KR20220136132A - Aligning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An aligning apparatus, which aligns a plurality of targets to be discharged from an outlet for preventing the targets from being blocked on a discharge and return path caused by rotation of a rotation return surface unit while preventing dislocation in the widthwise direction of a return path of the targets discharged from the outlet, comprises: a rotation return device which sends a target (T) supplied on an upper surface of a rotation table to a rotation return surface unit (13); inward and outward guidance units (19, 20) which are adjacent to the rotation return surface unit (13) to be disposed thereon and form a discharge and return path (H); and a height determination unit (24) which determines the height of the discharge and return path (H). The discharge and return path (H) is formed to be extended in a direction of intersecting the rotation direction of the rotation return surface unit (13) to traverse the outer peripheral edge of the rotation return surface unit (13) in a plane view. For at least a part located on an upper side of the rotation return surface unit (13) in the discharge and return path (H), at least one guidance surface (19, 21) of the inward guidance unit (18) and the outward guidance unit (20) is inclined upwardly to the outside of the widthwise direction of the return path.

Description

ALIGNING APPARATUS {ALIGNING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to an alignment device for arranging a plurality of objects in a line and sending them out from an outlet.

As the alignment device, conventionally known is an alignment device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-116588 (refer to the following Patent Document 1).

Such an alignment device aligns the objects in a line and sends them out from the outlet. A transport device for transporting the objects sent from the aligning device by means of a transport belt is connected to the sending unit of the aligning device. The alignment device includes a ball provided on a base, a rotary table disposed in the ball and supplied with objects on the upper surface, and a guide mechanism defining a conveyance path of the objects.

The ball has a flange portion formed on the outer periphery of the opening, and is configured to rotate about a vertical axis of rotation. On the other hand, the rotary table is disposed in the ball in an inclined state, and the upper end thereof is at the same height as the upper surface of the flange portion of the ball, is provided to be connected to the flange portion, and is centered on a rotation axis orthogonal to the rotary table. It is configured to rotate.

According to the ball and rotary table configured as described above, when an object is put on the rotary table, a centrifugal force acts on the object by the rotation of the rotary table, and the object moves to the outer periphery of the rotary table by the centrifugal force. , moving from the upper edge onto the flange portion of the ball.

The guide mechanism is disposed above the flange portion of the ball, moves on the flange portion, and guides the object moving together with the flange portion toward the outlet, and is inner than the outer periphery of the flange portion. The outer circumferential guide and the second side guide provided sequentially and continuously toward the outlet, the outer side of the inner periphery of the flange portion, and also with respect to the outer circumferential guide and the second side guide, the object passing through the radius at a distance A first side guide provided on the inside in the direction and an upper guide defining a height of a conveyance path defined by the first and second side guides are provided.

Such a conveyance path extends in an arc shape along the flange portion of the ball in a plan view, and then crosses the upper surface of the flange portion in a direction intersecting the rotational direction to reach an outlet for discharging the object.

In this way, the objects moving from the rotary table to the flange portion move together with the flange portion and enter between the outer circumferential guide and the second side guide and the first side guide, and these outer guides and the second side guide and Guided by the first side guide, aligned in a line to move to the dispensing port, the discharging port toward the conveying device from the discharging port.

As such, in the alignment device disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a plurality of objects are put on the rotary table, the objects sequentially move onto the flange portion of the ball by the action of centrifugal force, and are aligned in a line by the action of the guide mechanism. It is sent out from the outlet in the state.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-116588

In the conventional alignment device disclosed in Patent Document 1, as described above, the object defined by the first side guide (inner guide part), the second side guide (outer guide part) and the upper guide (height defining part) is The conveyance path (sending conveyance path) is formed so that it may cross the outer periphery of the flange part (rotation conveyance surface part) in planar view, and may reach the sending port.

Figure 6 is in the conventional alignment device, the object (T) is conveyed in the delivery transport path 104 defined by the inner guide portion 101, the outer guide portion 102 and the height defining portion 103 It is a schematic diagram which shows a state, and is the figure seen from the downstream side of a conveyance direction. As shown in the figure, the rotating conveyance surface portion 105 rotates in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction (the vertical direction of the paper sheet in FIG. 6 ) of the target object T in the sending conveyance path 104, so that the target object T An external force in the conveying path width direction (the black arrow direction in FIG. 6 ) orthogonal to the conveying direction acts on the . As a result, the object T rolls in the direction of the white arrow in Fig. 6, that is, in the direction in which the inner end of the conveying path width in the object T rises with respect to the outer end. When the object T rolls, the edge of the object abuts against the guide surfaces of the respective guide portions 101 and 102 , thereby causing a problem that the object T is blocked in the delivery transport path 104 .

