JPH0217407B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to an apparatus for collecting and transporting articles, and more specifically, for example, for collecting and transporting packaging sheets wrapped in a blister packaging machine to a cartoning machine for the next process. The present invention relates to an article accumulation/transfer device suitable for use in cases where the following items are to be collected and transferred.

(b) Prior Art In the process of packaging tablets, etc., a plurality of sheet-like packages, that is, packaging sheets, produced by a blister packaging machine are bundled together and packaged using a cartoning machine or a pillow packaging machine. In this case, in the past, the packaging sheet produced by the blister packaging machine was sent directly to a post-process stacking machine or a cartoning machine with a stacking function for packaging, without putting it into a hopper or the like. In addition to synchronizing the operations of the blister packaging machine and the post-process cartoning machine, etc., the blister packaging machine equipment can continue to operate even if only the cartoning machine stops, so that the blister packaging machine equipment can continue to operate even if the cartoning machine is stopped independently. The wrapped packaging sheets were dropped into a receiving box provided at the bottom of the transfer path and temporarily stored there.

However, in such conventional methods, in order to collect and package the packaging sheets stored in the receiving box, only good products are selected by checking for scratches caused by dropping, and then the packaging sheets are installed in the middle of the packaging process. The packaging had to be manually loaded into the hopper of the replenishing device, which resulted in a problem that the efficiency of the packaging operation was lowered.

(C) Problem to be solved by the invention The problem to be solved by the present invention is that in an equipment for collecting and transferring articles, even if the equipment for the subsequent process is temporarily stopped, the equipment for the previous process does not continue to send the items. In addition to receiving and storing the incoming products, even if the products sent from the pre-processing equipment at regular intervals are out of stock due to the removal of defective products and are not delivered at the predetermined intervals, the predetermined number of products can be returned without the help of a replenishment device. The goal is to ensure that it can be sent to the process equipment.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a device that is provided between a pre-process device and a post-process device, and is supplied one or several pieces at a time from the pre-process device. In this apparatus for accumulating and transferring articles, the body of the accumulating and transferring apparatus is provided with two sets of guide rods spaced apart from each other, and the guide rods include a first and a first guide rod. two sliders are movably provided, each of the sliders is rotatably provided with a first and a second moving sprocket, and the main body is provided with a drive mechanism that drives the sprocket intermittently or continuously between the two sets of guide rods. A first drive sprocket and a second drive sprocket are intermittently driven by a drive mechanism, and the movable sprocket and drive sprocket have an endless chain in which a number of buckets for storing and holding articles are attached at predetermined intervals. and the first moving sprocket is located in the middle of the moving path of the endless chain such that the first driving sprocket is on the upstream side and the second driving sprocket is on the downstream side when viewed in the traveling direction of the endless chain. Near a position between the first drive sprocket there is a feed pawl that moves substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the endless chain, and the feed pawl causes an intake conveyor to feed the articles into the bucket at that location. A pushing mechanism is provided near the middle of the moving path of the endless chain for pushing out the articles in the plurality of buckets together between the first moving sprocket and the second driving sprocket, and A plurality of detection devices for detecting the amount of movement of the second slider are provided close to the movement path of the second slider to which the movable sprocket is attached, separated in the movement direction of the second slider, and on the intake conveyor. An article detection device for detecting the presence or absence of articles sent by the intake conveyor is provided in the vicinity, and the article detection device and the article detection device are connected to the first drive sprocket by a detection signal of no article detected by the article detection device. The second driving sprocket is stopped by a detection signal detected by the one of the plurality of detection devices that is farthest from the second driving sprocket, and the second driving sprocket is stopped by the detection device that is closest to the second driving sprocket. The second drive sprocket is connected to a control device that controls the second drive sprocket to rotate based on the detection signal detected by the second drive sprocket.

(e) Effect In the above configuration, when the intake conveyor is normally supplying articles and the devices on the upstream and downstream sides of the accumulation and transfer device are operating normally, the first and second
A second drive sprocket operates to feed articles into the bucket by the intake conveyor, and a pusher mechanism forces a plurality of articles from within the bucket during intermittent stops of the second drive sprocket. When no articles are sent from the intake conveyor, the control device stops the first drive sprocket in response to a detection signal from the article detection device, thereby stopping feeding of the endless chain. Furthermore, when the detection device farther from the second drive sprocket detects the approach of the second slider, the control device uses the detection signal to stop the second drive sprocket and stop feeding the endless chain on the second slider side. When the detection device closer to the second drive sprocket detects the approach of the second slider, the control device uses the detection signal to rotate the second drive sprocket and start feeding the endless chain on the second slider side. do.

(F) Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 5, the accumulating and transferring device 1 of this embodiment includes a substantially L-shaped main body 10, and a horizontal portion of the main body 10 has a pair of horizontal guide rods 1.
1 and the vertical part has a pair of upright guide rods 1
2 is provided.

Each of the horizontal and upright guide rods 11 and 12 has a second and first slider 2 and 2a.
are movably supported, and second and first movable sprockets 3 and 3a are rotatably attached to each slider 2 and 2a via a shaft 31, respectively.

