JP2011105396A - Article conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To erect and stack even fragile articles 4 without damage. <P>SOLUTION: Plate-like articles 4 conveyed at specified intervals on an article supply conveyor 2 are fallen on an aligning conveyor 6 disposed under the article supply conveyor, and supplied in the state in which the front ends of the following articles 4 are placed on the rear ends of the preceding articles 4. After the plurality of articles 4 are supplied, the aligning conveyor 6 is accelerated for a short time to separate the group G of the plurality of articles from the group G of the following articles. An erection means 18 having an erection finger 50 engageable with the lower surface of the head article 4 is installed under the aligning conveyor 6. The plurality of articles 4 are erected by raising the head article 4 of the group G. The articles 4 held by a contact member 16 on the rear side and the erection finger 50 on the front side are pushed out by a pusher 56 traversing on the aligning conveyor 6 and stored in a tray 54 on a tray conveying conveyor 52. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus, and more particularly, to an article conveying apparatus in which a plurality of plate-like articles are raised up together and stored in a container in an accumulated state.

  An apparatus for standing up a plurality of plate-like articles that have been continuously conveyed in a horizontal state by a conveyor is conventionally known (see Patent Document 1).

  The invention described in Patent Document 1 includes a constant-speed conveyor that transports pillow bags in a horizontal posture at irregular intervals, and a gap slightly larger than the product thickness on the product feed end side of the constant-speed conveyor. The upper and lower guide plates are arranged in parallel with each other to form the product guide section, and the star wheel is disposed on the product outflow side of the guide section and turns.

  The product conveyed in a horizontal posture by the constant speed conveyor reaches the product guide. The product outflow end portion of the product guide portion is provided close to a position where the flat portion of the star wheel is horizontally leveled upward, and the product that has moved to this position is flattened by the pressing and feeding member. Placed on the club. The product on the flat part of the star wheel is turned about 90 degrees by the turning, and is placed on the receiving plate in an upright state.

JP-A-62-16329

  As in the invention described in Patent Document 1, in a configuration in which a product conveyed in a horizontal state by a constant speed conveyor is raised by a star wheel, for example, in the case of a fragile product such as a biscuit, the product is raised. There was a problem that there was a risk of cracking.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article conveying apparatus that can easily stand a group of even fragile plate-like articles with a simple configuration.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, a group of plate-like articles in which a front end portion of the plate-like article overlaps with a rear end portion of the plate-like article forward in the conveying direction from above is set in a predetermined manner. Article conveying means for conveying the article at intervals, an abutting member provided in the article conveying means for contacting the last article in the group of plate-like articles, and a plate-like article conveyed by the article conveying means It is characterized by comprising standing means for engaging the lower surface of the article located at the top of the group and moving the front end side of the article in the raising direction to raise the article group.

  The invention according to claim 2 is provided with supply means provided in a position higher than the article conveying means in the invention of claim 1, and supplying a plurality of plate-like articles to the conveying means at predetermined intervals. Then, after supplying a predetermined number of plate-shaped articles from the supply means to the article transport means, the transport speed of the article transport means is relatively higher than the transport speed of the supply means for a predetermined time, and transported by the article transport means. It is characterized in that a space is provided between groups of plate-like articles to be manufactured.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container conveying means for conveying the container for storing the plate-shaped article, and the article on the article conveying means are An extrusion means for extruding onto the container conveying means, and a group of plate-like articles raised by the standing means on the article conveying means is extruded by the extruding means and accommodated in a container on the container conveying means. It is what.

  According to the article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, an article conveying unit is configured to collect a group of plate-like articles in which a front end portion of the plate-like article is overlapped with a rear end portion of the plate-like article forward in the conveying direction from above. By engaging the standing means with the lower surface of the leading article and moving the front end side of the article upward while being conveyed, the plurality of plate-like articles are raised with a simple configuration, Can be integrated. Further, there is an advantage that even a fragile article can be erected without being damaged.

  Moreover, in the article conveying apparatus according to the second aspect, it is possible to form a group of plate-like articles with a simple configuration.

