JP2008285203A - Article counting and unloading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation sequence suitable for manually setting an accommodating means and carrying out an article temporarily locked by a constant shutter mechanism when it is counted to a predetermined number to the accommodating means. Improve work efficiency in work and reduce the burden on workers.
SOLUTION: A first stopper device 20 is allowed to pass through a seal bag in a normally open state, and a second stopper device 30 is closed. When the number of passed seal bags reaches a predetermined constant, the first stopper device 20 is closed to temporarily lock the seal bags. When the operator manually inserts the plastic bag into the outlet portion 12, the bag preparation preparation signal sending device 40 sends a preparation completion signal, and the control unit opens the second stopper device 30 and the constant sealing bag is made of vinyl. Take it out to the bag. Thereafter, the operator removes the plastic bag from the outlet 12, but at this time, the preparation completion signal is stopped, the control unit closes the second stopper device 30, and opens the first stopper device 20.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an article counting and unloading apparatus that unloads a predetermined number of articles to a bag-shaped or box-shaped storing means.

  Conventionally, a series of sealing bags in which the contents are filled between the horizontal seals are formed by performing horizontal sealing by a heat sealing device of an automatic packaging machine, and a predetermined number (one or When a constant number is supplied to the post-process, such as boxing or bagging, after separating each), the number of separation bags that can count the number of separations is counted and the target number is reached. Then, a constant shutter mechanism that collects these and sends them to the subsequent process is used.

  This type of constant shutter mechanism is described in, for example, Patent Document 1, and as shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 5, a predetermined interval is provided along the sliding direction of the sliding base inclined in the vertical direction, and the upstream side in the sliding direction. The first stopper device is provided with a second stopper device provided on the downstream side in the sliding direction, and the first stopper device is arranged as close as possible to the lower position of the cutter counting device. In FIG. 5, F indicates a seal bag, and FA indicates a horizontal seal portion.

  Each of the stopper devices is provided with a shutter part that opens and closes a passage through which the separated sealing bag passes on a slide, and each of the shutter parts is provided with a rotating shaft to which a shutter plate is attached. The shutter unit is configured to be opened and closed by operating the rotating shaft with a driving unit such as a motor or a cylinder. Accordingly, the sealing bag sliding down on the slide according to the detaching operation of the separating cutter counting device can be temporarily locked in the middle, or the locking can be released and supplied to the lower belt conveyor or the like. I am doing so.

  In the first and second stopper devices configured as described above, when the separating cutter counting device counts up the target number, first, the shutter portion of the second stopper device is opened by the count-up signal and accumulated until now. While the last sealed bag counted up is sent to the subsequent process, the shutter part of the first stopper device is closed in accordance with the opening operation of the shutter part of the second stopper device, and then separated after counting up. The mechanism is to temporarily hold and store the sealing bags that fall.

As a result, a fixed number of seal bags of the target number are always supplied to the post-process side. After that, when the post-process such as boxing is completed, the completion signal is received and the shutter part of the second stopper device is closed. By opening the shutter portion of the stopper device, the seal bag accumulated after counting up to the shutter portion of the first stopper device is supplied to the second stopper device side. Subsequently, the shutter part of the first stopper device is opened, and the seal bag separated by the separating cutter counting device is stored in the shutter part of the second stopper device until the target number is counted up. Yes.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-21116

  However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 having the above-described configuration is used when the post-process is mechanized or automated, and the sealed bag that has been counted and stored is manually packed. Has the following facts.

That is,
A typical example of the case where the post-process is not mechanized is that the opening of a plastic bag or the like is manually inserted into the outlet of the constant shutter mechanism, and when the count is counted to a preset target number, This is a case in which the shutter portion of the second stopper device is opened and the sealing bag temporarily locked to the shutter portion of the second stopper device is put into the plastic bag. In this case, it is necessary to change the control so that the shutter part of the second stopper device is opened when the opening of the plastic bag or the like is opened and fitted into the outlet of the constant shutter mechanism to complete the bagging preparation. .

  In addition, a method for generating a baggage preparation completion signal at the exit of the constant shutter mechanism becomes a problem. Normally, when the opening of a plastic bag or the like is opened and fitted to the exit of the constant shutter mechanism, the bagging operator presses the foot switch etc. to generate a bagging preparation completion signal, The work efficiency was poor because both hands and feet had to be moved. In particular, the preparation for bagging and the bagging work use both hands in a standing position, so if you require the operator to push down the foot switch, etc., the balance will be maintained. In addition, the burden on the waist and the like is large, and when such repeated work takes a relatively long time, the burden on the operator becomes large.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has a relatively simple and inexpensive configuration, but when a container such as a plastic bag is manually set to a predetermined number and counted to a preset number. Provide an operation sequence suitable for carrying items such as seal bags that are temporarily locked by the constant shutter mechanism into the set storage means, and improve the work efficiency in manual work and burden on the operator. It is an object of the present invention to provide an article counting and unloading apparatus capable of reducing the problem.

For this reason, the article counting and unloading apparatus according to the present invention is
An article counting / unloading device that temporarily stores the articles conveyed from the upstream side of the processing step while storing them, and slides the articles of the constants on the slide when the preset constants are reached. ,
A first stopper disposed in the middle of the slide and capable of temporarily stopping the article on the slide and temporarily stopping the article on the slide by opening and closing a slide passage of the article on the slide. Equipment,
It is arranged in the middle of the slide on the downstream side of the first stopper device, and by opening and closing the slide passage of the article on the slide, the sliding of the article on the slide is temporarily stopped and the article is temporarily placed on the slide. A second stopper device that can be locked;
At the outlet of the slide, the storage means for storing the constant number of articles to be carried out is manually set by the operator, and the preparation for receiving the constant number of articles by the storage means is completed. A ready signal sending device for sending a signal;
With
The first stopper device allows the article to pass through in a normally open state, and when the number of articles passed through reaches the constant, the first stopper device is closed to temporarily lock the article conveyed thereafter, while the passed constant. After the article is unloaded from the second stopper device, it is opened again based on the stoppage of the preparation completion signal from the preparation completion signal sending device,
The second stopper device is in an open state when the article is temporarily locked in a normally closed state, the number of articles passed through reaches the constant, and a preparation completion signal is sent from the preparation completion signal sending device. Then, the fixed number of articles temporarily locked out are transported toward the storage means, and are closed again based on stoppage of the preparation completion signal from the preparation completion signal transmission device.

  The slide is formed such that a width dimension between the slide table and the second stopper device is larger than a width dimension of the second stopper device so that a predetermined number of articles can be stored between the first stopper device and the second stopper device. Can be characterized.

The preparation completion signal sending device is
A plate-like member disposed below the exit of the slide;
A shaft support part pivotally supported by the upper end side of the plate-like member as a fulcrum;
A stopper member that restricts the pivoting of the plate-shaped member to a predetermined side or more and supports the plate-shaped member at the position;
A limit switch for detecting the pivoting movement of the plate-like member;
Comprising
When the operator manually sets the accommodating means near the exit of the slide, the limit switch is turned on by raising the lower end side of the plate-like member to the pivot upper limit position via the accommodating means. To send a ready signal,
After an operator has received the constant number of articles by the storage means, when the storage means is detached from the set position, the lower end side of the plate-like member is lowered to the pivot lower limit position by its own weight, and the limit switch is turned on. It can be characterized in that it is configured to stop the transmission of the preparation completion signal by turning it off.

  According to the present invention, although it is a relatively simple and inexpensive configuration, a receiving means such as a plastic bag is set manually by a manual operation, and is temporarily locked by a constant shutter mechanism when counted in a preset number. Article which can provide an operation sequence suitable for carrying out the article such as a sealed bag into the set accommodation means and can improve the work efficiency in the manual work and reduce the burden on the operator. A counting carry-out device can be provided.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an article counting and unloading apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the article counting and unloading apparatus according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, a series of seal bags in which the contents are filled between the horizontal seals are formed by applying horizontal seals by a heat seal device (not shown) of the automatic packaging machine 1, and the series of seal bags Is separated into a predetermined (for example, one by one or plural pieces) using a known cutting cutter counting device 2 as shown in FIG. It is conveyed to the processing process downstream side) and reaches the article counting / unloading apparatus 10.

  The article counting and unloading apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is shown as an example of a slide 11 that is inclined in the vertical direction in the drawing (in FIG. 1, it is divided into reference numerals 11-1 and 11-2. The seal bag conveyed by the conveying means 3 is slid on the sliding surface of the slide 11 and conveyed to the subsequent process side. In the middle of the slide 11, a first stopper device 20 and a second stopper device 30 capable of temporarily stopping the sliding of the seal bag are disposed.

  Further, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the outlet portion 12 of the slide 11 on the downstream side of the second stopper device 30 has a predetermined number of sealing bags manually set by the operator in the outlet portion 12. A control device (not shown) is detected by setting a plastic bag (corresponding to the storage means according to the present invention) for storing the bag in such a manner that it is fitted with the mouth open, that is, completion of preparation for bagging. A bag preparation preparation completion signal sending device 40 is provided.

  The first stopper device 20 and the second stopper device 30 are provided with a shutter portion that opens and closes a passage through which the separated sealing bag slides on the sliding surface of the slide 11, as in the prior art. The shutter portion is provided with rotating shafts 22 and 32 to which shutter plates 21 and 31 are attached. The shutter plates are operated by operating the rotating shafts 22 and 32 by driving means 23 and 33 such as a motor and an air cylinder. 21 and 31 are operated to open and close the shutter unit.

