JPH01308708A - Robot palletizer conducting stretch lapping - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable stable formation of a palletized articles by a method wherein after articles are received from a supply source, they are transferred to a collecting station and directly loaded on the collecting station, then the stacked articles are wrapped with wrapping films. CONSTITUTION: After a pair of boxes series 34 are stacked on a conveyor 22 and captured by a palletizer 14, the boxes are forwarded to a turntable 12. When a pair of boxes are stacked up to the height required for the first packaging cycle, said packaging cycle is started. A film 62 is held by a film clamp 72. A turntable 12 is rotated from 0 deg. to 360 deg. clockwise and the film 62 is rolled out from a rolled film 48. The film 62 is spirally rolled out for the articles on the pallet 32 as the turntable 12 is rotated and the circumference of the stacked article is firmly packaged with the film 62 by a film clamp 72.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the stacking unitization of products [in one bot], after receiving a group of products from a supply source, these products are transferred to an accumulation station where they are assembled into a pull sheet, a base sheet, Stable palletized cargo is formed by stacking directly on the surface of a lower box, pallet, or collection station, and then wrapping the stacked cargo with a film. In this specification, the term "palletizer" and its derivatives, such as [
"Palletization, palletized, pallet" etc. refer to the unitization of stacked products when a group of products is loaded on a pallet, a sheet surface, or a bottom sheet or the surface of a unitizer turntable that does not use a pallet.

In the conventional unit loading system using pallets, the pallets were placed on a workbench and products were stacked on them. Each product or product group that makes up a unit load is placed in a position that maximizes the loading efficiency of each pallet, and at the same time, the interlocking of elements is ensured to ensure that the load is stable even when the pallet is fully loaded. Care must be taken to ensure that the

After the products or elements are fully stacked on a pallet, the pallet is removed from the workbench and sent to a packaging station for wrapping or banding using packaging machines such as strapping machines, shrink wrapping machines, stretch wrapping machines, etc. This ensures that the cargo has continuity and safety.

The robot palletizer or mobile unitizer according to the present invention is a palletizer that includes a programmable cargo handling device, and usually, after picking up the product (or product group) to be transferred from the supply conveyor A7 or the supply station,
It is intended to be stacked on a pallet or on top of products already on a pallet. The programmed handling equipment functions to provide stability to the cargo by interlocking, stacking, or cross-stacking the products to predetermined locations on the pallet. This type of ink lock is not a strict interlock of stacked products, but rather widens the overlap between stacked boxes to avoid straight supports caused by products or box stacks. Pallet loads are often not very stable.

The robot palletizer of the present invention has an integrated device for wrapping the load on the pallet with a plastic film in order to stabilize the load.

Robot palletizers are equipped with various sensor groups or have sequence control programmed in advance, so
After intermediate wrapping is performed during stacking, final wrapping can be applied when a predetermined height is reached.

The film supply source is supported on the palletizer body so that it can be raised and lowered, and while the cargo is being stacked on the pallet, the film is unwound in synchronization with the stacking of the cargo onto the pallet, and guided by various guide rolls. It has the function of packaging.

The main advantage of the present invention is that the stability of the stacking is increased by applying wrapping at intermediate stages at intervals during the stacking of products or boxes on a pallet in a columnar manner. Compared to the interlocking of loads performed in conventional palletizers, the palletizer of the present invention stacks boxes or cardboard cases in columns, so that the inherent strength of these containers is utilized to strengthen the unit load. As a result, it is possible to increase the stacking height, increase the size of the cargo, and improve the density of the cargo on the pallet, which increases pallet loading efficiency and reduces transportation costs, but the biggest advantage is The reason is that there is no risk of the inactive box collapsing and damaging the contents of the case.

The advantages of the invention are manifold and will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an assembly diagram of a palletizer, and FIG. 1 will be explained. In the drawings, the same parts are indicated by the same reference numerals.

The palletizer assembly fl (1G) is divided into three main components. These include a turntable (12) that rotates at a desired speed, a robot palletizer (14), and a film lifting device (C1B); in addition, the preferred embodiment shown includes several related parts. ing. The pallet supply conveyor (18) is connected to a turntable (1
2), and is used to transport the pallet to the turntable (12) as required. After the pallet is fully loaded and packaged, the pallet is transported to a pallet unloading conveyor (20). Palletizer (
14) is carried out using a product conveyor (22).