In order to avoid such a problem, it is considered to widen the space|interval (width of a sending conveyance path) between the inner guide part 101 and the outer guide part 102. As shown in FIG. However, in this case, the clearance between the target object T and each of the guide portions 101 and 102 increases at the delivery port, which is the exit portion of the delivery transport path 104, in the transport path width direction of the object T sent out from the delivery port. There is a problem that the positional shift (in the left-right direction in Fig. 6 ) becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and while suppressing the displacement in the width direction of the conveyance path of the object sent out from the dispensing port, preventing the blockage of the object in the dispensing conveyance path caused by the rotation of the rotating conveyance surface part for that purpose

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is an alignment device that aligns a plurality of objects in a line and sends them out from an outlet. a rotary conveying device disposed to surround the rotary table and having a horizontal rotary conveying surface portion rotating in the same direction as the rotary table, the rotary conveying device configured to send the object supplied to the upper surface of the rotary table onto the rotary conveying surface portion; A pair of guide portions disposed close to and above the carrying surface portion and forming a delivery carrying path for guiding an object sent onto the rotary carrying surface portion toward the delivery port, an outer guide portion provided radially outward and this outer side An inner guide portion provided radially inside the guide portion at a distance through which the object can pass, and an upper side of the delivery transportation path formed between the inner guide portion and the outer guide portion, the height of the delivery transportation route and a height defining part defining formed, and in at least a portion located above the rotational conveyance surface portion in the sending conveyance path, at least one guide surface of the inner guide portion and the outer guide portion is inclined upwardly outward in the conveyance path width direction. .

According to such an alignment device, when a plurality of the objects are put on the upper surface of the rotary table, the objects are sequentially sent onto the rotary carrying surface part by the action of the rotary table, and the corresponding rotary transfer is carried out around the rotary shaft. rotates with the face.

In addition, the object rotating together with the rotary carrying surface part enters the delivery transport path between the outer guide part and the inner guide part provided above the rotation carrying surface part, and enters the delivery transport path (between the outer guide part and the inner guide part) They are aligned in a line by passing through, and are sent out from the outlet. Such a delivery transport path is formed so as to extend in a direction intersecting the rotational direction of the rotary transport surface portion in plan view, cross the outer periphery of the rotary carry surface portion, and reach the delivery port. For this reason, when an object is conveyed on the sending conveyance path, it originates in rotation of a rotating conveyance surface part, and the external force in the direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction acts on this object with respect to it. As a result, the object rolls around the central axis of the object as viewed in the conveying direction along the sending conveyance path. In addition, when both ends in the width direction of the object are in contact with the guide surfaces of the respective guides by such rolling, a problem arises that the object is clogged in the delivery path.

In order to solve this problem, in the present invention, the inner guide part and the outer guide part at least in the portion located above the rotational transport surface part in the sending transport path (that is, the part where the external force from the rotational transport surface acts on the object). It was made to incline the at least one guide surface of the part outward in the conveyance path width direction toward the upper side. Thereby, even when rolling occurs in the object, both ends in the width direction of the object can be discharged by the inclination.

Further, for example, when the distance between the guide surfaces of the two guides is simply increased, the amount of displacement in the width direction of the object increases. As for the position, it can be fixed in the same position as when the guide surface is not inclined. Therefore, the position in the width direction of the conveyance path of the object can be regulated with high accuracy by the lower edge of the guide surface.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent blockage in the dispensing and conveying path of the object due to rotation of the rotating conveyance surface while suppressing positional shift in the conveying path width direction of the object discharged from the dispensing port.

In the alignment apparatus of the present invention, in both of the portion located above the rotary conveyance surface portion and the portion located on the discharge port side of the rotary conveyance surface portion in the delivery conveyance path, at least the inner guide portion and the outer guide portion It is preferable that one guide surface is inclined upward in the width direction of the conveying path outward, and the inclined guide surface is formed so that the angle of inclination is constant over the entire conveyance direction of the object in the sending and conveying path. .