  As shown in the control flowchart of FIG. 4, the shutter portion of the first stopper device 20 is normally opened (S100) while the shutter portion of the second stopper device 30 is closed (S100). S101).

  When the number of seal bags that have passed through the shutter portion of the first stopper device 20 reaches a predetermined constant, the shutter portion of the first stopper device 20 is closed to temporarily lock the seal bag (S102). , S103, S104).

  As a result, a predetermined number of sealing bags are stored between the shutter plate 31 of the second stopper device 30 and the first stopper device 20, while the shutter plate 21 of the first stopper device 20 The sealing bag counted after the previous counting for the predetermined constant is temporarily locked.

  On the other hand, the bagging preparation completion signal sending device 40 is activated by setting a method such as fitting the plastic bag into the outlet portion 12 with the mouth opened manually by the operator, and the bagging preparation completion signal is sent. When turned ON, the control unit detects the signal (S105), opens the shutter unit of the second stopper device 30 (S106), and a fixed number of seal bags stored therein are fitted into the outlet unit 12. Unload the plastic bag.

  When a fixed number of sealing bags are carried out to the plastic bag, the operator removes the plastic bag fitted in the outlet 12, but in conjunction with the removal operation, the bag filling from the bag filling preparation completion signal sending device 40 is performed. The preparation completion signal is turned OFF, and the control unit detects the OFF of the bag filling preparation completion signal (S107), closes the shutter portion of the second stopper device 30 (S108), and then the shutter of the first stopper device 20 The part is released (S109).

  And in a control part, it detects whether the completion | finish signal of the bagging operation | work to a plastic bag is sent out (for example, whether the stop button of the automatic packaging machine 1 is pressed, etc.), and an operation | work end signal is output. If not sent, the process returns to S103 and the bagging operation into the plastic bag is continued. If the work end signal has been sent, this flow ends (S110).

  If the work end signal has not been sent, the sealing bag has been sequentially separated from the automatic packaging machine 1 and carried out. Therefore, in S108 and S109, the shutter portion of the second stopper device 30 is closed, and thereafter By opening the shutter portion of the first stopper device 20, the seal bag counted after counting for a predetermined constant that is temporarily locked to the shutter plate 21 of the first stopper device 20 becomes the second shutter. By sending out to the apparatus 30 side and accumulating here, the routine after S103 will be repeated.

  By the way, the slide 11 according to the present embodiment has a width dimension between the second stopper device 20 so that a large amount of seal bags can be stored between the first stopper device 20 and the second stopper device 30. Moreover, it is designed to be larger than the width dimension of the outlet portion 12 of the slide 11 (see FIG. 3).

  Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bagging preparation completion signal sending device 40 according to the present embodiment is, for example, a plate-like member 41 (disposed below the outlet portion 12 of the slide 11 ( For example, a resin such as transparent PET or a metal such as aluminum can be used as a material), a shaft support portion 42 that pivotally supports the upstream side of the plate member 41 as a fulcrum, and the plate shape. A stopper member 43 that restricts the pivoting of the member 41 to a lower side and supports the plate-like member 41 at the position, and a limit switch 44 that detects the pivoting action of the plate-like member 41. Can be configured with. Note that the lower end side of the plate-like member 41 can be disposed so as to protrude a predetermined amount downstream from the outlet portion 12 of the slide 11.

  When the bag filling preparation completion signal sending device 40 having such a configuration raises the lower end side of the plate-like member 41 with the pivotal support 42 as a pivot center, the plate-like member 41 is brought to the pivot upper limit position. While the limit switch 44 is turned on, when the lower end of the plate-like member 41 is lowered and brought to the pivoting lower limit position, the limit switch 44 is turned off and supported by the stopper member 43.

  Here, when the operator manually opens and inserts the opening of the plastic bag into the outlet portion 12 of the slide 11, the lower end side of the plate-like member 41 is simultaneously inserted into the opening of the plastic bag. To do. And an operator moves the mouth of the plastic bag which fitted the exit part 12 of the slide 11, and the lower end side of the plate-shaped member 41 simultaneously, and pivots the lower end side of the plate-shaped member 41 upward. Then, the limit switch 44 is turned on. As a result, a bagging preparation completion signal (ON signal) is sent from the bagging preparation completion signal sending device 40 to the control unit (see S105 in FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, when the reception of the predetermined number of sealing bags into the plastic bag is finished, the operator removes the plastic bag in which the outlet portion 12 of the slide 11 and the lower end side of the plate-like member 41 are simultaneously fitted, The lower end side of the plate-like member 41 is brought to the pivot lower limit position by its own weight, and the limit switch 44 is turned off. As a result, the bagging preparation completion signal from the bagging preparation completion signal sending device 40 is turned off, and the control unit can detect that the operator has removed the plastic bag (S107 in FIG. 4). reference).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the seal is temporarily locked by the constant shutter mechanism when the operator manually sets a plastic bag or the like and counts the preset number. In addition to providing an operation sequence suitable for unloading a bag into a set plastic bag, it is possible to detect the completion of manual bagging by the operator with a simple and inexpensive configuration, so that the operator can It is not necessary to generate a bagging preparation completion signal by moving the, and the work efficiency in manual work can be improved and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the shutter unit structure of the first and second shutter devices 20 and 30 has been described using a method of rotating the shutter plates 21 and 31, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to adopt a system in which the shutter plates 21 and 32 are opened and closed by reciprocating in a direction crossing the sliding direction of the seal bag.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example applied to a seal bag has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other types may be used as long as a series of articles are separated and separated into individual pieces by a cutter device or the like. It can also be applied to articles.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the article is carried out into the plastic bag has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the article is placed in other bag-like accommodation means such as a paper bag or a hemp bag. The present invention can be applied to the case of carrying out, and can also be applied to a box-shaped accommodation means such as a cardboard box.

  In addition, the inner surfaces of the slide 11, the first stopper device 20, and the second stopper device 30 according to the present embodiment are, for example, contact areas so that articles such as seal bags do not adhere to the sliding surface and hinder sliding. For example, the sliding surface can be formed in an uneven shape like punching metal.

  The embodiment described above is merely an example for explaining the present invention, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the article | item count unloader which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is the elements on larger scale which expand and show the A section of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale which show the bag preparation preparation completion signal transmitter seen from the arrow B direction of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the control flowchart which concerns on embodiment same as the above. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional count supply apparatus for seal bags.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic packaging machine 2 Separation cutter counting device 10 Article counting and unloading device 11 Slide table 12 Exit 20 of slide table First stopper device 21 Shutter plate 22 Rotating shaft 23 Driving means 30 First stopper device 31 Shutter plate 32 Rotating shaft 40 Preparation for bagging Completion signal sending device 41 Plate member 42 Pivoting shaft 43 Stopper member 44 Limit switch F Seal bag FA Side seal part

Claims (3)

An article counting / unloading device that temporarily stores the articles conveyed from the upstream side of the processing step while storing them, and slides the articles of the constants on the slide when the preset constants are reached. ,
A first stopper disposed in the middle of the slide and capable of temporarily stopping the article on the slide and temporarily stopping the article on the slide by opening and closing a slide passage of the article on the slide. Equipment,
It is arranged in the middle of the slide on the downstream side of the first stopper device, and by opening and closing the slide passage of the article on the slide, the sliding of the article on the slide is temporarily stopped and the article is temporarily placed on the slide. A second stopper device that can be locked;
At the outlet of the slide, the storage means for storing the constant number of articles to be carried out is manually set by the operator, and the preparation for receiving the constant number of articles by the storage means is completed. A ready signal sending device for sending a signal;
With
The first stopper device allows the article to pass through in a normally open state, and when the number of articles passed through reaches the constant, the first stopper device is closed to temporarily lock the article conveyed thereafter, while the passed constant. After the article is unloaded from the second stopper device, it is opened again based on the stoppage of the preparation completion signal from the preparation completion signal sending device,
The second stopper device is in an open state when the article is temporarily locked in a normally closed state, the number of articles passed through reaches the constant, and a preparation completion signal is sent from the preparation completion signal sending device. In this case, the article of the fixed number temporarily locked is carried out toward the storage means, and the article is closed again based on the stop of sending of the preparation completion signal from the preparation completion signal sending device. Counting and unloading device.   The slide is formed such that a width dimension between the slide table and the second stopper device is larger than a width dimension of the second stopper device so that a predetermined number of articles can be stored between the first stopper device and the second stopper device. The article counting / unloading apparatus according to claim 1. The preparation completion signal sending device is
A plate-like member disposed below the exit of the slide;
A shaft support part pivotally supported by the upper end side of the plate-like member as a fulcrum;
A stopper member that restricts the pivoting of the plate-shaped member to a predetermined side or more and supports the plate-shaped member at the position;
A limit switch for detecting the pivoting movement of the plate-like member;
Comprising
When the operator manually sets the accommodating means near the exit of the slide, the limit switch is turned on by raising the lower end side of the plate-like member to the pivot upper limit position via the accommodating means. To send a ready signal,
After an operator has received the constant number of articles by the storage means, when the storage means is detached from the set position, the lower end side of the plate-like member is lowered to the pivot lower limit position by its own weight, and the limit switch is turned on. 3. The article counting and unloading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article counting and unloading apparatus is configured to stop sending the preparation completion signal by turning it off.