JP7366392B2 - Packing equipment for pallets - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a packaging device for a pallet, and more specifically, a packing machine that wraps a band around an object to be packed, and a packing position of the packing machine that transfers an article placed on a pallet to the packing object. The present invention relates to a packaging device used for so-called "pallet packaging," which is equipped with a conveyor for transporting the articles as a pallet, and ties the articles together with a pallet for integral packaging.

Items individually wrapped in cardboard boxes, sheets, plates, and other items are stacked in multiple tiers on a pallet with a fork insertion slot on the side for inserting the fork of a forklift. The above-mentioned ``pallet packaging'' is widely practiced, in which items are tied together with a pallet and packaged together.

By using this type of pallet packaging, it is possible to load and unload multiple items on a pallet basis, which greatly improves work efficiency during transportation compared to handling each item in bulk. improve.

There are two methods of banding in pallet packaging: the so-called ``inner hook'' method, in which the band is passed through the fork insertion opening of the pallet, and the so-called ``outer hook'' method, in which the band is passed through the bottom of the pallet. Usually, a single pallet is packed using a combination of outer and inner hooks.

In this way, in order to be able to wrap both inner and outer bands on one pallet, the inner and outer packaging machines were connected via a conveyor. A packaging device for pallets has been proposed, in which an item to be packed with an inner band (or outer band) on one packing machine is conveyed by a conveyor to the other packing machine, and the band is placed on the outside (or inner band). This enables pallet packaging using both the inner and outer hooks mentioned above.

In addition, a turntable is further provided in the above-mentioned pallet packing apparatus, and as shown in FIG. After being transported onto a turntable and rotated 90° horizontally, it is further transported to the other packaging machine and external packaging is performed by passing band B through the bottom of the pallet, thereby intersecting internal and external packaging. A device in which the band can be wound in a cross-shaped pattern has also been proposed.

Furthermore, in contrast to the above-mentioned pallet packaging apparatus that requires two packaging machines, a system has been proposed in which a single packaging machine can perform both inner and outer packaging.

As an example of such a packaging machine 100, Patent Document 1 listed below describes that a control unit 110 for feeding, tightening, cutting, and welding bands is connected to left and right arches via upper arches 130, 130, as shown in FIG. The left and right arches 114, 115 and two slide arches 117, which are removably inserted into the fork insertion opening of the pallet 113, are provided so as to be freely connected and detachable. A packaging machine 100 has been proposed in which a fixed arch 118 is provided below, and the fixed arch 118 and left and right arches 114, 115 can be connected and detached via rotating arches 124 provided at both ends of the fixed arch 118. (Claims of Patent Document 1).

In the packaging machine 100 described in Patent Document 1 having the above configuration, one packaging machine 100 can perform both external packaging using the fixed arch 118 and internal packaging using the sliding arch 117. It is configured so that it can be done.

As shown in FIG. 11, this Patent Document 1 further discloses a pallet packing device which is a combination of the above-mentioned packing machine 100 and a conveyor 112 equipped with a turntable 121 (Patent Document 1). 1), in this packaging device, the pallet 113 that has been internally (or externally) hung in the packaging machine 100 is once carried out of the machine frame 140 of the packaging machine 100 and placed on the turntable 121. After moving the pallet 113 and rotating it horizontally by 90° on this turntable 121, the pallet 113 is carried into the machine frame 140 of the packaging machine 100 again and outside (or inside) hanging is performed, as shown in Fig. 12. It is constructed so that it can be hung in a grid pattern as shown.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-48909

In the packaging machine 100 described in Patent Document 1 described above, one packaging machine 100 can perform banding using either the internal or external method.

However, in order to make it possible to perform both external and internal banding, the packaging machine 100 described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a slide arch 117 and a fixed arch 118, as well as a structure provided at both ends of the fixed arch 118. Since a structure is adopted in which the fixed arch 118 and the left and right arches 114, 115 can be connected and detached via the rotating arch 124, the number of parts is large and the structure and operation are complicated, making it difficult to assemble. Not only does it require a lot of man-hours, which increases manufacturing costs, but it is also complicated, as the number of items to be inspected during maintenance and inspections increases.

Therefore, it is desirable to use a packaging machine with a simpler structure so that both external and internal packaging can be performed with one packaging machine.

In addition, in the pallet packing device (see FIG. 11) configured by a combination of the packing machine 100 and the conveyor 112 described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a cross-shaped band hook as shown in FIG. 12 is used. In order to do this, first, the pallet 113 is carried into the machine frame 140 of the packing machine 100 and the band is hung inside (or outside), and then the pallet 113 is once carried out of the machine frame 140 of the packing machine 100. Then, it is necessary to rotate the pallet 113 horizontally by 90° on the turntable 121, and then carry the pallet 113 into the machine frame 140 of the packaging machine 100 again to attach the band to the outside (or to the inside).

Therefore, the time required to move the pallet 113 back and forth between the packaging machine 100 and the turntable 121 is added to the working time for packaging, and the time required to complete one parallel banding operation is therefore reduced. The process takes a long time, and work efficiency is poor.

Furthermore, since the wrapping of the band by the packaging machine 100 and the rotation of the pallet 113 by the turntable 121 are performed in separate locations, the entire device becomes large, making it difficult to secure installation space in small factory facilities. This makes it difficult to introduce this type of pallet packing equipment.

