. As a result, the second exterior box 110 is conveyed and stopped by the restraining device 26 to become the first exterior box 110 .

Then, the exterior box 110 stopped at the box stop position U is raised to the packing position P (FIG. 2) (the pedestal 24 is raised to the raised position). After the articles W are accommodated in the exterior box 110, the outer box 110 is lowered to the box stop position U (the pedestal 24 is lowered to the lowered position), and the above operation is repeated.

In addition, the control device 30 sets the first state to the OFF state, that is, the state in which the number of accumulated outer boxes is less than the minimum accumulated number (N) after the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 is turned ON once from the start of operation. If it continues for a predetermined period of time (for example, about several seconds), it is determined that the supply of outer packaging is insufficient. After that, until the next ON state of the box storage amount detection sensor 40 continues for a second predetermined time (for example, about several seconds), that is, after it is determined that the supply of packaging boxes is insufficient, at least the minimum number of storage boxes ( N) Until the articles W are accumulated, the air jet device 301 of the article removing device 300 is operated to blow air from the air jet device 301 to remove the articles W from the belt conveyor 302 . The first predetermined time is set in consideration of the case where the outer box is temporarily interrupted and transported.

In this example, when the control device 30 determines that there is a shortage of supply of packaging boxes, there are several packaging boxes that can be packed. You may make it exclude the article|item W by.

Further, when the control device 30 determines that the supply of outer packaging boxes is insufficient, the controller 30 issues an alarm from an alarm device to inform the operator of the abnormality.

[Control system]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the control system of the cartoning system.

The control device 30 includes, for example, a control section 31 having a computing unit such as a CPU, and a storage section 32 having memories such as ROM and RAM. The controller 31 receives article detection signals output from the article state detection sensor 303 and the article intake detection sensor 69, and receives box detection signals output from the box detection sensors 25 and 27 and the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40. A signal is input. A predetermined control program is stored in the storage unit 32, and when the control unit 31 reads out and executes the control program, the control device 30 operates the article removing device 300, the supply conveyor 200, the alignment conveyor 6, and the pushing device 7. , clamping device 8, pushing device 9, floor opening/closing device 10, pressing device 18, outer box lifting device 21, box transport conveyor 22, stopping devices 23, 26, box pressing device 28, operation display 50 and alarm (Fig. not shown). That is, the control device 30 controls the operation of the entire cartoning system including the cartoning device 100 . This control device 30 is installed, for example, inside the rack of the boxing device 100 . Note that the control device 30 may be composed of a single control device that performs centralized control, or may be composed of a plurality of control devices that cooperate with each other and perform distributed control.

The operation display unit 50 is configured using, for example, a touch panel display, etc., and a screen ( and a display for displaying on a display screen). The control device 30 inputs an operation signal from the operation device of the operation display device 50 and outputs signals such as data to be displayed on the display device to the operation display device 50 .

[Operation of cartoning system]
Next, an example of the operation of the cartoning system will be described. This operation is realized by processing of the control device 30 .

In the boxing apparatus 100, the type of outer box 110 to be used is determined according to the type of boxed product to be produced. That is, the size of the outer box 110 is determined according to the type of boxed product. An appropriate position (appropriate position) of the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 for detecting the boxes 110 is determined. The minimum accumulation number can be determined in consideration of the capacity (performance) of the cartoning device 100, the supply capacity of outer boxes of the box making machine, the article supply capacity of the upstream device, and the like.

The operator can operate the operation display 50 to set the type of boxed product to be produced. The product type set here is stored in the storage unit 32 in the control device 30 . Further, the storage unit 32 stores in advance appropriate position information for positioning the box storage amount detection sensor 40 at an appropriate position according to each of a plurality of product types.

First, the operator operates the operation display device 50 (manipulator) to set the type of boxed product to be produced before starting the operation of the boxing system. This setting can be performed, for example, by operating the operation display unit 50 to display a plurality of producible product names and product numbers on the screen of the operation display unit 50, and selecting one of them. can be done.

