JPH10139012A - Aligning-storing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a step formed between a carrying means and rotating bodies smaller, and smoothly perform a transfer motion and an aligning motion of articles by a method wherein the rotating bodies are pivotally supported so as to be rotatable in the vicinity of the final end of the carrying means, and the rotating bodies are horizontally arranged with an interval by which the article is loaded. SOLUTION: At the feeding side final end of a carrying belt 11, respective rotating bodies 14 for an article storage part 6, are arranged at a height position which becomes horizontal with the carrying surface of the carrying belt 11. Also, respective rotating bodies 14 are freely rotatably attached, and at the same time, the total length and the diameter of each rotating body 14 are formed in a manner to be shorter and smaller than the small part of an article A, and an interval between respective rotating bodies 14 which are laterally and longitudinally arranged, is made narrower than the small part of the article A, and the respective rotating bodies 14 are arranged in a manner to be close or in contact with each other. By doing so, a step which is formed between a conveyor 4 for distribution and the rotating bodies 14, is made smaller, and the article A is surely prevented from being caught in a valley-shaped part, or being stopped, and the transfer and the aligning motion of the articles A are smoothly performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an aligning and storing apparatus used for boxing or packing articles such as oranges, apples, pears, persimmons, peaches, cucumbers, eggplants and carrots.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for temporarily storing articles in the above-described example in an aligned state in which the articles are accommodated in a box body, for example, as shown in FIG. Are sequentially transferred to the cylindrical rollers 55 of the storage conveyor 54, and the sprockets 61a, 61a and the drive chain 61b are driven by the driving force of the feed motor 60 with a speed reducer. , The cylindrical rollers 55 arranged between the chains 59 are circulated in the feed direction, and the storage conveyor 54 is moved.
Each of the articles A at the top of the progress-inhibiting member 56
Are stopped in contact with each other, and the subsequent articles A are sequentially brought into contact with each other to stop the progress, so that each of the cylindrical rollers 55 is rotated around in the feed direction while rotating, and is placed on the storage conveyor 54 at a predetermined position. There is an apparatus (Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-15887) for temporarily storing a number of articles A.

The above-described transport belt 53 is stretched between drum rolls 53a, 53a supported at the start and end portions, and each cylindrical roller 55 is connected to a sprocket supported at the start and end portions. 57, 57 and each sprocket 58,
Each of the chains 59, 59 is stretched between the chains 58 and 58, and is arranged so as to be freely rotatable between the chains 59, 59 at an interval at which the article A is placed.

[0004]

However, in the above-described apparatus, the article A is provided between the opposing surfaces of the conveyor belt 53 of the supply conveyor 52 and the cylindrical rollers 55 of the storage conveyor 54.
Are close to the transfer interval, but a large valley is formed between the facing surface of the circulating portion of the transport belt 53 and the circulating portion of each of the cylindrical rollers 55. Since the articles A tend to be caught in the valleys between the conveyors 52 and 54, and the subsequent transfer of each of the articles A... It cannot be done smoothly. And each conveyor 52, 54
Of the valley formed between the opposing surfaces of
There is a problem that a large impact is applied when the article A is sandwiched between the valleys, and the outer peripheral surface of the article A is scratched, dents, and the like, and the quality inside the article A is easily deteriorated.

Further, when the article A rotates while being sandwiched between the valleys between the conveyors 52 and 54, or after the article A sandwiched between the valleys between the conveyors 52 and 54, Are successively brought into contact with each other, and when the article A is forcibly separated from the valley portion by the contact force, scratches, dents, etc. are caused by the contact with the respective conveyors 52 and 54 or the mutual contact of the respective articles A. In some cases, a large number of defective products are easily generated.

