JPH0422810B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a transfer device for conveyed articles.

Traditionally, in supermarkets, product manufacturing factories, etc., individual items that have been packaged or sorted are put into storage boxes, stacked on carts, and transferred to the next process. In order to move on to the next process, it is transferred onto a trolley.

Conventional handover work is carried out manually, where a worker picks up a conveyed article from a line such as a conveyor and transfers it onto a cart prepared nearby.

However, this requires a great deal of labor on the part of the operator, and especially when the articles to be transported are stacked in multiple stages, the worker becomes very fatigued and the work efficiency is significantly reduced, so automation of the work has been desired.

In view of the conventional circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to improve work efficiency by mechanically automating the handover work of conveyed articles, and to unify a plurality of processes in series to enable continuous work.

In such a device of the present invention, a pair of carry-in conveyors arranged in parallel are installed on the machine frame so that they can be expanded and opened, and support claws are installed on the top of the carry-in conveyors at predetermined positions on at least two opposing sides so that they can be moved up and down and can be opened and closed. The present invention is characterized in that a lifter mechanism is installed below the carry-in conveyor to raise and lower a cart placed on a support stand.

The carry-in conveyor is driven to carry the article to a predetermined position within the machine frame, and the expansion and opening movement of this conveyor allows the support stand of the lifter mechanism to move up and down between both conveyors.

When the support claws move upward, they temporarily lift and support the articles on the conveyor, thereby enabling the conveyor to expand.

The lifter mechanism moves the support platform up and down while the conveyor is being expanded, and at the upper limit position, the support claws move downward and open to place the article on the trolley on the support platform, and then support it together with the trolley. Lower the platform.

The before and after processes of the apparatus of the present invention include, for example, a conveyor for automatically supplying storage boxes containing individual items into the apparatus, and a trolley supply for automatically supplying a trolley for placing the storage boxes on the trolley. A trolley unloading device is connected to automatically unload the equipment and the stacked trolleys from the equipment.

To explain an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings, the drawings show a case in which a group of storage boxes each containing a large number of individual items is stacked in multiple stages and is transferred onto a truck. 2, 2', a pair of left and right support claws 3, 3', and a support stand 4 on which the trolley b is placed.
is installed on the conveyor 2, 2', and an opening/closing mechanism 10 for expanding and opening the conveyor, and a support claw mechanism 20 for moving the conveyor up and down and opening/closing by swinging action on the support claw 3, 3' is installed on the support base 4. are each provided with a lifter mechanism 30 for raising and lowering it.

The machine frame 1 has four supports 1b, 1b... on the machine base 1a.
It has a frame structure in which a ceiling beam 1c is installed at the upper end of each column.Input conveyors 2 and 2' extending in the front and rear directions are installed on both left and right sides of the machine frame 1, respectively. , 2', and the support base 4 is disposed below.

A transport conveyor 5 is provided on the back side of the machine frame 1 in series with the conveyors 2 and 2', and the box group A, in which a plurality of (for example, 10) storage boxes a are stacked in multiple stages, is transported by the conveyor 5 to the carrying-in conveyor. 2, 2' direction.

A cart feeding device (not shown) is installed on the stone side of the machine frame 1.
The supply paths 6 are connected to each other so that the carts b are sequentially carried one by one onto the support stand 4 via the supply paths 6.

A guide path 7 of a truck discharging device is connected to the front surface of the machine frame 1, so that the truck b can be discharged from the support base 4 in a timely manner via the guide path.

Bar-shaped doors 8, 8' are provided on each of the front and rear sides of the machine frame 1, respectively, so as to be openable and closable.

A motor M ₁ , a clutch brake 9a, a speed reducer 9b, and a main shaft S are provided at the rear lower part of the machine frame 1.
The main shaft S is rotated by the drive of _M1 via the clutch brake 9a and the reducer 9b, and the main shaft S
is equipped with cams c1, c1, c2, and c3.

