JPH11130011A - Packaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging apparatus which can position an object to be packaged and carried onto an elevator head without the need for providing a stopper member for driving independently from a carry-in means. SOLUTION: The packaging apparatus for carrying an object to be packaged onto an elevator heat which rises with the object mounted and held by a belt conveyer comprises a protrusion 10 formed on a belt surface of the belt conveyer 11 wherein the object is carried with a front end of the object (a) in contact with the rear of the protrusion 10. In addition, the belt conveyer 11 is stopped at a predetermined position, thereby determining a position for carrying in the object on an elevator.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention conveys an article to be packaged onto an elevator head by a belt conveyor, and raises the elevator head with respect to a film stretched above the elevator head to raise the upper surface of the article to be packaged. The present invention relates to a stretch film packaging apparatus that covers an end of a film with a film and then folds the end of the film toward the bottom surface of the object to be packaged, and more particularly, to a position for carrying the object to be packaged on an elevator head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a stretch film packaging apparatus, a film is stretched over a wrapping portion above an elevator, a packaged object is conveyed onto the elevator, and then the elevator is raised to cover the upper surface of the packaged object with the film. After that, the end of the film is folded into the bottom side of the packaged object to complete the packaging. However, in order to perform good-looking packaging, it is necessary to accurately position the packaged object on the elevator. This positioning is performed with reference to the front end of the packaged article when the packaged article is unloaded after the packaging is completed in the same direction as the loading direction of the packaged article.
-39409 or JP-A-63-203507
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-202,1992 is known.

[0003]

The positioning means proposed above is provided with a stopper member provided independently of a carrying means such as a belt conveyor for carrying the articles to be packaged onto the elevator along the conveying direction of the carrying means. Since it is configured to be movable, a driving means for the stopper member is required for that purpose, which complicates the configuration and causes an increase in cost.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging apparatus capable of positioning an article to be carried into an elevator without having to provide a stopper member that is driven independently of the carrying means.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a technical measure taken by the present invention is to attach a protruding portion to a belt surface of a belt conveyor for carrying an article to be packaged on an elevator, While carrying the packaged object in a state where the front end of the packaged object is in contact with the rear portion, the carrying-in positioning of the packaged item on the elevator is performed by stopping the belt conveyor at a predetermined position. Features.

A plurality of the protrusions are formed at equal intervals around the surface of the belt conveyor, and the package is conveyed by bringing the front end of the packaged object into contact with the rear of the protrusion. As a method of bringing the packaged objects into contact with each other, a second belt conveyor is disposed in a stage preceding the belt conveyor to which the protruding portion is attached so that the carry-out end of the second belt conveyor overlaps the carry-in end of the belt conveyor. A method in which the front end of the article to be packaged is brought into contact with the rear part of the projecting part formed on the belt conveyor by making the conveying speed of the belt conveyor faster than the conveying speed of the belt conveyor having the projecting part (claim 2). Alternatively, after the article to be packaged is placed on the belt conveyor on which the protruding portion is formed, the article to be packaged is pressed with a pusher or the like to make contact with the projecting portion, and further, the article to be packaged is manually placed on the belt conveyor. Etc. is brought into contact with the front end portion of the packaged articles at the rear when the protruding portion may be any method.

When the front end of the package is brought into contact with the rear portion of the protruding portion and the belt conveyor to be conveyed is stopped at a predetermined position, the loading of the package on the elevator head is performed. The stop position is determined based on the size of the article to be carried. A method of obtaining data on the size of the packaged object by measuring a length (depth) dimension in the transport direction by a sensor disposed on a side of the conveyor while the belt is being transported to the elevator head by the belt conveyor. Alternatively, the length dimension (depth data) of the packaged object in the transport direction may be input (preset for each product number in advance). The stop position of the belt conveyor is not only the length (depth dimension) in the transport direction of the packaged object, but also the type (eg, a normal tray and a soft tray) and the depth dimension of the packaged product (tray for storing articles). Alternatively, the determination may be made based on height data and / or width data of the packaged object.

