JPH0815945B2 - Container separation device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a nesting type (trapezoidal) or stacking type (rectangular) container used for carrying fruit and vegetables such as mandarin oranges and watermelons, which are stacked on a pallet in multiple stages. The present invention relates to a container separating device used for the work of unloading the containers one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a separating device for loading and unloading a plurality of stacked containers as in the above example one by one, for example, as shown in FIGS. The trapezoidal containers 3 into which the ... are put are stacked in five stages and aligned and placed on the pallet 2, and the containers 3 are transported to the unloading position while being placed on the pallet 2, Each upper container 3 placed on the pallet 2
... is held by a separating arm (not shown) and is once lifted to an appropriate height, and each container 3 is sequentially transferred to a conveyor (not shown) for transportation arranged in the vicinity of the same position, and each container is stacked in multiple stages. There is a device that sequentially unloads containers 3 ...

[0003]

However, when the containers 3 ... Stacked in a large number of stages as described above are held by the separating arms and once lifted to an appropriate height, the containers 3 ... There is a problem in that the impact force is applied when transferred and the commercial value of the fruit and vegetables put in each container 3 is impaired. In addition, in order to move each container 3 held by the separating arm from the stacking position on the pallet 2 to the unloading position on the transportation conveyor (not shown), a large space is required in terms of area and vertical direction. However, there is also a problem that it takes time for the separation arm to move from the unloading position to the stacking position, resulting in poor work efficiency per unit time.

As another separation method, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, each upper container 3 placed on a pallet 2 is placed.
When three are held simultaneously by an arm mechanism (not shown) as appropriate, each trapezoidal container 3 has its left and right side surfaces and front and rear side surfaces inclined toward the bottom, so that each container 3 ... The long side edges 3b ... Abut on each other, and the bottoms of the containers 3 ... come in contact with each other with this as a fulcrum, and the container 3 at the center is flipped up.
There is a problem that a plurality of containers 3 cannot be separated at the same time.

In view of the above problems, the present invention allows space-saving separation work of containers stacked in multiple stages, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a container separation device capable of increasing the efficiency of separation work.

[0006]

According to the present invention , there is provided a separation means for vertically separating a multi-stage one-row container supplied to a separation unit from a lowermost container and a second or more-stage container. the bottom of the container separated by said separating means and a delivery means for sending from said separation unit <br/> in the column direction that is supplied to the separation unit, the separation unit,
Two or more containers that are relatively separated vertically are paired in the column direction.
The container separating device is provided with a holding member that is movable between a left and right holding position and a holding opening position.

[0007]

According to the container separating apparatus of the present invention, the separating means is driven so that the multi-stage one-row container supplied to the separating unit is vertically moved to the container stacked at the lowest stage and the second or higher stage container. To separate. That is, the respective holding members on the left and right with respect to the row direction are moved to the holding positions, and the containers of the second stage and above, excluding the bottommost container supplied to the separation unit, are moved to the left and right with respect to the row direction. Hold once with each holding member,
The container stacked on the bottom and the container on the second or higher are separated into upper and lower parts. The delivery means is driven to deliver the separated lowest container to the next process in the column direction . Similarly, move the left and right holding members to the open position to release the remaining container, and hold the second and higher containers except the bottom container with the left and right holding members in the row direction. And separate into upper and lower parts.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a large number of layers are stacked.
Since the one row of containers is vertically separated into the lowermost stage and the second stage and above, the upper and lower moving ranges are small moving amounts that separate the containers and act on the sending means, and the vertical moving range is narrowed. At the same time, the separation cycle becomes much faster.

Further, containers of the second stage and above are arranged in the column direction.
On the other hand, holding the separated bottom container from the left and right
Since it is sufficient to send by the sending means in the row direction, the space required for the separating work for separating into one row can be performed in the area space of only the separating means, and the sending speed can be increased , and the apparatus is compact. Can be configured to.

As a result, the size of the apparatus can be reduced, the separation work can be performed in a small space, and the work efficiency can be improved.

Further, since the holding member of the separating means for holding from the left and right with respect to the row direction can hold a plurality of containers arranged in a row in one row at the same time, the separating work of a plurality of containers can be performed. It becomes possible to improve the separation efficiency.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The drawings show a container supply device for sequentially separating and supplying trapezoidal containers stacked in multiple stages on a pallet, and in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is a container group 4 formed by stacking a predetermined number of synthetic resin containers 3 on a rectangular pallet 2 and separating the containers 3 one by one from the lower side of the container group 4 and arranging them in the subsequent stage. Supply to the sorting process or box packing process.

