JPH0610054B2 - Palletizer - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a palletizer, and more particularly to a palletizer for a columnar article for stacking a columnar article having contents such as cans stacked on a pallet.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, canned goods manufactured in a canned food production line are shipped in a predetermined number each in a carton or the like, and are not shipped in a state where many canned goods are stacked on a pallet. .
However, in the case of gifts, etc., it is often refilled in a cosmetic box at another assembling place. It is considered desirable from the viewpoint of resource and cost reduction, and stacking packaging of canned pallets has recently been performed.

In this case, as a palletizer as a stacking device, a palletizer for empty cans that is conventionally used for palletizing empty cans is used. Conventional palletizing of empty cans, empty cans that are continuously conveyed from the can making line are arranged in a zigzag pattern on a conveyor in a staggered manner, and they are transferred onto a pallet supplied on a table lifter. Next, a separate sheet is supplied on top of that, then the canned group of the next stage is transferred, and in the following order, a separate sheet is interposed between the stages to stack them in multiple stages.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) A conventional method of palletizing a cylindrical article by the same method as that of an empty can has the following problems. Since empty cans are light in weight, slide the cans of the next stage directly onto the separate sheet that is placed on the top surface of the cans that have already been stacked from the conveyor. Can be transferred smoothly without shifting the separate sheet, but in the case of canned goods with contents clogged, it is much heavier than empty cans, so slide the cans directly onto the separate sheet. When transferred, the separate sheet may move due to friction and may cause wrinkles, which makes it difficult to transfer smoothly.

The present invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and is a column shape in which even a relatively heavy article such as a can can be smoothly stacked without causing wrinkles or the like in a separate sheet interposed between each step. It is intended to provide a palletizer for articles. Another object of the present invention is to provide a palletizer capable of preventing columnar articles from collapsing or disturbing during stacking and ordering and stacking the cylindrical articles in an orderly and reliable manner.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The above-mentioned object is to form a columnar article group for each stage by closely arranging continuously conveyed columnar articles such as canned goods in a staggered manner on a conveyor. Then, the columnar article group is transferred onto a pallet supplied on a table lifter, and in a palletizer that is stacked in multiple stages with a separate sheet interposed between each stage, at a stacking position above the table lifter, The problem can be solved by providing a flat plate-shaped cut gauge that receives the one-stage columnar article group transferred from the conveyor so that the cut gauge can freely move in and out.

Then, a front regulating plate that is located in front of the transfer direction of the cylindrical article group transferred from the conveyor on the upper surface of the cut gauge and restricts the front end portion of the transfer direction of the can group is provided with the cut gauge. Since the can is transferred from the stacking position so as to move slightly in the cut gauge retreat direction in synchronization with the withdrawal, the can transferred on the cut gauge is prevented from falling on the side opposite to the withdrawal. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of the phenomenon.

(Operation) A can of one step is temporarily transferred onto the cut gauge, and then the can is pulled out to transfer the can onto the separate sheet transferred onto the can group one step below. Therefore, since the can group does not slide directly on the separate sheet, the separate sheet may be displaced by frictional force,
The columnar articles are reliably stacked in a pallet shape with the separate sheets accurately interposed between the steps without generating wrinkles.

On the other hand, during the operation of pulling out the cut gauges from the stacking position, when the articles placed on the cut gauges are prevented from moving by the front regulation plate, a force in the pulling direction of the cut gauges acts on the bottom surface, It becomes a rotation moment and the article tries to fall to the side opposite to the pull-out direction. However, as in the present invention, by slightly moving the front regulation plate in the pull-out direction by the amount of movement of the article, the rotational moment is reduced and the article is prevented from collapsing or being misaligned. According to the experiment by the present inventor, the movement of the front regulation plate in the cut gauge movement direction can be sufficiently achieved by gradually moving at a small amount at the beginning of the withdrawal, for example, in two stages, but continuously. You may move to.