[0008] The above-described configuration in which the article to be packaged is carried into the predetermined position on the elevator head based on the data on the size of the article to be packaged is based on the size of the article to be packaged. Loading position determining means for determining the loading position of the package, determining means for determining whether or not the loading of the packages by the belt conveyor has reached the loading position determined by the loading position determining means; and When the judgment is affirmative, the system is provided with a stopping means for stopping the carrying of the packaged articles by the belt conveyor.
(Claim 3) In addition, the front end of the package is brought into contact with the rear portion of the protruding portion, and the package is conveyed and stopped by stopping the belt conveyor. Is not limited to the front end reference based on the front end (downstream end in the loading direction) of the packaged object abutting on the rear part of the protruding portion, but may be the rear end reference based on the rear end of the packaged product (import (The end on the upstream side in the direction), the belt conveyor may be stopped.

According to the above means, the position of the article to be packaged can be controlled by controlling the stop position of the belt conveyor having the projecting portion for carrying the article to be packaged on the elevator head. According to the second aspect of the present invention, a belt conveyor, which is faster than the conveyor speed of the belt conveyor, is disposed at the front stage of the belt conveyor provided with the protruding portion so that the carry-out side of the belt conveyor overlaps with the carry-in side of the belt conveyor. Thus, the front end of the packaged object can be automatically and reliably brought into contact with the rear portion of the projecting portion of the belt conveyor during the process of loading the packaged object. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the stop of the belt conveyor having the protruding portion is controlled by the position data for loading on the elevator head determined based on the size of the packaged object. It can be carried to the optimal position on the elevator head. Since the positioning of the article to be packaged is performed only by stopping the belt conveyor, there is no possibility that the carry-in position (stop position) of the article to be packaged is disturbed or the article to be packaged is damaged.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 schematically show a packaging device for packaging an object to be packaged using a stretch film,
A belt conveyor 1 is provided on the front side of the machine casing A to convey the article to be packaged a to an elevator head 2 provided inside the machine casing A, and a packaging part b is provided above the elevator head 2. The upstream side of the packaging portion b in the film transport direction described later (in the direction perpendicular to the belt conveyor, FIG.
Film holding unit (not shown) for holding the leading end of the film unwound from a film roll set in a film roll disposing unit (not shown) provided at
And a transporting means 3 for pulling out a predetermined length across the leading end of the film held by the film holding unit, stretching the packing unit b, and pre-stretching, and is disposed to face the packing unit b. Above the conveying means 3, the left and right folding plates 5, 5 'for folding the end of the film 4 covering the upper surface of the packaged object a to the bottom side of the packaged product a, the rear folding plate 6, and the rear folding plate 6 A discharge pusher 7 is disposed above the discharge pusher 7 for discharging the packaged articles. Note that the front folding is performed in the process of discharging by the discharge pusher 7.

Further, on the front side (upstream side) of the belt conveyor 1 of the packaging apparatus, a position correction for correcting the position in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the packaged object and detecting the lateral width of the packaged object a. A roller conveyor 9 provided with a device 8 and a conveying device B having an accumulation conveyor (not shown) arranged upstream thereof are connected to each other, whereby the article to be packaged a is centered and the belt conveyor 1 of the packaging apparatus is arranged.
Are supplied one by one at predetermined intervals.