  Furthermore, in the article conveying apparatus according to the third aspect, the group of plate-like articles can be accommodated in the box at a time while standing.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of the article conveying apparatus. Example 1 FIG. 2 is a side view of the article conveying apparatus. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the standing means of the article conveying apparatus. 4A to 4E are explanatory views for sequentially explaining the operation of the article conveying apparatus. FIGS. 5A to 5C are views for explaining the process of pushing out an article by a pusher.

  The front end portion of the plate-like article is sequentially overlapped on the rear end portion of the front plate-like article to form a group of a plurality of sheets, and this group of plate-like articles is conveyed at predetermined intervals by the article conveying means. . The article conveying means is provided with an abutting member that comes into contact with the article at the rear end of each article group, and is brought into contact with the rear end of the article group and is conveyed by the article conveying means. By providing a standing means that engages the lower surface side of the top article of the head, and moving the front end side of the leading article in the direction of raising by the standing means, the article of the entire group is raised. The object of standing up and accumulating without damaging even a fragile article can be achieved.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. Reference numeral 2 in FIGS. 1 and 2 denotes an article supply conveyor that conveys the plate-like article 4 in a state where it is laid down horizontally. The article supply conveyor 2 is composed of two belt conveyors 2A and 2B arranged with a gap (hereinafter referred to as a slit 2C) in the center. In this embodiment, two plate-like articles 4 are provided. It is conveyed at a constant speed at regular intervals across the belt conveyors 2A and 2B. The plate-like article 4 handled in this embodiment is, for example, various articles such as biscuits, notebooks, books, and chocolate bars, flat bags formed in a pillow shape, various containers such as a CD case, and other flat articles. Anything is fine.

  At the downstream end 2 a of the article supply conveyor 2, an article transfer conveyor (alignment conveyor) 6 that receives and transfers the plate-like articles 4 transferred by the article supply conveyor 2 has the same transfer direction as the article supply conveyor 2 ( (Refer to arrow A). The transport conveyor 6 is also composed of two belt conveyors 6A and 6B arranged with a gap (hereinafter referred to as a slit 6C) in the center. As shown in FIG. 2, the alignment conveyor 6 is disposed at a position lower than the article supply conveyor 2, and its upstream end 6a is positioned below the downstream end 2a of the supply conveyor. Guide members 8A and 8B are arranged on both sides of the conveyance path of the article supply conveyor. Further, guide members 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B are also arranged on both sides of the alignment conveyor 6. Both guide members 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B of the alignment conveyor 6 are slightly expanded so that the upstream ends 10 </ b> Aa and 10 </ b> Ba are not caught by the plate-like article 4 falling from the article supply conveyor 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the two belt conveyors 6A and 6B constituting the aligning conveyor 6 are composed of an upstream end 6a, a downstream end 6b, and four pulleys 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D respectively disposed below them. Has been around. A pulley 12C disposed below the upstream end 6a is a drive pulley, which is rotated by being transmitted with the drive of the motor 14, and is a belt wound around the drive pulley 12C and the other three driven pulleys 12A, 12B and 12D. The conveyors 6A and 6B rotate in the direction of arrow A in FIGS. Abutting members 16 are attached to the two belt conveyors 6A and 6B at regular intervals. These abutting members 16 are mounted so as to project at right angles on the conveying surface 6c (see FIG. 2) of the alignment conveyor 6, and are supplied to the alignment conveyor 6 from the article supply conveyor 2 as will be described later. The plate-shaped article 4 is in contact with the last article 4 of the group and pressed from behind.

