JPH0339932B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically supplying a binding metal fitting to be attached to a binding file, etc. to a bookbinding line.

A binding file, etc. for binding documents, etc. consists of a file main body that constitutes a front cover, a back cover, and a spine, and a U-shaped binding fitting that is fixed to the file main body and binds the ends of documents, etc. The file main body and the inserting metal fittings, which are manufactured separately, are combined and fixed together on a bookbinding line to form a finished product.

Conventionally, this type of binding metal fittings for binding files are transported from a manufacturing factory of the binding metal fittings to a bookbinding factory in a state in which they are lined up and housed in a regular carrying case called a returnable box.

Therefore, in a bookbinding factory, the above-mentioned loading metal fittings are prepared near the start of the bookbinding line while being housed in the above-mentioned carry case or taken out from the above-mentioned carrying case, and the loading metal fittings are manually adjusted to a certain level. A method is adopted in which the books are fed to the bookbinding line at regular intervals and in predetermined postures, and this feeding process is extremely troublesome and inefficient, and deteriorates the production efficiency of the above-mentioned stapling files, etc. This hinders labor saving.

The present invention automatically supplies the above-mentioned binding fittings such as the above-mentioned binding files to the bookbinding line without human intervention, and aims at complete automation and labor saving of fittings feed to the above-mentioned bookbinding line. The aim was to improve the production efficiency of embedded files, etc.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention applies a carry case of the loading fittings as a metal fitting feed element, and the loading fittings are placed in an automatic feeding device in units of cases while being aligned and housed in the carrying case. First, the carry cases are lifted up and separated by side hookers from a stacked state on a lifting platform, and transported and supplied to a first supply station to form a supply preparation state. In the first station, the carry cases are supported on an inclined support section. At the same time, the side surface of the case is supported by a gate and ruler means, and then, in collaboration with a robot mechanism, a predetermined number of aligned groups of loading metal fittings are divided from inside the carry case under the positioning to fixed positions outside the case. Then, each binding bracket is taken out one by one from the alignment start end of the unit binding bracket alignment group that has been extracted in groups from the above-mentioned carry case, and is fed onto the bookbinding line. Divide and take out the other unit storage bracket alignment groups from the above-mentioned carry case, repeat the same operation, and so on until the carry case is empty.
When the carry case becomes empty, the support of the case by the gate and ruler means is released and the case is discharged according to the slope of the inclined support part, and the next carry case is applied, thereby rationally and efficiently automatically feeding the loading fitting. It was designed to be supplied.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

The loading fitting 1 which is assembled and fixed to the main body (not shown) of the storing file etc. has a well-known structure as shown in FIG. and a storage section 1 arranged at right angles from both sides of the back support section 1a in the width direction.
b, and has a U-shape when viewed as a whole, and is housed in a carry case 2, which is called a returnable box, from a manufacturing factory of the binding metal fitting 1 and transported to a bookbinding factory for binding files and the like.

The loading fittings 1 are housed in the carrying case 2 in equal numbers in each case, arranged in a grid pattern. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned storage device 1 has constant numbers X1 to Xn in each row so that the tips of the left and right storage portions 1b of the other storage device 1 come into contact with the outer surface of the back support portion 1a. Arrange the pieces to form a row Y,
The columns Y are arranged in constant columns Y1 to Yn and housed in the carry case 2. .

The carry case 2 has an open top surface, and ribs 2a are formed at the top on both sides in the longitudinal direction.

An automatic supply line B for the binding fittings 1 is formed as a pre-process line of the bookbinding line A for binding files, etc., and the carrying case 2 in which the binding fittings 1 are housed in the alignment state as described above is placed at the starting end of the line B. It is equipped with a stock station 3 that accommodates a plurality of stock stations. The stock station 3 includes an elevating loading platform 5 on which the carry cases 2 are stacked in multiple tiers and raised and lowered upward (upward in FIG. A roller conveyor 4 is provided for moving the cargo from one side to the other.