The belt conveyor 1 is constituted by arranging a plurality of (four in the drawing) belt-shaped belts in parallel at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the articles to be packaged. Are inserted between a plurality of divided comb-shaped elevator heads 2, and projecting portions 10 for abutting and supporting the front end of the packaged article a are formed on the outer surface of the belt of the belt conveyor 1 at equal intervals. A plurality (four in the drawing, 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d) are fixed upright. In front of the belt conveyor 1, a second belt conveyor 11 for placing the articles to be packaged “a” sent from the above-mentioned conveyor B on the conveyor 1 is overlapped with the carry-out side of the belt conveyor 1. is set up. Further, a roller conveyor 11a for transfer is disposed between the transport device B and the second belt conveyor 11. The belt conveyor 1, the second belt conveyor 11, and the roller conveyor 11a are configured to be driven by a belt conveyor driving motor 12 and a second belt conveyor driving motor 13, respectively, and the second belt conveyor 11 and the roller conveyor 11a are respectively driven. The transport speed is higher than the transport speed of the belt conveyor 1, whereby the packaged articles a sent from the transport device B are transferred onto the belt conveyor 1 and transported by the speed difference between the belt conveyor 1 and the second belt conveyor 11. Inside, the front end of the article to be packaged abuts on the rear part of the protrusion 10. The conveyor surface of the belt conveyor 1 that conveys the packaged articles a onto the elevator head 2 is located slightly above the elevator head surface before ascending, and the second belt conveyor 1
The transport surface 1 is located slightly above the transport surface of the belt conveyor 1. A depth dimension detection sensor that detects the length (depth dimension) of the packaged article a conveyed by the driving of the belt conveyor 1 substantially at the middle of the section where the belt conveyor 1 and the second belt conveyor 11 overlap. Fourteen light emitters 14a and light receivers 14b are arranged to face each other across the transport path. Further, a height detection sensor (not shown) for detecting the height of the packaged object a is disposed on the side of the entrance of the machine frame A.

Further, the article to be packaged a of the belt conveyor 1 is mounted and conveyed onto the elevator head 2, and is placed at a predetermined position on the belt traveling path other than the forward path until it is mounted on the elevator head, that is, on the return path. Is provided with a reference position detection sensor 15 for detecting the protruding portion 10 fixed on the belt surface. When the reference position detection sensor 15 detects the front end of the protrusion 10d, the position of the rear end of the protrusion 10a is defined as the reference point Ro on the elevator head 2, and the position of the rear end of the protrusion 10b is defined as the depth. Reference point Q of dimension detector
o (See FIG. 5) The depth dimension detection sensor 14 is disposed at a distance L1 upstream from the reference point Qo. Also, the conveyor driving motor 12 and the second conveyor driving motor 13 for driving the belt conveyor 1 are controlled to be turned on / off at the same time and to operate for the same period. However, the belt conveyor 1 is driven at 300 mm / sec, and the second belt conveyor 11 is driven.
Is driven at 450 mm / sec in the first half and 600 mm / sec in the second half. The belt surface of the second belt conveyor 11 is made of a net-like cloth so as to be slippery with respect to the article to be packaged a. As a result, the protrusion 10 of the belt conveyor 1 is
After the packaged object a is brought into contact with the second belt conveyor 11
Rubs the bottom surface of the article to be packaged in a section overlapping with the belt conveyor 1, but the above configuration can reduce the frictional resistance at that time.

FIG. 3 is an electrical configuration diagram of the above-described packaging apparatus. Control of various operations in the packaging apparatus is performed by microcomputer control. In the figure, reference numeral 16 denotes a CPU (central processing unit) composed of a microcomputer.
The ROM 18, the RAM 19, the operation unit 20, the display unit 21, and the I / O port 22 are connected via the bus 17. The ROM 18 stores control programs executed by the CPU 16 and various tables described later.
Various data preset for each article are stored in the RAM 19, and the data is temporarily stored when the CPU 16 executes the program in the ROM 18. The operation unit 20 is for inputting various commands and data, and the display unit 21 is for inputting commands and data input from the operation unit 20,
Alternatively, in addition to displaying the data stored in the RAM 19 or the operation status of the apparatus, various operations and error messages are displayed in characters and graphics. The I / O boat 22 conceptually shows the entire packaging mechanism section controlled by the CPU 16, and the parts directly related to the present invention include an elevator motor drive circuit 23, a conveyor motor drive circuit 24, a second conveyor It includes a motor drive circuit 25, a reference position detection sensor 15, a depth dimension detection sensor 14, and the like. The control of the entire packaging apparatus is performed based on the count value of the timing pulse generated by the rotary encoder in synchronization with the rotation of the elevator motor. Note that a stepping motor is used for the belt conveyor driving motor 12 and the second belt conveyor driving motor 13, and the transfer distance can be accurately known by counting the number of driving pulses.

