JP7376241B2 - Conveyor and gangboard equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a span plate device disposed between an upstream conveyor and a downstream conveyor that convey containers filled with drinking water, for example.

When conveying containers such as bottles and cans over long distances, a plurality of conveyors are arranged in series in the conveying direction to transfer the containers from the upstream conveyor to the downstream conveyor. As disclosed in Patent Document 1, a connecting portion between an upstream conveyor and a downstream conveyor is sometimes provided with a flat spanning plate for transferring containers between the conveyors.

The gangplank of Patent Document 1 has a substantially inverted triangular cross-sectional shape and is supported by a support plate made of a spring plate, so even if a large number of parallel containers ride on the gangplank at the same time, the gangplank does not bend downward. and lateral warping is prevented. Therefore, a large number of containers conveyed in parallel on the multi-row conveyor can be smoothly transferred from the upstream conveyor to the downstream conveyor without overturning them.

JP2014-94822A

A conveyor provided with a spanning board may have a widthwise dimension of, for example, as much as 2 m. The width direction refers to a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the container is transported. Although the span plate also has a total length comparable to the widthwise dimension of the conveyor, it is not easy to ensure the dimensional accuracy of the span plate over this entire length. Normally, it is recommended that the span plate be set at the same height as the container conveyance surface on the conveyor, or just a small amount below the conveyance surface, but due to dimensional errors, in reality, some parts may be higher than the conveyance surface. There are also some low points. If there is a portion where the spanning plate is higher than the conveying surface, that is, the reference surface, containers may remain as described below.

Beverage production lines equipped with spanning plates sometimes produce beverage products by filling large-sized containers with beverages, and other times produce beverage products by filling beverages into small-sized containers. Large dimensions mean that the height and diameter or width are large, and small dimensions mean that the height and diameter or width are small. Note that if the container is cylindrical, the diameter is applied, and if the container is rectangular, the width is applied.

Containers that are smaller in diameter or width than the dimensions of the spanning plate in the conveying direction may ride on a portion of the spanning plate that is higher than the reference surface, and may remain on the spanning plate without being transferred to the downstream conveyor. In particular, the last container among the plurality of containers being transported tends to remain on the spanning board. In other words, the containers located before the last one receive the conveying force from the downstream conveyor via the following containers, so even if they run onto the spanning board, they will be pushed by the upstream conveyor. On the other hand, if the last container rides on the spanning board, it cannot receive the conveying force, so it remains on the spanning board. Also, if the spanning board is located high, the vehicle may hit the spanning board and be unable to pass through it.

If the containers remaining on the spanning board are left as they are, when different beverages are manufactured on the same production line, there is a risk that the containers filled with different beverages will be mixed in as foreign matter. Therefore, workers on the production line remove the remaining containers, but this process reduces production efficiency.

In light of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a conveyance device equipped with a spanning plate through which small-sized containers can pass without remaining.

The conveying device of the present invention includes an upstream conveyor that conveys articles, a downstream conveyor that conveys articles, and a span plate device provided between the upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor. The spanning board device according to the present invention includes a spanning board for transferring articles conveyed from an upstream conveyor to a downstream side, and an elevating mechanism for moving the spanning board up and down.

The elevating mechanism in the present invention preferably repeats the operation of lowering the transfer surface of the spanning plate from the first position to the second position, and then raising it from the second position to the first position.
Preferably, the second position is such that the delivery surface is below the article conveyance surface defined by the upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor.
The article in the present invention can be subjected to a conveying force by the downstream conveyor when the transfer surface is in the second position.

The lifting mechanism in the present invention preferably moves up and down while the upstream conveyor is being driven.
The elevating and lowering mechanism in the present invention can repeat the operation over the period of delivering the article to the downstream side, or can repeat the operation only for a part of the period of delivering the article to the downstream side.

The elevating mechanism in the present invention can repeat its operation by the driving force of the upstream conveyor or the downstream conveyor.

It is preferable that the elevating mechanism in the present invention is capable of adjusting the amount of elevating and lowering the span plate.

The present invention provides a spanning board that includes a spanning board for transferring articles conveyed from an upstream side to a downstream side, a support that supports the spanning board, and an elevating mechanism that raises and lowers the spanning board via the support. We also provide equipment.

The elevating mechanism in the present invention preferably repeats the operation of lowering the span plate from the first position to the second position, and then raising it from the second position to the first position.
Further, the elevating and lowering mechanism in the present invention can repeat the operation over the period of delivering the article to the downstream side, or repeat the operation only for a part of the period of delivering the article to the downstream side.
Moreover, the elevating mechanism in the present invention can be repeatedly operated by a drive source for transporting articles.

