JPH0341637Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] "Industrial application field" This invention is used in an automatic washing machine for containers such as dishes and trays to transport containers such as dishes to be washed by spraying cleaning liquid from a spray nozzle installed in the washing chamber. The present invention relates to an automatic container supply device to a transport conveyor, in which the container is accurately dropped into a concave portion of a connecting holding link constituting the conveyor, and is conveyed while being held at a predetermined tilt angle.

``Prior Art'' Conventionally, a conveyor has been used to transport stacked containers such as tableware and trays by dropping them horizontally one by one onto the conveyor in an automatic container washer using an automatic separation and unloading mechanism. Devices for feeding containers to are known.

By the way, this device simply feeds stacked containers such as tableware, one by one, from the lowest one horizontally onto a conveyor with the opening facing downward. If this method is applied to a conveyor called a so-called flight conveyor, which is composed of connecting and holding links with upwardly facing concave portions, the containers cannot fall into the upwardly facing concave portions of the connecting and holding links.

``Technical Means of the Invention'' This invention consists of stacking a large number of tableware with the openings facing downward in the concave portion 1 of the connecting and holding link 2 that constitutes a conveyor for containers in an automatic washing machine for a large number of containers such as tableware. A storage hopper for the stacked containers 4 in the automatic separation/unloading mechanism S is installed above the loading side of the containers 4 on the conveyor 3 as a technical means for accurately dropping and holding containers 4 one by one in a tilted state from the lowest container. A support member 7 for supporting the peripheral rear side part 6 of the container 4 that has been separated and carried out is installed at the lower rear side of the container 5, and an inclined surface 10 is provided in front of this support member 7 on the slope line of the downwardly inclined surface 8. A reciprocating member 11 formed on the upper surface is installed, and this retracting member 1
A stopper 13 for receiving the peripheral front side 12 of the container 4 is installed at the upper rear side of the container 1, and a stopper 13 is installed between the advancing/retracting member 11 and the support member 7 to create a fall space for the container 4 carried out downward by the automatic separation/unloading mechanism S. 9 is formed, and below this falling space 9 a conveyor 3 for transporting containers 4 is installed which travels horizontally towards the washing chamber.

This conveyor 3 is constructed by connecting a large number of connecting and holding links 2 each having an upward concave portion 1 formed therein. The container 4 carried out downward by the automatic carry-out mechanism S falls into the upwardly facing recessed part 1 of the connecting holding link 2 and is held therein.

``Example'' As illustrated in FIG. 1, a container 4 such as a large number of dishes and trays stacked with openings facing downwards is configured to be automatically separated and carried out one by one starting from the lowest one. An automatic separation/unloading mechanism S is installed above the container loading side of the container transport conveyor 3 in an automatic washing machine for containers such as tableware.
A holding part 13 for supporting the peripheral rear side part 6 of the stacked containers 4 is provided at the front part of the lower horizontal movement member 14 on the rear side of the lower part of the storage hopper 5. A receiving member 15 for supporting the peripheral front side portion 12 is provided.

A support member 7 is installed below the bottom rear side of the storage hopper 5 to support the peripheral rear side 6 of one container 4 separated and carried out by the automatic separating and carrying machine mechanism S. A downwardly inclined surface 8 is formed at the portion.

Further, for inclined cleaning of the downwardly inclined surface 8, a reciprocating member 11 is installed which supports and releases the container 4 having an inclined surface 10 formed on the upper surface, and above the advancing and retracting member 11 is installed the front side of the periphery of the container 4. A stopper 13 for receiving 12 is provided.

A space 9 is formed between the reciprocating member 11 and the support member 7, into which the container 4 carried downward from the storage hopper 5 falls. The container 4 falls through this fall cavity 9 into the upwardly directed recess 1 of the connecting link 2 of the transport conveyor 3, which is already advancing.