The depth dimension detection sensor 14 (S2) is a sensor for detecting the length dimension of the packaged article a to be supplied to the elevator 2 in the transport direction, and is composed of a light emitter and a light receiver. When the light is blocked, the light is turned “ON”, and the light from the light emitter is turned “OFF” when received by the light receiver. The depth dimension of the packaged object a is measured based on the depth dimension detection sensor 14, and the packaged article a is loaded onto the elevator head based on the depth dimension L (size) of the packaged article a. The position, that is, the stop position data “X” is determined, and the stop position of the belt conveyor 1 is controlled based on the data.
The details of the process of measuring the depth dimension of the packaged object a and the process of determining the stop position data “X” will be described later.

The reference position detecting sensor 15 (S1) is a sensor comprising a light emitter and a light receiver. When the light from the light emitter is received by the light receiver, that is, when the protrusion 10 is not detected, the output of the sensor is "1". "OFF", when the light of the projector is blocked by the protruding portion 10 and the protruding portion 10 is detected, the output of the sensor is turned "ON", and the detection signal is sent to the CPU 16
Is output to As described above, when the front end of the protrusion 10d attached to the belt conveyor 1 is detected by the reference position detection sensor 15 (Po in the drawing), as shown in FIG. One (10a) is at the reference point Ro on the elevator head 2 and the other protruding part 10 (10b) is at the reference point Qo, that is, the article a to be conveyed by the second belt conveyor 11 is the protruding part 10. Are located at positions passing through the depth dimension detecting sensor 14 by a distance L1 in contact with the rear end face of the packaged object a immediately before being loaded onto the elevator head 2 after its reference position is detected. The belt conveyor 1 is stopped after moving by the stop position data “X” determined based on the depth dimension L.

Next, the depth measurement processing and the stop position data determination processing of the packaged object in the above-described apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the figure is a flowchart for explanation, and is different from the actual control of the CPU 16. (Start): A description will be given of a case where the packaging apparatus is performing a continuous operation. Immediately before the packaging apparatus starts the next packaging cycle (the packaging operation), the articles to be packaged a are located at the positions shown in FIG. doing. That is, one (packaged object a1) on the elevator head 2, the belt conveyor 1 and the second
One part (packaged object a2) and one part (packaged object a3) on the conveying device B are located at the depth dimension detecting portion where the belt conveyor 11 overlaps. Note that, as shown in FIG.
Numeral 0 designates the position of the packaged object a1, which is located at a position where stop position data X, which will be described later, has passed from the reference points Po, Qo, Ro, respectively. The parts are in contact with each other, and their positions are precisely regulated by the protruding parts 10. When the next packaging cycle starts in this state, the following processing is executed. (Step 1) ... The shutter of the transport device B is lowered to start the insertion of the article to be packaged a3, and the drive motor 12 of the belt conveyor 1 and the drive motor 13 of the second belt conveyor 11 are driven. The second belt conveyor 11 and the roller conveyor 11a are started. As a result, loading of the article to be packed a2 onto the elevator head 2 is started with the front end of the article a2 being regulated by the protruding portion 10 of the belt conveyor 1. When the packaged object a1 rises above the elevator head 2, the operation to push up the film 4 is started. (Step 2): The depth dimension L of the packaged object a2 is measured. (Details will be described later.) (Step 3): Packaged object a detected in step 2 above
The stop position data X (distance X from the reference position Ro on the elevator head) of the article to be packaged a2 on the elevator head 2 is determined based on the depth dimension L2. (Details will be described later) (Step 4) ... It is determined whether or not the packaged object a2 has been transported to the stop position data X determined in Step 3 above. (The details will be described later.) (Step 5): The judgment result of Step 4 is “YES”,
That is, when it is determined that the packaged object a2 has been transported to the stop position data X, the rotation of the drive motor 12 of the belt conveyor 1 and the drive motor 13 of the second belt conveyor 11 are stopped, and the belt conveyor 1 and the second belt conveyor are stopped. 11 and the roller conveyor 11a are stopped. As a result, the packaged object a2 is placed on the elevator head 2 with the packaged object a2.
2 is accurately positioned at a predetermined position corresponding to the depth dimension L, that is, a position that has passed a distance X from the reference point Ro on the elevator head 2. Note that the packaged object a3 conveyed from the conveying device B during the above steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 is moved behind the protruding portion 10 during conveyance due to the speed difference between the belt conveyor 1 and the second belt conveyor 11 described above. The front end portion is brought into contact with the end portion.
Is stopped, the position is at the position of the packaged object a2 shown in FIG. 7, that is, at the position which has passed the distance X from the reference point Qo of the depth detecting unit. Then, when the next packaging cycle is started, the above processing is repeated.

