KR20220136133A - Aligning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an aligning apparatus. The aligning apparatus includes: an input container which has a circular opening on an upper surface; a rotation return surface unit which is formed to cover a perimeter edge of the opening of the input container; a rotation table which is disposed in the input container in an inclined manner and transfers a plurality of targets input on an upper surface to the rotation return surface unit; and a guidance device which is disposed to be adjacent to an upper side of the rotation return surface unit and forms a return path of targets. The aligning apparatus further includes a height regulation device (26), which restricts the height of a target (T) capable of entering the return path, for perfectly dropping a target in a poor posture such as a case where a longitudinal direction intersects a return direction into the input container during a returning process for the target. The height regulation device (26) has an upstream height regulation unit (23a) forming a predetermined height (h1) and a gap (S1) between an upper surface (13) of the rotation return surface unit and the height regulation device (26), a downstream height regulation unit (23b), and a space unit (So) located therebetween and having a height from the upper surface (13) of the rotation return surface unit bigger than the determined height (h1).

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 Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-116588 (Patent Document 1 below).

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

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, its upper edge is at the same height as the upper surface of the flange portion of the ball, and is provided to be connected to the flange portion, and a rotation axis orthogonal to the rotary table is provided. It is designed to rotate around the center.

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. , moves from the upper edge portion 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. Outside the inner peripheral edge of the outer peripheral guide and the second side guide and the flange part sequentially and continuously provided toward the outlet, the object is allowed to pass with respect to the outer circumferential guide and the second side guide at a distance in the radial direction inside The provided first side guide is provided.

In this way, the object moving from the rotary table to the flange portion moves together with the flange portion and enters between the outer circumferential guide, the second side guide, and the first side guide, and the outer circumferential guide, the second side guide, and the second side guide 1 Guided by side guides. A linear feed conveyance path is formed between the first side guide and the second side guide. After the objects are aligned in a straight line through such a delivery and transport path, they are delivered from the corresponding delivery port toward the transport device.

Here, the upper guide which regulates the height of the conveyance path is provided in the middle part of the circumferential direction of the conveyance path along the said outer peripheral guide. Such an upper guide is disposed above the flange portion with a gap between the flange portion and the flange portion through which an object can pass. The upper guide has a function of dropping the object into the ball by contacting the object when the object conveyed from the upstream side is, for example, in a state of being stacked in two or more steps or in an upright state. have.

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

Here, in the alignment device shown in Patent Document 1, for example, when the object has an elliptical or rectangular shape in plan view (viewed in the thickness direction), the longitudinal direction of the object is the conveying direction (rotational direction of the flange portion). Since it is a normal conveyance attitude, the longitudinal direction of the object may be oriented in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction due to an accidental factor or the like, or in extreme cases, the longitudinal direction of the object may be oriented in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. In this way, since there is a possibility that an object having an attitude defect (hereinafter referred to as a longitudinal defect) in which the longitudinal direction intersects the conveyance direction may cause clogging when reaching the entrance of the dispensing conveyance path, before reaching the entrance It is preferable to make it fall into the inside of a ball|bowl (inside an injection container).

From this point of view, in the conventional alignment device, when a defect occurs in the longitudinal direction, the object tilts up and down from the inner edge of the upper surface of the flange portion (rotation conveyance surface portion) due to unbalance, and the outer end of the object slightly floats (float). If the inclination of the object is large, such a floating amount also increases, so that the object can be blocked by the upper guide and dropped into the input container.

