JPH0563376B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a box cutting method and apparatus for accurately and reliably cutting a box such as a cardboard box. The present invention relates to a box cutting method and apparatus suitable for opening the top surface of the box by cutting the sections.

(Prior art) Conventional technologies related to box cutting methods and devices include Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53-11297 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52
Those described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 27178, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-4617, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-20944 are known.

To explain the conventional techniques described in the above publications, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53-11297 and
Publication No. 55-20944 discloses a box cutting device that includes a conveyor that conveys the box and a cutter that is arranged above the conveyor and cuts the upper edge of the box or its vicinity as the conveyor transports the box. is listed.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-27178 describes a packaging disassembly device which includes a bottom cutter and an upper cutter that are arranged in series to cut the bottom and top portions of both sides of the package. Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-4617 discloses an inter-flap cutting device that cuts a load sent by a feed conveyor using an upper cutting cutter. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-278790 discloses that the bottom surface of the box is cut on two sides parallel to the transport direction while the box is passed over a fixed cutter, and then the movable cutter is moved in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. A method and apparatus for cutting the remaining two sides of the box bottom is disclosed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the above-mentioned conventional technology had the following problems.

That is, the box cutting device described in JP-A No. 53-11297, or the packaging and dismantling device described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-27178, and the device disclosed in JP-A-52-27178.
The cutting device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 20944 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-4617 cuts the upper edge or top of the box by moving the box relative to the cutter body held at a fixed position. Because of this, the box may sway during transportation, the box may be deformed due to resistance during cutting, or the box may not be cut at the desired position accurately, causing the box to be stored in the box. This may damage the item or damage the box. In addition, in the box cutting method described in JP-A No. 63-278790, the bottom of the box is cut, so after cutting the four sides, it is necessary to take out the contents of the box on the spot, which reduces work efficiency. bad. Furthermore, the bottom surface of the box is more easily deformed than the top surface during storage and transportation, and is difficult to cut. In particular, it becomes more difficult to cut with a fixed cutter. In the method of cutting while transporting the box, the box is not fixed, so the cutting pressure may cause the box to escape upwards during cutting, making it impossible to cut. Particularly in the case of a lightweight box, there is a problem in that it is easy to escape, which is a disadvantage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for cutting a box, which can accurately and reliably cut a box by moving a cutter for cutting the box along a cutting line of the box. It's about doing.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The gist of the present invention that solves the problems is as follows: (1) After the box is carried into a predetermined position, the sides of the box are gripped and fixed, and the top and bottom surfaces of the box are fixed. The position of the side surface is detected, and the cutting edge of the rotary blade of the cutter is moved downward from the top surface of the box by the depth of cut, and the rotary blade of the cutter is also moved a certain amount inward from the upper edge of the side surface of the box to cut the cutter into the box. After placing the cutter on the extension line of the imaginary cutting line and acting diagonally so that the rotary blade falls toward the center of the top surface, move the cutter in the same direction as the direction in which the box is carried in and use the rotary blade to cut the box. Box cutting method characterized by cutting (2) A conveyor for carrying the box, a box gripping device for pressing and fixing the side of the box, and a detection device for detecting the top and side positions of the box. a cutter with a rotary blade for cutting the box body inclined with respect to the top surface, and a vertical movement that positions the cutter on an extension of the virtual cutting line of the top surface of the box based on the detector and the detection results. The present invention includes a device, a left-right moving device, and a back-and-forth moving device that moves in the same direction as the direction in which the cutter box is carried in to cut the box.

(Function) In the present invention, the carried box is fixed at a predetermined location by pressing the sides of the box by a box gripping device, and then the position of the top and side surfaces of the box is detected by a detector, Based on this position information, the vertical moving device and the horizontal moving device are moved to position the cutter on an extension of the virtual cutting line of the box. At this time, the rotating blade of the cutter is tilted toward the center of the top surface. In this state, the forward and backward moving device is operated to move in the same direction as the box carrying direction and cut the box.

