JPH08188231A - Article carrying equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To carry a number of articles to be fed on a conveyor with the prescribed intervals and in a reversing manner after the articles are arranged in one row. CONSTITUTION: An article carrying equipment is provided with an arranging equipment where an arranging guide body 17 is diagonally provided relative to the moving direction of a carry-in conveyor 11 to carry an article, an interval adjusting equipment 2 where a slide chute 22 to slide the articles in one row condition from the arranging equipment is provided on an adjusting conveyor 21 in an inclined condition, and a turning-over equipment 4 which carries the articles to be carried from the interval adjusting equipment, guides the side part of the article so as to be landed on the inspection conveyor, and turns over the article through the turning-over guide body 45 with the successively increased angle of inclination.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is a transporting device for transporting a large number of articles in a line and then transporting them at a predetermined interval and inverting them, which can be used for inspection processing and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to perform inspection, packaging, processing, and the like on a large number and arbitrarily supplied articles (for example, chocolate), the articles are arranged in a line or conveyed at predetermined intervals, Also, each means for reversing is required for double-sided inspection of the article. Therefore, as an example of a conventional aligning device for aligning articles, there is one that utilizes vibration or centrifugal force like a parts feeder. When a large amount of articles are supplied to a vibrating body or a rotating body, the vibrating body will be The rotors are aligned by being sequentially discharged through a discharge port provided on the outer circumference through a centrifugal force through vibration. As an example of a reversing device for reversing an article, as shown in FIG. 10, there is one in which a curved reversing chute 103 is provided between an upper conveyor 101 and a lower conveyor 102, and an article M drops from the upper conveyor 101. While reversing shoot 10
It is to be reversed within 3.

[0003]

However, when the above-mentioned parts feeder is used to align the articles, there is a disadvantage that the articles collide with each other in the vibrating body or the rotating body and the articles are damaged. When the reversing chute 103 is used as the reversing device, the article M is transferred to the upper conveyor 10
When falling from 1, the posture becomes unstable, so that the reliability of the reversal is lacking and the traveling direction of the reversed article is reversed, which may cause a problem in connection with the subsequent processing step. Therefore, the present invention provides an article transporting apparatus that eliminates such inconvenience.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An article conveying apparatus according to the present invention comprises an aligning apparatus in which an alignment guide body is installed obliquely with respect to a moving direction of a carry-in conveyor for conveying articles, and the aligning apparatus. An interval adjusting device that is installed on the adjusting conveyor with a sliding chute that slides the articles in a single row, and the goods conveyed from the interval adjusting device are conveyed by the inspection conveyor, and the side parts of the articles can be ridden on the inspection conveyor. And a reversing device for sequentially reversing through a reversing guide body having a large inclination angle. A second aspect includes the first aspect, and a camera for inspecting the article and a removing unit for removing the rejected article are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the reversing device, respectively.

[0005]

The apparatus for conveying articles according to the present invention aligns, adjusts and reverses the articles as described below, and inspects both sides of the articles. First, in the aligning device, when an article in a direction and orientation different from the carrying direction of the carry-in conveyor comes into contact with the alignment guide body, the article is rotated and changed to a predetermined direction, and the article is aligned in a single row along the alignment guide body. Be transported in. Next, in the interval adjusting device, the articles arranged in a line from the aligning device and conveyed at random intervals slide down the sliding chute and are sequentially transferred to the adjusting conveyor for conveyance. In the process, when the articles conveyed from the aligning device are conveyed more than a predetermined interval (interval that can be processed in the next step), the articles are retained in the sliding chute, that is,
The sliding chute functions as a buffer, and the articles are transferred to the adjusting conveyor at predetermined intervals and conveyed. Subsequently, the article from the interval adjusting device is conveyed by the inspection conveyor, and the article is picked up from the side portion of the article and sequentially inverted while being inclined, and conveyed by the inspection conveyor. or,
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the front surface and the back surface of the article are respectively inspected through the camera before and after the reversing device, and the rejected product is discharged and removed by the removing means.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an overall plan view of the present invention.
Alignment device 1 provided with alignment guide body 17 for aligning articles M irregularly scattered on carry-in conveyor 11 in a predetermined direction in the process of being carried by carry-in conveyor 11 and alignment conveyor 18, and the articles are arranged at predetermined intervals. In order to adjust the space between the slide chute 22 and the adjusting conveyor 21, the space adjusting device 2, the primary inspection device 3 for inspecting one side of the article in the process of being conveyed by the inspection conveyor 31, and the surface of the article And a secondary inspection device 5 for inspecting the other surface of the article.