Next, the details of step 2 (depth dimension L measurement processing) and step 3 (stop position data X determination processing) will be described with reference to FIG. In the depth dimension L measurement process of the present embodiment, the dimension L ″ on the rear side of the packaged object a is reduced in order to shorten the time for detection and to shorten the transport distance of the packaged object for detection. Is measured, and a front-side dimension L ′ determined in advance is added to the measurement result to obtain a depth dimension L.
(= L ′ + L ″).
Also, the depth dimension L is measured at the rear end of the packaged object so that the depth dimension L can be measured accurately even when the packaged object a is a product stored in a lunch tray having a slit formed in the lateral direction. Rather than ending at the point when the part is detected, the measurement is continuously performed for at least the maximum depth dimension LMAX that can be wrapped by this wrapping device, and the rear end data immediately before the end of the measurement is regarded as the rear end of the packaged object. It is characterized by: As a result, the processing in step 2 is more complicated than the normal depth dimension measurement processing. (Step 11)... Initial setting (data initialization) is performed. (a) The counter C for counting the number of drive pulses of the drive motor (stepping motor) 12 of the belt conveyor 1 is reset (C = O). (b) Reset the measurement result data L2 (L2 = 0).
As shown in Fig. 7, the measurement result data L2 is the dimension on the rear side of the packaged object (corresponding to the above L "). (C) Reset the measurement distance data l (movement amount) (l =
0). (d) The measurement completion data lMAX is determined by the following equation. lMAX = (LMAX + Y)-(L1 + X) where LMAX is a constant which is the maximum depth dimension that can be packed by this packing apparatus. Y is a constant with a margin. L1 is a constant between the rear end of the belt conveyor 1 and the depth detection sensor 14 when the protrusion 10 is at the reference position (see FIG. 6). X is
The packaged object a1 immediately before the packaged object a2 whose depth dimension is to be measured.
Is a variable in the stop position data, but has already been found in the processing of step 3 executed in the immediately preceding packaging cycle. (L1 + X) corresponds to the dimension L 'on the front side of the packaged object. (Step 12) The drive motor (stepping motor) 12 of the belt conveyor 1 is driven by one step. (Step 13) Count the number of driving steps (C
= C + 1). (Step 14)... Measured distance data (movement amount) 1 is calculated by the following equation. 1 = K * C Here, K is a proportional constant (step 15)... It is determined whether or not the measured distance data (movement amount) 1 has become the measurement completion data lMAX. If the result of this determination is "YES", the flow proceeds to step 18 where "N
If "O", the process jumps to step 16. (Step 16) ... The output of the depth detection sensor 14 is "O
It is determined whether the status has changed from "N" to "OFF". In the illustrated example, the state in which the light from the projector in the depth detection sensor 14 is received by the light receiver is “OFF”, and the state in which the light is not received is “ON”. (Accordingly, when the rear end of the packaged object or the front end of the slit has passed the detection sensor 14,
The output of the sensor 14 changes from “ON” to “OFF”. If the result of this determination is "YES", the process jumps to step 17, and if "NO", the process jumps to step 12. (Step 17) ... The measurement result data L2 is calculated by the following equation. L2 = K * (C-1) Note that the dimension L2 detected here is the dimension on the rear side of the packaged object (corresponding to the above L ") or the length from the detection sensor 14 to the slit of the packaged object. (Step 18): The depth dimension L of the packaged object a is calculated by the following equation: L = (L1 + X) + L2 (Step 19): The depth dimension L of the packaged object a calculated in the step 18 is calculated. Based on the stop position data X (distance X from the reference point Ro on the elevator head 2) of the packaged object a on the elevator head 2 of the belt conveyor 1 based on
To determine. This determination is performed using a conversion table that determines the stop position X from the depth dimension L stored in the ROM (or RAM).