According to such a structure, the processing of a guide surface can be made easy by making the inclination angle of a guide surface constant, and also a processing cost can be reduced. In addition, for example, if a guide surface that slopes only on a portion located above the rotational conveyance surface portion is provided, there is a risk that a step may occur between the portion on the downstream side of the conveyance than the inclined surface and the inclined surface, and the object may be caught in the step, as described above. By forming the guide surface inclined in the same way over the entire conveyance direction in the sending conveyance path, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of such a level difference and to prevent jamming of the object.

In the alignment device of the present invention, it is preferable that the guide surface of the outer guide portion is the inclined guide surface, and the guide surface of the inner guide portion is a vertical surface.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent clogging of the object due to the rolling of the object in the delivery transport path. That is, in the process until the object enters the delivery transport path, the object moves while being pressed against the arc-shaped guide surface by centrifugal force, and after entering the delivery transport route, the object moves while making approximately sliding contact with the guide surface of the outer guide part. Therefore, the rolling of the object can be effectively suppressed by inclining the guide surface of such an outer guide part. On the other hand, by configuring the guide surface of the first side guide as a vertical surface, the guide surface is used as a reference surface, and the distance between the first side guide and the second side guide can be easily adjusted according to the width size of the object.

In the alignment device of the present invention, it is preferable that the inclination angle of the guide surface to be inclined with respect to the vertical surface is 3° or more and 5° or less.

That is, if the inclination angle of the guide surface with respect to the vertical surface is too small, discharge when the object is rolled is small and clogging of the object tends to occur. On the other hand, if the inclination angle of the guide surface is too large, the position in the width direction of the conveying path discrepancy tends to occur. Based on such an accident, the inventors, after intensive research, set the inclination angle of the guide surface to 3° or more and 5° or less, so that it is possible to achieve both prevention of blockage of the object and suppression of displacement in the width direction of the conveying path of the object. found out that

Another aspect of the present invention is an alignment device that aligns a plurality of objects in a line and sends them out from an outlet, a rotary table having a circular shape in plan view, and the rotary table disposed to surround the rotary table in plan view a rotary conveying device having a horizontal rotating conveying surface portion rotating in the same direction as that of the rotary table and configured to send the object supplied to the upper surface of the rotary table onto the rotating conveying surface portion; and a pair of guide parts forming a delivery transport path for guiding the object sent on the rotary carrying surface part toward the outlet, an outer guide part provided on the radially outer side and an outer guide part provided on the outside in the radial direction for the object to pass through an inner guide portion provided radially inside at an interval, and a height defining portion defining a height of the delivery transport path formed between the inner guide portion and the outer guide portion, wherein the delivery transport route is viewed in a plan view It extends in a direction intersecting the rotational direction of the rotary carrying surface portion and is formed to cross the outer periphery of the rotary carrying surface portion and at the same time reach the outlet, wherein the inner guide portion and the outer guide portion have a width of the delivery transportation path It is formed so that it may become narrow as it goes from the upstream side of the conveyance direction of the said object along the said sending conveyance path toward a downstream side.

According to such an alignment device, the object moves while being guided by both guides along the upper surface of the rotary carrying surface in the upstream portion of the sending and conveying path for sending the object, while in the downstream portion, the object moves outside the rotary carrying surface It moves to, for example, a give-and-take plate or the like or along the upper surface of the belt conveying device. Therefore, it is only in the upstream portion of the dispensing conveyance path that the rolling of the object caused by the rotation of the rotating conveying surface portion occurs, and after the object moves to the downstream portion of the discharging conveying path and moves outward than the rotating conveying surface portion, the object Factors that cause rolling are eliminated. In the present invention, paying attention to this point, in the upstream part of the delivery path, the distance between the guide surfaces of both guides is widened to ensure sufficient discharge amount even if rolling occurs on the object, while the factor causing rolling on the object is eliminated. In the downstream part, the distance between the guide surfaces of both guides was narrowed to limit the movement of the object in the width direction of the conveying path. Thereby, prevention of blockage of an object and suppression of the position shift of the conveyance path width direction of an object are compatible.

