JPH1072014A - Adsorber for holding object in a manner of suspension and device for packing object in box by using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to hold an object by suction while it is being held in a tilted state by virtue of a simple constitution. SOLUTION: A cylindrical body part 301 is formed of an elastic material and, having a bellowslike structure, easily deformable upward and downward. This cylindrical body part 301 constitutes a suction device 3 which under a negative pressure supplied from above holds by suction an object P attracted tightly to an opening at a skirt-shaped lower end part 303. The cylindrical body part 301, provided in part with a rib part 304 circumferentially, develops the vertical deformability unevenly circumferentially.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to tomato, eggplant,
A transfer adsorber (adsorption holder) that adsorbs and holds agricultural products such as cucumbers, persimmons and apples, confectionery and other foods, or articles such as relatively small small packages from a standby position and transfers them to a predetermined destination. ), And a boxing device using the adsorber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as means for transferring articles for packing in a box or the like, the articles are sucked and held by negative pressure, lifted up, moved to a predetermined position in the sucked and held state, and suspended to release suction. There is known an article transfer device provided with an adsorber suspending tool for performing a series of operations described above. In general, a resin type or a bellows type is known.

[0003] For example, bellows-type adsorbents are capable of adsorbing and holding an article in a horizontal posture before adsorption by the bellows contracting uniformly in the vertical and vertical directions when the article is adsorbed. The mold adsorber is also capable of adsorbing and holding articles in the same horizontal posture due to its cup shape and elasticity.
In any case, there is a feature that the box can be packed in a stable posture when packed in a box while maintaining the horizontal posture at the time of lifting.

[0004] Considering the case where articles are packed in a box at a time in the form of a matrix, a staggered pattern, or the like using the adsorbent hanging tool having such an adsorbent, the adsorbents are arranged vertically and horizontally. For example, a device having an adsorbent hanging device configured to have a total of 14 or 16 (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-568)
JP, JP-A-63-44411, JP-B-56-
In Japanese Patent No. 32169), articles inserted into the box at a time are in close contact with each other and regulate each other's movement, thereby providing an advantage that the posture of each article at the time of packing is stabilized. Therefore, in this case, stable packing can be performed without using a tray pack in which an insertion recess is formed for each article.

[0005] However, in a box packing apparatus for transferring articles such as ball-shaped fruits and vegetables one by one or one row at a time, if the above-mentioned tray pack is not used, the articles are hung down to release the suction. As shown by 15, there is a possibility that the spherical article P rolls in the box 5. This problem cannot be ignored because citrus fruits and tomatoes are actually packed in a box without using a tray pack.

As a countermeasure for eliminating the above-mentioned problem when transferring such easily rolled ball-shaped fruits and vegetables, for example, the boxes are slightly inclined to stand by, and the boxes are packed one by one sequentially from the lower side of the inclined boxes. Thus, the problem of rolling of fruits and vegetables packed in boxes one by one can be solved.

Although this is not a countermeasure for easy rolling, instead of tilting the box, a box packing device in which the suction holding posture of the article sucked by the suction element is forcibly tilted is proposed. 3-81803). This device is effective, for example, when packing a confectionery or the like in a box in an oblique posture, and inserts a tray pack in which the bottom surface of each receiving portion is inclined into a box container, so that it fits in each receiving portion. In order to incline the article, a contact piece with which the article is engaged is provided on the side of the adsorber so that the suction holding posture is forcibly inclined.

[0008]

However, the above-mentioned box packing device of the type in which boxes are packed obliquely is effective for preventing rolling when packing fruits and vegetables etc. line by line. Because the goods are in a horizontal position, the packing state of the goods is oblique, and the center of the fruits and vegetables is displaced by the amount of the inclination of the box (for example, the center of the letter is slightly laterally shifted), and the appearance of the packed state is poor. There's a problem.

[0009] In addition, a box packing device having a contact piece forcibly tilting the suction position of an article on the side of the adsorber has a problem that, when a perishable fruit or vegetable is used, the fruit or the like is damaged by engagement with the contact piece. In addition, since the size and shape of the same kind of fruits and vegetables are various, the problem that the inclination posture due to engagement with the hitting piece is not constant is caused, and the position of the hitting piece is adjusted depending on the type of the article to be sucked and held. There is also a problem that must be done. In addition, there is a problem that the structure of the lifting device of the adsorber becomes complicated because the hitting piece is assembled around the adsorber, and a large number of adsorbers are packed in a box at a time in a dense form such as a matrix or a staggered shape. It is unsuitable as a hanging tool because the hitting piece interferes.

The present invention can solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional apparatus, and has a simple structure for tilting and sucking and suspending an article, and a packing apparatus using the same. The purpose of this is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adsorbent capable of always adsorbing and hanging an article such as a fruit or vegetable to be adsorbed and suspended in a fixed inclination posture, and a boxing device using the adsorber. There.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an adsorbent which can be easily and inexpensively manufactured because of its simple structure, and a boxing device using this adsorber.

[0013]

The features of the present invention to achieve the above-mentioned object are described in the respective claims of the present invention. A cylindrical body made of an elastic material such as a synthetic resin is a bellows type or cup type structure that is easily deformable in the vertical direction, and is an adsorber that adsorbs and holds an article that is in close contact with the lower end opening by supplying negative pressure from above. The bellows-type or cup-type cylindrical body is formed such that the deformability in the vertical direction is not uniform in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body.

