JPH0538918Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an assembling device that constructs the peripheral wall of a container using a plastic frame material and then thermally welds a bottom plate to the frame material to form a pair.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a simple food container made of plastic, there is one described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-11888. This is a frame material made of foamed plastic material with a bottom plate made of thin non-foamed plastic material welded to one end of the frame material. Such simple containers are widely used because they are relatively strong despite their light weight and have a luxurious feel.

The simple container is manufactured through the following steps: bending the frame material into the outer shape of the container, joining the ends of the bent frame material, and integrating the bottom plate with the frame material by heat welding. In such manufacturing, it has become necessary to improve production efficiency by automating each step as the demand for simple containers increases.

Automation of container assembly equipment targets all processes of bending and joining of frame materials, and heat welding of bottom plates, with the aim of making it possible to manufacture everything from supplying frame materials to arranging products completely without human intervention. ing. This promotion of automation has been achieved to some extent by conventional automatic assembly, and the quality of products has also improved with automation.

[The problem that the idea attempts to solve]

However, since the frame material is made of plastic and is long in the form of a belt, it is prone to bending or bending if handled roughly. Considering the process of transporting the frame material to a bending device or a welding device, if the frame material is subjected to external force due to interference with the members of the device, the frame material is likely to break or bend. For this reason, a mechanism for supplying the frame material to the line and a conveyance mechanism to be incorporated into the apparatus needs to be devised to prevent unnecessary external forces from acting on the frame material. In particular, during the process of transporting the frame material in the form of a strip to the bending device, the frame material often breaks or buckles, so it is necessary to have a structure that protects the frame material and prevents external forces from acting on it.

In this way, taking into account damage to frame materials, etc.
It is difficult to say that automation necessarily leads to positive results in productivity. For example, even with automation, if a frame material is damaged during the supply or transportation process, it is necessary to stop the line and collect the damaged frame material each time, which inevitably reduces the operating rate of the line. Furthermore, in order to protect and prevent damage to the frame material, the mechanism of the device becomes complex, and maintenance and inspections are time-consuming, resulting in longer line stop times, and similarly, a decrease in line operation rate is unavoidable.

Furthermore, in the case of automatic assembly equipment, a mold head is generally employed to bend a band-shaped frame material into a container shape. The mold head is used to form a frame into the shape of a container by wrapping a strip-shaped frame material around the peripheral wall so that the peripheral wall matches the shape of the inner wall of the container to be manufactured. When the mold head is replaced depending on the specifications of the product, or when the shapes formed by the inner walls of the product are similar, this can be done by changing the position of the element in the mold head.

However, each time a product's specifications change, it is necessary to replace the mold head or change the position of the element, which not only causes the line to stop due to damage to the frame material, but also reduces the operating rate.

In this way, with a device that automates everything from supplying frame materials to bending and welding the bottom plate, productivity is much higher than when manual operations are performed, but there are problems such as maintenance and inspection of the device and damage to frame materials. The problem is that it is time-consuming and not necessarily suitable for high-mix, low-volume production.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of fully automatic assembly equipment, eliminate damage to frame materials, and easily manufacture products with different specifications, thereby improving productivity.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above objects, the assembly device of the present invention includes a bending table for bending a belt-shaped frame material made of plastic material, and a bottom plate welding device for thermally welding a bottom plate to the frame material after bending. The bending table includes a pair of guides that hold the two end members of the frame material according to the shape of the container on the two abutting sides, and a pair of guides that are located between these guides and hold the abutting surfaces of the frame material. It is characterized by comprising a welding head that performs thermal welding.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the features of the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the line configuration of the assembly apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view.

