JPH09183423A - Apparatus for arranging box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a plurality of boxes to be successively arranged by driving a supply conveyer until a plurality of boxes supplied by the supply conveyer are transferred onto a receiving conveyer and detected by a sensor wherein the supply conveyer is stopped by the detection. SOLUTION: A plurality of parallelopiped boxes 1 are arranged on a supply conveyer 7, an upper stage conveyer 9 is brought into contact with the boxes from upward, and both conveyers 7, 9 are driven at the same speed. Thus the boxes 1 are kept in a standing and arranged state and carried onto a receiving conveyer 8 which is always driven. The receiving conveyer 8 is faster in speed than the supply conveyer 7 and can handle the boxes 1 different in depth sizes. A transmission-type light sensor 13 placed at a receiving end 8B of the receiving conveyer 8 sends a signal whether the boxes 1 are present or not as a binary signal to a control means 15. While a signal indicating no box is output, the supply conveyer 7 and the upper stage conveyer 9 are driven, and they are stopped with a signal indicating that the boxes are present. A stopper 10 is positioned so that a rear end of the boxes 1 having a large depth size come away from the supply conveyer 1 and a front end is transferred onto the receiving conveyer 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a box aligning device for continuously sending out a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped boxes arranged in a standing state at a predetermined pitch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, it is necessary to open a box, such as a whiskey or a tea can, in a box such as a cosmetic box in advance. Such box opening work is performed, for example, on a conveyor line of a factory or a warehouse. In the box opening process of the conveyor line, in order to open the lids of multiple boxes that flow continuously,
It is required to perform a large amount and in a short time.

FIG. 19 shows a box to be opened. In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a box to be opened, and the box 1 is made of cardboard and has a box body 2 having an opening 2A formed on one side, and cardboard made of cardboard. A rising portion 3A that covers the opening 2A of the main body 2
It is composed of an attached lid 3. Side part 2 of box body 2
The rising portion 3A of the lid 3 overlaps around B, and the lid 3 can be opened and closed.

In FIG. 20, reference numeral 4 denotes a box opening device for opening the box 1 shown in FIG. 19. A table 5A is installed in the upstream process of the box opening device 4, and the boxes 1 are stacked on the table 5A. It has been placed. As shown in FIG. 21, the boxes are taken out one by one from the stacked boxes 1 by a worker, placed on the conveyor 5B, continuously arranged and sent out, and processed by the box opening device 4. It was arranged in a possible posture.

[0005]

However, the boxes 1 are taken out one by one from the stacked boxes 1 by a manual operation of an operator, placed on the conveyor 5B, and continuously arranged in a box opening device 4. Since it was sent to, the work efficiency was poor and the production efficiency was low. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a box aligning device capable of continuously aligning and sending out a plurality of boxes on a conveyor.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A supply conveyor, a drive means for driving or stopping the supply conveyor, a receiving conveyor arranged downstream of the supply conveyor, which is always driven, and a receiving end of the receiving conveyor, and the presence or absence of a box is detected as a binary state. A non-contact type box detection sensor, a stopper arranged above the receiving end of the receiving conveyor and close to the downstream side of the box detection sensor, the box detection sensor is connected to the input side, and the drive means is connected to the output side. It is characterized in that it is provided with a control means which is connected and sends to the drive means either a stop signal corresponding to the presence state of the box or a binary signal consisting of a drive signal corresponding to the absence state of the box.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the box aligning apparatus according to the first aspect, the speed of the receiving conveyor is higher than the speed of the supply conveyor. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the box aligning apparatus according to the first or second aspect, an upper conveyor driven at the same speed as the supply conveyor is arranged above the supply conveyor.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claims 1, 2, and 3.
In any of the box aligning devices described above, the box detection sensor is a transmissive optical sensor including a light projector and a light receiver whose installation position is displaced from the installation position of the light projector in the height direction. The invention described in claim 5 is,
In the box aligning device described in any of 2, 3 and 4, a non-contact type box detection auxiliary sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a box is arranged at the discharge end of the supply conveyor, and the control means is provided with a signal from the box detection sensor. A stop signal corresponding to the existence state of the box in cooperation with
It is characterized in that an auxiliary switch which sends any one of binary signals consisting of a drive signal corresponding to the state of the box to the drive means is incorporated.

(Function) In the first aspect of the present invention,
On the supply conveyor, a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped boxes are erected and arranged in a bundle in the transfer direction. The drive means drives or stops the supply conveyor. On the other hand, the receiving conveyor is constantly driven.

The supply conveyor is driven and a plurality of boxes are simultaneously transported on the supply conveyor. The leading box of the plurality of boxes rides up to a driving receiving conveyor located downstream of the supply conveyor in an upright position. While the top box is not transferred to the position of the box detection sensor, the top box is detected by the box detection sensor as a no-state of the binary signal. The statelessness of this box is sent to the control means. A drive signal corresponding to the statelessness of the box is sent from the control means to the drive means. This drives the supply conveyor.