In this way, in the present invention, the top surface of the box is cut, so the box can be sent to the next processing location with the contents still contained, and the next box can be cut immediately.

In addition, the top surface, where the box body is less deformed, is cut while the box body is fixed, and the rotary blade tilted towards the center is used to cut along the upper edge of the top surface, making it possible to cut smoothly and reliably. , Only the top corner of the box body is cut diagonally, so that the cutter blade does not penetrate deeply into the box body and does not damage the items inside the box body.

(Example) First, an example of the box cutting device of the present invention will be described below.

Figure 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a side view, Figure 3 is a plan view, and Figure 4 is a detailed side view of the main parts.
1 is a cutter that cuts the box A (the cutter 1 is omitted in Figures 1 to 3); 2 is a vertical moving device that moves the cutter 1 in the vertical direction; 3 is a cutter that moves the cutter 1 in the horizontal direction 4 is a back-and-forth moving device that moves the cutter 1 along the cutting line C of the box A; 5 is a box gripping device that presses the box A in the left-right direction (in Fig. 3, the box gripping device is 5 is omitted), and after the cutter 1 is moved to a predetermined position according to the size of the box A by the vertical moving device 2 and the horizontal moving device 3, the cutter 1 is moved as shown in FIG. It is arranged so that it can move along the cutting line C of the box A and cut the upper edge B of the box A in a stopped state.

To explain each part in the above example,
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, two sets of the above-mentioned cutters 1 are provided so that the upper edge portions B of the box body A can be cut at two places on the left and right sides at the same time.
The cutter main body 11 includes a rotary blade 11a, a motor 11b, a linear bending ring 11c, etc., and an air cylinder section 1 includes an air cylinder 12a, a bracket 12b, a linear bearing 12c, etc.
2, a presser roller section 1 comprising a presser roller 13a, a spring 13b, a linear bearing 13c, etc.
The cutter 1 is configured to be moved in the vertical direction by a vertical moving device 2, which will be described later, and the cutter main body 11 and air cylinder portion 12 are connected via an air cylinder 12a. The distance between them can be changed.

Although FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the rotary blade 11a suitable for cutting a box A made of cardboard with a thickness of 2 mm to 8 mm, the rotary blade 11a is not limited to these embodiments. That is, the rotary blade 11a is attached at an angle of 60° to the top surface of the box A, preferably 30° to 120°, more preferably 45°.
It only needs to be mounted at an angle of ~75°. Also,
The cutting depth in the vertical direction is shown in an example of 5 mm to 1 mm, but preferably 2 mm to 30 mm,
More preferably, it is 3 mm to 20 mm. Also,
The cutting depth in the left and right direction is 4 mm in the example shown, but it is preferably 1 mm to 10 mm, more preferably 3 mm to 5 mm. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the amount of extrusion of the presser roller 13a relative to the upper edge B of the box body A may be 3 mm to 15 mm, preferably 6 mm to 10 mm.

Further, as the rotary blade 11a, a sharp rotary blade such as a round blade may be used, but blades having various shapes as shown in FIG. 8, for example, may also be used. That is,
If you use a sharp blade such as a round blade, the cutting surface will be too sharp and may hurt your hands when removing the item from the box A. Therefore, be sure to roughen the cutting surface to the extent that no chips will come out. I made sure not to damage it. Figures 8a and 8b show examples of rotary blades with slits around them, and the blades are provided in the portions indicated by chain lines. Moreover, FIG. 8c is an example of a rotary blade provided with small protrusions on the side surface. Also, Figure 9 shows a sharp rotary blade 1 like a round blade.
This is an example of a rotary file for roughening the surface cut by the rotary blade 11a.
Separately, it is provided behind the rotary blade 11a, and is preferably thicker than the thickness of the rotary blade 11a.