In view of the above problems, the present invention sequentially transfers each article conveyed by the conveying means to each of the rotating bodies arranged close to the end of the conveying means. The steps formed on the surface are small, and the article transfer operation and alignment operation can be performed smoothly. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an alignment storage device capable of reducing the impact given at the time of transfer and preventing the commercial value from being impaired.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A height position that is horizontal with the transfer surface of the transfer means,
A hollow or solid rotating body is pivotally supported so as to be freely rotatable in the vicinity of an interval at which the article is transferred to the end portion of the transporting means, and the plurality of rotating bodies are separated by an interval at which the article is placed. The storage device is characterized in that it is an alignment storage device horizontally arranged in the feed direction at a distance.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, each of the articles aligned on each of the rotating bodies on the terminal side and both ends is positioned at a fixed position. It is an arrangement storage device provided with an article regulation means for regulating the arrangement.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, there is provided an alignment storage device in which the whole of the rotating body or a portion that comes into contact with an article is constituted by a buffer member. Features.

[0010] The invention according to claim 4 is the first and second inventions.
Alternatively, in combination with the configuration according to claim 3, each of the rotating bodies is formed to have a smaller diameter than a small portion of the article, and is an alignment storage device that is close to an interval narrower than that portion. And

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 1 and 2.
Alternatively, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, the present invention is characterized in that the rotating body is an alignment storage device formed to have the same or smaller diameter from one end outer peripheral surface to the other end outer peripheral surface.

The invention according to claim 6 is the first or second invention.
Alternatively, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, the present invention is characterized in that the rotating body is an aligned storage device formed in a shape having a large diameter or a small diameter from a central outer peripheral surface to both end peripheral surfaces.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an aligning and storing apparatus for sequentially transferring each article conveyed by a conveying means such as a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor to each rotating body arranged near the end of the conveying means. Therefore, the step formed between the conveying means and the rotating body is small, and it is possible to reliably prevent the articles from being caught or stagnated in the valleys, and to smoothly transfer and align the articles. I can do it. The following articles are brought into contact with the previously transferred articles, and the rotating bodies that come into contact with the articles are freely rotated, and sequentially transferred while maintaining the posture of each article. Each article can be temporarily stored in an aligned state. In addition, since each article is substantially horizontally moved from the conveying means onto the rotating body, the impact given at the time of transfer is reduced, and it is possible to reliably prevent the outer peripheral surface of the article from being scratched, dent, or the like. it can.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the alignment and storage device regulates the alignment of the articles arranged on the rotating bodies on the terminal side and both ends to a fixed position by the article regulating means. Therefore, for example, it is possible to regulate the alignment of a predetermined number of articles in a state where the articles are stored inside the box body, and the box packing operation can be easily performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first or second aspect, the arrangement and storage device of the third aspect further includes a buffering part made of, for example, synthetic rubber, soft resin, etc. Since the shock absorbing member has a function, the shock generated when the article comes into contact with the rotating body is reduced by the shock absorbing member, and it is possible to reliably prevent the outer peripheral surface of the article from being scratched, dent, or the like. it can.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first, second or third aspect, each of the rotating bodies is formed to have a smaller diameter than a small portion of the article, and has a width larger than that portion. Since the gaps are close to each other, the steps between the rotating bodies are small, so that the articles can be reliably prevented from being caught or caught between the rotating bodies, and the article can be aligned smoothly.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the function of the first, second, or third aspect, the sorting and storing apparatus transfers an article onto a rotating body formed into, for example, a cylindrical shape or a cylindrical shape. Since each article on the front and back or on the left and right comes into contact with each other, the reaction force causes each article to move horizontally along the outer peripheral surface of each rotating body in the direction of smaller contact resistance. And so on.
Also, for example, when the article is transferred onto a rotating body formed in a shape such as a conical shape, the article is shifted to the small diameter side of the rotating body,
Each article can be aligned on the small diameter side of the rotating body.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arrangement and storage device according to the first, second, or third aspect of the present invention, in which, for example, a rotating body formed into a shape such as an hourglass, a diamond, a sphere, or an ellipse Since the article is transferred to the rotating body, the smaller diameter side is lower than the larger diameter side of the rotating body, so that the article is shifted to the smaller diameter side, and the mounting position and the mounting posture of the article are stabilized. In addition, since the articles are conveyed in an aligned state while being shifted to the small diameter side of each rotating body, the articles can be stored in a state of being arranged in a line.