The box transferred onto the receiving conveyor is detected by the box detection sensor as having a binary signal. This existence state is sent to the control means. The control means sends a stop signal corresponding to the presence state of the box to the drive means, the drive means is stopped, and the supply conveyor is stopped. The leading box in the upright state is blocked by the stopper placed above the receiving conveyor to interrupt the transfer, and the lower surface of the leading box is scooped by the driving receiving conveyor, so that it is placed horizontally on the receiving conveyor. Be defeated.

When the box is horizontally folded and transferred, the box detecting sensor detects the box as a binary signal non-state. The statelessness of this box is sent to the control means. A drive signal corresponding to the statelessness of the box is sent from the control means to the drive means. As a result, the stopped supply conveyor is switched to drive. The supply conveyor in the stopped state is driven, and the box next to the box that has fallen over the driven receiving conveyor and is being transferred is transferred to the receiving conveyor in an upright state.

The box next to the leading box that has fallen horizontally on the receiving conveyor is transferred to the receiving conveyor in the same manner as the leading box, and is folded horizontally to be transported. By repeating such an operation, a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped boxes arranged in a standing state in the longitudinal direction on the supply conveyor are fed in a horizontal state at a constant pitch on the receiving conveyor.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the speed of the receiving conveyor is higher than the speed of the supplying conveyor.
Various boxes with different depth dimensions (the depth direction of the box is the same as the transfer direction) are handled by the same box aligning device. More specifically, when various boxes having different depths are handled by the box aligning device, the position of the box detection sensor above the receiving conveyor in the box transfer direction is set in accordance with the deep box. When handling a deep box, the first deep box is transferred from the supply conveyor to the receiving conveyor, and the supply conveyor stops. When processing a shallow box under the condition that the position of the box detection sensor in the transfer direction of the box is set according to the deep box,
If the speed of the receiving conveyor is equal to or slower than the speed of the feeding conveyor, the feeding conveyor will stop with the next box on top of the first riding on the receiving conveyor. In this state, the first box and the next box are sent together by the receiving conveyor, and the first box and the next box cannot be separated.

In order to separate the first box and the next box, the shallow box at the top must be carried to the position of the box detection sensor and the supply conveyor must be stopped before the next box rides on the receiving conveyor. . Therefore, the speed of the receiving conveyor is made higher than that of the supplying conveyor. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the upper conveyor moving at the same speed as the supply conveyor is arranged above the supply conveyor, the boxes are transferred in a stable state.

More specifically, (1) the supply conveyor is complicatedly driven and stopped repeatedly, so that the box tends to collapse due to inertial force, but the standing state of the box can be maintained by pressing the box with the upper conveyor. (2) Depending on the speed of the receiving conveyor and the size of the box in the height direction (direction perpendicular to the direction in which the box is transported), when the leading box falls on the receiving conveyor, the corners behind the leading box may be There is a case where the front box of the box on the supply conveyor next to the first box is hit and pushed backward.
At that time, the upright state of the pushed box can be maintained.

In the invention according to the fourth aspect, the box detection sensor is a transmissive optical sensor comprising a light projector and a light receiver whose installation position is displaced from the installation position of the light projector in the height direction. The direction of the radiated light is made oblique, the detection range of the box in the height direction from the receiving conveyor is widened, and the existence state of the box is surely detected. As a result, the top box on the receiving conveyor still remains (box is present)
However, it is prevented that the box detection sensor detects that there is no box and the supply conveyor is driven to send out the next box.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, a non-contact type box detection auxiliary sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a box is arranged at the discharge end of the supply conveyor, and the control means cooperates with the signal from the box detection sensor. Since the auxiliary switch that operates to send either a stop signal corresponding to the presence or absence of the box or a binary signal consisting of a drive signal corresponding to the absence of the box to the drive means is installed on the top of the receiving conveyor. If there is a large gap between one box on the supply conveyor and the next box on the supply conveyor, when the supply conveyor is stopped, it takes time for the next box on the supply conveyor to reach the discharge end of the supply conveyor. In advance, a box detection auxiliary sensor sends a drive signal corresponding to the state of the box to the drive means to drive the supply conveyor, and transfers the next box on the supply conveyor to the discharge end of the supply conveyor, thereby transferring the box. Time is reduced.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 18, a box aligning device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The boxes to be aligned are shown in FIG. 19 as in the conventional case. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6 is a box aligning device. As shown in FIG. 18, the box aligning device 6 includes a plurality of boxes 1 which are placed in a standing state (the depth direction is horizontal and the lid 3 is vertical) and are arranged side by side in the transfer direction. Are arranged and sent out continuously.

First, the main components of the box aligning device 6 will be described with reference to FIG. The box aligning device 6 includes a supply conveyor 7, a receiving conveyor 8 arranged downstream of the supply conveyor 7, an upper conveyor 9 arranged above the supply conveyor 7 and facing the supply conveyor 7, and a receiving conveyor. 8, a stopper 10 arranged above the receiving end 8B of the motor 8, a first driving means 11 including a motor and a speed reducer with a clutch brake for driving and stopping the supply conveyor 7, and a receiving conveyor including a motor and a speed reducer. The second drive means 12 for driving and stopping 8, the box detection sensor 13, the box detection auxiliary sensor 14, the box detection sensor 13 on the input side are connected, and the first drive means 11 and the clutch on the output side. It has a control means 15 to which a third drive means 32 for driving and stopping the upper conveyor 9 composed of a motor with a brake and a speed reducer is connected.

