JPH06127696A - Automatic tray cup feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic tray cup feeding device which prevents each tray cup from being hurted, damaged or deformed, and surely takes out the cup one by one properly so as to feed it even if weight is changed as the cups are decreased in number or because its kind is changed. CONSTITUTION:One set of pawls is provided, which comprises an upper pawl 1 and a lower pawl 2 overlapped vertically, two sets of these are arranged symmetrically from side to side in spaced relation, and these two sets of pawls 3 are so constituted that they can be relatively parted by a specified distance from side to side, and that they can come close to each other, and concurrently a damper 24 is provided below a space between the two sets of the pawls 3, the device is so designed that tray cups 6 are vertically piled up over the damper 24, and a series of actions is repeated so that the tray cup can automatically be fed one by one.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic tray cup feeder used in the food industry and other fields.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional automatic tray cup feeder is
The tray cups piled up and down were supported from below by fixed claws, a suction cup was adsorbed to the bottom of the bottom tray cup, and the trays were pulled out one by one against the claws and taken out.

[0003]

However, when a large number of tray cups are piled up and down, the claws are bent and come off due to the weight of the tray cups. Therefore, it is necessary to give the claws a certain amount of strength. However, if the strength of the claws is adjusted appropriately so as not to lose the initial weight of the stacked tray cups, the tray cups become lighter as the number of tray cups decreases, and the resistance of the claws relatively increases, resulting in suction cup suction. There is not enough power to make a mistake. For this reason, when the suction force is increased so that the tray cup can be taken out, the outer edge of the tray cup is damaged, torn or deformed, thereby impairing the commercial property. To make matters worse, since the tray cup types are different and the weights are different, it is necessary to replace the tray cup with a suitable one each time the tray cup type changes, which further deteriorates workability. After all, there was no choice but to ignore the mistake of taking out to some extent and adjust the strength of the nail appropriately. For that reason, if you want to peel off a few at a time,
If this occurs frequently, it hinders the work of the production line thereafter, and causes work efficiency to deteriorate.

The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above problems, and does not damage, tear, or deform the tray cups, and the weight of the tray cups decreases as the number of stacked tray cups decreases. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic tray cup feeder capable of reliably picking up and feeding one by one without a mistake even if the weight changes due to a change in the type or a change in the type.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic tray cup feeder according to the present invention is provided with a pair of upper and lower claws, which are vertically symmetrical. The two sets of claws are arranged at required intervals, and the two sets of claws are configured so that they can be relatively separated from each other in the left-right direction by a required distance and can be approached to each other. When a damper is provided, and the tray cups are vertically stacked on the damper and the two sets of the claws are brought close to each other for a required distance, the space between the first tray cup from the bottom and the outer edge of the second tray cup above it is increased. Inserted in the gap to support the upper tray cup from the second tray on its outer edge, and then lowering only the lower jaw of the two sets of nails together pulls down the outer edge of the first tray cup. Interlock with the damper to escape 1 After dropping the eyes of the tray cups,
Discharging by an appropriate discharging means, then raising the lower claw integrally and returning to the original position where it overlaps with the upper claw so that the damper also returns to the original position, and then two sets of claws When the tray cup leaves the required distance, the tray cup disengages from the two sets of claws and rides on the damper. When the tray cup is brought closer to the required distance again, the tray cup is inserted into the gap between the outer edges of the tray cup. It is configured so that it can be automatically taken out one by one.

Further, the shape of the above-mentioned claws may be a thin plate or a plurality of thin round bars so as to be surely inserted between the outer edges of the tray cup. However, depending on the type of tray cup, there is a tray cup that can be inserted only between the outer edges of the four corners and cannot be inserted between the outer edges of both sides. In order to accommodate tray trays of any of these shapes, the front and rear portions of the two sets of claws are projected so as to follow the shapes of the four corners of the tray cup. Furthermore, the tray cup may have a square shape or a rectangular shape, and the dimensions thereof are also different. For the difference in the width of the tray cups, the left and right movement distances of the two sets of claws corresponding to the width dimensions of various tray cups are stored in the controller in advance using, for example, a pulse motor, and the data is supported. Switch so that it can be called. On the other hand, for the difference in length between the front and rear, for example, only the protruding portion of the front end of the upper claw is made independent (if necessary, the lower claw is similarly configured).
Then, it can be moved back and forth so as to match the length of the tray cup.

