JPS60262722A - Apparatus for converting number of container rows - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the conversion of the number of container rows by providing a container holding mechanism, which is drivably circulated to transfer a group container on one conveyer onto the other conveyer, between two parallel conveyers having opposite transfer directions to each other. CONSTITUTION:A second conveyer 4 spaced parallel to a first conveyer 1 for transferring a group container 2A of containers 2 grouped in 4 rows and 4 columns is disposed to have the opposite transfer direction to that of the first conveyer 1. Between both conveyers 1, 4 is disposed a circulating drive mechanism 3 for transferring the group container 2A to the second conveyer 4. On said mechanism 3 is provided a container holding mechanism 7 provided with a head 6 having a grip 5 for holding the grouped container 2. The head 6 is divided into movable heads 6A-6D and a fixed head 6E to convert the group container 2A to the condition 2B of preparing for the conversion of the number of rows on the second conveyer 4 so that the containers 2 under the condition 2B are arranged into 2 rows by an unit 8 for moving the container obliquely.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a device for converting the number of rows of containers such as bottles and cans, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a device for converting the number of rows of containers such as bottles and cans. The present invention relates to a container row number conversion device that can perform row number conversion without any need for container row number conversion.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a container row number converting device, when containers conveyed in an array of, for example, three columns or four rows are held by a container holding mechanism having a holder and transferred onto another conveyor. There is a known conversion method in which the number of container rows is changed from three to two during the transfer while the containers are being held, and the containers are transferred to another conveyor. 41714, Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-42528). Since the technique of Kojiki G is a technology in which row number conversion is completed and transferred using only a container holding mechanism, the disadvantage is that the structure of the container holding mechanism is not only complicated, but also that the manufacturing cost of the device is high. was there.

As a technique for solving the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present applicant previously proposed a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-183 '911. According to the previously proposed technology, when a container is held by a container holding mechanism and transferred to another conveyor, the entire held container is moved laterally by a predetermined pinch in the transport direction and transferred to the conveyor. After that, the preset container row is moved to a position at a faster or slower conveyance speed than other rows using an engaging member such as a forward or stop provided on the conveyor, and the container row is moved downstream of the container row. On the side, the number of rows is converted from, for example, three rows to two rows using a guide conveyor or the like.

However, there are various shapes of containers; for example, in containers where the shoulder of the container is wider than the bottom, the engaging members such as the feeder and stopper may When the conveyance speed of the container is increased or decreased, there is a risk that the container may fall over and be damaged, and there is also a problem that noise is generated due to collision of the containers. Furthermore, since the conveyor is provided with the engagement member described in "2" above, the structure of the apparatus becomes complicated.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to prevent containers from falling over or being damaged, to prevent the occurrence of noise due to collisions of containers, and to reduce the manufacturing cost of the device. The technical challenge is to be able to suppress the increase in the amount of water.

[Means for Solving the Problem] The container row number converting device of the present invention for solving the above technical problem includes: (A) a first conveyor that continuously conveys grouped containers; and (B) a first conveyor. (C) a second conveyor that moves in parallel and in the opposite direction to the first conveyor and continuously conveys containers grouped in the same number of rows as the first conveyor; and (C) located on an extension line of the second conveyor. , a third conveyor that continuously conveys containers grouped in a number of rows smaller than the number of rows of the second conveyor in the same direction;
D) When transferring the group containers on one conveyor L to the other conveyor by driving circulation between the first conveyor and the second conveyor in the same direction as the moving direction of both conveyors,
(E) a container holding mechanism that moves some or all of the containers at least parallel to the container transportation center line so that the number of rows of the group containers and the container transportation center line are symmetrical without changing; a container diagonal moving device that is provided at the boundary between the second conveyor and the third conveyor and moves at least some of the containers in the group in a diagonal direction on the downstream side of container conveyance to reduce or increase the number of rows of group containers; It is characterized by having the following.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