The control means 15 comprises a stop signal corresponding to the presence state of the box 1 and a drive signal corresponding to the absence state of the box 1.
One of the value signals is sent to the first driving means 11 and the third driving means 32 to control the driving and stopping of the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9. The details will be described below.

2 and 3, reference numeral 16 is a supply conveyor device, 17 is a support device for the upper conveyor, and 18 is a receiving conveyor device. The supply conveyor device 16 has legs 19,1.
9 and the feed conveyor 7 supported by legs 19 and 19
And a guide device 20. Supply conveyor 7
Is a tail pulley 2 provided at one end of the frames 7A, 7A
1 and a drive pulley 22 attached to the other ends of the frames 7A and 7A, a belt 23 made of a urethane material is wound and the belt 23 is rotated endlessly. The first drive means 11 is connected to the drive pulley 22.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the guide device 20
Is a fixed guide 2 attached to the frames 7A, 7A
5, consisting of a movement guide 26. The movement guide 26 is adjusted in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the box 1 according to the width of the box 1,
Fixed. For example, when the width of the box 1 is narrow, the position of the movement guide 26 is 26X shown by the chain double-dashed line as shown in FIG.

2 and 3, the receiving conveyor device 1
8 comprises legs 28 and a receiving conveyor 8. The receiving conveyor 8 winds a belt 30A by a tail pulley 29 provided at one end of the frames 8A and 8A and a drive pulley 30 attached to the other end of the frames 8A and 8A, and the belt 3A is wound around the belt 3A.
OA is rotated endlessly. The second drive means 12 is connected to the drive pulley 30.

The upper conveyor supporting device 17 has four frames 24, and the tail pulley 21 of the supply conveyor 7 and the drive pulley 30 of the receiving conveyor 8 adjacent to the tail pulley 21 are located between the frames 24, 24. doing. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, an elevating device 31 is attached to the upper conveyor supporting device 17, and the upper conveyor 9 is attached to the elevating device 31. The upper conveyor 9 includes a drive pulley 9B and a driven pulley 9B.
C, and a belt 9D that connects the drive pulley 9B and the driven pulley 9C. A sponge jersey is applied to the surface of the belt 9D to ensure the durability of the belt 9D,
To prevent damage.

The lifting device 31 includes a handle 31A, a rod 31B provided along the frame 24 and having one end connected to the handle 31A, a sprocket 31C fixed to the other end of the rod 31B, and a chain 31D attached to the sprocket 31C. And a sprocket 31E connected via
Screw shaft 31F whose one end is fixed to the sprocket 31E
A screw receiving portion 31G that is screwed to the screw shaft 31F and moves up and down on the screw shaft 31F, an elevating member 31H fixed to the screw receiving portion 31G, and a linear bearing 3 provided on the elevating member 31H.
1I, 31I, guide shafts 31J, 31J for guiding the linear motion bearings 31I, 31I, and clamp levers 31K, 3I
It is equipped with 1K. The position of the upper conveyor 9 is held by the clamp levers 31K and 31K.

The third driving means 32 is mounted at the center of the elevating member 31H. The third drive means 32 comprises a clutch, a motor with a brake, and a speed reducer. The upper conveyor 9 is attached to the lower end of the elevating member 31H. The sprocket 32A of the third drive means 32 and the sprocket 9A of the upper conveyor 9 are connected via a chain 33.

The stopper 10 is fixed on the front side of the lower end of the elevating member 31H. The stopper 10 has a pipe 10A having a predetermined length in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the box 1 (left-right direction in FIG. 5). And the clamp lever 31
The holding of the elevating device 31 by K, 31K is released, and the handle 31A is rotated to elevate the elevating member 31H, and thus the upper conveyor 9 is elevated, and at the same time, the stopper 10 is also elevated, and the upper conveyor 9 and the stopper 10 are moved. It is adjusted to the optimum position in the vertical direction according to the box 1.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the box detection sensor 13 is arranged above the receiving end 8B of the receiving conveyor 8 and upstream of the stopper 10, and detects the presence or absence of the box as a binary signal. It is a transmissive optical sensor. Stopper 1
0 and the box detection sensor 13 are located close to each other. The box detection sensor 13 includes a light projector 34 attached to the front right frame 24 and a light receiver 35 attached to the front left frame 24 and the installation position of which is shifted downward in the height direction from the installation position of the projector 34. Consists of. Therefore, the light beam is obliquely emitted from the light projector 34 toward the light receiver 35. When the box detection sensor 13 does not detect without the box 1 (the light beam reaches the light receiver 35 from the projector 34), an OFF signal (no state of the box) causes the box 1 to pass through the light beam and emit the light beam. When shutting off, the ON signal (state of the box) is controlled by the control means 15
Send to

The box detection auxiliary sensor 14 is a reflection type optical sensor arranged to detect the presence or absence of the box 1 at the discharge end 7B of the supply conveyor 7 and is of a non-contact type. The box detection auxiliary sensor 14 sends an OFF signal (no box condition) to the control means 15 when the box 1 is not detected and the box 1 is not detected.
When the light-reflected beam is reflected by and returns, the ON signal (state of the box) is sent to the control means 15.