Next, the stop control process of the belt conveyor 1 that conveys the packaged articles a for which the depth dimension L has been measured and the stop position data X (the reference position R on the elevator head) on the elevator head 2 has been determined (see FIG. Step 4 above,
Details of step 5) will be described with reference to FIG. (Step 21) Initial setting (whether the data is initial) is performed. (a) The counter S for counting the number of pulses of the drive motor 12 of the belt conveyor 1 is reset (S = 0). (b) Reset the distance data (movement amount) x (x =
0). (Step 22) The drive motor (stepping motor) 12 of the belt conveyor 1 is driven by one step. (Step 23): It is determined whether the output of the reference position detection sensor 15 has changed from “OFF” to “ON”. In the illustrated example, the state in which the light from the projector in the reference position detection sensor 15 is received by the light receiver is “OFF”, and the state in which the light is not received is “ON”. (Accordingly, when the front end of the protruding portion 10 of the belt conveyor 1 has passed the detection sensor 15, the output of the sensor 14 changes from "OFF" to "ON".) When this determination result is "YES", Jumps to step 24, and if "NO", jumps to step 22. If the result of the determination in step 23 is "YES", as shown in FIG. 5, the other projecting portions 10 of the belt conveyor 1 are connected to the reference point Ro on the elevator head and the depth detection Are located at the reference point Qo and the vertical path of the belt conveyor 1. (Step 24): It is determined whether or not the measured distance data (movement amount) x is the stop position data determined in Step 19 above. If the result of this determination is "YES", the belt conveyor 1 is stopped and the process is terminated, and if "NO", the process jumps to step S25. (Step 25) The drive motor (stepping motor) 12 of the belt conveyor 1 is driven by one step. (Step 26): Count the number of driving steps (S
= S + 1). (Step 27) ... Distance data (movement amount) x is calculated by the following equation, and thereafter, the process returns to Step 24 to repeat the above processing. x = K * S Here, K is a proportional constant. By the above processing, the packaged object a is accurately positioned at a position where a distance X has elapsed from the reference point Ro on the elevator head as shown in FIG. . In this case, the article to be packaged a is not positioned by colliding with a stopper as in a conventional packaging apparatus, but is conveyed with its front end abutting on the rear end surface of the protruding portion 10.
The stop position and stop posture are disturbed by the impact (repulsion) when colliding with the stopper,
There is no danger of the package being damaged or the arrangement of the goods stored in the tray being disturbed.

In the above-described embodiment, the installation position of the reference position detection sensor serving as the reference for detecting the position of the conveyor for determining the carrying-in position of the article to be packaged by the belt conveyor is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. Instead, for example, it may be provided at a position where the protrusion 10c in FIG. 5 is detected. Further, instead of detecting the protruding portion 10, a separately provided detection flag may be detected.
Further, the method of detecting the depth of a packaged object is not limited to the method described in the embodiment. For example, input the depth data of the packaged object (by means such as presetting for each product number)
You may make it. Further, in the embodiment, the stop position data X of the carry-in positioning of the packaged object a is determined only from the depth dimension L of the packaged object. A conversion table based on the depth dimension L may be prepared, and the conversion table may be selected and determined according to the type of tray.
The above determination may be made not only by the depth data but also by taking into account the height data and / or the width data of the packaged object a. In the above embodiment, the means for bringing the front end of the packaged object into contact with the rear portion of the projecting portion of the belt conveyor changes the movement speed of the belt conveyor and the second belt conveyor to move the packaged object during the movement of both conveyors. Although it is in contact with the protrusion, it is not limited to this. For example, the belt conveyor may be stopped, and only the second belt conveyor may be driven to make contact.

Further, the belt conveyor 1 provided with the protrusion 10
The shape of the second belt conveyor 11 is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. In the configuration shown in the embodiment, a vertical return path is provided on the upstream side of the belt conveyor 1 so that the protruding portion rises on the transport surface at a position shorter than the distance between the protruding portions, thereby shortening the entire loading portion. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Although the reference of the loading positioning of the packaged object in the above embodiment is a front end reference in which the front end of the packaged object is brought into contact with the rear portion of the protruding portion,
It is also possible to use the reference position as the rear end of the packaged object and to position the rear end reference with the same structure. In this case, assuming that the stop position data is “X”, the belt conveyor may be stopped when the front end of the package moves from the reference point by the depth dimension L of the package and the stop position data X from the reference point. .