The carry-in conveyors 2 and 2' are connected to support arms 11 and 11' of an opening/closing mechanism 10 provided on both the left and right sides of the machine frame 1, and are rotated by a drive shaft 12 that is rotated by the drive of a motor _M2 . and carry out the transport operation.

The opening/closing mechanism 10 has swing arms 14, 14' integrally installed on support shafts 13, 13' rotatably disposed on the left and right sides of the machine frame 1, respectively, and the support arms 14, 14' are attached to the supporting arms 14, 14', respectively. 11, 11' are rotatably connected, and levers 15, 1 are also connected to the support shafts 13, 13'.
5' is integrally raised, and operating rods 17, 17' are connected to these levers 15, 15' via levers 16, 16' (Fig. 5).

The operating rods 17, 17' swing around fulcrums 18, 18', and guides 19, 19' are provided at their tips to move along the cams c1, c1.

Therefore, the opening/closing mechanism 10 is guided by the cams c1, c1 by the rotation of the main shaft S, and the operating rods 17, 17',
Support shaft 1 via levers 16, 16', 15, 15'
3 and 13' rotate, and the swinging arms 14 and 14' swing due to the rotation of the shafts 13 and 13', and the conveyors 2 and 13' rotate.
2' is expanded or returned to its original position.

The drive shaft 12 of the conveyor 2, 2' is a spline shaft, which enables the conveyor 2, 2' to expand and open, and support rods 50, 50 are provided on the lower surface of the end of the conveyor 2, 2'. Support guides 51, 51' for slidably supporting the support rods 50, 50' are provided on the columns 1b, 1b.

The conveyors 2, 2' are installed on both left and right sides of the machine frame 1.
Support shafts 21, 21' extending in the front-rear direction are rotatably disposed on the upper part of the shaft, and mounting plates 22, 22' are integrally provided downwardly protruding from the shafts 21, 21', respectively.
Two support claws 3, 3, 3', 3' on each side are attached to the mounting plates 22, 22' at intervals in the front and back, respectively.

The support shafts 21, 21' have a protruding piece 23 at the rear end.
23' is integrally protruded, and a sliding rod 24,
The upper ends of 24' are rotatably connected, and racks 25, 25' are provided at the lower ends of the sliding rods 24, 24', and pinions 27, 27' of the operating shaft 26 are engaged with the racks 25, 25'. , an operating rod 28 that engages with the cam c2 of the main shaft S is attached to the operating shaft 26 (FIG. 6).

The above members 23, 23', 24, 24', 25, 2
5', 26, 27, 27', and 28 constitute a support claw mechanism 20 that swings the support claws 3, 3'.

Therefore, as the main shaft S rotates, the operating shaft 26 is guided by the cam c2 and rotates via the operating rod 28, and in conjunction with this, the pinions 27, 27', the rack 25,
The sliding rods 24, 24' are moved up and down via the protrusions 23, 23', and the support shafts 21, 21' are rotated via the projecting pieces 23, 23', thereby swinging the support claws 3, 3' in the up and down direction.

The swinging motion of the support claws 3, 3' is such that the support claws 3, 3' are displaced in the range from the downwardly inclined position to the horizontal position, and as is clear from the figure, the displacement includes fluctuations in the vertical direction and in the internal and external directions ( If you look at the support claws on both sides, you can see the fluctuation in the opening/closing direction).

The support claws 3, 3' are set so as to slightly lift the box group A by engaging a flange a' projecting from the upper edge of the storage box a at the lowest stage of the box group when the box group A is swung upward.

The support stand 4 is disposed horizontally below the conveyors 2, 2', and has a substantially square shape with four corners cut out.

Floorboards 52, 52... are laid on the machine frame 1 at positions corresponding to the four corner notches of the support stand 4, and the cart b carried onto the support stand 4 moves its wheels b', b'... to the floorboards 52. , 52 . . . , so that when the support stand 4 rises, the bottom surface of the underframe of the cart b is mounted and supported.

The lifter mechanism 30 is installed under the support base 4, and has support shafts 31, 31' rotatably disposed on both left and right sides of the bottom of the machine frame 1, and lower lift arms 32, 32' are attached to each support shaft 31, 31'. are fixed and protrude, and upper lift arms 33, 33' are installed under the support base 4.
This upper lift arm 3 protrudes rotatably.
Shafts 34, 3 integrally fixed to the lower ends of 3, 33'
4' is rotatably connected to the upper ends of the lower lift arms 32, 32'.

Also, sprockets 35,
35' is coaxially fitted and freely rotatable, and the sprocket is attached to the support plates 44, 44', and the shaft 34,
Sprockets 36, 36' are attached to 34', and chains 37, 37' are wound around both sprockets 35, 36, 35', 36'.

Furthermore, a pinion 38 is coaxially and integrally fixed to the support shaft 31, and a gear 38'' that meshes with the pinion 38' is coaxially and integrally fixed to the support shaft 31', and between the left and right pinions 38, 38'. is provided with an operating lever 39 that reciprocates in the left-right direction, and racks 40, 40' provided at both ends of the lever 39 are connected to the pinion 3.
8, 38'.

The lower end of an operating rod 42 that swings about a fulcrum 41 is connected to the lever 39, and a guide 43 provided at the upper end of the rod 42 is engaged with the cam c3 of the main shaft S.

This constitutes the lifter mechanism 30 (eighth
figure).

Therefore, when the main shaft S rotates, the lever 39 reciprocates in the left-right direction via the operating rod 42 guided by the cam c3, and the support shafts 31, 31' rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the pinions 38, 38'. As a result, the lower lift arms 32, 32' move up and down, and the up and down movements of the arms rotate the sprockets 36, 36' via the chains 37, 37', and the upper lift arms 33, 33' also move up and down. When the lift arms 32, 32', 33, and 33' are activated, the support base 4 rises, and when the lift arms 32, 32', 33, and 33' are activated, the support base 4 is lowered.

The lower limit position of the support stand 4 is the top surface of the support stand and the floor plate 5.
2, 52, and so on are flush with each other, and the upper limit position is the position where the top surface of the cart b placed on the support stand 4 abuts the bottom surface of the box group A lifted by the support claws 3 and 3', or a position near thereto. shall be. By using a lifter mechanism having such a structure, the support base 4 can be disposed at a low position, and the entire device (including related devices) can be made low. Since the lift arms 32 and 33 are folded into two and stored on the lower surface of the support base 4, the size is reduced. Also, it can be raised higher and more stable than a crossbar.

In FIG. 1, (SW ₁ ) is a detector that detects the time when the box group A is transferred from the transport conveyor 5 to the carry-in conveyors 2 and 2' and stops the transport conveyor 5, and (SW ₂ ) is the detector that stops the transport conveyor 5. a detector that detects the time when the box group A is carried into a predetermined position in the machine frame 1 by the conveyors 2, 2' and stops the carrying-in conveyors 2, 2';
(SW ₃ ) is a sensor that detects the point in time when cart a, which has inherited box group A, is discharged from machine frame 1.

Further, (TC) is a timing cam attached to the main shaft S, which detects the lower limit position of the lifter mechanism 30 and detects that the opening/closing mechanism 10 of the conveyor 2, 2' has returned to its original position.

Further, reference numeral 53 in FIG. 4 is a conveyance arm of the cart ejecting device, and the arm 53 grips the cart b after being lowered and guides it to the guide path 7.

Next, the stroke operation of the device of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9 to 16. When the conveyors 2, 2' are in the closed position, the support claws 3, 3' and the support stand 4 are in the lower limit position, and the door 8' is open. When the transport conveyor 5
The box group A transported by the transport conveyor 2,
2' into the machine frame 1, and the detector (SW ₂ )
Due to the detection operation, the conveyors 2, 2' are stopped, the box group A is stopped at a predetermined position, and the conveyors 2, 2' are stopped.
After stopping, the door 8' moves closed.