As described above, the palletizer of the present invention is designed to package products while stacking them directly on the pull sheet, base sheet, lower side box, or turntable surface. Although the preferred embodiment shows stacking on conventional pallets, for example, the palletizer of the present invention (10
) to perform stacking and packaging on another workbench such as the surface of the turntable (12), the same effect of use can be obtained.

When a normal pallet is not used, a pallet supply conveyor (18) and its discharge conveyor (20) may be used as desired.
It is appropriate to omit .

The products or packages (25) to be placed on the pallet are first transferred from the product conveyor (22) to the product weighing conveyor (24).
). Packaging products, box equipment or products (25) are pallets, pull sheets or turntables (12)
It shall be of any shape suitable for shipping or storing in stacks on a surface. The box device rf (25) usually stores a single can, a cardboard case (including open type), a tray, a matching container such as a bucket, and a doll bag (or small bag).
, including containers or pouches. The term "box device" is not meant to be limiting, but is used as a general term for materials that can be stacked. For convenience, the "box device" will hereinafter be referred to as "box" or its derivatives.

The product weighing conveyor (24) has a rough top belt;
When the boxes are conveyed to the product conveyor (22), the boxes are separated from each other. The boxes can be aligned to the negative side of the weighing conveyor (24) via adjustable rail guides (not shown). The product conveyor (22), also referred to as a station conveyor or feed station conveyor, is a driven roller assembly in the preferred embodiment. Two or more sets of photoelectric switches are used on the product conveyor (22). Each set (26a, b) and (28a, b) includes a light source/light receiving section (a) and a reflector (b) that reflects the light emitted from the light source and receives it at the light receiving section. However, these photoelectric switches are conventional technology. Instead of the photoelectric switch described above, various sensor groups (with or without a reflector are optional) can be used. Although a photoelectric switch and a reflector are described herein, these devices are merely examples of detection devices invented by the applicant. The first photoelectric switch (2G) measures the number of boxes passing on the product conveyor (22), and the second switch (28) measures the number of boxes passing on the product conveyor (22). Used to detect passing.

[− group of boxes J (34) is a group of a certain number of boxes that are accumulated on the product conveyor (22), picked up by the palletizer (14), and then sent to the turntable (12). - The group of boxes (34) is, for example, a product conveyor (22).
) are four adjacent boxes on top.

The case stop (30) is for stopping the progression of the boxes (34) on the product conveyor (22). Other case stops PI (not shown) can be placed below the roller conveyor and actuated as needed to provide spacing. - Once sets of boxes (34) have been accumulated, the palletizer (14) picks them up and conveys them to a pallet on the turntable (12). The next set of boxes (34) remains until all of the boxes (34) in that set are captured by the palletizer (14) and leave the product conveyor (22).
) is to wait upstream.

In a normal cycle, a pallet (32) or the equivalent of a pallet (such as a skid, pull sheet, base sheet brat form or container device) is placed on the turntable (12).

When consolidating unit loads without using pallets or base sheets, place the pallets or base sheets on a turntable (
12) There is no need to place it on top. The - set of boxes (34) is then captured via a gripping device (36) comprising any type of mechanical "hand" of a wide variety. The pair of jaws (38) shown in Figure 1 include an outer jaw and an inner jaw, one jaw being fixed and the other jaw being connected via an air cylinder (or other opening/closing or actuating device). the group of dark blue boxes, and can be operated to grip these boxes in turn between the jaws. The type of mechanical "hand" is determined by the application, and a wide variety of hands (such as lower jaw support hands, vacuum clamps, or upper and lower clamps) are known in the industry. The hand can be constructed as articulated or can be movable along an axis perpendicular to the boom axis.

The structure of the gripping device (36) is supported by the boom (40) via cam rollers. The roller group of the gripping device (3B) is attached to both the upper and lower rails (42) and (44) of the boom (40).
) and the gripping device (36) is transferred over the product conveyor (22).
) move horizontally from position n on the turntable (12
) is configured to stop at a specific discharge position above the pallet.