According to the present invention, it is assumed that the last article rides on the transfer surface of the spanning board. However, when the spanning board is lowered, the articles that have ridden on the transfer surface can receive a conveying force from one or both of the upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor. Therefore, the last article is prevented from remaining on the spanning plate and is delivered to the downstream conveyor. Therefore, the work of removing the remaining items by the worker can be omitted.

1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the conveyance device in FIG. 1; The main parts of the spanning board device in this embodiment are shown, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a side view. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating how a container with a small diameter or width rides on the spanning board and remains there. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how a container with a large diameter or width is delivered to a downstream conveyor without riding on a spanning plate. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating how the container is delivered to the downstream conveyor without remaining even if it rides on the spanning board according to the present embodiment. The movement of the spanning board in this embodiment is shown, (a-1) and (a-2) show patterns in which the delivery surface moves up and down between above and below the conveyance surface, (b-1) and (b- 2) shows a pattern in which the delivery surface moves up and down below the conveyance surface. It is a figure which shows the method of adjusting the lifting amount in the lifting mechanism in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the form which has the drive source of the raising/lowering mechanism in this embodiment separately independently of a conveyor. It is a figure which shows the modification of the spanning board in this embodiment.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The conveying device 1 according to this embodiment includes a spanning board 11 that moves up and down in the vertical direction V, as shown in FIG. Even if the container 100 rides on the spanning board 11, the container 100 can come into contact with the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40 by lowering the spanning board 11. As a result, a conveying force is applied to the container 100, and the container 100 can be transferred from the spanning plate 11 to the downstream conveyor 40, so that the container 100 can be prevented from remaining. The configuration, operation, and effects of the conveyance device 1 will be explained below in order.
In the present embodiment, a container 100 filled with a beverage will be described as an example of an article, but the conveying device 1 of the present embodiment does not have a unique configuration with respect to the container 100, and may be used for articles other than the container 100. It is clear from the following explanation that the method can be widely applied to the following.

[Components of conveyance device 1]
As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance device 1 includes an upstream conveyor 30, a downstream conveyor 40, and a span plate device 10 provided between the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40. The upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40 are connected in series in the conveying direction L, and the spanning plate device 10 is provided at the connection portion between the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, upstream U and downstream D in the transport device 1 are defined by the direction in which the container 100 is transported. However, upstream U and downstream D have relative meanings, for example, the upstream conveyor 30 is provided upstream U of the spanning board device 10, and the downstream conveyor 40 is provided downstream D of the spanning board device 10. .
Further, the conveyance direction L, the vertical direction V, and the width direction W are as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveyance direction L and the width direction W are perpendicular to each other, and the plane including the conveyance direction L and the width direction W is the horizontal direction. be parallel.

[Ganboard device 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the span plate device 10 is provided between the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40, and serves as a bridge between the containers 100 conveyed on the upstream conveyor 30 and transferred to the downstream conveyor 40. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the spanning board device 10 includes a spanning board 11 and a support body 13 that supports the spanning board 11 from below. The span plate 11 is arranged in a space between two opposing chains 32, 42. The support body 13 is disposed below the spanning plate 11 and between the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40. The support body 13 supports the spanning plate 11 at its upper end, while its lower end is supported by a swing lever 23 of a lifting mechanism 20, which will be described later. A means for suppressing the frictional force with the swing lever 23, such as a roller, can be provided at the lower end of the support body 13. The lower end of the support body 13 supported by the swing lever 23 of the lifting mechanism 20 functions as a point of action 26 due to the swing lever 23 functioning as a lever.

The span plate 11 is a member made of a metal material, such as stainless steel, having a rigidity that does not easily deform even when the container 100 is placed on it.
The spanning board 11 has an upper surface 11A that is flat, and the upper surface 11A is parallel to the horizontal direction. The upper surface 11A functions as a transfer surface for transferring the container 100 from the upstream conveyor 30 to the downstream conveyor 40. Therefore, in the following, the upper surface 11A will be referred to as the transfer surface 11A. Although the cross section of the span plate 11 has an inverted triangular shape, this is just an example.