The container row number converting device according to the present invention is suitable for reducing the number of container rows from an integral multiple of 4 to half that number, or increasing the number of container rows from an integral multiple of 2 to twice that number. If you let
and when reducing 2 columns to 1 column, or 1 column to 2
This is suitable for increasing the number of columns, and in this embodiment, first, a case will be described in which the number of columns is reduced from four to two. That is, in embodiments, the conveyor
- When a container is transferred onto another conveyor by a container holding mechanism, the container is moved symmetrically by a simple mechanism without changing the center line of the container conveyance,
A container row number conversion device that can be moved to an array ready for row number conversion, easily convert the container row number downstream of the other conveyor, and can be manufactured at low cost will be described. . Next, a case will be described in which the number of columns is increased from two to four.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an example of a container holding mechanism used in the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same, FIGS. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a preparation state for column number conversion according to another embodiment.

In the figure, l is a first conveyor, and containers 2 are conveyed continuously or intermittently as group containers 2A grouped into a fixed array (four columns and four rows in this embodiment). 3 is a circulation drive mechanism (not shown) that is provided between the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 4 and transfers the group containers 2A on the first conveyor 1 to the second conveyor 4; Circulates in the opposite direction. As the circulation drive mechanism 3, for example, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-18 by the present applicant
The rotary cycle moving mechanism described in Japanese Patent No. 3911 and the circulation drive mechanism described in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-95815 also filed by the present applicant can be employed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the circulation drive mechanism 3 is provided with one or more container holding mechanisms 7 provided with a head 6 having a grip 5 for holding at least the grouped containers 2. ing. The mechanism of the grip 5 may be a means for holding the container 2 from the outside, or a means for supporting the container 2 from the inside.

When the container holding mechanism 7 transfers the group containers 2A on the first conveyor 1 onto the second conveyor 4, the container holding mechanism 7 moves the group containers 2A to a desired position by a container diagonal moving device 8 located downstream of the second conveyor 4. The container 2 is moved to a column number conversion preparation state 2B having an arrangement that can be converted into a column number. That is, the heads 6 equipped with the grips 5 that hold the containers 2 to be transferred are arranged in outer rows (first row and fourth row) so as to be symmetrical about the container transport center line. A moving head formed by dividing the grip 5 that holds the containers 2 in [iA, fiB, 6G, 80] and a fixed head consisting of the grip 5 that holds the containers 2 in the inner rows (second and third rows). 6E and the moving head 8A.
, 8B, 8G, and 80 are configured to move on the same line in parallel with the conveyance direction, and to be movable in position on the front and rear sides of the fixed head 6E. Any mechanism may be used as long as it operates as described above, and examples thereof include the moving heads GA, 6B, and BG.

A guide portion 9 is formed on the main body of the container holding mechanism 7 so that the moving head GA,
8B, [iC, 8D configures the kite part 9 to be slidable via the support part 10, and connects the moving ends 6A and 60 and 6B and 6D with a connecting member 11, respectively, and the connecting member 11 is configured to be extendable and retractable by a piston rod 13 attached to a shaft 12 fixed to the center of the container holding mechanism 7 via a fitting or the like. Then, container 2 is changed from the group container 2A state to the column number conversion preparation state 2B.
The position can be moved from the row number conversion preparation state 2B to the group container 2A state or vice versa. On the other hand, the fixed head 6E is fixed to the shaft 12.

14 is a third conveyor located on an extension line of the second conveyor 4.
Containers located in moving heads 8A, 6B, 8G, and 80 of some of the containers 2 which are conveyors and which have been moved to the row number conversion preparation state 2B by the container holding mechanism 7 and transferred onto the second conveyor 4 2 to the second conveyor 4 and the third conveyor 1
4, the containers 2 located in the fixed head 6E are guided to the same rows on the front and rear sides, and the number of rows of containers is changed from 4 rows to state 2C of 2 rows. Convert and transport. Note that the second conveyor 4 and the third conveyor 14 may be formed by each conveyor, or the two central rows of the second conveyor 4 and the third conveyor 14 may be formed continuously as one unit. good.