As shown in FIG. 7, the position of the stopper 10 with respect to the receiving conveyor 8 is such that the depth dimension H is large in the transfer direction of the box 1 (the depth of the box 1 which is the object of the box aligning device 6 is the depth). (There are various dimensions H, lid length W, and width.) The rear corner 1A is separated from the tail pulley 21 of the supply conveyor 7, and the front corner 1B is connected to the drive pulley 30 of the receiving conveyor 8. Determined to be in a state of transfer. The height dimension Y from the upper surface 8C of the receiving conveyor 8 to the stopper 10 is larger than the depth dimension H of the box 1.

The conditions for the leading box 1 to transfer to the receiving conveyor 8 will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, in order to transfer the leading box 1 to the receiving conveyor 8, (1) When the leading box 1 is detected by the box detection sensor 13 and the supply conveyor 7 is stopped, Is not hung on the receiving conveyor 8, and (2) when the supplying conveyor 7 is stopped, the center of gravity position G of the leading box 1 is on the receiving conveyor 8 side of the center line L between the supplying conveyor 7 and the receiving conveyor 8. Two conditions are required. The conditions are the position of the stopper 10 in the transfer direction of the box 1, the supply conveyor 7
Tail pulley 21 and drive pulley 30 of receiving conveyor 8
Will be taken into account when determining the interval.

An electric circuit for controlling the supply conveyor 7 and the receiving conveyor 8 will be described with reference to FIG. On the power + E side,
One end of the resistor 36 is connected. The other end of the resistor 36 is connected to one end of a supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37 and a changeover switch 38. Supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37
The other end of is connected to the first drive means 11.

The switch 38 has a resistor 36 at one end.
It is composed of a pair of a first switch 38A and a second switch 38B which are connected to the other end of the always ON state. The other end of the first switch 38A of the changeover switch 38 is connected to one end of a clutch / brake control device 39 for the upper conveyor. The other end of the upper conveyor clutch / brake control device 39 is connected to the third drive means 32.

The other end of the second switch 38B of the changeover switch 38 is connected to the 0 volt side A via an auxiliary switch 41 composed of a relay and a switch 40 composed of a relay. The box detection sensor 13 is connected to the switch 40, and the switch 40 is turned on by a signal from the box detection sensor 13. The box detection auxiliary sensor 14 is connected to the auxiliary switch 41, and the auxiliary switch 41 is supplied with a signal from the box detection auxiliary sensor 14.
Turns on.

An inverter 42 is connected to the first driving means 11. The inverter 42 adjusts the speed of the first drive means 11, and is started and stopped via a relay (not shown) in response to an operation command from the outside.
An inverter 43 is connected to the second drive means 12. The inverter 43 adjusts the speed of the second drive means 12 and the third drive means 32, and is started and stopped via a relay (not shown) according to an operation command from the outside.

The resistor 36, the supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37, the upper conveyor clutch / brake control device 39, the switch 40,
The control means 15 is configured by the auxiliary switch 41. Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 16, by turning on the operation command, the first drive means 11, the second drive means 12,
The operation of the third drive means 32 is started.

By switching the changeover switch 38 shown in FIG. 9, the box aligning device 6 is used in the following two modes. In the first mode, the changeover switch 38 is turned on and is in the closed state, and the plurality of boxes are erected on the supply conveyor 7 (in the depth direction) by the box aligning device 6 as shown in FIG. Are placed in a horizontal state) and are put together in a line in the transfer direction, and are continuously arranged and sent out. The box aligning device 6 is used as a loading machine for the box opening device 4 (FIG. 20) described in the conventional example.

In the second mode, the changeover switch 3
8 is cut and is in an open state, the box aligning device 6 is not used as a loading machine for the box opening device 4, the upper conveyor 9 is stopped, and only the supply conveyor 7 is continuously operated. The aligning device 6 is used as a conveyer-only conveyor. In this case, the receiving conveyor 8 is also continuously operated.

First, the first mode will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 18, the boxes 1 to be aligned have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a plurality (in the case of three) of the boxes 1 are arranged on the supply conveyor 7. The plurality of boxes 1 are erected and arranged in a bundle. The lids 3 of the boxes 1 are oriented in the transfer direction, and the adjacent boxes 1 are in contact with each other.

The upper conveyor 9 is moved up and down by turning the handle 31A, and the upper conveyor 9 is fed by the supply conveyor 7.
It is set on the belt 23 according to the height of the box 1.
The transfer speed of the upper conveyor 9 is the same as the transfer speed of the supply conveyor 7. In addition, the guide device 2 according to the width of the box 1
The zero moving guide 26 is adjusted and fixed according to the width dimension of the box 1.

By adjusting and fixing the positions of the moving guide 26 and the upper conveyor 9, it is possible to transfer boxes 1 of various sizes having different lid lengths (dimensions in the height direction), depth dimensions and width dimensions. The drive pulley 22 is driven by the first drive means 11, and the rotation of the drive pulley 22 drives the belt 23 of the supply conveyor 7. A plurality of boxes 1 are simultaneously transferred by the belt 23 of the supply conveyor 7 and reach below the upper conveyor 9. This state is shown in FIG.