However, when the inclination of the object is small, the amount of floating of the outer end thereof also becomes small, so that the object enters the gap below the upper guide. 7 is a schematic view showing a state in which the object T has entered the lower side of the upper guide 102 while being guided by the outer circumferential guide 101 in the conventional alignment apparatus, and is a view viewed from the upstream side in the conveyance direction. As shown in the figure, when the object T, which is defective in the longitudinal direction, enters the lower side of the upper guide 102, the object T tilts up and down and the inner periphery of the rotating conveyance surface part 103 and the upper guide ( 102) is sandwiched between the lower surfaces. For this reason, the target object T is conveyed to the entrance of the discharge conveyance path without falling in the input container 104, and the blockage of the target object T will arise as mentioned above. When the object T is clogged, the alignment device must be stopped, and furthermore, there is a problem that the operation rate of the alignment device decreases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and it is to provide an alignment device that can reliably drop an object having poor posture (longitudinal direction defect) such that the longitudinal direction intersects the transport direction into the input container during the transport process. The purpose.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is an input container having a circular opening on the upper surface for putting a plurality of objects, and a vertical rotation shaft formed to surround the peripheral edge of the opening of the input container. The plurality of objects disposed in the input container and disposed in the input container with an upper surface inclined with respect to the rotation axis and an upper edge adjacent at the same height as the rotary carrying surface portion and supplied to the upper surface a rotary table for transferring the objects to the rotary carrying surface portion through the upper edge portion; An alignment device including a gap of the predetermined height between an upstream-side height regulating portion that forms a gap of a predetermined height between the An alignment device having a downstream height regulating portion forming

According to such an alignment device, when a plurality of the objects are put on the upper surface of the rotary table through the opening of the input container, the objects are sequentially sent to the rotary carrying surface part by the action of the rotary table, and the rotation shaft is the center and rotates together with the corresponding rotating conveyance surface part.

Objects rotating together with the rotary carrying surface are aligned in a line by a guide mechanism provided above the rotary carrying surface, and are sent out from the outlet.

In addition to the guide mechanism, a height regulating mechanism is provided above the rotating conveyance surface portion, and the height regulating mechanism includes an upstream-side height regulating portion, a downstream-side height regulating portion, and a space positioned between them. And, when the objects on the rotating conveyance surface are in a state in which two or more layers are stacked or in a standing state, the objects fall into the input container by contacting the upstream end of the upstream height regulating part. In addition, when there is a defect in the longitudinal direction in which the longitudinal direction of the object intersects the conveying direction (rotational direction of the rotating conveyance surface portion), the object tilts the inner periphery of the rotating conveying unit up and down as a fulcrum to the outside of the object Since the edge part floats, the upstream end surface of an upstream height regulating part and the outer edge part of an object contact, and an object falls into an input container.

However, even if the above-described defect in the longitudinal direction occurs in the object, if the inclination of the object is small, the outer end of the object does not come into contact with the upstream end face of the upstream height regulating part, and the object enters below the upstream height regulating part . The object which has entered the lower side of the upstream height regulating part is sandwiched between the inner periphery of the rotating conveyance surface part and the lower surface of the upstream height regulating part and does not fall into the input container. Further, the object moves to the downstream side with the rotation of the rotary carrying surface portion, and enters the space portion after passing through the gap under the upstream side height regulating portion. The height dimension of this space part is larger than the height of the clearance gap formed below the upstream height control part. Therefore, as the object enters this space, the upstream height regulating portion that has been regulating the upward movement of the outer end of the object (movement in the direction in which the inclination of the object increases) until then does not exist, so the recoil As a result, the up and down inclination of the object increases. In this way, the object with the increased inclination falls into the input container inside the rotating conveyance surface part by its own weight, or by contacting the upstream end of the downstream height regulating part provided on the downstream side of the space part and on the downstream side even if it does not fall, it is reliably inside the input container. will fall As described above, according to the rectifying device of the present invention, an object having a bad posture in which the longitudinal direction intersects the conveying direction can be reliably dropped into the input container during the conveying process.

In addition, in the case where there is no longitudinal defect in the object (when the object is not tilted up and down with the inner periphery of the rotary carrying surface part as a point), the object is mounted on the upper surface of the rotary carrying surface part, and the upstream side height regulating part , the space portion and the downstream side height regulating portion are sequentially passed through and conveyed downstream.