  The conveying speed of the alignment conveyor 6 is set so as to run at a lower speed than the article supply conveyor 2, and is then supplied onto the rear end portion of the plate-like article 4 previously supplied from the article supply conveyor 2. A plurality of articles 4 are supplied such that the front end portions of the plate-like articles 4 overlap. Further, while the article supply conveyor 2 is operated at a constant speed, the alignment conveyor 6 has a predetermined number (five in this embodiment) from the article supply conveyor 2 while running at a constant speed. After the plate-like article 4 is supplied, it is accelerated only for a short time. By accelerating in this way, the plate-like articles 4 supplied onto the alignment conveyor 6 are separated into groups of five (one group of plate-like articles 4 is indicated by a symbol G). The abutting members 16 are attached to the belt conveyors 6A and 6B at a predetermined interval, and one group G of plate-like articles 4 is supplied between the abutting members 16 at two front and rear positions. In this embodiment, in order to separate and group the plate-like articles 4 supplied from the article supply conveyor 2 to the alignment conveyor 6 by a predetermined number, the alignment conveyor 6 is accelerated only for a short time. The alignment conveyor 6 may be run at a constant speed, and after the article supply conveyor 2 has supplied a predetermined number of plate-like articles 4, it may be decelerated for a short time. That is, after supplying a predetermined number of plate-like articles 4 from the article supply conveyor 2 to the alignment conveyor 6, if the alignment conveyor 6 is accelerated relative to the article supply conveyor 2 for a short time, the plate-like articles 4 are Can be grouped separately.

  Below the article conveying surface 6c of the aligning conveyor 6 (the portion between the two pulleys 12A and 12B arranged above), there is provided an erecting means 18 for erecting the plate-like articles 4 being conveyed by the aligning conveyor 6. It has been. The standing means 18 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 showing the standing means 18 in an enlarged manner. A guide rail 22 is arranged on the base 20 arranged below the conveying surface 6 c of the aligning conveyor 6 in parallel with the conveying direction A of the aligning conveyor 6. The guide rail 22 has a one end 22a side (the right side in FIGS. 2 and 3) rotatably supported by a support member 23 (not shown in FIG. 3) and is connected to the other end 22b side. 24 is rotated. A bracket 26 standing upright on the guide rail 22 is fitted so as to be able to move forward and backward. By rotation of the guide rail 22 driven by the servo motor 24, the bracket 26 remains in an upright posture and reciprocates along the guide rail 22. To do. That is, the bracket 26 moves back and forth along the moving direction of the alignment conveyor 6. The moving speed of the bracket 26 in the conveying direction A of the aligning conveyor 6 is changed depending on the standing state of the plate-like article 4 and, as will be described later, while the plate-like article 4 is being raised. Advances at a lower speed than the aligning conveyor 6, and moves forward at substantially the same speed as the aligning conveyor 6 after it is completely erected. The guide rail 22 and the bracket 26 may be a combination of, for example, a ball screw and a nut, or may have other configurations.

  A horizontal rotating shaft 30 facing the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction A of the alignment conveyor 6 is rotatably supported on the bracket 26, and a large-diameter gear 32 is attached to the rotating shaft 30 so as to be integrated. Rotate to. Further, an arm 31 is coupled to the rotating shaft 30, and the rotating shaft 30 and the large-diameter gear 32 rotate as the arm 31 rotates. A cam member 34 extending along the conveying direction A of the alignment conveyor 6 is disposed on the side of the path along which the bracket 26 moves. A cam groove (the entire cam groove is indicated by reference numeral 36) is formed in the cam member 34, and a cam follower 38 attached to the swing end of the arm 31 is engaged. The cam groove 36 includes a lower horizontal groove 36a extending linearly in a horizontal direction from the upstream end to the downstream end, and a rising groove 36b inclined upward from a branching portion near the upstream end of the lower horizontal groove 36a. A descending groove 36c that is inclined downward toward the joining portion in the vicinity of the downstream end of the lower horizontal groove 36a, and an upper horizontal groove 36d that connects the upper part of the rising part 36b and the descending groove 36c. ing.

  The bracket 26 is attached to the arm 31 when the bracket 26 advances from the upstream side (left side in FIG. 3) to the downstream side in the vicinity of the branch portion between the lower horizontal groove 36a and the rising portion 36b constituting the cam groove 36. An upstream guide member 40 is provided to guide the cam follower 38 to the ascending portion 36b. One end of the upstream guide member 40 is connected to a fulcrum pin 40a provided at a position between the lower horizontal groove 36a and the upper horizontal groove 36d, and the other end 40b facing the upstream side in the transport direction of the alignment conveyor 6 is swung. It is supported so that it can move. The upstream guide member 40 is urged downward with a swing end 40b by a spring (not shown). A stopper 42 is provided below the lower horizontal groove 36a, and the upstream-side swing member 40 normally contacts and stops at this stopper 42. When the upstream guide member 40 is stopped by hitting the stopper 42, the cam follower 38 moving in the cam groove 36 from the upstream side toward the downstream side is guided by the upstream guide member 40 and is moved upward from the rising groove 36b. It is guided to the horizontal groove 36d. Further, when the cam follower 38 returns from the downstream side to the upstream side (from the right side to the left side in FIG. 3) in the lower horizontal groove 36a, the upstream side guide member 40 can be pushed up against the spring to pass therethrough. ing.