Here, the upper conveyor 9 is the supply conveyor 7
Since the transfer speed of the upper conveyor 9 is the same as that of the supply conveyor 7, it has the following effects. (1) Since the supply conveyor 7 is complicatedly driven and stopped repeatedly, the box 1 tends to collapse due to inertial force, but the upper conveyor 9
By pressing the side surface (upper surface in the standing state) of the box 1, the standing state of the box 1 can be maintained.

(2) Depending on the speed of the receiving conveyor 8 and the height of the box 1 (lid length), as shown in FIG. The rear corner portion 9E may hit the front portion 9F of the next box 1 in the supply conveyor 7 of the leading box 1 and push it backward. At that time, the upright state of the next pressed box 1 can be maintained. On the other hand, the drive pulley 30 is driven by the second drive means 12, and the rotation of the drive pulley 30 causes the receiving conveyor 8 to move.
Is always driving.

Since the speed of the receiving conveyor 8 is higher than the speed of the supplying conveyor 7, various boxes 1 having different depths can be handled by the box aligning device 6. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the depth dimension H
When handling various boxes 1 having different H1, H2 (H1> H2) by the box aligning device 6, the position of the box detection sensor 13 in the transfer direction of the box 1 is set according to the box 1 having the depth dimension H1. Has been done. When handling the box 1 having the depth dimension H1, the supply conveyor 7 stops while the box 1 having the leading depth dimension H1 is being transferred from the supply conveyor 7 to the receiving conveyor 8. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, under the condition that the position of the box detection sensor 13 in the transfer direction of the box 1 is set in accordance with the box 1 having the depth dimension H1, if a shallow box having the depth dimension H2 is processed, If the speed of the receiving conveyor 8 is equal to or slower than the speed of the supplying conveyor 7, the supplying conveyor 7 stops with the box 1 next to the leading box 1 on the receiving conveyor 8. In this state, the top box 1 and the next box 1 are sent together by the receiving conveyor 8, and the top box 1 and the next box 1 cannot be separated.

In order to separate the first box 1 from the next box 1, before the next box 1 gets on the receiving conveyor 8, the shallow box 1 having the first depth dimension H2 is moved to the position of the box detection sensor 13. The transport conveyor 7 has to be stopped. Therefore, the speed of the receiving conveyor 8 is made higher than that of the supply conveyor 7. In addition, every time the depth of the box 1 changes, the box 1
As an example of the method of adjusting the position of the box detection sensor 13 in the transfer direction of the box 1 according to the depth of, the driving of the receiving conveyor 8 at the same speed as or slower than that of the supply conveyor 7 hinders control. I will never come.

Further, the box 1 is attached to the discharge end 7B of the supply conveyor 7.
A non-contact type box detection auxiliary sensor 14 for detecting the presence or absence of the box 1 is arranged, and the control means 15 cooperates with the signal from the box detection sensor 13 to stop the signal corresponding to the presence state of the box 1, Auxiliary switch 41 for sending a binary signal composed of a drive signal corresponding to no state to the first drive means 11 and the third drive means 32.
15, the leading box 1 on the receiving conveyor 8 and the next box 1 on the feeding conveyor 7 have a large gap between them when the feeding conveyor 7 stops, as shown in FIG. The next box 1 on the supply conveyor 7 is the supply conveyor 7.
It takes a transfer time to reach the discharge end 7B. In order to shorten the transfer time, when either the box detection sensor 13 or the box detection auxiliary sensor 14 is a non-state signal, the supply conveyor 7 is driven to move the next box 1 on the supply conveyor 7 to the supply conveyor 7. It is transferred to the discharge end 7B.

Further, the box detection sensor 13 includes a light projector 34.
And a light receiving device 35 whose installation position is displaced from the installation position of the light projector 34 in the height direction. Therefore, the light beam is obliquely emitted from the light projecting device 34 toward the light receiving device 35. It has the following effects. When the direction of the light projector 34 and the light receiver 35 of the box detection sensor 13 composed of optical sensors is set to the horizontal direction, the stopper 10 causes the receiving conveyor 8 to move.
During the fall of the top standing box 1,
There is a moment (state) where is not detected. The state in which the box 1 is not detected depends on the relationship between the depth of the box 1 and the set height of the box detection sensor 13 from the upper surface 8C of the receiving conveyor 8. For example, when the set height of the box detection sensor 13 is high, there is a moment (state) when the box 1 is tilted and is not detected. Also,
When the height of the box 1 is low, when the box 1 falls down while being transferred by the receiving conveyor 8, there is a moment when the rear surface of the box 1 is not detected before reaching the receiving conveyor 8. Therefore, the box detection sensor 13 is a transmissive optical sensor including a light projector 34 and a light receiver 35 whose installation position deviates from the installation position of the light projector 34 in the height direction. By making the direction oblique and widening the detection range of the box 1 in the height direction from the receiving conveyor 8, it is possible to reliably detect the existence state of the box 1.