The boom (40) is slidably mounted on the mast (46) so that it can be raised thereon. In a typical "pickup installation", the two axes provided by the mast (46) and boom (40) are connected to multiple boxes or? ! It is sufficient to transfer several groups of boxes from the product conveyor (22) to the pallet (32). The work procedure is as follows. That is, after first lowering the gripping device (36) above the box group (34) of the group, the clamping action holds the box group (34) of the group between the
4) Clamp. Next, mast (46) the boom (40)
Raise the gripping device (36) along the boom (40
). Subsequently, the boom (40) is lowered along the mast (46), and the gripping device (36) is operated to place the set of boxes (34) in the predetermined position on the pallet (32). To return to the original position, use the gripping device (36)
After widening the distance between the jaws (38) of the boom (40), the boom (40) is pulled away above the pallet (32) and the gripping device (36)
along the boom (40) and return it to its original position. The boom (40) is then lowered along the mast (46) until the gripping device (36) is ready to grip the next set of boxes (34). The palletizer (14) is programmed with horizontal and vertical movement, speed change, and positioning for stacking multiple rows of boxes (34) in a predetermined pattern on a pallet.

Once the cargo on the pallet is partially stacked in a predetermined pattern, it can be wrapped in film to increase its stability. Conventionally, the stacking pattern maximizes the loading efficiency of boxes placed on pallets, and at the same time takes into consideration the interlocking of boxes with the aim of increasing the stability of the cargo on the pallet. very often along one axis of the pallet and the remaining boxes along the other axis of the pallet. In other words, the orientation of the boxes is aligned in opposite directions for each tier of the stack, so that interlocking occurs. It is extremely rare for the palletizer (14) of the present invention to stack boxes in vertical alignment. When stacking boxes directly, the vertical compressive strength is improved because the four corners, which are the strongest parts of the boxes, are aligned, but the stacking height is high (which makes it extremely unstable and impractical). However, since valetization according to the invention improves stacking efficiency, the stability and strength of the load on the pallet is significantly increased using the palletizer of the invention.

With the cargo partially stacked on a pallet or on a pallet, Partial stacking in this embodiment means stacking boxes in two tiers (film packaging is possible even when the boxes are lined up in only one tier on a pallet, but
Such packaging methods are excluded from the preferred implementation). ], the film wrapping operation is performed via the control device of the palletizer.

Wrapping means (usually plastic films with high hysteresis due to initial stretching, commonly referred to as "stretch wrap films") are the preferred packaging devices for the intended purpose and function of the palletizer.

In addition to the films mentioned above, other types of films can also be used. i.e. shrink wrapping film, bolimarfi, lumu,
Includes protective coverings and other covering materials such as perforating films, netting, coated or uncoated paper, ribbons, bubble packs, etc. For wood IIl
For convenience, the packaging material is referred to as a "film" within the industry.

The take-up film (48) is mounted on a film elevator (16) (also referred to as a packaging unwinding unit or packaging dispensing unit) slidably mounted on a vertical track (50).
carried by. A chain hoist is provided to raise the film lift m (16).

Chains (52) are attached to both ends of the film lRIjl (16) and are hooked to a drive motor (not shown) installed inside the track support (54). The take-up film (48) is passed through the first main power transmission roll (56) and then to the second main power transmission roll (58), as shown in FIG. These pairs of rolls create a large amount of tension (usually "breastretch") on the film.

The unwound film (62) that has passed through the film lifter Iff (16) then passes through a guide roll (64), and then passes through a pair of arm rolls (
66).

(68). The film (62) is then guided to a packaging material clamp, ie a film clamp (72) mounted on the turntable (12).

The guide arm (70) moves the film from around the mast (46) to the film clamp (12) on the turntable (12).
12). In a preferred embodiment, the guide arm (70) is fixed at a particular position (support), but it can be pivoted so that it can swing around the connection point with the film elevator 1 (1G). Guide arm (10
) is of a pivot type, it is advantageous to provide rocking resistance via a spring, air cylinder, etc., so that the film can be taken up with a constant tension with respect to the film clamp (10).

In another embodiment, the pivoted guide arm is configured to be actuated by any type of motor, automatic or spring tension, in particular after stretching the film.
It is programmed to bias from one position to the other to maintain constant film tension upon release.

A pivotable guide arm allows film stretching and relaxation to be controlled and minimized. Returning again to the preferred embodiment, the guide arm (70
) height and arm roll (66).

(68) must be set to a length sufficient to accommodate the width of the film unwound from the take-up film (48). Usually, the film width is about 508 as+ (about 20 inches), but widths from front to back are also commonly used. Typical film widths used range from about 10 inches to about 40 inches.

The plan views shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are intended to help understand the structure of the palletizer apparatus of the present invention.