In addition, even in the pallet packing machine shown in Fig. 11, if a turntable can be installed on the conveyor placed in the machine frame of the packing machine, both the winding of the band and the rotation of the pallet can be done in the same way. This can be done on-site, reducing packaging time by the amount of time required to move pallets back and forth between the packaging machine and the turntable, and by shortening the length of the conveyor, equipment efficiency is reduced. The overall configuration is downsized and can be installed even in a narrow installation space.

However, in order to hang the band externally on the pallet, it is necessary to pass the band through the bottom of the pallet, so a groove is provided in the conveyor at the packing position, and the fixed arch 118 is accommodated in this groove. A configuration will be adopted.

Therefore, if the turntable 121 is provided on the conveyor 112 at the packing position, the turntable 121 is interposed between the fixed arch 118 and the bottom surface of the pallet 113, making it impossible to hang the band externally.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and by devising the structure on the conveyor side rather than on the packaging machine side, conventionally only one of the outer hook and the inner hook was used. The first objective is to provide a packaging device for pallets that can perform both external and internal packaging even when using a packaging machine with a simple structure that could only perform shall be.

Another object of the present invention is to enable horizontal rotation of the pallet at the position on the conveyor where the band is wound, thereby making it possible to shorten the overall length of the conveyor. We have developed a pallet packing device that can be installed in a narrow installation space, and also eliminates the time required to move the pallet to the turntable position, greatly reducing the work time required for packing. The purpose is to provide.

Means for solving the problem will be described below along with the symbols used in the detailed description. This code is used to clarify the correspondence between the description of the claims and the description of the mode for carrying out the invention, and needless to say, it is not used to limit the interpretation of the technical scope of the present invention. It's not something you can do.

In order to achieve the above object, the pallet packing device 10 of the present invention has the following features:
The band guided by the rectangular frame-shaped band guide arch 21 is dropped in the inner circumferential direction of the band guide arch 21 and wrapped around the outer periphery of the article W placed inside the band guide arch 21 for packaging. a pallet 90 having a fork insertion port 91 formed on its side surface, and a conveyor 30 that conveys the objects W to be packed, which are articles loaded on the pallet 90, to the packing position of the packing machine 20. In the pallet packing apparatus 10, the articles loaded on the pallet 90 are banded and packed together with the pallet 90,
The lower side of the band guide arch 21 of the packaging machine 20 is formed by slide arches 21d, 21d, and the slide arches 21d, 21d are connected between the lower ends of vertical arches 21a, 21b forming the side sides of the band guide arch 21. It is possible to move forward and backward in the horizontal direction between a forward position where the vertical arches 21a and 21b are opened, and a backward position where the lower ends of the vertical arches 21a and 21b are opened.
The conveyor 30 is comprised of a conveyor main body 31 whose conveying direction is perpendicular to the forward and backward movement directions of the slide arches 21d and 21d, a base 32 on which the conveyor main body 31 is placed, and a conveyor body 31 on which the conveyor main body 31 is placed. It is composed of a conveyor main body lifting mechanism 50 that lifts and lowers the main body 31,
When the conveyor body 31 is lowered by the conveyor body lifting mechanism 50, the fork insertion opening 91 of the pallet 90 placed on the conveyor body 31 is raised to a height that allows insertion of the advanced slide arches 21d, 21d. While setting the lowering position of the conveyor body 31 so that the conveyor body 31 is
When the conveyor main body 31 is raised by the conveyor main body lifting mechanism 50, the slide arch insertion recess 315 provided on the upper surface of the conveyor main body 31 has a height H that allows the advanced slide arches 21d, 21d to be inserted. Setting the ascending position of the conveyor main body 31 ,
On the base 32 of the conveyor 30, there is a rotating body 61 for placing and rotating the object W to be packed, a turning means (motor 63) for rotating the rotating body 61, and a rotating body 61 for lifting and lowering the rotating body 61. A rotating body passage 36 is formed in the conveyor body 31 to vertically penetrate the conveyor body 31 and allow the rotating body 61 to pass through the conveyor body 31.
When the rotating body 61 is raised by the rotating body lifting mechanism, the rising position of the rotating body 61 is set so that the bottom surface of the rotating body 61 is located above the top surface of the conveyor body 31 in the lowered position. At the same time,
When the rotating body 61 is lowered by the rotating body lifting mechanism, the upper surface of the rotating body 61 is lower than the upper surface of the conveyor body 31 in the lowered position, and the upper surface of the conveyor body 31 in the raised position is lowered. The present invention is characterized in that the lowered position of the rotating body 61 is set to be lower than the slide arch insertion recess 315 (claim 1).

In this case, the rotating body 61 is formed into a cross shape in plan view, and the conveyor main body 31 is formed by four conveyor units 31a to 31d arranged in a grid pattern in plan view. The rotating body passage 36 may be formed in the interval between the two (Claim 2 ).

The conveyor main body elevating mechanism 50 may include a scissor link mechanism 52 that connects the base 32 and the conveyor main body 31 (in the illustrated embodiment, the elevating frame 51 on which the conveyor main body 31 is placed). Claim 3 ).

Furthermore, the packing machine 20 can be provided with a press means 24 that presses the articles on the pallet 90 from above to below during packing (Claim 4 ).