In this state, the support claw mechanism 20 operates to swing the support claws 3, 3' upward (Fig. 9).
3' stops at the upper limit position, the claws 3, 3' hook onto the flange a' of the lowest storage box a of the box group A, and lift and support the box group A onto the conveyors 2, 2'. Figure 10).

Then, by operating the opening/closing mechanism 10, the conveyor 2,
2' in the left and right direction, and the support base 4
The cart b is supplied to the top (Fig. 11), and the support platform 4 starts to rise by the operation of the lifter mechanism 30 (Fig. 12), and at the upper limit position of the support platform 4, the top surface of the cart b is brought to the bottom surface of the box group A. Bring them into contact (Figure 13).

Next, the support claw mechanism 20 swings the support claws 3, 3' downward to release the latching state between the support claws 3, 3' and the flange a' of the storage box a, and the box group A is placed on the trolley b. Transfer and loading (Fig. 14), then lifter mechanism 3
0 lowers the support stand 4 (FIG. 15), and returns the cart to the lower limit position with the box group A mounted and supported on the cart b (FIG. 16).

When the timing cam (TC) detects the return of the lifter mechanism 30 to the origin, the rotation of the main shaft S is stopped by actuation of the clutch brake 9a, and the motor _M4 is driven to open the door 8, and the transport arm 53 moves the carriage b. is discharged to the guide path 7. When the sensor (SW ₃ ) detects that the cart b has been discharged, the clutch brake 9a is activated, and the opening/closing mechanism 10 is moved to close by the action of the cam c1 to return the conveyors 2, 2' to the closed position. At the same time, motor M ₄ closes door 8, and motor M ₃ closes door 8'.
Open and operate.

When the timing cam (TC) detects that the opening/closing mechanism has returned to its home position, the clutch brake 9a is activated to stop all the operations, and waits until the next command to carry in a group of boxes is received. Repeat.

In the embodiment, the opening/closing mechanism 10, the support claw mechanism 20, and the lifter mechanism 30 are operated by one motor _M1.
The drive mechanism can be simplified.
The truck may be supplied whenever the support platform 4 is lowered and there is no truck. The conveyor may be rotated when the conveyance of the cart is detected.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, after the conveyed articles carried into the machine frame by the carry-in conveyor are temporarily lifted by the support claws, the conveyor is moved to expand and the support platform is moved up and down between the conveyors. The article can be transferred onto a trolley that is placed on a support stand.

Therefore, the conveyed articles can be mechanically and automatically transferred onto the trolley, and the labor of the worker can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional method.In addition, since the carrying-in conveyor and the trolley are used as the transfer member, the conveyor can be transferred continuously. It can be incorporated into a process line to improve its workability and speed up the work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, Fig. 3 is a plan view, Fig. 4 is a side view, Fig. 5 is a front view showing the opening/closing mechanism of the conveyor, and Fig. 6 is 7 is a partial side view of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a front view of the lifter mechanism, and FIG. 9 is a front view showing the support claw mechanism.
Figures 1 to 16 are front views illustrating the stroke operation. In the figure, 1 is the mechanism, 2, 2' are the loading conveyors, 3,
3' is a support claw, 4 is a support base, 10 is an opening/closing mechanism, 2
0 is a support claw mechanism, 30 is a lifter mechanism, A is a box group, a is a storage box, and b is a cart.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of loading conveyors arranged in parallel are installed in the machine frame to allow the transported articles to be carried into the machine frame, and an opening/closing mechanism is provided to open and open the loading conveyor.
A support claw mechanism that moves up and down and opens and closes is installed at a predetermined position on at least two opposing sides at the top of the carry-in conveyor, and lifts and supports the article during upward movement, and a cart is mounted on a support stand below the carry-in conveyor. A lifter mechanism that is placed and moves up and down is installed, and while the conveyor is being expanded, the lifter mechanism moves up and down,
A conveyance article transfer device that loads and receives articles on a trolley at the upper limit position.