The operation of dropping the container 4 into the upward concave portion 1 of the connecting and holding link 2 will be described in detail. First, in the automatic separation/unloading mechanism S, a large number of containers 4 stacked with the openings facing downward are accommodated in a storage hopper 5 formed by vertical plate pieces 16 and 17, and the peripheral rear side 6 of the lowest container 4 is is supported on the holding portion 35 of the lower horizontal reciprocating member 14, and the peripheral front side portion 12 is held on the fixed receiving member 15. Then, by the backward movement of the holding part 35 by the lower horizontal reciprocating member 14, the rear peripheral edge part 6 is first released and falls, and the front peripheral edge part 12 is moved by the receiving member 15.
The rear peripheral edge part 6 which has been separated and fallen is received by the supporting member 7, and at the same time the front peripheral edge part 12 falls and the container 4 is lifted up using the supporting member 7 as a fulcrum.
falls in a tilted state, and on the falling space 9, the peripheral front side part 12 is supported by the reciprocating member 11 and at the same time stopped by the stopper 13, and the peripheral edge rear part 6 is connected to the downwardly inclined surface 8 of the support member 7. will be paid by.

In this state, by the backward movement of the advance/retreat member 11, the front peripheral edge part 12 is first released and separated, and then it is turned downward and the container 4 falls, and at the same time, the rear peripheral edge part 6 is released and separated.
As the container 4 slides down the downward slope 8, the container 4 falls in the falling space 9 in its form and falls onto the conveyor 3 which is proceeding toward the cleaning room. 4 falls in a tilted state with the front peripheral edge 12 facing downward, and the front peripheral edge 12 of this container 4 falls precisely into the recess 1 of a large number of interconnected holding links 2 that constitute the conveyor 3. be given

The time at which this peripheral edge front side part 12 falls into the recessed part 1 of the connecting holding link 2 and the time at which the recessed part 1 of the connecting holding link 2 on the conveyor 3 is positioned below the peripheral edge front side part 12 of the container 4 at a good timing are as follows. This is determined based on the synchronized movement of the retraction time of the reciprocating member 11 by a power source P such as a pneumatic cylinder or an electromagnetic plunger and the advancing speed of the conveyor 3.

Therefore, as described above, the peripheral front side 12 of the container 4 is accurately dropped into the recess 1 of the connecting link 2, and
There is no time lead or time lag.
Then, the container 4 with the peripheral edge front side part 12 falling into the concave part 1 of the link holding link 2 and with the peripheral edge rear side part 6 upwardly tilted forward is conveyed by the continuous movement of the conveyor 3. At this time, the upper peripheral edge rear side part 6 comes into contact with the lower end member 18 of the inclined surface 8 of the support member 7 and is temporarily stopped, so that the peripheral edge rear side part 6 turns backward. The container 4 is tilted, and the bottom surface 19 of the container 4 is held in contact with the rear protrusion 20 of the connecting and retaining link 2, and the lower peripheral front side 12 is in contact with the concave portion 1 and the connecting and retaining link 2. The front projecting piece 21 is brought into contact with a concave corner 22 formed at the lower end of the rear surface thereof.

Therefore, the container 4 is conveyed to the cleaning chamber by the continuous movement of the conveyor 3 while keeping the upper peripheral rear side portion 6 tilted backward, and in this cleaning chamber, the container 4 is are completely cleaned by concentrated spraying of cleaning liquid from spray nozzles installed above and below. A large number of connecting and holding links 2 constituting the conveyor 3 are pivoted at their upper portions in the direction of travel by a stay rod 23, and are configured to be bendable about the stay rod 23 as a fulcrum. It is designed to be fitted onto a sprocket and propelled. A stopper 13 for stopping the peripheral front side portion 12 of the container 4 on the advancing/retracting member 11 is set at the lower part of the machine frame 24, and is brought into contact with the lower surface of the bending lower piece 25 so that the advancing/retracting member 11 slides. Further, the lower rear portion of the reciprocating member 11 is connected to an L-shaped member 26.

The reciprocating member 11 is moved forward and backward through the L-shaped member 26 by the reciprocation of a ram rod 27 of a power cylinder set on the machine base as a power source P above the L-shaped member 26, for example.

