JPH01236135A - Sheet separator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To aim at the speed-up of sheet separation work by installing sheet separating unit, reciprocating between a pallet stopping position and a sheet transfer position at the side, and going up and down in response to the number of sheets, in an upper part of this pallet stopping position of a conveyor. CONSTITUTION:After a conveying pallet 3 is stopped at a pallet stopping position where a pallet feed conveyor 4 is set up, a sheet separating unit 5 is lowered. After specified numbered sheets 2 stacked on the pallet 3 are separated and held by each of sheet holding plates 34, 41, this sheet separating unit 5 is lifted up and moved to a sheet transfer position of a sheet transfer part at the side. Then, retention of these holding plates 34, 41 is released and, the specified numbers sheets 2 in hold are transferred to the sheet transfer part of a sheet feed conveyor 6, the unit 5 is reset to the pallet stopping position of the conveyor 4, and sheet separating work takes place. In brief, during reciprocative movement of the unit 5, the next pallet 3 is fed to the pallet stopping position, and the unit 5 is on standby.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial field of application This invention is a sheet separation method that is used, for example, to separate a predetermined number of folded sheets such as cardboard boxes stacked on a pallet. Regarding equipment.

(0) Conventional technology Conventionally, the above-mentioned apparatus for separating a large number of sheets stacked on a pallet into predetermined numbers has, for example, conveyed a pallet stacked with sheets to a set pallet stop position 1 on a conveyor. After the pallet has stopped, the entire pallet is raised using a lifting device, and a sheet separation unit installed at the top holds a predetermined number of sheets.The sheet separation unit is then moved to transfer the sheets to a conveyor on the side of the device. However, there is a sheet separating device that sequentially lifts the entire pallet using a lifting device and separates a predetermined number of stacked sheets from the upper layer.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The sheet separating device described in the above-mentioned prior art is capable of lowering the empty pallet until it returns to the pallet stop position after all the sheets stacked on the pallet have been transferred. During this period, an empty pallet will be in the way and it will not be possible to feed the next pallet to the pallet stop position, unless the sheet separating operation of the sheet separating unit and the feeding operation of the next pallet are stopped during this time. However, there is a problem in that the operating efficiency of the sheet separating device deteriorates.

In addition, if you add the weight of the pallet itself to the weight of the many stacked sheets, the total weight will be several hundred kilograms, so in order to raise and lower the entire pallet with a lifting device, it is necessary to raise and lower the sheets and pallet. Not only does it require large-scale lifting equipment such as a large drive motor and drive mechanism, as well as a large installation space to install the lifting equipment, but the more sheets are loaded, the more unstable it becomes. Since the sheets may collapse due to vibration, the pallet must be moved up and down at low speed, which also poses the problem of not being able to speed up the work.

This invention has a unique configuration in which the sheet separation unit is raised and lowered to separate a predetermined number of sheets stacked on a pallet, thereby making it possible to operate the entire equipment continuously and speed up the sheet separation work. To provide a sheet separating device which can be easily installed without requiring large-scale equipment, and can be manufactured at low cost.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The sheet separating device of the present invention is provided with a conveyor that conveys a pallet on which a large number of sheets are stacked to a set pallet stopping position, and the pallet stopping position of the conveyor is At the top of the pallet, there is a sheet separation unit that moves back and forth between the pallet stop position and a sheet transfer position set in a sheet transfer section on the side, and that moves up and down in accordance with the number of sheets stacked on the pallet. Each sheet holding member is vertically installed on the sheet separation unit to hold a predetermined number of sheets stacked on the pallet at the pallet stop position, and release the holding of the sheets at the sheet transfer position. are doing.

(E) Function This invention stops the conveyor at a set pallet stop position on the conveyor, and then lowers the sheet separation unit that constitutes the sheet separation device to remove a predetermined number of sheets stacked on the pallet. After the sheets are separated and held by each sheet holding member, this sheet separation unit is raised and moved to the sheet transfer position of the sheet transfer unit on the side, and the holding of the sheet by each sheet holding member is released and the sheet is held. After transferring a predetermined number of sheets onto a sheet transfer section such as a conveyor, the sheet separation unit returns to the pallet stop position of the conveyor and performs sheet separation work.