The above-mentioned container 3 is, as shown in FIG.
Attaching metal grips 5, 5 to the short side edges 3a, 3a of the trapezoidal container 3, and rotating the grips 5, 5 on the long side edges 3b, 3b of the container 3. Then, the next-stage container 3 is sequentially placed on each of the grips 5 and 5. For example,
As shown in FIG. 5, with the containers 3 stacked in five stages as one set, five sets are arranged in the length direction of the pallet 2,
In addition, two sets of the pallets 2 are arranged in the width direction, and each container group 4 formed by stacking 50 containers 3 is placed on the pallet 2 and the alignment unit 6 arranged at the front stage of the apparatus. The pallet 2 is transferred to the alignment position A.

The above-mentioned aligning unit 6 faces the opposite side surfaces of the container group 4 placed on the pallet 2 and aligns the aligning plates 7, 7.
Are arranged, and the air cylinders 8,
The piston rod 8 is connected and fixed, and the alignment plates 7 and 7 are moved back and forth in a direction facing both side surfaces of the container group 4 by driving the air cylinders 8 and 8.

On the other hand, the aligning plates 9 and 9 are rotatably supported by the front and rear sides of the container group 4 placed on the pallet 2 so as to open and close, and the rear side of each of the aligning plates 9 and 9 is air-supported. By connecting and fixing the piston rods of the cylinders 10 and 10, by driving the air cylinders 10 and 10, the alignment plates 9 and 9 are rotated in a direction facing the front and rear surfaces of the container group 4. That is, the container group 4 placed on the pallet 2 is pressed from four directions to straighten the stacking posture of the containers 3 arranged in a large number, and then the shipping position of the shipping unit 11 arranged in the next stage. The pallet 2 is transferred to B via an appropriate conveyor.

The above-mentioned shipping unit 11 is a pallet 2
A vertically extending push plate 12 is disposed so as to face the rear surface of the container group 4 placed on the container group 4, and the piston rod of the air cylinder 13 is connected and fixed to the back side of the push plate 12 and the length of the pallet 2 is increased. Guide rails 14 and 14 are installed on the rear side of the container group 4 in parallel with the vertical direction, and an air cylinder 13 is slidably mounted between the guide rails 14 and 14 via a bracket 15.

That is, a motor with a reducer (not shown)
Driving force causes the air cylinder 13 to move in parallel to a position facing the rear surface of the containers 3 arranged in the length direction of the pallet 2, and the air cylinder 13 is driven to arrange the containers 3 arranged in the width direction of the pallet 2. Is extruded from the rear by an extruding plate 12, and a separation unit 16 is provided on the shipping side.
It is transferred to the roller conveyor 17 of. In addition, a motor with a reducer (not shown) corresponding to the movement of the air cylinder 13
Driving force moves the separation unit 16 in parallel to a position facing the front surface of the containers 3 arranged in the length direction of the pallet 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the separating unit 16 is provided on both sides of a roller conveyor 17 formed to have a predetermined length, and the container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 is placed on the upper side.
The attitude regulating plates 18, 18 are arranged so as to face both side surfaces of the
The stacking postures of the container 3 are vertically regulated by the posture regulating plates 18 and 18.

The above-mentioned roller conveyor 17 rotatably supports a large number of rollers 20 on the upper surface side of a mounting frame 19 having an open U-shape and has a U-shape. The container 3 is sequentially transferred to the slat conveyor 21 arranged on the shipping side by rotating in the shipping direction by a driving force (not shown), and the slat conveyor 21 is driven by a motor with a speed reducer (not shown). The container 3 is supplied to the sorting step or the box packing step arranged in the subsequent stage by rotating in the transfer direction.

On the other hand, the piston rod of the lifting cylinder 22 is connected and fixed to the lower surface side of the mounting frame 19, and the lifting cylinder 22 is driven to raise the container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 to a predetermined height. The holding members 23, 23 are disposed so as to face both side surfaces of the second-stage container 3 that has been raised to a predetermined height, and the pistons of the air cylinders 24, 24 are provided on the back side of each holding member 23, 23. By connecting and fixing the rods and driving the air cylinders 24, 24,
Holding members 23, 23 are pressed against both side surfaces of the second stage container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 to temporarily hold the second to upper stage containers 3 as shown in FIG.

A stopper 25 is provided on the shipping side of the roller conveyor 17 so as to be retractable, and the stopper 25 is projected onto the conveying surface by an air cylinder or the like (not shown).
The container 3 transferred from the pallet 2 is stopped on the roller conveyor 17, the stopper 25 is set below the conveying surface, and the container 3 is transferred from the roller conveyor 17 to the slat conveyor 21.

Assuming that the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, the separating operation of the container 3 by the container supply device 1 will be described below.

First, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a pallet 2 is provided with a container 3 in which a large number of fruit vegetables C such as mandarin oranges are put.
The container group 4 formed by stacking a predetermined number of the containers 3 is placed on the pallet 2, and the pallet 2 is transferred to the alignment position A of the alignment unit 6 arranged in the preceding stage.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the alignment unit 6
The air cylinders 8 and 10 are driven to press the aligning plates 7 and 9 against the side surfaces of the container group 4 placed on the pallet 2, and the container group 4 is pressed from four sides to arrange each of the containers 3 arranged in a large number. After the stacking posture of ... is straightened, the pallet 2 is transferred to the shipping position B of the shipping unit 11 arranged in the next stage.