The upper end of the lower end member 18 of the support member 7 is pin-hinged to the lower part of the support member 7, and the lower end is formed in the shape of a weight sphere or roller. Accommodation hopper 5 in automatic separation/unloading mechanism S
An upper horizontal reciprocating member 28 is provided above the lower horizontal retracting member 14 provided at the bottom of the container, and its tip holding portion 29 is formed in a knife edge shape and is attached to the bottom of the stacked containers 4 housed in the storage hopper 5. One container 4 located in the lower horizontal movement member 14
Immediately before the container 4 is released by the backward movement of the container 4 and transported downward, it enters the overlapping gap with the upper surface of the peripheral edge 6 of the container 4 of the next stage to support the containers 4 of the next stage one after another.

"Effect of the invention" According to this invention, the peripheral rear side part 6 of the stacked containers 4 with the opening facing downward, which are sequentially carried out and dropped by the separating and carrying out operation by the automatic separating and carrying out mechanism S, is temporarily caught by the supporting member 7. Immediately after that, the front peripheral part 12 of the container 4 continues to fall in a tilted state using the support member 7 as a fulcrum faster than the rear peripheral part 6, and the rear peripheral part 6 on the support member 7 descends. However, the container 4 slides down the slope 8, and the front peripheral part 12 comes into contact with the slope 10 of the advancing/retracting member 11 and temporarily stops, so the entire container 4 is placed on the falling space 9 with the front peripheral part 12 at the bottom. It can be supported in a tilted position.

Then, due to the backward movement of the advancing and retracting member 11, the front peripheral edge part 12 of the container 4 is released, and at the same time, the front peripheral edge part 12 falls to a lower position, and the rear peripheral edge part 6 is moved to the downwardly inclined surface of the support member 7. As the container 4 slides down on the falling space 9, the container 4 falls through the falling space 9 with the rear peripheral edge part 6 positioned at the top and the front peripheral edge part 12 at the lower position, tilting forward.
can be made to fall into the concave portion 1 of the connecting and holding link 2 in the conveyor 3 in a timely and accurate manner.

Further, as the transport conveyor 3 continues to advance, the rear peripheral part 6 located above the container 4 is stopped by the lower end member 18 of the support member 7, and the front peripheral part 1 is stopped by the lower end member 18 of the support member 7.
2 is transported as it is, so the container 4 tilts its peripheral rear side 6 backward, and this tilted state is securely held by the connecting holding link 2 while being transported to the cleaning room, where the upper and lower parts installed in the cleaning room are Concentrated spraying of the cleaning liquid from the spray nozzle to the opening of the container can enhance the cleaning effect of the container.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show one embodiment of this invention, with FIG. 1 being an overall front view, and FIG. 2 being an enlarged front view showing the movement of the advancing and retracting members. 1... recessed part, 2... connection holding link, 3...
Transfer conveyor, 4... Container, 6... Peripheral rear side,
7...Supporting member, 8...Downward inclined surface, 9...Falling space, 11...Advancing/retreating member, 12...Peripheral front side portion, 18...Lower end member, S...Automatic separation/export mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Containers 4 such as tableware and trays are conveyed to a cleaning chamber by a conveyor 13 constituted by a plurality of interconnected holding links 2 each having an upward concave portion 1, and the containers are cleaned by spraying cleaning liquid from a spray nozzle. In the automatic container washing machine, a peripheral rear side part 6 of the separated and carried out containers 4 is placed at the lower rear side of the automatic separation and carrying out mechanism S of the stacked containers 4 installed above the container carrying-in side by the conveyor 3.
A support member 7 is installed to temporarily receive the support member 7, and a downwardly inclined surface 8 is formed on the front side thereof. A member 11 is installed, and a drop space 9 is formed between the advance/retreat member 11 and the downwardly inclined surface 8 portion, in which the container 4 is dropped with the front peripheral edge portion 12 tilted downward.
The container 4 falling further is configured so as to be held by falling into the recessed part 1 of the connecting holding link 2 which constitutes the conveyor 3 via its peripheral front side part 12, and
A lower end member 18 is installed below the support member 7 so that the container 4 is tilted in the opposite direction by contacting the peripheral edge rear side 6 tilted upward by the continuously advancing conveyor 3. An automatic container feeding device to a conveyor in an automatic container washer for tableware, etc., characterized by: