JPH1111657A - Article sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cope with changes in the number and diameter of articles to be sorted and to feed them without bringing the articles out of alignment or damaging them. SOLUTION: An article support part B is provided with a conveyor which feeds articles 2, 2... continuously by pressing them, a sliding plate 23, and star wheels 17, 17. and in a grouping part C separators so, 31,... are operatively provided on the side of the sliding plate 23. Front dogs 41, 41,... which press the fronts of the articles 2, 2... sorted and rear dogs 42, 42... which press the rears of the articles are operatively provided in vertically extending grooves 40, 40 in the sliding plate 23. The speed at which the articles 2, 2... are fed by the star wheel 17 is made slower than that at which the articles 2, 2,... are fed by the separators 30, 31,... and the rear dogs 42, 42,..., and the articles 2, 2,... sorted are synchronized with the separators 30, 31,... and fed to the next process, with their fronts and rears clamped by the front and rear dogs 41, 42.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus such as a packaging machine for sleeve-wrapping articles such as foods, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals, mainly cylindrical or prismatic, such as cans and bottles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Articles such as small containers such as bottles, cans, etc.
Packing with a cardboard folded in a sleeve shape by a plurality of pieces, such as pieces, five pieces or three pieces in two rows of six pieces, is convenient for processing because a plurality of pieces can be transported by machine or manually. For this purpose, the present applicant has invented Japanese Patent Application Nos. 7-230014 and 7-230015. Also Japanese Patent Application No. 6-32
No. 7756 is known.

[0003]

However, if the articles to be packaged are easily damaged or broken, or slip easily and fall down immediately during transportation, it is difficult to increase the processing capacity with the conventional sorting apparatus, and to give the articles to the articles. There has been a demand for an apparatus capable of processing at a high speed with little impact. An object of the present invention is to provide an article sorting apparatus for a packaging machine that overcomes such a problem.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided an article supply section B for continuously feeding articles 2 in a pressed state, and articles 2, 2,... Sent by the article supply section B are wrapped. The article supply section B is provided with a conveyor 25 and a sliding plate 23 for continuously pressing the articles 2, 2... In a state of pressing and pressing, and the conveyor 25 includes Star wheels 17, 17 are provided, and grouping section C
, The separators 30 and 31.
.. Are provided to actuate, and the front side dogs 41, 41... For holding the front side of the sorted articles 2, 2,. Are provided to operate the side dogs 42, 42,..., And the feed speed of the articles 2, 2,.
..The feed speed of the articles 2, 2,.
The sorted articles 2, 2, ... are separators 30, 31, ...
Synchronized with front and rear dog 41 and rear dog 42
And an article sorting apparatus, wherein the article is sent to the next step. Further, the separator 30,
Are driven by the main motor M1, one of the front dog 41 and the rear dogs 42 is driven by the main motor M1, and the other is driven by the motor M3 having a phase difference with respect to the main motor M1. Goods to be sorted and sorted 2,
The distance between the front dogs 41, 41,... With respect to the rear dogs 42, 42,. Furthermore, the rear dogs 42, 42
Is driven by the main motor M1 and the front dog 41
Are driven by a motor M3 having a phase difference with respect to the main motor M1 so as to project to a sandwiching start position of the sorted articles 2, 2,.... further,
.. And the front dogs 41, 4.
Are driven by the main motor M1, and the phase difference between the rear dogs 42, 42 and the front dogs 41, 41,... Is set by a mechanical addition / subtraction mechanism. .