For example, the turntable (12) shown in FIG. 2 previously supports at least a group of boxes (25) as a partial load in a suitable position. A mast (46), a boom (40),
A film gripping device (36) and a product conveyor (22) (
The 0-La group is excluded from these plans for convenience.)
and Film Elevation 1 (16) are both shown as pictorial diagrams. In addition, the pallet loading conveyor (18) and the pallet discharging conveyor (20) each carry an empty pallet (
32) and a fully loaded cargo (33) on a pallet. Third set of photoelectric switches (74a), (74b
) and pallet detection i iQ (98a), (98
b) has the line of sight locus shown in FIG. Further, the mounting position of the fixed type brush (90) is shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, and the mounting position of a pivot type brush (90) which is moved toward and away from the load is shown by a broken line.

As mentioned above, the pallet detection device @ (98) is a normal photoelectric switch, and is an assembly (98) of a light emitting part and a light receiving part.
a) and a reflector plate (98b) for reflecting the emitted light to the light receiving section unless it is blocked by the pallet (or other object to be detected). When the emitted light is blocked, the palletizer controller detects that the pallet is in place and activates the flute stacking on the pallet. When stacking foils on a pull sheet or base sheet, instead of the photoelectric switch assembly (98), a reflective photoelectric detection device or one that sends a signal to the control WJ device of the palletizer using a manual (or self-blocking) stitch is used. use It is also possible to stack the boxes directly on the surface of the turntable (12) and transport them in that state using a transfer cart.

Third set of photoelectric switch assemblies (74a), (74b)
detects the top of the stacked boxes as shown in Figure 2,
When sent as a control output to the palletizer controller, the controller uses the input to adjust the upper back limit of the film elevator (16).

2 and 3 show the film path from the film lift 11ff I (1B) to the film clamp (72). Figure 3 is a pictorial diagram, and the roll-up film (4B
) shows the state in which the film (62) is unwound from the film (62).

The film (63) is first moved in a preferred embodiment by a pair of main transmission rolls (56) that are driven at different speeds to impart a breath stretch to the film (62).

(58), then a dancer roll (60) and a guide roll (64). Then film (6
After passing through a pair of arm rolls (66) and (68), the film 2) is sent to a film clamp (72). Note that in the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the film clamp (72) is in the standard position.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show intermediate steps in a typical stacking cycle and packaging cycle. Figure 4 shows the state in which the packaging cycle has started and the turntable (12) has been rotated 90'' clockwise, for example in the first packaging cycle.The film (62) is placed in the film clamp (72). It is being held and is in contact with a corner of a group of boxes placed on the turntable (12).

When the turntable (12) reaches the standard position, the first packaging cycle is completed and the cycle is repeated as previously described herein.

FIG. 5 shows the state in which an empty pallet (32) is loaded. The film clamp (72) is normally upright at the end of wrapping a load and is in its standard position as shown in FIG. It must be separated from the loading path. Therefore the turntable (12)
Rotate 90° counterclockwise as shown in Figure 5. Note that the film (62) is under tension when the film clamp (72) is moved to the position shown in FIG. The pallet detection device (98a) is shielded from light by the pallet (32) when the pallet (32) is further inserted inward on the turntable (12).

The preferred fruit shown in FIG. 1! Mr. i's palletizer (1
The control device in 0) starts the packaging cycle with the signal when the boxes are stacked up to the height required for the first packaging cycle, but the optimal machine performance is achieved when the first packaging is performed with the boxes stacked in two tiers. of cargo stability.

In the first wrapping cycle, the film (62) is clamped within the film clamp (72). Box gripping device e
(36) is a partially loaded pallet (32)
and successively grips the next set of boxes during the first packaging cycle. Rotating turntable (12) clockwise from the standard position of the preferred embodiment, approximately 0°, to a 360° position unwinds film (62) from take-up film (48).

Around the time when the turntable (12) starts rotating, that is, before or after that, or at the same time, the film elevator II (1G) is moved along the vertical track X1 (5) by a signal from the control device of the palletizer (10).
G), and as the film lifter (16) rises, the upper micro switch (78) opens (. 32) The film (62) wraps around the cargo while being tightly tightened by the film clamp (72) as it is unwound spirally against the cargo above.