Further, the presser roller section 13 is configured such that the presser roller 13a presses the upper side surface of the box body A in the left-right direction by a spring 13b, and the presser roller 13a presses the upper side surface of the box body A in the left-right direction. Plate 1 attached to linear bearing 13c of section 13
3d are connected via a spring 12f, and as the air cylinder section 12 moves up and down, the presser roller section 13 moves in the up and down direction. In addition, when cutting a box A having a low height, the lowering of the cutter main body 11 and the air cylinder section 12 causes the presser roller section 13 to descend to a position where it interferes with the box gripping device 5. Therefore, a stop plate 21d is provided at the lower end of the linear rail 21a, and the presser roller section 13 is attached to the stop plate 21d.
It is arranged so that it does not fall below d. That is, the presser roller part 13, which is constantly pressed down via the spring 12f due to the lowering of the cutter main body part 11 and the air cylinder part 12, is pressed down by the stop plate 21.
When reaching d, the spring 12f is compressed, and the presser roller portion 13 does not descend below that point.

Further, the vertical movement device 2 includes a linear rail 21
a, a pair of lifting masts 21 including a timing belt 21b, a linear bearing 21c, etc., and a motor 22 for driving the timing belt 21b.
The cutter 1 is made up of a drive shaft 23, a height detector 24, etc., and the cutter 1 is rotated by the rotation of a timing belt 21b via a plate 12d attached to a linear bearing 12c of the air cylinder section 12.
is arranged to move in the vertical direction. In addition, one of the lifting masts 21 is equipped with a linear bearing 21c.
It is configured to be moved in the left-right direction on a linear rail 31a of a left-right moving device 3, which will be described later. Further, the other lifting mast 21 is fixed in the left-right direction. In addition, height detector 2
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, 4 is composed of an air cylinder 24a, a box detection plate 24c, a plate attachment rod 24d, a boss member 24e, a spring 24f, a long hole plate 24g, etc., and is connected to the cutter via a bracket 24h. A boss member 24e is attached to the tip of the piston rod 24b of the air cylinder 24a, and a lower end of a plate attachment rod 24d passing through the boss member 24e and the bracket 24h is attached to the bracket 12b of the air cylinder portion 12 of the air cylinder 24a. A box detection plate 24c is attached. Further, a spring 24f is provided between the box body detection plate 24c and the boss member 24e so as to wind around the plate attachment rod 24d.
c is constantly pushed downward. Further, the long hole plate 24g connects the box detection plate 24c and the boss member 24e.

Further, the left and right moving device 3 has a linear rail 31a.
The ball screw 32 is arranged parallel to the width adjusting bed 31, and the motor 33 drives the screw shaft 32a of the ball screw 32. 32
The rotation of the nut 32b causes the plate 34 including the nut 32b to move in the left-right direction, and through the movement of the plate 34, the lifting mast 21 moves in the left-right direction. Incidentally, the left-right moving device 3 is configured to be moved in the front-back direction by the running of a traveling trolley 41 of a back-and-forth moving device 4, which will be described later.

Further, the forward/backward moving device 4 includes a running bogie 41 running on a linear rail 61 disposed on the upper surface of the frame 6, a motor 42 for driving the running bogie 41, a rack 43a, a pinion 43b, etc. is equipped with a cutter 1, a vertical moving device 2, and a left/right moving device 3, and the cutter 1, which has been moved to a predetermined position in advance by the vertical moving device 2 and the left/right moving device 3, is moved by a traveling cart 41. , is configured to move in the front-rear direction, that is, in the direction along the cutting line C (direction substantially perpendicular to the left-right direction).

The box gripping device 5 includes a pair of gripping plates 51 having protrusions 51a to prevent the box A from falling or moving due to resistance during cutting, an air cylinder 52, a guide shaft 53, etc. The lower side of the box body A is pressed in the left-right direction by a pair of gripping plates 51. Further, the bracket 54 of the box gripping device 5 is provided with a fixed guide 54a. In addition, if the box A has a high height (for example,
If the height is 300 mm or more), if the pair of gripping plates 51 grip only the lower side surfaces of the box A, the box A may be gripped in an inclined state. It is preferable to use a pair of gripping plates (not shown) separate from the plate 51 to press and grip the upper side of the box A in the left-right direction.