The container to be assembled is assembled using frame material M as shown in Figure 9.
The frame member M is made of foamed plastic, and the bottom plate m is a thin non-foamed plastic plate. The frame material M is made of a band-shaped material, and in the illustrated example, after being bent into a rectangular shape, the bottom plate m is integrated by heat welding.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a main body 1 of the assembly device incorporates a mechanism for bending a frame material M, welding a bottom plate m, and transporting it to a recovery device, and also includes a control mechanism for controlling all operating equipment. A board C is provided on the side of the main body 1. A bending table 2 is provided at one end of the main body 1, and a chain conveyor 3 for conveying the frame material M from the bending table 2 and a bottom plate welding device 4 for thermally welding the bottom plate m to the frame material M are arranged on the upper surface of the main body 1. It's been done. Further, a belt conveyor 5 for sending out is provided downstream of the bottom plate welding device 4, and a collection table 6 for collecting products is further laid out outside the main body 1.

A pair of guides 7 and 8 are provided on the upper surface of the bending table 2 for receiving and positioning two sides of the frame material M, and a welding head 9 is further provided between these guides 7 and 8. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main parts of the guides 7 and 8, and FIG. 4 is a front view as seen in the line direction. Flanges 7a and 8a are provided downstream of the guides 7 and 8.
is formed and fixed to the bending table 2 by bolts 7b and 8b. Further, the holding walls 7c and 8c for receiving the frame material M are raised perpendicularly to the two surfaces of the bending table. The guides 7, 8 are fixed such that the retaining walls 7c, 8c are perpendicular to each other, and a welding head 9 is provided at the corner formed by these guides 7, 8. In addition,
By drilling a long hole 2b in the bending table 2 and fixing it through the bolts 7b and 8b, the angle formed by the holding walls 7c and 8c can be set to any value other than 90° as shown. .

The welding head 9 is a heating body connected to a power source, has a thin plate-like shape at its tip, and is movable forward and backward by a drive device 9a having a cylinder or other mechanism. In addition, a recess 2a is provided on the surface of the bending table 2, and the lower end of the welding head 9 is fitted into the recess 2a.When joining the frame material M, the welding head 9 is inserted as shown in Fig. 5a. It is moved to the front side, and the joint surface of the frame material M is applied to this and heated. Then, the welding head 9 as shown in FIG. 5b is moved backward by the drive device 9a, and the joint surfaces of the frame members M are brought into contact with each other and are integrated by thermal welding. In addition, a pressure sensor, a photoelectric sensor, a limit switch, or the like is provided to detect when the frame material M is butted against the holding walls 7c and 8c, and the joint surface of the frame material M is heated and activated after a certain period of time has elapsed. The device 9a may be activated to automatically retract the welding head 9.

Bending of the frame material M by the bending table 2 and joining of both ends are performed in the following manner.

As shown in FIG. 6, the frame material M is provided with a notch M-1 on the surface where the inner wall of the container will be made, and this notch M-1 portion is bent inward by hand. After the frame material M is bent in advance by hand, it is placed on the bending table 2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the frame material M does not need to be shaped into a rectangle; both ends of the frame material M should abut against the holding walls 7c, 8c of the guides 7, 8, and the lower surface should be bent on the processing table. 2 and push it into the welding head 9 side while aligning it. As a result, the two distant sides M-2 and M-3 of the frame member M are set along the retaining walls 7c and 8c as shown in FIG. 3. Then, the welding head 9, which is moving forward at this point, is sandwiched between the abutting surfaces of the two sides M-2 and M-3, and by heating the welding head 9, these two sides are
The abutting surfaces of sides M-2 and M-3 are heated and melted to the extent that they can be joined. Thereafter, the welding head 9 moves back and the abutting surfaces of the two sides M-2 and M-3 come into contact, and the abutting surfaces melted by the welding head 9 are welded together. At this time, since the welding head 9 has entered the recess 2a, welding is ensured from the lower end to the upper end of the abutting surfaces of the two sides M-2 and M-3.

In this way, the frame material M can be bent into a square shape in the illustrated example by hitting the guides 7 and 8 without adjusting the shape of the frame material M when the frame material M is bent by hand in advance. can do. Further, since the frame material M is only handled by hand, bending, bending, deformation, etc. do not occur, and no material is wasted. Note that the guides 7 and 8 are connected using the long holes 2b.
Of course, by changing the angle at which the frame is constructed, it is possible to create not only a square but also a diamond-shaped frame.