2A and 2B show the aligning device 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a plan view, FIG. 2B is a side view, and FIG. 2C is a partial front view taken along the line AA of FIG. The articles M are conveyed to the alignment apparatus 1 by being driven by a substantially rotary drive source. still,
Although the shape of the article M is arbitrary, chocolate is used in this example, and as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2A, a long portion L, a short portion S, and a thickness portion T (L>S>). The case of a rectangular parallelepiped shape (having a dimensional relationship of T) will be described.

A distributor 13 disposed upstream of the aligning device 1.
Has a large number of distribution passages 13a formed by a distribution gate plate 13b vertically provided on a rectangular lower frame body 15. The widths of the distribution passages 13a are formed to be slightly wider than the length of the short portion S of the article M. . Further, the lower frame body 15 is hung from an upper frame body 12 which is laterally fixed to the carry-in conveyor 11 via a hinge member 12a so that the distributor 13 can be swung. In addition, the lower end surface of the lower frame body 15 is horizontally installed at a height slightly higher than the thickness portion T of the article M which can pass through each distribution passage 13a, and is conveyed on the carry-in conveyor 11 in a stacked state. Article M
It is possible to receive the long portion L in the bottom state by dropping the sheet or by inclining the conveyed article M in an upright posture with the thick portion T as the bottom.

The distributor 13 reciprocates the lower frame body 15 via a reciprocating body (not shown), whereby the distributor 1
While preventing the blockage of the articles M at the inlets of the three, the number of articles M guided by the guide member 14 and passing through each distribution passage 13a is equalized. In this embodiment, a plurality of alignment guide bodies 17 to be described later are installed in order to place a large number of articles M on the carry-in conveyer 11 and perform a large amount of processing, and a distributor for more evenly distributing to each alignment guide body 17. Thirteen
However, the distributor 13 is not always necessary when the throughput of the articles M is small.

The aligning device 1 is divided into eight so that one aligning passage 16 is formed corresponding to the three distributing passages 13a, and the aligning guide body 17 is provided in each conveyer 11 for each division. And the alignment conveyor 18 on the downstream side thereof. The reason why the alignment conveyer 18 is provided separately from the carry-in conveyer 11 is to provide a plurality of inclined portions 17a forming the alignment guide body 17 described later to secure the alignment region of the articles, and in the case of a small amount of processing. Alternatively, the carry-in conveyor 11 may be configured as a single unit. Further, the gap between the alignment guide body 17 and each of the conveyors 11 and 18 is set as small as possible in order to prevent the articles M from being caught.

The slanted portion 17a of the alignment guide body 17 is formed so as to be slanted with respect to the moving direction of the conveyors 11 and 18 so that the conveyed object M can be completely contacted from each of the three distribution passages 13a. In addition, it extends beyond the entrance width of the alignment passage 16 to secure the alignment region. The alignment guide body 1
7 can be composed of a single skewed portion 17a alone that skews at an acute angle with respect to the moving direction of the conveyors 11 and 18, or a combination in which the skewed angle of the skewed portion 17a is different. However, in this example, the skewed portion 17a and the parallel portion 17b parallel to the moving direction of the conveyors 11 and 18 are alternately and repeatedly formed in a serpentine shape so that more reliable alignment is possible. There is. For the article M applied to this embodiment, the angle θ1 of the inclined portion 17a is set to 20 degrees, and the angle θ2 of the parallel portion 17b is set to 0 degree, which is parallel to the moving direction of the conveyors 11 and 18. (See FIG. 3).
Incidentally, the end point side of the alignment guide body 17 is a parallel portion 17b in order to adapt it to the carrying direction of the next process.

Next, the aligning action of the aligning device 1 having the above construction will be described with reference to FIG. The articles M to be conveyed to the aligning apparatus 1 are conveyed in the longitudinal direction from the respective distribution passages 13a because the distributor 13 is installed, but when the articles collide with each other and are conveyed in various orientations. Also, an alignment process in which the articles M can be aligned in a predetermined direction through the alignment guide body 17 even when the articles M are transported in various postures when the distributor 13 is not installed will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, when the article M enters the alignment passage 16 through the distribution passage 13a in various orientations and travels on the carry-in conveyor 11 and comes into contact with the oblique portion 17a of the alignment guide body 17, The contact point p receives resistance at the skewed portion 17a, and the article M changes its direction and posture while rotating around the contact point p, and further rotates after the short portion S contacts the skewed portion 17a. Then, finally, the stable long portion L moves along the oblique portion 17a and the parallel portion 17b (alignment guide body 17).