The roller conveyor 4 is equipped with a large number of freely rotating rollers 4a, which are arranged in parallel from the outer area of the loading platform to the area where the lifting platform 5 goes up and down, and are divided and arranged so as not to interfere with each other in the area where the lifting loading platform 5 goes up and down. The carry cases 2 are stacked in multiple tiers and are placed on standby on the front stage portion 4b of the conveyor horizontally arranged to the side of the lifting platform 5, and when the lifting platform 5 is empty, the rollers The multi-stage stacked carry case 2 is pushed out and placed in the multi-stage stacked state onto the lifting platform 5 placed horizontally with the conveyor 4 using the conveyor's rear stage portion 4c as a guide.

Between the front part 4b and the rear part 4c of the conveyor, there is a detent that sinks under the roller conveyor 4 when the carry case 2 passes, and projects above the roller conveyor 4 after passing and supports the rear edge of the carry case 2. A stopper 13 for use is provided. The stopper 13 is supported by a spring, for example, and allows the above-described movement.

The elevating and lowering platform 5 is lifted and lowered by an elevating screw 6 that is fixed to the center of the lower surface of the elevating and lowering platform 5 and extends vertically. The elevating screw 6 is inserted through the center of a worm 7 rotatably attached to the frame F, and meshes with the worm 7 at the insertion portion. The worm gear 8 is rotationally driven by a motor M1 fixed to the frame F via a transmission body 9, and the forward and reverse rotation of the motor M1 causes the elevating screw 6 to move up and down, and accordingly, the elevating screw 6 moves up and down. The loading platform 5 also moves up and down.

The elevating loading platform 5 is controlled so that the uppermost of the carry cases 2 stacked on the elevating loading platform 5 is positioned at a constant level, and is raised by a fixed amount as the number of stacked stages decreases. .

Further, the lifting and lowering of the lifting platform 5 is guided by guide stays 10 fixed to the four corners of the lower surface of the lifting platform 5, respectively.

A front plate 12 is provided at the discharge end of the roller conveyor 4 for accurately placing the carry case 2 on the lifting platform 5 and positioning the carry case 2 on the roller conveyor 4. A guide plate 14 is provided which cooperates with a stopper 13 that prevents movement to support the carry case 2 on the lift platform 5 without any back-and-forth movement, and guides the left and right sides of the carry case 2, respectively. It guides the movement of the carry case 2 and stably supports it so that it does not move left and right on the lifting platform 5.

The carry case 2 housed in the stock station 3 is always maintained at a constant level on the lifting platform 5 as described above, and the carry case 2 in the uppermost stage kept at the constant level is A case transfer device 22, which is provided so as to be movable back and forth between the transport station 3 and the transport device 16 described later, transfers the case onto the transport device 16. The case transfer device 22 includes a pair of side hookers 23 placed on both sides of the carry case 2. The side hooker 23 engages with the rib 2a of the carry case 2 to lift it up and separate it from the carry case 2 on the lower stage. the side footer 2 for lifting the carry case 2;
3 is rotatably supported by a shaft 27 on the side slider 26, and a rotary cylinder 25 attached to the side surface of the side slider 26 engages with the rib 2a to apply a pushing force, and a position where the engagement is released. It is rotatably provided.

FIG. 5 shows a case where the fan-shaped gear 24 provided at the base end of the side hooker 23 is engaged with the drive screw shaft of the rotary cylinder 25 to obtain the hooker rotation. FIG. 6 also shows how the drive shaft of the rotary cylinder 25 is connected to the side footker 23.
An embodiment is shown in which the hook is directly connected to the rotation axis of the hook to obtain the above-mentioned rotation.

Furthermore, the side slider 26 is slidably mounted on a guide rail 28 that is horizontally suspended in parallel above the endless belt 20 of the conveyance device 16, and in order to obtain the parallel sliding movement, the side slider 26 The swinging end of the swinging rod 29 is connected to the cylinder 30, and by swinging the swinging rod 29 with the cylinder 30, the swinging motion is transferred to the side slider 2.
It adopts a configuration that converts to 6 sliding movements.

Of course, when connecting the swinging rod 29 and the side slider 26, a joint 11 such as a universal joint is used to absorb the amount of deviation.

4 and 5 show the side slider 26
In order to more stably slide the side footers 23, a plurality of guide rails 28 are provided.
FIG. 6 shows a case in which two rails are provided along both upper sides of the endless belt 20 and fitted into each of the side sliders 26, and FIG. 6 shows a case in which a single rail structure is adopted.

