JPH04303327A - Article discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the flaw or damage of an article discharged from a high position to a low position. CONSTITUTION:An article receiving enclosure 35 receives a metal sheet carried through a gap between an advancing shutter rod 471 at the closed bottom section 35a of the enclosure 35 and a connecting shaft 433 for connecting gears 413 and 423 to each other. The enclosure 35 is lowered to the predetermined discharge height by the operation of a motor 61 of a lift drive device 60, after receipt of the metal sheet. The enclosure 35 at the predetermined discharge height causes the shutter rods 471 to 47n to retreat from the bottom section 35a toward a rear plate 36 via the rotation of a motor 56. The metal sheet moving toward the rear plate 36 with the retreat of the shutter rods, comes in contact with a stopper 48 and the travel thereof is restricted. As a result, the metal sheet is discharged from the open bottom section 35a.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article discharging device for discharging articles received at a high position at a low position.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a production line for producing articles that are difficult to sort by machinery, processed articles W, which are sequentially carried out from a conveyor 1, are passed through a chute plate 2 into a container 3, as shown in FIG. The conventional method was to store them all together in a building and then sort them manually later.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in this method of discharging the articles W from the conveyor 1 into the container 3 by the head of the conveyor 1, scratches and damage are likely to occur due to collisions between the articles, and the storage condition is very poor. There was a problem in that it became messy and it took a lot of effort to take out the items later.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve this problem and to provide an article discharging device that can discharge articles in an organized manner without damaging or damaging the articles.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the article discharging device of the present invention includes an article receiving casing having an open bottom, and a first casing for receiving articles. a lifting device that moves up and down to a height position and a second height position for discharging articles lower than the first height; and a lifting device that can move forward and backward in a substantially horizontal direction with respect to the bottom of the article receiving case. and when the article receiving casing is at the first height position, the shutter is advanced to the bottom of the article receiving casing, and the article to be received is supported on the shutter; a shutter driving device that moves the shutter out of the bottom when the article receiving housing is lowered to the second height position; and a shutter drive device that moves the article supported on the shutter in the direction in which the shutter moves out. It is equipped with a stopper for regulating.

[0006]

[Operation] Because of this structure, in the article discharging device of the present invention, the articles carried into the article receiving casing at the first height position are placed on the shutter extending to the bottom of the article receiving casing. Accepted.

[0007] When the article receiving case is lowered to the second height position by the lifting device, the shutter is moved out from the bottom in a substantially horizontal direction by the shutter driving device.

[0008] Since the movement of the articles on the shutter in the shutter direction is regulated by the stopper, the articles are dropped and discharged from the open bottom.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of essential parts of an article discharging device 20 according to one embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view of the article discharging device 20 according to one embodiment, FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2, and FIG. shows its front view.

The article discharging device 20 discharges various processed sheet metals (hereinafter referred to as sheet metals) carried out from the final conveyor 10 of the sheet metal processing line into the container 3. In addition, numeral 15 in the figure is a carrying-in device that horizontally sends out the sheet metal carried out from the final conveyor 10 by means of upper and lower rollers 16 and 17.

The article discharging device 20 is constructed on a base 21 on which the container 3 can be slid.

Two pillar frames 22, 22 are erected at the center of the base 21 with an interval wider than the width of the container 3.

The center and upper ends of the pillar frames 22, 22 are connected to each other by a horizontal frame 23 and an upper frame 24, and two vertical frames 25, 25 are fixed between the horizontal frame 23 and the upper frame 24. ing.

The upper ends of the two pillar frames 22, 22 are connected to reinforcing frames 261 to 264 from the rear end side of the base 21.
Supported by

Four support plates 27 are attached to the upper and lower sides of the vertical frames 25, 25, and a front plate 28 supported by the support plates 27 is arranged in front of the vertical frames 25, 25. .