The alignment guide body 17 of this example has three distribution passages 13 each having a vertical length La of one oblique portion 17a.
Since it is formed to be shorter than the width L of a, the plurality of articles M are run side by side in order to allow the conveyed articles M to come into contact with each other from each of the three distribution passages 13a. When conveyed, these articles are more reliably separated one by one in the oblique portion 17
In order to convey in a line along a, a plurality of skewed portions 17a
And a parallel portion 17b are combined (see FIG. 4A). Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), even when the angle θ of the parallel portion 17b is different, or even when a plurality of articles M (M1, M2) run in parallel. , The inclined portion 17a (or the parallel portion 17b) while colliding with each other
Then, based on the difference in speed between them, they finally move in line along the alignment guide body 17. The inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the oblique portion 17a and the parallel portion 17b that form the alignment guide body 17 are the same as those of the conveyor 1
Although it is possible to arbitrarily select an acute angle with respect to the moving directions of 1 and 18, if the inclination angle is too large, the articles M tend to be stagnant in the alignment guide body 17 and become untransportable. Therefore, in order to smoothly convey the article M along the alignment guide body 17, the shape of the article M and the processing speed (the conveyors 11, 1,
8), the inclination angles θ1 and θ2 are selected in consideration of the friction resistance of the article M due to the materials of the conveyors 11 and 18 and the alignment guide body 17, the surface roughness, and the like, and the inclination angles θ1 and θ1 are selected.
It is desirable to set the angle θ2 within 45 degrees.

As described above, the articles M conveyed in various orientations change their orientation by contacting the alignment guide body 17 and the oblique portion 17a, and the long portion L becomes the alignment guide body 17. Since they can be aligned in a line along the line, they can be aligned with a simple structure, and their power source is unnecessary compared with the conventional parts feeder that uses vibration or centrifugal force, and it causes damage to articles. There is no such thing. Needless to say, the shape of the article is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped.

Next, the articles M, which are aligned in a line by the alignment conveyor 18 via the alignment guide body 17 and are conveyed at random intervals, can be conveyed at a predetermined interval (interval that can be processed in the next step). The interval adjusting device 2 will be described. Figure 5
Is a plan view and FIG. 6 is a side view.
Between the adjusting conveyor 21 arranged on the lower side of the downstream side,
An inclined slide chute 22 is provided for each alignment guide body 17. The outlet 22 of the sliding chute 22
The position of a is at least the discharge port 2 of the slide chute 22.
The articles M coming out of 2a can be sequentially brought into contact with the adjustment conveyor 21 from the top of the articles, and are selected in consideration of the size and the like of the articles M, and the inclination angle is selected in consideration of the sliding friction of the articles M and the like. To do. That is, when the number of articles M sequentially sent from the aligning conveyor 18 is larger than the number of articles M to be discharged by the adjusting conveyor 21 at a predetermined interval, the sliding chute 22 is selected so that the articles can be retained. The sliding chute 22 has a U-shaped cross section, and its width is slightly wider than the short portion S of the article M. The article M slides down in the longitudinal direction.
Furthermore, in order to make the article M slide down as quickly as possible, a material having a small frictional resistance such as Teflon is used, and it is installed at an inclination of about 25 degrees. The moving speed of the adjusting conveyor 21 is
In the next step, the speed is set according to the speed at which the article can be processed.

A container (or conveyor) 23 is placed downstream of the alignment conveyor 18 and
Items that are not lined up in
Take action to return to. In addition, when a cylinder 28 is attached to one end of the slide chute 22 so that the slide chute 22 can rotate about a shaft 29 on the other end, when trouble occurs in a device on the downstream side, By moving as shown by the two-dot chain line 6 to remove the sliding chute 22, the article M falling from the alignment conveyor 18 is discharged to the container (or conveyor) 23 and returned to the carry-in conveyor 11. A light emitting device 30a and a light receiving device 30b are attached to approximately the center of the sliding chute 22, and it is possible to measure the interval time of the falling articles M and the staying amount of the articles via a control device (not shown). Has become. The sliding chute 22 is configured to be vertically movable in FIG. 6 through the cylinder 28, but it may be movable in the vertical direction in FIG. 5 to avoid trouble.

