JPH07115689B2 - Article size detection device for conveyors such as packaging machines - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to, for example, a packaging machine for packaging a tray containing a fresh food product with a stretch film, a packaging machine for packaging a box with paper, and the like. The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting the size of articles such as trays and boxes before or after packaging in various packaging machines.

[Problems to be Solved by Related Art and Invention] Conventionally, in a packaging machine, in order to obtain a better packaging state, it was necessary to finely control various devices of the packaging machine according to the size of the article. As a premise of such control,
Reliable detection of the size of the article is important.

The width of the article along the article conveyance direction is calculated by the product of the off-time required when the article passes through the photoelectric switch and the article conveyance speed, for example, as shown in JP-A-62-122917. be able to.

On the other hand, regarding the length of the article along the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the article, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-193910, the distance between the two guide rods that guide the article while it is conveyed. Can be detected and calculated with a potentiometer. However, with this detecting means, it is necessary to adjust the interval between the guide rods for each article, and the interval adjustment work associated with changing the article is troublesome.

Further, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-149510, there has been proposed a device in which a plurality of photoelectric switches are arranged in parallel in a horizontal direction intersecting at right angles to the article conveying direction. According to this detecting means, the length of the article can be automatically detected by reading the number of articles detected by the photoelectric switch, but the structure is complicated because a large number of photoelectric switches are required. I didn't get it.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of more easily and automatically detecting the length of the article.

Configuration of the Invention [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the article size detection apparatus of the present invention conveys an article 15 linearly in one direction A as shown in the drawings of the embodiments described later. The conveyor 1 and means for detecting the length L of the article 15 along the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction A of the article 15 are provided.
Based on the sensor 12 for transmitting or receiving light or ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle θ with respect to the transport direction A of the article, and the moving distance R of the article 15 detected by the sensor 12 and the inclination angle θ. The calculation unit 14 calculates the length L of 15 and.

More specifically, the detection means for detecting the width W of the article 15 along the conveyance direction A of the article 15 and the length L of the article 15 are expressed by the relational expression L =
The calculation unit 14 calculates (RW) / tan θ.

In this case, the article transport speed of the transport conveyor 1 is V, and the article 15
When the detection time of the article 15 by the sensor 11 that emits light or ultrasonic waves in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction A is T11, and the detection time of the article 15 by the sensor 12 is T12, the moving distance R is the conveyance distance. It can be obtained by the product of the speed V and the detection time T12. The width W of the article 15 can be obtained by the product of the transport speed V and the detection time T11. That is, the relational expression can be calculated by the calculation unit 14 as L = V (T12−T11) / tan θ.

The width W of the article 15 may be calculated by the calculation unit 14 by the product of the transport speed V and the detection time T11.

[Operation] When the article 15 is conveyed, the length L of the article 15 can be calculated by, for example, the above-described relational expression L = (RW) / tan θ or L = V (T12
-T11) / tan θ.

[Embodiment] An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a size detection device for an unwrapped article in a stretch film packaging machine will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an article transporting conveyor 1 having a plurality of round belts 1a wound thereon is rotated by a drive motor 2 with a speed reducer via an interlocking chain 2a, and a cycle is provided at the start end side of the conveyor 1. The starting article detection sensor 3 is attached. The sensor 3 is a photoelectric switch, which is a light projecting element.
It is composed of 3a and a light receiving element 3b, and projects light in a direction inclined with respect to the article conveying direction A. A comb-teeth-shaped stopper member 4 is supported on the lower side of the conveyor 1 on the article transport side with respect to the sensor 3 so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction, and can be retracted onto the round belt 1a of the conveyor 1. The stopper member 4 is interlocked with the drive motor 2 through the interlocking chain 2a and the interlocking mechanism 5. An article cradle 6 is supported at the terminal end of the conveyor 1 so as to be able to move up and down.
Is interlocked with the drive motor 2 through an interlocking mechanism 7. At the end of the conveyor 1, a stopper plate 8 is erected so as to face the article receiving stand 6. A cycle stop sensor 10 is attached to the article driving motor 2. The cycle stop sensor 10 is a rotary encoder and detects the lever 9 rotated by the drive motor 2.

An article width detection sensor 11 and an article length detection sensor 12 are mounted on the conveyor 1 on the article conveyance side of the comb-shaped stopper member 4. The article width detection sensor 11 is a photoelectric switch, which is composed of a light projecting / receiving element 11a and a reflecting plate 11b, and projects light in a direction orthogonal to the article transport direction A. The article length detection sensor 12 is a photoelectric switch, and is composed of a light projecting / receiving element 12a and a reflecting plate 12b which are slightly adjacent to the light projecting / receiving element 11a of the article width detecting sensor 11 on the article transporting side. On the other hand, light is projected and received in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle θ toward the article transport side.