[0019]

According to the present invention, the rotators are arranged at a height position which is horizontal to the transfer surface of the transfer means and close to the interval at which articles are transferred to the end of the transfer means. As a result, the step formed between the conveying means and the rotating body is small, and it is possible to reliably prevent articles from being caught or stagnated in the valley portions as in the conventional example, and to transfer the articles. And the operation of aligning can be performed smoothly. In addition, since the articles are sequentially transferred while maintaining the posture of the articles, and the impact applied at the time of the transfer is reduced, the outer peripheral surface of the articles does not have scratches, dents, etc., and the commercial value is impaired. Can be prevented.

Moreover, since the articles aligned on the rotating bodies on the end side and both end sides are aligned and regulated by the article regulating member, for example, a predetermined number of articles are stored in the box body. The alignment of each article can be regulated. In addition, since the cushioning member is provided around the entire rotating body or the portion in contact with the article, the shock generated when the article comes into contact with the rotating body is reduced by the cushioning member, and the outer peripheral surface of the article is scratched or depressed. And so on can be reliably prevented.

Further, each rotating body is formed to have a smaller diameter than a small portion of the article, and is close to an interval narrower than that portion, so that a step between the rotating bodies is small, and the article between the rotating bodies is small. Can be reliably prevented from being caught or caught, and the article can be smoothly aligned. In addition, by forming the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body to have the same diameter, when the front and rear or left and right articles come into contact with each other, each article is horizontally moved in the left and right direction along the outer peripheral surface of each rotating body, and any arrangement is possible. Each article can be aligned in a state.

Further, when articles are transferred to a rotating body having a small diameter at one end or a rotating body having a large diameter or a small diameter from the center to both ends, the small diameter at one end, the center, and both ends is obtained. The goods are placed side by side, and the placement position and placement posture of the goods are stabilized, and the goods are aligned and transported while being kept close to the small diameter side of the rotating body. Can be.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The drawings show an alignment storage device for temporarily storing a large number of articles in an aligned state accommodated in a box body. In FIG. 1, the alignment storage device 1 has a large number of articles to be received. Each of the articles A is sequentially placed on each of the sorting conveyors 2, and the grade of each article A is determined by the grade determining device 3 arranged at the inspection position a on the sorting conveyor 2. Based on each sorting position b on the sorting conveyor 2,
Each of the articles A is sorted according to the same rank for each of the distribution conveyors 4 arranged in c, d, e, and f, and the nonstandard articles A are sorted for the collection conveyor 5 arranged in the sorting position g. Sort. On the other hand, the articles A... Are sequentially transferred to the article storage section 6 disposed at the feed-side end of the distribution conveyor 4, and the articles A. Body B
After being temporarily stored in an aligned state to be stored in the interior, a predetermined number of each article A ...
, And are sequentially boxed in the box B supplied to the boxing position i on the side of the same position.

The above-mentioned distribution conveyor 4 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the lower part or the side of each of the sorting positions b to f set on the sorting conveyor 2, and is supported by the drum on the feed-side start end. For example, a conveyor belt 11 formed in a flat cross-sectional shape such as a flat belt is stretched in a loop between the roll 10 and the drum roll 10 pivotally supported on the feed-side end portion, and a motor with a speed reducer (not shown) ), The transport belt 11 is rotated in the feed direction, and the articles A placed on the transport belt 11 are transported in the feed direction. At the feed-side terminal portion of the transport band 11, the rotating bodies 14 of the article storage section 7 described later are arranged at a height level that is horizontal to the transport surface of the transport band 11, and On the other hand, the rotating bodies 14 are arranged close to an interval at which the article A is transferred and narrower than an interval at which the article A is smaller.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the article storage section 6 has mounting frames 12, 1 provided on both sides thereof.
A large number of each of the spindles 13... Are suspended in parallel at predetermined regular intervals in the feed direction between the two opposing surfaces, and each of the spindles 13. The rotating bodies 14 are attached so as to be freely rotatable, and the entire length and diameter of each rotating body 14 are formed to be shorter and smaller than the small portion of the article A,
An article A is provided between the rotating bodies 14 arranged left and right and front and back.
Are close to or in contact with an interval that is narrower than the smaller portion of In addition, at the end of each of the mounting frames 12, 12, each regulating member 15 is disposed so as to face the front peripheral surface of each article A. Each of the regulating members 19, 19 is laid on the upper edge portion in parallel with the feeding direction in opposition to the side peripheral surface of each article A ... arranged on both sides.

