JPH1111430A - Device for discharging defective carton - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To discharge before delivery to a transfer conveyor a carton which is defective in being shaped into a box. SOLUTION: There are provided a carton magazine 4 in which a multiplicity of pieces of cartons 2 are held, a carton-extracting means 6 which takes out the cartons 2 in the magazine 4 one by one by attraction by the use of suction cups 6a, a fixed guide 8 which shapes the carton 2 thus taken out into a box, a sensor 10 which checks the result of the shaping, and a carton transfer conveyor 12 which receives cartons having been shaped normally and sends them forward. A carton 2 taken out of the magazine 4 and shaped into a box is checked by the sensor 10 as to whether shaped normally or not, and a normally shaped carton is delivered to the transfer conveyor 12, whereas, when the carton has a defect in the shaping, this carton is not delivered to the transfer conveyor 12 and discharged to the outside of the operation system. Since thus a defective carton is not delivered to the transfer conveyor 12, a fall in the rate of operation caused by stopping of the machine can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for discharging defective cartons, and more particularly, to a method for discharging defective cartons out of a system when a carton taken out of a carton magazine and raised is defective. It relates to a discharge device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art After a large number of cartons made of paper or the like are folded into a sheet and stored in a carton magazine, cartons in the carton magazine are taken out one by one by a carton take-out means having a suction cup and the like. This carton is created by causing it to interfere with a fixed boxing guide, or by adsorbing the front and rear surfaces of the carton with separate suction cups and pulling them apart from each other. 2. Description of the Related Art A packaging machine in which a carton is filled with contents and sealed in a later step has been conventionally known.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional packaging machine, even if an error occurs when the carton is raised, or if a carton of a different kind is mixed by mistake, the carton is directly delivered to the conveyor and conveyed. Therefore, the product may not be able to be filled, and various troubles such as biting into the machine and inability to seal may occur. When such a trouble occurs, the machine must be stopped and removed manually, which results in a problem that the efficiency of the machine is low, and the workability is poor due to the need for a large amount of labor. In particular, if a different kind of carton is accidentally supplied to the carton magazine or if the carton is supplied upside down, the carton is likely to be mistaken due to the different folds of the carton, causing the above trouble. Had become. Furthermore, when a different kind of carton is supplied, even if the product is normally raised, after the product is filled and transported to the downstream end of the transport conveyor, it is detected by a detecting means such as a barcode. Had to be eliminated. As described above, when the product is filled and discharged out of the system, the operation rate of the machine is reduced, which is not preferable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and discharges a carton or the like that is not properly formed before the transfer to a conveyor, thereby preventing troubles that may cause the machine to stop. It is an object of the present invention to provide a defective carton discharge device capable of improving the operation rate of a carton.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for discharging a defective carton, comprising: a carton magazine for accommodating a carton; a carton removal means for removing the cartons one by one from the carton magazine; Carton raising means, a sensor for detecting the quality of the raised carton, and a conveyor for receiving and transporting the raised carton, the carton raised by the raising means, When the sensor determines that the defective carton is defective, the defective carton is discharged without being transferred to the transport conveyor.

In the defective carton discharger, after the carton taken out by the carton take-out means is raised by the raising means, it is determined whether or not the raising has been normally performed without being directly transferred to the conveyor. In the case of a bad carton, the carton is discharged out of the system without being handed over to the conveyor, so the defective carton is not supplied to the conveyor, preventing problems in subsequent processes. can do.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram showing the configuration of a defective carton discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. A carton magazine 4 for accommodating a multiplicity of carton 2 folded in a sheet shape and a carton magazine 4 Carton unloading means 6 which is provided on the side of the unloading port 4a of the magazine 4 so as to be able to move forward and backward and has a suction cup 6a for sucking the carton 2
A fixed starting guide (carton starting means) 8 for starting the carton 2 taken out and held by the carton unloading means 6, a sensor 10 for detecting the quality of the carton 2 thus picked up, And a carton transport conveyor 12 for receiving and transporting the boxed carton 2.
The carton transport conveyor 12 is provided with holding claws 12a for holding the front and rear of the carton 2 at predetermined intervals,
The raised carton 2 is received between these holding claws 12a, transported while maintaining its shape, and sent to the next step.

The operation of the defective carton discharging device according to the above construction will be described with reference to FIGS. In the carton magazine 4, a large number of cartons 2 folded in a sheet shape are accommodated in a stacked manner.
When the carton unloading means 6 arranged on the side a moves forward and the suction cup 6a comes into close contact with the top one carton 2,
The suction cup 6a is connected to a vacuum source (not shown), and a vacuum acts thereon to suck the carton 2 (see FIG. 2). Subsequently, when the carton unloading means 6 retreats, its suction cup 6a
The first carton 2 adsorbed on the cartridge is taken out of the carton magazine 4 (see FIG. 3).

