JPH0840554A - Case transfer method and transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a case transfer method and a device that can transfer cases of various sizes with openings without damaging them, dispensing with troublesome preparation change. CONSTITUTION:The pressure of a lifting actuator 12 fitted to a hand body 11 is cut off, and an elevating member 14 fixed to the lower end of the lifting actuator 12 is lowered by the own weight. Four claws 17 with the upper ends fixed to the elevating member 14 are thereby lowered with the lower ends opened outward so as to come in contact with four corners of the inner surface of a case C, with the specified contact pressure. The hand body 11 is then moved up to lift the case and to move it directly above a transfer position. The hand body 11 is lowered to place the case in the transfer position, and the lifting actuator 12 is actuated to separate the grip claws 17 from the case, thus completing the transfer of the case.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer method capable of transferring cases of various sizes having an opening to a predetermined position, and a transfer device used in this transfer method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an article is automatically inserted into a case (including a container in addition to the case) having an opening,
A general method is to hold a case with the opening facing upward with a clamp hand, transfer it to the article insertion position, and insert the article into the case from above the opening. However, when the case is a paper product with low rigidity, it may be deformed or damaged when clamped by a clamp hand.Therefore, as a transfer means, a suction pad or an opening for sucking the inner wall surface or the outer wall surface of the case is used. Balloons that expand after being inserted from are used.

[0003]

However, the following problems remain in the method of transferring using a suction pad or a balloon. (1) When the case has various sizes, it is necessary to change and adjust the shape, size, and position of the transfer means according to the dimensional change of the case, which makes the setup process troublesome when changing the size of the case. , Time consuming and inconvenient. (2) If a case made of paper with low rigidity is partially used with a pneumatic pressure or a negative pressure to hold and use it, the shape of the opening changes, which causes a problem in the next article insertion step. The present invention is intended to solve such problems.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a method of transferring a case according to the present invention is such that the case with the opening facing upward is positioned and stopped, and four gripping claws made of piano wire are used. After positioning the hand with the tip facing downward above the opening, the tips of the four gripping claws are expanded by expanding the tips outward while projecting the four gripping claws downward. The four corners of the inner surface of the case are brought into contact with each other with a predetermined contact pressure, and then the hand is lifted to lift the case, and after laterally moving above a predetermined transfer position, the hand is lowered to transfer the case. The case is transferred to a predetermined position by placing it on the mounting position and then retracting the above-mentioned four gripping claws upward and reducing the tips inward to separate them from the four corners of the inner wall of the case. It is a thing.

A transfer device for carrying out the above-mentioned transfer method for a case is provided with an ascending actuator attached to the hand body.
The upper ends of four gripping claws made of piano wire are fixed to an elevating member that can be moved up and down by the operation of the elevating actuator, and the gripping claw guide plates arranged below the elevating member each hold each of the above grips. An insertion hole through which the claw penetrates is provided, and a hand is formed in which the tip of the gripping claw expands outward when each of the gripping claws descends. An elevating mechanism that raises and lowers the hand and positioning of the hand to stop the case is positioned. A horizontal movement mechanism that moves from just above the position to just above the transfer position is provided.

The elevating member may be configured to descend until the contact pressure becomes equal to its own weight when the driving force of the ascending actuator is not received, and to rise against the own weight when receiving the ascending direction driving force. . The lower end of the grip claw may be formed in a bent portion that contacts the inner wall surface of the case.

[0007]

The transfer method using the transfer device configured as described above will be described. The case with the opening facing upward is positioned at a predetermined position. At this time, the hand is directly above the positioned case, and then the lifting mechanism is driven to bring the lower end of the gripping claw of the hand close to the opening of the case. When the driving force of the ascending actuator is removed, the elevating member descends with a constant descending force due to its own weight, and the four grasping claws whose upper ends are fixed to the elevating member descend through the insertion holes of the grasping claw guide plate. It is inserted in the case.

Since the tips of the four gripping claws are spread downward while descending, the bent portions formed at the tips of the gripping claws hit the inner bottom surface near the four corners of the case regardless of the size of the case. Touch the four corners of the case while sliding on the inner bottom surface. Since the contact pressure of the grip claws is constant, the case can be lifted without damaging the inner surface of the case.

When the hand is raised by the elevating mechanism, the case whose four corners are supported by the gripping claws is integrally raised. Next, the horizontal movement mechanism is driven to stop the hand immediately above the transfer position, the hand is lowered by the elevating mechanism to place the case at the transfer position, and the vertical drive actuator is driven to grasp the grip claw. While retracting upward, the tip is contracted inward and separated from the four corners of the case. When the hand is returned to the old position by the horizontal movement mechanism and the elevating mechanism, one cycle of the case transfer operation is completed.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are a front view, a side view and a perspective view of a hand H, and FIGS. It is the front view, side view, and top view of the transfer apparatus A. As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, below the transfer device A, a case transport conveyor B that transports the case with the opening facing upward is disposed.