The rotating body 14 is made of, for example, a material such as synthetic resin, metal, wood, and ceramics, and has the same outer diameter from the outer circumferential surface at one end to the outer circumferential surface at the other end. It is formed in a cylindrical shape or a cylindrical shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the entire outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 14 or the peripheral surface portion in contact with the article A is made of, for example,
It may be formed or surrounded by a cushioning member 23 having flexibility and elasticity, such as soft resin, leather, cloth, or the like. Scratches, dents and the like can be prevented.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the hollow rotating members 14 may be freely rotatably mounted on the shaft peripheral surfaces of the shafts 13. Also, the weight of the product A is reduced, and the rotation resistance is reduced. Therefore, the product A is smoothly rotated only by a slight contact, and the operation of aligning the product A can be performed smoothly.

Each of the above-mentioned restricting members 15 is provided with a screw shaft 17 fixed to the rear side of each of the restricting members 15 on a supporting plate 16 provided on the upper edge of the rear end side of each of the mounting frames 12. The nuts 18 are inserted into the direction opposite to the feed direction and are screwed and fixed to the screw shafts 17 inserted into the support plate 16, respectively. Each of the nuts 18, 18 screwed to the respective screw shafts 17...
By moving… in the direction opposite to the feed direction,
The restricting members 15 can be adjusted so that the articles A are arranged in parallel or alternately.

Each of the regulating members 19 and 19 is attached to each of the mounting frames 1.
Each of the support plates 20 erected on the upper edges of both sides of each of the screw members 21 and the respective screw shafts 21 fixed to the back side of each of the regulating members 16 and 16.
Are inserted in the direction orthogonal to the feed direction, and each nut 2 is inserted into each screw shaft 21 inserted in each support plate 20.
2 and 22 are respectively screwed and fixedly fastened. By rotating the nuts 22, 22 screwed to the screw shafts 21,...
By moving each of the restricting members 16, 16 in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction, each of the restricting members 16, 16 is moved between a wide interval in which the articles A are arranged in parallel or a narrow interval in which the articles A are alternately arranged. 16 can be scaled. In addition, the outer surfaces of the respective regulating members 15 and 19 that come into contact with the article A are formed or surrounded by the respective flexible and / or elastic buffer members 24 and 25 such as synthetic rubber, soft resin, leather, and cloth. , Each member 1
The skin of the article A peels off when it comes into contact with 5, 19,
Prevents scratches, dents, and the like on the outer peripheral surface of the article A.

As shown in FIG. 7, the above-mentioned box packing machine 7 moves the moving frame 35 back and forth between a storage position h set on the article storage section 6 and a box packing position i set on the side of the same. A predetermined number of each article A ... sucked and held by each adsorber 41 ... are packed in a box B. The moving frame 35 is mounted on each of the support rails 36, 36 provided between the storage position h and the boxing position i, and the moving cylinder 37 disposed above the boxing position i is moved between the storage position h and the boxing position i. The entire moving frame 35 is horizontally moved above the boxing position i. The lifting cylinder 38 disposed above the moving frame 35 is
The lifting frame 39 is vertically moved up and down vertically above the storage position h and above the boxing position i, and the lowering position where each article A... The articles A sucked and held by the slaves 41 are vertically moved up and down to the ascending position where the articles A are lifted above the flaps Ba.

The elevating frame 39 is formed in a size that can be inserted into the inside of the box B raised by a box elevating machine 42, which will be described later. h. At the lower end of each support tube 40, for example, a suction blower is provided at the lower end of each support tube 40. , Each of which is connected to negative pressure generating means (not shown) such as a vacuum pump. Each support tube 40 ...
Are expanded and contracted at front-rear intervals and left-right intervals facing the upper peripheral surface of each article A, and the articles A aligned at the storage position h of the article storage section 6 are sucked and held by the adsorbers 41. Each of the articles A... Adsorbed and held by the respective adsorbers 41...

The above-described box elevator 42 vertically raises and lowers the box mounting table 43 disposed below the packing position i,
The box body B is supplied to a height at which the articles A sucked and held in step 1 are stored. The box mounting table 42 has one end of the box mounting table 42 slidably engaged up and down on a screw shaft 45 vertically bearing on one lower side, and a lifting / lowering motor with a speed reducer disposed at the lower portion of the machine. The sprockets 46b, 46 are driven by the driving force of 46a.
b and the chain 46c to rotate the screw shaft 45 in the forward and reverse directions so as to be horizontal with respect to the carry-in conveyor 50 arranged in the upper stage and the carry-out conveyor 51 arranged in the lower stage, and the vertical position described later. Each of the flaps of the box B is opened by the box opening machine 47, and each of the articles A sucked and held by each of the adsorbers 41.
.. Are stored in the box B and in the raised position.
The vertical is going up and down.

The above-mentioned box opening machine 47 rotates the four opening plates 48... In the direction facing the inner wall surfaces of the flaps Ba. The flaps Ba ... of the box B are simultaneously opened. The opening / closing cylinder 49 arranged on the side of the machine has a closed position in which the opening on the upper surface side of the box B is closed, and each flap Ba of the box B.
Are opened / closed in conjunction with the open position where is slightly opened outward. And on one side of the raised position,
A carry-in conveyor 50 for transporting an empty box B supplied from a box making process (not shown) is erected, and one side of the lowering position is packed in a box packing process (not shown). An unloading conveyor 51 for transporting the box B is provided. The above-mentioned box mounting table 43 may be vertically moved up and down by, for example, a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder (not shown), or a resin or paper packaging bag (not shown) may be opened upward to open. It may be laid in the box B.

The illustrated embodiment is constructed as described above. Hereinafter, the aligning operation and the packing operation when the articles A are temporarily stored in the aligned state stored in the box B by the aligning and storing apparatus 1 will be described. explain. First, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of articles A to be received are sequentially placed on each of the sorting conveyors 2..., And the grades of the articles A. The determination is performed by the determination device 3. On the basis of the determination by the rank determining device 3, the articles A are sorted according to the rank for each of the distribution conveyors 4 arranged at the sorting positions b to f,
Nonstandard articles A are sorted and collected on the collection conveyor 5 arranged at the sorting position g.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each article A conveyed by the distribution conveyor 5 is sequentially transferred to each rotating body 14 of the article storage section 6, and is transferred first. Each article A
Next, the articles A to be transferred are abutted from behind and moved in the feed direction. At the time of transfer, the rotating bodies 14 in contact with the article A are freely rotated in the feed direction, and are smoothly moved in the feed direction while maintaining the posture of each article A. Each of the previously transferred articles A comes into contact with and stops at each of the regulating members 15 provided at the end of the article storage section 6, and each article A is provided by each of the regulating members 19 provided at both sides. Are aligned and conveyed while being shifted to the center, and a predetermined number of the respective articles A are temporarily stored in an aligned state in which the articles A are stored inside the box B.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, each adsorber 41 of the box packing machine 7 is brought into close contact with the upper peripheral surface of each of the articles A arranged at the storage position h of the article storage section 6, so that each of the adsorbers 41 is adsorbed. Each of the adsorbers 41 is held by suction by the negative pressure generated on the adsorbing surface of the adsorbers 41.
Are moved above the boxing position i while collecting the articles A sucked and held in the box B so as to be accommodated in the box B. At the same time as lifting the articles A suctioned and held by the suction elements 41, the subsequent articles A conveyed by the distribution conveyor 5 are sequentially moved to the storage position h of the article storage unit 6 and aligned.

