JPH0474247B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a conveyor system, and in particular to a buffer device that temporarily stores objects to be transported flowing on a conveyor in order to smooth the flow of a production line. Regarding.

[Prior art] In a conveyor system, when integrating the conveyor line for transporting objects, a buffer is installed between processes in order to avoid stopping all subsequent processes when a problem occurs in a certain process. It is necessary to provide equipment. Conventionally, multi-row conveyors, spiral conveyors, multi-stage conveyors, turntables, etc. are known as such buffer devices.

Multi-row conveyors meander densely and widely within the same plane in the middle of the line, while spiral conveyors wind up the line in a three-dimensional spiral shape,
In both cases, the practical distance of the line between the front and rear processes is increased, and the number of objects to be transported between the processes is increased.

A multi-stage conveyor, as described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-92814, is one in which lines are assembled three-dimensionally in a zigzag manner to temporarily store objects to be transported. In addition, turntables, which are currently most frequently used in conveyor systems, have a rotating disk inserted in the middle of the line, and while objects to be transported from the previous process are temporarily stored on this disk, they are used for the subsequent process. The objects to be transported are sequentially supplied to the

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In an integrated production line, the processing capacity is generally increased in the earlier processes, and the buffer device provided between the processes is kept nearly full with objects to be transferred. and,
If a problem occurs in a certain process, the buffer device supplies the object to be transferred to the subsequent process to prevent the line from stopping and increase the operating rate of the line.

In recent years, as the processing capacity of the equipment itself for each process has increased, a correspondingly larger buffer capacity has been required.

However, the above-mentioned turntables and multi-row conveyors are very inefficient in terms of space, so it is becoming impossible to use the limited empty space in factories and install many of these between processes. Furthermore, since multi-stage conveyors and spiral conveyors are three-dimensionally accommodated, their structures are complicated and costs are high. Furthermore, it is difficult for multi-stage conveyors to store objects to be transported while operating the downstream process, and with multi-row conveyors, which effectively lengthen the line, objects to be transported are transferred to the downstream process when the line is started. There is also the disadvantage that it takes time to reach the destination.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a novel buffer device different from the conventional buffer device described above, and the configuration thereof is a conveyor system for conveying objects to be transported, which includes: In a buffer device installed at any location on a main conveyor having first and second guide members on both sides, the buffer device is at least: a adjacent in parallel in the longitudinal direction on one side of the main conveyor;
a first conveyor that transports objects to be transported in a direction opposite to the transport direction of the main conveyor; b provided on the starting end side of the first conveyor; c) a second conveyor which is longitudinally parallel and adjacent to the first conveyor and whose conveying direction can be switched to either the conveying direction of the main conveyor or the opposite direction; d a third guide member defining a space between the first conveyor and the second conveyor; a second transfer means for transferring the object onto the conveyor of f; when the second conveyor conveys the object to be transferred in the same direction as the main conveyor, the object to be transferred is transferred onto the second conveyor together with the third guide member; a fourth guide member and a stopper provided on one side and the terminal end side of the second conveyor, respectively, to hold and store the object; g. A third transfer means is provided at the terminal end of the second conveyor and transfers the object from the second conveyor to the main conveyor.

[Operation] When objects to be transported remain on the main conveyor due to, for example, trouble occurring in a subsequent process, the objects to be transported on the main conveyor are transferred to the first conveyor by the first transfer means.

The object transported by the first conveyor is then transported onto the second conveyor by the second transport means and retained on the second conveyor.

When returning the transported objects stored on the second conveyor to the main conveyor, the second conveyor is transported in the opposite direction to the main conveyor, and the transported objects on the second conveyor are transported by the third conveyor. Return the body onto the main conveyor. That is, the objects to be transported are transferred from the main conveyor onto the first conveyor through the first transfer means provided on the post-process side, and then transferred to the second conveyor through the second transfer means.
The stored objects are transferred and stored on the main conveyor, and the stored objects are returned onto the main conveyor through a third transfer means provided on the previous process side, and the storage and return of the objects are carried out separately. Therefore, storage and return can be performed quickly and accurately.

Such a buffer device can be provided in parallel to the linear portion of the main conveyor, and the length and width of the first and second conveyors can be freely set. Therefore, it can be installed at any point on the line using dead space in factories, etc.
This makes it possible to make the most of the limited space and increase the buffer capacity of the integrated line.

[Embodiment of the Invention] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, among the number, dimensions, materials, shapes, arrangement, etc. of the component parts described or illustrated in the following description of the embodiments, those other than the gist of the present invention as stated in claim 1 are omitted. , this invention is not intended to be limited thereto, and is merely a simple illustrative example.