The case transport conveyor B is a belt conveyor in which an endless belt 3 is wound around two pulleys 1 and 2, and a case C (the largest case C _{1 in the} drawing and the smallest small size in the drawing are shown in the right direction). The case C ₂ is displayed). At the right end of the case conveyor B,
An abutment sensor 4 that stops the case at the stop position P and sends a positioning signal for the case is provided. Case C
There are cases C of various sizes, from a large case C _{1 with} a vertical dimension of 270 cm, a horizontal dimension of 90 cm, and a depth dimension of 200 cm to a small case C _{2 with} a vertical dimension of 105 cm, a horizontal dimension of 15 cm, and a depth dimension of 80 cm. The position of the contact sensor 4 is adjusted in the front-rear direction of conveyance according to the size of each case.

The transfer apparatus A includes a hand H, a horizontal movement mechanism D for horizontally driving the hand H, an elevating mechanism E for vertically driving the hand H, and a control section (shown in the figure) for controlling these operations. Not)) and. The horizontal movement mechanism D has both ends fixed to the pedestal 5, and two upper and lower rails 6 perpendicular to the carrying direction of the case carrying conveyor B (see FIGS. 4 and 5).
And a lateral movement member 7 slidable along the rail 6
And a drive cylinder 8 fixed to the pedestal 5 for sliding the lateral movement member 7. Reference numeral 9 shown in FIG. 4 is a stroke end that limits the horizontal movement of the lateral movement member 7.

The elevating mechanism E is a cylinder 10 fixed to the lateral movement member 7 and drives the hand body 11 of the hand H in the vertical direction. The hand body 11 is formed in a U shape,
An ascending actuator 12 with the piston rod 12a directed downward is fixed at approximately the center in the width direction, and guide bars 1 extending long downward are provided on both sides of the ascending actuator 12.
3 are provided (see FIG. 3).

A lifting member 14 is provided at the lower end of the piston rod 12a.
Is fixed to the lower end of the piston rod 12a.
A weight 15 is attached to make the own weight of 4 a predetermined weight. Linear bearings 16 through which the guide bars 13 are inserted are provided at both ends of the elevating member 14, and the upper ends of four gripping claws 17 made of piano wire are fixed around the weight 15.

The upper ends of the four gripping claws 17 are provided at the respective gripping claws 17.
The fixed position of the upper end of is exactly at the apex of the quadrangle. The lower end portion of the grip claw 17 is directed outward so as to flexibly contact the inner surface of the case C and the four corners.
It is formed in the bent portion 18 that is bent in a letter shape (see FIG. 3).
The bent portion 18 allows the grip claw 17 to flexibly contact the inner surface of the case C and the four corners, but the bent portion 18 may be covered with a rubber cylinder.

The grip claw guide plate 19 fixed to the lower end of the guide bar 13 has an insertion hole 2 through which four grip claws 17 pass.
0 is provided. The positions of the four insertion holes 20 are the same as those of the grip claw 1.
Since the gripping claw 17 is located at the apex of a quadrangle larger than the quadrangle formed by the upper end of the grip 7, the grip claw 17 expands outward toward the lower end. Therefore, together with the lifting member 14, the grip claw 1
When 7 descends, the bent part 18 ', 1'
Expand outwards to 8 "(see Figure 3).

Next, the transfer device A constructed as described above.
The transfer method by will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 are a front view and a side view of the hand H at the standby position, in which the centers of the four gripping claws 18 are located right above the case stop position P. With respect to the upper surface L ₀ of the case transport conveyor B, the upper end of the large case C ₁ is at the height of L ₁ ,
The upper end of the small case C ₂ is at the height of L ₂ . Code L ₃
Indicates the height of the lower end portion (bent portion 18) of the hand H being conveyed.

Case transfer conveyor B with its opening facing up
Case C ₁ (or C ₂ ) sent to the unloading side by
However, the contact sensor 4 stops the positioning at the stop position P. When the case arrival signal transmitted from the contact sensor 4 is transmitted to the control unit, the cylinder 10 of the lifting mechanism E is moved.
Is activated, the hand H descends, and the grip claw 18 moves to the case C ₁
(Or approach the opening of C ₂ ).

When the pneumatic pressure of the lifting actuator 12 is released, the elevating member 14 descends due to its own weight (including the weight of the weight 15), and the four grasping claws 17 whose upper ends are fixed to the elevating member 14 are guided by the grasping claws. lowered through the insertion holes 20 of the plate 19, is inserted into casing C _1, the lower end of the bent portion 18 of the gripping claws 17 are in contact with the four corners of the case C ₁ slipped inner bottom surface of the case C ₁ (FIG. 9 (A) and FIG. 10 (A)),
The contact pressure and the own weight of the elevating member 14 become equal, and the elevating member 1
The descent of 4 stops.