Furthermore, the conveyor 30 may be provided with a locking mechanism 70 that locks the conveyor main body 31 in the raised position, and a lock release mechanism 80 that releases the lock by the locking mechanism 70 when the conveyor main body 31 is lowered. Claim 5 ).

In this case, the locking mechanism 70 can be configured by an over-center linkage mechanism that connects the base 32 and the conveyor body 31 (in the illustrated embodiment, the lifting frame 51 on which the conveyor body 31 is placed). (Claim 6 ).

With the configuration of the present invention described above, the pallet packing apparatus 10 of the present invention was able to obtain the following remarkable effects.

A conveyor 30 for transporting the object to be packed W to a packing position by the packing machine 20 is configured by a conveyor body 31, a base 32 on which the conveyor body 31 is placed, and a conveyor that raises and lowers the conveyor body 31 on the base 32. It is formed by a main body lifting mechanism 50, and when the conveyor main body 31 is lowered by the conveyor main body lifting mechanism 50, the fork insertion opening 91 of the pallet 90 placed on the conveyor main body 31 can insert the advanced slide arches 21d, 21d. The lowered position of the conveyor body 31 is set so that the height is H, and when the conveyor body 31 is raised by the conveyor body lifting mechanism 50, the slide arch insertion recess 315 provided on the upper surface of the conveyor body 31 moves forward. By setting the elevated position of the conveyor main body 31 to a height H that allows the slide arches 21d and 21d to be inserted, the packaging machine 20 alone can only handle either inner banding or outer banding. By using the packaging machine 20, which has a simple structure, it was possible to perform banding on the outside when the conveyor main body 31 is going up, and on the inside when it is going down.

A rotating body 61, a turning means such as a motor for rotating the rotating body 61, and a lifting mechanism for the rotating body that raises and lowers the rotating body 61 are placed on the base 32 of the conveyor 30, and a rotating body 61 is mounted on the base 32 of the conveyor 30. 31 is formed with a rotary body passage 36 that allows the rotary body 61 to pass in the vertical direction, and when the rotary body 61 is raised by the rotary body elevating mechanism, the bottom surface of the rotary body 61 is in the lowered position. The upper surface of the conveyor body 31 is set to be in an upper position with respect to the upper surface of a certain conveyor body 31, and when the rotary body 61 is lowered by the rotary body lifting mechanism, the upper surface of the rotary body 61 is set to be in a position above the upper surface of the conveyor body 31 in the lowered position. By setting the position to be lower than the upper surface position and lower than the slide arch insertion recess 315 provided on the upper surface of the conveyor main body 31 in the raised position, when the conveyor main body 31 is lowered. By raising and rotating the rotating body 61 on which the object W to be packed is placed, the object W to be packed can be horizontally rotated together with the rotating body 61. Also, when the rotating body 61 is lowered, the conveyor body 31, the rotating body 61 can be placed at a lower position than the slide arch insertion recess 315, and therefore lower than the advanced slide arches 21d, 21d, and thereby the rotating body 61 can remove the band. Although it is configured such that a rotating body is provided on the conveyor 30 at the position where banding is performed, it is possible to prevent it from getting in the way when strapping, and to perform both internal and external strapping on the item W to be packed. I was able to do that.

As a result, in the pallet packing device 10 of the present invention, banding by the packing machine 20 and rotation of the object W to be packed in the horizontal direction by the rotating body 61 are performed at the same position without moving the object W to be packed. This made it possible to complete the packaging work in a short time and to downsize the entire device.

In particular, the rotating body 61 is formed into a cross shape in plan view, and the conveyor main body 31 is formed by four conveyor units 31a to 31d arranged in a grid pattern in plan view, and between the four conveyor units 31a to 31d. In the configuration in which the rotating body passage 36 is formed at intervals, even if the rotating body passage 36 is formed, the missing portion of the rollers on the conveyor body 31 can be minimized, and as a result, the conveyance function of the conveyor can be improved. It was possible to provide a mechanism for rotating the packaged items W on the conveyor without damaging them.

In a configuration in which the conveyor main body lifting mechanism 50 includes a scissor link mechanism 52 that connects the base 32 and the conveyor main body 31 (in the illustrated embodiment, the lifting frame 51 on which the conveyor main body 31 is placed), the conveyor An elevating mechanism capable of elevating and lowering the main body 31 in a stable posture could be realized with a relatively simple configuration.

By providing the packing machine 20 with a press means 24 that presses the articles on the pallet 90 from above downward during packing, pallet packing can be performed with the articles in close contact with each other. We were able to pack the items in a way that would prevent them from collapsing.

In a configuration including a locking mechanism 70 for locking the conveyor body 31 in the raised position and a lock release mechanism 80, it is preferable to avoid accidental lowering of the conveyor body 31, especially in a configuration equipped with the above-mentioned press means 24, lowering during pressing. could be prevented.