Further, it is necessary that the mounting position of the damper is such that the two sets of claws can be inserted into the gap between the outer edges of the tray cup while the tray cup is placed on the damper. However, since the height of the tray cup varies depending on the type, the height can be adjusted by moving the damper up and down with a handle or other means in order to be compatible with any of them, or it can be conveniently constructed. According to such means, the height is set higher than the height of the tallest tray cup, and a spacer for height adjustment is applied to the lower tray cup.

Further, if the tray cups are piled up only on the damper as in the conventional case, the limit is about 50 to 70 sheets at most, and this number of sheets will be finished in a few minutes, so that the operator will not be able to use the tray cups. The work efficiency is very poor due to the setting. In order to solve this, a stocker for automatic supply of tray cups with multiple stockers is installed on the upper part of the two sets of claws, and the tray cups on the next stocker are automatically automatically activated when the tray cups run out. It is preferable to have a configuration in which continuous operation can be performed for a long period of time by making it possible to supply the gas continuously.

[0009]

The operation will be described. First, when a switch corresponding to the type of tray cup to be used is turned on, the pulse motor operates and the two sets of claws move to the initial position. Place the tray cups on top of each other on the damper. At this time, in the case of a tray cup in which the four corners must be supported by the upper claws, the front portion of the independently provided upper claws is moved to match the length of the tray cup. When the operation start switch is turned on, the two pairs of claws approach each other in the left-right direction,
It stops when it is inserted in the gap between the outer edges (including the four corners) of the second tray cup and the second tray cup above it. Subsequently, the lower claw of the two sets of claws moves down integrally, and the damper is released.

At this time, the tray cup from the second top is supported from both sides by the upper claw of the two sets of claws, while the first tray cup is pulled down by the lower claw. And fall. Next, the lower claw rises integrally as opposed to the previous step, and the damper also returns to the original position in conjunction with returning to the original position where it overlaps with the upper claw. Further subsequently, the two sets of claws leave the required distance. Then, the tray cup disengages from the two pairs of claws that were previously supported by its outer edge and rides on the damper. Again, when the two sets of claws are brought closer together by the required distance, they are inserted into the gap between the outer edges of the tray cup. By automatically repeating the above series of operations, the tray cups stacked vertically are automatically taken out one by one from the bottom, and are supplied to the connected production lines by an appropriate discharging means.

When the type of the tray cups is changed and the heights thereof are different, the dampers are moved up and down manually by operating the handle, automatically by driving the motor, or any other means so that the two sets of pawls can form a gap between the outer edges of the tray cups. Position it so that it can be plugged into. Alternatively, by a simple means, the level is fixed to the height of the tallest tray cup, and a spacer for height adjustment is attached to a tray cup lower than that.

When the tray cup automatic supply stocker provided for continuous operation for a long time is used, the next stocker will automatically move when the tray cup is exhausted on the damper, and the stocker will be preset on the stocker. Supply the tray cups. When the stocker disappears, the next stocker moves again to supply the tray cups on the stocker, and the trays can be sequentially and continuously operated.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, the tray cups 6 having a vertically stacked shape can be inserted into the gap between the outer edges a of the tray cups 6. A pair of upper and lower claws 1 and 2 of the same shape made of a thin plate are vertically stacked, and a pair of claws 3 is provided.