In the alignment device of the present invention, in the upstream height regulating part and the downstream height regulating part, the upstream end of the rotary conveyance surface part in the rotational direction has a downstream side in the upstream side of the rotational direction, respectively, in plan view. It is preferable that an inclined surface is formed that is inclined inward in the radial direction toward and guides the object exceeding the predetermined height in the radial direction.

According to such a configuration, when the height of the object from the rotational transport surface portion exceeds a predetermined height due to the stacking state, the standing state, or the inclination state caused by the longitudinal defect, the object is formed at the upstream end of the upstream height regulating part. touch the slope Since this inclined surface faces radially inward from the upstream side to the downstream side in the rotational direction of the rotary carrying surface portion, the object moving together with the rotary carrying surface portion is gradually moved radially inward along the inclined surface to finally enter the input container. can be dropped Similarly for the downstream height regulating unit, an object having a poor posture whose height from the rotational conveying surface portion exceeds a predetermined height (a longitudinally defective object whose inclination is increased by entering the space) is placed at the upstream end of the downstream height regulating unit. It can be dropped into the input container by gradually moving radially inward along the formed inclined surface.

Here, as a comparative example, it is considered, for example, that the upstream end of each height regulating portion is constituted by a vertical surface along the radial direction of the rotational conveying surface portion. There is a problem with obstruction. In the present invention, as described above, by gradually moving the object along the inclined surface in the radial direction of the rotational conveying surface portion, the object in the poor posture can be dropped into the input container without interfering with the subsequent conveyance of the object.

In the alignment device of the present invention, it is preferable that the height regulating mechanism further has a connecting portion that connects the upstream-side height regulating portion and the downstream-side height regulating portion and forms the space portion between the rotating conveying surface portion. .

According to such a configuration, the upstream-side height regulating portion, the downstream-side height regulating portion, and the connecting portion can be constituted by one member. Therefore, the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts. Moreover, when the upstream side height control part and the downstream side height control part are comprised separately, although the operation|work of adjusting the positional relationship between both is required, an adjustment operation becomes unnecessary by configuring it as one member. Therefore, the assembly workability|operativity to the rectification|straightening apparatus of an upstream height regulating part and a downstream height regulating part can be improved.

As described above, according to the aligning device of the present invention, the upstream height regulating portion and the downstream height regulating portion that form a gap between the rotational conveying surface portion and the upstream side height regulating portion are arranged in this order along the rotational direction, and the upstream height By providing a space between the regulating unit and the downstream height regulating unit in which the height dimension from the rotational conveying surface is larger than the predetermined height, an object having a bad posture such that the longitudinal direction intersects the conveying direction is introduced in the conveying process It can drop reliably in a container.

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 perspective view of a second upper guide provided in the alignment device as viewed from the inside in a radial direction.
FIG. 5 is a V-direction arrow diagram of FIG. 1 .
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4 .
Fig. 7 is a view corresponding to Fig. 6 of the alignment device according to the prior art.

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

1 : is a top view which shows the alignment conveyance system 1 containing the alignment apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The alignment conveying system 1 aligns the objects T in a line and transfers the alignment device 10 sent out from the outlet 25 and the object T sent out from the alignment device 10 to the conveying belt 41 . Transferring (transferring) the transfer device 40 transported by the It is comprised with the sending board 50 and the inspection apparatus 60 which test|inspects the target object T conveyed by the conveyance apparatus 40. As shown in FIG.

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 target object T as an example. The release tablet has an elliptical planar shape (see FIG. 2A), both the side shape and the front shape viewed from one side in the longitudinal direction have an elliptical shape (see FIGS. 2B and 2C), and have a belt-shaped plane on the outer periphery It is a tablet.

The alignment device 10 includes a bowl-shaped ball 12 (an example of an input container) provided on a base 11, a rotary table 14 to which an object T is supplied to the upper surface, and conveyance of the object T A guide mechanism 15 that defines a furnace and guides the object T to the outlet 25, and a height that defines the height of the transport path and regulates the height of the object T that can enter the transport path A regulatory mechanism 26 is provided.