Next, a box cutting system using two box cutting devices of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 13 is a layout diagram showing an embodiment of the above system, where α is a first box cutting device for cutting the two upper edges B in the longitudinal direction of the box A, and β is a box cutting device. A second box cutting device 7 for cutting the two upper edges B in the width direction of the box A includes (roller) conveyors 71, 72, 73, . . . for conveying the box A. The transport conveyor 8 is a box stopper equipped with stoppers 81, 82, 83, . . . for stopping the box A, and the box cutting devices α and β shown in FIG. 1 to 3 so that multiple boxes A can be cut by moving back and forth.
The size of the cutter 1 that can be moved in the front and back direction is larger than that of the box-shaped cutting device shown in the figure. still,
In the box cutting system described above, a plurality of boxes A are cut by one back and forth movement of the cutter 1.
After forming the cutting unit, the upper edge B of the box A is cut while the box holding device 5 grips the plurality of boxes A forming the cutting unit. Furthermore, a depalletizer (not shown) is provided upstream of the conveyor 7.

Next, one embodiment of the box cutting method of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment of the cutting method using the box cutting apparatus described above.

In one embodiment of the box cutting method of the present invention, first, one or more boxes A that have been depalletized by the above-mentioned depalletizer are conveyed in the longitudinal direction in groups of different types, and conveyed to the conveyor 71. It passes through, is conveyed to the conveyor 72 while being counted by the photo switch (PH11), and is placed at the stopper 8.
At the same time, the maximum number of pieces that can be cut at one time for each type, which is registered in advance in the control CPU (not shown), is stopped sequentially by the photo switch (PH11).
or when the number of boxes A to be cut is less than the maximum number, when the number to be cut is detected, the stopper 81 rises to stop the following boxes A and transfer the boxes to the conveyor 72. Supply of A is completed. One or more boxes A of the same type arranged on the conveyor 72 are packed in front by the stopper 82 and then conveyed to the conveyor 73. When the first box A has arrived at the stopper 83, PH13) is detected, the conveyor 73 stops,
By the cutter 1 of the first box cutting device α, two upper edges B in the longitudinal direction of the box A are cut, as described later.
is disconnected. The box A cut by the first box cutting device α is conveyed to the conveyor 74,
They are separated one by one by the stopper 84 and conveyed to the conveyor 7.
5 to the conveyor 76 and stopped at the stopper 85, the box A cut in the longitudinal direction is further cut into two upper portions in the width direction by the second box cutting device β. The edge B is cut and transported to the conveyor 77 on the downstream side. Note that the above cutting order may be such that the width direction is first cut and then the longitudinal direction is cut. Further, it is preferable that the conveyor 74 and the conveyor 75 are faster than the conveyor 73. In addition, the top surface of the cut box A can be removed by appropriate means, for example,
It is removed by suction with a vacuum head, removal by an operator, etc.

As mentioned above, when the boxes A that have been depalletized by the depalletizer are conveyed in the longitudinal direction in bundles of each type and stopped on the conveyor 73,
2 in the longitudinal direction of the box A by the box cutting device α
The upper edge B of the piece is cut. That is, first, in order to fix the box A in a fixed position, the lower side of the box A is pressed in the left-right direction by the pair of gripping plates 51 of the box gripping device 5, and the box A is held in a fixed position. Fixed. At this time, the gripping plate 51 on the fixed guide 54a side is always pushed out to a certain position, and the gripping plate 51 on the other side
is pushed out according to the size of the box A until it is pressed against the grip plate 51 on the fixed guide 54a side. Each of the gripping plates 51 is provided with a limit switch (not shown), and by detecting the completion of pressing the box A by the gripping plate 51 with the limit switch, the box A is fixed at a fixed position. Completion of work is detected.