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 and subsequent figures show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a sleeve packaging machine. FIG. 2 is a side view, FIG. 3 is a plan view, and FIG. 4 is a front end view. is there. This apparatus is roughly divided into a blank supply section A for supplying a blank 1 made of a sheet of paper, plastic, or the like, an article supply section B for continuously feeding the articles 2 under the blank supply section A in a pressed state. The grouping unit C sorts the articles 2, 2... Sent by the article supply unit B to the number to be packed, and the blank 1 supplied on the grouping unit C.
Holding portion D for pressing the center of the upper surface of the blank 1; a bending device E for bending both sides of the blank 1 downward; And an engagement device G that engages lower portions on both sides of the blank 1. 2 to 4, reference numeral 3 denotes a frame surrounding the apparatus. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the holding portion D. In the holding portion D, an upper conveyor belt 28 for holding the front center of the blank 1 is supported by a column 26 so as to move up and down.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a cardboard 1a which is folded into a sleeve shape for packing six articles in three rows and two rows as an example of the blank 1, and FIG. It is a top view of the cardboard 1b folded in the shape of a sleeve which wraps an article.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cardboard 1a is packaged.
The center part a which abuts on the top surface of the article 2,
Fold line b to bend along both sides of the top₁, B_Two, Of article 2
Side part c on both sides₁, C_TwoOf the article 2 to be packed
Fold line d to bend along both sides of the bottom₁, D_TwoHaving.
5, 5 ... are broken lines b₁, B_TwoAre provided in the through holes. This
Broken line d₁More outwardly, the first engagement portion f₁, F_Two, F_Three
A second male protrusion h via a first fold line g having₁, H_Two
Having. Broken line d_TwoMore outwardly, the male protrusion h ₁, H_Two
Engages with the second insertion hole n₁, N_TwoAnd further comprising the
1 engaging portion f₁, F_TwoEngages with the first insertion hole p₁, P
_Two, P_ThreeHaving. The male protrusion h₁, H _TwoMushroom
And the insertion hole n₁, N_TwoIs a semicircular male protrusion h₁, H_TwoEnter
Pair of cuts n_Three, N_FourThere is.

The cardboard 1a advances forward, that is, downwards in FIG. 5, and the left side from the center part a in FIG. 5 is the male side, and the right side is the female side.

The cardboard 1b shown in FIG. 6 has substantially the same structure as the cardboard 1a shown in FIG. 5, and the corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Only different parts will be described. In the case of FIG. 6, there are no female lug engagement small holes k ₁ and k ₂ and no fold line m, and the length of the side surface portion c ₂ is correspondingly short. The second insertion holes n ₁ and n ₂ with which the male protrusions h ₁ and h ₂ are engaged are located on the fold line d ₂ . 6 is cut in order to facilitate cutaway side portion c _1.

As shown in FIG. 2, a blank supply unit A at the lower side of the stacker stacks blanks 1, 1,... It comprises a rotating triangular rotary disk 12 and suction cups 13, 13, 13 rotating counterclockwise at three corners of the rotary disk 12. The suction cup 13 revolves while rotating, and sucks the blanks 1 one by one from the bottom of the stacker section 10 and sends the blanks 1 onto a sleeve carrier conveyor 14 extending obliquely downward below the blanks.

The article supply section B is a conveyor 15 extending forward (to the right in FIGS. 2 and 3) below the blank supply section A along a center line II for sending the articles 2, 2,.
, Which are provided on the vertical shafts 16, 16 on both sides of the outlet of the conveyor 15, to be engaged with and transport the articles 2, 2.
・ ・ Continuously press and send in the state of pressing. As shown in FIG. 8, this vertical shaft 16 is connected to an AC servomotor M2 via a speed reducer 18 and input shafts 19,19. Input shaft 1 on both sides
9 and 19 are connected by a timing belt 21. When the articles 2, 2,... Are sent in two rows as shown in FIGS.
The cardboard 1a shown in FIG. Also, as shown in FIG. 7, a center line I-
A guide bar 20 extending forward along I is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 7, a grouping section C is provided in front of the article supply section B to sort articles 2, 2,... In the grouping section C, the conveyor 2 extending in front of the conveyor 15
5 and a slide plate 23 are provided. The conveyor 25 is driven by the main motor M1.

As shown in FIGS.
On both sides of the sliding plate 23, separators 30, 31 are provided in two upper and lower stages avoiding the label positions of the articles 2, 2,. In FIG. 7, the upper side is the F side (insertion holes n ₁ , n ₂ side), and the lower side is the M side (male protrusions h ₁ , h ₂ side). Since these are left and right symmetrical, only one of them will be described. Fig. 1 (a),
In (b), only the M side is divided into two parts. These upper and lower separators 30, 31 are provided at equal intervals on upper and lower chains 32, 33 provided for driving in a horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 1, and a front stopper 34 is provided in front of the separators 30, 31,. , 34... Are slid toward the articles 2, 2,..., The bases of which engage a cam 35 to operate toward the articles 2, 2. As shown in FIG. 12, the separators 30 and 31 have a quadrangular shape and have an arc surface 31 a along the roundness of the article 2 on a surface that engages with the outside of the article 2. The chain wheels 36, 36,..., Which span the upper and lower chains 32, 33, are provided to be rotated by the main motor M1. 37, 37 are upper and lower chains 3
It is a guide that guides 2, 33.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 7, and 9, the sorted articles 2, 2 are provided in the grooves 40, 40 extending in the longitudinal direction of the sliding plate 23 provided corresponding to the articles 2, 2,. , And rear dogs 42, 42,... That press the rear side, and these front dogs 41, 41, and rear dogs 42, 42,. Are provided at equal intervals on chains 43 and 44 provided for driving in a vertical plane. These paired chains 43 and 44 are respectively chain wheels 45 supported on the frame 39.
・, 46 ... Front dog 41, 41 ...
Is connected to the motor M3 via the chain 47 and the speed reducer 48 so as to rotate. The chain wheel 46 is connected to the main motor M1 via the chains 49, 49 so as to rotate.