As a result, although the leading box 1 on the receiving conveyor 8 still remains (the box is present), the box detection sensor 13 detects that the box 1 is in an empty state and drives the supply conveyor 7. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the next box 1 from being sent out. Further, when the box 1 is jammed in the downstream process of the receiving conveyor 8, if the box 1 is left at the position of the box detecting sensor 13 by the box detecting sensor 13, the supply conveyor 7 is stopped. There is also a function of preventing the subsequent box 1 from being sent out.

Since the box detection sensor 13 is a transmissive optical sensor, the box 1 can be detected in a non-contact manner. Therefore, the presence or absence of the box 1 can be detected regardless of the shape of the box 1. When a contact-type box detection sensor such as a limit switch is adopted, the box 1 comes into contact with the contact-type box detection sensor, and the contact may cause the box 1 to fall or the direction of the box 1 to be changed. Although generated, the box 1 does not come into contact with the box detection sensor 13, and the above-mentioned adverse effects can be eliminated.

Next, the operation of the control means 15 by the box detection sensor 13 and the box detection auxiliary sensor 14 will be described with reference to FIG. In step S1, the box detection auxiliary sensor 14 determines whether or not the box 1 is present. If YES is determined, the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the box detection sensor 13 determines whether the box 1 is present. If YES is determined, the process proceeds to step S3, and a stop command is issued to the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9.

If NO is determined in step S1, the process proceeds to step S4, and a drive command is issued to the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9. If NO is determined in step S2, the process proceeds to step S4, and a drive command for the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9 is issued. Each time the box 1 is passed, the control means 15 repeats the above operation one after another.

A function similar to that of FIG. 17 of the control means 15 is shown in FIG.
The electric circuit of FIG. 9 controls the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9 as follows.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 16, while the leading box 1 is not transferred to the position of the box detection sensor 13, the leading box 1 is detected by the box detection sensor 13 as a no-state of a binary signal. The stateless state of the box 1 is sent to the control means 15. From the control means 15, the drive signal corresponding to the stateless state of the box 1 is the first
Is sent to the driving means 11. As a result, the supply conveyor 7 is driven.

Subsequently, the first box 1 of the plurality of boxes 1 transferred on the supply conveyor 7 is transferred to the receiving conveyor 8 which is being driven and is arranged downstream of the supply conveyor 7 in an upright state. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the leading box 1 in the standing state hits a stopper 10 arranged above the receiving end 8B of the receiving conveyor 8 to interrupt the transfer, and the lower surface of the leading box 1 is driven. It is tilted by being scooped by the receiving conveyor 8 inside, and the box 1 is laid down on the receiving conveyor 8 in a horizontal state.

In the state shown in FIG. 16B, the changeover switch 38 is turned on and is in the closed state, and the box 1
Switch 4 until the box detection auxiliary sensor 14 detects
0 and the auxiliary switch 41 are in the OFF state. Note that FIG. 16 is a timing chart when three boxes are continuously fed. In the state shown in (b), the auxiliary switch 41 is provided until the leading box 1 is detected by the box detection sensor 13.
Is in the ON state, and the switch 40 is in the OFF state.

In the states (a) and (b), as shown in FIG. 9, the voltage drop due to the resistor 36 does not occur, and the supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37 and the upper conveyor clutch / brake control device 39 are provided. Input voltage is high, and the clutch command state of the supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37 and the upper conveyor clutch / brake control device 39 is ON.
The state and the brake command state are OFF. Therefore, the clutches of the first drive means 11 and the third drive means 32 are in the ON state and the brakes are in the OFF state, the first drive means 11 and the third drive means 32 rotate, and the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9 is driven. Further, the receiving conveyor 8 is continuously operated regardless of the box detection sensor 13.

The box 1 transferred onto the receiving conveyor 8 is detected by the box detection sensor 13 as the presence state of the binary signal box 1. This existence state is sent to the switch 40 of the control means 15, and this signal causes the switch 4 to be in the OFF state.
0 is in the ON state. It is shown in FIG. On the other hand, the auxiliary switch 41 is in the ON state. Therefore,
A voltage drop occurs due to the resistor 36, and the input voltage to the supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37 and the upper conveyor clutch / brake control device 39 becomes low, and the supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37 and the upper conveyor clutch / The clutch command state of the brake control device 39 is OFF and the brake command state is ON. Therefore, the first
The clutches of the driving means 11 and the third driving means 32 are
The F state, the brake is in the ON state, and the first drive means 1
The first and third driving means 32 are stopped, and the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9 are stopped. Further, since the receiving conveyor 8 is continuously operated regardless of the box detection sensor 13, the horizontally collapsed box 1 is transferred onto the receiving conveyor 8.

The box 1 which has been horizontally laid down and transferred is again detected by the box detection sensor 13 as a no-state of the box 1 having a binary signal. This is shown in FIG. This non-state is sent to the control means 15. In the control means 15, the drive signals corresponding to the non-state of the box 1 are the first drive means 11 and the third drive signal.
Is sent to the driving means 32. As a result, the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9 which are stopped are switched to drive.
The supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9 that are stopped are driven, and the box 1 next to the box 1 that has been transferred to the receiving conveyor 8 that is being driven is transferred in an upright state.