In this way, the case transfer device 22 lifts up the uppermost carry case 2 which is kept at a constant level by the lift platform 5, and further slides in parallel in the lateral direction while maintaining the suspended state. The carry case 2 is brought to the endless belt 20 of the conveying device 16. Next, the rotary cylinder 25 is reversed, so that the side footker 23
is rotated to the disengaged position to release the suspension of the carry case 2, and the carry case 2 is mounted on the endless belt 20. That is, the stock station 3
from the carrying case 2 onto the carrying device 16.
transfer is accomplished.

Between the stock station 3 and a first supply station 15, which will be described later, there is a belt conveyor that transports the carry case 2 stored in the stock station 3 to the first supply station 15. A transport device 16 is arranged. The conveying device 16 includes an endless belt 20 that is stretched around a rotor 17 rotatably attached to the frame F, a large number of receiving rolls 18 rotatably attached to the frame F, and a tension rotor 19. has been done.
The rotor 17 is rotationally driven by a motor M2 via a transmission body 21. That is, the rotor 17 is rotationally driven by the rotation of the motor M2, causing the endless belt 20 to travel endlessly, and in conjunction with this, the carry case 2 placed on the endless belt 20 is transferred forward and 1 feeding station 15. Moreover, the above-mentioned conveyance device 1
6 extends to the first supply station 15 at its discharge end, and is tilted forward at the discharge end via a turning roll 18a to form an inclined support portion 15a of the first supply station 15.

Further, a free roller 18b is arranged in parallel at an angle synchronized with the forward inclination of the terminal end of the endless belt 20 from the turning roll 18a, and cooperates with the terminal end of the endless belt 20 to tilt the inclined support section of the carry case 2. 15a. Further, free rollers 35 are juxtaposed from the terminal end of the inclined support part 15a to the external area of the first supply station 15, and the roller group moves the inclined support part 15.
A case discharge chute 31 is formed at the end a.

The automatic supply line B is provided with a first supply station 15 as described above, which takes out a predetermined number of units of the loading fittings 1 from the inside of the carry case 2 at an intermediate portion thereof (at the discharge end of the conveyance device 16). There is. As described above, the first supply station 15 has an inclined support portion 15 that slopes downward toward the front so as to support the bottom surface 2b of the carry case 2, which is transferred in a horizontal state, in a forward-inclined state.
a, one side of the carry case 2 supported by the inclined support part 15a is supported by the following gate/ruler means, and the loading fitting 1 is shifted toward the same side by gravity, and is used as an alignment reference plane; Forming a state in which the loading fittings 1 are arranged at a constant pitch from the alignment reference plane, and ensuring that a robot mechanism (to be described later) takes out the loading fittings 1 in groups of a predetermined number of units; Gravity is applied to the surface side to prevent the storage fitting 1 from falling sideways into the empty space.

In order to form an inclined support and positioning state of the carry case 2 at the first supply station 15, in addition to forming the inclined support part 15a,
A gate/ruler means 32 that supports the lower side side surface of the carry case 2 is provided at the lower level. The gate and ruler means 32 forms the alignment reference surface of the insertion fitting 1 in the carry case 2 on one side of the carry case 2. The gate/ruler means 32 is supported by a shaft 34 so as to be freely raised and lowered at a position where it supports the side surface of the carry case 2 and a position where it is released, and is rotated to each position in a timely manner. For,
It is connected to a drive control mechanism such as a cylinder 33, and the gate/ruler means 32 is rotated to each of the above positions using a shaft 34 as a fulcrum by expansion and contraction of the rod of the cylinder 33. The gate and ruler means 32 moves to the release position to discharge the empty carry case 2 to the outside of the first supply station 15 via the previously described discharge chute 31. After the discharge, the gate and ruler means 32
stands up again and prepares to carry in the next carry case 2. The gate/ruler means 32 functions as a ruler to form a reference surface for aligning the loading fittings 1 as described above, and also functions as a gate to control the discharge of the used carry case 2.

The above-mentioned first supply station 15 and a second supply station to be described later.
Between the supply stations, there is a robot mechanism for directly dividing and taking out a predetermined number of units of the loading metal fittings 1 from the inside of the carry case 2 which is latched to the first feeding station 15 in an inclined state. 36 are provided. The robot mechanism 36 moves the Y in the carry case 2 of the loading fitting 1 within an inclined plane parallel to the inclined plane of the inclined support portion 15a of the first supply station 15.
a lateral movement mechanism 37 that allows the robot mechanism 36 to move freely in the row or X row (see FIG. 2) direction;
A vertical movement mechanism 38 is supported by the lateral movement mechanism 37 and is movable vertically along a trajectory perpendicular to the inclined surface of the inclined support portion 15a.

A plurality of main pillars 39 are installed on the frame F perpendicularly to the inclined support part 15a, and guides are provided on the main pillars 39 between the first and second supply stations parallel to the inclined surface of the inclined support part 15a. Rails 40 are suspended horizontally, and a lateral slide 41 constituting a lateral movement mechanism is mounted on both guide rails 40 by slidingly fitting both ends thereof.

A piston rod 44 of a cylinder 43 is connected to the connecting bar 42 of the horizontal slide 41, and moves in the left-right direction along the guide rail 40 as the piston rod 44 expands and contracts. The horizontal slide 41 is provided with a guide stay 45 that is perpendicular to the inclined surface of the inclined support portion 15a.
5, the vertical slide 46 constituting the vertical movement mechanism 38 is slidably fitted, the vertical slides 46 are connected by a fixed bar 47, and the piston rod 77 of the cylinder 76 for vertical movement is connected to the fixed bar 47. The vertical slide 46 is configured to move vertically along the guide stay 45 as the piston rod 77 expands and contracts.

A large number of vertically elongated fixing fingers 48, which are one fingers forming each gripper group D, are fixed to both sides of the fixing bar 47 in the longitudinal direction with bolts 49 at equal intervals.

A vertically elongated movable finger 50 that is the other finger forming each gripper group D parallel to the other fixed bar 47
A pair of moving bars 51 are arranged to attach the. Both moving bars 51 are attached at both ends to the vertical slide 46 via slide rods 52 so as to be able to move laterally, and a piston rod 55 of a cylinder 54 is connected to the connecting portion 53 of the moving bar 51. The slide rod 52 is guided by the expansion and contraction movement of the slide rod 55 to move it in the lateral direction.

Each moving finger 50 forming the gripper group D
are rotatably mounted on shafts 56 facing the fixed fingers 48 forming the gripper group D inside the moving bars 51 in the longitudinal direction, and extend in the same direction as the fixed fingers 48.

Each of the movable fingers 50 is moved in the direction in which it is held together with the fixed finger 48 (the seventh
It is held elastically in the direction of arrow A in the figure. Each of the movable fingers 50 is provided with a stopper 58 on its upper part, and the stopper 58 is brought into contact with a locking pin 57 protruding from the side surface of the movable bar 51, and the biasing force of the spring S that provides the above-mentioned locking property is applied to the movable finger 50. The rotational dead center of each movable finger 50 in the closing direction with respect to the fixed finger 48 is set against the rotation.

When the piston rod 55 of the cylinder 54 for operating the gripper is extended and the moving bars 51 are moved in the direction of arrow B in FIG. The back support portions 1a of each of the above-mentioned loading metal fittings 1 are held simultaneously between the two. At this time, each of the moving fingers 50 absorbs the error in the amount of closing by the spring S, and grips the storage fitting 1 reliably. When the piston rod 55 is retracted and the moving bars 51 are moved in the direction of the arrow C in FIG. 7, the moving fingers 50 are also moved in the same direction, releasing the grip on the attachment fitting 1 at the same time.

As described above, each of the movable fingers 50 pivoted to the movable bars 51 respectively moves the entire amount simultaneously in accordance with the expansion and contraction movement of the piston rod 55 of the cylinder 54, and each of the movable fingers 50 moves each of the above-mentioned loading fittings 1 in a predetermined unit. The number of fastener fittings arranged in group G are clamped at once, and the clamping is released at once.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment for setting the rotational dead center of each of the moving fingers 50 in the closing direction. The dead center of rotation in the closing direction can be adjusted.

The movable fingers 50 may be fixed to the movable bars 51 in the same way as the fixed fingers 48, as long as the interval between the fingers can be properly set.