Next, the articles M arranged in a line and conveyed at random intervals through the interval adjusting device 2 having the above-mentioned structure.
A description will be given of an operation in which the sheet is transferred to the adjustment conveyor 21 at a predetermined interval via the slide chute 22 and is conveyed to the next step. When the interval between articles conveyed by the alignment conveyor 18 is less than the number of processes in the next process, the articles are immediately conveyed by the adjustment conveyor 21 without staying in the slide chute 22, as shown in the upper side of FIG. In this case, since the article interval is longer than the processing time in the next step, there is no problem.
On the other hand, when the interval between the articles conveyed by the alignment conveyor 18 is narrow and exceeds the number of processes in the next process, the articles M temporarily stay in the slide chute 22 as shown in the lower side of FIG.
In order of contact with the adjusting conveyor 21, the belt of the adjusting conveyor 21 is dragged from the top of the article M,
It sequentially shifts and is conveyed by the adjusting conveyor 21 at substantially equal intervals. As described above, when the articles M are conveyed by the alignment conveyor 18 at a predetermined interval or longer, the sliding chute 22 functions as a buffer, and thus the articles M can be conveyed to the next step at a predetermined interval. Further, in this example, since the articles can be conveyed at predetermined intervals by interposing the sliding chutes on the conveyors located above and below, the configuration can be simplified, and it can be easily adapted to automation in various article processing. .

Incidentally, the control device is blocked by the light emitter 30a and the light receiver 30b during the passage of the article M so as to be "O".
FF ”is detected when it does not pass through, and“ ON ”is detected, and the time interval between“ ON ”and“ OFF ”is measured to determine the acceptance state of the article M. Therefore, when the "ON" state is for a predetermined time or more, the article M is not conveyed from the upstream side, and an abnormality has occurred on the upstream side. Therefore, a warning is issued and the alignment conveyor 18 is stopped. . On the other hand, when the “OFF” state is for a predetermined time or more, it means that the article is not discharged to the downstream side, so that an abnormality has occurred on the downstream side, and the abnormality of the downstream side of FIG. Move as shown by the chain double-dashed line, and take measures such as prohibiting the acceptance of goods. Also, in order for the articles to be sent to the next step to be conveyed at substantially the same intervals,
Since it is desirable that the article M always stays in the slide-down chute 22, as a measure for maintaining such a state, the carry-in conveyor 11 and the alignment conveyor 18 are arranged through the time interval of the article M measured by the control device. It is also possible to adopt a method of controlling the transport speed of

Next, the primary inspection device 3, the inversion device 4, and the secondary inspection device 5 will be described with reference to the plan view of FIG. 7, the sectional view of FIG. 8 and the schematic perspective view of the inversion device of FIG. To do. The inspection conveyor 31 disposed adjacent to the downstream side of the adjustment conveyor 21 is set at a higher speed than the adjustment conveyor 21 to adjust the front and rear article intervals so that only one article can be obtained by the cameras 32 and 52 described later. Can be mapped and the mapping process can be performed quickly and simply. Therefore, depending on the inspection process, the inspection conveyor 31 may be provided as the adjustment conveyor 21, and it is not always necessary to install it separately.
The primary inspection device 3 includes a camera (CC
(D, etc.) 32, and a removing means 33 for removing articles on the downstream side of the camera 32 are installed above the inspection conveyor 31 via stays 34, respectively. The removing means 33
As such, for example, an air blow device such as a solenoid valve type which injects high pressure air is used, and a hose for guiding high pressure air (not shown) is connected to this solenoid valve. In addition, the article M compares the image projected through the camera 32 with the reference image to determine whether or not the surface of the article M has a scratch, color, gloss, etc. High-pressure air is jetted and blown off by the air blower 33 and discharged and removed to the recovery container 35, while the acceptable product is directly inspected by the inspection conveyor 3
Transport by 1. Further, the shutter time interval of the camera, the injection timing of the air blower, etc. are set in relation to the speed of the adjusting conveyor 21 (inspection conveyor 31).

Next, the reversing device 4 is the primary inspection device 3 described above.
A pair of inlet guide bodies 42, which are located on the downstream side of the carriage 41 and are supported by the stay 41, are attached to the upper side of the inspection conveyor 31, and a guide path 43 through which the article M can pass in the longitudinal direction thereof. Is forming. Further, a reversing guide body 45 is installed downstream of the entrance guide body 42 via a stay 44, and the reversing guide body 45 guides the side portion of the article M from the starting point thereof so that the article M can be ridden up. As shown in the sectional views (b) and (c) of FIG. 8 and the perspective view of FIG. 9, it is formed to be inclined with respect to the inspection conveyor 31, and its inclination angle θ gradually increases toward the downstream, In order to perform the reversal more reliably, it is formed so as to form an obtuse angle at the end point.