Next, the air cylinder 13 of the unloading unit 11 is driven to extrude each of the containers 3 and 3 in the first row placed on the pallet 2 from the rear side by the extruding plate 12, and the separation is arranged on the unloading side. Roller conveyor 1 of unit 16
Reprinted in 7.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the separation unit 1
6, the lifting cylinder 22 is lifted to lift the containers 3 and 3 for one row placed on the roller conveyor 17 to a predetermined height, and at the same time, the air cylinders 24 and 24 arranged on both upper side portions are provided. Is driven to press the holding members 23, 23 against the second stage container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 to temporarily hold the second to fifth stage containers 3.

Thereafter, the lifting cylinder 22 is driven downward to lower the roller conveyor 17 to a position horizontal to the slat conveyor 21, and the roller conveyor 17 is rotationally driven in the shipping direction to separate the first stage. Container 3,
3 is transferred to the slat conveyer 21, and the containers 3 are sequentially supplied to the slat conveyer 21 in the sorting step or the box packing step arranged in the subsequent stage.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 3, the roller conveyor 17 is raised, the holding members 23, 23 release the holding, and the second-stage container 3 held at a predetermined height is placed on the roller conveyor 17. Place the roller conveyor 17
And the air cylinders 24, 24 arranged on both upper sides are driven to temporarily hold the third stage container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 by the holding members 23, 23. That is, the roller conveyor 17 is moved up and down to sequentially separate the third, fourth and fifth containers 3 held at a predetermined height from the lower side.

On the other hand, the second to fifth rows placed on the pallet 2
The air cylinder 13 and the separation unit 16 of the shipping unit 11 are moved in parallel to the positions facing the front and rear surfaces of the container 3 in the second row, and the containers 3, 3 in the second to fifth rows placed on the pallet 2 are placed. Are sequentially transferred to the roller conveyor 17, and the containers 3 stacked in multiple stages by the separation unit 16 are sequentially separated from the lower stage side and supplied.

As described above, the multiple stacked containers 3 are vertically separated by the separation unit 16 into the lowermost stage and the second or higher stage, so that the upper and lower moving ranges are different.
The amount of movement is small enough to separate and transfer to the roller conveyor 17, the vertical movement range is narrowed, and the separation cycle is further accelerated. Furthermore, since the separated lowermost container 3 may be sent out by the roller conveyor 17, the space required for the separation work can be performed only in the area space of the separation unit 16 and the sending speed can be increased. As a result, the separation work can be performed in a small space, and the work efficiency can be improved. Moreover, since the holding members 23 of the separating unit 16 can simultaneously hold two containers 3 in one row, it is possible to separate a plurality of containers 3 and improve the separating efficiency. be able to.

In the correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment, the container separating device of the present invention corresponds to the container supply device 1 of the embodiment, and hereinafter, similarly, the separating means is
The separating unit 16, the roller conveyor 17, the lifting cylinder 22, the holding member 23, and the air cylinder 24 correspond to each other, and the feeding means corresponds to the roller conveyor 17. The configuration is not limited to the above.

For example, the air cylinders 24, 24 connected and fixed to the left and right holding members 23, 23 are vertically moved up and down by appropriate lifting means such as a cylinder mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, a chain mechanism, and placed on the roller conveyor 17. It is also possible to separate the lowermost container 3 and the second and higher containers 3 into upper and lower parts, and to load the pallet 2 on which a large number of containers 3 are placed by a feed conveyor (not shown). The first row conveyed to the position B and placed on the pallet 2 ~
The containers 3 and 3 in the fifth row may be sequentially unloaded one by one.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration plan view of a container supply device.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the separation unit.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a container holding state of the separation unit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a stacked state of the containers.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a container group placed on a pallet.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a container showing a conventional separating operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Container supply device 2 ... Pallet 3 ... Container 11 ... Shipping unit 12 ... Extrusion plate 13 ... Air cylinder 16 ... Separation unit 17 ... Roller conveyor 22 ... Lifting cylinder 23 ... Holding member 24 ... Air cylinder

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of stages fed in a column direction to a separation unit.
Separation means for vertically separating the one-row container from the lowermost container and the second or more-stage containers, and the lowermost container separated by the separating means in the column direction in which the separation unit is supplied to the separation unit. Sending means for sending from the separating unit , wherein the separating means is a second or more-stage conical unit that relatively separates vertically.
Position to hold the tenor from the left and right with respect to the row direction, and the holding
A container separating device having a holding member that is movable to a position where the container is opened .