The locking mechanism is constituted by an over-center linkage mechanism 71 that connects the base 32 and the conveyor body 31 (in the illustrated example, the lifting frame 51 on which the conveyor body 31 is placed), which has a simple structure. Not only was it possible to adopt a locking mechanism 70 that functions reliably, but the pressure during pressing by the pressing means 24 is received by the locking mechanism 70 provided separately from the conveyor main body lifting mechanism 50, so that the pressing means 24, it was possible to prevent a large load from being applied to the configuration of the air cylinder 53 provided for raising and lowering the conveyor body 31, the pneumatic circuit, etc.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a packaging line equipped with a pallet packaging device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the pallet packing apparatus of the present invention as seen from the direction indicated by the line II-II in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a conveyor of the pallet packing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the conveyor with the conveyor body removed. These are operation explanatory diagrams of the conveyor, in which (A) is a state in which both the conveyor body and the rotating body are lowered, (B) is a state in which the conveyor body is lowered and the rotating body is raised, and (C) is a state in which the rotating body is lowered. The state in which the conveyor body is raised while being lowered. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the conveyor in a state where the rotating body is raised and rotated by about 45 degrees. An explanatory diagram (front view) of the locking mechanism, in which (A) shows when the conveyor body is lowered, and (B) shows when the conveyor body is raised. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram (perspective view) of the locking mechanism, in which (A) shows when the conveyor body is lowered, and (B) shows when the conveyor body is raised. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a packing method using the pallet packing apparatus of the present invention. An explanatory diagram of a conventional pallet packing machine (corresponding to FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1). An explanatory diagram of a conventional pallet packing device (corresponding to FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1). An explanatory diagram of how to attach the inner and outer bands to the packaged items in a cross-shaped pattern.

Hereinafter, a pallet packing apparatus of the present invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Overall structure of pallet packing equipment]
Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 is a pallet packing apparatus of the present invention, and this pallet packing apparatus 10 uses a pallet 90 and articles loaded on the pallet 90 as objects W to be packed, and It is provided with a packing machine 20 for banding and packing together with a pallet 90, and a conveyor 30 for conveying the objects W to be packed to a packing position by the packing machine 20.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of a packaging line 1 equipped with the above-mentioned pallet packing machine 10 of the present invention. A carry-in conveyor 30' for carrying the objects W to be packed into the packing device 10, and a carry-out conveyor 30'' for carrying out the objects W to be packed that have been wrapped by banding in the pallet packing machine 10 are provided. In addition, a top plate supply device 40 is provided which places a top plate on the top of the object W to be packed before it is introduced into the pallet packing device 10 to prevent the band B from digging into it.

[Packing machine]
As shown in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned packing machine 20, which is a component of the pallet packing apparatus 10 of the present invention, includes a rectangular band guide arch 21 that guides a band B around the outer periphery of an object W to be packed, and a band guide Packing in which the band B is introduced into the arch 21, the introduced band is pulled back and dropped to the inner peripheral side of the band guide arch 21, and is wound around the outer periphery of the object W to be packed and tightened, and the ends of the band are welded and cut. A unit 22 is provided.

Of these, the band guide arch 21 has a structure in which an opening (not shown) of a U-shaped channel material that opens inward is closed by a swingable flap (not shown), and the band guide By passing the band B through the arch 21, the band B can be placed around the outer periphery of the item W to be packed. Also, when the loop formed by the band B is narrowed by pulling back the band B, the above-mentioned When the flap is folded down, the band B falls off to the inner periphery of the band guide arch 21 and can be wound around the outer periphery of the article W placed inside the band guide arch 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, vertical arches 21a and 21b forming the sides of this band guide arch 21 and horizontal arches 21c forming the upper side are arranged in a gate shape so as to straddle the top of the conveyor 30. The lower side of the guide arch 21 is constituted by slide arches 21d, 21d that can move forward and backward, and the lower ends of the vertical arches 21a, 21b can be opened and closed by moving the slide arches 21d, 21d back and forth. There is.

In the illustrated embodiment, the aforementioned slide arches 21d, 21d are divided into two left and right, and in the position where the slide arches 21d on the right side of the paper and the slide arches 21d on the left side of the paper are both retracted, the object W to be packed is transported to the vertical arches 21a, 21b. However, the lower ends of the vertical arches 21a and 21b can be connected by moving the slide arches 21a and 21b forward together and connecting the tips of both slide arches.

However, depending on the scale of the pallet packing apparatus 10, the slide arches 21d, 21d may be configured as a single slide arch that is not divided into two parts.

In the illustrated embodiment, the packing machine 20 includes a gate-shaped machine frame 23 to which a band guide arch 21 is attached, and is provided with a press means 24 that moves up and down within this machine frame 23. The structure is such that the object to be packed W can be packed while being pressed from above to below by the lowering of the container.

In this embodiment, the horizontal arch 21c forming the upper side of the band guide arch 21 described above can be moved up and down within the machine frame 23 together with the press means 24 while maintaining communication with the vertical arches 21a and 21b. It is composed of

Note that the reference numeral 22 in FIG. 2 is a packing unit that wraps the band B around the outer periphery of the object W to be packed, and when the aforementioned slide arches 21d and 21d move forward to connect the lower ends of the vertical arches 21a and 21b. , the band B pulled out from the band reel 25 is sent out into the band guide arch 21, the tip of the band B that has gone around the band guide arch 21 and returned to the packing unit 22 is gripped, and the band B that has been sent out is pulled back.

As a result, the loop of the band B introduced into the band guide arch 21 and arranged in a rectangular loop shape around the object W to be packed is narrowed, and the band B is moved from the band guide arch 21 to the inner peripheral side thereof. By falling off, the band B can be wrapped and tightened around the outer periphery of the object W placed inside the band guide arch 21.