Guide rails 29, 29 arranged vertically in parallel are attached to the front surface 28a of the front plate 28. Further, on one side of the front plate 28, an upper limit switch 30 and a lower limit switch 31, which are activated by pressure from the front, are attached. Note that the upper end of this front plate 28 is connected to the connecting plate 32.
It is connected to the upper frame 24 via.

In front of the front plate 28, an article receiving casing 35 is arranged to receive the sheet metal horizontally carried out from the carry-in device 15.

The article receiving casing 35 is composed of a back plate 36 facing the front plate 28 and right triangular side plates 37 and 38 attached to both sides of the back plate 36, the bottom 35a of which is open. There is.

The back surface 36a of the back plate 36 is engaged with the guide rails 29, 29 of the front plate 28, and has an article receiving case 35.
Engagement members 39, 39 are attached to restrict the lateral movement of. Further, a protruding member 40 having a height necessary for pressing and operating the upper limit switch 30 and lower limit switch 31 is attached to the upper part of the back surface 36a.

A shutter is formed inside the article receiving casing 35 so as to be horizontally movable from a position facing the back plate 36 to an open bottom 35a.

That is, on the inner surface 37a of one side plate 37, four gears 41 are arranged in a trapezoidal shape along the outer periphery of the inner surface 37a.
1 to 414 are rotatably attached.

Also, on the inner surface 38a of the other side plate 38, a gear 421 is provided at a position facing the gears 411 to 414.
~424 are rotatably attached.

These gears 411 to 414, 421
-424, the gears other than gears 414 and 424 are connected to each other via wheel connection shafts 431-433.

Endless chains 45 and 46 are stretched between the gears 411 to 414 on the side plate 37 and between the gears 421 to 424 on the side plate 38, respectively.

Between the endless chains 45 and 46, there is a large diameter portion 4.
A plurality of shutter rods 471 consisting of 7a and a small diameter portion 47b
~47n are attached at predetermined intervals.

[0027] The shutter rods 471 to 47n are attached in number (n) to approximately cover the bottom portion 35a of the article receiving casing 35 at intervals shorter than the minimum length of the sheet metal to prevent the sheet metal from falling. It is being

In front of the connecting shaft 432 that connects the gears 412 and 422, the received sheet metal glue back plate 36
A stopper 48 for preventing passage in the direction is supported by the side plates 37 and 38 at both ends thereof.

At the lower end of this stopper 48, there is a protrusion 4 that enters the small diameter portion 47b of the shutter rods 471 to 47n.
8a is formed, and this protrusion 48a prevents the sheet metal from passing through in the direction of the back plate 36.

An exit switch 50 is attached near the gear 424 on the inner surface 38a of the side plate 38 and is activated by being pressed by the leading shutter bar 47n that exits from the bottom 35a along the back plate 36.

Further, a sensor mounting plate 51 whose both ends are supported by both side plates 37 and 38 is attached to the rear of the connecting shaft 483 that connects the gears 413 and 423. On the lower surface side of this sensor mounting plate 51, the sheet metal from the carry-in device 15 is attached to the connecting shaft 483 and the gears 413, 423.
A plurality of carry-in sensors 52 are installed in a row horizontally to optically detect that the carry-in has passed through the gap with the leading shutter rod 471 located at the bottom of the frame.

The sensor mounting plate 51 also has a leading shutter rod 471 extending from the back plate 36 side to the bottom.
However, the advance sensor 53 for optically detecting that the sensor has passed under the sensor mounting plate 51 is connected to the carry-in sensor 52.
It is installed slightly in front of the

In addition, in front of the stopper 48, both side plates 37
, 38 is attached with a sensor mounting plate 54 supported at both ends. A plurality of distance sensors 55 are attached to the lower surface of the sensor mounting plate 54 in a row horizontally to optically detect when the distance to an object below has reached a predetermined distance or less.

A motor 56, which together with a control device 70 (described later) constitutes a shutter drive device, is attached to the upper part of the inner surface 37a of one side plate 37.

A motor pulley 57 is attached to a rotating shaft 56a of a motor 56 that projects from the outer surface 37b of the side plate 37.

