KR102181281B1 - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

(assignment)
The present invention provides a conveying device that can convey a plurality of articles in a batch without being scattered, and has a low probability of contamination of articles and low maintenance and operation costs.
(Solution)
The filled tray 14 conveyed from the first conveyor 11A to the second conveyor 11B is lifted to the raised position immediately below the conveying device 13 using a lifter 15 for each of the second conveyors 11B. . The article A is lifted by inserting a pair of lifting guides 13G from both sides of the rod-shaped article A laid in the tray 14. The empty tray 14 and the second conveyor 11B are lowered to the transport position by the lifter 15. The workpiece discharge conveyor 12 is extended from the evacuation position to the receiving position below the transfer device 13, and the lifting guide 13G is driven opposite to the lifting operation to transfer the lifted article A to the workpiece discharge conveyor 12. ) Discharge upward. The work discharging conveyor 12 is driven to discharge the article A in the Y-axis direction.

Description

Goods transfer device {ARTICLE TRANSFER DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a conveying device for conveying a plurality of articles accommodated in a tray or the like to another place.

For example, a transfer device using vacuum suction is known as an unloader that takes out a retort pouch processed in a retort oven from a tray and transfers it to the next process. However, in the method using vacuum suction, some retort pouches may remain in the tray due to an ejection error (ejection error). For this reason, conventionally, the tray after unloading is inverted using a reversing device to recover the retort pouch remaining in the tray (Patent Document 1).

: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-132553

However, the mechanism for reversing the tray and its driving mechanism are complicated, and handling thereof is difficult even in the cleaning operation. For this reason, problems of maintenance and repair costs, operation costs, and problems of damage to goods handled arise. In particular, when the handled product is composed of only curved surfaces with a small radius of curvature, such as fish sausage, the use of an unloader using vacuum suction itself is difficult, so the development of a new type of transport device is difficult. Was being demanded.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a conveying apparatus that can convey a large number of articles in a lump without scattering them, and also has a low possibility of contamination of articles and low maintenance and operation costs.

The article transfer device of the present invention includes a pair of base members installed to move in a direction that is approached and isolated from each other and in a vertical direction, a base member moving means for moving the pair of base members, and an article support surface. Rotating a pair of lifting guides made of a plate-shaped member and installed to rotate with respect to each of the base members by being supported by the base members at the rear edge side of the article support surface, and the pair of lifting guides The lifting guide rotation means, the base member moving means and the lifting guide rotation means are controlled to allow the pair of article support surfaces to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance and face each other from an initial position, And a control means for changing the support posture in which each article support surface faces upward and the front edges of each article support surface abut each other, and a pair of a pair of the initial posture in the receiving recess for receiving the article After inserting the front edge of the article support surface, by changing the posture of the article support surface to the support position, the article accommodated in the receiving recess is lifted and supported on the article support surface.

The receiving concave portion accommodates a plurality of rod-shaped articles lying down along the side walls in a longitudinal direction in an area surrounded by a pair of side walls facing the bottom surface, and the control means supports the article in the initial position. The surfaces are separated at intervals corresponding to the pair of side walls, and in that state, the front edge of each article support surface is lowered along each of the side walls until it reaches the vicinity of the bottom surface, and thereafter, It is preferable that the articles accommodated in the receiving recess are collectively lifted onto the article support surface by changing the front edge to the support position while moving along the bottom surface.

The lifting guide is installed to cross the article support surface from the front edge to the rear edge of the article support surface, and preferably has a fall prevention surface that prevents the article from falling from the article support surface in the support position. Do.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a conveying apparatus that does not scatter a large number of articles and can be conveyed in a lump sum, and has a low probability of contamination of articles and thus has low maintenance and operation costs.

1 is a partial perspective view of a conveying system using a conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of the transfer device.
3 is a schematic diagram showing the starting state of the lifting operation.
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state immediately after lifting of an article on a tray is started by a lifting operation.
Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which approximately half of the article on the tray is lifted by the lifting operation.
Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which all items on the tray are lifted by the lifting operation.
Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the second conveyor is lowered to the tray conveyance position.
Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the workpiece discharging conveyor is extended to the receiving position.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a partial perspective view of a conveying system using a conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, in Fig. 1, only one drive system of the transfer device is shown.

The conveying system 10 of this embodiment includes a tray conveying conveyor 11 and a work discharging conveyor 12. Between the tray conveying conveyor 11 and the work discharge conveyor 12, the conveying apparatus 13 of this embodiment which conveys the article A between both conveyors is attached. The conveying surface of the workpiece discharging conveyor 12 is arranged at a position higher than the conveying surface of the tray conveying conveyor 11, and both conveyors 11 and 12 are arranged so that their conveying directions are perpendicular to each other.