When pulling back the band B, the packing unit 22 advances to a position where it comes into contact with the side surface of the object W to be packed while pulling back the band, and at this position, the end of the band B wound around the object W to be packed is cut. By performing welding, the band B can be wound around the object W without slack.

〔Conveyor〕
The above-mentioned conveyor 30, which transports the objects W to be packed to the position where packing is performed by the packing machine 20, has a transport direction that is perpendicular to the forward and backward movement direction of the above-mentioned slide arches 21d and 21d, as shown in FIG. 3, for example. The conveyor body 31 is comprised of a roller conveyor, a base 32 on which the conveyor body 31 is placed, and a conveyor body lifting mechanism 50 that raises and lowers the conveyor body 31 on the base 32.

As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyor main body 31 described above is composed of conveyor units 31a to 31d, which are roller conveyors in which a plurality of rollers 312 are rotatably attached between two guide rails 311, 311. In the embodiment, the four conveyor units 31a to 31d are arranged at predetermined intervals so as to form a lattice shape in plan view, and the cross-shaped intervals formed between the conveyor units 31a to 31d are used as described below. A rotating body passage 36 is formed through which the rotating body 61 passes.

Each of the conveyor units 31a to 31d constituting the conveyor body 31 is provided with a notch 313 in the guide rail 311 at a position that interferes with the slide arches 21d, 21d that move forward when the conveyor body 31 rises. The gap 314 between the rollers 312, 312 is widened at a position corresponding to the formation position of the roller 313, and the slide arches 21d, 21d are formed on the upper surface of the conveyor main body 31 by this notch 313 and the widened gap 314 between the rollers. A slide arch insertion recess 315 into which the slide arch can be inserted is formed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the base 32 on which the conveyor main body 31 is placed has a rectangular frame shape in plan view, and the conveyor main body 31 is placed on the base 32 via the lifting frame 51. is installed.

The side surface of this base 32 and the side surface of the elevating frame 51 are connected by a scissor link mechanism 52, and on the base 32 are four air cylinders 53 (not shown in FIG. 4) that push up the elevating frame 51. The conveyor body 31 is placed on the lifting frame 51 on which the conveyor main body 31 is placed, and is configured such that it can move up and down on the base 32 by introducing operating air into the air cylinder 53. There is.

Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the elevator frame 51, the scissor link mechanism 52, and the air cylinder 53 form a conveyor body lifting mechanism 50 that raises and lowers the conveyor body 31 on the base 32.

The lowering position of the conveyor body 31 by the conveyor body lifting mechanism 50 is as shown in FIG. The slide arch 117 is set at a height H that allows insertion and moves forward and backward into the fork insertion opening (91) in the known pallet packing machine 100 described with reference to FIGS. Regarding the structure, as shown in FIG. 5(C), when the conveyor main body 31 is raised, a slide arch insertion recess 315 is inserted into the bottom side of the pallet 90 provided on the upper surface of the conveyor main body 31, and the slide arch 21d is moved forward. 21d is set to a height H that allows insertion.

Therefore, by moving the slide arches 21d, 21d forward when the conveyor main body 31 is lowered, it is possible to insert the slide arches 21d, 21d into the insertion opening 91 of the pallet 90 and perform band hooking (inner hooking). When the slide arches 21d, 21d are advanced when the conveyor main body 31 is raised, the slide arches 21d, 21d are inserted into the slide arch insertion recess 315 provided on the upper surface of the conveyor main body 31, so that the band can be hung (outside). It is configured.

〔Rotating body〕
Further, on the base 32 of the conveyor 30 described above, there is a rotating body 61 that rises and rotates with the object W placed thereon, a turning means (motor 63) that rotates the rotating body, and a rotating body 61 that rotates the rotating body, and A rotating body lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the rotating body 61 is installed.

In this embodiment, the rotary body 61 is formed into a cross shape in plan view, and a rotary body passage 36 which is cross-shaped in plan view is formed by the intervals provided between the conveyor units 31a to 31d constituting the conveyor main body 31. The rotating body 61 is configured to be able to pass through the conveyor main body 31 in the vertical direction through the conveyor body 31.

A motor 63 for horizontally rotating the rotating body 61 is provided on the bottom side of the rotating body 61 as described above, and a motor stand 64 on which the motor 63 is mounted is mounted on the base 32. An elevating mechanism for the rotating body is constructed in which the motor 63 and the rotating body 61 are raised and lowered together with the motor stand 64 by raising and lowering them using four air cylinders 62 (only one is shown in FIG. 6) provided in the rotary body.

As shown in FIG. 5(B), when the rotating body 61 is raised and lowered by this rotating body lifting mechanism, the bottom surface of the rotating body 61 is raised to a higher level than the top surface of the conveyor main body 31 in the lowered position. The rotating body 61 can be horizontally rotated on the conveyor main body 31 with the object to be packed W placed thereon. There is.

Further, when the rotating body 61 is lowered, the upper surface of the rotating body 61 is at a position lower than the upper surface of the conveyor main body 31 in the lowered position as shown in FIG. 5(A), and as shown in FIG. 5(C). As shown, it is configured to be at a lower position than the slide arch insertion recess 315 provided in the conveyor main body 31 in the raised position.