Like the spanning plate 11, the support body 13 is a member made of a metal material, for example, stainless steel, and has a rigidity that does not easily deform even when the container 100 is placed on the spanning plate 11. In this embodiment, a guide 15 is provided to support the support body 13 from the front and rear directions so that the support body 13 does not undergo deformation such as bending in the front and rear direction. The guide 15 is provided to sandwich the support 13 from upstream U and downstream D. In order to suppress the frictional force with the support 13, it is preferable that the guide 15 take measures to suppress the frictional force, such as forming a film with a small friction coefficient on the surface that slides on the support 13, or providing rolling elements. .

[Lifting mechanism 20]
The spanning plate device 10 includes a lifting mechanism 20 that raises and lowers the spanning plate 11 and the support body 13. The elevating mechanism 20 uses an eccentric cam 21 and a swing lever 23 to move the spanning plate 11 and the support body 13 up and down. The elevating mechanism 20 includes an eccentric cam 21 and a swing lever 23 that swings in the vertical direction V by the eccentric cam 21.
The eccentric cam 21 is coaxially fixed to a sprocket 34 of the upstream conveyor 30 and rotates with the driving force of the upstream conveyor 30.
The swing lever 23 is provided with a fulcrum 25, a point of action 26, and a point of force 27 from the downstream side D, and functions as a lever. In the swing lever 23 in this embodiment, the force point 27 side receives an upward load by a mechanism not shown. At the fulcrum 25, the swing lever 23 is supported so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions. At the point of action 26, the swing lever 23 supports the support 13 in such a way that it can be relatively displaced. Further, at the force point 27, the swing lever 23 contacts the eccentric cam 21, and receives a load corresponding to the rotation angle of the eccentric cam 21 downward.

Since the elevating mechanism 20 has the above configuration, the swinging lever 23 swings as the eccentric cam 21 rotates while the upstream conveyor 30 is driven. As shown in FIG. 1(a), in the course of the rocking movement, when the force point 27 of the rocking lever 23 is at the highest position, the span plate 11 also reaches its highest position. Further, as shown in FIG. 1(b), in the course of the swinging movement, when the force point 27 of the swinging lever 23 is at the lowest position, the span plate 11 also reaches its lowest position. This highest position corresponds to the first position in the present invention, and the lowest position corresponds to the second position in the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 2(a), 2(b), 2(c), and 2(d), the spanning board 11 descends from the first position to the second position ((a)→(b)), It repeats the vertical motion of rising from the second position to the first position ((b)→(c)) and descending from the first position to the second position ((c)→(d)).
The elevating mechanism 20 is only one example of the present invention, and as will be described later, the span plate 11 can be raised and lowered using elements other than the cam and the swing lever. Further, even if a cam is used, a cam other than an eccentric cam can be used.

[Upstream conveyor 30 and downstream conveyor 40]
Next, the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40 will be explained.
Each of the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40 is constituted by, for example, a top plate chain conveyor, and carries a plurality of containers 100 in the width direction W and conveys them toward the downstream D.
At the ends of the downstream side D of the upstream conveyor 30 and the upstream side U of the downstream conveyor 40, a nose bar that slides on the chains 32, 42 and guides the chains 32, 42 can be provided. The upper surfaces of the chains 32 and 42 constitute a conveyance surface 30A of the upstream conveyor 30 and a conveyance surface 40A of the downstream conveyor 40, respectively.

The upstream conveyor 30 includes a drive source 33 that drives a chain 32 and a sprocket 34 fixed to the output shaft of the drive source 33, and the chain 32 is wound around the sprocket 34. Similarly, the downstream conveyor 40 includes a drive source 43 that drives a chain 42 and a sprocket 44 fixed to the output shaft of the drive source 43, and the chain 42 is wound around the sprocket 44. The upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40 are equipped with sprockets (not shown) around which the chains 32, 42 are wound around the sprockets 34 and 44, and provide necessary tension to the chains 32, 42. .

An eccentric cam 21 is fixed to the output shaft of a drive source 33 of the upstream conveyor 30. When the drive source 33 is rotationally driven to operate the upstream conveyor 30, the eccentric cam 21 rotates together with the sprocket 34. The eccentric cam 21 can be rotated while the upstream conveyor 30 is operating. For example, by providing a clutch between the output shaft 33A and the eccentric cam 21, the eccentric cam 21 can be rotated for an arbitrary period of time. You can also do it.
Although an example is shown in which the spanning board 11 is raised and lowered by the driving force of the upstream conveyor 30, the spanning board 11 can also be raised and lowered by the driving force of the downstream conveyor 40.