  In addition, the cam follower 38 is allowed to move from the upper horizontal groove 36d through the lowering groove 36c to the lower horizontal groove 36a in the vicinity of the junction of the lowering groove 36c and the lower horizontal groove 36a, and to return to the upstream side. Thus, a downstream guide member 44 is provided for preventing the cam follower 38 from entering the descending groove 36c. One end of the downstream guide member 44 is connected to a fulcrum pin 44a disposed between the upper horizontal groove 36d and the lower horizontal groove 36a, and the other end 44b facing the downstream side with the fulcrum pin 44a as the center. Is supported so that it can swing. The downstream guide member 44 is urged upward by the swing end 44b by a spring (not shown), and is normally stopped in a horizontal state by a stopper 46. Accordingly, when the cam follower 38 moves from the upper horizontal groove 36d to the descending groove 36c, the downstream guide member 44 is pushed downward to enter the lower horizontal groove 36a and move to the downstream end of the lower horizontal groove 36a ( (See the cam follower indicated by reference numeral 38D in FIG. 3). When returning from that position to the upstream side, the downstream guide member 44 is stopped in a substantially horizontal state by the stopper 46, so that the cam follower 38 does not enter the lowering groove 36c, and the lower horizontal groove 36a is upstream. Guide you back to the side.

  A small-diameter gear 48 is rotatably supported via a rotary shaft 47 above a position where the large-diameter gear 32 of the bracket 26 is attached. The small diameter gear 48 meshes with the large diameter gear 32 and rotates according to the rotation of the large diameter gear 32. An upright finger 50 is attached to the rotary shaft 47 of the small diameter gear 48, and the upright finger 50 rotates integrally with the small diameter gear 48.

  The rotary shaft 30 of the large-diameter gear 32 is supported by the bracket 26 so as to be positioned at substantially the same height as the upper horizontal groove 36d of the cam groove 36, and the bracket 26 is at the upstream end of the reciprocating position (FIG. 3). When the cam follower 38 is engaged in the lower horizontal groove 36a, the arm 31 faces approximately 45 degrees below the upstream side (left side in FIG. 3). It has become. When the large-diameter gear 32 and the arm 31 are in this position, the standing finger 50 that rotates integrally with the small-diameter gear 48 that meshes with the large-diameter gear 32 faces the upstream side in a horizontal posture (reference numeral 50A in FIG. 3). See standing finger shown).

  When the bracket 26 moves downstream from the position (indicated by reference numeral 26A) and the cam follower 38 attached to the arm 31 enters the upper horizontal groove 36d, the arm 31 becomes horizontal and the large-diameter gear 32 rotates approximately 45 degrees in the clockwise direction of FIG. As the large-diameter gear 32 rotates, the meshed small-diameter gear 48 rotates counterclockwise. In this embodiment, the small-diameter gear 48 rotates approximately 90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 3, and the upright finger 50 also rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise (rotation from the upstream side to the downstream side) to stand upright. It will be in a state (refer to the upright finger indicated by reference numeral 50B in FIG. 3). When the upright fingers 50 are in an upright state, the upright fingers 50 protrude above the conveying surface 6c of the aligning conveyor 6 (see the upright fingers in the center of FIG. 2). When this standing operation is performed, the leading article 4 of one group G of the plate-like articles 4 being conveyed with the front and back being overlapped can be raised. Since one group G article 4 has the front part of the next article 4 overlapped on the rear part of the front article 4, when the first article 4 is raised, all the articles 4 of one group G are raised. Can be made.