The first packaging cycle ends when the palletizer (1G) detects that the top group of boxes is stacked. Normally, the first packaging cycle is completed when the turntable (12) has rotated 360', but depending on the application, it is preferable to rotate the turntable (12) more than -. When the boxes are stacked to the maximum permissible height, a signal is output by interaction between the third set of photoelectric switches (74a) and the vertical indicator or reflector ball (74b). The reflector (74b) is a continuous reflector whose length is sufficient to be mounted on a reflector ball of length corresponding to the different stacking heights of the boxes. When the photoelectric switch (74a) detects the top group of boxes, a signal is sent to the control device of the palletizer (10), which activates the film elevator (16) drive device to move the film elevator (16).
6) Stop the upper bound. At this point, the turntable (1
2) is rotated until it returns to its standard position. Film clamp (72) tightens and holds the film (62).

The film elevator (16) is normally set to stop lifting when the film (62) matches the maximum permissible height of the box group, but sometimes the film lift 1 (16) is set to exceed the maximum permissible height of the boxes. It may be advantageous to increase the The film elevator (16), for example,
Approximately 50.84III (2 inches) from the maximum allowable height of
When raised to a higher point, the film stretches and extends inward to the outer edges of the boxes.

Stacking the next set of boxes on the inwardly extending portion of such a film is advantageous for stabilizing the stack.

When the turntable (12) returns to the standard position, the palletizer (10) stacks several more boxes on the pallet (32). For example, after stacking two more boxes, a signal is sent to start the packaging cycle. In a preferred embodiment, the second and subsequent packaging cycles are repeated in the order of the first packaging cycle;
Stack the cargo on the pallet until it reaches its full height (total height is the number of stacks of boxes programmed in the palletizer control device).

When the cargo on the turntable (12) is fully stacked, the photoelectric switch (74) detects the top of the top group of boxes, and the film elevator (16) moves the take-up film so that the film does not exceed the top. (48) stops rising. This detection method is the same as the detection of the spiral packaging cycle described above.

As already described for the first packaging cycle, the stability of a fully stacked load can be increased by extending the film somewhat higher than the apex of the top group of boxes. The film lift 11ff (1G) can be programmed to rise somewhat above the top of the box group and wrap the top directly or inward several times.

After spiral wrapping is applied to the full-height cargo,
Additional wrapping is preferred to increase the strength, unitization, and stability of the cargo. Spiral wrapping can be applied several times during stacking of articles to form stacks with compressive strength, but wrapping may not be perfect in order to ensure the stability of the cargo.

Alternatively, it may be preferable to apply all wrapping during the stacking process of the consignment.

In this case, instead of only applying spiral wrapping at an intermediate stage of stacking, the film lift m (16) remains in a horizontal position under the command of the palletizer's i and Q control devices, while the turntable (12) wraps the load. Make one or more revolutions to apply it at that height. Such wrapping can be carried out at different stacking heights. Moreover, since this type of wrapping is performed in conjunction with the gripping operation of the palletizer, the time required for wrapping the set of 61 items is shortened.

Finish wrapping according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is performed in the following order. The film elevator (16) is placed on the vertical track (5
0) and is stopped rising by a signal from the photoelectric switch (14), the turntable (12) rotates at least once, preferably three times, by a signal from the control device of the palletizer (10). On the other hand, the film elevator (1
6) is held in a position relative to the top of the aggregate cargo. While the collected cargo on the turntable (12) is rotating, the film can be raised and lowered as desired! 1m (16) to cause it to descend at a controlled speed along vertical track 3el (5G). The film lift 111 (16) may be held in a horizontal position, or may be lowered at a low speed to increase the film supply when the load reaches a certain height, or may be spirally attached to the load during lowering. It is also possible to program the program to apply circular wrapping.

Sensors such as microswitches, i.e. intermediate switches (
78) is the film lift! The lower part of ffi (16) is aligned with the upper end of the film clamp (72) at true -F>? 'l
At the same time, the film clamp (72)
) sends a signal to the control device of the pallet tie (f) if the front edge of the pallet tie (f) is tied.

When the intermediate switch (78) is actuated in this way, the film clamp (
72) is retracted, leaving the leading edge of the film (62) hanging freely. When the film clamp (72) is retracted to a position lower than the lower end of the packaged cargo in the first stage, the film elevator (16) continues to descend and rotates the turntable (12) several times against the lower surface of the product R. You can stack multiple wrappings.

As a modification of the first helical wrapping cycle or the complete finishing wrapping cycle (first rotation or second rotation), the film lift t1 (16) is actuated and, depending on the stretching characteristics of the stretch wrap film, the film A portion of the box is placed above the top edge of the top group of boxes in units of approximately several tens of centimeters (several inches). When such wrapping is applied, the binding properties of the aggregated protrusions may be improved.

Although this wrapping technique can also be used as an intermediate step in a spiral wrapping operation, this type of wrapping is not the most preferred embodiment.

Depending on the circumstances, it may be desirable to wrap the film together with the product on the pallet, lower side box, etc.

By applying such wrapping, continuity is provided between the pallet and the product, and the product and the pallet become somewhat similar to integral packaging. This type of wrapping is not applicable in all cases.

At the end of the wrapping cycle, the leading edge of the film (62) rapidly overlaps, at least partially, with the film applied to the load as the film lift 1 (16) descends to reach the lower portion of the load. The front end of the film (62) undergoes wrapping and rapid polymerization when the turntable (12) is rapidly rotated. It is advantageous if the air stream is blown onto the front end of the film (62) until the point where the film (62) reaches that point. An air nozzle (76) that injects air from an air source (not shown) provided on the turntable (12) is connected to the turntable (12).
2) and is used for this purpose.

After completing the desired wrapping cycle while rotating the turntable (12), the turntable (12)
It is necessary to make a circular rotation to position the film clamp (72) 1° in preparation for the next pallet operation. Such positioning is performed at the rear 180° of the turntable (12).
Do this in the middle of rotation. The film clamp (72) is in a retracted position at the beginning of the film tightening cycle. When the turntable (12) rotates by 180 degrees in the front half, the control device of the palletizer is activated, and the rear element (84) of the film clamp (72) is expanded (the film clamp (72) is connected to a pair of main clamp elements, i.e. Forward and backward elements (
82) and (84)). Forward element (82
) is a structure having a gripping surface, such as a rubberized engagement surface. The rear element (84) is also a structure with a gripping surface. Film (62) has both front and rear elements (82), (84)
The film clamp (72) opens just before the film elevator Ill (16) engages the upright film clamp (72).

Deploy the rear element (84) to an upright position and deploy the front element (82).
) is still in a retracted position, that is, in a roughly horizontal position),
Continued rotation of the turntable (12) brings the rear element (84) into contact with the film (62) extending between the load and the guide arm (70). Turntable (12)
When the film clamp (72) is further rotated, the front element (82) of the film clamp (72) moves the film (62) into the film clamp (7).
2) is deployed to a position where it is sandwiched between the front and rear elements (82) and (84).

At this time, the film (62) is attached to the film clamp (72).
one of which is attached to a continuous sheet secured to the fully wrapped load-E. It has been found that the film (62) can be cut cleanly by swinging the heat rod across the path of the film (62).

A thermo-rond film cutter (86) of this type is in a retracted position on the turntable (12). Heat rod (86
) is carried on a support which is pivotally mounted at one end and configured to be actuated by an air cylinder (not shown).

Cutting the film (62) using a heat rod (82) or other film cutting device (hot wire cutter, knife, etc.) completes the collective packaging of the cargo, and then the turntable (1
2) It can be carried out.

In a preferred embodiment, the turntable (12) has a motorized roller loading surface (88) for transferring the collectively wrapped cargo to the pallet discharge conveyor (20).

However, when the unit load is removed from the turntable (12),
It has been found that it may be desirable to smooth the trailing edge of the film to remove entrapped air during rolling to enhance tail adhesion of the load. The trailing edge of the film typically has some spring back after being cut with the hot wire knife (86), making it difficult to wrap on unit loads. One way to prevent this is to use a fixing device (90) to smooth the trailing edge of the film. The fixing device shown in FIG. 1 is a brush (92) and a column (94).
A drive device (supported above) for rotating the brush (92) when the pallet (32) is transferred from the turntable (12) to the pallet transfer conveyor (20).
96). The brush (92) is equipped with a spring.
Because it presses against the unit load near the rear end of the film,
The trailing edge of the film can be smoothed between the brush (92) and the load. Fixed equipment ffi (9G) uses rollers with soft or hard surfaces, a method of blowing airflow to the rear end of the film, and a pallet delivery conveyor (2
Any one of several types of devices can be used, such as a fixed ramp (slope) to pressurize the Fd portion of the film when transferring it to, for example, 0).

The film (62) is loosened when the turn teaser (12) is rotated counterclockwise as shown in Figure 5, and then the film (G2) is tensioned when the film clamp (72) is moved to the 90° position shown. , a pair of transmission rolls (56) to constantly optimize film unwinding;
It has been found that it is advantageous to control the breath stretch B imparted to the film by (58).

FIG. 6 is a chart showing a method of automatically adjusting the amount of film supplied by controlling the pair of transmission rolls (56) and (58) on and off. Transmission roll (56).

When (58) is turned on, the film is unwound from the take-up film (48) in correspondence with the dancer roll (60).

To increase the film feed R, move the dancer roll to the third
Rotate freely inward as shown by the arrow in the figure. This is the current method of unwinding film. However, when using a breath-stretch film, the film is passed between a pair of transmission rolls (56) and (58) to first undergo breath-stretching, and then when it recovers elastically, the dancer roll (6G) is pulled inward and both transmission rolls ( 56) and (58) are started. This action is performed to a certain degree when the wrapping of the box group is paused (for example, when the turntable (16) is in the standard position).

The diagram in FIG. 6 illustrates the on-off control of the Brestretch device when reversing the turntable (12) for the final turn of the packaging cycle and for pallet loading purposes. When the limit switch (78) detects the position of the turntable (12), the palletizer control device starts operating.

Starting from point Δ and proceeding to point 8 (the arrow indicates the direction of rotation of the turntable), the retching device is on, i.e., it unwinds the film at the final rotation of the turntable (12) and its load. conduct.

Film stretch device has 8 points (rotation of approximately 330°)
It turns off at , stopping film advance (from point 8 to point 0). Turntable from 0 point to D point (12
) is rotated counterclockwise by approximately 270° as shown in FIG. 5, while the breath stretch device is in the off state. After placing the pallet there, the turntable (12) is rotated clockwise, and when it reaches approximately 330 degrees (the Breath Stretch device is in the OFF state while moving from point D to Point E), the Breath Stretch device starts. It operates until the turntable (12) stops rotating (from point E to point E).

Figures 28 to 2F show various arrangements for the auxiliary parts of the palletizer. The principle of operation of these arrangements is essentially the same as in the embodiment shown in FIG.

Figure 2A shows the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2 with the right and left sides simply reversed;
(the reference point starts from the mast (46) towards the boom (40)).

Fig. 2B shows a pallet supply conveyor (104) arranged on the right side of the turntable (12), and in this embodiment, the product conveyor (22) is placed on its back and the pallet (32) is loaded below it. That's what I do.

By rotating the turntable (12) counterclockwise, you can fully collect the cargo from pallet 1 to the top of the turntable (12).
2) to prevent the film clamp (72) from interfering with carrying out the pallet carrying out competition 17 (20).

FIG. 2C is a simple inversion of the arrangement of FIG. 2B.

Figure 20 is similar to Figure 2, but the difference is the pallet supply conveyor (18) and pallet discharge conveyor (20).
The positions of each are reversed.

FIG. 2E is a simple inversion of the arrangement of FIG. 20.

FIG. 2F shows a palletizer without the pallet supply conveyor. Loading onto the turntable (12) is carried out using a forklift or pull sheet cargo handling device.
It is done through a vessel.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the invention, which is particularly suitable for use with a shortened film clamp (100). All other configurations are the same as in the case shown in Figure 1, except for the shortened clamp (100) and the film focusing roller (
102) and a new limit switch (
78) to be lower than the position on the support column shown in FIG.

In the actual IIM mode shown in FIG.
Since the length of the film (62) is shorter than the width of the film (62), the film (62) is bundled into a rope shape to be inserted into the jaws of the film clamp (100).

Since the mounting position n of the limit switch (78) is lowered, the film elevator (16) descends along the vertical path 4A (50), and the film (62) is moved down to the turntable (12).
) comes into contact with the top surface of the Film focusing []-ra (102) focuses the film (62) on the turntable (12
) has the function of focusing the film (62) while guiding it upward. The advantage of the shortened film clamp (100) is that the film lift m (1G) is faster than the film clamp (72
) The upper back distance required to separate from the shortened film clamp (100) is smaller than in the case of (100).

The boxes can therefore be stacked to a low level and multilayer wrapped, which is advantageous for certain shipments.

The above describes an apparatus for organizing packages into appropriate units by stacking and wrapping a plurality of boxes. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that what has been described above is a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention and that many changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 shows a simplified self-rotating system according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, and Figs. A modified plan view, FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the path line over which the film passes through the gap in the device of the invention, FIG. 4 is a pictorial plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a pictorial plan view of FIG. FIG. 6 shows a timing device relative to the rotation of the turntable. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the device of the present invention in which a portion of the device is modified. 10... Palletizer device 12... Turntable 14... Robot palletizer 16... Film elevator 18... Pallet supply conveyor 20... Pallet unloading conveyor 22... Product conveyor 24... Product Dispensing conveyor 25...Product 26...Photoelectric switch 7I[E 2 ""I"I[E 3

Claims (13)

[Claims] (1) A device for unitizing a group of accumulated products for transportation, comprising: a turntable for supporting the group of accumulated products; a palletizer for stacking the group of products on the turntable; A product unitization device comprising: a packaging material supply device for supplying packaging materials to the turntable; and a cutting device for cutting the packaging materials. (2) A controller device that starts the turntable, which has a function of controlling the stacking of the product group on the turntable, a function of controlling the supply of packaging materials by the packaging material supply device, and a function of controlling the supply of packaging materials by the packaging material supply device, and the cutting of the packaging materials. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a controller device having a function of controlling cutting of the packaging material by the device. (3) The device according to claim 2, wherein the controller device is capable of performing one of its functions while performing another function. (4) The palletizer includes an upright mast, a laterally extending boom mounted on the mast so as to be movable up and down, and supported so as to be movable laterally on the boom and above the turntable. 3. The device according to claim 2, further comprising a gripping device which can be positioned above the other parts. (5) The packaging material supply device includes a packaging material unwinding device, a pair of drive rolls for unwinding the packaging material from the supply device, and a guide arm for assisting in supplying the packaging material to the turntable. 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises: (6) A device for unitizing a product group into appropriate units, a rotatable turntable device having a deck surface with a transfer device that supports the unitized product group; and a vicinity of the turntable device. a supply station device for assembling products at the turntable; a mast device supported vertically near the turntable device; and a boom carried on the mast device and movable up and down along the mast device. a product gripping device carried on the boom device for gripping a group of products and positionable directly above the supply station device and the turntable device; and a product gripping device carried on the mast device. a packaging material unwinding stand that can be vertically raised and lowered along the mast device; a packaging material clamp that fastens the packaging material mounted on the turntable device; and a packaging material unwinding stand that can move the packaging material from the unwinding stand to the turntable. A product unitizing device having a packaging material guide arm mounted between an unwinding stand and a packaging material clamp for guiding into the device. (7) The product unitizing device according to claim 1, wherein the packaging material guide arm is mounted on the packaging material unwinding stand. 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the turntable device supports a cutting device. (9) The device according to claim 1, further comprising a rear end control device disposed near the turntable device. (10) A method for unitizing stacked product groups, which includes the steps of feeding an empty pallet device to a turntable, and grabbing multiple product groups to be stacked from a product conveyor. a step of transferring the product group onto the pallet device; a step of repeating the gripping step and the transfer step a preset number of times; and a step of rotating the pallet device in accordance with the rotation of the turntable. and a step of feeding the film from the take-up film to the rotating turntable while the turntable is rotating; and a step of cutting the film every time the turntable rotates at least once. Product unit packaging method. (11) A method of increasing the stability and maintainability of a group of products on a pallet by stacking a plurality of product groups on a pallet and packaging them using packaging material supplied from a packaging material unwinding stand. a step of placing the pallet on a rotary turntable; a step of stacking the product group on the pallet; and a step of loading the packaging material from a packaging material unwinding stand while rotating the turntable. Pallet packaging of products by stacking them on pallets, including a step of unrolling the products, a step of arranging the film around the group of products, and a step of stopping the supply of packaging material from the packaging material unwinding stand. how to. (12) A method for stabilizing a plurality of box devices on a pallet device, the method comprising: collecting at least one box device on a product conveyor device; and gripping the box device using a gripping device. a step of raising the gripping device on which the box device is placed; a step of moving the gripping device to a position directly above the pallet device; and a step of placing the box device on the pallet device. a step of placing a predetermined number of box devices on the pallet device and repeating the above steps to form a palletized load; and a step of removing the packaging material from the packaging material unwinding stand while rotating the pallet device. A method for stabilizing a palletized load, comprising: unwinding; stopping supply of packaging material; and bringing the packaging material into close contact with the palletized load. 13. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that the rotational movement of the pallet device is provided by a turntable, and the turntable has a packaging material clamping device for holding the packaging material in the vicinity of the pallet. .