When the box A is fixed in a fixed position, cutting of the box A is started. That is, the rotary blade 11a starts rotating, and the rotary blade 11a moves vertically and horizontally to an extension line of the upper edge B of the box body A, as described later. At this time, if it is necessary to cut both the upper edges B in the longitudinal direction, use the air cylinder 12
a, 12a lower the cutter main body parts 11, 11 to the lower position, that is, the cutting position. In addition, when any of the upper edges B is not cut, the cutter main body 11 on the side of the upper edge B that is not cut is connected to the air cylinder 1.
2a, it is raised to the upper position, that is, the position where it will not be cut. As mentioned above, the air cylinders 12a, 1
2a can be operated independently, so the two upper edges B in the longitudinal direction of the box body A can be cut at the same time, or only one of them can be cut. Therefore, all four upper edges B of the box A can be cut by using two box cutting devices α and β, but if necessary, one
Cut only the upper edge B of one piece, or cut the upper edge B of two pieces.
can be cut into an L-shape, or the three upper edges B can be cut into a U-shape. In addition, below, the case where all four upper edge parts B are cut is demonstrated.

The vertical positioning is performed by first lowering the cutter 1 from a predetermined height using the vertical moving device 2, and then detecting the top surface of the box A with the height detector 24. Ru. That is, when the box A is fixed in a fixed position by the box gripping device 5,
The air cylinder 24a pushes down the boss member 24e (the position indicated by the solid line in FIGS. 11 and 12), and the box detection plate 24c connected to the boss member 24e is also pushed down (the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 11). ). Then, when the bracket 12b of the air cylinder section 12 of the cutter 1 starts lowering by the vertical moving device 2, the height detector 24 attached to the bracket 12b also lowers. Box detection plate 2
When the box body detection plate 24c comes into contact with the top surface of the box body A, the box body detection plate 24c stops at that position, but the cutter 1 and the bracket 24h continue to descend. And the photo switch attached to the bracket 24h
When the PH1 detects the box detection plate 24c, the encoder attached to the drive shaft 23 of the vertical movement device 2 starts pulse counting.
As shown in FIG. 10, the depth of cut at the time of cutting is set in advance according to the shape, dimensions, etc. of the upper edge B of the box A to be cut, so that the pulse count is set to the value set above. The lowering of the cutter 1 continues until it reaches . When the pulse count reaches the above-mentioned set value, the cutter 1 has been positioned at the proper depth of cut. After the cutter 1 is positioned in the vertical direction, the air cylinder 24
a pulls up the boss member 24e (the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 11 and 12) to prevent the box body detection plate 24c from coming into contact with the box body A during cutting. PH2 is a photo switch for detecting an abnormal cutting depth, and PH3 is a reflective photo switch for detecting the approach of box A. When the approach of the top of box A is detected, the descending speed of vertical moving device 2 changes from high to low. Can be switched.

Further, one of the cutters 1 is also moved in the left-right direction at the same time as the above-mentioned lowering operation, and is moved so as to be located on an extension line of the upper edge B of the box A which is fixed at a fixed position. For positioning in the left and right direction, move the dog 55 provided on the grip plate 51 on the opposite side of the grip plate 51 on the fixed guide 54a side to the photo switch PH4.
This is done by moving the lifting mast 21 closer to the position where it is detected. Further, the photo switch PH5 is used to switch the width shifting speed of the left/right moving device 3 from high speed to low speed.

As mentioned above, the rotary blade 11a is located at the upper edge B of the box body A.
5 and 6, the cutter 1 moves in the direction of the arrow along the cutting line C to cut the upper edge B of the box A. Incidentally, when the rotary blade 11a moves along the cutting line C, the presser roller 13a presses the upper side of the box A by the spring 13b, so that the articles stored in the box A are moved inward. Since it is kept away from the rotary blade 11a, the upper edge B of the box A can be cut without damaging the articles stored in the box A. That is, the upper edge B of the box A
is strong and does not easily move inward even when pressed, so only the articles stored in the box A and the sides of the box A can be moved inward.