As described above, according to the alignment device of the present invention, at least one guide surface of the inner guide portion and the outer guide portion is directed upward in the conveyance path width direction in the portion located above the rotational conveyance surface portion in the sending conveyance path. of the object discharged from the discharge port by inclining to the outside of It is possible to prevent clogging of an object in the sending transport path due to rotation of the rotating transport surface portion while suppressing positional shift in the transport path width direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a top view which shows the alignment conveyance system containing the alignment apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.
Figure 2 is a view showing a release tablet as an example of the object, Figure 2a is a plan view, Figure 2b is a side view, Figure 2c is a front view seen from one side in the longitudinal direction.
3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of the first side guide and the second side guide for guiding the object toward the outlet.
4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which an object is rolled in a cross section taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 is a V-direction arrow diagram of FIG. 1 .
Fig. 6 is a view corresponding to Fig. 4 of a conventional alignment device.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a plan view showing an alignment transport system 1 including an alignment device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The alignment conveying system 1 aligns the objects T in a line and sends the alignment device 10 sent from the outlet 25, and the object T sent from the alignment device 10 is transferred to the conveying belt 41 ), and a receiving plate ( 50 , and an inspection device 60 that inspects the object T transported by the transport device 40 .

As the target object T, a tablet, a capsule, a chip capacitor, etc. are mentioned, for example. In this Example, the release tablet shown in FIG. 2 is made into the object T as an example. The release tablet has an elliptical planar shape (refer to FIG. 2A), both a side shape and a front shape viewed from one side in the longitudinal direction are oval (refer to FIGS. 2B and 2C), and has a belt-shaped plane on the outer periphery It is a tablet.

The alignment device 10 defines a bowl-shaped ball 12 provided on the base 11, a rotary table 14 to which an object T is supplied to the upper surface, and a conveyance path of the object T A guide mechanism (15) for guiding the object (T) to the outlet (25) is provided.

The ball 12 has a horizontal flange portion 13 formed on the outer periphery of the opening, and rotates about a vertical axis of rotation by an appropriate drive mechanism (hereinafter, a ball drive mechanism) (not shown). has been Moreover, this flange part 13 functions as a rotation conveyance surface part.

The rotary table 14 is disposed in the ball 12 in an inclined state, and its upper edge is at the same height as the upper surface of the flange portion 13 of the ball 12 , and is attached to the flange portion 13 . It is provided to connect. Moreover, this rotary table 14 is comprised so that it may rotate about a rotation axis orthogonal to itself by an appropriate drive mechanism (henceforth table drive mechanism) (not shown).

In addition, the portion where the upper edge of the rotary table 14 connects to the flange portion 13 is a portion in which the object T put on the rotary table 14 is transferred to the flange portion 13, and below, This connecting portion is referred to as a displaced position (indicated by reference numeral '14a' in Fig. 1). 1 , the arrow B direction is the rotation direction of the ball 12 when conveying the object T, and similarly, the arrow C direction is the rotation table 14 when conveying the object T ) is the direction of rotation.

Moreover, these balls 12, a ball drive mechanism (not shown), the rotary table 14, and a table drive mechanism (not shown) function as a rotary conveyance apparatus.

The guide mechanism 15 defines a conveyance path for moving the object T, which has moved from the rotary table 14 onto the flange portion 13, toward the outlet 25 at the transfer position 14a. It has an outer circumferential guide 16, a first side guide 18, a second side guide 20, a first upper guide 22, a second upper guide 23 and a third upper guide 24, have.

The outer circumferential guide 16 is provided on the outside from the inner peripheral edge of the flange portion 13, and the side of the side close to the center of the ball 12 (hereinafter referred to as "center side") has an arc shape. It is a guide surface 17 of a concave curved surface shape.

In addition, the second side guide 20 extends from the outer circumferential guide 16 toward the outlet 25 , and the central side surface 21 is connected to the guide face 17 of the outer circumferential guide 16 . ), and the end of the second side guide 20 reaches the upper side of the conveying device 40 . This second side guide 20 functions as an outer guide portion.

In addition, the first side guide 18 is on the central side (radially inside) than the outer circumferential guide 16 and the second side guide 20. These outer circumferential guides 16 and the second side guides 20 The object (T) is disposed to face each other with a passable interval therebetween, and, like the second side guide (20), the end thereof reaches the upper side of the conveying device (40). In addition, of course, in this first side guide 18 , the side surfaces opposite to the outer circumferential guide 16 and the second side guide 20 serve as a guide surface 19 . And, this first side guide 18 functions as an inner guide part.

In addition, the outer circumferential guide 16, the first side guide 18, and the second side guide 20 have a lower surface of each of the flanges 13 with a slight gap therebetween. It is placed on top.