In this way, when the conveyor body 31 is lowered, the upper surface of the rotary body 61 is at a lower position than the upper surface of the conveyor body 31, so that when the object W to be packed is conveyed by the rollers 312 provided on the conveyor body 31, the rotary body 61 can smoothly convey the objects W to be packed without contacting the bottom surface of the pallet 90, and when the conveyor main body 31 is rising, the top surface of the rotating body 61 is at a position lower than the slide arch insertion recess 315. This prevents the rotating body 61 from interfering with the insertion of the slide arches 21d and 21d into the slide arch insertion recess 315, and prevents the rotating body 61 from interposing between the slide arches 21d and the bottom surface of the pallet 90. , the rotating body 61 does not get in the way when the band B is hung on the outside.

[Lock mechanism]
The aforementioned conveyor 30 is further provided with a locking mechanism 70 that locks the conveyor body 31 in the raised position, and a lock release mechanism 80 that unlocks the locking mechanism 70. When performing this, even if the object to be packed W is pressed by the press means 24 while the conveyor body 31 is raised, the conveyor body 31 will be lowered or a large load will be placed on the conveyor body lifting mechanism 50. We are trying to prevent it.

An example of the structure of this locking mechanism is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

In this embodiment, the locking mechanism 70 described above includes an overcenter linkage mechanism 71 that connects the base 32 and the lifting frame 51, and a connection point between the links in this overcenter linkage mechanism 71 that exceeds the center position. It is configured by a biasing means 72 (a gas spring in this embodiment) that biases toward the position (in FIG. 7, the left side of the dashed line indicating the center position), and the lock release mechanism 80 is When the lock is released, the connection point of the link is configured by a fluid cylinder (air cylinder) that moves the connection point of the link to the lowered position side with respect to the center position (in FIG. 7, to the right side of the paper with respect to the dashed line indicating the center position).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a connecting protrusion 74 protrudingly provided on a base plate 73, a first link 711 whose one end 711a side is pivotally supported by the connecting protrusion 74, A second link 712 whose intermediate position is pivotally supported on the other end 711b side of the link 711 and whose other end 712b side is pivotally attached to the elevating frame 51, and a regulation plate 713 attached to the side surface of the first link 711 are provided. , an overcenter linkage mechanism 71 that changes its posture between a lowered position shown in FIGS. 7(A) and 8(A) and an elevated position shown in FIGS. 7(B) and 8(B), and this overcenter linkage The locking mechanism 70 is formed by a biasing means 72, which in this embodiment is a gas spring, which constantly biases the mechanism 71 in the direction of the raised position.

When the lock by the locking mechanism 70 is released, the unlocking means operates a fluid cylinder (air cylinder in the embodiment) that pulls the connection point of the over-center linkage mechanism 71 toward the lowered position by introducing operating pressure to the lower position until the connection point of the over-center linkage mechanism 71 exceeds the center position. It is equipped as 80.

That is, in the illustrated configuration, when the conveyor main body 31 rises, as the lifting frame 51 rises, the other end 712b of the second link 712 connected thereto is pulled up, and the pressure from the gas spring 72 causes the first The link 711 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing of FIG. 7A around the connection point, and the second link 712 rotates clockwise until one end 712a of the second link 712 collides with the regulation plate 713 and stops. and is locked in the raised position shown in FIG. 7(B).

The position where the one end 712a side of the second link 712 collides with the regulation plate 713 and stops rotating is the point where the connection point between the first link 711 and the second link 712 is the pivot point on the one end 711a side of the first link 711. , by setting the second link 712 to a position slightly beyond the center position connecting the shaft attachment points on the other end 712b side (see the one-dot chain line in FIG. 7(B)) (over-center). The over-center linkage mechanism 71 does not fold and remains in an expanded state even when the weight of the object W placed on the conveyor body 31 or the downward pressing force from the press means 24 is applied. By maintaining this, the conveyor body 31 is locked in the raised position.

On the other hand, when the conveyor main body 31 is lowered, the compressed air in the air cylinder 53 constituting the conveyor main body lifting mechanism 50 is released, and the first link 711 and the second link are moved by the air cylinder 80 which is a lock release mechanism. By pulling the over-center linkage mechanism 71 so that the connection point 712 moves beyond the center position (see the dashed line in FIG. 7(B)) to the lowering position (on the right side of the paper), Due to the weight of the frame 51, the object to be packed W, etc., the over-center linkage mechanism 71 is bent to the lowered position against the biasing force of the gas spring 72.

In this way, by being able to fix the conveyor body 31 in the raised position, even if the press means 24 presses the conveyor body 31 while it is raised, the conveyor body 31 will not be unintentionally moved. It is possible to prevent the conveyor body from falling downward, and it is also possible to prevent a large load from being applied to the conveyor main body elevating mechanism 50.

[Effect, etc.]
The operations of each part described above can be configured to be automatically started and stopped using, for example, a detection signal from a sensor that detects the conveyance position of the object W to be packed as a trigger.

When an object W to be packed is carried in from the carry-in position to the packing line 1 shown in FIG. After the top plate is placed in front of the plate supply device 40, it is transported to the pallet packing device 10 of the present invention.

The conveyor 30 of the pallet packing apparatus 10 of the present invention is provided with the conveyor body lifting mechanism 50 that lifts and lowers the conveyor body 31 as described above. , the conveyor main body 31 is in a lowered state, and the height of the conveyor 30 is made to match that of the carry-in conveyor 30' and the carry-out conveyor 30'' [see FIG. 9(A)].

When the object W to be packed is conveyed onto the conveyor 30 of the pallet packing apparatus 10 of the present invention and reaches the packing position by the packing machine 20, the conveyor 30 stops conveying the object W and slides the The arches 21d, 21d start moving forward and are inserted into the fork insertion opening 91 provided on the side surface of the pallet 90.

Further, the press means 24 provided on the machine frame 23 starts to descend and presses the upper surface of the object W to be packed downward.

In this state, the packing unit 22 supplies the band B to the band guide arch 21, and when it grasps the tip of the band B that has passed through the band guide arch 21 and made a full circle, it starts pulling back the band B, and thereby, The band B that has fallen off from the band guide arch 21 to the inner circumference side is wound around the object to be packed W placed inside the band guide arch, and the pallet 90 is attached to the object to be packed W by cutting and welding the end of the band. Inner hooking, which is band hooking, is performed through the fork insertion port 91 [see FIG. 9(B)].

This inner hooking of the band B is carried out through each of the two fork insertion holes 91 formed on the side surface of the pallet 90, so that the inner hook of the band B is placed in two places for one object W to be packed. Multiplication is performed (see FIG. 12).

In this way, when the band B is internally hooked, the press means 24 rises and the pressing force applied to the object W to be packed is removed, and the slide arches 21d, 21d retreat and the pallet 90 The slide arches 21d, 21d are removed from the fork insertion port 91 of the fork.

In the configuration of the pallet packing device 10 of the present invention, which includes the rotating body 61, after the press means 24 is raised and the slide arches 21d, 21d are retreated, the rotating body is raised and lowered while the conveyor main body 31 is maintained in the lowered position. When the mechanism raises the rotating body 61, the rotating body 61 housed in the rotating body passage 36 rises to a position higher than the upper surface of the conveyor body 31 [see FIGS. 5(B) and 6], Lift up the object W placed on the conveyor body 31 [see FIG. 9(C)].

In this state, the rotating body 61 is rotated horizontally by the motor 63, thereby rotating the object W placed on the rotating body 61 by 90 degrees in the horizontal direction [see FIG. 9(D)].

Thereafter, the lift frame 51 is raised by the conveyor body lift mechanism 50, and the conveyor body 31 placed on the lift frame 51 is raised to a predetermined raised position [FIG. 9(E)]. is lowered and accommodated in the rotating body passage 36 [see FIG. 9(F)].

In this way, when the rotary body 61 is lowered with the conveyor body 31 raised, the rotary body 61 moves within the rotary body passage 36 provided in the conveyor body 31, and the upper surface of the rotary body 61 becomes the conveyor body. It is arranged at a position lower than the slide arch insertion recess 315 provided on the upper surface of the main body 31 [see FIG. 5(C)].

Further, as the conveyor main body 31 rises, the over-center linkage mechanism 71, in which the other end 712b of the second link 712 is connected to the elevating frame 51 on which the conveyor main body 31 is mounted, is moved. It transforms from the lowered position shown in (A) to the raised position shown in FIGS. 7(B) and 8(B).

As a result, when a downward force is applied to the over-center linkage mechanism 71, the second link 712 attempts to rotate clockwise around the connection point in FIG. 7(B); is regulated by one end 712a of the second link 712 abutting against the regulating plate 713, so that the elevating frame 51, and therefore the conveyor main body 31, are locked in the raised position without descending.

In this way, the conveyor main body 31 rises and is locked in the raised position by the locking mechanism 70, and when the rotating body 61 finishes lowering, the slide arches 21d, 21d move forward to lock the upper surface of the conveyor main body 31. It is inserted into the slide arch insertion recess 315.

At this time, since the aforementioned rotating body 61 is arranged at a lower position than the slide arch insertion recess 315, the slide arches 21d, 21d can be inserted into the slide arch insertion recess 315, and the slide arches 21d, 21d can be inserted into the slide arch insertion recess 315. The rotating body 61 does not prevent the dropped band from being wound around the bottom surface of the pallet 90.

In this manner, after the slide arches 21d, 21d are inserted into the slide arch insertion recess 315, the upper surface of the object W to be packed is pressed by the lowering of the press means 24.

In this way, even if a downward force is applied to the object W to be packed, the load is supported by the locking mechanism 70, so that the air cylinder 53 etc. that constitute the conveyor main body lifting mechanism 50 is not affected. On the other hand, a large burden is prevented.

[ See FIG. 9(F)].

When such external hooking is performed in two places and the cross-shaped banding on the object to be packed W is completed as shown in FIG. It is pulled out from the insertion recess 315.

Thereafter, the exhaust valve of the air cylinder that constitutes the conveyor body lifting mechanism 50 is opened, and the air cylinder 80, which is a lock release mechanism, pulls the over-center linkage mechanism 71 toward the lowered position until the connection point exceeds the center position. , the lock by the locking mechanism 70 is released, and the conveyor main body 31 descends to a predetermined lowering position due to its own weight, the weight of the lifting frame 51, and the weight of the object W to be packed (see FIG. 9(G)). ].

In this way, after the conveyor main body 31 has finished descending, the conveyor 30 resumes transporting the items W to be packed, and the items W to be packed, which have been banded in a cross-shaped pattern, are received by the unloading conveyor 30''. It is handed over and carried out [see Figure 9 (H)].