Furthermore, when installing the vertical movement mechanism 38 equipped with the gripper group D so as to be movable in the vertical direction on the horizontal slide 41, in addition to using the guide stay as described above, the horizontal movement mechanism 38 as shown in FIG. Vertical slide 73 configured with a frame body on the slide 41
is provided to be slidable in the vertical direction, and the vertical slide 73
It is also possible to move up and down by connecting the piston rods 75 of the cylinders 74, which are respectively fixed to the horizontal slides 41, respectively.

Furthermore, as in the embodiment, the fixed finger 48 and the movable finger 50
Each gripper consisting of two or more rows is provided in a staggered manner,
With one gripper group, set the above-mentioned mounting bracket alignment group to 1.
If a configuration is adopted in which grippers are gripped every other row, and the remaining stacking brackets are gripped by the gripper group in the other row, it is possible to arrange each gripper in high density, and the grippers can be arranged at a narrow pitch. The aforementioned batch removal of the metal fittings 1 can also be done properly. Note that this does not preclude the grippers from being arranged in a single row depending on the implementation.

The automatic supply line B includes a second supply station 59 at its terminal end. The second supply station 59 has an inclined support part 61 having an approximately equal inclination angle in synchronization with the inclined support part 15a of the first supply station 15, and the gripper group D of the robot mechanism 36 is mounted on the inclined support part 61. The storage fittings aligned group G taken out from the carry case 2 is placed therein, and the storage fittings 1 placed therein are placed one from the top.
It is equipped with a suction device 69 that takes out each piece one by one. The second supply station 59 is disposed close to the starting end of the bookbinding line A, and transports the unit binding bracket array group G taken out at the first supply station 15 toward the starting end of the bookbinding line A. An intermittent conveyance device 60 is provided that performs cueing (pushing out the first loading metal fitting to a fixed position). The intermittent transport device 60 transports the unit storage fittings aligned group G while maintaining the aligned state taken out by the gripper group D of the robot mechanism 36. A guide frame 6 consisting of a side guide 62 erected on the
3, and an intermittent feed chain 64 running in the center of the bottom guide 61 constituting the guide frame 63.

The intermittent feed chain 64 has wheels 65 and 66.
In between, the guide frame 63 is suspended so as to run in parallel over substantially the entire length thereof, and a pusher 67 is attached to the substantially central portion in the width direction. As the intermittent feed chain 64 travels, the pusher 67 moves within a groove 68 opened over the entire length of the bottom guide 61a in the longitudinal direction, and moves the unit stack placed on the guide frame 63. While supporting the back support part 1a at the rear end of the metal fittings alignment group G and preventing it from falling down, the unit binding metal fittings alignment group G is intermittently transferred toward the starting end of the bookbinding line A, and the leading one is always kept in a fixed position. Put it out.

The intermittent feed chain 64 travels intermittently in synchronization with the supply of the binding tool 1 to the bookbinding line A at regular intervals, and moves the pusher 67 intermittently, thereby causing the units supported by the pusher 67 to move intermittently. The stacking metal fittings aligned group G is intermittently transferred and the starting end of the alignment is located. Also, the above-mentioned pusher 67
A plurality of metal fittings are mounted on the chain conveyor 64 at intervals larger than the entire length of the unit metal fittings alignment group G, and when all the metal fittings alignment groups are fed out, the metal fittings in the chain conveyor 64 are tilted to receive the feeding of the next metal fittings alignment group. It stands on the lower part of the support part 61.

Between the second supply station 59 and the starting end of the bookbinding line A, the binding metal fittings 1 that have been indexed at the starting end of the unit binding metal arrangement group G are picked out one by one each time the unit binding metal fitting group G is arranged, and the The suction device 69 is provided to supply the suction metal fittings 1 to the starting end of the bookbinding line A, and feeds the suction metal fittings cut out one by one to the starting end of the bookbinding line A with the suction metal fittings 1 lying down. The suction device includes a suction cup 70 that suctions the outer surface of the back support portion 1a of the loading metal fitting 1, an arm 71 that operates the suction cup 70, and the arm 7.
1 (not shown).

The specific effects of the present invention described above are as follows.