[Relationship between the delivery surface 11A and the conveyance surfaces 30A and 40A]
It is preferable that the transfer surface 11A of the transition plate 11 is set to match or be lower than the conveyance surface 30A of the upstream conveyor 30 and the conveyance surface 40A of the downstream conveyor 40. When set low, the difference between the transfer surface 11A and the transport surfaces 30A and 40A is several mm.

Here, when the spanning board 11, the support body 13, the upstream conveyor 30, and the downstream conveyor 40 are manufactured on an industrial production scale, dimensional errors occur in each of them. Additionally, errors may occur in the settings when these are assembled. In this case, even in one passing plate 11, there may be a portion of the transfer surface 11A located above the conveyance surfaces 30A and 40A. Thereby, there is a possibility that the container 100 remains transferred from the upstream conveyor 30 to the spanning plate 11 and cannot be transferred to the downstream conveyor 40. In particular, there is a risk that a container 100 having a small diameter or width and located at the rear end may remain on the spanning board 11.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a plurality of containers 100 are conveyed side by side, with adjacent containers 100 in contact with each other. Note that in FIG. 4, the container 100 is transported in the direction indicated by the white arrow.
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the container 100 rides on the spanning board 11, the container 100 cannot contact either the upstream conveyor 30 or the downstream conveyor 40. Therefore, this container 100 cannot receive conveying force from the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40. In particular, if the transfer surface 11A is higher than the transport surfaces 30A and 40A, this tendency becomes worse. The conveyance force refers to a load that is applied to the container 100 from upstream U toward downstream D and is sufficient to convey the container 100. However, if there is a subsequent container 100 that is upstream U of the container 100 that has climbed onto the spanning board 11 and is placed on the upstream conveyor 30, this subsequent container 100 receives a conveying force from the upstream conveyor 30. Therefore, the container 100 that has climbed onto the spanning board 11 is transferred from the spanning board 11 to the downstream conveyor 40 by receiving a conveying force from the container 100 that follows it.

However, as shown in FIG. 4(c), the last container 100, which is painted in gray, cannot receive the conveying force from the following containers 100, so it remains on the spanning board 11.
In order to avoid this container 100 from remaining, the spanning plate 11 should be arranged so that the transfer surface 11A of the spanning plate 11 is lower than the conveying surfaces 30A and 40A at any part, taking into account dimensional errors. . However, according to this workaround, there will be a portion where the difference in level between the conveyance surfaces 30A, 40A and the transfer surface 11A of the spanning plate 11 becomes large. When the container 100 passing through this part is transferred from the conveyance surface 30A, there is a risk of falling into this step and falling over, and when being transferred to the transfer surface 40A, there is a risk of hitting this step and overturning. be.

[Container 100 with large diameter or width]
Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 5(a), even if the container 100 with a large diameter or width runs over the span plate 11 to the point where their central axes coincide with each other, the container 100 will come into contact with the upstream conveyor 30 at the upstream side U. It contacts the downstream conveyor 40 at the downstream side D. Therefore, the container 100 having a large diameter or width escapes from the spanning plate 11 and is delivered to the downstream conveyor 40, as shown in FIG. 5(b).

[Elevating and lowering operation of gangboard 11]
In this embodiment, the spanning board 11 is raised and lowered. The effect of raising and lowering the span plate 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 6.
As shown in FIG. 6(a), it is assumed that the last container 100 has climbed onto the spanning board 11. Note that the process up to this point has been the same as in FIGS. 4(a) to 4(c) to reach FIG. 6(a). The transport surfaces 30A and 40A are flush with each other. This position of the span plate 11 is an example of the first position of the present invention. The container 100 is separated from both the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40, and remains on the spanning plate 11 as it is. The first position in the present invention has the meaning of a normal position where the span plate 11 is stationary without being raised or lowered. This normal position is either coincident with the transport surfaces 30A, 40A, or is several mm below the transport surfaces 30A, 40A.

According to this embodiment, the spanning board 11 is lowered as shown in FIG. 6(b). Then, the edge E1 on the upstream side U and the edge E2 on the downstream side D on the bottom surface of the container 100 come into contact with the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40, and the container 100 receives a conveying force from the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40. . In particular, since the distance between the chains 32 and 42 narrows downward from the conveyance surfaces 30A and 40A, the container 100 tends to come into contact with the chains 32 and 42 when the spanning plate 11 is lowered. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the spanning plate 11 that had been lowered starts to rise, so that the container 100 is lifted up. In this way, as shown in FIG. 6(d), the container 100 is delivered to the downstream conveyor 40 without remaining on the spanning board 11.