The upper claws 1 are integrally fixed by the reinforcing plate members 4 (the side portions of the flat plate may be processed in different steps to form the claws 1 and 2), and the rear end portions thereof are two left and right. Each is fixed to the upper part of the L-shaped moving support member 5 provided. Depending on the type of the tray cup 6, the tray cup 6 having a shape as shown in FIG. 8 cannot be inserted into the outer edges a of both sides thereof and can only be inserted into the outer edges a of the four corners. As shown in detail in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the front and rear portions of the two sets of claws 3 are formed in a rounded shape along the shapes of the four corners of the tray cup 6. Further, since the length of the tray cup 6 is also variable, in order to correspond to this, only the rounded portion of the front end portion 7 of the upper claw 1 is made independent (if necessary, the lower claw 2 is similarly configured. However, in the present embodiment, an example in which only the front end portion 7 is independently configured is shown), and a slide claw 8 is fixed to the movable portion 9, and this movable portion 8 can be moved back and forth. It is configured so that it can be fixed after it is fitted to the reinforcing plate member 4, the fixing knob 10 is attached to the movable portion 9 and the tray cup 6 is positioned according to the length thereof.

Further, the slide shaft 1 is attached to the rear end portion 11 of the lower claw 2.
The upper end 7 of 2 is fixed, the compression spring 14 is attached to the slide shaft 12, and the bearing 16 is attached to the protruding L-shaped portion 15 in the lower portion of the movable support member 5, and the slide shaft 12 is attached to the bearing 16. It is configured so that it can be inserted and slid up and down. Therefore, the lower pawl 2 has a compression spring 14
The upper spring 1 overlaps with the upper claw 1 by the spring pressure. Further, the lower end of the slide shaft 12 passes through the bearing 16 and extends downward, penetrates the elongated hole 23 of the lower pawl lift plate 17 made of a horizontally positioned rectangular plate, and hits the lower end. A stop plate 18 is attached. When the lower claw lift plate 17 descends, it hits the hit stop plate 18, and when it further descends, the hit stop plate 18 is pushed down, and the lower claw 2 moves down together with the slide shaft 12 while compressing the compression spring 14, and the first tray cup 6 Withdraw. The dropped tray cup 6 is discharged onto a belt conveyor 33 which is an appropriate discharging means provided below the tray cup 6. On the contrary, when the lower pawl lift plate 17 is raised, the lower pawl 2 is configured to be raised together with the slide shaft 12 by the restoring action of the compression spring 14. That is, as the slide shaft 12 moves up and down, the lower claw 2 fixed to the upper end portion is integrally moved up and down. Although not shown, the slide plate 1 is attached to the reinforcing plate member 4 so that the lower claw 2 does not rotate around the slide shaft 12.
It is preferable to attach two of them. The lower claw lift plate 17 is supported by two guide shafts 34 on the left and right, and is configured to slide by a slide bearing 35.

The moving support member 5 is supported by two slide guide shafts 19 arranged in parallel so as to be movable in the left and right directions, and the pulse motor 2 is also provided.
Two racks 22 are arranged parallel to the slide guide shaft 19 on both sides of the pinion 21 pivotally supported on 0, and one rack 22 is fixed to the left moving support member 5 and the other rack 2
2 is fixed to the right movement support member 5, and when the pinion 21 rotates forward and backward, the two racks 22 linearly move in opposite directions, and in conjunction with this, the movement support members 5 move relative to each other in the left-right direction. It is configured to move away from or approach to. At this time, the upper claw 1 and the lower claw 2 also move integrally with the movement supporting member 5, and the slide shaft 12 of the lower claw 1 also integrally moves in the left-right direction, so that the lower claw lift plate 17 is opened. The slide shaft 12 can freely move in the left-right direction along the elongated hole 23.

Furthermore, a damper 24 consisting of a rectangular plate for supporting the tray cup 6 below the two sets of the claws 1 is provided.
To support. By connecting the damper 24 to the lower pawl elevating plate 17 through the crankshaft 25, the damper 24 can be moved up and down in conjunction with the elevating operation of the lower pawl elevating plate 17. The mounting position of the damper 24 is the tray cup 6 above this.
When the above two sets of claws 1 are stacked vertically and brought close to each other by a required distance, the level is inserted into the space between the outer edges a of the first tray cup 6 from the bottom and the second tray cup 6 above it. And However, since the height of the tray cup 6 varies depending on the type of tray cup 6, the height can be adjusted by moving the damper up and down with a handle or other means in order to accommodate any of them. However, in this embodiment, a simple means is used as an example, and the level of the damper 24 is set to the height of the tallest tray cup 6, and the height of the tray cup 6 lower than that is used for height adjustment. The spacer 26 is attached.