Between the first side guide 18 and the second side guide 20, the object T that has been conveyed along the arc-shaped path along the guide surface 17 of the outer circumferential guide 16 is received and the outlet 25 A sending conveyance path H for conveying toward is formed. The outgoing conveyance path H extends from the vicinity of the downstream end of the guide surface 17 of the outer peripheral guide 16 in a plan view in a direction intersecting the rotational direction of the flange portion 13 (the left-right direction in Fig. 1 in this example), It consists of a linear conveyance path which crosses the outer periphery of the flange part 13 and reaches the discharge port 25 at the same time. In addition, the height of the sending conveyance path H is defined by the 3rd upper guide 24 (refer FIG. 4) mentioned later.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing an enlarged periphery of the sending and conveying path H defined by the first side guide 18 and the second side guide 20, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. to be. In addition, in FIG. 3, the 3rd upper guide 24 is abbreviate|omitted for easy viewing.

As shown in each figure, the guide surface 19 of the first side guide 18 is formed on the opposite surface of the second side guide 20 in the first side guide 18, so that the first side guide 18 ) as a vertical surface extending over the whole lengthwise direction. That is, the guide surface 19 is formed perpendicular to the upper surface of the flange portion 13, which is a horizontal plane.

The guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 is formed at the lower end of the opposite surface of the second side guide 20 with the first side guide 18 . This guide surface 21 is an inclined surface extending over the whole lengthwise direction of the second side guide 20 (the entire conveyance direction of the object T in the delivery conveyance path H), and the conveyance path width toward the upper side. inclined outward in the direction. The inclination angle θ of the guide surface 21 with respect to the vertical surface (see FIG. 4 ) is preferably 3° or more and 5° or less, and more preferably 4°. In this example, this inclination angle (theta) is set to a fixed angle (4 degrees in this example) in the whole range from the upstream end of the sending conveyance path H to the downstream end.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the delivery port 25 of the delivery transport path H is the downstream edge of the guide surface 19 of the first side guide 18 and the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 . It is located between the edge of the downstream end. The width dimension of the lower end of the outlet 25 is larger than the width dimension of the object T by a predetermined amount. This predetermined amount is set to less than or equal to the amount of positional shift in the conveyance path width direction of the target object T allowed by the inspection apparatus 60 mentioned later.

Referring back to Figure 1, the first upper guide 22 is disposed above the flange portion 13 so as to have a gap through which the object T can pass between the upper surface of the flange portion 13 and have. Specifically, the first upper guide 22 is made of a circular arc-shaped plate extending in the circumferential direction along the inner peripheral edge of the flange portion 13 in plan view. The transfer position 14a is located below the central part of the circumferential direction in the 1st upper guide 22. As shown in FIG. The first upper guide 22 regulates the height of the object T that transfers from the rotary table 14 to the upper surface of the flange portion 13 via this transfer position 14a.

The second upper guide 23 is disposed above the flange portion 13 so as to have a gap between the second upper guide 23 and the flange portion 13 through which the object T can pass. The second upper guide 23 is disposed on the downstream side of the first upper guide 22 in the rotational direction (arrow B direction) of the flange portion 13 , and is circumferential along the inner periphery of the flange portion 13 . It extends over a range of approximately 90°. The second upper guide 23 is disposed so that one end faces the end of the first upper guide 22 and the other end faces the end of the third upper guide 24 .

The third upper guide 24 is arranged such that one end is adjacent to the second upper guide 23 and the other end is located above the conveying device 40 . In addition, the third upper guide 24 is so as to cover the delivery conveyance path H defined by the guide surface 19 of the first side guide 18 and the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 . is placed. In this way, the 3rd upper guide 24 functions as a height defining part which defines the height of the sending conveyance path H. In addition, the third upper guide 24 has a gap through which the object T can pass between the flange portion 13 , the receiving plate 50 , and the transport belt 41 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the conveying device 40 includes a support frame 45 , a hollow negative pressure box 46 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape supported by the supporting frame 45 , and the conveying belt 41 , , four pulleys 44 supported by the support frame 45 so as to be positioned around the negative pressure box 46 and wound so that the transport belt 41 is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the negative pressure box 46 . and a drive motor 47 connected to one of these pulleys 44 to drive the pulley 44 .

The negative pressure box 46 has a negative pressure inside it connected to the negative pressure supply source (not shown), and a slit hole (not shown) is formed on its upper surface along the longitudinal direction, and the ear is the outside from the slit hole. It is designed to act under negative pressure.

The transport belt 41 has raised portions 42 formed on both sides thereof, and through-holes 43 are formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction between the two raised portions 42, and the through holes 43 are formed between the two raised portions 42. The negative pressure of the negative pressure box 46 is made to act between the two ridges 42 through the hole 43 . Then, the conveyance belt 41 rotates in the direction of the arrow D by the pulley 44 driven by the drive motor 47 .