The control device 30 causes the screen (display) of the operation display 50 to display the appropriate position information of the box storage amount detection sensor 40 corresponding to the product type set by operating the operation display 50 . This proper position information is provided by indicating which of the marks T1 to T4 provided on the proper position display member TB. For example, it is possible to display "the position of the x-th mark from the right" or "the position of the x-th mark" by assigning a number to the mark. The operator operates the sensor position adjustment mechanism 41 so that the position of the box storage amount detection sensor 40 corresponds to the position of the displayed mark, and sets the position of the box storage amount detection sensor 40 to an appropriate position.

After that, when the boxing system starts to operate, articles W are sequentially supplied from an upstream device such as a packaging machine to the article transport conveyor 400 . In addition, the exterior boxes 110 sequentially assembled by the box manufacturing apparatus are supplied to the box transport conveyor 22 .

The articles W sequentially supplied to the article conveying conveyor 400 are supplied from the article conveying conveyor 400 to the belt conveyor 302 of the article removing device 300 and further supplied to the alignment conveyor 6 via the supply conveyor 200 . The control device 30 controls the aligning conveyor 6 to align a predetermined number of articles W sequentially supplied from the supply conveyor 200 at the aligning position T. As shown in FIG.

Next, the controller 30 controls the pushing device 7 to move the pushing plate 70 from the retracted position to the advanced position, thereby pushing the articles W aligned at the alignment position T onto the floor board 11 . Then, the control device 30 returns the ejector plate 70 from the advanced position to the retracted position. As a result, the group of articles is placed on the article placement position A in an aligned state.

Next, the control device 30 controls the pressing device 18 to swing the pressing member 19 downward to the pressing position to press the upper side surface of the pushed-out group of articles. As a result, both ends of each article W in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the alignment direction Y are aligned by the pressing member 19 and the stopper plate 17 .

Next, the control device 30 controls the clamping device 8 to move the pair of holding plates 80 toward each other. As a result, the group of articles is pressed from the alignment direction Y, and the articles W can be brought into close contact with each other.

Next, the control device 30 controls the pushing device 9 to lower the pushing member 91 having a suction function so as to come into contact with the upper surface of the clamped article group, thereby sucking the upper surface of the article group. The group of articles is thereby held by the pushing member 91 .

Next, the control device 30 controls the floor opening/closing device 10 to drive the pair of floorboards 11 backward to open the floorboards 11 . As a result, an opening is formed immediately below the group of articles positioned at the article placement position A. As shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the operation is started, the control device 30 causes the box transport conveyor 22 to start the transport operation, and in parallel with the above process, the outer box placement process is performed. In this outer box arrangement processing, the bar 23a of the restraining device 23 is advanced in advance, and the outer box 110 carried in by the box transport conveyor 22 is stopped at the box stop position U. When a box detection signal is input from the box detection sensor 25, the control device 30 raises the pedestal 24 and positions the outer box 110 at the box stop position U to the packing position P. As shown in FIG.

After opening the floor plate 11 as described above, the control device 30 controls the push-in device 9 to lower the push-in member 91 sucking the group of articles, thereby opening the outer box at the packing position P. A group of articles is pushed into 110 . At this time, the articles W at both ends of the article group slide over the surface of the holding plate 80 .

Next, the control device 30 restores the pressing device 18, the pinching device 8, the pressing device 9, the floor opening/closing device 10, etc. to their original states. For example, the pressing member 19 is returned to the retracted position and the holding plate 80 is retracted and returned to its original position. After stopping the suction function of the pushing member 91, the pushing device 9 raises the pushing member 91 above the article group formation position. After the pushing member 91 is lifted, the floor plate 11 is closed.

In parallel with these returning processes, the control device 30 lowers the pedestal 24 to position the exterior box 110 containing the group of articles at the box stop position U, and then pushes the bar 23a of the restraining device 23. The outer box 110 is evacuated from the conveying path (restriction release operation), and the outer box 110 is carried out from the boxing device 100 by the conveying operation of the box conveyer 22 .

Then, the same boxing operation as described above is newly repeated. In order to carry out the outer box 110 containing the group of articles, after the restraining device 23 in the outer box conveying device 20 is operated to release the restraint, the outer box conveying device 20 operates as described above to carry out the next outer box. 110 is conveyed to the box stop position U.

In this embodiment, when the number of outer boxes supplied to the boxing apparatus 100 is reduced to less than N and continues for a first predetermined time period, it is determined that the supply of outer boxes is insufficient. Since the article to be supplied is made to be rejected, there is no need to temporarily stop the upstream device that supplies the article. Therefore, when the supply of empty outer boxes to the cartoning device 100 cannot be done in time, the reduction in the operating rate can be minimized compared to the case of temporarily stopping the upstream device that takes a long time to return to normal operation. can do.

In this embodiment, by setting the first predetermined time in consideration of the case where the outer box is temporarily interrupted and transported, it is possible to reduce the rejection of the articles by the article rejection device 300. As soon as the number of accumulated outer boxes is detected to be less than N, it may be determined that the supply of outer boxes is insufficient, and the articles may be removed by the article removing device 300 .

Further, in the present embodiment, even if an abnormality occurs in the device at the latter stage of the boxing device 100, the article removal device 300 (in this example, the operation of the air jet device 301) is caused to remove the articles under the control of the control device 30. , an alarm device may be configured to issue an alarm.

Further, in this embodiment, when the operator operates the operation display unit 50 to set the product type of the boxed product before starting the operation of the boxing system, the appropriate position of the box storage amount detection sensor 40 corresponding to the product type is set. Since it is displayed on the screen of the operation display unit 50, the sensor position adjustment mechanism 41 can be operated to adjust the position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 to an appropriate position. Therefore, the operator can easily adjust the position of the box storage amount detection sensor 40 according to the product type, and convenience can be improved when the product type of the boxed product is changed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the sensor position adjustment mechanism 41 is provided so that the operator can manually adjust the position of the box storage amount detection sensor 40. can be configured to FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a sensor moving mechanism that automatically adjusts the position of the box storage amount detection sensor 40. As shown in FIG.

The sensor moving mechanism 45 is composed of a sensor support block 46 on which the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 is attached, a multi-position cylinder 47, a guide bar 48, and support members 49a and 49b.

Supporting members 49 a and 49 b are fixed to the conveyor frame of the box transport conveyor 22 so as to be separated from each other in the transport direction y of the outer box 110 . Both ends of the guide bar 48 are fixed to the support members 49a and 49b.

The multi-position cylinder 47 is fixed to the support member 49a so that its stroke direction is parallel to the conveying direction y. A sensor support block 46 is fixed to the tip of the cylinder rod 47a.

A hole through which the guide bar 48 is inserted is provided in the lower portion of the sensor support block 46. The guide bar 48 is inserted through the sensor support block 46 in the longitudinal direction of the guide bar 48 (parallel to the transport direction y). It is slidable. This guide bar 48 is used as a detent for maintaining the orientation of the sensor support block 46 .

The multi-position cylinder 47 is controlled by the control device 30 and can stop the stroke of the cylinder at two or more stop positions (a plurality of stop positions). Therefore, depending on the stop position of the multi-position cylinder 47, the position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 in the conveying direction y can be set or changed.

As described above, in the boxing apparatus 100, the type of outer box 110 to be used is determined according to the type of boxed product to be produced. Here, in the storage unit 32 in the control device 30, in order to detect the N-th stored outer packaging box 110 in accordance with a plurality of product types, the box storage amount detection sensor 40 is set to an appropriate position. stop position information of the multi-position cylinder 47 is stored.

When the operator operates the operation display device 50 as described above to set the type of boxed product to be produced before starting the operation of the boxing system, the control device 30 controls the multi-position type according to the set type. Based on the stop position information of the cylinder 47, the multi-position cylinder 47 is controlled. As a result, the box storage amount detection sensor 40 is brought to the proper position.

By providing the sensor moving mechanism 45 in this way, when the operator operates the operation display unit 50 to set the type of boxed product before starting the operation of the boxing system, the position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 is set. It is automatically adjusted to the proper position according to the product type. Therefore, it is not necessary for the operator to adjust the position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor 40 according to the type, and the convenience can be improved when the type of boxed goods is changed.

From the above description many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description is to be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. Substantial details of construction and/or function may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as a cartoning system or the like that can reduce a decrease in operating rate when empty outer boxes cannot be supplied to a cartoning apparatus in time.

20 Outer box conveying device 22 Box conveyer 30 Control device 40 Box accumulated amount detection sensor 50 Operation display 41 Sensor position adjusting mechanism 45 Sensor moving mechanism 100 Cartoning device 110 Outer box 300 Article removal device 400 Article conveyer

Claims (3)

A boxing device for storing a plurality of articles sequentially supplied by an article conveying conveyor in an outer box and sequentially producing boxed articles;
an article removing device capable of removing articles supplied from the article conveying conveyor to the boxing device;
a controller;
with
The cartoning device comprises:
An outer box conveying device that conveys an empty outer box brought in from the outside in one direction and stops it at a predetermined stop position, and conveys an outer box containing articles in the one direction from the stop position. ,
The outer box conveying device is
A box conveying conveyor for conveying outer boxes in the one direction is provided, the outer boxes are accumulated on the carry-in side of the stop position on the box conveyer, and the accumulated outer boxes are conveyed one by one to the stop position. and has a box storage amount detection sensor for detecting whether or not the number of storage boxes stored is N or more (N is a predetermined integer of 2 or more),
The control device is
When the accumulated number of outer boxes is detected by the box accumulated amount detection sensor to be less than N, the article removing device is configured to remove the articles to be supplied to the boxing device,
The box storage amount detection sensor is
configured to detect the N-th accumulated outer box on the box transport conveyor,
a sensor position adjustment mechanism for supporting the accumulated box amount detection sensor and manually adjusting the position of the accumulated box amount detection sensor in the conveying direction of the box conveyer;
an operation device for performing an operation for presetting the type of the boxed product;
a display;
further comprising
The control device is
storing in advance an appropriate position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor for detecting the Nth accumulated outer box corresponding to each kind of the boxed goods;
configured to display an appropriate position of the box storage amount detection sensor on the display based on the product type preset by the operation device,
packing system. A boxing device for storing a plurality of articles sequentially supplied by an article conveying conveyor in an outer box and sequentially producing boxed articles;
an article removing device capable of removing articles supplied from the article conveying conveyor to the boxing device;
a controller;
with
The cartoning device comprises:
An outer box conveying device that conveys an empty outer box brought in from the outside in one direction and stops it at a predetermined stop position, and conveys an outer box containing articles in the one direction from the stop position. ,
The outer box conveying device is
A box conveying conveyor for conveying outer boxes in the one direction is provided, the outer boxes are accumulated on the carry-in side of the stop position on the box conveyer, and the accumulated outer boxes are conveyed one by one to the stop position. and has a box storage amount detection sensor for detecting whether or not the number of storage boxes stored is N or more (N is a predetermined integer of 2 or more),
The control device is
When the accumulated number of outer boxes is detected by the box accumulated amount detection sensor to be less than N, the article removing device is configured to remove the articles to be supplied to the boxing device,
The box storage amount detection sensor is
configured to detect the N-th accumulated outer box on the box transport conveyor,
a sensor moving mechanism that supports the box accumulation amount detection sensor and moves the box accumulation amount detection sensor in the conveying direction of the box conveyer;
an operation device for setting the type of the boxed product;
further comprising
The control device is
storing in advance an appropriate position of the box accumulated amount detection sensor for detecting the Nth accumulated outer box corresponding to each kind of the boxed goods;
The sensor movement mechanism is configured to control the sensor movement mechanism so that the position of the box storage amount detection sensor is at the appropriate position based on the product type preset by the operation device.
packing system. The control device is
The article removing device is caused to remove articles to be supplied to the boxing device on condition that the accumulated number of outer boxes is less than N continuously detected by the accumulated box quantity detection sensor for a predetermined period of time. configured,
3. A cartoning system according to claim 1 or 2.

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