When the carton removal means 6 holding the carton 2 by suction is further retracted, the end of the removed carton 2 is inserted into the fixed box guide 8 arranged on the side of the moving path. It is generated by interference. At this carton raising position, a sensor 10 for checking whether or not the carton 2 has been raised to the correct shape is provided. When the carton 2 is normally raised (see FIG. 4), The carton unloading means 6 continues to retreat as it is, moves onto the carton conveyor 12 and
Hand over the carton 2 (2A) (see FIG. 5). The carton conveying conveyor 12 holds the front and rear of the carton 2A raised by holding means such as holding claws 12a and conveys the carton 2A while maintaining its shape. Thereafter, the product is filled and sealed.

Further, the carton 2 is held by the carton removal means 6 and the end thereof is pressed against the raising guide 8.
However, in the case where the carton 2 has not been properly formed, since the sensor 10 does not detect the carton 2, it is confirmed that the carton 2 is a poorly formed carton 2 (2B) (see FIG. 6). In this case, the carton unloading means 6 moves back and the carton conveyor 1
Before reaching the upper part 2, the vacuum of the suction cup 6a is shut off, the carton 2B is released, and the defective carton 2B is discharged (see FIG. 7). The defective carton 2B is discharged out of the system by disposing a container for receiving the defective carton or a discharge conveyor at the discharge position of the defective carton 2B.
The arrangement of the sensor 10 is not limited to the one shown in the drawing, but may be any as long as it can distinguish between the carton 2A that has been normally opened and the other carton 2B.

As described above, only the carton 2A that has been normally raised is supplied onto the carton conveyor 12 and the defective carton 2B is discharged without being delivered to the carton conveyor 12, so that the defective carton 2B is discharged onto the carton conveyor 12. Since there is no defective carton 2B, troubles caused by the supply of the defective carton 2B onto the transport conveyor 12, such as defective transport and defective product filling, can be prevented. Therefore, the operating rate of the machine can be improved. In addition, when different kinds of cartons are mixed, conventionally, a so-called non-defective product process is performed in which a defective product discharged out of the system at the downstream end of the conveyor is unpacked and returned to the machine again. Non-defective processing can also be reduced.

FIGS. 8 to 13 show an embodiment in which a robot 20 is used as a carton unloading means and a cartoning means. FIG. 8 is an overall side view, FIG. 9 is a rear view, and FIG.
11 is a plan view, FIG. 11 is a plan view of the main part (robot hand), FIG. 12 is a front view of the main part, and FIG. 13 is a side view of the main part. A carton magazine 24 for accommodating a large number of cartons 22; a non-defective carton transport conveyor 32 which is arranged on the front of the carton magazine 24 and receives and transports the raised carton 22 (22A); and this carton transport conveyor 32
(Product) transport conveyor 33 disposed in parallel with
And a robot 20 disposed opposite to the carton magazine 24 with the two conveyors 32 and 33 interposed therebetween.
And a suction cup 34 disposed below the carton magazine 24 for sucking the back side of the carton 22 when the carton 22 picked up by the robot 20 is boxed.
And an inspection camera 30 for checking the boxed state of the carton 22
And Also, behind the robot 20, there is an input box 3 for discharging a defective carton (not shown).
6 are arranged. Reference numeral 31 denotes illumination for illuminating the bottom surface of the carton 22 when inspecting the quality of the carton 22 raised by the camera 30.

The hand 26 of the robot 20 has a suction cup 26a for adsorbing the carton 22 in the magazine 24, and a box for assisting in picking up the carton 22 and transferring it to the carton conveyor 32. Auxiliary means 38
It has. The raising assistance means 38 includes an arm 38b swinging in a horizontal plane with a pin 38a as a fulcrum, and a carton 2 mounted on the tip of the arm 38b and raised.
An air cylinder 38 that swings the arm 38b by connecting an upright plate 38c that strikes the side surface of the 2A and a piston rod to the base of the arm 38b near the fulcrum 38a.
d.

The operation of the defective carton discharging device according to the above configuration will be described. The robot 20 operates the robot hand 26 to bring the suction cup 26a at the tip of the robot hand 26 into close contact with one of the cartons 22 housed in the carton magazine 24 on the side of the take-out port 24a. Here, vacuum is applied to the suction cup 26a to adsorb the carton 22. Subsequently, the suction cup 26a of the robot hand 26 is retracted to take out one carton 22, and is moved to the front of a boxing suction cup 34 arranged below the magazine 24 as it is, and the rear side of the carton 22 being sucked. Is brought into close contact with the raising suction cup 34. Next, vacuum is applied to the suction cup 34 for raising the box to adsorb the rear side of the carton 22.
The front and rear surfaces of the carton 22 are sucked by the suction cup 2 of the robot hand 26.
After being sucked by 6a and the fixed suction cup 34, the suction cup 26a of the robot hand 26 is retracted. The carton 22 is raised by separating the front and rear surfaces of the carton 22 in this manner. Thereafter, the vacuum of the suction box for suctioning 34 sucking the rear side is shut off.