(f) Effects of the Invention According to this invention, the sheet separation unit supplies the next pallet to the pallet stop position by utilizing the time it takes to reciprocate between the pallet stop position and the sheet transfer position, and the sheet separation unit Since the machine returns to the pallet stop position and waits, the sheet separation unit can immediately separate and hold a predetermined number of sheets as soon as the pallet is fed, and the equipment can be operated continuously to efficiently separate sheets. , it is possible to speed up the sheet separation work.

Furthermore, since the sheet separation unit described above is raised and lowered to separate and hold the sheets, it is safe because there is no fear of the sheets collapsing, and there is no need to raise and lower the entire pallet, so large-scale equipment is required. Therefore, the device is easy to manufacture and can be manufactured at low cost.

(g) Examples of the invention An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings.

The drawings show a sheet separating device that separates a large number of stacked sheets into a predetermined number of sheets, and in FIGS. 3 and 4, this sheet separating device 1 separates folded sheets 2, such as cardboard boxes, etc. A large number of sheets 2 were stacked on a pallet 3, and the pallet 3 on which a large number of sheets 2 were stacked was transferred to a pallet conveyor 4 and conveyed sequentially, and the pallet 3 was stopped at a set pallet stop position during conveyance. After that, the sheet separating unit 5 disposed above the pallet stopping position 1 was raised and lowered to separate and hold a predetermined number of sheets 2 stacked on the pallet 3 from the upper layer, and the sheet separating unit 5 was raised. move horizontally at the position,
At the sheet transfer position on the sheet conveyor 6 disposed on the side of the raised position, the holding is released and all the sheets 2 are transferred and conveyed to the sheet transfer device 7.

The above-mentioned pallet transport conveyor 4 has a chain 9 installed on each sprocket 8, 8 which is pivotally supported at the front and rear stages in the transport direction, and one Sugerocket 8 is connected to each pulley 11, 11 and a belt by the driving force of a drive motor 10. 12 in the transport direction (in the direction of the arrow), and sequentially transports the pallets 3 transferred to the pallet transport conveyor 4 to the subsequent stage side.

The pallet 3 described above is detected by a photoelectric sensor (not shown) disposed on the conveyance surface of the pallet conveyor 4, and the drive motor 10 is activated based on a stop command signal output from the photoelectric sensor. The sheet separation unit 5
The pallet 3 is stopped at a pallet stop position corresponding to the lowered position.

On the other hand, the empty pallet 3 transported to the latter stage side of the pallet transport conveyor 4 is lifted up by a lift-up device 1 disposed at the bottom.
3, and this lift-up device 1
Each pallet mounting table 1 is driven to open and close in conjunction with the lifting and lowering of 3.
4..., the previously placed empty pallets 3 are sequentially lifted and placed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet separating device 1 described above has an elevating frame 16 placed horizontally between support frames 15 and 15 that are erected on both sides of the pallet stopping position of the pallet conveyor 4. The sheet separating unit 5 is horizontally supported on the front side of the elevating frame 16, that is, on the side corresponding to the pallet stopping position of the pallet transport conveyor 4.

The above-mentioned lifting frame 16 includes each support frame 15.15.
Each guide rail 17.17 constructed vertically along
, each bracket 18.18 and each guide roller 19.
. . , both ends of the elevating frame 16 are attached so that they can be raised and lowered freely.

Furthermore, each Sugerocket 20.20 is pivotally supported on the opposite surface side of each support frame 15.15 at a position below the conveyance surface of the pallet conveyor 4, and at a position above the conveyance surface of the sheet conveyor 6, which will be described later. The ends of the chains 22, 22, which are installed on each of the sedge rockets 21, 21, are fixed to the back surface of the elevating frame 16.

Furthermore, a sprocket 23 fixed coaxially with the upper Sugerocket 21, a Sugerocket 24a of the drive motor 24 fixed to the upper part of the support frame 15, and a transmission 25
Each sedge rocket 25a.

25b and each chain 25c, 25c is installed respectively,
The driving force of this drive motor 24 causes each chain 22.2 to
2 in the forward and reverse directions, the sheet separation unit 5 attached to the lifting frame 16 is placed in a lowered position where it holds the lowest sheet 2 on the pallet 3 and a standby position where it holds the upper sheet 2. Go up and down.

The above-mentioned sheet separation unit 5 is connected to the above-mentioned elevating frame 1.
The base end of the unit main body 29 is slidably attached to each guide rail 26, 26 installed at the upper and lower positions on the front part of the unit 6 via each bracket 27, 27 and each guide roller 28, and A gear 32 of a drive motor 31 (with built-in transmission) fixed to the lower side of the base end of the unit body 29 is engaged with a rack 30 carved on the lower surface side of the lower guide rail 26. The sheet separation unit 5 is horizontally moved to the pallet stop position of the pallet conveyor 4 and the sheet transfer position of the sheet conveyor 6 by the driving force.

Note that the sheet separation unit 5 described above has a positioning means such as a stopper or a limit switch at each set stop position, or a rack 30 of the guide rail 26 and a drive motor 3.
The amount of movement is detected by meshing with gear 32 of No. 1, and the movement is stopped.

In the unit main body 29 described above, the base end of each sheet holding plate 34 is fixed to the end of each support shaft 33, 33 which is pivotally supported on both sides of the base end. The lower end of the seat 2 is bent in an L-shape toward the lower surface of the seat 2, and each support piece 35.35 fixed to each support shaft 33.33 is connected to each air cylinder 36.36 disposed above. By pivoting the rods and synchronously operating each air cylinder 36, 36, the lower end of each sheet holding plate 34... can be moved to a supporting position where the end of the sheet 2 is slightly raised above the horizontal, and a supporting position where the end of the seat 2 is supported slightly above the horizontal. Rotates to the rear standby position.

Furthermore, sheet holding plates 37 and 37 are vertically installed on both sides of the unit main body 29 so as to face the upper surface of the sheet 2, and rods of air cylinders 38 and 38 are installed vertically on both sides of the upper part of the unit main body 29. are fixed to the upper surface of each sheet pressing plate 37, 37, and are raised and lowered in the vertical direction to press the sheet 2 by synchronous operation of each air cylinder 38, 38.

On the other hand, at the tip of the unit body 29, each support rod 40.4 is attached to both sides of a bracket 39 attached to the lower surface of the tip.
0 is provided vertically, and the lower end of each support rod 40.40 pivotally supports each sheet holding plate 41, 41, and also supports a bracket 3.
The rods of each air cylinder 42, 42 vertically installed on the back side of the seat 9 are pivotally connected to the base end of each sheet holding plate 41, 41,
By the synchronous operation of each air cylinder 42.42, the lower end of each sheet holding plate 41.41 is
The support rods 40, 40 each have a vertical guide plate 43, 43 at an inner position facing the edge of the sheet 2. Fixed.

The above-mentioned bracket 39 is slidably attached to a guide shaft 44 installed along the unit body 29 and each guide 145.45 formed on both sides of the lower surface, and is attached to the seat 2.
The sliding position is fixed by a clamp lever 46 at a position corresponding to the size.

Further, on the lower surface of the base end of the unit body 29, the rod of the air cylinder 47 disposed at the center of the lower surface is attached to the plate 48 at a position rearward from the standby position of each sheet holding plate 34. Guide shafts 49, 49 fixed at the center of the plane and at positions on both sides thereof are inserted into a bracket 50 fixed to the lower surface of the base end, and are slid by the operation of the air cylinder 47.

The above-mentioned mounting is carried out on the plate 48 between the sheet holding plates 34 which are pivotally supported on the unit main body 29, and between the lower ends of the support rods 51 and 51 vertically disposed on both sides. The base end of each sheet press plate 52.52 is pivotally supported, and the free end of each sheet press plate 52.52 is slightly bent toward the upper surface of the sheet 2, and is arranged on the back side of each support rod 51.51. The rod of each air cylinder 53.53 installed on each sheet holding plate 52.
52, each air cylinder 53.53
The synchronous operation rotates the upper end of each sheet presser plate 52, 52 between a vertically standing standby position and a direction in which the upper surface of the sheet 2 is pressed.