The receiving plate 50 is supported on the lower end surfaces of the first side guide 18 and the second side guide 20 so as to be positioned above the raised portion 42 of the conveying belt 41, and the receiving plate 50 is provided. Reference numeral 50 is disposed with a slight gap between the base portion and the flange portion 13 so that the base portion does not interfere with the rotation of the flange portion 13 .

The inspection device 60 is provided above the transport device 40 and is a general inspection device for inspecting whether the shape of the object T is a predetermined shape.

Next, the aspect of aligning the said object T by the alignment apparatus 10 provided with the above-mentioned structure is demonstrated.

First, the object T supplied on the rotary table 14 is moved in the outer circumferential direction of the rotary table 14 by the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the rotary table 14, and the outer circumference of the rotary table 14 is applied. The object T, which has moved to the edge portion, is transferred onto the flange portion 13 from the rotary table 14 at the transfer position 14a. The displaced object T moves along the guide surface 17 of the outer circumferential guide 16 while being mounted on the flange portion 13 as the ball 12 rotates.

Next, the object T on the flange portion 13 enters below the first upper guide 22 . At this time, in the case of a stacked state in two or more stages or an upright state, the state is resolved and returned to the ball 12, and only the object T within a predetermined height range of the first upper guide 22 enter the bottom The object T that has entered the lower portion of the first upper guide 22 moves along the guide surface 17 of the outer circumferential guide 16 . When the object T passes through the downstream end of the first upper guide 22, the object T with a bad posture as the long diameter points in the radial direction of the ball 12 falls into the ball 12 and is excluded. and the remaining object T without falling enters the lower portion of the second upper guide 23 . And, the object T, which has entered the lower portion of the second upper guide 23, moves downstream with the rotation of the flange portion 13, and both of the first side guide 18 and the second side guide 20 reach the end At this time, for example, the first side guide 18 and the second side guide 18, such as an object T being conveyed on the inner peripheral side of the flange portion 13 on the guide surface 19 of the first side guide 18, 20) An object T that cannot enter between is bounced off by the first side guide 18 and returned into the ball 12 .

In addition, the object T remaining on the flange portion 13 without being returned to the ball 12 is separated from the guide surface 17 of the outer circumferential guide 16, and as shown in Fig. 4, the second side guide ( 20 , the guide surface 19 of the first side guide 18 , the third upper guide 24 , and the flange portion 13 are surrounded by the delivery conveyance path H. The object T, which has entered the delivery transport path H, obtains a component in the straight direction along the sending transport path H with the rotation of the flange portion 13 and moves to the downstream side, rather than the flange portion 13. After moving to the outside, it moves onto the receiving plate 50 . The object T, which has moved onto the receiving plate 50, moves on the receiving plate 50 by the pressing force from the rear, is sent out from the outlet 25, and is then transferred to the slope of the conveying belt 41. .

The object T transferred from the receiving plate 50 to the upper surface of the conveyance belt 41 is conveyed toward the inspection device 60 by driving the conveyance belt 41, and by the inspection device 60 A predetermined check is performed. At this time, the object T on the conveyance belt 41 is conveyed in a state adsorbed on the raised portion 42 of the conveyance belt 41 by the suction force of a negative pressure mechanism (not shown).

In the alignment apparatus 10 comprised as mentioned above, as mentioned above, when the target object T enters into the delivery conveyance path H, the target object T is sent out and conveyed with rotation of the flange part 13. In addition to the component force in the conveyance direction of the object T along the furnace H acting, the component force in the conveyance path width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction acts. For this reason, as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 4, the target object T rolls around its central axis as seen from the conveyance direction of the target object T (the direction perpendicular|vertical to the paper sheet of FIG. 4). As a result, as for the target object T, the inner edge part of the width direction rises above an outer edge part, and it will be in the state inclined in the sending conveyance path H. In this way, when the object T is rolled and tilted, both ends of the object T in the width direction are in contact with the guide surfaces 19 and 21 of the guides 18 and 20, and the object T is transported in the delivery path H. There is a risk of blockage. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the end of the object T is discharged by the inclination of the guide surface 21 by inclining one guide surface 21 at an angle θ to the outside in the width direction of the conveying path toward the upper side. It is possible to prevent clogging of the object T. In addition, since the lower end position of the guide surface 21 can be fixed at the same position as when the guide surface 21 is not inclined, as shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. The position in the conveyance path width direction of the object T can be precisely regulated by the lower edge of both guide surfaces 19 and 21 when moving to the receiving plate 50 from .