Incidentally, the container diagonal moving device 8 may be, for example, a kite conveyor described in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-22676 filed by the present applicant, but other guide plates or the like having the same function as the above may also be used. Anything is fine.

Although the case where the number of container rows is reduced from four to two has been described above, increasing the number of container rows from two to four can also be easily done as follows. That is, the flow direction of the container is opposite to the above and the row number conversion preparation state is the container diagonal moving device 8.
This is the case when it is formed by Specifically, it is as follows.

The conveyance direction of the first to third conveyors 1.4.14 and the drive direction of the circulation drive mechanism 3 are opposite to those in the case where the number of rows is reduced, and the conveyance is carried on the third conveyor 14 to the left in the drawing. The containers 2 are transported in two rows as group containers 2C by a grouping device such as a block sorting mechanism (not shown), and a part of the containers 2 is moved to a row number conversion preparation state 2B by a container diagonal moving device 8. It is conveyed to the second conveyor 4. As the container diagonal moving device 8 in this case, it is possible to adopt, for example, the conversion mechanism described in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-226764 by Kaito Kide. The container 2 on the second conveyor 4 is held in a state where the head 6 of the container holding mechanism 7 is moved to be able to hold the container 2 in the row number conversion preparation state 2B, and the container 2 is held by the circulation drive mechanism 3. 1 conveyor 1
It will be transferred to. At this time, the container holding mechanism 7 moves the head 6 from the row number conversion preparation state 2B to the group container 2A state, and in that state transfers the containers 2 onto the first conveyor 1 to complete the row number conversion. . As mentioned above, the number of container rows is 2.
An incrementing transformation from columns to 4 columns is performed.

Next, column number conversion to decrease from 2 columns to 1 column and increase from 1 column to 2 columns, which is performed in the same manner as in 1., will be explained. In this case as well, the second conveyor 4 and the third conveyor 1
The conversion by the container diagonal moving device 8 provided at the border with 4 is performed by the same means as in the embodiment described in (G), so its explanation will be omitted. The means for moving the position to the conversion preparation state 2B or vice versa will be explained. In order to bring the group containers 2A (for example, 2 columns and 4 rows) conveyed on the first conveyor 1 into the row number conversion preparation state 2B to be transferred onto the second conveyor 4, the container holding mechanism 7 When the container holding mechanism 7 is held at 2, as shown in FIG.
The head consisting of a grip that holds the containers 2 in one of the rows is a fixed head 6E, and the other is a moving head 6A. Move the container 2 to the front part or the rear part of the fixed head 6E, and put the container 2 in the row number conversion preparation state 2B.
Place it at the position. In addition, the above position movement is such that the container holding mechanism 7 does not have a fixed head and moves together with the two doors 8A and 6B.
You can also use it as That is, as shown in FIG. The heads 8A and 8B holding the containers in the rows move in parallel to the conveying direction in directions in which they are separated, and enter the row number conversion preparation state 2.
B is formed. The illustration shows a case in which the movable Hentros A and 6B move to the left and right by two containers 2 each, but their positions are moved at the rate of 1 and 3 of the 4 containers 2. You may. In addition, when converting from one row to two rows, when transferring containers from the second conveyor 4 to the first conveyor 1 using the circulation drive mechanism 3, the operation of the end 6 of the container holding mechanism 7 is reversed to that described above. This is done by activating it.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the operation of the head 6 of the container holding mechanism 7 when converting from the 4 rows to 2 rows, or from a multiple row of the 4 rows to a half row of the multiple rows, is shown in FIG. The arrangement as shown in FIG. 5 may be used to obtain a column number conversion preparation letter 82B as shown in FIG. In this case, since there are two or more rows of containers 2 to be converted by the container diagonal movement device 8, the container diagonal movement devices 8 of the same number as the number of container rows to be converted (5) are gradually moved in the transport direction. They may be arranged in a staggered manner and each column may be converted.