Cycle start article detection sensor 3, cycle stop sensor 10, article width detection sensor 11, and article length detection sensor
Each 12 is connected to a CPU 14 via an input / output interface 13 as shown in FIG.

When an article (those containing stored items in the tray 15) is placed on the center of the starting end of the article conveyor 1, the photoelectric switch 3 as the cycle start article detection sensor detects the tray 15 and the CPU 14 detects the detected signal. Drives the motor 2. When the motor 2 is driven, the article transport conveyor 1, the stopper member 4, the article cradle 6 and the like are driven. When the article conveying conveyor 1 is driven, the tray 15 is sent in the conveying direction A toward the article receiving table 6 and comes into contact with the stopper member 4 projecting on the conveyor 1 to temporarily stop.

As shown in FIG. 5, the front and rear edges of the tray 15 are parallel to each other along the direction perpendicular to the article conveying direction A on the upper edge of the tray 15.
16, 17 and left and right edge portions 18, 19 parallel to each other along the article transport direction A, and the front edge portion 16 of the tray 15 abuts the stopper member 4 and is orthogonal to the article transport direction A.

When the stopper member 4 is recessed below the conveyor 1, the tray 15 is sent in the transport direction A. During the transportation,
As shown in FIG. 5A, when the front edge 16 of the tray 15 turns off the light of the photoelectric switch 11 as the article width detection sensor, the switch 11 is turned off.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the corner 16a between the front edge 16 and the right edge 19 of the tray 15 turns off the light of the photoelectric switch 12 as the article length detection sensor, The switch 12 is turned off.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the trailing edge portion 17 of the tray 15 passes the photoelectric switch 11, the switch 11 is turned on.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (d), when the corner 17b between the rear edge 17 and the left edge 18 of the tray 15 passes the photoelectric switch 12, the switch 12 is turned on.

The CPU 14 inputs the detection signal of the photoelectric switch 11, and the product of the off-time T11 of the switch 11 and the article transport speed V of the conveyor 1 causes the CPU 14 to move between the front edge 16 and the rear edge 17 of the tray 15. The distance W, that is, the width W is calculated.

Further, the CPU 14 inputs the detection signal of the photoelectric switch 12, the off time T12 of the switch 12, the off time T11 of the photoelectric switch 11, and the article conveying speed V of the conveyor 1.
And the light tilt angle θ of the photoelectric switch 12
The distance between the left edge portion 18 and the right edge portion 19 of 15, namely the length L, is calculated based on V (T12-T11) / tan θ. This relational expression L
= V (T12-T11) / tan θ can be obtained as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 5 (d), the two corners 17a, 17b of the trailing edge 17 of the tray 15 shown by the solid line and one corner 16a of the front edge 16 of the tray 15 shown by the imaginary line are shown. Considering a right-angled triangle that connects the two corners 17a, 16a, the distance R '
Is the movement distance R = V × T12 of the tray 15 and the width W of the tray 15.
= V × T11 and tan θ = R '/ L = (R-
From W) / L, L = (RW) / tan θ = (V × T12−V × T
11) / tan θ = V (T12−T11) / tan θ.

After that, the tray 15 is conveyed toward the article receiving table 6, contacts the stopper plate 8 and stops at the end of the conveyor 1. Then, although not shown, the tray 15 is placed on the article pedestal 6 and rises to lift the stretch film supplied to the packaging unit, and in that state, the stretch film is folded under the tray 15 by the folding mechanism. The tray 15 is packed and carried out.

During this packaging process, the CPU 14 outputs the calculated width W and length L of the tray 15 to various devices of the packaging machine, and good packaging is performed according to the width W and length L.

Rotary encoder 10 as a cycle stop sensor
When the lever 9 of the drive motor 2 is detected, the entire packaging machine stops and one cycle ends, and the tray 15 temporarily stops in the middle of unloading.

Next, when the tray 15 is put on the starting end of the conveyor 1 again,
Photoelectric switch 3 as an article detection sensor for starting a cycle
Detects the tray 15, the motor 2 and the like are driven, the entire packaging machine operates, and the tray 15 is conveyed by the conveyor 1.