The tray transfer conveyor 11 is provided with three roller conveyors, for example, a first conveyor 11A, a second conveyor 11B, and a third conveyor 11C that can be individually controlled to drive. do. In this embodiment, the first to third conveyors 11A to 11C are arranged linearly along the X-axis direction in this order. The tray conveying conveyor 11 is a conveyor that conveys a tray (receiving recess) 14 in which a number of articles A are accommodated, and the tray 14 is in the X-axis direction (horizontal direction) in the drawing. Is returned.

The article A accommodated in the tray 14 is, for example, a fish sausage (rod-shaped article), and on the upstream side of the first conveyor 11A, for example, a retort oven (not shown in the drawing). ) Is connected, and the first conveyor 11A conveys the tray 14 containing the fish sausage A boiled in the retort oven from the retort oven to the second conveyor 11B. On the other hand, the second conveyor 11B is supported by the lifting part 15A of the lifter 15 (dashed line), so that, for example, along the Z-axis direction (vertical direction) in the drawing. When the tray 14 on which the article A is laid is supplied from the first conveyor 11A, the tray 14 is raised to an elevated position. And, as described later, all the articles A in the tray 14 are collectively conveyed to the work discharging conveyor 12 using the lifting guide 13G by the conveying device 13.

When the tray 14 becomes empty, the lifter 15 is lowered, and the empty tray 14 is returned to the upstream side of the first conveyor 11A through the third conveyor 11C. Further, in Fig. 1, an empty tray 14 placed on the second conveyor 11B lowered to the same height as the first and third conveyors 11A and 11C (the tray conveyance position) is shown in the drawing, and the third conveyor ( Above 11C), the empty tray 14 moved on the conveyor is shown by a broken line.

The workpiece discharging conveyor 12 is, for example, a belt conveyor that conveys the article A in the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X and Z-axis directions, and its upstream end 12E Can advance and retreat along the Y axis. When the tray 14 on the second conveyor 11B is raised by the lifter 15, the upstream end 12E is moved to the downstream side (Y-axis direction) in the conveying direction, and the second conveyor 11B Are placed at the evacuation location indicated by the broken line in the drawing. That is, as the second conveyor 11B is evacuated, the conveying device 13 is lifted by the lifter 15 to lift the article A from the filled tray 14 disposed in the raised position, using a guide 13G. Can be lifted.

When the articles A on the tray 14 are all lifted by the lifting guide 13G, the second conveyor 11B carrying the empty tray 14 is lowered by the lifter 15. And the upstream end 12E extends toward the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and the work discharge conveyor 12 is arrange|positioned at the receiving position shown by the solid line in the drawing. That is, the work discharging conveyor 12 is disposed below the conveying device 13 and above the second conveyor 11B. Thereafter, as described later, the article A supported by the conveying device 13 is lowered on the work discharging conveyor 12, and the article A is conveyed in the Y-axis direction by the work discharging conveyor 12, for example. For example, it is discharged to a caser not shown in the drawing.

Next, a more detailed configuration of the transfer device 13 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the transfer device 13 of Fig. 1.

The conveying device 13 is substantially symmetric with respect to the ZY plane and uses a pair of lifting guides 13G arranged symmetrically to lift the article on the tray 14 from both sides. In the tray 14 of this embodiment, four sides of the bottom 14B made of a rectangular plate are surrounded by side walls 14S to form a receiving recess. The receiving recess is divided into four areas in the Y-axis direction by, for example, three grate 14R, and on the bottom 14B of each area, a rod-shaped article ( A) is laid. In this embodiment, the rod-shaped article A is placed in each area so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the pair of side walls 14S perpendicular to the grate 14R, and the grate 14R It is laid in a row (1列) along the line. The lifting guide 13G is provided with four pairs of small guides 16 corresponding to four areas. Each small guide 16 is provided with an article support surface 16B in the shape of a substantially square plate that supports the article A. The article support surface 16B includes the rear edge (base end) 16T and both sides of the side wall 16S, except for the front edge (tip) 16L for lifting the article A. It is surrounded by) to prevent the article (A) from falling off or misalignment. That is, the side wall 16S serves as a fall prevention surface of the article. In the perspective view of Figs. 1 and 2, the drive mechanism of the front side lifting guide 13G is omitted, but the same configuration as the drive mechanism on the side shown in the drawing is provided.

The four small guides 16 constituting the lifting guide 13G on one side are integrally assembled, and a guide base (base member) through a rotation shaft 17 along the Y-axis. It is axially supported by 部材))(18). The guide base 18 is supported by a plate 19 so as to elevate and descend through a pair of Z-axis rails 19R extending in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction), and the plate 19 ) Is fixed and supported on a plate base (20). In addition, the plate base 20 is provided with a pair of X-axis direction sliders 20S, and the X-axis direction slider 20S is installed on a fixed frame (base) 21. , It is coupled to slide on a pair of X-axis direction rails 21R extending in the X-axis direction.