A bottom plate m is placed on the frame material M bent and joined on the bending table 2, and the frame material M is taken out by hand and placed on the main body 1. A chain conveyor 3 is provided with a hook 3a protruding from a slit 1a formed on the upper surface of the main body 1, and a frame material M is hung on the hook 3a and fed to a bottom plate welding device 4.

The bottom plate welding device 4 welds the bottom plate m to the frame material M,
A bottom plate welding head 4a equipped with a heating plate on the lower surface can be raised and lowered by a lifting cylinder 4b. After the frame material M with the bottom plate m placed thereon stops at a predetermined position, the bottom plate welding head 4a is lowered by the lifting cylinder 4b, and the bottom plate m is pressed by the heating plate and welded to the frame material M. Performs heat welding operation. Then, the product P in which the bottom plate m and the frame material M are integrated by the bottom plate welding device 4 is pushed onto the belt conveyor 5 by the intermittent feeding of the chain conveyor 3, and the product P falls onto the collection table 6. do.

A guide stand 10 for guiding the product P to the collection table 6 is provided between the main body 1 and the collection table 6. This guide stand 10 is a frame 10
A hanging tool 10b whose position can be adjusted vertically and in the line direction from a is provided, and a support piece 10c is connected to this,
Further, a guide piece 10d is attached to the lower end of the support piece 10c. The guide piece 10d is made of thin hard rubber and can lightly press the upper surface of the products P to be arranged on the collection table 6. In addition, a guide plate 1b for guiding the bottom surface of the product P is provided on the main body 1 side, and a collection table 6
A feed cylinder 11 is provided to push and move the product P placed on the line toward the end of the line. Note that 1c is a reversing cylinder for reversing the products being moved by the belt conveyor 5.

The collection table 6 is equipped with a mechanism for arranging the products P. The arrangement mechanism is composed of a first guide rod 12a connected to the shift cylinder 12 and a second guide rod 13a provided to the lifting cylinder 13. The shift cylinder 12 moves the first guide rod 12a in a direction perpendicular to the line to restrain one end surface of the product P. Also, the second
The guide rod 13a restrains the other end surface to the product P,
As shown in FIG. 2, the products fed by the feed cylinder 11 between the first guide rod 12a and the first guide rod 12a are aligned in a line. Furthermore, when the products P are lined up along almost the entire length of the first and second guide rods 12a and 13a and are full, the second guide rod 13a is raised by the lifting cylinder 13, and the shift cylinder 12 is used to move the products P in line. push it out of line. The reversing cylinder 1c inverts the right end of the product P row so that the bottom plate m is placed at both ends of the product P row, thereby preventing the containers from deforming during packaging.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the arrangement and collection of products P. Figure a shows the product P after the welding process.
After falling onto the collection table 6, the feed cylinder 11 moves the first and second guide rods 12a, 1
3a. At this time, the stroke of the actuator of the feed cylinder 11 is approximately equal to the height dimension of the product P (indicated by l in the figure), and the falling product P is guided by the guide piece 10c and fed in the arrangement direction. FIG. 8b shows that after a certain number of products P have fallen onto the collection table 6, the stroke of the actuator of the feed cylinder 11 is lengthened to send all the products P between the first and second guide rods 12a and 13a. Indicates a state. After this operation, the actuator of the feed cylinder 11 returns to its original position, the second guide rod 13a is raised by the lifting cylinder 13, and immediately after this, the shift cylinder 12 moves the first guide rod 12a to the position shown in FIG. 8c. Move like this. As a result, the products P that had been aligned are set out of the line by the first guide rod 12a, and during this time the feed cylinder 11 continues to provide intermittent feed to new products P that are falling one after another. Then, at the same time as the first guide rod 12a returns to its original position as shown in FIG. 8d, the second guide rod 13a is similarly set to its original position by the elevating cylinder 13. Thereafter, a new product P is fed between the first and second guide rods 12a and 13a that have been reset, and they are aligned and prepared for collection out of the line. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8d, when the first and second guide rods 12a and 13a are set, the feed cylinder 11 is moved so that the new product P in the front row reaches between these guide rods 12a and 13a. Of course, you can adjust the stroke of the