By using the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned column number conversion, it is also possible to reduce 3 columns to 2 columns or 2 columns to 1 column, etc., and increase from 2 columns to 3 columns or from 1 column to 2 columns. It is.

[Operation of the Invention] The present invention has the configuration described below, and the operation is described in the case of converting the number of columns from 4 columns to 2 columns or from 2 columns to 4 columns. When the container 2 is transferred onto the second conveyor 4 by the circulation drive mechanism 3 provided with the container holding mechanism 7, the container 2 held by the container holding mechanism 7 at position A on the first conveyor 1 is The container holding mechanism 7
has a fixed head 6E and moving heads 6A, 8B, BG.
, 80, the containers 2 are moved to the row number conversion preparation state 2B and transferred to position B on the second conveyor 4, and the transferred containers 2 are converted to the desired number of rows by the container diagonal moving device 8. and is conveyed to the third conveyor 14, and the row number conversion is completed. After completing the transfer, the container holding mechanism 7 returns to the state before container holding (a state in which it can hold the containers 2 on the first conveyor 1), and the circulation drive mechanism 3 moves the containers 2 on the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 4. Repeat the same operations as above. 2
When converting the number of columns from one column to four columns, the above operation is reversed.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, it is possible to solve the above-mentioned technical problems of the present invention, and to convert the number of rows of containers with a simple structure, it is possible to prevent overturning and damage of containers, noise, etc. It can be easily carried out without causing
It is also possible to suppress increases in production costs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an example of a container holding mechanism used in the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same, FIGS. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a preparation state for column number conversion according to another embodiment. In the figure, l is the first conveyor, 2 is the container, 2B is the row number conversion preparation state, 3 is the circulation drive mechanism, 4 is the second conveyor,
6 is the head, 8A, 8B, 60.80 is for movement,
8F is a fixed head, 7 is a container holding mechanism, and 8 is a container diagonal moving device. Patent applicant: Miyake Seisakusho Co., Ltd. Agent: Nobuaki Sakaguchi, patent attorney (and one other person)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) (A) A first conveyor that continuously conveys the grouped containers; (B) A first conveyor that moves parallel to and in the opposite direction to the first conveyor, and that conveys the grouped containers in the same number of rows as the first conveyor. (C) a second conveyor that is located on an extension line of the second conveyor and continuously conveys containers grouped in a number of rows smaller than the number of rows of the second conveyor in the same direction; The third conveyor conveying (D
) When transferring the group containers on one conveyor onto the other conveyor by driving circulation between the first conveyor and the second conveyor in the same direction as the moving direction of both conveyors, a container holding mechanism that moves some or all of the containers at least parallel to the container transportation center line so that the number of rows and the container transportation center line are symmetrical without changing; and (E) the second conveyor. and a container diagonal moving device that is provided at the boundary of the third conveyor and moves at least some of the containers in the group in a diagonal direction on the downstream side of container conveyance to reduce or increase the number of rows of group containers. Number converter. (2) When the number of rows of grouped containers is an integral multiple of 4 and the number of rows that is an integral multiple of 4 is to be converted to half the number of rows, the container holding mechanism is provided with a grip for holding the grouped containers. The head is separated into a fixed head corresponding to the number of container rows to be converted and a moving head for the other parts, and the moving head is parallel to the container conveyance direction and is parallel to the fixed head. The group container is moved to the front part and/or the rear part to form a row number conversion preparation state, and the group containers transferred onto the second conveyor in the row number conversion preparation state are transferred to the third conveyor. When being transported, the group containers at the moving head position are moved by a container diagonal moving device to the front and rear sides of the containers at the fixed head position, and the number of rows is converted. Container row number conversion device as described.