The plate base 20 has a built-in motor for horizontal drive not shown in the drawing, and is integrated with the lifting guide 13G, the guide base 18, and the plate 19 by the power of this motor in the X-axis direction. It can move horizontally along the X-axis on the rail 21R. An elevating motor 22 is installed on the upper part of the plate 19, and the elevating motor 22 is connected to the guide base 18 through a crank mechanism 23. That is, when the lifting motor 22 is rotated, the guide base 18 is raised and lowered along the Z-axis direction rail 19R integrally with the lifting guide 13G.

Further, a link mechanism 25 driven by the rotation motor 24 is connected to the rotation shaft 17, and the rotation shaft 17 rotates in connection with the rotation of the rotation motor 24. Accordingly, the lifting guide 13G configured integrally with the rotation shaft 17 is rotated around the rotation shaft 17. Further, the rotational motor 24 is fixed to the guide base 18 and is raised and lowered integrally with the guide base 18.

In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, it is substantially the center of the plate 19, and an opening 19A is formed between the rails 19R in the Z-axis direction. In addition, an opening 18A is formed at a position of the guide base 18 overlapping with the opening 19A. The rotation motor 24 is disposed on the opposite side of the guide base 18 with respect to the lifting guide 13G, and the link mechanism 25 is provided with the rotation motor 24 and the rotation shaft 17 through openings 18A and 19A. ). In addition, the horizontal drive motor, the lifting motor 22, and the rotation motor 24, which are not shown in the drawing, built in the plate base 20, and the upstream end 12E of the lifter 15 and the workpiece discharging conveyor 12. The drive mechanism (not shown in the drawing) for advancing and retreating) is driven by being interlocked with and driven by a control unit not shown in the drawing, so that the article ( The transfer operation of A) is executed.

3 to 8 are schematic diagrams showing each step of the transfer operation according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the conveying operation of the article using the conveying apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 8.

3, the upstream end 12E of the workpiece discharging conveyor 12 is evacuated to the evacuation position, and the filled tray 14 on the second conveyor 11B is raised to the raised position by the lifter 15. Is shown. By the rotation motor 24, the left and right small guides 16 (lifting guides 13G) face vertically downward, and the article support surfaces 16B of both small guides 16 (lifting guides 13G) ) Is maintained in a facing state (initial posture) with a predetermined distance (for example, the distance between the side walls 14S of the tray 14). That is, the guide base 18 is a pair of side walls 14S on which the front edge 16L (the front edge of the lifting guide 13G) of the small guide 16 faces each tray 14 The position in the X-axis direction is adjusted so as to follow the inner wall of the (outer frame). Thereafter, the lifting motor 22 is driven, so that the small guide 16 (lifting guide 13G) is lowered, so that the side wall 14S of the tray 14 and the article A arranged on the tray 14 are In the meantime, the front edge 16L (the front edge of the lifting guide 13G) of the small guide 16 is inserted until it reaches the vicinity of the bottom surface 14B of the tray 14.

In addition, the term "near the base 14B" means 0 ≤ L/H ≤ 1 when the height of the article A lying on the base 14B is H and the distance from the base 14B is L. It is a range of the distance L satisfying /2 (including the case where the front edge 16L contacts the bottom surface 14B). For example, when the cross-sectional shape of the article A is circular, such as a fish sausage, "near the base 14B" is up to a height of 1/2 of the diameter. However, in the case of a circular cross section, if the front edge 16L is inserted to a height of 1/3 of the diameter, the front edge 16L of the small guide 16 does not contact the bottom surface 14B of the tray 14 and The article (A) can be lifted more clearly. Further, when the cross-sectional shape of the article A is square, the same effect is obtained by inserting the front edge 16L up to a height of 1/4 of the height of the article A, which is preferable.

In addition, in the lifting guide 13G, the left and right small guides 16 are operated integrally, so the operation of the small guide 16 in the following description of the operations of Figs. 4 to 8 is the lifting guide 13G. It is roughly the same as the operation of Therefore, in the following description, only the operation of the small guide 16 will be described.

As shown in Fig. 4, while the left and right guide bases 18 are widened to the left and right along the X-axis direction, the small guides 16 are respectively rotated inward with the rotation shaft 17 as the center. And the guide base 18 is further lowered so that the front edge 16L of the small guide maintains a certain distance from the bottom surface 14B of the tray 14. Accordingly, the article A arranged on the tray 14 is lifted by the small guide 16 from the side wall 14S side of the tray 14. And, as shown in Fig. 5, the left and right guide bases 18 are further lowered, and while the small guide 16 is further rotated around the rotational shaft 17, the tray 14 is moved in the X-axis direction toward the inside. ) The articles A arranged above are sequentially lifted from the outer frame (side wall 14S) side of the tray 14. In this operation, as shown in Fig. 6, the front edges 16L of the left and right small guides 16 abut at the center of the tray 14 (support posture), and the article on the tray 14 It continues until both (A) are lifted up by the left and right small guides 16. In addition, in the meantime, the front edge 16L of the small guide 16 maintains a predetermined distance from the bottom surface 14B of the tray 14, and the small guide 16 is a side wall of the tray 14. It is controlled so that it does not touch (14S).