The speed difference between the belt conveyor 1 provided with the protruding portion and the second belt conveyor 11 is provided as described above, and the second belt conveyor 11 whose speed is higher than that of the belt conveyor 1 cannot be operated at a constant speed. Instead, the speed difference between the first half and the second half is further increased. The speed of the second belt conveyor is switched between two stages (for example, the first half ... 45)
0 mm / sec, latter half ... 600 mm / sec) The reason is that in the case of a high speed (600 mm / sec), a package having a small depth dimension is rapidly carried in from a relatively low speed carrying device B. Therefore, there is a risk of falling. After the front end of the package comes into contact with the protruding portion, the second belt conveyor slides. However, if the package has a deviation in the center of gravity, if the transport speed is high, the package will not move horizontally. There is a risk of slipping in the direction. Therefore, the speed is made relatively slow (4
50 mm / sec), the above-mentioned problem can be solved, but in this case, the packaged material having a large depth dimension L takes a long time to transfer over the second belt conveyor, and consequently the transport distance becomes short. Considering slippage or the like, there is a possibility that the packaged object does not come into contact with the protruding portion in time. In order to solve this problem, the speed is switched between two stages.

[0023]

According to the packaging device of the present invention, the positioning of the article to be packaged is performed by the belt conveyor for carrying the article to be packaged onto the elevator head. There is no need to move in the direction. That is, a packaging device that does not require a stopper member can be provided. Therefore, the structure of the loading positioning can be simplified,
The cost of the device can be reduced. In addition, instead of hitting the packaged object against the stopper member and positioning the article on the elevator head, only the stop of the belt conveyor for loading the article onto the elevator head with the front end of the packaged article abutting on the protrusion. In this case, accurate positioning can be performed without the possibility that the stop position is disturbed by an impact (rebound) when the packaged object hits the stopper member and stops, and the packaged product is not damaged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway plan view of the same part.

FIG. 3 is an electrical configuration diagram of the packaging device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which length detection of a packaged object is completed and the packaged object is carried into an elevator.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a protrusion of the belt conveyor is detected by a reference position detection sensor.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a depth dimension detection sensor and a protruding portion that abuts and supports an article to be packaged in the state of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the robot has moved from the reference position by the distance of the stop position data X determined based on the size of the packaged object measured by the depth detection sensor and stopped.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a state in which after the belt conveyor stops, the elevator is lifted up to push up an article on the stretched film.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the belt conveyor is driven to measure the length L2 of the rear half of the packaged object after the elevator descends.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a depth measurement process and a stop position determination process of a packaged object.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating stop control processing of a belt conveyor that conveys a packaged object.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Belt conveyor 2 ... Elevator head 10 ... Projection part 11 ... Second belt conveyor 14 ... Depth dimension detection sensor 15 ... Reference position detection sensor

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] February 4, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART stretch film wrapping apparatus, stretch the film in the packaging of the upper elevator head, after transporting the packaged articles onto the elevator head, the elevator heads
Covering the upper surface of the packaged articles with a film by increasing the de, then the end of the film is to complete the packaging is folded on the bottom side of the material to be packaged, in order to perform a good-looking packaging on the elevator head It is necessary to accurately position the article to be packaged at the time. This positioning is performed with reference to the front end (the end on the downstream side in the loading direction) of the packaged product when the packaged product is unloaded after the packaging is completed in the same direction as the loading direction of the packaged product. And Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62
-39409 or JP-A-63-203507
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-202,1992 is known.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0003

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0003]

The positioning means proposed above comprises a stopper member provided independently of a carrying means such as a belt conveyor for carrying an article to be packaged onto an elevator head along a carrying direction of the carrying means. Since it is configured to be movable back and forth, a driving means for the stopper member is required for that purpose, which complicates the configuration and causes an increase in cost. Also, when the packaged object collides with the stopper member,
The stop position of the packaged item is disturbed by the blow, or the packaged item is deformed.
Or there is a risk of