On the other hand, the box B placed on the carry-in conveyor 50 is transferred onto the box mounting table 43 of the box elevator 42 and vertically raised, and the respective articles A sucked and held by the suckers 41 are held. After the box B is lifted and stopped at the stored height, the box opening machine 47
Box B placed on the box mounting table 43 with the respective open plates 48.
Are slightly opened outward, and each adsorber 41 is opened.
After the articles A sucked and held by ... are collectively stored in the box B, the sucking and holding by the suction pieces 41 is released, and the suction pieces 41 are returned from the boxing position i to the storage position h. As a result, the boxing work of the articles A... In the first stage is completed.

Next, the box mounting table 43 is slightly lowered to lower the box B to a height at which the next articles A are stored, and then the adsorbers 41 are stopped in the same manner as described above. Is the storage position h
Reciprocating between the boxing position i and the next-stage articles A arranged at the storage position h are adsorbed and held by the adsorbers 41, and the upper stage side inside the box B supplied to the boxing position i. In order. After storing a predetermined number of each of the articles A in the box B, the box mounting table 43 is vertically lowered, and the packed box B is transferred to the unloading conveyor 51 and placed on the unloading conveyor 51. The transported box B is transported and supplied to a sealing step (not shown). In the same manner, the boxing work of the article A is continuously performed.

As described above, each position is located at a level that is horizontal to the conveying surface of the distribution conveyor 4 and close to the interval at which the articles A are transferred to the end of the distribution conveyor 4. Since the rotating bodies 14 are arranged, a step formed between the distribution conveyor 4 and the rotating bodies 14 is small, and the article A is reliably prevented from being caught or stagnated in the valley portion as in the conventional example. Thus, the operation of transferring and aligning the articles A can be smoothly performed. In addition, since the articles A are sequentially transferred while maintaining the posture of the articles A, the packing operation can be easily performed, and the impact given at the time of the transfer is reduced, so that the outer peripheral surface of the articles A has scratches, dents, etc. It is possible to prevent the commercial value from being impaired.

Further, the articles A aligned on the rotating bodies 14 on the end side are regulated to the fixed positions by the regulating members 15, and the articles aligned on the rotating bodies 14 on both end sides. A
Are regulated in a fixed position by the regulating members 19, 19, so that a predetermined number of the articles A can be regulated in a state of being housed in the box B, and the box packing operation can be easily performed. . In addition, since the cushioning member 23 is provided around the entire rotating body 14 or the portion that comes into contact with the article A, the shock generated when the article A comes into contact with the rotating body 14 is not affected.
And it is possible to reliably prevent the outer peripheral surface of the article A from being scratched, dent, or the like.

Further, since each of the rotating bodies 14 is formed to have a smaller diameter than that of the small portion of the article A, and is close to an interval which is narrower than that portion, the step between the rotating bodies 14 is small. It is possible to reliably prevent the article A from being caught or caught between the rotary members 14..., And the article A can be smoothly aligned. Furthermore, since the outer peripheral surface of each rotating body 14 is formed to have the same diameter, when the front and rear or left and right articles A contact each other, each article A along the outer peripheral surface of each rotating body 14. Are horizontally moved in the left-right direction, the articles A can be arranged in an arbitrary arrangement state.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the rotating bodies 26 formed in a shape (for example, a drum shape) having a large diameter from the outer peripheral surface at the central portion toward the outer peripheral surfaces at both ends are arranged in the article storage section 6. 26
Since the small-diameter side is lower than the large-diameter side, the article A is moved closer to the small-diameter side of the rotating body 26, and the alignment position and the alignment posture of the article A are stabilized. In addition, since the articles A are aligned and transported while being shifted to the small diameter side of the rotating body 26, the articles A can be stored in a state of being aligned in a line.