In the case C ₂ as well, when the bent portions 18 come into contact with the four corners of the case C _{2 with} a predetermined contact pressure, the gripping claw 1
Since the descent of 7 is stopped, the descent amount of the elevating member 14 is larger than that in the case C ₁ (FIGS. 9B and 10).
(B)). That is, even if the sizes of the case C are different, the grip claws 17 are lowered until the bent portions 18 come into contact with the four corners of the case C with a predetermined contact pressure, and the bent portions 18 of the grip claws 17 are different from those of the case C. A major feature of the present invention is that the four corners are contacted with a predetermined contact pressure.

Next, the cylinder 10 of the lifting mechanism E is operated to lift the hand H until the lower end of the case C ₁ (or C ₂ ) reaches the carrying height L ₃ (FIGS. 11A and 11B, FIG. 12).
(See A and B), and the horizontal movement mechanism D moves it to just above the transfer position. The hand H is operated until the lower end of the case C ₁ (or C ₂ ) reaches the conveyor height L ₀ by operating the cylinder 10.
Is lowered (see FIGS. 13 (A, B) and FIG. 14 (A, B)).

When the raising actuator 12 is operated to raise the raising / lowering member 14, the holding claw 17 rises and the bent portion 18 is contracted inward, so that the case C ₁ (or C ₂ ).
It is further separated (see FIGS. 15 (A, B) and 16 (A, B)). Thus, the transfer operation of the case C ₁ (or C ₂ ) is completed, and the hand H is moved to the position shown in FIGS.
After returning to the standby position shown in B), one cycle of transfer of Case C is completed.

[0023]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects. (1) Since the grip claw of the present invention grips and transfers four corners of the inner wall surface of the case with the bent portion of the tip, the grip claw can be gripped without damaging the inner surface of the case and without deforming the case. Can be reprinted. (2) Since the gripping claws of the present invention contact the four corners of the inner wall surface of the case with a predetermined contact pressure even for cases of different sizes, when the case size is changed, the case transfer conveyor Other than changing the position of the contact sensor, replace the parts of the transfer device, change the position of the parts,
No setup is necessary to adjust. Therefore, the time for the setup change work is greatly shortened, and the operating rate of the production facility is greatly improved. (3) For the same reason, the work performed by the veteran worker in the past can be performed by the inexperienced worker, and the labor cost can be reduced. (4) The case transfer device of the present invention has the advantages that the structure is simple and there is little risk of failure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are a front view, a side view and a perspective view of a hand H, and FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are a front view and a side view of a transfer device A. It is a top view.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a hand of a transfer device.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the transfer device.

FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the hand in a standby position.

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7;

9A and 9B are front views of the hand showing a state in which the grip claws are in contact with the inner surface of the case.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are FIGS. 9A and 9B.
FIG.

11A and 11B are front views of the hand with the case lifted.

FIG. 12 (A) and (B) are FIG. 11 (A),
It is a side view of (B).

13A and 13B are front views of the hand with the case lowered to the transfer position.

14A and 14B are diagrams of FIG.
It is a side view of (B).

15 (A) and 15 (B) are front views of the hand that has completed transfer.

16A and 16B are diagrams of FIG.
It is a side view of (B).

[Explanation of symbols]

A transfer device B case transfer conveyor C, C ₁ , C ₂ case D horizontal movement mechanism E lifting mechanism P stop position 3 endless belt 4 contact sensor 7 lateral movement member 8 drive cylinder 10 cylinder 11 hand body 12 lift actuator 14 Lifting member 15 Weight 17 Grasping claw 18 Bending portion 19 Grasping claw guide plate 20 Insertion hole

Front page continued (72) Inventor Takashi Tokuoka 2951 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 9 Sanseido Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A case in which the case with the opening facing upward is positioned and stopped, and a hand with the tips of four gripping claws made of piano wire facing downward is positioned above the opening, and then the four cases with The tips of the four holding claws are respectively brought into contact with the four corners of the inner surface of the case with a predetermined contact pressure by enlarging the tips toward the outside while projecting the holding claws downward.
Next, the hand is raised to lift the case, and laterally moves above a predetermined transfer position, and then the hand is lowered to place the case on the transfer position. A case transfer method in which the case is transferred to a predetermined position by retracting the grip claws upward and reducing the tip inward to separate from the four corners of the inner wall of the case. 2. A raising actuator is attached to a hand body, and upper ends of four gripping claws made of piano wire are fixed to a raising and lowering member that can be moved up and down by the operation of the raising actuator, and the lower portion of the raising and lowering member is fixed. The gripping claw guide plate provided in each is provided with an insertion hole through which each of the gripping claws penetrates to form a hand in which the lower end of each of the gripping claws expands outward when the gripping claw is lowered. And a horizontal movement mechanism for moving the hand from just above the positioning stop position of the case to just above the transfer position of the case. 3. The elevating member descends until the contact pressure becomes equal to its own weight when not receiving the driving force of the ascending actuator, and rises against its own weight when receiving a driving force in the ascending direction. The transfer device for a case according to claim 2. 4. The case transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the lower end of the grip claw is formed with a bent portion that contacts an inner wall surface of the case.