The lower pawl lift plate 17 is used for the crankshaft 2
It is attached to the eccentric shaft 29 of the motor 28 via 7, and when the shaft 30 of the motor 28 makes one rotation, the crankshaft 2
The lower pawl lift plate 17 is supported by the slide shaft 34 via the slider 7, and is configured to slide the slide bearing 35 to move up and down.

Further, if the tray cups 6 are piled up only on the damper 24 as in the conventional case, at most 50 to 50 can be obtained.
There is a limit of about 70 sheets, and with this number of sheets, the process is completed in a few minutes and the work efficiency is extremely poor due to the setting of the tray cup 6. Therefore, as an example for solving this, FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, an automatic feeder 32 for the tray cup 6 having a plurality of stockers 31 mounted on the circumference is provided above the two sets of claws 3, and a sensor is provided when the tray cup 6 is removed from the damper 24. Upon detection, the next stocker 31 is automatically rotated and moved so that the tray cup 6 set in advance can be automatically replenished.

FIG. 7 shows the appearance of a tray cup made of expanded polystyrene, and FIG. 8 shows the appearance of a tray cup made of plastics, and the shape of the tray cups currently on the market can be summarized into these two points.

[0021]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

According to the present invention, the conventional means for pulling apart the tray cup against the strength of the claw is not used, but the claws which are vertically stacked are inserted between the outer edges of the tray cups, and the upper claw is moved upward from the second sheet. It is used to support the stacked tray cups from below, while the lower claw is only used to pull down the first tray cup, so make sure to take out only one tray without difficulty. Not only can you do it, but you can never scratch or tear the tray cup.

Conventionally, since the means relying on the strength of the nail is used, only tray cups suitable for the strength of the nail can be used, and the kinds of tray cups that can be processed are limited. Since it is only necessary to insert it between the outer edges of the trays, it is possible to process most types of tray cups on the market without being influenced by the type of tray cups. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if a plurality of units must be conventionally installed, only one unit is installed, the equipment cost is reduced, and the installation place is small.

Even if the type of tray cup is changed, the claws can be automatically adjusted to the size of the tray cup just by pressing the switch, so the operation is easy and the tray cup for automatic feeding can be used. Since it can be continuously replenished, long-term continuous operation is possible and workability is further improved.

[0025]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed plan view of a claw.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an automatic tray cup feeder.

FIG. 6 is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tray cup made of expanded polystyrene.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a tray cup made of plastics.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Upper claw 2 Lower claw 3 Two pairs of claws 6 Tray cup 24 Damper a Between outer edges

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A set of claws 3 formed by vertically stacking an upper claw 1 and a lower claw 2 is provided, and two sets of the claws 3 are arranged symmetrically with a required interval, and the two sets of claws 3 are mutually arranged. The damper 24 is provided below the two sets of the claws 3 and the tray cups 6 are vertically stacked on the damper 24 while being configured so that they can be relatively spaced apart from each other and approached in the left-right direction. When the above-mentioned two sets of claws 3 are brought close to each other by a required distance, they are inserted into the space between the outer edges a of the first tray cup 6 from the bottom and the second tray cup 6 above it, and the second tray from the top. The tray cup 6 is supported by its outer edge, and subsequently, only the lower claw 2 of the two sets of claws 3 is integrally lowered to pull down the outer edge of the first tray cup 6, and the damper 24 is interlocked with this. Escape the first tray cup 6
After dropping, the lower claw 2 is integrally lifted to return to the original position where the lower claw 2 and the upper claw 1 overlap with each other.
When the two sets of the claws 3 are separated from each other by a required distance, the tray cup 6 is disengaged from the two sets of the claws 3 and rides on the damper 24, and the tray cup 6 is moved again by the required distance. An automatic tray cup feeder, characterized in that the tray cups 6 can be automatically fed one by one by repeating the series of operations of inserting the gaps between the outer edges a of the cup 6.