1 and 2 show a buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which objects to be transported are stored in a buffer device, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the object to be transferred is supplied from the buffer device to a subsequent process. In both figures, a buffer device 2 is attached to a straight section of the main conveyor 1 of the conveyor system. The main conveyor 1 is provided with guide members 3 and 4 on both sides to define the main conveyor 1.

The buffer device 2 includes a conveyor 5 provided in parallel and adjacent to the main conveyor 1, and a conveyor 6 provided in parallel and adjacent to the conveyor 5. In this embodiment, the conveyor 6 is composed of three wide conveyors.

The conveyor 5 transports the object 8 in a direction opposite to the transport direction (arrow A) of the main conveyor 1. On the other hand, the conveyor 6 is provided so that its conveying direction can be changed, and when storing objects 8 to be transported (FIG. 1), it is set in the same direction as the conveying direction of the main conveyor 1, so that the conveyor 6 can change its conveying direction. 8 is returned onto the main conveyor 1 and supplied to the subsequent process (Fig. 2), the main conveyor 1
The conveyance direction is opposite to that of the conveyance direction.

The main conveyor 1 and the conveyor 5 are separated by the guide member 3, and the conveyor 5 and the conveyor 6 are separated by the guide member 7. Furthermore, on the outside and at the end of the conveyor 6 (the terminal end of the conveyor 6 when objects 8 to be transported are stored), there are provided ( To prevent it from falling out), a guide member 9 and a stopper 9' are provided.

A notch 10 is provided in the guide member 3 on the side of the starting end 5a of the conveyor 5. If a trouble occurs in the post-process, the objects 8 to be transported stay closely together on the main conveyor 1 from the post-process side. If the object 8 to be transferred has a circular cross section or an ellipse close to a circle, such as a bottle, can, vial, ampoule, etc., the object 8 to be transferred is in an upright state (including an inverted state). As a result, the transferred objects 8 tend to move to the side of the main conveyor 1. Therefore, the objects 8 to be transported that have remained closely together are pushed out from the main conveyor 1 through the notch 10 to the conveyor 5 side. That is, in this embodiment, the notch 10
is used as the first transport means. In addition, a transfer direction switching device is provided in place of the notch 10, and when it detects that a trouble has occurred in the downstream process, the switching device is switched, and the transferred objects flowing on the main conveyor 1 toward the downstream process are switched. 8 may be switched to the starting end 5a side of the conveyor 5.

A notch 12 is provided at the rear end of the guide member 7 on the terminal end 5b side of the conveyor 5. In this embodiment, the notch 12 is used as the second transfer means. However, by providing the guide member 11 (fifth guide member) that is inclined obliquely with respect to the transport direction of the conveyor 5, the transported object 8 transported by the conveyor 5 can be moved to the guide member 11 at the terminal end 5b. and moves along the guide member 11 in the direction of the conveyor 6, and then the notch 1
It is preferable that all the particles pass through 2 and be transferred onto the conveyor 6. It goes without saying that, similar to the first transfer means, other transfer devices may be used as the second transfer means.

In the buffer device 2, on the side of the end of the conveyor 6 (the terminal end when the transported object 8 is transported in the opposite direction to the main conveyor 1), the stored transported object 8 is transferred from the top of the conveyor 6 to the main conveyor 1. Third transport means are provided for returning to the top. In this embodiment, this third transfer means is constituted by a belt conveyor 13. In addition, in order to make the transfer by the belt conveyor 13 more reliable, a guide member 14,
15, and a multi-row conveyor 16 which also serves as a bridge breaker.

The guide members 14 and 15 are disposed on both sides of the conveyor 6 so that the objects 8 stored on the conveyor 6 are supplied to the approximate center of the belt conveyor 13.

The belt conveyor 13 has a rotating belt 13a that contacts the side surface of the object 8 to be transferred, and is configured to transfer the object 8 on the conveyor 6 onto the multi-row conveyor 16.

In this embodiment, the multi-row conveyor 16 consists of four rows, and the conveyance direction of each conveyor is the same as that of the main conveyor 1. The conveyance speed of each conveyor is made faster as it is closer to the main conveyor 1, so that it becomes closer to the conveyance speed of the main conveyor 1. The object to be transported 8 is transported onto this multi-row conveyor 16 by the belt conveyor 13, so the belt conveyor 1
At the terminal end 13b of 3, the objects 8 to be transferred are in a bridge state (a state in which the objects 8 to be transferred are closely pressed against each other while rotating, and one of the objects 8 to be transferred is floating; as this state progresses, Eventually, the floating object 8 will fall over, which is an undesirable situation. And the object to be transported 8
remain erect and line up in a line, and hold the guide member 1.
5 and is returned onto the main conveyor 1 through a notch 17 formed in the guide member 3.