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0004

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.
Positioning of the packaged goods to be carried into the elevator head ,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging device that can perform positioning without having to provide a stopper member that is driven independently of a loading unit.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0005

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0005]

The technical means taken by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is that an object to be packaged is lifted by an elevator.
A protruding portion is formed on the belt surface of the belt conveyer carried into the head , and the conveyed object is transported in a state where the front end of the conveyed material is in contact with the rear portion of the protruding portion, and the belt conveyor is moved to a predetermined position. elevator header in in be stopped
And carrying-in positioning of the article to be packaged on the door.

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0012

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The belt conveyor 1 is constituted by arranging a plurality of (four in the drawing) belt-shaped belts in parallel at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the articles to be packaged. together are inserted and arranged between the plurality to split the comb-like elevator head 2, is on the belt conveyor 1 of the belt outside the table plane projecting portion 10 which contacts and supports the front end portion of the packaged articles a like A plurality of them (four in the drawing, 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d) are fixed upright at intervals. In front of the belt conveyor 1, a second belt conveyor 11 for placing the articles to be packaged a sent from the above-described conveyor B on the conveyor 1 is arranged in parallel.
The belt conveyor 1 is disposed between the belt conveyors 1 and the carry-out side thereof is overlapped with the carry-in side of the belt conveyor 1 so as to be overlapped. Further, the transfer device B and the second belt conveyor 11
A roller conveyor 11a for transfer is disposed between the roller conveyor 11a and the roller conveyor 11a. The belt conveyor 1, the second belt conveyor 11, and the roller conveyor 11a are respectively a motor 12 for driving the belt conveyor and a motor 13 for driving the second belt conveyor.
And the transport speed of the second belt conveyor 11 and the roller conveyor 11a is made faster than the transport speed of the belt conveyor 1, so that the packaged articles a sent from the transport device B can be moved by the belt conveyor 1. At the same time, the front end of the article to be packaged abuts on the rear part of the protruding portion 10 during conveyance due to the speed difference between the belt conveyor 1 and the second belt conveyor 11. And
The conveyor surface of the belt conveyor 1 that conveys the packaged articles a onto the elevator head 2 is located slightly above the elevator head surface before ascending, and the conveyor surface of the second belt conveyor 11 is higher than the conveyor surface of the belt conveyor 1. It is located slightly above. Belt conveyor 1 and second belt conveyor 1
The light projector 1 of the depth dimension detection sensor 14 for detecting the length (depth dimension) of the packaged article a conveyed by the drive of the belt conveyor 1 is located substantially in the middle of the section where the 1 overlaps.
The light receiving device 4a and the light receiving device 14b are arranged to face each other with the conveyance path interposed therebetween. Further, a height detection sensor (not shown) for detecting the height of the packaged object a is disposed on the side of the entrance of the machine frame A.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An elevator head for loading and holding an article to be packaged is divided into a plurality of parts, a belt conveyor is provided between the divided elevator heads, and the article to be packaged is carried on the elevator head by the belt conveyor. In the packaging apparatus, a projecting portion is formed on the belt surface of the belt conveyor, and the packaged object is transported in a state where the front end of the packaged object is brought into contact with the rear portion of the projecting portion, and the belt conveyor is moved to a predetermined position. A packaging device for carrying in and positioning an article to be packaged on an elevator by stopping at a position. 2. A second belt conveyor is disposed at a stage preceding the belt conveyor such that an unloading end of the second belt conveyor overlaps a loading end of the belt conveyor. 2. The packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the front end of the article to be packaged is brought into contact with the rear part of the protruding part formed on the belt conveyor by increasing the conveying speed of the formed belt conveyor. 3. A loading position determining means for determining a loading position of the packaged article on the elevator head based on a size of the packaged article, and loading of the packaged article by the belt conveyor is performed by the loading position determining means. 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: judging means for judging whether or not the vehicle has reached the determined carry-in position, and stopping means for stopping the carry-in of the article to be packaged by the belt conveyor when the judgment by the judging means is affirmative. 2. The packaging device according to 2.