The ball 12 is provided with a horizontal flange portion 13 formed on the outer periphery of the opening, and is appropriately rotated about a vertical axis of rotation by a drive mechanism (hereinafter, a ball drive mechanism) (not shown). has been Moreover, the upper surface of such a flange part 13 functions as a rotation conveyance surface part. In addition, in the following description, an upstream and a downstream shall mean the upstream and downstream of the rotation direction of the flange part 13 unless otherwise specified.

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. In addition, this rotary table 14 is comprised so that it may rotate centering around the rotation axis orthogonal to itself by a drive mechanism (henceforth table drive mechanism) (not shown) suitably.

In addition, the portion where the upper edge of the rotary table 14 is connected 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, Let this connection part be a displacement position (indicated by the code|symbol '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 of

The guide mechanism 15 guides the object T, which has moved from the rotary table 14 to the flange portion 13 at the transfer position 14a, toward the outlet 25, and is a peripheral guide 16 ), a first side guide 18 and a second side guide 20 are provided.

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, simply 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 .

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 distance 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 the guide surface 19 .

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

As shown in Fig. 3, between the first side guide 18 and the second side guide 20, along the guide surface 17 of the outer circumferential guide 16, the object T that has been conveyed along an arc-shaped path is transferred. The sending conveyance path H which accepts and conveys toward the sending port 25 is formed. The outgoing conveyance path H extends from the vicinity of the downstream end of the guide surface 17 of the outer circumferential 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, although the height of the sending conveyance path H is defined by the 3rd upper guide 24 mentioned later, the 3rd upper guide 24 is abbreviate|omitted for easy viewing in FIG.

The height regulating mechanism 26 is a mechanism for regulating (limiting) the height of the object T that can enter the transfer path by defining the height of the conveyance path of the object T, the first upper guide 22, the second Two upper guides 23 and a third upper guide 24 are provided.

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 the upper surface of the flange portion 13 . Specifically, the first upper guide 22 is made of an arc-shaped plate extending in the circumferential direction along the inner periphery 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 the displaced position 14a.

The second upper guide 23 is disposed above the flange portion 13 so as to have a gap through which the object T can pass between the second upper guide 23 and the flange portion 13 . Since 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 , the circumferential direction along the inner periphery of the flange portion 13 . 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 .

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 , the second upper guide 23 includes an upstream height regulating part 23a and a downstream height regulating part ( 23b) and a connecting portion 23c connecting both are provided, and a space portion So extending in the circumferential direction is formed between the connecting portion 23c and the flange portion 13 .

Since the upstream height regulating part 23a is disposed so as to face the downstream end of the first upper guide 22, it has a predetermined height h1 between it and the flange part 13 (specifically, the upper surface of the flange part 13). to form a gap S1. In this way, the upstream height regulating part 23a regulates (restricts) the height of the object T that can enter the gap S1 to a predetermined height h1 or less. The upstream-side height regulating part 23a has an outer surface that is a circular arc surface in contact with the upper end of the guide surface 17 of the outer circumferential guide 16, and the inner surface thereof is radially inside from the upstream side toward the downstream side. It becomes the vertical inclined surface 23d which is located. The inclined surface 23d is located at the upstream end of the upstream height regulating part 23a, and has a function of guiding the object T with a bad posture exceeding the predetermined height h1 in the radial direction to drop it into the ball 12. have it

The downstream height regulating part 23b is arrange|positioned downstream with respect to the upstream height regulating part 23a with the space part So interposed therebetween. The downstream height regulating part 23b forms the clearance gap S2 of the predetermined height h1 between the flange part 13 (specifically, the upper surface of the flange part 13). In this way, the downstream-side height regulating unit 23b regulates (restricts) the height of the object T that can enter the gap S2 to the predetermined height h1 or less. The downstream height regulating part 23b is an arc surface whose outer peripheral surface abuts against the upper end of the guide surface 17 of the outer peripheral guide 16, and an inner surface is an arc surface having the same curvature as the outer peripheral surface. An inclined surface 23e facing the space portion So is formed at an upstream end of the downstream height regulating portion 23b. The inclined surface 23e is formed of a vertical surface positioned radially inward from the upstream side toward the downstream side. The inclined surface 23e has a function of guiding the object T having a poor posture exceeding the predetermined height h1 radially inward and dropping it into the ball 12 .