When the lifting of the article from the tray 14 by the small guide 16 is finished, the tray 14 emptied by the lifter 15 is transferred to the tray together with the second conveyor 11B as shown in FIG. It descends to the position. Then, as shown in Fig. 8, the upstream end 12E of the workpiece discharging conveyor 12 extends from the evacuation position to the receiving position, and the conveyance surface of the workpiece discharging conveyor 12 is placed directly under the small guide 16. do. In Figs. 7 and 8, for convenience of explanation, the work discharging conveyor 12 is shown along the X axis, but the work discharging conveyor 12 in the embodiments of Figs. 1 and 2 is disposed along the Y axis, which is shown in Fig. 7. In Fig. 8, it corresponds to the vertical direction of the paper.

Subsequently, each driving unit of the transfer device 13 operates the small guide 16 opposite to the lifting operation of the article A described with reference to Figs. 3 to 6 (sequence of Figs. 6 to 3), The lifted articles A are sequentially discharged to the conveying surface of the workpiece discharging conveyor 12. And when the small guide 16 returns to the state shown in Fig. 3, the workpiece discharging conveyor 12 is driven, and the article A discharged to the work discharging conveyor 12 is conveyed and discharged in the Y-axis direction in FIG. The upstream end 12E of the work discharging conveyor 12 is returned to the evacuation position. In addition, from the second conveyor 11B lowered to the tray conveyance position in the meantime, the empty tray 14 is discharged to the third conveyor 11C, and a new filled container on which the article A is laid from the first conveyor 11A. Tray 14 is received.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a plurality of rod-shaped articles laid in the tray in alignment are lifted from both sides by a flat-shaped small guide (lifting guide), and the small guide is operated opposite to the lifting operation. By discharging the articles on the workpiece discharging conveyor, it is possible to transfer the articles collectively without scattering them. In addition, since only the plate-shaped lifting guide away from the drive system is in contact with the article, the cleaning is simple and the possibility of contamination of the article is low, so that maintenance and operation costs can be suppressed.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the description has been made taking fish sausage as an example, but the article to be conveyed is not limited to fish sausage.

10: conveying system
11: Tray conveying conveyor
11A: First conveyor
11B: Second conveyor
11C: 3rd conveyor
12: Work discharge conveyor
12E: upstream end
13: transfer device
13G: lifting guide
14: tray
15: lifter
16: small guide
17: rotating shaft
18: guide base (base member)
19: plate
19R: Rail in the Z-axis direction
20: plate leaning
20S: X-axis direction slider
21: fixed frame
21R: X-axis direction rail
22: lifting motor
23: crank mechanism
24: rotation motor
25: link mechanism
A: Goods (fish sausage)

Claims (3)

A pair of base members installed so as to move in a direction that is approachable and isolated from each other and in a vertical direction, and
A base member moving means (base 部材移動手段) for moving the pair of base members,
A pair of lifting guides made of a plate-shaped member having an article support surface, and installed to rotate relative to each of the base members by being axially supported by each of the base members at the rear edge of the article support surface Wow,
Lifting guide rotation means for rotating the pair of lifting guides,
By controlling the base member moving means and the lifting guide rotation means, the pair of article support surfaces are separated from each other by a predetermined distance and face each other from an initial posture. Control means for changing the support posture in which the article support surface faces upward and the front edges of each article support surface come into contact with each other.
Equipped,
The control means includes a receiving recess for accommodating a plurality of articles in an area surrounded by a pair of sidewalls and a bottom surface facing the article support surface in the initial position. In the state of being separated at intervals corresponding to the pair of sidewalls of the concave, the front edge of each article support surface is moved along the inner wall of each sidewall of the receiving recess until it reaches the vicinity of the bottom surface. It is lowered, and thereafter, moving the front edge of each article support surface along the bottom surface and changing to the support posture to collectively lift the articles accommodated in the receiving recess onto the article support surface.
Goods transfer device characterized in that.
The method of claim 1,
The article is a plurality of rod-shaped articles, each article being accommodated in the receiving recess in a state where the length direction of each article is lying down along the side wall.
Goods transfer device characterized in that.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The lifting guide,
It is installed so as to cross the article support surface from the front edge to the rear edge of the article support surface, and has a fall prevention surface that prevents the article from falling from the article support surface in a support position.
Goods transfer device characterized in that.

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