FIG. 10 shows a drive circuit for the main motor M1, the AC servo motor M2 for driving the star wheel 17, and the AC servo motor M3. The main motor M1 is driven from a power supply 60 via a speed control inverter 61. . The output signal of the rotary encoder 62 for detecting the rotation of the main motor M1 is used to output the AC servomotor M2,
It controls the AC servo motor M3.

[0016] As shown in FIG.
A signal 50 corresponding to the sorting number of the article 2 and a signal 51 corresponding to the diameter of the article 2 are supplied to the AC servomotor M2 for driving
Is input to the pulse conversion value setting 52, the pulse Pa for driving the separators 30 and 31 of the rotary encoder 62 is changed to a pulse Pb having a different number of pulses by the pulse converter 54, and the motor M2 is driven. 2 is slower than the advancing speed of the separators 30 and 31, and their synchronization ratio is changed. Even if the number of sorts is changed, the separators 30 and 31 are always attached to the rear end of each row of the articles 2. It is made to match. When the diameter of the article 2 changes, the number of pockets of the star wheel 17 and the position of its axis are changed together with the guide.

The distance between the front dogs 41, 41... With respect to the rear dogs 42, 42.
A phase difference signal 63 corresponding to a phase difference between the pulses 44 is input to a phase difference setting unit 64, and a pulse is added to or subtracted from a pulse Pa to form a pulse Pc. And rear dogs 42, 42 depending on the number
, The distance between the front dogs 41, 41,.

Next, the operation of the grouping unit C will be described with reference to FIGS. The articles 2, 2,...
5, the separators 30 and 31 are sent out onto the conveyor 25 and the slide plate 23, and as shown in FIG.
, And the grouping is started, but before the separators 30 and 31 reach the B position, the front stopper 34 is protruded by the cam 35 to prevent the article 2 at the position A from falling over. The separators 30 and 31 send the article 2 forward from the conveyor 25 at a slightly higher speed. Therefore, the articles 2, 2... In three rows and two rows are sent faster than the following articles 2, and a gap is formed therebetween, and the articles 2 are sorted by three rows and two rows.

Next, as shown in FIG.
First, the front positioning dog 41 enters the articles 2, 2... Grouped by 0, 31 from below, and after moving,
The positioning dog 42 at the rear of the third article 2 enters from below, and the articles 2, 2, sorted as shown in FIG.
2 is sent between the front dog 41 and the rear dog 42. Therefore, even if the feed speed of the article 2 increases,
It is sent without disturbing the arrangement of the articles 2 or damaging the articles 2.

After that, the blanks 1 supplied from the grouping section C onto the grouping section C
Holding portion D for pressing the center of the upper surface of the blank 1; a bending device E for bending both sides of the blank 1 downward; Is sent to an engaging device G for engaging the lower portions on both sides of the blank 1. The configuration and operation of these devices are described in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-230.
Since this is the same as No. 015 and has no relation to the gist of the present application, the description is omitted.

In the above embodiment, the rear dogs 42, 42
Are driven by the main motor M1, and the front dog 4
Are driven by a motor M3 having a phase difference with respect to the main motor M1, while the front dog 41 is driven by the main motor M1 and the rear dogs 42, 42
.. Represents a motor M having a phase difference with respect to the main motor M1.
3 may be driven. In this case, the rear dogs 42, 42,... Protrude to the sandwiching end position of the sorted articles 2, 2,. Also, rear dogs 42, 42 ...
And the front dog 41, 41. . . Both of the main motor M
. And the front dogs 41, 41. . . May be set by a mechanical addition / subtraction mechanism.