Here, an example has been described in which the container 100 rides on the spanning plate 11. However, if the transfer surface 11A of the spanning plate 11 is higher than the conveyance surfaces 30A and 40A, the container 100 hits the spanning plate 11 and the spanning plate 11 I can't even get on top of it. According to the conveyance device 1 equipped with the spanning plate 11 that moves up and down, even in such a case, by lowering the spanning plate 11, the containers 100 can be prevented from hitting the spanning plate 11, and the containers 100 can be passed through without difficulty. can.

[Specific example of range of elevation of gangplank 11]
As mentioned above, the transfer surface 11A of the spanning plate 11 is preferably aligned with or lower than the conveyance surfaces 30A, 40A. However, depending on the dimensional accuracy of the transition plate 11 that is actually manufactured, there may be a portion where the transfer surface 11A is higher than the conveyance surfaces 30A and 40A, as shown in FIG. 7(a-1). However, even in such a case, as the transition plate 11 is lowered, a portion is created where the transfer surface 11A is lower than the conveyance surfaces 30A and 40A, as shown in FIG. 7(a-2). By doing so, even if the container 100 is small in diameter or width, it is prevented from remaining on the spanning board 11 as the tail end in the transport direction L.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7(b-1), there may be a portion where the transfer surface 11A is lower than the transport surfaces 30A and 40A. In this case, as the transition plate 11 is lowered, the transfer surface 11A remains lower than the conveyance surfaces 30A and 40A, as shown in FIG. 7(b-2). By doing so, the container 100 having a small diameter or width is prevented from remaining on the spanning board 11 as the tail end in the transport direction L.

The position of the spanning plate 11 shown in FIG. 7(a-1) corresponds to the first position of the present invention, and the position of the spanning plate 11 shown in FIG. 7(a-2) corresponds to the second position of the present invention. corresponds to 7(a-1) and FIG. 7(a-2) are assumed to be a portion of the span plate 11 in the width direction W. Therefore, in other parts of the spanning plate 11, the transfer surface 11A may be flush with the conveyance surfaces 30A, 40A, or the transfer surface 11A may be below the conveyance surfaces 30A, 40A. That is, in the present invention, a plurality of first positions and a plurality of second positions may exist in one span plate 11 when viewed as an absolute value, but only one each exists when viewed as a range of elevation.

[Effects of conveyance device 1]
Next, the effects produced by the transport device 1 according to the present embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 will be described.
Assume that in the conveyance device 1, the containers 100 are placed on the conveyance surface 30A of the upstream conveyor 30 and conveyed, and the last container 100 rides on the transfer surface 11A of the spanning plate 11. However, even when the spanning plate 11 is lowered and the container 100 rides on the transfer surface 11A, it can receive a conveying force from one or both of the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40. Therefore, the last container 100 is prevented from remaining on the spanning board 11 and is delivered to the downstream conveyor 40. Therefore, the work of removing the remaining container 100 by the worker can be omitted.

In the conveyance device 1, the spanning plate 11 repeats an operation of lowering from a first position to a second position, and then rising to the first position after lowering to the second position. Here, the first position can be regarded as a normal position where the span plate 11 is placed at rest without moving up or down. That is, the main idea of the conveyance device 1 is to arrange the span plate 11 at a first position, which is a normal position, and then lower it to the first position. By doing so, the container 100 is brought into contact with one or both of the upstream conveyor 30 and the downstream conveyor 40, and the container 100 is subjected to a conveying force.

The elevating mechanism 20 according to this embodiment can repeatedly move the spanning plate 11 up and down using the driving force of the upstream conveyor 30. Therefore, there is no need to provide an independent power source for raising and lowering the span plate 11, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is possible to select the configurations mentioned in the above embodiments or to change them to other configurations as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is preferable that the amount of elevation of the spanning plate 11 of the spanning plate device 10 can be adjusted. This is because it is necessary to adjust the amount of elevation according to the size and shape of the container 100, and it is also necessary to adjust the amount of elevation and descent according to the deterioration of the spanning plate device 10 over time.
In the spanning board device 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. The amount of elevation can be adjusted. That is, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the distance from the fulcrum 25 to the point of effort 27 is L, and the distances from the fulcrum 25 to the point of action 26 are L1 and L2. However, L1>L2. In this case, the longer the distance L1 from the fulcrum 25 to the point of action 26, the greater the amount of elevation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the support body 13 is divided into an upper support body 13A and a lower support body 13B, and a bolt 14A is fixed to the upper end of the upper support body 13A, and a bolt is fixed to the lower end of the lower support body 13B. Fix 14B. Then, the bolts 14A and 14B are connected with a tall nut 14C. By rotating the high nut 14C, the position of the transfer surface 11A of the spanning plate 11 in the vertical direction V can be adjusted.
If a plurality of mechanisms shown in FIG. 8(b) are provided in the width direction W, the position of the delivery surface 11A in the width direction W of one spanning board 11 can be adjusted individually. The same applies to the mechanism shown in FIG. 8(c).