Then, the first box 1 which has fallen in the horizontal state is transferred by the receiving conveyor 8 by at least the horizontal length (lid length) of the box 1, and the next box 1 is detected by the box detection sensor 13. Therefore, the supply conveyor 7 is stopped.
The top box 1 that has fallen in the horizontal state is transferred by the receiving conveyor 8. This state is shown in FIG. The box 1 next to the leading box 1 that has fallen horizontally on the receiving conveyor 8 is transferred to the receiving conveyor 8 while lying horizontally on the receiving conveyor 8 like the leading box 1.

By repeating the above operation, a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped boxes 1 arranged upright on the supply conveyor 7 are arranged horizontally on the receiving conveyor 8 at a constant pitch. Sent. This is the end of the description of the first mode. Next, the second mode will be described with reference to FIG.

In the second mode, the changeover switch 3
8 is cut and is in an open state, and there is no change in the input voltage to the supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37 by the switch 40 and the auxiliary switch 41, and the input voltage is high. Therefore, the clutch command state of the supply conveyor clutch / brake control device 37 is in the ON state, and the brake command state is in the OFF state. As a result, the clutch of the first drive means 11 is in the ON state and the brake is in the OFF state, and the first drive means 11 is in the ON state.
Rotates and the supply conveyor 7 is driven. Further, the receiving conveyor 8 is continuously operated regardless of the box detection sensor 13.

Further, since the changeover switch 38 is turned off and is in the open state, the voltage across the upper conveyor clutch / brake control device 39 is 0 volt.
Therefore, the clutch command state of the upper conveyor clutch / brake control device 39 is OFF and the brake command state is ON. As a result, the clutch of the third drive means 32 is turned off and the brake is turned on, the third drive means 32 is stopped, and the upper conveyor 9 is stopped.

In this way, the box aligning device 6 is not used as a loading machine for the box opening device 4, the upper conveyor 9 is stopped, and only the supply conveyor 7 is continuously operated. Is used as a transport-only conveyor. According to the above configuration, a plurality of boxes 1 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape are arranged on the supply conveyor 7 in an upright state and arranged in the transfer direction, and the top box 1 is arranged above the receiving end 8B of the receiving conveyor 8. The supply conveyor 7 is stopped immediately before it abuts 10, and the leading box 1 is laid down horizontally on the receiving conveyor 8 by hitting the leading box 1 against the stopper 10 and transferred to the receiving receiving conveyor 8 being driven. Next box 1
Similarly to the case of the leading box 1, the operation of tilting the box horizontally and transferring the same is repeated by driving and stopping the supply conveyor 7.

Therefore, there is an effect that a plurality of standing boxes 1 lined up in the transfer direction can be continuously arranged at a constant pitch in a state of being laid horizontally. Further, the presence or absence of the box 1 is detected by the box detection sensor 13, and based on this signal, the control means 15 causes the first driving means 11 and the third
The drive means 32 of the stop signal corresponding to the existence state of the box 1,
Since any one of the binary signals consisting of the drive signal corresponding to the non-state of the box 1 is sent, the box detection sensor 13 changes the posture of the box 1 in the upright state to the horizontal state, and stops and drives the supply conveyor 7. Can be reliably associated. Therefore,
It is possible to ensure the control operation for continuously aligning the plurality of boxes 1 in a horizontal state at a constant pitch.

Further, since the presence / absence of the box 1 is detected by the box detection sensor 13 as a binary signal, the change in the posture of the box 1 can be surely detected and the control operation for aligning can be surely performed. In the embodiment of the present invention, a motor is taken as an example of the first driving means 11, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an air cylinder, for example, may be adopted.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the upper conveyor 9 which is driven at the same speed as the supply conveyor 7 is arranged above the supply conveyor 7, but the speed of the supply conveyor 7 and the box 1 Depending on conditions such as stability, the upper conveyor 9 may not necessarily be arranged. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the same function of the control means 15 shown in FIG. 17 is embodied in the electric circuit of FIG. 9, but the function of the control means 15 is the same as the function shown in FIG. The control means 15 may be configured by a microcomputer having the function shown in FIG.

In the embodiment of the present invention,
Although a motor with a clutch and a brake is used as the first drive means 11 and the third drive means 32, for example, a servo motor may be used instead. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the transmission type optical sensor is used as the box detection sensor, but any non-contact type optical sensor may be used, and for example, a reflection type optical sensor may be used.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention,
Although a reflection type optical sensor is used as the box detection auxiliary sensor, any non-contact type optical sensor may be used, and for example, a transmission type optical sensor can also be used. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the relay is used as the switch 40 and the auxiliary switch 41, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Further, in the control means 15 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the presence / absence of the box 1 is determined by the box detection auxiliary sensor 14 in step S1, and the presence / absence of the box 1 by the box detection sensor 13 in step S2. The determination is made in the order of step S1 and step S2, but the determination is not limited to this order. That is, both the box detection sensor 13 and the box detection auxiliary sensor 14 issue a stop command to the supply conveyor 7 and the upper conveyor 9 only when the box 1 is detected to be present.