Furthermore, each locking needle 5 is placed on the vertical surface of each support rod 51.
4.54 is installed horizontally.

In addition, each support rod 40.51 vertically installed at the tip and base ends of the unit main body 29 has a position where each photoelectric sensor 55 consisting of a light emitter and a light receiver faces each other,
That is, each photoelectric sensor 5 is disposed at a height position separated by the thickness of a predetermined number of all sheets 2 from the sheet support position by the sheet holding plate 34 and the sheet holding plate 41.
5 detects the top layer of sheets 2 stacked on the pallet 3 when the sheet separation unit 5 is lowered, and outputs a stop command signal to the drive motor 24 to immediately stop the sheet separation unit 5. do.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet transfer device 7 described above has a chain 57 installed on each Sugerocket 56, 56 that is pivotally supported at the front and rear stages in the conveyance direction, and a pusher plate 58 is fixed to this chain 57. Each pulley 60, 60 and a belt 61 are driven by the driving force of a drive motor 59 with one Sugerocket 56 disposed at the bottom.
It rotates in the conveying direction (arrow direction) via .

Due to the conveyance of the sheet conveyor 6 and the movement of the hooks 62 disposed at the top of the device in a locked state,
The end of each sheet 2... is transferred onto a delivery roller (not shown) that is pivotally supported on the rear stage side and a box holder is placed on a board (not shown), and is lowered by the active delivery of the delivery roller. are aligned and transferred to the transfer surface 63.

The operation of the illustrated embodiment will be described below assuming that it is constructed as described above.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pallet 3 on which sheets 2 are stacked is conveyed by a pallet conveyor 4, and after stopping the pallet 3 at a set pallet stop position of the pallet conveyor 4, it is placed on standby at the top of this pallet conveyor 4. The sheet separation unit 5 is raised and lowered to separate and hold a predetermined number of sheets 2 stacked on the pallet 3 from the upper layer.

That is, as shown in FIG.
When the sheet separation unit 5 descends, each photoelectric sensor 55 detects the first sheet 2 on the top layer, and based on this detection, a stop command signal is output to the drive motor 24 to immediately stop the descent of the sheet separation unit 5. do.

Next, as shown in FIG. , the vertical surfaces of the support rods 51.51 on which the respective locking needles 54,54 are protruded are brought into contact with the ends of the sheet 2 and aligned vertically, and the respective locking needles 54 are aligned vertically.
．． 54 is inserted, the sheet separating unit 5 is raised to lift the end of the sheet 2, and a gap is formed between the upper sheet 2 on the holding side and the lower sheet 2 on the loading side.

At the same time, as shown in the figure, the respective sheet holding plates 34, which are pivotally supported on both sides of the base end portions, are rotated to insert the lower end portions into the gaps between the sheets 2 and the base portions. While rotating the respective sheet holding plates 52 and 52 that are pivotally supported on both sides of the end portions and pressing each free end portion against the upper surface of the lower sheet 2, as shown in C, each sheet holding plate 34... - Support the end of the sheet 2 at the lower end of the unit body 29, and slightly shift a predetermined number of all the sheets 2 toward the front end of the unit body 29.

By this movement of all sheets 2... toward the leading end, each locking needle 54.54 is pulled out from the sheet 2, and each locking needle 54.54 is pulled out from the sheet 2.
54 returns to the standby position again.

On the other hand, each of the sheet holding plates 41 and 41 pivotally supported at the tip of the unit body 29 is rotated to a horizontal position to support the lower surface of the other end of the sheet 2 that has been displaced toward the tip. The ends of the sheets 2 abut against the guide plates 43, 43 and are aligned vertically.

After this, each sheet holding plate 37, 37 vertically installed on both sides of the unit main body 29 is lowered, and each sheet holding plate 34...
- Press and hold the upper surface of the sheet 2 supported at the lower end.