Therefore, according to the alignment device 10 of the present embodiment, while suppressing the displacement in the conveyance path width direction of the object T sent out from the delivery port 25, the object T resulting from the rotation of the flange portion 13 ) can be prevented from clogging in the delivery and conveyance path (H).

In addition, in this embodiment, only the guide surface 21 of the 2nd side guide 20 is inclined, and the guide surface 19 of the 1st side guide 18 is made into a vertical surface.

According to such a structure, clogging of the object T by the object T rolling in the sending conveyance path H can be prevented more reliably. That is, in the process until the object T enters the delivery transport path H, the object T is tightly pressed against the guide surface 17 of the outer circumferential guide 16 by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the flange portion 13 . press to move For this reason, the object T which has entered the sending conveyance path H moves while slidingly contacting the guide surface 21 of the 2nd side guide 20 which is an outer guide part. In this state, when the object (T) is rolled, the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 and the end of the object (T) are in solid contact to cause clogging of the object (T). Therefore, in the present embodiment, by inclining the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 at the angle θ as described above, the discharge amount at the time of rolling of the object T is sufficiently ensured and the amount of the object T is Blockage can be effectively prevented. In addition, by configuring the guide surface 19 of the first side guide 18 as a vertical surface, the guide surface 19 is used as a reference surface, and the interval between the first side guide 18 and the second side guide 20 is varied. It can be easily adjusted corresponding to the object T of the width size.

In addition, in this example, the guide surface 21 of the 2nd side guide 20 is formed so that the inclination angle (theta) may be constant over the whole conveyance direction of the target object T in the sending conveyance path H.

According to such a structure, processing of the guide surface 21 is facilitated by inclining the guide surface 21 at the same angle over the entire conveyance direction of the object T in the sending conveyance path H, and further Processing cost can be reduced. In addition, when only the portion located above the flange portion 13 of the guide surface 21 is inclined, a step portion is generated in the guide surface 21, but as in the present embodiment, the guide surface 21 is transferred to the sending and conveying path ( By inclining over the entire conveyance direction of H), it can prevent that such a level|step difference arises and the conveyance of an object is inhibited.

In addition, in this embodiment, the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 21 provided on the second side guide 20 with respect to the vertical surface is 3° or more and 5° or less.

By setting the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 21 in such an angle range, it is possible to achieve both prevention of clogging of the object T and suppression of position shift in the conveyance path width direction of the object T.

another embodiment

In the above-described embodiment, the blockage of the object T is prevented by inclining the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, for example, both the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 and the guide surface 19 of the first side guide 18 are configured as vertical surfaces, and the width of the delivery and conveyance path H is equal to the width of the discharge conveyance. You may make it narrow as it goes to a downstream from the upstream of the conveyance direction of the target object T along the furnace H. In this case, both guide surfaces 19 and 21 of the sending conveyance path H are inclined inward to each other toward the downstream side in planar view.

According to such a configuration, in the upstream portion of the sending transport path H that is affected by the rotation of the flange portion 13, the width of the sending transport path H is widened, and the discharge amount at the time of rolling of the object T is sufficiently secured. On the other hand, after the object T moves to the outer side of the flange portion 13 (that is, the downstream part of the discharge conveyance path H), the width of the discharge conveyance path H is narrowed and discharged from the discharge port 25 . The position shift of the conveyance path width direction of the target object T used can be precisely regulated.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 is formed so that the inclination angle θ is constant regardless of the position in the conveying direction of the object T in the sending conveyance path H. , but is not limited thereto, and for example, the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 21 may be decreased from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction. In this case, the inclination angle θ is preferably set to 0° at the position of the outlet 25 .

According to such a configuration, the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 21 is large in the upstream portion of the delivery conveyance path H that is affected by the rotation of the flange portion 13, so that the discharge amount at the time of rolling the object T is sufficiently reduced. On the other hand, after the object T moves to the outer side of the flange portion 13 (that is, the downstream portion of the delivery conveyance path H), the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 21 is reduced as much as possible, and the discharge port 25 ), it is possible to suppress the displacement of the target object T sent out in the width direction of the conveyance path.