Incidentally, instead of using the multi-row conveyor 16, the terminal end 13b of the belt conveyor 13 is extended close to the main conveyor 1, and the objects 8 transferred by the belt conveyor 13 are directly transferred onto the main conveyor 1 by the pressing force. The object to be transported 8 may also be transported. in this case,
In order to transfer the transferred object 8 onto the main conveyor 1 in an upright state, it is preferable to provide some means for releasing the bridged state, for example, a bridge breaker as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the buffer device configured as described above will be explained.

In FIG. 1, when the subsequent process stops its processing or when the processing capacity of the previous process is higher than that of the subsequent process, the transported object 8 flowing leftward on the main conveyor 1 is moved to the main conveyor 1. 1 in close contact with each other. The objects 8 to be transported thus accumulated are pushed out to the side of the conveyor 5 at the notch 10 and are transported rightward by the conveyor 5.
At the terminal end 5b of the conveyor 6, the transferred object 8
transferred to the side and transferred to the left.

The objects 8 transferred from the main conveyor 1 to the conveyor 6 are stored on the conveyor 6 within an area surrounded by the guide members 7, 9 and the stopper 9'. That is, when the conveyors 5 and 6 are kept in a driving state, the objects 8 to be transported that have accumulated on the main conveyor 1 are automatically stored on the conveyor 6.

When it is detected, for example, by a sensor (not shown) attached to the guide member 14 that the buffer device 2 is full, the conveyor 6 is stopped. From then on,
While the previous process is normal, the buffer device 2 remains stopped.

When the post-process is normal and the pre-process is abnormal, the movement of the transferred object 8 that has accumulated on the main conveyor 1 is detected by a sensor (not shown) installed near the notch 10, and For example, when a sensor (not shown) installed near the notch 17 detects that the transported object 8 that is supposed to be supplied has not arrived, these detection signals are transmitted to a control panel (not shown). A microprocessor (not shown) installed in the machine automatically starts each driving device of the belt conveyor 13 and the multi-row conveyor 16 and reverses the transport direction of the conveyor 6 according to the instructions from the microprocessor. . In addition, as the above-mentioned sensor,
It can be used with anything such as those using micro switches, those using electrostatic action or ultrasonic waves, and photoelectric sensors.

In such a state, as shown in FIG. 2, the object 8 to be transferred is automatically returned from the conveyor 6 to the main conveyor 1 by the third transfer means, and is supplied to the subsequent process.

This buffer device 2 has a rectangular shape when viewed from above, and the length and width, that is, the length and width of the conveyors 5 and 6 can be set arbitrarily. Therefore, a number of such buffer devices 2 can be installed at any location on the line, especially by using dead space along the factory line, and the buffer amount of the integrated line can be increased without taking up space. can. Moreover,
It is also easy to automate this operation as in the example described above.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the first transport means. In this embodiment, in addition to the notch 10 provided in the guide member 3, the notch 1 of the guide member 4 is
A bulging portion 20 is provided which is slightly bulged in a chevron shape in the direction of the notch 10 at a portion aligned with and facing 0.

In this way, when the other bulge 20 of the notch 10 is provided, the objects to be transferred that stay closely on the main conveyor 1 receive a force from the bulge 20 in the direction of the notch 10, and are further It becomes easier to transfer to the conveyor 5 side.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the third transport means. In this embodiment, a screw conveyor 21 extending from the side end of the conveyor 6 to the main conveyor 1 is used as a transfer means.

When the screw conveyor 21 is used, each object to be transferred is reliably transferred onto the main conveyor 1 in an upright state, thereby reducing the need for providing a bridge breaker.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the third transfer means. In this embodiment, when the object to be transferred is pressed in the right direction in the drawing by the conveyor 6, a force is applied to the object to be transferred in the direction of the main conveyor 1.
Guide member 22 provided diagonally with respect to the conveyor 6
(sixth guide member) and a bridge breaker 23 are also provided. bridge breaker 23
is a single cylindrical member that rotates counterclockwise in the figure, and is provided at the connection between the guide member 22 and the main conveyor 1. That is, the notch 1 of the guide member 3
The guide members 22 and 3 are connected to each other at one end of the notch 17, and a bridge breaker 23 is provided at the other end of the notch 17.