On the other hand, one end side of the connecting shaft 431 connecting the gears 411 and 421 is also connected to the outer surface 37 of the side plate 37.
b, and a pulley 58 is also attached to the protruding portion.

An endless timing belt 59 is stretched between the motor pulley 57 and the pulley 58.

Therefore, in FIG. 2, when the rotation shaft of the motor 56 rotates clockwise, the endless chains 45 and 46 of the side plates 37 and 38 rotate clockwise, and the shutter rod 471
47n exits horizontally from the opened bottom portion 35a and moves upward along the back plate 36. Moreover, if the motor 56 rotates in the reverse direction, the shutter rods 471 to 4
7n extends horizontally from the back plate 36 side to the bottom 35a of the article receiving casing 35.

The article receiving housing 3 is placed on the connecting plate 32 connecting the upper end of the front plate 28 and the upper frame 24.
An elevating drive device 60 for elevating and lowering 5 is provided.

This elevating drive device 60 constitutes an elevating device together with a control device 70, which will be described later.
The article receiving case 35 is moved up and down to a first height position for receiving the sheet metal from 5 and a second height position for discharging the received sheet metal into the container 3.

For this purpose, the elevating drive device 60 includes a first gear 62 rotationally driven by a motor 61, a second gear 63 having the same diameter and arranged at the rear of the first gear 62, and a second gear 63 having the same diameter as the first gear 62. It has a lifting chain 64 whose middle portion is stretched between two gears.

One end of this elevating chain 64 is fixed to the front surface 36b of the back plate 36 of the article receiving casing 35, and the other end hanging down to the rear of the vertical frame 25 has a wire that is almost the same as the article receiving casing 35. A weight 65 for weight balance is fixed.

Therefore, when the motor 61 is rotated,
The article receiving case 35 includes a guide rail 29 of the front plate 28,
It moves up and down along 29.

Note that the upper limit switch 30 is
When the article receiving casing 35 is at a height position (first height position) where the sheet metal from the carry-in device 15 passes through the gap between the connecting shaft 433 and the shutter rod 471,
It is positioned in advance so as to be pressed by the protruding member 40.

The lower limit switch 31 is activated when the article receiving casing 35 is at a position where the distance between the bottom 35a of the article receiving casing 35 and the bottom 3a of the container 3 is a predetermined value (greater than the thickness of the sheet metal). , are positioned in advance so as to be pressed by the protruding member 40.

The above-described upper limit switch 30, lower limit switch 31, exit switch 50, carry-in sensor 52, advance sensor 53, and distance sensor 55 are connected to a control device 70 mounted on the reinforcing frame 264.

The control device 70 controls the lifting drive device 60 based on the operation of these switches and the signals from the sensors.
The rotation of the motor 61 and the motor 56 of the shutter drive device is controlled.

The operation of the article discharging device 20 will be described below under the control of the control device 70.

It is assumed in advance that the article receiving casing 35 is stopped at the first height position where the upper limit switch 30 is activated, and the leading shutter bar 471 is positioned at the bottom of the gears 413 and 423. .

Here, when the sheet metal W from the final conveyor 10 is carried out horizontally via the carry-in device 15, this sheet metal W passes between the connecting shaft 433 and the leading shutter rod 471. , are received on the shutter rods 471-47n.

[0051] The carry-in of the sheet metal W is detected by the carry-in sensor 52. When the control device 70 detects that sheet metal is being carried in,
As shown in FIG. 5, the motor 56 is driven in a direction to slightly retract the shutter rods 471 to 47n, and the sheet metal W is completely retracted into the article receiving casing 35.

When this retraction is completed, the control device 70 drives the motor 61 to lower the article receiving case 35 as shown in FIG.

When the article receiving casing 35 is lowered to the second height position where either the detection signal from the distance sensor 55 or the activation signal from the lower limit switch 31 is output,
The control device 70 stops the motor 61 to stop this lowering.

Next, the control device 70 drives the motor 56 to move the shutter rods 471 to 47n as shown in FIG.
is withdrawn from the bottom portion 35a toward the back plate 36.

As the shutter rods 471 to 47n move out, the sheet metal W moves to a position where it abuts the stopper 48. However, even after that, the shutter bar 471
Since the exit movement of ~47n continues, the sheet metal W is no longer supported by the shutter rods 471 ~47n, and the sheet metal W is discharged into the container 3, as shown in FIG.

[0056] At this time, the bottom part 35 of the article receiving casing 35
Since the height difference between the container 3a and the bottom 3a of the container 3 is small, no scratches or damage will occur due to the container falling during discharge.

After the sheet metal is discharged, when the leading shutter bar 47n on the exit side reaches the position where the exit switch 50 is pressed, the control device 70 stops driving the motor 56,
This time, the motor 61 is driven in the direction of raising the article receiving casing 35.

This upward movement stops at the first height position where the upper limit switch 31 is activated. After that, the control device 70
Reverse the motor 56 and move the shutter rods 471 to 47n.
is advanced to the bottom portion 35a. When the first shutter bar 471 on the advancing side passes under the advancing sensor 53, the control device 70 stops driving the motor 56. The shutter rods 471 to 47n move slightly due to inertia even after this drive is stopped, and the leading shutter rod 471 moves forward to the gear 413.
, 423, and stops at the bottom position.

[0059] Thereafter, the same operation is repeated every time a sheet metal W is carried in, and the discharged sheet metals are stacked in an organized state at approximately the same position within the container 3.

[0060] Furthermore, as the number of sheet metals in the container 3 increases,
Since the distance sensor 55 detects the distance sensor 55 before the lower limit switch 31 is activated, the stop position when the article receiving casing 35 is lowered, that is, the second height position, gradually becomes higher, and the article receiving casing 35 Collision with the sheet metal already housed in the container 3 is prevented.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show that when a sheet metal with a posture or dimensions that cannot be received in the article receiving casing 35 is carried out from the final conveyor 10, the article receiving casing 35 is moved from the first height position. The article ejection device 80 is shown raised to the retracted height position.

The article discharging device 80 has two devices for optically detecting whether or not a part of the sheet metal conveyed on the final conveyor 10 exceeds the conveyance area that can be received by the article receiving casing 35. It has width sensors 81, 81.

The width sensors 81, 81 are connected to the loading device 15.
When a sheet metal is conveyed beyond the acceptable conveyance area E, a detection signal is output from at least one of the width sensors 81, 81.

Further, on the lower surface side of the sensor mounting plate 82, three sets of length sensors 83a are arranged one behind the other with an interval L slightly longer than the maximum length of the sheet metal that can be received in the article receiving casing 35. 83b, 84a, 84b, 85a,
85b is installed.

Therefore, for example, a set of length sensors 8
3a and 83b simultaneously output signals indicating that the sheet metal is below each of them, the receiving housing 35
This means that sheet metal of a length that cannot be accepted is being transported.

[0066] Furthermore, a retraction switch 86 is attached to the article discharging device 80 at a position higher than the upper limit switch 30.

[0067] This evacuation switch 86 prevents the evacuation of unacceptable sheet metal from the protruding portion 40 when the article receiving casing 35 is located at a height that does not prevent the direct ejection of unacceptable sheet metal from the carrying device 15 into the container 3. It is prepositioned to be actuated by pressure.

[0068] These sensors and the evacuation switch 86 are connected to the control device 70.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the control device 70 receives a detection signal from the width sensor 81 that detects the conveyance of a sheet metal Wn of an unacceptable width, it immediately drives the motor 61 to rotate and removes the article. The receiving casing 35 is raised from the first height position to a height at which the evacuation switch 86 is activated.

When the evacuation switch 86 is actuated due to this rise, the control device 70 stops driving the motor 61, and as shown in FIG.
is directly discharged into the container 3, and then drives the motor 61 in the reverse direction.

[0071] This motor drive is continued until the upper limit switch 30 is activated, and the article receiving casing 35 returns to the first height position for receiving the sheet metal again.