In particular, in this embodiment, the photoelectric switch 12 as an article length detection sensor that projects light in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle θ with respect to the article transport direction A is simply mounted on the article transport conveyor 1 and the CPU 14 is operated as described above. Since the length L of the tray 15 is calculated as described above, not only the length L of the tray 15 can be automatically detected, but also the structure of the article size detection device becomes very simple.

The article size detection device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be applied to an article transport conveyor of another packaging machine, an article transport conveyor of a machine other than the packaging machine, and the like. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the photoelectric switches 11 and 12 are used as the article width detection sensor and the article length detection sensor, respectively, but other sensors such as ultrasonic sensors may be used.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an article length detection sensor that receives light or ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle θ with respect to the article transport direction A.
The arithmetic unit 14 calculates the length L of the article 15 only by mounting the article conveyor 12 on the article conveyor 1. Therefore, not only can the length L of the article 15 be automatically detected, but also the article size detection device. The structure will be very simple.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial plan sectional view showing an unwrapped article conveying conveyor of a packaging machine in which the article size detection device according to the present embodiment is incorporated,
2 is a partial sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an electric block circuit diagram.
5 (a), (b), (c), and (d) are explanatory views showing the article size detecting action. 1 ... Article conveyor, 2 ... Drive motor, 11 ... Photoelectric switch as article width detection sensor, 12 ... Photoelectric switch as article length detection sensor, 14 ... CPU (calculator), 15 …… Tray (article), W …… width of tray 15,
L: length of tray 15, A: direction of article transportation by the conveyor 1, V: rate of article transportation by the conveyor 1, θ
...... Tilting angle of light of the photoelectric switch 12, T11 ...... off time of the photoelectric switch 11, T12 ...... off time of the photoelectric switch 12.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A conveyor (1) for linearly conveying an article (15) in one direction (A), the length of the article (15) along a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction (A) of the article (15). (L) for detecting the length (L) of the article (15) in the conveying direction (A) of the article (15).
A sensor (12) for transmitting or receiving light or ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle (θ) with respect to the moving distance (R) of the article (15) detected by the sensor (12) and the inclination angle. (15) based on (θ) and
And an arithmetic unit (14) for calculating the length (L) of the article, the article size detecting apparatus in an article conveying conveyor such as a packaging machine. 2. A conveyor (1) for linearly conveying an article (15) in one direction (A), and a width (W) of the article (15) along the conveyance direction (A) of the article (15). The article length detecting means is provided with a detecting means for detecting, and a detecting means for detecting a length (L) of the article (15) along a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction (A) of the article (15), Carrying direction (A) of article (15)
A sensor (12) that receives light or ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle (θ) with respect to the article, and an article width detected by the article width detection means (W), and an article detected by the sensor (12) When the moving distance of (15) is (R), the length (L) of the article (15) is expressed by the relational expression L =
An article size detecting device for an article transporting conveyor such as a packaging machine, comprising: an arithmetic unit (14) for calculating (RW) / tan θ. 3. A conveyor (1) for linearly conveying an article (15) in one direction (A), and a width (W) of the article (15) along the conveyance direction (A) of the article (15). The article width detecting means is provided with a detecting means for detecting, and a detecting means for detecting a length (L) of the article (15) along a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction (A) of the article (15). A sensor (1) that receives or transmits light or ultrasonic waves in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction (A) of (15).
1) and the detection time of the article (15) by the sensor (11) is (T11), and the article transport speed of the transport conveyor (1) is (V), the width (W) of the article (15) is related. Formula W = V
And a calculation unit (14) for calculating with T11.
When a sensor (12) that emits light or ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle (θ) with respect to the sensor (12) and the detection time of the article (15) by the sensor (12) is (T12), the article (15 (L) is calculated by a relational expression L = V (T12-T11) / tan θ, and an article size detecting device in an article transporting conveyor such as a packaging machine. 4. A transport conveyor (1) for linearly transporting an article (15) in one direction (A), and an article (15) along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction (A) of the article (15). A detection means for detecting the length (L), wherein the article length detection means is adapted to convey the article (15) in the conveying direction (A).
A sensor (12) that emits light or ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle (θ) with respect to the detection time of the article (15) by the sensor (12) (T12), and the conveyance of the article (15). The detection time of the article (15) by the sensor (11) that emits light or ultrasonic waves in the direction orthogonal to the direction (A) is (T11), and the article transport speed of the transport conveyor (1) is (V). At this time, the length (L) of the article (15) is expressed by the relational expression L = V (T12-T11) / tan
An article size detecting device in an article transporting conveyor such as a packaging machine, which comprises an arithmetic unit (14) for calculating θ.