In the above-described embodiment, the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 is formed to be inclined at the angle θ in the substantially entire range of the conveying direction of the object T in the sending conveyance path H, but limited to this It is not necessary, for example, you may make it incline the guide surface 21 only in the part located above the flange part 13. As shown in FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, in order to prevent the rolling of the object T, the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 is inclined, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the second side guide ( You may make it incline both the guide surface 21 of 20 and the guide surface 19 of the 1st side guide 18 outward in the conveyance path width direction toward the upper side, and the guide surface 19 of the 1st side guide 18 ) may be inclined toward the upper side and outward in the width direction of the conveyance path.

Although the rotary table 14 is inclining with respect to a vertical axis|shaft in embodiment mentioned above, and is arrange|positioned, it is not limited to this, You may arrange|position horizontally. In other words, any configuration may be employed as long as the rotary conveyor includes a rotary table having a circular shape in plan view and a horizontal rotary carrying surface portion disposed to surround the rotary table and rotated in the same direction as the rotary table.

The invention includes any combination of the various embodiments described above.

In addition, the description of the above-mentioned embodiments is illustrative in all respects, and is not restrictive. Modifications and changes are possible as appropriate to those skilled in the art. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the above-described embodiments. In addition, the scope of the present invention includes modifications from the embodiments within the scope of the claims and equivalents.

H: Sending/returning path T: Object
θ: angle 10: alignment device
13: Flange part (rotation conveyance surface part, rotation conveyance device)
14: rotary table (rotary conveying device) 18: first side guide (inner guide portion)
19: guide surface 20: second side guide (outer guide part)
21: guide surface 24: third upper guide (height defining part)
25: outlet

Claims (5)

As an alignment device that aligns a plurality of objects in a line and sends them out from an outlet,
A rotary table having a circular shape in plan view, and a horizontal rotary carrying surface portion disposed to surround the rotary table in plan view and rotating in the same direction as the rotary table, the rotary table being supplied to the upper surface of the rotary table a rotating conveying device configured to send objects onto the rotating conveying surface portion;
An outer guide portion provided in the radial direction as a pair of guide portions disposed close to and above the rotary carrying surface portion and forming a delivery carrying path for guiding the objects sent onto the rotary carrying surface portion toward the delivery port. and an inner guide portion provided on the radially inner side at a distance through which the objects can pass with respect to the outer guide portion,
and a height defining part defining the height of the sending conveyance path formed between the inner guide part and the outer guide part,
The sending transport path is formed to extend in a direction intersecting the rotational direction of the rotating transport surface part in plan view, cross the outer periphery of the rotation transport plane part, and at the same time reach the sending port,
An alignment device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the guide surfaces of the inner guide part and the outer guide part inclines upward in the direction of the width direction of the conveyance path toward the upper side in at least a portion located above the rotational conveyance surface part of the sending conveyance path. The method of claim 1,
At least one guide surface of the inner guide part and the outer guide part is conveyed upward in both of the part located above the rotary conveyance surface part and the part located on the outlet side rather than the rotation conveyance surface part in the sending conveyance path. It is inclined outward in the width direction of the furnace,
The alignment device according to claim 1, wherein the inclined guide surface is formed such that the inclination angle is constant over the entire conveyance direction of the object in the delivery conveyance path. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2,
The guide surface of the outer guide part becomes the inclined guide surface,
Alignment device, characterized in that the guide surface of the inner guide portion is a vertical surface. The alignment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an inclination angle of the guide surface to be inclined with respect to a vertical surface is 3° or more and 5° or less. As an alignment device that aligns a plurality of objects in a line and sends them out from an outlet,
A rotary table having a circular shape in plan view, and a horizontal rotary carrying surface portion disposed to surround the rotary table in plan view and rotating in the same direction as the rotary table, the rotary table being supplied to the upper surface of the rotary table a rotating conveying device configured to send an object onto the rotating conveying surface portion;
An outer guide portion provided in the radial direction as a pair of guide portions disposed close to and above the rotary carrying surface portion and forming a delivery carrying path for guiding the objects sent onto the rotary carrying surface portion toward the delivery port. and an inner guide portion provided on the radially inner side at a distance through which the objects can pass with respect to the outer guide portion,
and a height defining part defining the height of the sending conveyance path formed between the inner guide part and the outer guide part,
The sending transport path is formed to extend in a direction intersecting the rotational direction of the rotating transport surface part in plan view, cross the outer periphery of the rotation transport plane part, and at the same time reach the sending port,
and the inner guide portion and the outer guide portion are formed so that the width of the delivery transport path becomes narrower from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the object along the delivery transport route.

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