The carry case 2 in which the above-mentioned storage fittings 1 are arranged and housed according to the above-mentioned arrangement is first placed on the roller conveyor 4 of the stock station 3, and moved on the roller conveyor 4 onto the lifting platform 5 which can be moved up and down. The upper stage is kept at a constant level position by intermittent lifting of the lifting platform 5, and the upper stage is kept at a constant level position, and the case transfer device 22 is placed at the constant level position.
suspended in the air. The carry case 2 is transferred to the starting end of the transport device 16 while being suspended by the case transfer device 22, and is released from the support of the case transfer device 22 at the starting end and placed on the transport device 6. Ru. Next, the carry case 2 is
It is transferred to the supply station 15 by the conveying device 16, sent out onto the inclined support portion 15a, and supported in a fixed position in an inclined state on the first supply station 15 by the gate/ruler means 32 on the lower side of the inclination.

Next, the lateral movement mechanism 3 of the robot mechanism 36
7 operates to position the gripper group D provided in the vertical movement mechanism 38 of the robot mechanism 36 above the first row Y1 (see FIG. 2) of the carry case 2, and at this position, the vertical movement mechanism 38
is activated to lower the gripper group D, move the moving bar 51 of the gripper group D, and use the movable finger 50 and the fixed finger 48 pivoted to the moving bar 51 to move the gripper group D in a predetermined number of units. are removed in bulk at the same time. After the gripping, the vertical movement mechanism 38 is actuated to raise the gripper group D, and then the lateral movement mechanism 37 is actuated to move the gripper group D above the second supply station 59, and the movement is performed. the longitudinal movement mechanism 38 in position;
is activated to lower the gripper group D, and in the lowered position, the movable bar 51 is moved in the opposite direction to the above, thereby simultaneously releasing the gripping of the fastening fitting 1 by the movable finger 50 and the fixed finger 48. Then, the stowing metal fittings 1 are placed as a predetermined number of stowing metal fitting aligned groups G on the intermittent conveyance device 60 of the second supply station. Next, the gripper group D is raised in time for the end of the loading fittings at the second supply station 59, and this time it is positioned above the second row Y2 of the carry case 2 to empty the loading fittings group in the same row. It is then fed to the second supply station 59 where it has become saturated. Thereafter, the operation is repeated stepwise in the same manner for the third, fourth, etc. columns.

When the above action is repeated and there is no longer any loading tool 1 in the carry case 2 located at the first supply station 15, that is, when the gripper group D is in the last row in the carry case 2,
When you have completed removing the above-mentioned loading fitting 1 of Yn,
The gate/ruler means 32 is activated to lay down the empty carry case 2, and release the support from the empty carry case 2.
It is discharged via the discharge chute 31. When the removal is completed, the gate and ruler means 32 stands up again, locks the next carry case 2 to the first supply station 15, and repeats the same operation.

The loading metal fittings 1 are placed on the guide frame 63 of the intermittent conveyance device 60 as a predetermined number of storage metal fitting alignment groups G by the robot mechanism 36, and are indexed by a pusher 67 that moves intermittently, The beginning of the loading metal fitting 1 is transferred to the suction device 6.
They are sucked one by one to the suction cup 70 of No. 9 and extracted.
By the extraction operation of the suction cup 70, the sheets are intermittently supplied to the bookbinding line A in a prone state, and are supplied onto the traveling conveyor forming the bookbinding line A at equal intervals.

When the extraction of the metal fittings aligned group G is completed, the next unit storage metal fittings aligned group G taken out by the robot mechanism 36 is placed on the intermittent conveyance device 60,
The same action is repeated thereafter.

The above actions are performed continuously, and the above-mentioned loading metal fitting 1
is automatically supplied onto the bookbinding line A.

As described above, according to the present invention, the loading fittings are kept aligned and housed in the carry case and are supplied to the supply line in units of cases, and are once conveyed to the first station to form a predetermined supply configuration. After that, a predetermined number of aligned groups of filing metal fittings are dividedly fed from inside the carry case to a second supply station outside the carry case, and further a required supply configuration is formed at the second supply station. At the same time, it is possible to take out each of the binding fittings one by one from the starting end of the alignment group of unit binding fittings and supply them onto the bookbinding line at regular intervals, and the metal fitting feeding operation using the carry case as the supply source is continuous. Moreover, it is done automatically.