According to the present invention, by making the deformability of the cylindrical body in the circumferential direction non-uniform, the easily deformable portion is greatly deformed when the article is attracted by the negative pressure, while the article is hardly deformed in the hardly deformable portion. Since the deformation is small even during negative pressure suction, the suction element is gradually deformed by bringing the suction element into contact with the article waiting in the horizontal position to apply the negative pressure, and the deformation causes the article to be suctioned in an inclined position. Can be held. In addition, if the suction element holding the article by suction is moved to a predetermined transfer position and then the article is hung and the negative pressure action is released, the deformation of the suction element is restored and the suction can be released. ,
At this time, if the surface on which the article is hung is a horizontal surface, the suction can be released in a horizontal posture, and if the hung surface is an inclined surface substantially matching the inclination posture of the suction holding, the posture along the inclined surface Then, if a part of the article is overlapped with an adjacent article, the suction can be released in a state of being inclinedly overlapped.

In order to make the deformability of the cylindrical body uneven in the circumferential direction, a method of partially changing the wall thickness of the cylindrical body, a method of partially providing a rib between bellows in the bellows type, and the like are mentioned. The unevenness can be imparted to the cylinder itself, or another member may be assembled.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the means for making the deformability of the cylindrical body in the vertical direction non-uniform in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body is controlled by restricting the shrinkage in the vertical direction of the cylindrical body. Characterized in that it is a shrinkage restricting means provided in a part of.

An example of such a shrinkage restricting means is to provide a rib between bellows which is not substantially compressed in the vertical direction.

According to the present invention, the unevenness of the cylindrical body can be easily provided, and the inclination of the article is made constant around the lower end of the portion provided with the shrinkage restricting means, and the article is provided in a stabilized manner. Can be.

According to the invention of claim 3 of the present application, the shrinkage restricting means for restricting the shrinkage of the cylindrical body in the vertical direction is provided only on the upper side in the vertical direction of the cylindrical body, and the lower side is the entirety of the cylindrical body. The circumference is configured as an easily deformable portion.

According to the present invention, the adhesion of the adsorber when adsorbing an article can be sufficiently ensured by the easily deformable portion of the entire lower part of the cylindrical body. Can be secured by the shrinkage restricting means.

The invention of claim 4 of the present application is characterized in that the shrinkage restricting means is molded as a shrinkage restricting portion integral with a cylindrical body made of an elastic material.

According to the present invention, the shrinkage restricting portion can be formed simultaneously with the molding of rubber, synthetic resin, or the like. Therefore, in addition to the function as the adsorber, the function of holding the inclined suction of the article due to the unevenness is provided. It is possible to mass-produce the adsorbents that are combined.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a box packing device for aligning a plurality of articles and waiting, a box waiting section for holding a box container filled with articles in an open state, and waiting for the pool section. The suctioned articles are sucked and held by a plurality of adsorbers, each of which is lifted by being addressed to one of them, and moved to a box standby section to be inserted into the box to release the suction, a pool section of the articles and a box standby of the articles. Means for moving the adsorber suspending tool between the sections, wherein the adsorbent suspending tool has a plurality of adsorbers having the above-described configuration arranged in a line or vertically and horizontally at a lower portion thereof. According to the present invention, the adsorbent hanging tool has the adsorbents in a line in that the shrinkage restricting means provided on the cylinder of each of the adsorbers is aligned at a fixed position in the circumferential direction. In such a case, a row of articles must be tilted in It is possible to collectively transfer the objects by lifting them up, moving them to a box container, and releasing the adsorption, and by repeating this, a predetermined number of articles can be packed in a box in a matrix in a matrix. Further, when the adsorbent suspending tool has the adsorbents arranged in rows and columns, a plurality of articles can be collectively transferred and packed in a box.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the box standby portion, the box container is inclined to stand by with respect to a horizontal plane, or the box container in which the concave portions for insertion of the respective articles form independent inclined bottom surfaces. It is characterized by making it.

According to the present invention, in the method in which the box container is inclined to stand by, the articles that are suction-held in an inclined state are collectively packed in the box container that has been inclined and waited so as to substantially match the inclination. be able to. Further, in a system in which a box container formed by inserting and inserting a tray pack or the like is made to stand by so that the insertion recesses of each article form independent inclined bottoms, each recess has a posture corresponding to the inclined bottom surface. Articles can be stably and reliably inserted and packed in boxes.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adsorbent suspending tool having a plurality of adsorbents arranged vertically and horizontally at a lower portion thereof, and a space between the adsorbents before inserting an article into a box container. Are narrowed and the boxes are packed in an obliquely overlapping state of the articles.

According to the present invention, articles to be collectively transferred can be packed in a box at a time in an obliquely overlapped state.

According to the invention of claim 8 of the present application, the adsorbent suspender has a plurality of adsorbers in a lower part in a row and contracts so as to incline the article in a direction perpendicular to the row direction. The regulating means are configured so that the circumferential positions thereof are aligned, and the adsorbent hanger moving means for moving the adsorber hanger performs suction holding and release of the articles in a row unit a predetermined number of times, and thereby the inside of the box container. In this case, articles are packed in a box in an obliquely overlapped state by being inserted into the box.

According to the present invention, it is possible to carry out box-by-row transfer in the same manner as in the case of the above-mentioned batch box packing in the state where the articles are inclined and overlapped.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

Embodiment 1 In the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 10, bulging fruits and vegetables are placed on a free tray, sorted and sorted, and fruits and vegetables discharged into a pool section for each predetermined rank are lined up. 1 shows an example of a box packing device for packing boxes.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a sorting equipment including a fruit and vegetable boxing device employing the adsorbent of the present embodiment.
As will be understood from the following description, while the free tray 4 as a container on which the fruits and vegetables P are placed (see FIGS. 1 and 3) is transported on the transport conveyor 1, a predetermined amount is measured by a measuring device (not shown) provided on the way. (In this example, for the sake of convenience of explanation, it will be described below as measuring the “size” of a class element, but the present invention is not limited to this.) Based on the measurement result, the class to be sorted is determined using a computer or the like. Is determined,
From conveyor 1 as shown in FIG. 2 in a lateral direction the branch conveyors of the connected classes another splitter box packed line 2 (lower figure) (shows a 2 ₁ to 2 ₂ of a portion thereof in the figure) ,
The free tray 4 on which fruits and vegetables of the corresponding class are placed is discharged.

The above-mentioned branch box line 2 (2 ₁ , 2 ₂ )
As shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 3, discharge devices 21 ₁ and 21 ₂ from the conveyor 1, branch conveyors 22 ₁ and 22 ₂ , a container pool unit 23 set for packing, and a work robot as a packing device It consists of 24. These will be described below.

The discharging device 21 is, for example, disclosed in
In the present example, the branch conveyors 22 ₁ and 22 ₂ are provided in two lanes in consideration of a case where the amount of fruits and vegetables to be discharged is large. Free tray 4 on these two lanes
Is configured to be able to be sorted. That is, the discharge device 21 has a number of electromagnetic adsorption portions 212 at equal intervals along the circumferential direction inside the outer peripheral portion, and the turntable 211 that rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The electromagnetic attraction unit 21 circumferentially disposed on the rotary table 211 at a predetermined position so as to turn the free tray 4 to discharge the free tray 4 to the branching and packing line.
One excitation means 213 for exciting one of the two, and a predetermined two for distributing the free tray 4 to the above two lanes.
It comprises excitation canceling means 214 and 215 for the electromagnetic attraction portion 212 fixedly provided at two positions.

With the above-described configuration, the free tray 4 on which the fruits and vegetables P sorted into the class (for example, the size L) of the specific branching boxing line shown in FIG. , when passing through the position of the discharge device 21 ₁ of the left side of FIG. 2, by the exciting means 213 is energized by a command from the control means such as a computer (not shown), the free tray 4 applicable electromagnetic It is magnetically attracted to the rotating table 211 having the attracting portion 212, and is discharged in the lateral direction (downward in the figure) from above the conveyor 1 as the rotating table 211 rotates. Then, the suction is released by operating one of the excitation release means 214 and 215 according to a command from the control means, and the discharged free tray 4 is sent to one of the two lanes 221 and 222. Although the distribution may be uniform, in this example, the right lane 221 is set as the main lane, and the free tray 4 is sent to the left auxiliary lane 222 only when the main lane is full. In the present embodiment, the discharge device 21 ₂ illustrated in the right side of FIG. 2, for example, are installed in order to discharge the free tray 4 carrying the fruits or vegetables P ranks size M, hence splitter box packed in FIG The line is for boxing fruits and vegetables of size M on the right,
The left side is provided for boxing of fruits and vegetables of a class of size L.

Next, the branch conveyor 22 will be described. The branch conveyors 22 ₁ and 22 ₂ of the present embodiment are constituted by a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor, and convey the discharged free tray 4 to the downstream side. Has become. The branch conveyors 22 ₁ and 22 ₂
As described above, two lanes 221 and 222 are provided so as to accumulate the free trays 4 in a line for one discharge device 21 as described above, and the right side of the two lanes is the main lane 221. Until the accumulation of the main lane 221 is full, the free tray 4 is sent to the main lane 221. Further, a stopper mechanism 223 for stopping the free tray 4 is disposed at the transfer end position of each of the lanes 221, 222, and normally acts to stop the transfer of the free tray 4, and is operated by a sensor (not shown). When it is detected that a predetermined number of collected free trays (a number picked up at a time in a box packing operation described later) has been collected, the number of free trays is determined based on a command from the control means in accordance with the progress of the subsequent box packing operation. The transport mechanism is switched to a state where the transport is permitted, and the predetermined number of free trays 4 are sent to the box packing position. After the predetermined number of feeds, the stopper mechanism 223 stops the transport so that the subsequent free trays 4 are again stopped. The state is restored. Such a stopper mechanism 223 can be configured by, for example, combining a stopper plate and a cylinder device.

Next, the container pool section 23 will be described.
Predetermined number of free trays 4 sent from 1, 222
Is arranged as a box lane 231 that is aligned and stopped in a line for packing.

[0038] That is, in this example the main lane 2 branch conveyors 22 ₂ continuous to the right of the discharge device 21 ₂ in FIG. 2
21 with infeed lane 232 as linearly continuous from the end is provided for, this and free the tray 4 from the end of the auxiliary lane 222 adjacent, two lanes 221 leading to the discharge device 21 ₁ of the left side of FIG. 2 , 222 is provided with a right-angled lane 233 that connects the free tray 4 sent from the end of the free lane 232 to the above-mentioned sending lane 232. It will be sent on the lane 231.

The predetermined number of free trays 4 sent are stopped by the stopper mechanism 234, and are put into a box packing standby state. The stopper mechanism 234 can be configured in the same manner as the stopper mechanism 223, and is switched to a state in which the conveyance inhibition is released at the time when the lifting of the fruits and vegetables is completed (or at the time when the feeding after lifting is no longer an obstacle), and the unloading is performed. After the empty free trays 4 are sent out to the conveyor 235 and a predetermined number of them are sent out, the following free trays 4 are again stopped. 236 in FIGS. 2 and 3
Is a return conveyor for the empty free tray 4. Each of the above lanes is constituted by a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, or the like.

In this embodiment, when the fruits and vegetables on the free tray are lifted by the suction hanging device and packed in the transfer box in the container pool section 23, the floating of the free tray 4 can be reliably prevented from floating. Prevention means are provided.

In the box lane 231 of the container pool section 23 of this embodiment, an engagement bracket 12 for preventing the tray from being lifted is provided. This is boxed lane 23
A pair of short columns 121 fixed to the upper surface of both side guide walls 2312 of one belt conveyor 2311 and a circular plate 122 eccentrically fixed to the upper ends of these short columns 121 so as to protrude inward. It is composed of These engagement brackets 12 in the present example are
1 to each of the plurality of free trays 4 on standby and stopped by the stopper mechanism 234 so that each free tray 4
Is provided in a pair corresponding to the stop positions of the free trays 4, and at the position of the diameter line in the lateral direction (the direction perpendicular to the transport direction) of the box lane 231 when the free trays 4 are stopped. Are located. With such a configuration, the free tray 4 can be prevented from being lifted by engaging with the free tray 4 when the free tray 4 is going to float only by protruding inward relatively shortly. Free tray 4
By moving the center of the free tray 4 between the engaging brackets 12 separated in the transport direction, the free tray 4 can be easily taken out upward. In addition, it can be easily removed.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a work robot 24 which is a main part of the box packing device. This work robot 24 of the present embodiment is configured as a work robot having a vertically articulated arm mechanism, and has the above-mentioned container pool section. 23 boxed lanes 23
A row of fruits and vegetables P is lifted from a predetermined number of free trays 4 arranged in a line in a row, and packed one by one into a cardboard box 5 which is set obliquely in a box standby section to be described later. And this working robot 24 of this example
Is packed in a box of 5 × 4 rows (20 in total) for fruits and vegetables P of size L, and 6 × 4 rows (24 in total) in the case of packed fruits and vegetables P of size M In order to cope with the difference in the number, a part of the adsorbents is provided so as to be able to retreat to a retracted position which is not involved in lifting, as shown in FIG. It has a configuration.

The details of the working robot 24 are shown in FIGS.
, A base link mechanism 242 for performing a parallelogram link motion extends from the main body 241, and performs a parallelogram link motion via a hinge that allows the tip of the root link mechanism 242 to rotate around a horizontal axis. The distal end link mechanism 243 is connected, and further, a suction device holder 244 is connected to the distal end of the distal end link mechanism 243 via a bracket 245, and the bracket 245 is formed by an arm mechanism constituted by these link mechanisms. It can move up and down and back and forth while always maintaining a horizontal posture.
The root link mechanism 242 is provided with a drive device (not shown) for swinging the support arm back and forth and right and left at the lower end portion of the support arm on the front side of the main body 241. A drive device (not shown) for moving the support arm in the vertical direction is provided at the lower end of the support arm, and the operation of the tip link mechanism 243 is performed by a combination of the swinging and the vertical movement of the two support arms. Is controlled.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bracket 245 has a pair of guides 2452 provided on the bracket bottom plate 2451 and a rail 2441 provided on the upper surface of the adsorbent hanging tool 244 in a horizontal direction. By sliding so as to be movable, the suction rod holder 244 is movably hung in the left-right direction in FIG. 4 and the piston rod 244 of the air cylinder device 2442 assembled on the upper surface of the suction rod holder 244.
3 is connected to the bracket bottom plate 2451, so that the positions of the adsorbent suspender 244 and the bracket 245 in the left-right direction can be determined.

In the present embodiment, the adsorber suspension holder 244 has one fixed adsorber suspension 246 at its lower end, which is fixed immovably in the left-right direction in FIG. It is provided so as to hang a combination with six movable adsorber hangers 247 that are slidably movable in the left-right direction on rails 2445 provided on the lower surface of the hangers 244, and a total of seven of them. Is a suspension rod having air cylinder devices 2461 and 2471 having piston rods 2462 and 2472 which are vertically driven below, and having the characteristic configuration of the present example at the lower ends of the piston rods 2462 and 2472. The child 3 is provided. The details of the adsorber 3 will be described later.

As shown, a pantograph mechanism 2447 having a servo motor 2446 as a driving means is provided as a distance changing means for the total of seven adsorber suspensions, as shown in FIG. The interval between the moving adsorber suspensions 247 that are sequentially adjacent can be changed.

The pantograph mechanism 2447 uses the pulley 2449 to determine the horizontal position of the fixed adsorber suspension 246 (right end in FIG. 4) and the mobile adsorber suspension 247 (left end in FIG. 4) located farthest therefrom. While being moved by the servomotor 2446 through the intermediary, the pantograph mechanism 2447 equalizes adjacent intervals of the remaining adsorber suspensions existing between the pair of adsorber suspensions, so that the spacing change and the equalization can be performed. Achieved.

In this embodiment, each adsorber 3 is arranged as shown in FIG.
Is connected to the blower 6 (see FIG. 8) via the ventilation pipe 248 as shown in FIG. The connection relationship between the adsorber and the blower is shown in the system diagram of FIG. 8, and each adsorber 3 is connected to the blower 6 by a ventilation pipe 248 via switching valves 7 and 8 in the middle.
It is connected to the. That is, the switching valve 7 is provided in the middle of the ventilation pipe connected to the suction port of the blower 6, and when the circuit is opened, the air is sucked into the blower 6 through the ventilation pipe. Becomes negative pressure to suck and adsorb fruits and vegetables, and in other cases it is closed to release the negative pressure in the adsorber. The switching valve 8 is provided in the middle of a ventilation pipe connected to the discharge port of the blower 6, and supplies the discharge air (positive pressure) of the blower 6 to the adsorber 3 when the circuit is open, so that the fruits and vegetables P are adsorbed. It is released and otherwise closed so that the supply of positive pressure is stopped. Reference numeral 9 denotes a relief valve which functions to adjust the pressure of the positive pressure (discharge air) supplied from the blower 6 so as to appropriately release the fruits and vegetables P from the adsorber so as not to damage them. In addition, 10 is an air cylinder device 246 of the adsorber suspension.
This is an electromagnetic valve that supplies air to the air outlets 1 and 471 through the ventilation pipe 248.

The peripheral device of the box packing device of this embodiment will be described. Reference numeral 11 denotes a supply / discharge device for the cardboard box 5, and the empty box 5 conveyed by the empty box conveyor 111 is moved by the pusher 112 to the empty box lowering device 113. At a predetermined timing, and the pushed-in empty box 5 is lowered and then sent to the packing position 114 along the arrow shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The cardboard box 5 in which the packing of the fruits and vegetables P has been completed is lowered from the boxing position 114 to the discharge conveyor 115 by an elevator (not shown), and is conveyed by the product conveying conveyor 116 to a predetermined product accumulation place.

In the present embodiment, a box tilting cylinder device 117 is provided at the box packing position 114. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, the box 5 is tilted at a certain angle and waits for packing. You.

Next, the adsorber 3 which is a feature of this embodiment will be described.

The adsorber 3 used in this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 5, 9 and 10, and in particular in FIGS. 1 and 10.

That is, the adsorber 3 of the present embodiment comprises a cylindrical body (main body) 301 having a bellows (bellows) type structure made of a rubber material, and the piston rods 2 of the suspensions 246 and 247.
Hollow bracket 2 fixed to lower ends of 462 and 2472
A rigid upper end portion 302 provided on the upper portion for attachment to the 463, 2473, a soft skirt-like lower end portion 303 as an easily deformable portion formed so as to be easily airtightly adhered to fruits and vegetables, A rib portion 30 for vertically connecting a folded portion of a bellows provided for restraining the deformability (shrinkage) in the vertical direction of the cylindrical body portion 301 in a part of its circumferential direction.
4 (in this example, two rows adjacent in the circumferential direction as shown in FIG. 1)
It consists of

The adsorbent 3 thus configured, when in a natural state (during non-adsorption of fruits and vegetables), assumes a state in which the cylindrical portion 301 hangs down by its own weight as shown in FIGS. When the deformable skirt-shaped lower end is brought into close contact with the fruit or vegetable P and is sucked and held by the negative pressure supply from the ventilation pipe 248, as shown in FIG. The vegetables and fruits P are not sucked by the negative pressure because the other parts do not shrink due to the contraction regulation in the up and down direction of the ribs 304, and thus the ribs 304
The fruits and vegetables P are tilted about the lower end of the center and are sucked and held in an inclined posture. Hereinafter, a box packing operation using the box packing apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described by using a tomato as an example of the fruits and vegetables P.

While the tomato P is placed on the free tray 4, the size of the class element is measured by the measuring device while being conveyed on the conveyor 1, and the tomato determined to have the size L based on this measurement information. free tray 4 carrying the P is stacked is fed into the main lane 221 of the branch conveyor 22 ₁ by the discharging device 21 ₁ of the left side of FIG. The free tray 4 which carries the tomato P it is determined that the magnitude M is integrated is fed into the main lane 221 of the branch conveyor 22 ₂ by the right of the discharge device 21 ₂ in FIG. If the main lane is full, the surplus is auxiliary lane 2
What is sent to 22 is as described above. The stopper mechanism 223 disposed at the end of each lane is in a state in which the free tray 4 is stopped.

The number of free trays 4 accumulated in the main lane is counted by a sensor (not shown).
In the case of FIG. 2, in the early stage of operation, when one box is packed in one cardboard box 5 in the main lane, the stopper mechanism 223 at the end thereof is retracted,
Boxed lane 2 via sending lanes 232 and 233
The free tray 4 for one box is fed to 31 and stopped in a box packing standby state. Specifically, when 24 free trays 4 are accumulated in the main lane 221 connected to the discharge device 21 on the right side of FIG. 2, the stopper mechanism 223 is retracted and the free trays 4 on which the tomatoes of the size M are placed. Is sent to the boxing lane 231, while 20 free trays 4 are accumulated in the main lane 221 connected to the discharge device 21 on the left side of FIG. 2, the stopper mechanism 223 is retracted to remove the tomatoes of size L. The loaded free tray 4 is sent to the box lane 231. It should be noted that which of these lanes should be given higher priority for tray feeding can be determined based on an appropriate control concept, but it is general to give priority to lanes for which a predetermined number of counts have been obtained earlier by the sensor camera. It is.

The state shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to one box of the free tray 4 (2
4) are sent to the box lane 231.

It should be noted that whether the tomato to be delivered next to the delivery of one box is of size L or size M is determined by the information detected from the sensor camera (not shown) or the like. It is sufficient to perform control so that the box packing process can be performed efficiently by computer analysis such as a difference in integration speed based on the data.

As described above, the free tray 4 corresponding to one box of tomatoes P is sent in, and the tomatoes P on the free tray 4 waiting in the boxing lane 231 which is the container pool 23 are lined up sequentially. Each boxing operation is performed by the articulated work robot 24.

That is, the empty cardboard box 5 at the box packing position 114, which is fed by the supply / discharge device 11 and brought into a predetermined inclined state by the tilting cylinder device 117, is put on standby. On the other hand, the free tray 4 containing the tomatoes P is stopped in the boxing lane 231, and the work robot 24 that transfers the tomatoes P from the free tray 4 to the box starts the tomato boxing operation.

At this time, the working robot 24 of this embodiment has a total of seven adsorber suspensions (one fixed adsorber suspension 246 and six movable adsorber suspensions 247), but is suspended. Since the number of tomatoes P to be lifted is six, an extra adsorber suspension, that is, a moving adsorber suspension 2473 farthest from the fixed adsorber suspension 246, is added to the air cylinder device 24.
At 71, the tomato P is retreated upward from the normal tomato transfer operation position so that the tomato P cannot be involved in operations such as lifting and transferring. This state is shown in FIG. The air cylinder device 2442 has a position and an interval where the adsorber suspensions 246 and 247 are suitable for sucking and lifting the tomatoes P on the six free trays 4 waiting and stopped in the box lane 231. Operation and pantograph mechanism 24
47.

The arm mechanism having the six adsorber suspensions controlled as described above is moved to the position and posture shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Hold by suction and lift.

In this example, as described above, the adsorbent 3 is in a state in which the tubular body 301 hangs down by its own weight when the tomato is not adsorbed. When sucked and held by the negative pressure supply from the trachea 248, the cylindrical body 301 contracts except for the portion where the rib portion 304 is provided, and therefore, the tomato P tilts around the lower end of the rib portion 304 and tilts in an inclined posture. It will be held by suction.

It is to be noted that the floating of the free tray 4 at the time of the lifting is prevented by the engagement bracket 12 of the tray lifting preventing device described above, so that only the tomato is reliably picked up.

Next, the work robot 24 holding the lifted tomato P by suction by the adsorber 3 in an inclined position, controls the posture of the arm mechanism to thereby control the adsorber suspension 246,
247 is moved to the boxed position. In the middle of this movement, the pantograph mechanism 2447 operates to change the interval between the adsorber suspensions 246 and 247 in a row to a state suitable for packing. This changed state is shown in FIG.

The row of adsorbents 3 moved to the boxing position 114 sucks and holds the tomatoes in an inclined position as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and the box 5 also has a tilting cylinder device as described above. At 117, since the waiting is performed as the inclined posture with the inclination angles substantially matched, the posture of the box 5 matches the posture of the tomato, and the inconvenience that the appearance of the boxed tomatoes deteriorates does not occur.

The empty free tray 4 on which the tomatoes P are lifted is retreated by the stopper mechanism 234 to carry out the conveyor 2.
35. At this time, in this example, the free tray 4 is stabilized in the boxing lane 231 without being disturbed by the tray lifting prevention device (engagement bracket 12) as described above, so that the carry-out conveyor 235 is used.
The transmission is reliably performed without causing transmission failure to
There is no reduction in operating efficiency.

Then, the free tray 4 on which the succeeding tomato P is placed is transferred to the box lane 231 and is stopped by the stopper mechanism 234 that has returned to stand by for the next box packing. Then, the work robot 24 in which the adjoining space of the adsorber suspension is widened in the state of FIG.

In the present embodiment, the above operations are performed continuously for four rows as shown in FIG. 9, thereby completing the packing operation for one box. It is conveyed to a predetermined product accumulation place via the conveyor 116.

On the other hand, as the next boxing work, supply of empty boxes 5 to the boxing position 114, feeding of a predetermined number of free trays 4 on which tomatoes P are placed in the boxing lane 231 and lifting and boxing of tomatoes in a row A series of operations are performed. At this time, when packing the tomatoes of size L, the second adsorbent suspension 24 from the left in FIG.
7 also needs to be retracted to the same retracted state as the adsorber suspension 247 at the left end, and the packed state of tomatoes can be staggered. In the apparatus of this example, these change controls can also be performed by retracting the second adsorber suspension 247 only by operating the second air cylinder device 2471 from the left. Each time, the air cylinder device 2442 is actuated to move the suction device holder 244 in the left-right direction in FIG. 4 and the operation of the pantograph mechanism 2447 is adjusted.

In the present embodiment described above, the arrangement pattern for boxing is 20 balls (pieces) and the case of 24 balls (pieces), but the arrangement pattern for boxing is not limited to these. Absent.

The tomato box packing apparatus of this embodiment adsorbs tomatoes on a predetermined number of free trays 4 stopped and waited in a row in the tray (container) pool section 23 in an inclined state using the adsorber 3. Because it is held and packed in a box container waiting in an inclined position, it can be packed in a good-looking packed state, and even if the ball-shaped tomatoes are transferred one by one and packed in a box, Since the box container is inclined, there is an advantage that the problem of rolling after transfer is not caused. Moreover, the mechanism for tilting and holding the tomato according to the present embodiment merely includes the rib portion 304 provided on the adsorbent 3, so that the above-mentioned advantages can be satisfied with a very simple configuration.

Further, the problem that the tomato is lifted together with the free tray 4 can be reliably prevented by the engagement bracket 12, and the peripheral device can be prevented from being damaged due to the falling tray, the tomato can be prevented from being damaged. Elimination of interruption of packing work, free tray 4 after transfer
There is also an advantage such as the elimination of transmission failure.

Further, since the suction element 3 and the engagement bracket 12 of this embodiment are integrated without moving parts, there is also an advantage that maintenance and inspection are not particularly required.

Embodiment 2 In this embodiment shown in FIG. 11, four rows (in the depth direction of the paper, for example, five rows or the like) Row), and the article insertion recesses 52 are formed.
The example in which the confectionery 54 is box-packed to each one on the inclined bottom surface 53 of FIG.

In the box packing apparatus of the present embodiment, the adsorber suspending tool 244 has one fixed adsorber suspending body 246 and three movable adsorbent suspending bodies 247 at its lower part. , 2472 at the lower end of the hollow bracket 2463,
One of the features is that the adsorbent 3 is attached via the 2473, and the other is that the adsorbent 3 is oriented in the same row direction in one row, and the rib portion 30 for regulating vertical shrinkage.
4 is provided. Other configurations are the same as the first embodiment.

By using the box packing device having such a configuration, the confectionery is box-packed in an inclined position line by line on the inclined bottom surface 53 of the article insertion concave portion 52 of the tray pack 51 fitted in the box 5. Embodiment 1
Similarly to the above, the mechanism for inclining and holding the confectionery 54 only by providing the ribs 304 on the adsorbent 3
With an extremely simple configuration, the boxes can be packed in an inclined posture.

Embodiment 3 The present embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 shows a box packing device for packing eggplants 61, which are elongated fruits and vegetables, in the present embodiment. On the other hand, for a conveyor 62 (or a free tray) in which the mounting portions are partitioned in three rows, the above-described adsorbent 3 is provided at the lower end.
An adsorbent suspender 244 provided with a plurality of adsorber suspenders 246 and 247 (e.g., five rows in the depth direction of the paper) is attached to a pantograph mechanism (not shown: FIG. 4). 2447), the lowering is performed in a state in which the adjacent distance is widened (see FIG. 12), and the suction is held in an inclined posture, and then the adsorbent hanging tool 244 is placed on the box container 5 waiting at the box packing position. The movement is carried out in the direction of the arrow, and the spacing between the eggplants 61 held by suction in the adjacent column direction by the pantograph mechanism is narrowed so that the eggplants are packed in the obliquely overlapped state shown in FIG. Other configurations are the same as the first embodiment. Note that the term “slant overlap state” refers to a state in which a part of the eggplant is inclined on an adjacent eggplant.

According to the present example, relatively elongated fruits and vegetables like the eggplant 61 of the present example are formed into a matrix (3
X5), it is possible to realize box packing in a state of being inclinedly overlapped with respect to the box container 5 which is waiting in a horizontal posture, simply by narrowing the holding interval of the adsorber 3 by suction and suspension. Features are obtained. Such a box-like packing in the form of a matrix and in an obliquely overlapped state is possible in a case where the adsorbent 3 itself used in the present embodiment can tilt the adsorbing and holding posture, but a contact piece around the adsorber is used. In such a method, it is difficult to densely collect eggplants in a matrix due to the presence of the patch.

Fourth Embodiment In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 14, instead of transferring the eggplants 71 in a matrix in the third embodiment, the eggplants 71 are placed in a box 72 for each row (rows in the depth direction of the paper). And packed in a box in an obliquely overlapping state. Other configurations are the same as the first embodiment. In this example, the inclination direction of the eggplant due to the suction and holding of the adsorber 3 is perpendicular to the column direction in order to perform the packing in the obliquely overlapped state in the transfer for each row.

According to the present embodiment, the boxes can be packed in an obliquely overlapping state with respect to the box containers 5 which are waiting in the horizontal posture.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but is described in, for example, JP-A-7-187123.
It is of course also possible to apply the adsorbent of the present invention as an adsorbent of a boxed apparatus for long vegetables disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No.

[0083]

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an adsorber having a function of tilting and sucking and suspending an article as an extremely simple structure, and to simplify the structure of a box packing device using this adsorber. In addition to the effect that it can be provided at low cost, the following effects are also achieved.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the deformability of the cylindrical body in the circumferential direction is not uniform, a large deformation of the easily deformable portion and a small deformation of the hardly deformable portion are obtained.
The articles waiting in the horizontal posture can be sucked and held in the inclined posture.

Further, if the suction-held article is moved to a predetermined transfer position and then the article is hung and the negative pressure action is released, the deformation of the adsorber is restored and the suction can be released.
At this time, if the surface on which the article is hung is a horizontal surface, the suction can be released in a horizontal posture, and if the hung surface is an inclined surface substantially matching the inclination posture of the suction holding, the posture along the inclined surface To release the suction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the unevenness of the cylindrical body can be easily given, and the inclination of the article is made constant around the lower end of the portion where the shrinkage restricting means is provided, and stable. Can be given.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the shrinkage restricting means for inclining and holding an article by suction is provided only on the upper side of the cylindrical body, and the entire circumference on the lower side is an easily deformable portion. Therefore, it is possible to provide an adsorbent having a structure suitable for ensuring adhesion to an article.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the shrinkage restricting portion can be formed simultaneously with the molding of rubber, synthetic resin or the like, in addition to the function as the adsorber, the inclination of the article due to the unevenness. It is possible to mass-produce a single adsorber having a suction holding function.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention,
When the adsorber suspending tool has a plurality of adsorbents in a row, the row of articles is lifted from the pool in a state of being inclined in a certain direction, moved to a box container and released by suction to be collectively transferred. A predetermined number of articles can be packed in a matrix in a vertical and horizontal matrix by repeating this without rolling the boxed spherical articles.

When the adsorbent hanging tool has adsorbents arranged in rows and columns, a plurality of articles can be collectively transferred and packed in a box.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to pack the inclined suction-contained articles collectively or row by row, or even one by one into the inclined box container. Further, in a system in which a box container formed by inserting and inserting a tray pack or the like is made to stand by so that the insertion recesses of each article form independent inclined bottoms, each recess has a posture corresponding to the inclined bottom surface. Articles can be stably and reliably inserted and packed in boxes.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, articles to be transferred collectively can be packed in a box at one time in an obliquely overlapped state.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to carry out box-by-row transfer in the same manner as in the case of the above-mentioned box packing in a state where articles are inclined and overlapped.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an adsorbent according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ball-shaped fruits and vegetables are applied to be sucked and held.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an outline of a fruit and vegetable boxing device using the adsorbent of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the box packing device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the ball-shaped fruits and vegetables are lifted in a line by the adsorbent suspension means of the box packing device in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the pantograph mechanism of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state in which the distance between the respective adsorbers of the adsorbent suspension means of FIG. 4 is reduced by a pantograph mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a system diagram showing a system for supplying negative pressure and positive pressure to the adsorber and a system for supplying pressurized air to the air cylinder device in the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a state in which fruits and vegetables sucked and held in an inclined posture are packed in a box container inclined and inclined to stand by.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows the second embodiment of the present invention, in which fruits and vegetables sucked and held in an inclined posture in a box container in which a tray pack in which each receiving portion forms an inclined bottom surface are inserted and packed in a vertical and horizontal matrix. The figure for demonstrating the box packing apparatus made like this.

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating the third embodiment of the present invention and illustrating a state in which three eggplants arranged in a pool and waiting are collectively lifted by an adsorbent holder having three adsorbers.

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the three eggplants shown in FIG. 12 are packed in a box container in an obliquely overlapped state.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the fourth embodiment of the present invention and illustrating a state in which eggplants are transferred one by one and packed in a box with an inclined overlap.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining that rolling of a ball-shaped fruit or vegetable may cause rolling in a box.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... transport conveyor, 2 _{1, 2} 2 ... the splitter box stuffing line, 3 ... Kyuchakuko, 4: free tray, 5 ...
Box (cardboard box), 6 ... Blower, 7, 8 ... Switching valve, 9 ... Relief valve, 10 ... Solenoid valve, 11
..Supply / discharge device for corrugated cardboard box, 12 ... engagement bracket, 21 ... discharge device, 211 ... rotary table, 212 ... electromagnetic attraction part, 213 ... excitation means,
214, 215 ... exciting release means, 22 (22 _1, 2
2 ₂ ) ・ ・ ・ Branch conveyor, 221 ・ ・ ・ Main lane, 2
22: auxiliary lane, 223: stopper mechanism, 2
3 ... container pool part, 231 ... box lane, 23
11 ... belt conveyor, 2312 ... guide wall,
232, 233: sending lane, 234: stopper mechanism, 235: unloading conveyor, 236 ...
Return conveyor, 24 ... Work robot, 241, ...
Main body, 242: Root link mechanism, 243: Tip link mechanism, 244: Adsorber suspension, 2441
・ Rail, 2442 ・ ・ ・ Air cylinder device, 2443
... Piston rod, 2446 ... Servo motor,
2447: Pantograph mechanism, 2449: Pulley, 245: Bracket, 2451: Bracket bottom plate, 246: Suspended fixed adsorber, 2461 ...
・ Air cylinder device, 2462 ・ ・ ・ Piston rod,
2463 ··· hollow bracket, 247 ··· movable adsorber suspension, 2471 ··· air cylinder device, 2472 ·
..Piston rods, 2473 ... hollow brackets
248: Vent pipe, 111: Empty box conveyor
112 ... pusher, 113 ... empty box lowering device,
114: boxing position, 115: discharge conveyor,
116 ··· Product transport conveyor.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An adsorber, wherein a tubular body made of an elastic material has a bellows-type or cup-type structure which is easily deformable in a vertical direction, and adsorbs and holds an article closely attached to a lower end opening by supplying a negative pressure from above. Further, the bellows-type or cup-type cylindrical body is characterized in that the deformability in the vertical direction is unevenly formed in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the means for making the deformability of the cylindrical body in the vertical direction uneven in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body is a part of the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body so as to restrict the contraction in the vertical direction. An adsorbent for hanging articles, wherein the adsorbent is a shrinkage restricting means provided in the apparatus. 3. The shrinkage restricting means according to claim 2, wherein the shrinkage restricting means for restricting the shrinkage of the cylinder in the up-down direction is provided only on the upper side in the up-down direction of the cylinder, and the entire circumference of the lower side is easily deformable. An adsorbent for hanging articles, characterized in that the adsorber is configured in a part. 4. An adsorbent for hanging articles according to claim 2, wherein the shrinkage restricting means is molded integrally with a cylinder made of an elastic material as a shrinkage restricting portion. 5. A pool section for arranging a plurality of articles and waiting, a box waiting section for holding a box container filled with articles in an open state, and a plurality of articles each of which is held in the pool section, for each of a plurality of adsorbers. The adsorbent hanging device is moved to the box standby portion and inserted into the box to release the suction, and the adsorbent hanging device is disposed between the pool portion of the articles and the box standby portion. Means for moving the adsorbent hanging device to be moved, wherein the adsorbent hanging device has a plurality of the adsorbers according to any one of claims 2 to 4 arranged in a line or vertically and horizontally at a lower portion thereof. A packing device, wherein shrinkage restricting means provided on a cylinder of an adsorber is aligned at a fixed position in a circumferential direction. 6. The box waiting part according to claim 5, wherein the box container is inclined and stands by with respect to a horizontal plane, or a box container in which a concave portion for inserting each article forms an independent inclined bottom surface. A packaging device, characterized in that: 7. The adsorbent suspending device according to claim 5, further comprising a plurality of adsorbers arranged vertically and horizontally at a lower portion thereof, and a space between the adsorbers before inserting the article into the box container. Characterized in that the articles are packed in an obliquely overlapped state by narrowing. 8. The suction device holder according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of the suction devices are arranged in a row in a lower part of the suction device, and shrinkage control is performed so that the article is inclined in a direction perpendicular to the row direction. The adsorber hanger moving means for moving the adsorber hanger is configured to perform suction holding and releasing of the articles in a row unit a predetermined number of times and inserted into the box container. A packing device for packing articles to be packed in an obliquely overlapped state.