FIG. 9 shows another example in which a rotating body 27 formed in a shape (for example, a rhombus) having a smaller diameter from the outer peripheral surface at the center to the outer peripheral surface at both ends is arranged in the article storage unit 6. Since the article A is moved closer to the small diameter side of 27 and the article A is supported by the four rotating bodies 27 arranged in the left, right and front and rear directions, the alignment position and the alignment posture of the article A are stabilized. In addition, since the articles A are conveyed in a state of being brought close to both ends of the rotating body 26, the articles A can be stored in a state of being arranged in a line. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, rotators 28 formed in a spherical shape, an elliptical shape or the like may be arranged, and the outer peripheral surfaces at both ends of the rotator 28 are smaller in diameter than the rotators 26 and 27 described above. Therefore, the article A is supported in a stable state by the four rotating bodies 28, and the displacement of the alignment position and the alignment posture of the article A can be positively prevented.

As shown in FIG. 11, the above-mentioned rotating body 26 or rotating body 27 is divided into right and left parts so that the diameter becomes smaller from the outer peripheral surface on one end side to the outer peripheral surface on the other end side (for example, a conical shape). Alternatively, by arranging the rotating bodies 26 and 27 in the state shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the same operation and effect as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment, the transporting means of the present invention corresponds to the distribution conveyor 4 of the embodiment, and similarly, the article regulating means comprises regulating members 15 and 19. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment, each of the rotating bodies 14 in contact with the article A freely rotates.
As shown in FIG. 5, an endless band 29 formed of a member having a large contact resistance such as synthetic rubber, soft resin, leather, etc. is pressed against the lower peripheral surface of each of the rotating bodies 14 and drives a motor with a speed reducer (not shown). The endless belt 29 may be rotated in the feeding direction by force, and each of the rotating bodies 14 may be rotated in the feeding direction by the contact resistance of the endless belt 29, and each of the articles A placed between the rotating bodies 13. Are positively conveyed in the feed direction, so that the operation of arranging the articles A... Can be forcibly performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the entire configuration of an alignment storage device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a storage state of articles.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a mounted state of a rotating body.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an attached state of a rotating body having a solid shape.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal side view showing a rotating body around which a buffer member is provided.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a mounted state of a rotating body having a hollow shape.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a box packing operation of the box packing machine.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing an example in which drum-shaped rotating bodies are arranged.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing an example in which diamond-shaped rotating bodies are arranged.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing an example in which spherical rotating bodies are arranged.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing an example in which conical rotating bodies are arranged.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing a rotating operation of each rotating body.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a storage operation of articles by the conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: Article B: Box h: Storage position i: Packing position 1 ... Alignment storage device 2 ... Sorting conveyor 3 ... Classification judgment device 4 ... Distribution conveyor 5 ... Collection conveyor 6 ... Article storage unit 7 ... Box packing machine 14, 26, 27, 28 rotating body 15, 19 regulating member 23, 24, 25 cushioning member 29 endless band 41 adsorber 42 box elevator 47 box opening machine

Claims (6)

[Claims] An alignment storage device for temporarily storing a large number of articles conveyed by a conveyance means in an aligned state,
A height position that is horizontal with the transfer surface of the transfer means,
A hollow or solid rotating body is pivotally supported so as to be freely rotatable in the vicinity of an interval at which the article is transferred to the end portion of the transporting means, and the plurality of rotating bodies are separated by an interval at which the article is placed. An alignment storage device that is horizontally arranged in the feed direction at a distance. 2. An alignment storage device according to claim 1, further comprising an article regulating means for opposing each article aligned on each of the rotating bodies on the end side and both end sides and regulating the alignment of each article at a fixed position. apparatus. 3. The aligning and storing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the whole of the rotating body or a portion in contact with the article is constituted by a buffer member. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the rotating bodies is formed to have a smaller diameter than a small portion of the article, and is close to an interval narrower than that portion. . 5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotating body is formed to have the same or smaller diameter from the outer peripheral surface on one end side to the outer peripheral surface on the other end side. 6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotating body is formed in a shape having a large diameter or a small diameter from a central outer peripheral surface to both end peripheral surfaces.