The connection part 23c is a planar view arc-shaped vertical plate part extending in the circumferential direction, and connects the upper part of the upstream height regulating part 23a and the upper part of the downstream height regulating part 23b. The space portion So is secured below the connection portion 23c. The space portion So is an arc-shaped space with a constant height extending in the circumferential direction, and the height dimension h2 (distance between the upper surface of the flange portion 13 and the lower surface of the connecting portion 23c) is set to a dimension greater than the predetermined height h1, have.

The third upper guide 24 (refer to FIG. 1 ) is arranged so 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 addition, the third upper guide 24 has a gap between the flange portion 13 , the receiving plate 50 , and the transport belt 41 , through which the object T can pass.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the conveying device 40 includes a supporting frame 45 , a rectangular parallelepiped hollow negative pressure box 46 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 from this slit hole to the outside Negative pressure is applied.

The conveyance belt 41 has raised portions 42 formed on both sides thereof, and between the two raised portions 42, through holes 43 are formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. The negative pressure of the negative pressure box 46 is made to act between the two raised portions 42 through the through hole 43 . Further, 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.

Hereinafter, the aspect which aligns the said target object T by the alignment apparatus 10 provided with the above 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 with the rotation of the ball 12 .

Next, the object T on the flange portion 13 enters the lower portion of the first upper guide 22 . At this time, when the object T is stacked in two or more stages or in a standing state, the state is resolved and returned to the ball 12, and only the object T within a predetermined height range is the first It enters the lower part of the upper guide 22 . 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 .

After that, when the object T has passed through the downstream end of the first upper guide 22, the object T, which is causing a posture defect in which the longitudinal direction intersects the conveyance direction, is indicated by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. As shown, the inner periphery of the flange part 13 inclines up and down as a fulcrum. When the vertical inclination is equal to or greater than a predetermined level, the outer end (radial outer end) of the object T comes into contact with the inclined surface 23d of the upstream height regulating portion 23a of the second upper guide 23 . In addition, the object T moves radially inward while moving downstream along this inclined surface 23d with the rotation of the flange portion 13 , and finally falls into the ball 12 . Only the object T remaining without falling enters the gap S1 at the lower side of the upstream-side height regulating part 23a.

Among the objects T entering the gap S1, the above-described defect in the longitudinal direction occurs, but the vertical inclination is less than a predetermined height (the height of the outer end of the object T is the height h1 of the lower surface of the second upper guide 23) lower) is also included. In the present embodiment, for the object T with a small vertical inclination, it falls into the ball 12 by its own weight when passing through the space portion So after passing through the upstream-side height regulating portion 23a, or on the downstream side It falls into the ball 12 by contacting with the inclined surface 23e of the upstream end of the height regulating part 23b.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the said target object T which passed all the upstream height regulating part 23a enters the space part So adjacent to the downstream. The height dimension h2 of this space part So is larger than the height h1 of the clearance gap S1 below the upstream height control part 23a. Therefore, while the object T enters such a space part So, the upward movement of the outer end of the object T (movement in the direction in which the inclination of the object T increases) has been regulated until then. Since the side height regulating part 23a does not exist, by the recoil, the vertical inclination of the object T increases. In this way, the object T tilted greatly by its own weight falls into the ball 12 inside the flange portion 13 by its own weight, or even if it does not fall, the downstream height regulating portion 23b provided on the further downstream side of the space portion So. ) falls into the ball 12 by contacting the inclined surface 23e. At this time, since the inclined surface 23e (refer to Fig. 4) is inclined radially inward from the upstream side to the downstream side, the object T is gradually moved along the inclined surface 23e to the downstream side without being suddenly blocked, and the radius is gradually increased. It moves inward in the direction and is sent into the ball 12 .