This evacuation operation is performed in exactly the same way even if at least one set of length sensors simultaneously outputs a signal indicating that the sheet metal is located below, and the unacceptable sheet metal is directly removed from the container 3. It will be discharged inside.

[0073] In this embodiment, when a sheet metal that cannot be accepted is transported, the article receiving casing 35 is evacuated upward in order to discharge the sheet metal directly into the container 3. When impossible conveyance of sheet metal is detected, a signal from the control device 70 may be used to stop part or all of the line or to generate an alarm sound.

Furthermore, in the above two embodiments, the shutter rods 471 to 47n constituting the shutter are connected to the back plate 36.
Although the side plates 37 and 38
It may be pulled up to one side. Furthermore, the shutter may be configured with a flat shutter plate instead of the round shutter rods 471 to 47n. Further, endless belts may be used instead of the endless chains 45 and 46, and various modifications can be made to the mechanism of the lifting device.

[0075] Furthermore, in the embodiment, the second height position,
That is, although the lowering stop position of the article receiving casing 35 gradually changes upward depending on the height of the sheet metal accommodated in the container 3, it is also possible to fix this second height position. .

[0076]Also, in the above embodiment, the article discharging device 20, 80 was shown for receiving the sheet metal discharged from the final conveyor 10 of the sheet metal processing line and discharging it into the container 3, but the present invention The present invention can be similarly applied to article discharging devices for discharging not only sheet metal but also other articles.

[0077]

As explained above, in the article discharging device of the present invention, the shutter is advanced to the open bottom of the article receiving casing at the first height position, and the article is received on the shutter. Then, the article receiving case is lowered to the second height position. Thereafter, the article is ejected from the second height position by retracting the shutter substantially horizontally from the bottom while restricting the movement of the article with the stopper.

[0078] Therefore, the ejection head of the articles can be reduced, and the occurrence of scratches and damage due to collisions between articles during ejection can be drastically reduced.

Furthermore, since the article is discharged to a substantially fixed position by the stopper, the discharged article can be taken out much more easily.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing essential parts of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of main parts showing the operating state of one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view of main parts showing the operating state of one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of main parts showing the operating state of one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of main parts showing the operating state of one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a side view of essential parts showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of main parts of another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged side view of main parts showing the operating state of another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view showing a conventional article discharging method.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 Article discharge device 21 Base 22 Column frame 23, 24 Horizontal frame 25 Vertical frame 261 ~ 264 Reinforced frame 27 Support plate 28 Front plate 29 Guide rail 30 Upper limit switch 31 Lower limit switch 35 Goods receiving casing 36 Back plate 37, 38 Side plate 39 Engagement member 40 Projecting member 411 ~ 414 Gears 421 ~ 424 Gears 431 ~ 433 Connection shaft 45, 46 Endless chain 471 ~ 47n Shutter bar 48 Stopper 50 Exit switch 52 Loading sensor 53 Advance sensor 55 Distance sensor 56 Motor 57 Motor pulley 58 Pulley 59 Timing belt 60 Lifting drive device 61 Motor 62 First gear 63 Second gear 64 Lifting chain 65 Weight 70 Control device 80 Article discharge device 81 Width sensor 83a, 83b Length sensor 84a, 84b Length sensor 85a, 85b Length sensor 86 Evacuation switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An article receiving casing having an open bottom, the article receiving casing being arranged at a first height position for receiving an article and a second height position for discharging an article lower than the first height. a lifting device that moves up and down at a height position, a shutter that is formed to be able to move forward and backward in a substantially horizontal direction with respect to the bottom portion of the article receiving casing, and the article receiving casing is located at the first height. position, the shutter is advanced to the bottom of the article-receiving housing, and an article to be received is supported on the shutter, and when the article-receiving housing is lowered to the second height position; An article discharging device comprising: a shutter driving device for withdrawing the shutter from the bottom; and a stopper for restricting movement of the article supported on the shutter in a direction in which the shutter is withdrawn.