The carton 22A which is sucked back and forth by the suction cup 26a of the robot hand 26 and the fixed suction cup 34 and the front and rear surfaces are separated from each other,
In order to return to the original state due to elasticity, the side of the side is beaten by the boxing assisting means 38 to surely raise the box. That is, the air cylinder 38d is operated to swing the arm 38b from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 11 to the position shown by the two-dot chain line, and the upright plate 38c causes the suction cup 26a of the robot hand 26 on the side of the carton 22 to move. Hit the part farther from the surface that is adsorbed on and bend it strongly.

Next, the robot hand 26 holding the carton 22A by suction is held by the carton 2A.
2A is inverted and the bottom face is directed to the inspection camera 30.
The inspection camera 30 inspects the shape of the bottom surface of the carton 22 that has been raised, and checks whether the carton 22 has been successfully raised or has a bad bottom shape. If the carton 22 has been successfully raised, the carton 22A is moved above the non-defective carton conveyor 32, placed on the conveyor 32, cut off the vacuum, and delivered to the conveyor 32. In addition, when inspecting the quality of the carton by the inspection camera 30, or at another time, the barcode reader reads the barcode printed on the side surface of the carton 22 and checks whether the carton is a different kind of carton. You may do it.

If the carton 22 that has been turned upside down by the robot hand 26 and inspected by the inspection camera 30 to determine whether or not the carton is good is found to have a bad carton, the robot hand 26 returns to the carton 22. Without turning on the non-defective carton conveyor 32,
The defective carton is discharged into a defective carton input box 36 placed behind the robot 20. Also, if it is determined by reading the bar code that a different type of carton is erroneously mixed, the carton is similarly discharged into the box 38.

In this way, defective cartons such as badly formed cartons and different types of cartons are discharged without being supplied to the conveyor 32.
2. There is no possibility that troubles such as poor conveyance on the upper side and poor filling when filling the carton 22 with the product will not occur. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the machine from stopping beforehand, and to improve the operating rate of the machine. Can be. In addition, in the case of different types of cartons, the location of the folds is different, so it is easy to generate a defective product.However, if the product has been successfully transported, it is conventionally transported as it is by the transport conveyor, and the product is filled inside. In the apparatus of the present embodiment, such different kinds of cartons are eliminated in advance, and the cartons are conveyed to the carton transport conveyor 32. Is not delivered, so that there is no need to perform the above-described process for improving the quality of the product, which contributes to an improvement in the operating rate of the machine.

FIG. 14 shows a defective carton discharging apparatus according to a third embodiment. In the above-mentioned embodiment, a carton removing means using a robot is used. In this embodiment, a carton removing means 106 of a rotary type is used. The carton 102 is taken out of the magazine 104, raised, and delivered to the carton transport conveyor 112. In this embodiment, the carton magazine 104 is of a vertical type, and a large number of flat folded cartons 102 are stacked horizontally and accommodated in the magazine 104.

Carton outlet 104 of magazine 104
a is on the lower surface side, and the carton removal means 106 is provided below the removal port 104a. The carton unloading means 106 is attached to a horizontal rotating shaft 106b and rotates integrally (9 in this embodiment).
(Four at 0 degree intervals) air cylinders 106c, and suction cups 106a attached to the piston rod 106d of each air cylinder 106c and capable of moving forward and backward. These suction cups 106a are connected to a vacuum source (not shown) so that the vacuum can be applied or cut off. In this embodiment, the carton unloading means 106 includes four air cylinders 106c, but the number is not limited to four and may be any other number. A carton transport conveyor 112 is provided below the carton unloading means 106. The carton unloading means 106 receives the carton 102 taken out by the carton unloading means 106 and raised. The carton 102 is held by front and rear holding claws 112a. Transport. The carton transport conveyor 112 intermittently travels by one pitch of the holding claw 112a, and receives the carton 102 from the carton unloading means 106 during a stop.

The carton unloading means 106 rotates intermittently, and each air cylinder 106c
Stops sequentially at the carton unloading position facing the upper carton magazine 104. At this time, one of the other three air cylinders 106c (the air cylinder 106c located in the lower part of FIG. 14) stops at the position facing the carton transport conveyor 112 and the carton 102
Delivery. Further, the carton magazine 1 in the rotation direction (the direction of the arrow in the figure) of the carton unloading means 106.
A box raising device 108 is provided downstream of the box 04.
The air cylinder 106 is also provided on the front surface of the
c stops. The raising device 108 is connected to a vacuum source.
The carton 102 is provided with a suction cup 108a to be shut off.
When raising the box, the suction cup 1 of the carton removal means 106
06a adsorbs the back side of the carton 102 which is adsorbed. Further, a detection device 110 such as a camera for checking the quality of the raised state is provided at the carton raising position where the raising device 108 is provided.