(Example) Hereinafter, the Example of this invention is described in detail based on drawing.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a palletizer for cylindrical canned goods. The palletizer according to the present embodiment has a patterning section A that forms a canned group corresponding to one stacked stage, a transfer section B that transfers the canned group formed by the patterning section to the palletizing section, and a canning group on a pallet. A palletizing section C to be stacked, a separate sheet supply section D in which a separate sheet to be supplied to the palletizing section is accumulated, and a top frame supply section E in which a top frame is also accumulated.
And are arranged as shown.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a supply conveyor that supplies canned goods from a canned food production line to a palletizer. In this embodiment, the canned goods are conveyed in two rows. Reference numeral 2 denotes a separator, and at this position, two rows of cans are aligned in four rows and conveyed onto a net conveyor 3 of a palletizer. 5 is a pattern former for aligning the cans conveyed to the net conveyor at a right angle to the conveying direction in the number of rows in one stage to be stacked.
It is provided at the entrance of the. Reference numeral 6 denotes a flapper on the outlet side of the patterning portion, which is provided by an air cylinder 7 so as to be openable and closable on the downstream side in the conveying direction and opens and closes the outlet of the patterning portion B. As shown in FIG. 2, the flapper 6 has a surface 8 that engages with a can when the outlet is closed. The pitch p of the engaging surface is such that the cans in both rows contact the side guide plates and the cans inside are closely arranged in a zigzag pattern. (D is the diameter of the cans to be stacked).

10 is a flapper on the inlet side of the transfer section, and a cylinder 1 is attached to a moving frame 15 that moves between the palletizing section C and the transfer section B.
1, it is provided on the upper side of the upstream side so as to be openable and closable, and as will be described later, when the canning group received in the transfer section B is transferred to the palletizing section, it is closed and the canning group is pushed backward. Reference numeral 16 denotes a transfer section outlet side flapper provided on the moving frame 15, and is provided by a cylinder 17 so as to be rotatable upward in the transport direction.

Reference numeral 20 (see FIG. 6) is a table lifter provided in the palletizing section, and a pallet 19 supplied from a pallet supply stacker (not shown) is placed on the top surface of the table lifter.
It receives the canned goods transferred from the transfer section B and descends by a predetermined pitch every time one canned goods is stacked.

Reference numeral 25 is a separate sheet sweeper that sucks the separate sheet 22 from the separate sheet supply position and transfers it to the palletizing unit, and 26 is the suction pad. Reference numeral 27 denotes a top frame sweeper, which transfers the top frame 23, which covers the upper surface of the uppermost can of the cans to be stacked, from the top frame supply section E to the separate sheet supply section D. The separate sheet sweeper 2
Both the 5 and the top frame sweeper 27 are provided on a moving frame 29 that is moved by a cylinder 28.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a flat plate-shaped cut gauge having a smooth upper surface, and is provided in an extension palletizing portion of the net conveyor so as to be able to move in and out from the extension direction. An example of the access mechanism is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Sliders 32, 32, ... Are provided on both side edges of the lower surface of the cut gauge 30 via mounting plates 31, and move along rails 33, 33 provided on the machine frame 12. On one side of the mounting plate 31,
A moving rack 37 that meshes with a pinion 36 provided at the tip of a piston rod 35 of a cylinder 34 provided in the machine frame.
Is provided. A fixed rack 38 is fixed to the machine frame and meshes with the pinion. Reference numeral 39 denotes a cut gauge positioning detection switch when the cut gauge advances to the palletizing portion, and 40 denotes a retracting positioning detection switch, which are fixed to the stationary machine frame 12, respectively. Also, 4
Numerals 1 and 42 are engaging elements that are provided in a portion that moves together with the cut gauge and that engage with the positioning detection switches 39 and 40.

Further, above the palletizing section C, a side guide plate 43 that guides the cans transferred from the net conveyor 3 to the palletizing section C, and a front regulating plate 44 that regulates the forward movement are fixed machines. It is provided on the frame 12.
The front regulation plate 44 is supported by an appropriate moving means 45 such as a two-position actuating piston so as to slightly move in the cut gauge retracting direction in synchronization with the retracting of the cut gauge 30 from the palletizing portion. . This prevents the can from falling when the cut gauge is retracted. Further, the side guide plate is also fixed to the machine frame through an appropriate adjusting means 46 so that the space between the side guide plates can be adjusted according to the change of can type.