The object T remaining on the flange portion 13 without falling into the ball 12 enters the gap S2 below the downstream side height regulating portion 23b as the flange portion 13 rotates. And, after passing through the gap S2, it is located below the third upper guide 24, and the delivery transport path H is disposed between the first side guide 18 and the second side guide 20. (see FIG. 1). At this time, for example, an object that cannot enter the delivery conveyance path H, such as an object T being conveyed on the inner peripheral side of the flange portion 13 from the guide surface 19 of the first side guide 18, etc. T) is bounced back (falls) into the ball 12 by the first side guide 18 . On the other hand, 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 the guide surface 21 of the second side guide 20 And it enters into the delivery conveyance path H surrounded by the guide surface 19 of the 1st side guide 18, the 3rd upper guide 24, and the flange part 13. As shown in FIG. In addition, the object T, which has entered the delivery transport path H, moves downstream by obtaining a component in the straight direction along the delivery transport path H with the rotation of the flange portion 13, and moves to the downstream side, and 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 and is sent out from the outlet 25, and then is sent to the upper surface of the transport belt 41. do.

The object T transferred from the receiving plate 50 to the upper surface of the conveying belt 41 is adsorbed on the raised portion 42 of the conveying belt 41 by the suction force of a negative pressure mechanism (not shown). It is conveyed toward the said inspection apparatus 60 by the drive of the conveyance belt 41, and predetermined|prescribed inspection is performed by the said inspection apparatus 60. As shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the alignment device 10 of the present embodiment, the height regulating mechanism 26 is an upstream-side height regulating part ( 23a), a downstream height regulating part 23b that is located on the downstream side of the upstream height regulating part 23a and forms a gap S2 of a predetermined height h1 between the upper surface of the flange part 13, and an upstream height It is located between the regulating part 23a and the downstream height regulating part 23b, and is provided with the space part So whose height dimension from the upper surface of the flange part 13 is larger than the said predetermined height h1.

According to such a configuration, as described above, when the vertical inclination of the object T in the longitudinal direction is large, the object T is brought into contact with the upstream height regulating part 23a. ) can be dropped into the ball 12 . In addition, since the inclination of the object T is small, for the object T of the longitudinal direction defect entering the gap S1 below the upstream height limiting part 23a, the space on the downstream side of the upstream height limiting part 23a The upstream end (slope 23e) of the downstream height regulating part 23b by falling into the ball 12 by its own weight or by dropping the object T in a state in which the up and down inclination is increased by its own weight due to the increase in the vertical inclination by entering the part So. )) to fall into the ball 12 by contacting it. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably drop the object T, which is defective in the longitudinal direction, into the ball 12 during the conveyance process.

Moreover, it is preferable to provide the space part So over the range of 20 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less in the circumferential direction on the basis of the rotation center of the flange part 13 as a reference. If the circumferential range of the space portion So is too narrow, the object T enters the gap S2 on the lower side of the downstream side height regulating portion 23b before tilting sufficiently, and the chance of falling into the ball 12 is lost, and the This is because, after the object T is tilted, the inclination in the vertical direction is reduced by centrifugal force, and it enters the gap S2 under the downstream side height regulating part 23b without falling into the ball 12 . Moreover, it is preferable that it is 1.2 times or more, and, as for the height dimension h2 of the space part So, it is more preferable that it is 1.5 times or more of the height h1 of the said clearance gap S2. This is because if the height dimension h2 of the space portion So is too small, the amount of change in the vertical inclination when the object T enters the space portion So becomes small, and the object T cannot be dropped into the ball 12 .

In addition, in this embodiment, the upstream end of the upstream height regulating part 23a and the downstream height regulating part 23b is inclined radially inward from the upstream to the downstream in plan view, respectively, and a predetermined height h1 is An inclined surface 23d and an inclined surface 23e for guiding the object T to be crossed inward in the radial direction are formed.