In this way, the first and second guide rods 12a,
In the process of arranging and collecting the products P by 13a, the work can be performed while feeding the subsequent products P without stopping the feed cylinder 11. Therefore, there is no need to stop the line up to the welding process every time the product P is collected, which can contribute to improving the line operating rate and production efficiency.

In the above structure, the frame material M is bent in advance by hand, and then shaped into a regular container shape by the bending table 2 and formed by the welding head 9. Therefore, the frame material M will not break or deform when handled by hand, and even if it is handled manually, there will be no accidents such as breakage of the frame material M in automatic assembly equipment, so productivity can be expected to improve. .

In addition, a guide 7 provided on the bending table 2,
8 can receive a square corner part, and whether the shape of the container is square or rectangular, the frame material M can be formed using the holding walls 7c and 8c. Therefore, even if the specifications of the product change, there is no need for operations such as replacing mold heads as in conventional automatic assembly equipment, and there is no drop in line operating rate.

In the embodiment, a conveyance mechanism such as a chain conveyor 3 for conveying the frame material M is provided between the bending table 2 and the bottom plate welding device 4 for the bottom plate M.
This conveyance mechanism may be omitted so that the frame material M can be directly set on the bottom plate welding device 4.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, in the assembly apparatus of the present invention, the bent frame material is guided so as to take the shape of a container, and both ends are joined by the welding head. For this reason, there is no problem such as breakage of the frame material during the process of sending it to a bending device as in conventional automatic assembly devices, and there is no trouble during manufacturing even if it is done manually, so productivity is improved. Further, even if the product specifications change, the guide can be used as is because it only receives the joints of the frame materials, and there is no need to replace the mold head of the automatic assembly device. Therefore, there is no line stoppage time, and productivity is further improved and it is possible to appropriately cope with high-mix, low-volume production.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view showing the layout of the assembly device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is a plan view when the frame material is set on the guide, and Fig. 4 is a schematic front view showing the layout of the assembly device of the present invention.
The figure is a front view of the guide and welding head part, Figure 5 is a plan view showing welding of the frame material by the welding head, Figure 6 is a plan view of the frame material, and Figure 7 is the setting of the frame material on the bending table. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the situation, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the procedure for collecting products on the collection table, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the frame material and the bottom plate. 1...Main body, 1a...Slit, 1b...Guide plate, 1c...Reversing cylinder, 2...Bending table, 2a...Recess, 3...Chain conveyor, 3a...Hook, 4...Bottom plate welding Device,
4a... Bottom plate welding head, 4b... Lifting cylinder, 5... Belt conveyor, 6... Collection table, 7, 8... Guide, 7a, 8a... Flange, 7b, 8b... Bolt, 7c, 8c... ...Retaining wall, 9... Welding head, 9a... Drive device, 10
...Guide stand, 10a ...Frame, 10
b... Hanging tool, 10c... Support piece, 10d... Guide piece, 11... Feed cylinder, 12... Shift cylinder, 12a... First guide rod, 13...
...Elevating cylinder, 13a...Second guide rod,
M...Frame material, m...Bottom plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The bending table includes a bending table for bending a belt-shaped frame material made of plastic material, and a bottom plate welding device for thermally welding a bottom plate to the frame material after bending, and the bending table is configured to A plastic material comprising: a pair of guides that hold two abutting sides of the frame material in accordance with the shape of the container; and a welding head that is located between these guides and heat-welds the abutting surfaces of the frame material. Container assembly equipment.