In the above explanation, the pallet packing apparatus 10 of the present invention was explained in the case where the inner and outer bands are wound in a cross-shaped pattern. It may be used for packaging in which only one of the inner and outer hooks is applied to the W, and the outer and inner hooks can be applied to the W to be packed without horizontally rotating the W to be packed. It may also be used for packaging performed on the same surface.

As described above, in the pallet packing apparatus 10 of the present invention, by devising the configuration on the conveyor 30 side, a simple packing machine that can only handle either inner banding or outer banding can be achieved. By using a packaging machine having a similar structure, it was possible to perform banding on the outside when the conveyor body 31 was rising, and on the inside when it was descending.

In addition, with the configuration of the present invention, by making it possible to perform the banding on the object W to be packed and the horizontal rotation of the object W to be packed at the same position, the inner and outer banding can be crossed. Even if the packing is carried out in a cross-shaped pattern in the direction of the packing, the time required for packing can be shortened as much as possible, and the device can be made smaller.

1 Packing line 10 Pallet packing device 20 Packing machine 21 Band guide arches 21a, 21b Vertical arch 21c Horizontal arch 21d Slide arch 22 Packing unit 23 Machine frame 24 Press means 25 Band reel 30 Conveyor 30' Carrying in conveyor 30'' Carrying out comper 31 Conveyor main body 31a to 31d (roller) conveyor unit 311 Guide rail 312 Roller 313 Notch 314 Expanded interval between rollers 315 Slide arch insertion recess 32 Base 36 Rotating body passage 40 Top plate supply device 50 Conveyor main body lifting mechanism 51 Lifting frame 52 Scissor link mechanism 53 Air cylinder 61 Rotating body 62 Air cylinder 63 Motor 64 Motor stand 70 Lock mechanism 71 Over center linkage mechanism 711 First link 711a One end (of the first link)
711b Other end (of the first link)
712 Second link 712a One end (of the second link)
712b Other end (of the second link)
713 Regulation plate 72 Biasing means (gas spring)
73 Base plate 74 Connecting protrusion 80 Lock release mechanism (air cylinder)
90 Pallet 91 Fork insertion port 100 Packing machine 110 Control unit 112 Conveying device (conveyor)
113 Pallet 114, 115 Left and right arches 117 Slide arch 118 Fixed arch 121 Turntable 124 Rotating arch 130 Upper arch 140 Machine frame W Item to be packed B Band H Height at which slide arch can be inserted

Claims (6)

A packing machine that drops a band guided by a rectangular frame-shaped band guide arch toward the inner circumference of the band guide arch, and wraps the band around the outer circumference of an object placed inside the band guide arch for packaging. , a conveyor for transporting objects to be packed consisting of a pallet having a fork insertion opening formed on the side surface and articles loaded on the pallet to a packing position of the packing machine; In a pallet packing device that bands and packs together with the pallet,
The lower side of the band guide arch of the packing machine is formed by a slide arch, and the slide arch is moved between a forward position where the lower ends of the vertical arches forming the sides of the band guide arch are connected and a lower side of the vertical arches that are connected between the lower ends of the vertical arches. It is possible to move forward and backward in the horizontal direction between the open and backward positions, and
The conveyor includes a conveyor body whose conveyance direction is perpendicular to the forward and backward movement direction of the slide arch, a base on which the conveyor body is placed, and a conveyor body lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the conveyor body on the base. Consisting of
When the conveyor body is lowered by the conveyor body lifting mechanism, the conveyor body is lowered so that the fork insertion opening of the pallet placed on the conveyor body is at a height that allows insertion of the advanced slide arch. Along with setting the position,
When the conveyor body is raised by the conveyor body lifting mechanism, the raised position of the conveyor body is set so that the slide arch insertion recess provided on the upper surface of the conveyor body has a height that allows the advanced slide arch to be inserted. ，
A rotating body for placing and rotating the object to be packed, a turning means for rotating the rotating body, and a lifting mechanism for the rotating body for raising and lowering the rotating body are placed on the base of the conveyor. and forming a rotary body passage in the conveyor body that vertically penetrates the conveyor body and allows the rotary body to pass therethrough;
When the rotating body is raised by the rotating body lifting mechanism, the rising position of the rotating body is set so that the bottom surface of the rotating body is located above the top surface of the conveyor body in the lowered position, and
When the rotating body is lowered by the rotating body lifting mechanism, the top surface of the rotating body is lower than the top surface of the conveyor body in the lowered position, and the slide arch of the conveyor body in the raised position is inserted. A pallet packing device, characterized in that the lowering position of the rotating body is set to be lower than the recess . The rotating body is formed into a cross shape in plan view, and the conveyor body is formed by four conveyor units arranged in a grid pattern in plan view, and the rotating body passage is formed in an interval between the four conveyor units. The pallet packing device according to claim 1 , characterized in that: 3. The pallet packing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyor body lifting mechanism includes a scissor link mechanism that connects the base and the conveyor body. 4. The pallet packing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the packing machine is provided with a press means for pressing the articles on the pallet from above to below during packing. Any one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that the conveyor is provided with a locking mechanism for locking the conveyor main body in a raised position, and a lock release mechanism for releasing the lock by the locking mechanism when the conveyor main body is lowered. or the pallet packing device described in item 1. 6. The pallet packing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the locking mechanism is constituted by an over-center linkage mechanism that connects the base and the conveyor body.

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