Next, with the palletizer configured as described above, for example, a round columnar canned product containing 630 g of contents has one row of seven rows × 1.
The case of stacking in two rows will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

The table lifter 20 has the pallet 20 in its lowered position.
Is supplied to the pallet, and the pallet upper surface rises to a position slightly lower than the extension surface of the net conveyor and stands by. On the other hand, the cans 50 conveyed from the canning production line in two rows from the conveyor 1 are arranged in four rows by the separator 2 and supplied to the net conveyor 3 of the palletizer. When the cans supplied to the net conveyor are conveyed to the position of the pattern former 5, the cans are regulated by the pattern former 5 and are aligned laterally at a predetermined interval so as to form a canned group in the first row. And the can of the outermost side is inclined so as to contact one side guide (the upper side in the illustrated embodiment) and passes. Subsequently, the second row of canned goods is formed in the same manner, but the second row of canned goods is deflected so that the other outermost canned goods contacts the other side guide. Less than,
Similarly, the net conveyors are moved side by side in the lateral direction while being staggered alternately in the width direction.

When the frontmost can reaches the position of the flapper 6 on the outlet side of the patterning portion, as shown in FIG. 2, it engages with the engaging surface 8 of the flapper hanging down in the width direction of the conveyor to block the flow. Also, the second group of cans is engaged and blocked between the first group of cans. Thereafter, in the same manner, staggered and densely accumulated to form one step. When the formation for one step is completed, the cylinder 7 acts to rotate the flapper 6 to convey the can group to the transfer section B. When the can group reaches the transfer section B, the can group is prevented from moving by the outlet side flapper 16 located at the lower position, and when the can group reaches the transfer section B completely, the inlet side flapper 10 rotates to enter. Is closed and the can group is made to stand by at the transfer section B. The cylinder 14 for driving the moving frame operates at a predetermined timing, and the moving machine frame 15 causes the flapper 1 to move.
When the can group is sandwiched by 0 and 16, the can group is moved to the palletizing section C, and the can group is transferred onto the pallet 19 waiting at this position. As a result, the first stage is formed. After that, the cylinder 17 operates to rotate the outlet side flapper 16, and at the same time, the cylinder 14 operates to cause the moving machine frame 15 to double-move to the transfer section B. Upon arrival at the transfer section B, the cylinder 17 operates again to close the outlet side flapper 16, open the inlet side flapper 10, restore the initial state, and have the arrival of the second stage can group.

On the other hand, when the first stage can group is transferred, the table lifter 20 is lowered by one stage. After that, when the separate sheet sweeper 25 is operated to suck and hold the separate sheet 22 accumulated in the separate sheet supply section, the moving machine frame 29 is moved to move the separate sheet 22 to the first stage can group of the palletizing section. Place on top. Then, the cylinder 34 for driving the cut gauge in and out is operated to project the cut gauge 30 to a position above the separate sheet 22, and in that state, waits for the second-stage can group to be transferred to the palletizing section. To do.

During the above operation, the patterning unit forms the second-stage can group by the above-described operation. The formed second-stage can group is moved to the transfer section B, and the movable machine frame is moved from there by the operation of the cylinder to transfer the second-stage can group onto the cut gauge 30 of the palletizing section. . At this time, the front regulating plate 44 of the palletizing portion is located slightly inward of the regular palletizing position as shown by the phantom line in FIG. Therefore, the can group transferred onto the cut gauge is transferred in a state slightly closer to the net conveyor side than the regular palletizing section. When the transfer of the group of cans onto the cut blade is completed and the moving machine frame 15 returns, the cylinder 34 subsequently operates and the cut gauge 30 is pulled out from the palletizing portion. At that time, the cans on the cut gauge are prevented from being moved by the front regulation plate, and are sequentially transferred onto the separate sheet placed on the cans on the first stage.
When pulling out the cut gauge, the can 50 tries to fall on the side opposite to the direction in which the cut gauge is pulled out.However, as described above, the front regulating plate is set slightly on the net conveyor side in advance and the cut gauge is pulled out when pulling out the cut gauge. By moving the can slightly in the drawing direction, the can moves slightly in the drawing direction and is transferred onto the separate sheet without falling. Then, when the can is pulled out of the cut gauge, the can is slightly moved in the pulling-out direction so that the can is transferred to the regular palletizing portion on the separate sheet.