The sliders 2 and 2a are a plurality of sprockets 21, 22, which are rotatably attached to the main body 10.
They are connected to each other by a chain 24 extending over the slider 23, so that when the second slider 2 moves, the first slider can also move the same distance at the same time. The sprocket 21 is rotatably attached to one end of a lever 25 which is pivotally connected to the main body 10, and the other end of the lever 25 is pulled by a spring 26 to apply a constant tension to the chain 24.

Near the bent portion of the L-shaped main body 10, a first drive sprocket 4 is fixed to a drive shaft 41 rotatably attached to the main body. This drive shaft 4
Reference numeral 1 denotes a transmission shaft 42 and a gear 43 which are also rotatably attached to the main body and driven by a drive shaft (not shown) of a device in the previous process, and a clutch 4 having a known structure.
4 and a gear 45, and the transmission shaft 42
The rotation is continuously rotated by the clutch 44, and the rotation can be stopped (forcibly fixed) when the clutch 44 is released.

In the vicinity of the bent portion, a second drive sprocket 5 is further fixed to a drive shaft 51 rotatably attached to the main body 10. This drive shaft is also rotatably attached to the main body via a series of gear sets 53, an intermittent rotation mechanism 54 such as a Geneva gear, and a clutch 55 of known structure, and is connected to a drive shaft (not shown) for a subsequent process device. The sprocket is connected to a transmission shaft 52 driven by a clutch 55, and the intermittent rotation mechanism allows the sprocket to be rotated intermittently by several bucket buckets (described later), and the rotation can be stopped when the clutch 55 is released. ing.

A and B are located close to the guide rod 11.
Detecting devices 7a, 7b and 7c of known structure such as magnetic type or photoelectric type are provided at positions C and C, respectively. This detection device detects that the slider, and therefore the second movable sprocket 3, has come to that position by detecting that the detection piece 27 attached to the slider 2 has come to that position, and outputs the detection signal. The drive device of the post-process equipment and the operation control circuit (not shown) of the clutches 44, 45, etc.
It is now being sent to

First and second moving sprockets 3a, 3b
An endless conveyor chain 8 is connected to the first and second drive sprockets 4 and 5, as shown in FIG. It is being In this example, packaging sheets made by a blister packaging machine are used as the articles to be collected and transported, so the article holder is a bucket with narrow attachment intervals as shown in the figure. Various types of holders such as chuck type holders can be used.

At the bottom of the vertical part of the main body 10, there is a bucket 81.
An article extrusion mechanism 9 is provided that extrudes a plurality of articles at once. This extrusion mechanism 9 has two parts arranged in the main body 2 and aligned approximately at right angles to the advancing direction of the conveyor chain 8 passing through the extrusion position.
It has a pair of guide rollers 91 and 92 and a push rod 93 movably guided by the guide rollers. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide rollers 91, 92 and the push rods 93 are provided on both sides of the chain 8 and the bucket cart 81, respectively. It is designed to push the edge of the item that protrudes from the edge.

The rear end of the push rod 93 is connected via a link 96 to an arm 95 pivotally attached to the main body 10, and is configured to perform linear reciprocating motion by swinging the arm 95. The arm 95 is connected to a drive source of a post-process device via a mechanism not shown, and is designed to swing in synchronization with the operation of the post-process device.

Reference numeral 100 designates a chain-type intake conveyor that puts the articles sent from the pre-processing device into a bucket, and at a position D above the chain-type intake conveyor, there is, for example, a photoelectric detection device 7d for detecting the presence or absence of articles to be sent by the intake conveyor. is provided.

The accumulation and transfer device of this embodiment is installed between a blister packaging machine and a cartoning machine.

In the above-mentioned accumulation and transfer device, under normal conditions, the drive shaft 4
1 and the first drive sprocket 4 are continuously rotated in the direction of arrow X, so that the portion of the conveyor chain engaged with the drive sprocket is continuously fed. Further, the drive shaft 51 and the second drive sprocket 5 are intermittently rotated in the direction of arrow Y by several bucket pitches (for example, by the pitch of five bucket pitches), so that the portion that engages with this drive sprocket 5 rotates intermittently in the direction of arrow Y. The conveyor chain is fed intermittently. Fluctuations in the conveyor chain due to differences in the feeds of the two drive sprockets are adjusted by movement of the pair of moving sprockets 3, 3a along the guide rods. Also, the conveyor chain feed rate of the second drive sprocket 5 over a given period of time is slightly greater than that of the first drive sprocket.

Under such conditions, the intake conveyor 100
The articles, that is, the packaging sheets m, are sequentially put into the bucket 81 of the conveyor chain, and at the article extrusion position, the push rod 93 moves back and forth once while the conveyor chain 8 is intermittently stopped, and the packages in the bucket are loaded. Seat receiving plate 14
A plurality of pieces are pushed upward at once in the direction of arrow Z so that they can be supplied to the post-processing equipment. When the detection device 7d detects that there is no article m on the intake conveyor, the clutch 44 is released by the detection signal and the rotation of the first drive shaft is temporarily stopped.
In this way, articles are always supplied into the bucket.