Further, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the support 13 is divided into an upper support 13A and a lower support 13B. The lower end of the upper support 13A and the upper end of the lower support 13B are connected by fastening means such as bolts and nuts. By making the hole through which the fastening means penetrates a long hole along the vertical direction V and adjusting the length of the overlapping portion of the lower end of the upper support 13A and the upper end of the lower support 13B, the vertical The position in direction V can be adjusted.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the elevating mechanism 20 repeatedly moves up and down by the driving force of the downstream conveyor 40, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the present invention allows providing a dedicated drive source independent of the driving force of the upstream conveyor 30 or the downstream conveyor 40.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9(a), the air cylinder 28 supports the support body 13 and allows the span plate 11 to be raised and lowered. In this embodiment, by adjusting the stroke of the piston of the air cylinder 28, the amount of elevation of the span plate 11 can be adjusted.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the support body 13 can also be directly supported by the eccentric cam 29. In this embodiment, the amount of elevation of the span plate 11 can be adjusted by moving the drive source that drives the eccentric cam 29 up and down.

Furthermore, the span plate 11 is not limited to the inverted triangular shape shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 10(a), it is possible to use an inverted trapezoid shape, or as shown in FIG. 10(b), an inverted triangular shape with a curved hypotenuse. Further, as shown in FIG. 10(c), the stepped shape may be inverted, or as shown in FIG. 10(d), a plurality of ribs may be provided on the lower surface of the flat plate member.

Further, in the present invention, the operation of the elevating mechanism 20 of the spanning plate 11 can be continuously repeated over a period of time when the container 100 is transferred from the upstream conveyor 30 to the downstream conveyor 40 to the downstream side D. . Further, in the present invention, the operation of the elevating mechanism 20 of the spanning plate 11 can be repeated only during a specific period when the container 100 is delivered to the downstream D. This is based on the fact that when a plurality of containers 100 are transported, the last container 100 is likely to be left behind. In other words, when the last container 100 approaches the spanning board 11, the operation by the lifting mechanism 20 can be started.

1 Transport device 10 Spread plate device 11 Spread plate 11A Upper surface, transfer surface 13 Support body 13A Upper support body 13B Lower support bodies 14A, 14B Bolt 14C Tall nut 15 Guide 20 Lifting mechanism 21, 29 Eccentric cam 23 Swing lever 25 Fulcrum 26 Point of action 27 Point of force 30 Upstream conveyor 40 Downstream conveyor 30A, 40A Conveying surface 32, 42 Chains 33, 34 Drive source 34, 44 Sprocket 100 Container

Claims (8)

an upstream conveyor that conveys articles;
a downstream conveyor that conveys the article;
comprising a span plate device provided between the upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor,
The gangplank device includes:
a gang plate for delivering the article conveyed from the upstream conveyor to the downstream side;
an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the spanning board,
While the spanning plate is periodically moving up and down, with one article riding on the spanning plate at the first position, the lifting mechanism moves the spanning plate to the second position. A conveying device that brings the article into contact with one or both of the upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor by descending to a position.
The elevating mechanism is
The transfer surface of the spanning board is lowered from the first position to the second position, and then,
repeating the movement of rising from the second position to the first position;
The conveying device according to claim 1.
The second position is such that the delivery surface is below a conveyance surface of the article specified by the upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor.
The conveying device according to claim 2.
The said article is
receiving a conveying force from the downstream conveyor when the transfer surface is in the second position;
The conveying device according to claim 3.
In the elevating mechanism, the span plate moves up and down while the upstream conveyor is being driven.
The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The elevating mechanism is
repeating the operation over a period of time during which the article is delivered to the downstream side, or
repeating the operation only for a part of the period during which the article is delivered to the downstream side;
The conveying device according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
The elevating mechanism is
Due to the driving force of the upstream conveyor or the downstream conveyor, the transfer surface of the spanning plate is lowered from the first position to the second position, and then from the second position to the first position. repeat the rising motion,
The conveying device according to any one of claims 2 to 6.
The elevating mechanism is
It is possible to adjust the amount of elevation of the spanning board;
The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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