When the second stage is stacked in this way, the table lifter is lowered again by one stage to prepare for the third stage stacking. After that, the same operation is repeated and a predetermined number of layers are stacked. Then, when the uppermost stage is stacked and the separate sheet is supplied on the upper stage, at the same time, the top frame sweeper 27
Also operates, and the top frame 23 is transferred onto the separate sheet accumulated in the separate sheet supply section. When the supply of the separate sheet on the top can group is completed, the separate sheet sweeper is activated again, and this time, the top frame located in the separate sheet supply section is adsorbed, and the top frame is moved to the top can group. Cover. Covering the top frame protects the cans and prevents the stacks from collapsing.

As described above, when the stacking of all groups of cans is completed,
The table lifter descends to the discharge conveyor unit, and moves the stacked body together with the pallet to the position of the stacked body packaging apparatus for the next process.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the target article is not limited to canned articles, but any article can be used as long as it is a columnar article, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the present invention. There is no end.

(Effect) The present invention is configured as described above and has the following special effects.

When the cans are transferred from the net conveyor onto the separate sheets, the cans do not slide directly on the separate sheets, so the separate sheets do not shift due to frictional force and wrinkles do not occur. The group of articles can be transferred smoothly, and even if the cans are filled with the contents, they can be stacked on the pallet accurately and reliably.

Further, by slightly moving the front regulation plate in the pull-out direction by the amount that the columnar article is about to move, it is possible to prevent the rotational moment from acting on the article when the article group is transferred from the cut gauge onto the separate sheet, It is possible to prevent falling of articles and disorder of alignment.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 shows a plan view of a palletizer for a cylindrical article of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an essential part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a cut gauge withdrawal mechanism. Fourth
Figure is its side view, Figure 5 is a plan view of the palletizing part,
FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory view of the operation. 1: Conveyor, 3: Net conveyor, 5: Pattern former, 6, 10, 16: Flapper, 7, 11, 1
4, 17, 28, 34: Cylinder, 12: Fixed machine frame, 1
5, 29: Mobile frame, 19: Pallet, 20: Table lifter, 22: Separate sheet, 23: Top frame, 25: Separate sheet sweeper, 27: Top frame sweeper, 30: Cut gauge, 32: Slider, 33: rail, 36: pinion, 37: moving rack, 38: fixed rack, 44: front regulating plate, 45: moving means, 50: canning, A: patterning section, B: transfer section,
C: Palletizing section, D: Separate sheet supply section, E: Top frame stock section

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A columnar article group such as canned articles which are continuously conveyed is closely arranged in a staggered manner on a conveyor to form a columnar article group for each stage, and the columnar article group is formed on a table. In a palletizer that is transferred onto a pallet supplied on a lifter and stacked in multiple stages with a separate sheet interposed between each stage, at the stacking position above the table lifter, one stage transferred from the conveyor. The palletizer is characterized in that a flat plate-shaped cut gauge for receiving the columnar article group is provided so that it can be freely moved in and out. 2. A front regulating plate that is located on the upper surface of the cut gauge at the front of the columnar article group transferred from the conveyor in the transfer direction and regulates the front end of the can group in the transfer direction. The palletizer for cylindrical articles according to claim 1, wherein the palletizer for a cylindrical article is provided so as to slightly move in the cut gauge retracting direction in synchronism with the gauge being retracted from the stacking position.