The operation of the embodiment apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the air cylinder 106c of the carton removal means 106 is temporarily stopped at a position facing the carton magazine 104. At this time, the rod 106d of the air cylinder 106c is in a contracted state. After the rotation is stopped, the rod 106d is extended to bring the suction cup 106a into close contact with the first carton 102 in the carton magazine 104, and to apply a vacuum to the suction cup 106a. The carton 102 is sucked.
Then, the carton 102 is removed from the magazine 104 by contracting the rod 106d of the air cylinder 106c.

Subsequently, the carton unloading means 106 stops at the front of the cartoning device 108 at a position rotated by approximately 45 degrees from the carton magazine 104. At this position, the rod 106d of the air cylinder 106c is extended, and the back side of the carton
08a, and suction is caused by applying a vacuum to the suction cup 108a of the raising device 108. By contracting the rod 106d of the air cylinder 106c in this state, both sides of the carton 102 are
Forcibly spread and open the box with the suction cups 106a and 108a. Whether or not the carton 102 thus created is normally created by the detection device 110 such as a camera is checked. In addition, the position of the carousel 108 is not limited to the illustrated position, and the carton magazine 10
4 and a position where the carton 102 is delivered to the carton transport conveyor 112.
8 may be provided.

The carton 102 (102A), which has been confirmed by the detecting device 110 to have been normally raised, is directly sucked by the suction cup 106a of the carton unloading means 106 and transported by rotation. Said carton 102
The air cylinder 106c holding (102A)
The next air cylinder 106c is the carton magazine 10
When it stops at the front of 4, it pauses (left side of FIG. 14),
Further, when the next air cylinder 106c stops at the front of the carton magazine 104, the air cylinder 106c stops at the carton delivery position of the lower carton transport conveyor 112.
At this position, the rod 106d of the air cylinder 106c is extended, and the carton 102 held by the suction cup 106a is
(102A) is the holding claw 1 of the carton conveyor 112
Insert between 12a, release the vacuum and deliver.

On the other hand, when the carton 102 picked up by the carton unloading means 106 and raised is not normally raised, as shown in FIG. At the discharge position R provided between the carton 10 and the delivery position,
The vacuum of the suction cup 106a that is adsorbing the 2nd (102B) is released, and the defective carton 102 (102B) is discharged. When the defective carton 102 (102B) is discharged, an empty space is left on the transport conveyor 112. Therefore, the conveyor 112 is controlled to stop until the next normally raised carton 102 is supplied. You can also put it. The device according to this embodiment can also achieve the same effects as the above embodiment.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, a carton magazine accommodating a carton, a carton removing means for removing the carton one by one from the carton magazine, and a carton raising for cartoning the removed carton. Means, detecting means for detecting the quality of the carton,
A conveyor that receives and transports the carton that has been raised, and the carton that has been raised by the raising means is determined to be defective by the detection means,
By discharging the defective carton without transferring it to the conveyor, the defective carton does not have to be supplied to the carton conveyor, so that troubles such as defective conveyance and defective filling do not occur, and the machine is stopped beforehand. Can be prevented. Therefore, the operating rate of the machine can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically illustrating a defective carton discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the defective carton discharge device.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the operation of the defective carton discharging device.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the operation of the defective carton discharging device.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the operation of the defective carton discharging device.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the operation of the defective carton discharging device.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the operation of the defective carton discharge device.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a defective carton discharging device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the defective carton discharging device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a defective carton discharging device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a main part of a defective carton discharging device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a main part of the defective carton discharging device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the defective carton discharging device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a simplified front view showing a configuration of a defective carton discharge device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining the operation of the defective carton discharge device according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Carton 4 Carton magazine 6 Carton unloading means 8 Carton unpacking means 10 Detecting means 12 Conveyor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Fujio Nohara 58 Koshizawa Ozuda Honmachi Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa Shibuya Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshiji Matsumoto 4-38 Asumita-cho, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka Osaka Factory Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A carton magazine for accommodating cartons, a carton taking-out means for taking out cartons one by one from the carton magazine, a carton initiating means for carrying out the carton taken out, and the quality of the carton. Detecting means for detecting, and a conveyor for receiving and transporting the carton, and the carton raised by the raising means is determined to be defective by the detecting means. And discharging the defective carton without transferring it to the conveyor.