FIG. 14 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The number of articles 2 to be sorted is three in one row in addition to three in two rows,
There are five in one row, six in one row, and the like. In the case of this one row, FIG.
In the article supply section B and the grouping section C shown in FIG. 1, the F side of the grouping section C is deactivated. For this reason, a pair of front dogs 41, 41.
..Driving chain 43, rear dogs 42,42.
..Chain wheels 45..., 46 along at least the II line above the chain 44 for driving
The frame 39a supporting the front part of the
To pivot downward, and the rear portion is supported by the cylinder 71. When sorting the articles 2 in a row by this, the frame 39a is operated downward by the cylinder 71, and the rear side dog 42,
.. And the front dogs 41, 41... Are pulled down to be inoperative, and the grouping of the articles 2 in one row can be performed without any trouble. In this case, one row of blanks 1 shown in FIG. 6, that is, cardboard 1b is used.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the articles 2 are sorted by the star wheel 17 and the separators 30 and 31, so the sorting is performed only by adjusting the position of the star wheel 17, the number of pockets and the speed. It is possible to adapt to the change of the number and diameter of the articles 2 to be carried out, and it is convenient, and the feed speed of the articles 2 by the star wheel 17 can be controlled by the separators 30, 31.
, And the separators 30 and 31 are inserted between the articles 2 in each row of the articles 2, so that the separators 30 and 31 disturb the arrangement of the articles 2 or damage the articles 2. Without being sorted,
2 and 2 are sandwiched and sent by the front dog 41 and the rear dog 42. Therefore, even if the feed speed of the article 2 increases, the article 2 can be sent without disturbing the arrangement of the article 2 or damaging the article 2.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the M side of upper and lower separators 30 and 31 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a front dog 41, 41 and rear dogs 42, 42,. -It is a perspective view of the M side of the part.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing the entire blank and article supply portion according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a holding portion D portion.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a cardboard 1a that is folded into a sleeve shape for packaging six articles in three rows and two rows as an example of the blank 1.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a cardboard 1b which is folded into a sleeve shape for packing three rows of articles as another example of the blank 1.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the star wheel portion.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the star wheel portion.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the larger separators 30, 31 and the front stopper 34.

FIG. 10 shows a main motor M1, an AC motor M for driving a star wheel, and a motor M for driving a front dog 41.
3 is a drive circuit diagram of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a side view on the M side of the article supply section B and the grouping section C;

FIG. 12 shows separators 30, 31 and a front stopper 3.
4 is an enlarged plan view illustrating the operation of FIG.

13A and 13B are side views showing the operation of a front dog 41 and a rear dog 42. FIG.

FIG. 14 is a side view on the F side of the article supply section B and the grouping section C.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Article B Article supply section C Grouping section 25 Conveyor 23 Sliding plate 17, 17 Star wheel 30, 31 Separator 40 Groove 41, 41 Front dog 42, 42 Rear dog M1 Main motor M2 AC servo motor M3 AC servo motor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An article supply section (B) for continuously feeding an article (2) in a pressed state, and articles (2, 2,...) Sent by the article supply section (B) are wrapped. A conveyor (25) and a slide plate (23) for continuously feeding the articles (2, 2,...) In a state of being pressed down to the article supply section (B). ), A star wheel (17, 17) is provided on the conveyor (25), and separators (30, 31,...) Are operated on the side of the slide plate (23) in the grouping portion (C). Grooves (40, 4) extending in the longitudinal direction of the slide plate (23).
0) are provided to operate a front dog (41, 41...) For holding the front side of the sorted articles (2, 2...) And a rear dog (42, 42. , The feed speed of the article (2, 2,...) By the star wheel (17) and the article (2, 2,...) By the separator (30, 31,...) And the rear dog (42, 42,.・ ・)
Items that are slower than the feed speed of (2, 2, ...)
Are arranged in synchronism with the separators (30, 31,...), And sandwiched between the front and rear dogs (41) and (42) and sent to the next step. . 2. The separator (30, 31,...) Is driven by a main motor (M1), and one of the front dog (41) and the rear dog (42, 42,. ), And the other is driven by a motor (M3) having a phase difference with respect to the main motor (M1),
According to the number of articles (2, 2,...) To be sorted, the front dogs (41, 4) with respect to the rear dogs (42, 42,.
The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance (1) is variable. 3. The rear dog (42, 42...) Is driven by a main motor (M1), and the front dog (4).
Are driven by a motor (M3) having a phase difference with respect to the main motor (M1) to sort the articles (2, 2).
2. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article is projected to a sandwiching start position of (...). 4. The rear dog (42, 42...) And the front dog (41, 41...)
2. The driving method according to claim 1, wherein the phase difference between the rear dog (42, 42...) And the front dog (41, 41...) Is set by a mechanical addition / subtraction mechanism. Article sorting equipment.