According to this embodiment, since the main component of the third transfer means is the guide member 22, the configuration is simple and the structural cost is low.

In each of the embodiments described above, if the third transfer means is capable of supplying the objects to be transferred one by one to the main conveyor 1 in an upright state, the bridge breaker is not necessary. Furthermore, when using a bridge breaker, it goes without saying that any type of bridge breaker may be used.

Further, although the description has been given using a bottle or the like having a circular cross section as an example of the object to be transported, the object to be transported is not limited to this, and may be other types of articles. In this case, as each of the first, second, and third transfer means, devices suitable for transferring the article may be selected.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, in a conveyor system for transporting objects, both sides are defined by first and second guide members (in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, guide members 3 and 4, respectively). A buffer device installed at an arbitrary location on the main conveyor (main conveyor 1 in the same), at least the first conveyor (conveyor 5 in the same), the second conveyor (conveyor 6 in the same), and the first transfer means (main conveyor 1 in the same) same, notch 10), second transfer means (same, notch 12), third transfer means (same, belt conveyor 13), third guide member (same, guide member 7), fourth guide Since it is composed of a member (guide member 9, same) and a stopper (stopper 9', same), the buffer device can be provided on the side of the main conveyor without taking up any width, and the structure is simple and space efficient. This makes it suitable for use in limited empty space in factories, and the size of the buffer device can be arbitrarily set in the longitudinal direction of the main conveyor. Therefore, it is possible to install multiple units using the dedicated space along the factory line, increasing the buffer capacity of the integrated line without taking up space.
It becomes suitable for automation. Furthermore, since the storage and return of the transported object can be performed separately, storage and return can be performed quickly and accurately.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are top views of a buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 shows a state in which objects to be transferred are stored in the buffer device, and FIG. 2 shows objects to be transferred from the buffer device. It is a figure showing the state where a body is supplied to a post-process. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of another embodiment of the first transfer means, FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of another embodiment of the third transfer means, and FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of another embodiment of the third transfer means. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. 1...Main conveyor, 2...Buffer device, 3,
4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15, 22...Guide member, 5, 6...Conveyor, 8...Transferred object, 1
0, 12, 17...notch, 13...belt conveyor, 16...multi-row conveyor, 20...bulge,
21... Screw conveyor, 23... Bridge breaker.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a conveyor system for conveying objects to be transported, in a buffer device installed at any location on a main conveyor having first and second guide members on both sides, the buffer device includes at least the following: a Adjacent to one side of the main conveyor in parallel in the longitudinal direction,
a first conveyor that transports objects to be transported in a direction opposite to the transport direction of the main conveyor; b provided on the starting end side of the first conveyor; c) a second conveyor adjacent to the first conveyor in parallel in the longitudinal direction and capable of switching its conveyance direction to either the conveyance direction of the main conveyor or the opposite direction; d a third guide member defining a space between the first conveyor and the second conveyor; a second transfer means for transferring the object onto the conveyor of f; when the second conveyor conveys the object to be transferred in the same direction as the main conveyor, the object to be transferred is transferred onto the second conveyor together with the third guide member; a fourth guide member and a stopper provided on one side and the terminal end side of the second conveyor, respectively, to hold and store the object; g. 1. A buffer device for a conveyor system, comprising: a third transfer means provided at the terminal end of the second conveyor for transferring objects to be transferred from the second conveyor to the main conveyor. 2. A buffer device for a conveyor system according to claim 1, wherein the object to be transported is a bottle or the like having a circular cross section. 3. The buffer device for a conveyor system according to claim 2, wherein the first transfer means consists only of a notch provided in the first guide member. 4. The first transfer means comprises a notch provided in the first guide member and a bulge provided in the second guide member opposing thereto. Buffer device for the conveyor system according to item 2. 5. A patent claim characterized in that the second transfer means comprises a notch provided in the third guide member and a fifth guide member disposed obliquely with respect to the conveyance direction of the first conveyor. Range 2 to 4
A buffer device for a conveyor system according to any one of the above items. 6. The buffer device for a conveyor system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the third transfer means is a screw conveyor. 7. A patent claim characterized in that the third transfer means comprises a belt conveyor having a rotating belt in contact with the side of the object to be transferred, and a bridge breaker provided at the terminal end of the belt conveyor. A buffer device for a conveyor system according to any one of items 2 to 5. 8 The third transfer means includes a sixth guide member disposed obliquely with respect to the conveyance direction of the second conveyor, and a bridge breaker provided at the connection between the sixth guide member and the main conveyor. A buffer device for a conveyor system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized by comprising: