JPH10139139A - Container aligning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To align empty bottles crowded in many queues to a row without turning over the bottles. SOLUTION: A pusher 24 pushing out empty bottles which are surrounded by a guide member in three directions and are made into an aggregated state makes a plurality of clamping tools 29 of an aligning frame device 28 arranged adjacently to a net conveyor hold empty bottles after an elevating and lowering guide is lowered. The aligning frame device 28 is provided with a pitch changing mechanism 40 which is capable of magnifying/reducing pitch of the adjacent clamping tools 29. After the clamping tools 29 hold empty bottles, pitch is magnified. A saddle conveyor 30 having a hanging tool 36 is provided adjacently to the aligning frame device 28. A transfer plate 26 delivering empty bottles from the clamping tools 29 to the hanging tool 36 is provided. Empty bottles are successively ejected by an election hook 32 from the hanging tool 36 to a succeeding process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a state in which empty bottles (containers) made of synthetic resin for filling soft drinks and the like are densely arranged in rows on a pallet. The present invention relates to a container aligning apparatus for aligning one row at a time so that there is no gap between the rows, and then aligning one row at a time and sending it to the next process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional container aligning apparatus for achieving the above object, there is one as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-308118. This is achieved by assembling a large number of containers made of synthetic resin on a bulk pallet as shown in FIG. 8 in a plurality of rows so that there is no gap between them, and stacking these containers in multiple stages. The uppermost empty bottles are discharged from the bulk pallet by the sweeper of the bulk depalletizer in the assembled state, and have a “Y” -shaped transport path, and are arranged in parallel and in series. It is transferred to a column number changing device (see FIG. 11 of the publication), and in one column number changing device,
By changing (decreasing) the number of rows of empty bottles from two rows to one row, and repeating this sequentially in the serial direction, initially, a plurality of rows (one in the embodiment) are paid out from the bulk depalletizer.
The empty bottles (3 or 14 rows) are finally arranged in one row. In addition, as containers made of synthetic resin to be aligned, in addition to the conventional three sizes of 1 liter, 1.5 liter (see FIG. 7B), and 2 liters, A 0.5 liter small capacity bottle (see FIG. 7 (a)) was approved for use as a soft drink container. The 0.5-liter synthetic resin bottle has a standard (the outer diameter of the screw portion is 28 mm) of the mouthpiece portion of the conventional three types of bottles. Therefore, when the ratio from the bottom of the bottle to the position of the center of gravity with respect to the total height of the empty bottle (center of gravity position ratio) is 0.5 liter, the center of gravity position ratio is closest to "1" (that is, the center of gravity of the empty bottle). Position is closest to the mouth). This means that among the 0.5 to 2 liter synthetic resin empty bottles, the one with 0.5 liter is most likely to fall.

[0003]

As shown in FIG. 4 of the above-mentioned publication, the conventional container aligning apparatus as described above includes a number of row changing devices for aligning the containers in parallel and in series. Since the bottles need to be arranged, such as a 0.5 liter size, the size of the bottle is smaller than that of the conventional three sizes, and the number of rows arranged on the bulk pallet is larger than before. In this case, the number of the row number changing devices increases in the parallel direction, and accordingly, the number of the row number changing devices also increases in the serial direction. Therefore, there is a problem that the devices become large in the width direction and the longitudinal direction. Also, as described above, when handling an empty bottle made of synthetic resin having a large center-of-gravity position ratio such as a 0.5-liter size, the empty bottle easily falls over during the container alignment operation, so that the efficiency of the alignment operation is reduced. There is another problem that it is difficult to improve. An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a container discharged from a bulk pallet in an assembled state densely arranged in a large number of rows and columns is fixed by a fixed positioning guide and a movable guide while maintaining the assembled state. In this state, all the containers are delivered to an aligning apparatus having the same number of grips as the number of rows and the row of containers is sequentially sent out from the grips to the saddle conveyor. Resolve. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, containers (50) discharged from a bulk pallet (10) loaded with a large number of empty containers (empty bottles 50) onto a conveyor (net conveyor 16) are aligned. Then, in the container aligning device for sending out to a subsequent process, a positioning guide (18) which is arranged around the conveyor (16) and is fixed at a predetermined position, and a movable guide which can be respectively protruded and retracted from the net conveyor (16). 20),
And a plurality of containers (50) positioned on the conveyor (16) with the plurality of guide members (18, 20 and 22) on the conveyor (16) by a predetermined number of bottles. A pusher (24) for extruding all in a predetermined direction while maintaining the number of bottle rows.
And the container (50) can be hung and held by being fitted to the mouth jaw of the extruded container (50), and the same number of gripping tools (29) as the number of bottles, and between the gripping tools (29) An alignment frame device (28) having a pitch changing mechanism (40) capable of increasing and decreasing the pitch; and a transfer plate disposed below the alignment frame device (28) and movable along the gripper (29). (26) and a container (50) having the same number of hanging tools (36) as the number of gripping tools (29), which can be suspended and held by being fitted to the mouth jaw of the container (50). Conveyor (tact-feed type saddle conveyor 30) capable of transporting while suspending and holding the above.
A dispensing hook (32) for sequentially dispensing the container (50) from the saddle conveyor (30) to the subsequent process;
Are provided, and the transfer plate (2) is provided.
6) The container (50) suspended and held by the gripper (29) of the alignment frame device (28) is extruded by the movement and delivered to the suspension (36) of the saddle conveyor (30). It is characterized by being constituted. In a container aligning apparatus for aligning containers discharged from a bulk pallet loaded with a large number of empty containers onto a conveyor and sending the containers to a subsequent process, the containers are arranged around the conveyor. A set of guide members fixed to a predetermined position, a movable guide which can be moved in and out of the conveyor, and an elevating guide, and a predetermined number of bottles on the conveyor with the set of guide members. A plurality of containers positioned in the above, a pusher for extruding the containers in a predetermined direction in a lump while maintaining the number of bottles, and a container capable of hanging and holding the containers by fitting to the mouth jaws of the extruded containers. The same number of gripping tools, and a pitch changing mechanism capable of expanding and reducing the pitch between the gripping tools, and the container is suspended and held in the horizontal direction. Transfer and possible with the aligning frame apparatus of is characterized by having a successively paying out payout hook containers from said alignment frame device to the subsequent step. Furthermore, the gripper (2)
9) is provided with an elevating mechanism (elevating screw jack 62) for elevating. In addition,
Reference numerals and the like in parentheses indicate corresponding members of the embodiment.

[0005]

The container 50 for one stage is sent out from the bulk pallet 10 onto the conveyor 16 by the sweeper 12 in a collective state. These containers 50 placed on the conveyor 16 are provided with a positioning guide 18 and a movable guide 2 in a protruding state.
0, the ascending / descending guide 22 and the pusher 24 at the ascending position are positioned at a predetermined position on the mounting surface while being surrounded on four sides and in an assembled state. Therefore, the container 50 is positioned without falling down. Next, after the elevating guide 22 is lowered, the pusher 24 is operated, and the container 50 is suspended and held by the plurality of grippers 29 of the alignment frame device 28 adjacent to the conveyor 16. Next, the pitch changing mechanism 40 of the alignment frame device 28 enlarges the pitch between the grippers 29. This prevents the containers 50 in the adjacent rows from interfering with each other during the movement and being shaken or damaged. In this state, the gripper 29 is raised according to the height of the suspender 36 of the adjacent saddle conveyor 30, and stands by at the delivery position. When the saddle conveyor 30 stops at a predetermined position, the transfer plate 26 operates to transfer the container 50 from the gripper 29 to the suspension device 36. In a state where the container 50 is suspended and held by the suspenders 36, the saddle conveyor 30 starts to convey, and one suspender 36 is moved to the succeeding air conveyor 34.
Stop at the position facing. Container 50 is dispensing hook 3
2 and is sent to the air conveyer 34 in a state of being sequentially arranged in a single row from the hanging tool. As described above, the saddle conveyor 30 repeats the transportation and the stop, and the containers 50 are removed from all the suspenders 36 by the air conveyor 34.
Will be sent to As a result, the large number of containers 50 placed on the conveyor 16 are all aligned in one row and sent out to the subsequent process. During these steps, the next set of containers 50 is sent from the bulk pallet 10 onto the conveyor 16 by the sweeper 12, and the containers 50 are delivered to the gripper 29 having a reduced pitch.
The same steps as described above are repeated, and the holding tool 29 stands by at the delivery position with the container 50 suspended and held. Next, when the saddle conveyor 30 returns to a predetermined position and stops, the container 50 is transferred from the gripping tool 29 to the hanging tool 36. In this way, all the containers 50 on the bulk pallet 10 are arranged in one row and sent to the subsequent process. In the operation of the second aspect, the saddle conveyor is not provided, but instead, an alignment frame device having a gripper and capable of transferring the gripper in the lateral direction is provided, and the transfer plate is not provided. Except that the empty bottle is directly sent from the net conveyor to the gripper of the alignment frame device by the pusher, while the container held by the gripper is directly discharged to the air conveyor by the discharge hook. 1
Is the same as the action of According to the third aspect, the height of the jaws to be gripped differs depending on the size of the container 50 placed on the conveyor 16. Therefore, the height direction position of the gripper 29 is changed according to the size of the container 50. The adjustment is performed by the lifting mechanism 62. Thereby, even if the size of the containers 50 to be aligned is changed, the alignment operation can be performed subsequently.

[0006]

1 (a) to 1 (d) show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view. 1 and 2, a support frame 60, a screw jack 62 for lifting and lowering, a lifting frame 64, and the like, which will be described later, are not shown. For convenience of description, other than the container alignment device of the present invention, Peripheral devices such as a bulk pallet 10, a net conveyor (conveyor) 16, and an air conveyor 34 are also shown. A large number of empty bottles (containers) 50 are placed on the bulk pallet 10 so that there is no gap between them.
They are arranged in a densely packed state in columns in the middle and left and right directions and rows in the up and down direction, and these are stacked in multiple stages in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface. A partition plate (not shown) is provided between the steps. A sweeper 12 is disposed behind the bulk pallet 10 (upward in the figure).
It is movable in the front-back direction (vertical direction in the figure). The large number of empty bottles 50 of the bulk pallet 10
Is paid out to the container aligning device of the present invention. The container alignment device is provided with the net conveyor 16.
Is fixedly arranged at the lower end side of the container mounting surface 17 in the drawing,
A positioning guide 18 for positioning the empty bottle 50 on the container mounting surface 17, a movable guide 20 that can protrude and retract from the container mounting surface 17, and a right end side of the net conveyor 16 in FIG.
A lifter 22 provided to be able to protrude and retract from the container mounting surface 17, and a pusher 24 that collectively pushes the empty bottle 50 positioned at a predetermined position by the guide members 18, 20, and 22 in a predetermined direction. The alignment frame device 28 having the same number of gripping tools 29 as the number of bottles that hang and hold the empty bottle 50 by being fitted to the mouth jaw of the empty bottle 50, the transfer plate 26 from which the empty bottle 50 is discharged, It has a tact-feed type saddle conveyor 30 for receiving empty bottles 50, and a dispensing hook 32 for sending empty bottles 50 from the saddle conveyor 30 to an air conveyor 34 in the next process.

Hereinafter, these devices and members will be described in detail. A net conveyor 16 is arranged at a lower portion of the bulk pallet 10 in FIG. A positioning guide (guide member) 18 fixed to the lower part of the figure is provided slightly above the container mounting surface 17 of the net conveyor 16 (on the front side of the paper in the figure), and a movable guide (guide member) is provided above the figure. 20), and an elevating guide 22 is arranged on the right end side of the net conveyor 16 in the figure. The positioning guide 18 is fixed to a fixed portion of the net conveyor 16.
Can be moved (projected / immersed) in the vertical direction in the figure, and is positioned at the immersion position when the sweeper 12 pays out. The empty bottle 50 for one stage paid out on the net conveyor 16 by the sweeper 12 is:
After the sweeper 12 is retracted, the sweeper 12 is sandwiched between the movable guide 20 protruding from the container mounting surface 17 of the net conveyor 16 and the positioning guide 18. Further, with respect to a direction orthogonal to this, a state in which the pusher 24 is sandwiched between the pusher 24 which is located at the illustrated standby position and the elevating guide 22 which is standby at the restricted position protruding from the container mounting surface 17. Become. Thus, it is possible to position a large number of empty bottles 50 at predetermined positions on the container mounting surface 17 in a state of being surrounded by four walls. Net conveyor 1
6, a pusher 24 is disposed on the left side in the drawing.
The pusher 24 is movable rightward from the illustrated standby position. The elevating guide 22 is movable between a regulation position shown in the figure and a regulation release position below the regulation position. The pusher 24 and the elevating guide 22 are controlled in synchronization with each other. That is, when the elevating guide 22 is at the regulation position shown in the drawing, the pusher 24 is prohibited from moving rightward in the drawing, but it has descended from the container placement surface 17 of the net conveyor 16 from the shown position. When in the restriction release position, the pusher 24 is allowed to move rightward in the drawing. When paying out by the sweeper 12, the movable guide 20
Is in the immersion position (the position immersed from the container mounting surface 17) which does not hinder the movement of the empty bottle 50 as described above. Therefore, three walls are formed and one surface in the direction of the sweeper 12 is opened. In this state, the sweeping operation of the sweeper 12 and the return to the original position are performed, and then the movable guide 20 is projected from the container mounting surface 17 to re-form the four walls. At the time of positioning by the pusher 24 and the set of guide members 18, 20, 22, the empty bottle 50 does not fall over and the empty bottle 50 does not drop from each end of the net conveyor 16.

[0008] An alignment frame device 28 having the same number of holding tools 29 as the number of empty bottles 50 is arranged adjacent to the right side of the net conveyor 16 in the drawing. That is, as described above, one of the four walls in the direction of the alignment frame device 28 is open, and the transfer plate 2
6 is located at the lower standby position, and the pusher 24
Is moved rightward in the drawing, the empty bottle 50 is moved from the net conveyor 16 to the plurality of grippers 29 of the alignment frame device 28.
It is to be delivered at the same time. Gripper 2
Reference numeral 9 has a groove capable of suspending and holding the container 50 by being fitted to the mouth jaw of the empty bottle 50. In addition, the gripper 29
As described in detail later, the pitch changing mechanism 40
The pitch between adjacent gripping tools 29 can be changed by (see FIG. 3C).

In the case of empty bottles 50 having a circular cross section, when a plurality of bottles are densely packed so as to have the smallest occupied area, a line connecting the centers of the bottles as shown in FIG. Are arranged so as to form a straight line on the left and right in the figure. In the vertical direction in the figure, the lines connecting the centers of the bottles are staggered. That is, an empty bottle 5 having a circular cross section
In a state where 0s are densely packed, it is not possible to move only one row of the empty bottles 50 held by the gripper 29 in the row direction (the horizontal direction in FIG. 8B) while maintaining the dense state. (For example, in the case of the second column, the first column and the third column interfere with each other.
It is not possible to move only those in the column in the left-right direction and extract them from the set). Also, in the case of a rectangular cross section, if only one row is moved from the dense state, it may interfere with another row and shake or damage the other empty bottle 50. There is. After all, in order to align and move the empty bottles 50 held by the grippers 29 without interfering with the adjacent bottles in the empty bottles 50 of any cross-sectional shape, the interval between the rows is increased. Action will be required.

Next, a mechanism for performing such a widening operation will be described. As shown in a schematic structure in FIG. 1C, the distance between the grippers 29 can be changed by a pitch changing mechanism 40. This allows
If the pitch between the gripping tools 29 in a state where the empty bottle 50 is suspended and supported is widened, the empty bottle 50 can be discharged from the gripping tool 29 without being disturbed by the empty bottle 50 of the adjacent gripping tool 29. Becomes possible. As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a fixed support base 60, an electric lifting screw jack 62 attached thereto, a rectangular frame-shaped lifting frame 64 screwed to the screw portion of the mounting frame, and a frame member opposed thereto. It has a slide shaft 66, and the gripper 29 is supported by the above-mentioned slide shaft 66 via a slide bearing 37 fixedly penetrating therethrough so as to be slidable in the left-right direction in the figure. By driving the lifting screw jack (elevating mechanism) 62, the gripper 2
9 to receive the empty bottle 50 from the net conveyor 16
It is possible to adjust the height position according to the size of the saddle conveyor 30 and to adjust the height position according to the hanging device 36 of the subsequent saddle conveyor 30. The pitch changing mechanism 40 includes a motor 41 attached to the elevating frame 64 described above, a screw shaft 42 connected to a rotating part of the motor 41, a screw member 43 engaged with the motor 41 and fixed to an upper portion of the gripper 29, and An accordion-type link mechanism 44 for sequentially connecting adjacent gripping tools 29 is provided. By driving a motor 41, the pitch between the gripping tools 29 can be changed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, when the empty bottles 50 in the adjacent rows interfere with each other in a state where the empty bottles 50 are transferred from the net conveyor 16 to the gripping tools 29 of the alignment frame device 28, the pitch between the gripping tools 29 is reduced. The width can be widened in the left-right direction in the figure by an amount corresponding to the size of the empty bottles 50 so as not to interfere with the empty bottles 50 in the adjacent row.

As shown in FIG. 1D, the alignment frame device 28
A transfer plate 26 is arranged below the figure so as to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions in the figure. The transfer plate 26 moves rightward in the drawing at a position (operation position) shown in the upper part of FIG.
The empty bottle 50 suspended and supported by the gripper 29 of the alignment frame device 28 can be pressed so as to escape from the gripper 29.

In FIG. 1A, a tact-feed type saddle conveyor 30 is disposed adjacent to the right side of the alignment frame device 28. The saddle conveyor 30 includes an alignment frame device 28.
Hanging devices 3 of the same number and substantially the same shape as the gripping devices 29 of FIG.
6 are provided. The hanging tool 36 is, as described above,
It is possible to receive and support the empty bottle 50 that has escaped from the gripper 29 by the transfer plate 26 and suspend it.

As shown in FIG. 5, the suspending device 36 is conveyed in the direction of the air conveyor 34, which is the next step, by driving the saddle conveyor 30, and is stopped at a predetermined position. By being driven, the empty bottles 50 suspended and held by one suspending device 36 are paid out to the succeeding air conveyor 34, and the same operation is repeated, and the empty bottles 50 are removed from all the suspending devices 36. Is paid out to the air conveyor 34. The payout hooks 32 are attached to a plurality of belts 35 (two in the embodiment), and the belt 35 is driven to rotate by a pulley 33.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When paying out by the sweeper 12, the movable guide 20
Is retracted to an immersion position that does not hinder the dispensing operation, the elevating guide 22 projects to the regulating position, and the pusher 24 is moved to a standby position at one end of the container mounting surface 17 of the net conveyor 16. I'm waiting. The positioning guide 18, the elevating guide 22, and the pusher 24 form three wall surfaces on the container mounting surface 17 of the net conveyor 16.
With the surface open, the empty bottle 50 is dispensed from the bulk pallet 10 by the sweeper 12 (the sweeper 12 moves from the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the virtual line).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, the bottle is supplied to the net conveyor 16 (the empty bottle 50 is paid out). After the payout, the sweeper 12 retreats from the position indicated by the virtual line in FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the solid line. The bulk pallet 10 is raised by one step height by a lift mechanism (not shown). Next, the partition plate (not shown) is removed from the bulk pallet 10 by a robot device (not shown). Following the payout operation, the movable guide 20 that repeats the operations of “exiting (projecting)” and “pulling (immersing)” projects from the container mounting surface 17 and is located at the regulation position, as shown in FIG. As a result, the empty bottle 50 on the container mounting surface 17 of the net conveyor 16 is surrounded by four walls. Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the elevating guide 22 that repeats the operations of “up (up)” and “down (down)” is immersed (down) from the container mounting surface 17 to the open position. By positioning, one of the walls surrounding the empty bottle 50 is opened. Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, the pusher 24 that repeats the operations of “exit” and “pull” performs a protruding operation, whereby the empty bottle 50 is pushed out. d) It is delivered to the holding tool 29 waiting at the receiving position (down position) indicated by the solid line. Thereafter, the pusher 24 retracts and waits at a predetermined position. Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (e), the “up” and “down” are performed by the lifting screw jack 62.
The gripper 29 of the alignment frame device 28 that repeats the above operation is raised from the above-described receiving position, and is positioned at the delivery position indicated by a virtual line in FIG. FIG. 6
As shown in (f), the gripper 29 of the alignment frame device 28 that repeats the operation of “opening (widening)” and “shrinking (narrowing)” by the pitch changing mechanism 40 is replaced with the saddle conveyor 30.
The width is increased in accordance with the mounting pitch of the suspenders 36. Next, as shown in FIG. 7G, the transfer plate 26 which repeats the operations of “up” and “down” and the operation of “forward” and “back” respectively as shown in FIG. After ascending, the empty bottle 50 is pushed out from the gripper 29 by moving forward, and delivered to the suspender 36. Thereafter, the transfer plate 26 retreats and descends and waits at a predetermined position. Next, as shown in FIG. 10 (j), the saddle conveyor 30 that repeats the operations of “ON (moving)” and “OFF (stop)” moves a predetermined distance and then stops. That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, one of the suspenders 36 stops at a position facing the air conveyor 34. Next, FIG.
As shown in (k), “ON (movement)” and “OFF”
When the payout hook 32 that repeats the operation of “(stop)” moves a predetermined distance, all the empty bottles 50 held by one suspending tool 36 are paid out to the air conveyor 34. Thereafter, the payout hook 32 is stopped and stands by at a predetermined position. Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the empty bottles 50 are sent from the air conveyor 34 to the next step in a state of being arranged in a line by being blown from the air duct inside the air conveyor 34. Will be. As described above, the suspending device 36 that suspends and holds the empty bottle 50 is
The empty bottles 50 are sequentially sent to a position facing the air conveyor 34, and the empty bottle 50 is
4 is repeated, and when all the suspenders 36 are empty, the saddle conveyor 30 returns to the original receiving position. While the payout by the payout hook 32 is being performed, the next group of empty bottles 50 is
2 to bulk conveyor 10 to net conveyor 16
Will be paid to. In addition, each gripper 29 of the alignment frame device 28 returns to the initial narrow position and the lowered position, and a group of empty bottles 50 is sent to the gripper 29 by the pusher 24. Further, the gripper 29 is moved to the rising position and the widening position at the time of delivery and becomes a standby state, and thereafter, such an operation is repeated, so that the empty bottles 50 in the aggregated state densely arranged in a large number of columns and rows. They will be sent out in a line.

In the description of the above embodiment,
According to the first aspect, the alignment frame device 28 having the gripper 29 and the suspender 36 are provided separately. However, when the speed of processing the empty bottle 50 may be relatively low, According to the second aspect of the present invention, the gripper 29 and the suspender 36 may also be used. That is, the saddle conveyor is not provided, and instead, a gripping tool 29 is provided, and an alignment frame device 28 capable of laterally transferring (tact feeding) is provided. Further, the transfer plate 26 is not provided, and the pusher 24 is used. Net conveyor 1
While the empty bottle 50 is fed directly from 6 into the gripper 29 of the alignment frame device 28, the empty bottle 50 held by the gripper 29 may be directly discharged to the air conveyor 34 by the discharge hook 32. In this case, it is necessary to perform the widening / narrowing of the gripping tools 29, the movement in the direction of the air conveyor 34, and the like by one device, and the empty bottles 50 held by all the gripping tools 29 are paid out to the air conveyor 34. After that, the narrow width of the gripper 29 and the positioning with respect to the net conveyor 16 are performed, and then the empty bottle 50 is fed into the gripper 29 by the pusher 24. Therefore, the configuration as described in the embodiment, that is, the alignment frame device 28
And the saddle conveyor 30 are separately provided, and the next processing is performed by the gripper 29 of the alignment frame device 28 until all the empty bottles 50 are completely discharged from the hanging device 36 of the saddle conveyor 30 to the air conveyor 34. Although a predetermined number of empty bottles 50 to be suspended are suspended, and the processing speed is somewhat slower than in the case where the empty bottles 50 are on standby in a state where they can be delivered to the suspension device 36 (the first embodiment), The device can be smaller and less expensive.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, even an empty bottle having a high center of gravity and a shape that is easy to fall over is arranged in a row without falling over and at a higher speed than before. be able to. Further, in the case of the configuration according to the second aspect, the processing speed of the apparatus is somewhat lower than that of the first aspect, but the apparatus can be made smaller and less expensive. Furthermore, in the case of the third aspect, even if the empty bottle aligning operation is switched to an empty bottle having a different height from that before, the empty bottle aligning operation can be performed subsequently. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a plan view of the entirety, FIG. 1B is a front view of a saddle conveyor, and FIG. 1C is a schematic front view of a pitch changing mechanism. FIG. 3D is a side view of the whole.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a pitch changing mechanism of the alignment frame device.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an overlapping state of empty bottles before a pitch between grippers is widened.

5A and 5B are views showing the arrangement around the saddle conveyor, wherein FIG. 5A is a partial perspective view, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the air conveyor.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are time charts, wherein FIG. 6A shows the operation timing of the net conveyor, FIG. 6B shows the operation timing of the movable guide, and FIG. (D) shows the operation timing of the pusher, (e) shows the elevation timing of the alignment frame device, and (f) shows the pitch of the alignment frame device. FIG. 7 (g) is a diagram showing the operation timing of moving up and down the transfer plate, FIG. 7 (h) is a diagram showing the operation timing of traveling of the transfer plate, and FIG. 7 (j) is a diagram showing the saddle conveyor. And (k) shows the operation timing of the payout hook.

7A and 7B are diagrams comparing the sizes of empty bottles, wherein FIG. 7A shows the size of a 0.5 liter bottle, and FIG.
It is a figure showing the size of a 5 liter bottle.

8A and 8B are views showing a bulk pallet, wherein FIG. 8A is a perspective view and FIG. 8B is a plan view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 16 Net Conveyor (Conveyor) 18 Positioning Guide (Guide Member) 20 Movable Guide (Guide Member) 22 Elevating Guide (Guide Member) 24 Pusher 26 Transfer Plate 28 Alignment Frame Device 29 Gripping Tool 30 Saddle Conveyor 32 Dispensing Hook 36 Hanging Tool 40 pitch changing mechanism 50 empty bottle (container) 62 screw jack for elevating (elevating mechanism)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A container aligning apparatus for aligning containers discharged from a bulk pallet loaded with a large number of empty containers onto a conveyor and sending the containers to a subsequent process, wherein the containers are arranged around the conveyor and are located at predetermined positions. 1 consisting of a fixed positioning guide, a movable guide which can be moved in and out of the conveyor, and an elevating guide
A set of guide members, and a plurality of containers positioned on the conveyor with a predetermined number of bottles with the one set of guide members, and a pusher that collectively pushes the containers in a predetermined direction while maintaining the number of bottles, An alignment frame device having the same number of gripping tools as the number of bottles, and a pitch changing mechanism capable of expanding and reducing the pitch between the gripping tools, wherein the container can be suspended and held by being fitted to the mouth jaw of the extruded container. And a transfer plate disposed below the alignment frame device and movable along the gripping tool. The container can be suspended and held by being fitted to the mouth jaw of the container, and the same number of suspensions as the number of bottle rows can be suspended. A saddle conveyor having a tool and capable of transporting the container in a suspended state, and a dispensing hook for sequentially discharging the container from the saddle conveyor to the subsequent process. A transfer plate configured to push out the container suspended and held by the gripper of the alignment frame device by the movement and to deliver the container to the suspension device of the saddle conveyor. . 2. A container aligning apparatus for aligning containers delivered from a bulk pallet loaded with a large number of empty containers onto a conveyor and sending the containers to a subsequent process, wherein the containers are arranged around the conveyor and are located at predetermined positions. 1 consisting of a fixed positioning guide, a movable guide which can be moved in and out of the conveyor, and an elevating guide
A set of guide members, and a plurality of containers positioned on the conveyor with a predetermined number of bottles with the one set of guide members, and a pusher that collectively pushes the containers in a predetermined direction while maintaining the number of bottles, The container has a gripper having the same number of bottles as the number of bottles, and a pitch changing mechanism capable of expanding and reducing the pitch between the grippers, the container being capable of being suspended and held by being fitted to the mouth jaw of the extruded container, And a dispensing hook for sequentially dispensing containers from the alignment frame device to the subsequent process. apparatus. 3. The container aligning device according to claim 1, further comprising an elevating mechanism for elevating the holding tool.