On the other hand, from the vicinity of the starting point of the reversing guide body 45, a movement preventing body 46 is provided so as to face the reversing guide body 45, and the article M inclined along the reversing guide body 45.
Are prevented from moving laterally in the width direction of the inspection conveyor 31. Therefore, the interval between the reversing guide body 45 and the movement preventing body 46 is set so as to gradually narrow toward the downstream side according to the tilted posture state of the article M, and further, near the end point of the reversing guide body 45, the article is provided. In order to prevent M from being further reversed and to position it, the stoppers 4 are arranged at intervals of about the width of the short portion of the article M.
7 are provided facing each other.

The accepted article M passed through the primary inspection device 3 passes along a guide path 43 formed in the entrance guide body 42, then rides on the side portion of the reversing guide body 45 and moves while tilting. Then, the tilted posture is sequentially changed and inverted.
Then, in this reversing process, the article in the inclined posture is prevented from being laterally displaced by the movement preventing body 46 and is smoothly reversed, and further, the re-reversing is prevented through the stop body 47, and the article is ejected and positioned. Inspection conveyor 31 with the upside
Is transported to the secondary inspection device. The movement blocking body 46 and the stop body 47 are provided in association with the reversing speed of the article M, and when the reversing speed of the article (speed of the inspection conveyor 31) is slow, the movement blocking body 46 and the stop body. Four
It goes without saying that it is not always necessary to provide both or any one of No. 7 and No. 7. Further, the movement blocking body 46 and the stop body 47 may be integrally formed as the movement blocking body 46 (or the stop body 47) without being formed as separate bodies. As described above, since the reversing device 4 is capable of reversing the article M conveyed on the inspection conveyor 31 via the reversing guide body 45, it has a simple structure and can easily perform mass processing.

The secondary inspection device 5 is located downstream of the reversing device 4. The second inspection device 5 is the same as the first inspection device described above.
It has the same configuration as the next inspection device 3, and the camera 52 and the removing means 53 are respectively installed via the stays 54, and the back surface of the article M is inspected via the camera 52, and the removing means 53 fails the inspection. The product is discharged and removed into the collection container 35. The rejection of the rejected product is provided with the removing means 33 corresponding to the primary inspection apparatus 3 and the removing means 53 corresponding to the secondary inspection apparatus 5. The rejecting means 33 may be omitted by inverting all rejected products by the reversing device and removing them by the removing means 53.

As described above, the article conveying apparatus of the present invention is
Since a large number of articles, which are arbitrarily supplied through the respective devices, can be arranged in a line and can be inspected easily, automation can be facilitated. Also, in this example,
Although the inspection processing of the article is mainly described, the printing, the packaging, and the packaging of the article can be performed by using the aligning device 1, the space adjusting device 2, and the reversing device 4 alone or in an appropriate combination.
It goes without saying that it can be applied to processing such as processing.

[0025]

The apparatus for conveying articles according to the present invention easily arranges a large number of articles in a predetermined direction in a row without damaging them by an aligning device provided with an alignment guide body and slides down. The space between the articles can be adjusted by the space adjusting device constituted by the chute, and the product can be smoothly inverted and conveyed by the inversion device having a simple structure including the inversion guide body. Therefore, if an inspection device is provided before and after the reversing device, it can be easily applied to a double-sided inspection of an article.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of a carrying device.

2A and 2B show an alignment device, FIG. 2A is a plan view, FIG. 2B is an enlarged side view, and FIG. 2C is a partial front view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an alignment process.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an alignment process.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a space adjusting device.

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view mainly showing an inverting device.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A, FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB, and FIG. 8C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the operation of the reversing device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional reversing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Alignment device 2 Interval adjustment device 3 Primary inspection device 4 Reversing device 5 Secondary inspection device 11 Carry-in conveyor 13 Distributor 17 Alignment guide body 17a Oblique part 17b Parallel part 18 Alignment conveyor 22 Sliding chute 21 Adjustment conveyor 31 Inspection Conveyor 45 Inversion guide body 46 Movement blocker 47 Stopper

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An aligning device having an aligning guide body slantingly installed with respect to a moving direction of a carry-in conveyor for carrying articles, and a slide chute for sliding articles in a row from the aligning device to an adjusting conveyor. An interval adjusting device provided obliquely, and an article conveyed from the interval adjusting apparatus is conveyed by an inspection conveyor, and on the inspection conveyor, it is possible to guide the side part of the article to climb up, and the inclination angle is gradually increased. And a reversing device for reversing via a reversing guide body. 2. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a camera for inspecting the article and a removing unit for removing the rejected article provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the reversing device, respectively.