According to such a configuration, by gradually moving the object T in the bad posture exceeding the predetermined height h1 in the radial direction of the flange portion 13 along the respective inclined surfaces 23d and 23e, the subsequent object T The object T in a bad posture can be dropped into the ball 12 without interfering with the conveyance.

In addition, in this embodiment, the height regulating mechanism 26 connects the upstream side height regulating part 23a and the downstream side height regulating part 23b, and at the same time, a connection part ( 23c).

According to such a structure, the upstream side height control part 23a, the downstream side height control part 23b, and the connection part 23c can be comprised by one member. Therefore, the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts. In addition, when the upstream-side height regulating part 23a and the downstream-side height regulating part 23b are configured as separate bodies, it is necessary to adjust the positional relationship between the two, but by configuring it as one member, the adjustment operation is unnecessary. . Accordingly, it is possible to improve the workability of assembling the upstream-side height regulating part 23a and the downstream-side height regulating part 23b to the alignment device 10 .

another embodiment

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the upstream-side height regulating part 23a and the downstream-side height regulating part 23b are connected via the connecting part 23c, but it is not limited thereto, and for example, the upstream-side height regulating part 23b The regulating part 23a and the downstream-side height regulating part 23b may be configured separately and divided. In this case, since the connection part 23c becomes unnecessary, the upper wall of the space part So between the upstream height limiting part 23a and the downstream height limiting part 23b disappears. Accordingly, the height of the space portion So can be secured without limitation. Furthermore, the amount of change in the vertical inclination of the object T that has entered the space portion So can be sufficiently secured, and the fall of the object T into the ball 12 can be accelerated.

In the above-described embodiment, although the ball 12 and the flange portion 13 are integrally rotated, it is not limited thereto. For example, the ball 12 and the flange portion 13 are configured as separate bodies, You may make it stop (12) and make it rotate only the flange part (13).

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

In addition, description of embodiment mentioned above is an illustration in every point, 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.

So: space part S1: gap
S2: Gap T: Object
h1: predetermined height h2: height dimension (height dimension of space part)
10: alignment device 12: ball (dosing container)
13: flange part (rotation conveyance surface part) 14: rotary table
14a: transfer location (place where the object transfers)
15: guide mechanism 23a: upstream height regulating part
23b: downstream height regulating part 23c: connection part
23d: inclined plane 23e: inclined plane
26: height regulation body

Claims (3)

An input container having a circular opening on an upper surface for introducing a plurality of objects, a horizontal rotary carrying surface part formed to surround a periphery of the opening of the input container and rotating about a vertical rotation axis; It is disposed in the input container, the upper surface is inclined with respect to the rotation axis, and the upper edge part is adjacent at the same height position as the rotary carrying surface part, and the plurality of objects supplied to the upper surface are transferred to the rotary carrying surface part through the upper edge part An alignment device comprising: a rotary table; and a guide mechanism provided on an upper side adjacent to the rotary carrying surface part and guiding an object moving together with the rotary carrying surface part along a predetermined carrying path,
Further comprising a height regulating mechanism provided above the predetermined conveyance path and regulating the height of the object that can enter the predetermined conveyance path,
The height regulation mechanism,
an upstream-side height regulating part for forming a gap of a predetermined height between the rotary carrying surface part;
a downstream height regulating part located on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the rotary carrying surface part than the upstream height limiting part and forming a gap of the predetermined height between the rotary carrying surface part;
and a space portion positioned between the upstream-side height regulating portion and the downstream-side height regulating portion and having a height dimension from the rotational conveying surface portion greater than the predetermined height. The upstream end in the rotational direction of the rotational conveying surface portion in the upstream height regulating portion and the downstream height regulating portion is, respectively, in plan view, radially inward from the upstream side to the downstream side in the corresponding rotational direction. and an inclined surface for guiding the object exceeding the predetermined height in a radial direction is formed. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the height regulating mechanism further comprises a connecting portion that connects the upstream-side height regulating portion and the downstream-side height regulating portion and forms the space portion between the rotating conveying surface portion. Alignment device characterized in that.

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