According to the present invention, even when the carry cases are stacked on the lifting platform, for example, by fitting each other, the side hookers work together with the lifting platform to lift the uppermost carry case from the lower one and separate it properly. Carry cases can be taken out, and the stacked carry cases are taken out unit by unit from the lifting/lowering loading platform (stock station).
The operation of supplying to the supply station can be performed smoothly and reliably.

Further, the carry case supplied to the first supply station is supported by the inclined support part, and its downwardly sloped side surface is regulated by a gate and ruler means, so that the storage fittings group in the case is moved to the downwardly sloped side. Set the alignment reference plane appropriately by shifting it to the side,
In this state, the robot can take out the stacks in rows, and the robot can properly and smoothly take out and supply the group of attachment fittings from the first supply station to the second supply station, and the robot can also take out the bins in rows. By releasing the side restriction by the gate/ruler means used for positioning, the carry case can be automatically ejected along the inclined support section and ready for supplying the next carry case. ,
The respective elements of the inclined support part, the gate/ruler means, and the robot are organically combined and work together to rationally perform the automatic feeding of the binding tool to the desired bookbinding line. That is, the present invention can be applied as a metal feed element of a carry case used for transporting the binding metal, and can perform automatic feeding of the storage metal rationally and efficiently, and can completely feed the metal metal feed to the bookbinding line. Automation and labor saving can be achieved, and production efficiency of interleaved files etc. can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fastener applied to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the alignment of the fasteners accommodated in a carrier case. , Fig. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the automatic supply line of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a side view showing details of the automatic supply line, and Fig. 5 is a front view of the case transfer device, showing only one side. , Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing another example of the case transfer device, Fig. 7 is a front view of the gripper mechanism, Fig. 8 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing another example of the case transfer device.
The figure is an enlarged perspective view of a single gripper, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another example of the robot mechanism, and FIG. 11 is a side view of the second supply station. 1...Insertion bracket, 2...Carry case, 3...
... Stock station, 5 ... Lifting platform, 15
. . . First supply station, 15a . ... Vertical movement mechanism, 59 ... Second supply station, 6
0... Intermittent conveyance device, 60... Satsuka device, A
...Binding line, B...Automatic feed line for binding fittings, D...Gripper group, G...Unit binding fitting alignment group.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device that automatically supplies binding fittings to be attached to binding files, etc. to a bookbinding line for binding files, etc., in which carrying cases in which the binding fittings are arranged and housed are stacked in multiple stages and raised and lowered until the final stage. It is equipped with an elevating loading platform that ascends to position the upper carry case at a fixed level, and a case transfer device that takes out the uppermost carry case maintained at the fixed level and transfers it to a transfer device, and the case transfer device A guide rail is provided that is rotatable between a position where it engages with both sides of the carry case 2 to lift it up and separate it from the lower carry case, and a position where it releases the engagement, and between the top of the lifting platform and the top of the transport device. The carrier case is provided with a side hooker that is slidable back and forth along the side footer, and the lifted and held carry case is brought onto the conveying device by sliding of the side hooker, and is mounted onto the conveying device by disengaging the side hooker. , the conveying device is arranged to supply the transferred carry case to a first supply station, and the first supply station includes an inclined support part supporting the bottom surface of the carry case in an inclined state, A gate and ruler means is provided on the lower side for supporting a side surface of the carry case placed on the inclined support part and forming a reference plane for aligning the loading fittings in the carry case, and the first supply station is provided with a gate and a ruler means for supporting the side surface of the carry case placed on the inclined support part, A robot mechanism is provided that picks up a predetermined number of aligned groups of binding fittings from within the carry case supported on the inclined support portion of the station and supplies them to a second supply station at the starting end of the bookbinding line, and The station is equipped with an intermittent conveyance device that intermittently transports the aligned group of unit stowage metal fittings supplied by the robot mechanism so as to cue up the aligned group of unit stowage metal fittings at the starting end of the alignment. A suction device is provided which sequentially picks out each of the binding fittings from the starting end of the alignment and supplies them onto the bookbinding line, and the gate/ruler means releases the support of the carrying case after all the binding fittings have been taken out from inside the carrying case. 1. An automatic feeding device for a storage fitting, characterized in that the device is configured to discharge the metal from the first feeding station according to the inclination of the inclined support portion.