Then, the sheet 2 is held at the lower end of each sheet holding plate 34...
Each sheet holding plate 3
After stopping the sheet separating unit 5 at an elevated standby position while holding a predetermined number of sheets 2 separated by each sheet holding plate 41... and each sheet holding plate 41..., the sheet separating unit 5 is driven in the horizontal direction. Then, the sheet is stopped at a sheet transfer position on a sheet conveyor 6 disposed on the side of the apparatus.

After this, each sheet holding plate 34... which is pivotally supported at the base end of the unit body 29, and each sheet holding plate 41... which is pivotally supported at the distal end of the unit body 29 are rotated to the standby position, and a predetermined number of sheets are When all the sheets 2... are transferred to the sheet conveyor 6, all the sheets 2... are conveyed to the sheet transfer device 7, and then the edges of all the sheets 2... are aligned and placed on the transfer surface. Transferred to 63rd.

On the other hand, when the sheet separation unit 5 moves horizontally, the next pallet 3 is supplied to the pallet stop position by the pallet transport conveyor 4, and the sheet separation unit 5 that has returned to the upper part of this pallet stop position is stacked on the pallet 3. A predetermined number of sheets 2 in the upper layer are immediately separated and held, and then horizontally moved and transferred to the sheet conveyor 6 on the side.

Note that the above-mentioned sheet 2 is, for example, a box opening device (not shown).
After the container is transported to a container, it is opened into a box shape using a suction means or the like and used for packaging articles.

In this way, the time for the sheet separation unit 5 to reciprocate in the horizontal direction is used to feed the pallet 3 on which the next sheet 2 is stacked to the lower part of the sheet separation unit 5, that is, to the pallet stop position, and to Immediately after the transfer, the sheet separation unit 5 returns to the standby position, that is, the upper part of the pallet stop position, so that the stacked sheets 2 can be immediately separated and held by the sheet separation unit 5 at the same time as the pallet 3 is supplied. Therefore, there is no waste in the operation of the apparatus, and the equipment can be operated continuously to efficiently separate the sheets 2 on the pallet 3, thereby speeding up the sheet separation work.

Moreover, since the above-mentioned sheet separation unit 5 is raised and lowered to separate and hold the sheets 2, it is safe because there is no fear that the sheets 2 will strain their backs, and there is no need to raise and lower the entire pallet 3, so the equipment can be saved. The device is not large-scale, easy to manufacture, and can be manufactured at low cost.

Furthermore, the lower end of each of the above-mentioned sheet holding plates 34...
By bending the sheet 2 slightly above the horizontal support position, the center of all the sheets 2 is actively supported in an upwardly curved state, and the center of the sheet 2 due to its own weight is Since the deflection of the section is corrected horizontally, the sheet 2 can be smoothly moved and transferred.

Note that although the sheet transfer unit constituting this invention corresponds to the sheet conveyor 6 of the above-described embodiment, and the sheet holding member corresponds to the sheet holding plate 34, the present invention also has the structure of the above-described embodiment. It is not limited to only.

For example, each of the sheet holding plates 34 described above may be moved in the horizontal direction using an air cylinder (not shown) to support the edge of the sheet 2, and the sheet separation unit 5 may be rotated in the horizontal direction. Alternatively, the separated and held sheets 2 may be transferred to the sheet conveyor 6.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view of the sheet separation device, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sheet separation device, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the entire separation device, and FIG. 4 is a separation A front view showing the sheet separating section of the apparatus, and FIGS. 5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams of the separating operation of the apparatus. 1... Sheet separation device 2... Sheet 3... Pallet 4... Pallet transport conveyor 5... Sheet separation unit 6... Sheet transport conveyor 34. 41... Sheet holding plate

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A conveyor is installed to convey a pallet stacked with a large number of sheets to a set pallet stopping position, and a sheet transfer section is placed above the pallet stopping position of the conveyor and at the side of the pallet stopping position. A sheet separation unit is installed that moves back and forth to a sheet transfer position set at A sheet separation device that holds a predetermined number of sheets stacked on top of each other and has sheet holding members vertically disposed to release holding of the sheets at a sheet transfer position.