While operating under such conditions, the feed rate of the first drive sprocket 4 is lower than that of the second drive sprocket, so that the conveyor between the first drive sprocket 4, the moving sprocket 3a and the second drive sprocket is As the chain gradually becomes shorter, the slider 2a and the moving sprocket 3a descend, and at the same time the slider 2 and the moving sprocket 3 move to the right (in FIG. 1).
When the detection piece 27 of the slider 2 comes to position A, the detection device 7a detects this and issues a detection signal, and the detection signal releases the clutch 55 to open the drive shaft 51 and the second drive sprocket 5. Intermittent rotation is stopped. Note that when the first drive sprocket is stopped because no articles are being fed on the intake conveyor 100, the movement of the slider and the moving sprocket becomes even faster.

When the second driving sprocket 5 stops, the conveyor chain 8 between the driving sprocket 5, the moving sprocket 3 and the driving sprocket 4 is shortened by the continuous feeding of the first driving sprocket, so that the slider 2 and the moving sprocket 3 are moved to the left. slider 2a and moving sprocket 3.
a rises. When the detection piece 27 of the slider 2 reaches position B, the detection device 7b detects this and issues a detection signal, engages the clutch 55, and starts intermittent rotation of the second drive sprocket, allowing normal operation. Return to

The operation continues with the movable sprocket 3 constantly reciprocating between positions A and B.

Next, if the subsequent process equipment temporarily stops operating, the rotation of the transmission shaft 52 is also stopped, and therefore the intermittent rotation of the second drive sprocket is also stopped. Therefore, the slider 2 and the moving sprocket 3 move to the left for the reasons mentioned above, and the slider moves past position B. If the operation of the apparatus for the subsequent process is not started during that time, the slider continues to move to the left, and the detection piece 27 finally reaches position C.
Then, the detection device 7c detects this, issues a detection signal, and stops the operation of the device in the previous process.

Note that if the operation of the post-processing device is started while the slider 2 is moving leftward between positions B and C, the detection signal from the detection device 7b is stored, so the second drive sprocket is also activated at the same time. Start driving.

(g) Effects As described above, according to the accumulation and transfer device of the present invention, even if the downstream process equipment stops operating for a short time, the items sent from the upstream process equipment do not need to be bulk piled in receiving boxes, etc. Even when the articles are not sent from the process equipment temporarily, the movement of the article holder is stopped until the articles are sent, so that a predetermined number of articles can be reliably accumulated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the article accumulation and transfer apparatus according to the present invention, with a part of the main body removed; FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line - in FIG. 1;
Figure 3 is a view taken along the line - in Figure 1;
The figure is a view taken along the line - of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged view taken along the line - of Fig. 1. 1: Accumulation transfer device, 10: Main body, 11, 12:
Guide rod, 2, 2a: Slider, 3, 3a:
Moving sprocket, 4, 5: Drive sprocket,
7a, 7b, 7c, 7d: detection device, 8: chain.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Accumulation and transfer of articles that is installed between a pre-process device and a post-process device and accommodates the articles supplied one or several pieces from the pre-process device, and can be sent out in a number different from the number supplied. In the apparatus, two sets of guide rods are provided at a distance from each other on the main body of the accumulation and transfer apparatus, and the guide rods include a first guide rod.
and a second slider are movably provided, and each of the sliders is rotatably provided with a first and second movable sprocket, and the main body is provided with an intermittent or continuous sprocket between the two sets of guide rods by a drive mechanism. A first drive sprocket that is driven and a second drive sprocket that is intermittently driven by a drive mechanism are provided, and the movable sprocket and the drive sprocket are endless with a number of buckets for storing and holding articles attached at predetermined intervals. chain, and the first drive sprocket is on the upstream side and the second drive sprocket is on the downstream side when viewed in the traveling direction of the endless chain. Moving sprocket and 1st
an intake conveyor having a feed pawl that moves substantially perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the endless chain, the feed pawl transporting the articles into the bucket at that position; A pushing mechanism is provided near the middle of the moving path of the endless chain between the first moving sprocket and the second driving sprocket to collectively push out the articles in the plurality of buckets, and the second moving sprocket A plurality of detection devices for detecting the movement amount of the second slider are provided close to the movement path of the second slider to which the second slider is attached, and are separated from each other in the movement direction of the second slider, and are close to the intake conveyor. and an article detection device for detecting the presence or absence of articles sent by the intake conveyor, and the first drive sprocket is activated by the article detection signal detected by the article detection device. The second drive sprocket is stopped by a detection signal detected by the one of the plurality of detection devices that is farthest from the second drive sprocket, and the second drive sprocket is stopped by the detection device that is closer to the second drive sprocket. 1. An article accumulation and transfer device, characterized in that the article is connected to a control device that controls the second driving sprocket to rotate based on a detected detection signal.