JPH033448Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial field of application) This invention uses thin plastic films that are stacked and stored in the magazine of an automatic packaging machine to automatically package chicken eggs for retail sale. This invention relates to an improvement in a suction cup that pulls out containers one by one from the lowest stage and supplies them to a conveyor of a packaging machine.

(Prior Art) As shown in FIG. 3, the container 11 for packaging eggs, called an egg pack, stores 6 to 12 eggs divided into two rows, and each An individual housing seat 12 that is designed to prevent contact is provided to protrude downward. On the peripheral wall of each storage seat 12, for the purpose of providing mechanical strength and ventilation,
Generally, several ribs 13 are formed.

When automatically packaging chicken eggs, the containers 11 need to be automatically fed, and for this reason, a method has conventionally been adopted in which the containers are sucked one by one using a suction cup 1 connected to a vacuum device and fed to the packaging device. This suction cup 1 is usually made of rubber or plastic with rubber elasticity, and due to the shape of the container 11, it is difficult to attach the suction cup 1 to the back side of any one of the plurality of storage seats 12. It is considered convenient.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, since the container 11 is thin, the ribs 1
3 has projections and depressions formed on the back side of the storage seat 12, so in the conventional suction cup 1' as shown in FIG. Easy to cause suction mistakes. In addition, if the suction power of the vacuum device is increased to prevent suction errors, the suctioned part of the container will be sucked too deeply into the suction cup when the container is released, and due to the frictional resistance peculiar to rubber, it will quickly be removed from the suction cup. It becomes difficult to leave.

Moreover, such adsorption and release generally requires repetition several times per second. The reality is that this has significantly hindered the smoothness of the high-speed, continuous packaging of eggs.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a suction cup capable of high-speed feeding, which can prevent the above-mentioned thin plastic film containers from being sucked incorrectly, and at the same time, can quickly detach when released. The purpose of this report is as follows.

In a suction cup made of rubber or a material with rubber elasticity, at least the inner wall near the suction port has a sponge rubber layer and a woven nylon cloth layered on the suction chamber side of the sponge rubber layer with good sliding properties. In addition, a thin flexible layer made of a highly elastic material is provided.

(Function) When suctioning the container, the convex part of the rib on the circumferential wall of the storage seat presses against the thin flexible layer with high elasticity and sinks into the sponge rubber layer, so that the inner wall of the suction cup and the storage seat come into close contact.
Strong suction is possible.

When the suction cup is released, since the flexible layer is made of a material with good slippage, the suction cup can be quickly released.

(Example) This invention will be explained below based on the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a suction cup, which is made of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or other rubber-elastic plastic and is shaped approximately like a bell. Reference numeral 3 denotes a suction chamber formed by the inner wall 2 of the suction cup 1, and an exhaust hole 4 connected to a vacuum device (not shown) is provided in the central part at the back of the chamber. 5 is a suction port.

A sponge rubber layer 6 is provided on the inner wall 2 at least in a portion close to the suction port 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes a thin flexible layer, which is superimposed on the sponge rubber layer 6 on the suction chamber 3 side. According to experiments, this flexible layer 7
Suitable materials include nylon fabrics such as twill weaves and stockinette fabrics with a thickness of around 0.5 mm that are slippery and highly elastic, or other plastic fiber woven fabrics, silk fabrics, etc. It may be pasted on top of layer 6.

A container 11 is placed in the suction chamber 3 configured as described above.
When the back side of the storage seat 12 is attracted as shown in FIG. 3, the convex portions 13' of the ribs 13 on the peripheral wall of the storage seat 12 press against the flexible layer 7, as shown in FIG. It sinks into 6. At this time, since the flexible layer 7 is highly flexible, it follows the deformation of the sponge rubber layer 6 well. Therefore, the suction chamber 3 and the back peripheral wall of the housing seat 12 are in close contact with each other, and strong suction is possible.

Next, when the container 11 is released, since the thin flexible layer 7 with good sliding exists on the sponge rubber layer 6, the container 11 can be removed extremely smoothly and quickly without experiencing the frictional resistance peculiar to rubber. Furthermore, due to its smoothness and quickness, the container 11 can sufficiently maintain a predetermined posture within a limited short time.

(Effects) Automatic packaging of eggs is a high-speed, continuous operation, so
Naturally, the feeding of the container must follow that speed, and at the same time, the container must be kept in a position that is most likely to accept the eggs that are continuously falling one after another from the packaging machine above. This idea was developed by providing a sponge rubber layer and a slippery thin flexible layer on the inner wall of the suction cup.
It goes without saying that it satisfies the above conditions, has a simple structure, is highly durable, and can be provided at a low price.

The suction cup of this invention is not limited to packaging containers made of thin plastic film (or sheets).
It can be implemented to automatically feed thin plastic containers such as Styrofoam. Moreover, the use of the container is of course not limited to chicken eggs, and can also be used for packaging fruits, root vegetables, mushrooms, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 4 show examples, where Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A, Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a container is adsorbed, and Figure 4 is a container FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view during adsorption. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional suction cup when it is suctioning a container. 1... Suction cup, 2... Inner wall, 3... Suction chamber, 5...
... Suction port, 6 ... Sponge rubber layer, 7 ... Flexible layer, 11 ... Container, 12 ... Accommodation seat, 13 ... Rib.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It has a group of individual storage seats with ribs on the peripheral wall,
A suction cup made of rubber or a material with rubber elasticity is used to pull out a large number of thin plastic film egg containers stacked in the magazine of a packaging machine one by one from the bottom shelf and feed them to the conveyor of the packaging machine. , at least on the inner wall near the suction port,
An automatic egg packaging container characterized by having a sponge rubber layer and a thin flexible layer made of a slippery and highly elastic material such as nylon woven fabric, which is layered on the suction chamber side of the sponge rubber layer. Supply suction cup.