[0070]

According to the first aspect of the invention, a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped boxes are erected on the supply conveyor in the transfer direction, and the first box is arranged above the receiving end of the receiving conveyor. Stop the supply conveyor immediately before contacting the stopper, place the leading box on the stopper, and then lay it horizontally on the receiving conveyor to transfer it. The same operation as in the case of the leading box, which is performed by tilting the box horizontally and transferring the same, is repeated by driving and stopping the supply conveyor.

Therefore, there is an effect that a plurality of standing boxes lined up in the transfer direction can be continuously aligned at a constant pitch in a state of being laid horizontally. Further, the presence or absence of the box is detected by the box detection sensor, and based on the signal indicating the presence or absence of the box, the control means provides the drive means with a stop signal corresponding to the presence state of the box and a drive signal corresponding to the absence state of the box. Since either of the binary signals is sent to the drive means, the change in the posture of the standing box to the horizontal state and the stop and drive of the supply conveyor can be reliably associated with each other by the box detection sensor and the stopper. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the control operation of continuously aligning the plurality of boxes in a horizontal state at a constant pitch.

Furthermore, the presence or absence of a box is checked by the box detection sensor.
Since it is detected as the value signal, the change in the posture of the box can be surely detected and the control operation for aligning can be surely performed. According to the invention described in claim 2, since the speed of the receiving conveyor is higher than the speed of the supplying conveyor, various boxes having different depth dimensions can be handled by the same box aligning device.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the upper conveyor moving at the same speed as the supply conveyor is arranged above the supply conveyor, the boxes can be transferred in a stable state.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the box detection sensor is a transmissive optical sensor including a light projector and a light receiver whose installation position deviates from the installation position of the light projector in the height direction. It is possible to prevent the supply conveyor from driving and sending out the next box even though the first box on the conveyor still remains (the box is present) and the box detection sensor detects that the box is empty. it can. In addition, the presence or absence of the box can be detected regardless of the shape of the box.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, a non-contact type box detection auxiliary sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a box is arranged at the discharge end of the supply conveyor, and the control means cooperates with the signal from the box detection sensor. Since an auxiliary switch that operates to send either a stop signal corresponding to the presence or absence of the box or a binary signal consisting of a drive signal corresponding to the absence of the box to the drive means is installed on the supply conveyor in advance. The next box can be transferred to the discharge end of the supply conveyor, and the transfer time of the box can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a box aligning device according to an embodiment of the invention described in claims 1-5.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the box aligning device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the box aligning device.

4 is a side view showing the upper conveyor of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the box aligning device.

6 is a side view showing an adjusting mechanism of the upper conveyor of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of positions of stoppers.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of conditions for the top box to transfer to a receiving conveyor.

FIG. 9 is an electric circuit diagram of the alignment device of the box.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the operating state of the box aligning device.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of the operating state of the box aligning device.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view of an operating state of the box aligning device.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the reason why the receiving conveyor is made faster than the supply conveyor.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the reason why the receiving conveyor is made faster than the supply conveyor.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the function of the box detection auxiliary sensor.

FIG. 16 is a timing diagram of the box alignment device.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a control means of the box alignment device.

FIG. 18 is a side view showing the set state and the aligned state of the boxes on the aligning device.

FIG. 19 is a side view of a conventional box.

FIG. 20 is a side view of a conventional box opening device.

FIG. 21 is a side view showing an aligned state of boxes.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Box 6 Box Aligning Device 7 Supply Conveyor 7B Discharging End 8 Receiving Conveyor 8B Receiving End 9 Upper Conveyor 11 First Driving Means 12 Second Driving Means 13 Box Detection Sensor 14 Box Detection Auxiliary Sensor 15 Control Means 32 Third Driving means 34 Emitter 35 Light receiver 40 Switch 41 Auxiliary switch

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Kenji Kamata 1-3-9 Kamatahonmachi, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Niigata Ironworks Engineering Center, Inc.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A supply conveyor, a drive means for driving or stopping the supply conveyor, a receiving conveyor arranged downstream of the supply conveyor and constantly driven, and a receiving conveyor arranged near the receiving end of the receiving conveyor to determine whether or not there is a box. A non-contact type box detection sensor that detects the value state, a stopper that is placed above the receiving end of the receiving conveyor and close to the downstream side of the box detection sensor, and a box detection sensor that is connected to the input side Drive means is connected to the side, and there is provided control means for sending to the drive means either a stop signal corresponding to the presence state of the box or a binary signal consisting of a drive signal corresponding to the absence state of the box. A box alignment device. 2. The box aligning device according to claim 1, wherein the speed of the receiving conveyor is higher than the speed of the supplying conveyor. 3. The box arranging device according to claim 1, wherein an upper stage conveyor which is driven at the same speed as the supply conveyor is arranged above the supply conveyor. 4. The box detection sensor is a transmissive optical sensor including a light projector and a light receiver whose installation position deviates from the installation position of the light emitter in the height direction. 3. The box aligning device according to any one of 3) 5. A non-contact type box detection auxiliary sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a box is arranged at the discharge end of the supply conveyor, and the control means cooperates with a signal from the box detection sensor to determine whether the box is present. 2. An auxiliary switch which sends either a corresponding stop signal or a binary signal consisting of a drive signal corresponding to the state of the box to the drive means is incorporated.
The box aligning device according to any one of 2, 3 and 4.