When the cutting of the box A is completed, the cutter 1 is moved to a predetermined position, that is, the upper end position by the vertical moving device 2, and the right end position by the horizontal moving device 3.
Also, it is returned to the front end position by the back and forth movement device 4,
When the box gripping device 5 releases the box A, the conveyor 73 is driven and the stopper 83 is lowered, and the box A passes through the downstream conveyors 74, 75, and 76 to the second box cutting device. The two upper edges B in the width direction of the box A are cut in the same manner as the two upper edges B in the longitudinal direction of the box A are cut by the first box cutting device α. Part B is also cut. The box A with the four upper edges B cut off is carried out to the conveyor 77 in the same manner as it was carried out to the conveyor 74 from the first box cutting device α. Note that if the next box to be cut is the same box A, the cutter 1 is not returned to the predetermined position, that is, the cutter 1 is moved to a position approximately 150 mm above by the vertical moving device 2, and the cutter 1 is moved to a position approximately 150 mm above by the vertical moving device 2. 3
Depending on the position, approximately 50mm to the right, and the forward/backward moving device 4
It is preferable to return it to the front end position by the following steps.

Although embodiments of the box cutting device of the present invention and embodiments of the box cutting method of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these. For example, the box body A in a moving state may be cut without being provided with the box body gripping device 5 that presses the box body A in the left-right direction.

Further, the traveling carriage 41 of the back and forth moving device 4 may be moved by a chain and a motor that drives the chain.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the box cutting method and device of the present invention, the cutter is moved along the cutting line of the box, so the upper edge of the box can be cut accurately and Can be cut reliably.

The device is equipped with a box gripping device that presses the box in the left and right direction, and by cutting the box in a stopped state, the box does not wobble or deform, and the goods stored in the box can be cut. or injure the
There is no chance of cutting the box body incorrectly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the box cutting device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 4 is a detailed side view of the main parts thereof, and Fig. 5 The figure is a detailed plan view of the main part near the presser roller part, FIG. 6 is a detailed side view of the main part near the presser roller part, and FIG.
The figure is a detailed side view of the main parts of the cutter and the vertical moving device, Figure 8a is a front view and side view of an example of the rotary blade, Figure 8b is an enlarged view of the X section in Figure 8a, Figure 8c is a front view and side view of another example of the rotary blade, Figure 9 is a front view and side view of the rotary file, and Figure 10 is the position of the rotary blade and the box during cutting. 11 is a detailed side view of the main part near the height detector, Fig. 12 is a detailed front view of the main part near the height detector, and Fig. 13 is a detailed view of the cutting device of the box. FIG. 2 is a layout diagram showing a box cutting system using a stand. 1: cutter, 2: vertical movement device, 3: left and right movement device, 4: forward and backward movement device, 5: box gripping device,
A: Box body, C: Cutting line.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. After carrying the box into a predetermined position, the box is gripped and fixed so as to press the sides of the box, the positions of the top and side surfaces of the box are detected, and the cutting edge of the rotary blade of the cutter is placed on the box. The cutter is moved downward by the depth of cut from the top surface, and the rotary blade of the same cutter is moved a certain amount inward from the upper edge of the side surface of the box to be positioned on an extension of the imaginary cutting line of the box, and the rotary blade is moved downward from the top surface. A method for cutting a box, characterized in that the cutter is moved in the same direction as the carrying direction of the box to cut the box with a rotary blade after acting diagonally so as to fall toward the center. 2. A conveyor that carries the box, a box gripping device that presses and fixes the side of the box, a detector that detects the top and side positions of the box, and a rotary blade that cuts the box on the top. A cutter installed at an angle, a vertical movement device and a left and right movement device that position the cutter on an extension of the virtual cutting line on the top surface of the box based on the detection results of the detector, and a direction in which the cutter is carried into the box. A back-and-forth moving device that moves in the same direction as the box to cut the box.