  When the bracket 26 further advances and moves to the vicinity of the downstream end (see the bracket indicated by reference numeral 26C), the cam follower 38 is guided by the lowering groove 36c of the cam groove 26 and descends to reach the lower horizontal groove 36a (reference numeral 38D), the arm 31 rotates approximately 45 degrees in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. When the large-diameter gear 32 is similarly rotated 45 degrees counterclockwise by the rotation of the arm 31, the small-diameter gear 48 engaged with the large-diameter gear 32 is rotated approximately 90 degrees in the clockwise direction. By the rotation of the small-diameter gear 48, the upright finger 50 rotates 90 degrees in the clockwise direction integrally with the small-diameter gear 48 and returns to the horizontal state facing the downstream side of the alignment conveyor 6 (the upright shown by reference numeral 50D in FIG. 3). See finger). 2 and 3 are provided as two sets of the standing means 18 with the center line in the conveying direction of the alignment conveyor 6 interposed therebetween, and one of the standing fingers 50 is the plate-like article 4. When the group G stands up and moves forward (see the standing finger indicated by reference numeral 50F in FIGS. 1 and 2), the other standing finger 50 has the cam follower 38 engaged in the lower horizontal groove 36a. In the horizontal state (see the upright finger indicated by reference numeral 50R in FIGS. 1 and 2), it moves backward upstream. The upright fingers 50 (50R) retreating in the horizontal state raise the next group G of plate-like articles 4 and advance together. However, two sets of the standing means 18 are not necessarily required, and the group G of the plate-like articles 4 can be raised by one standing finger 50.

  A tray supply conveyor 52 is arranged in parallel with the article supply conveyor 2 and the alignment conveyor 6. The tray 54 is a cup-shaped container having a space 54a in which the plate-like articles 4 of the one group G can be stood up. The tray supply conveyor 52 continuously moves the tray 54 at regular intervals. Transport to. The conveying speed of the tray conveying conveyor 52 is synchronized with the alignment conveyor 6 so that the group G of articles 4 that are pushed out and dropped by a pusher described later can be accommodated in the tray. Precisely, the plate-like article 4 of 1 group G which is pushed by the support member 16 from the rear and is supported by the upright finger 50 in the state where the front side is upright and conveyed, and a recess for accommodating the article of the tray 54. The tray 54 is conveyed in a state where the position with the section (space 54a) coincides. Further, in this embodiment, the plate-like article 4 on the alignment conveyor 6 is pushed out by the pusher and dropped into the tray 54 on the tray transfer conveyor 52 so that the tray transfer conveyor 52 is It is installed at such a height that the upper end of the transporting tray 54 is lower than the transport surface 6c of the alignment conveyor 6 (see FIGS. 4 and 5 described later).

  A pusher 56 is disposed on the side of the alignment conveyor 6 opposite to the side where the tray supply conveyor 52 is disposed (the upper side in FIG. 1). The pusher 56 reciprocates in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction A above the conveying surface 6c of the aligning conveyor 6, and pushes the plate-like article 4 on the aligning conveyor 6 to transfer the tray. It is put into a tray 54 being conveyed by the conveyor 52. The pusher 56 includes an air cylinder 58 disposed in a direction orthogonal to the alignment conveyor 6, and a pressing member 60 fixed to a piston rod 58 a of the air cylinder 58. As shown in FIG. 5, the pressing member 60 is engaged with and supported by the front surface (front surface of the first plate-like article 4) of the group-like plate-like article 4, and the plate-like article 4. A pressing plate 60b that contacts and presses the side surface. In this embodiment, since the circular plate-like article 4 is pressed, the contact surface of the pressing plate 60b with the plate-like article 4 has an arc shape.

  The air cylinder 58 is engaged with a long groove 62a formed in a support plate 62 disposed below the air cylinder 58 and parallel to the conveying direction A of the alignment conveyor 6. The air cylinder 58 extends along the long groove 62a. It can be moved forward and backward in the transport direction. When the plate-like articles 4 of one group G are conveyed by the alignment conveyor 6 in an upright state, the pusher 56 is guided by the long grooves 62 a and advances in synchronization with the alignment conveyor 6, while moving in the air cylinder 58. Is activated. With the air cylinder 58 operating and the pressing member 60 moving in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the alignment conveyor 6, the front end support member 60a of the pressing member 60 is engaged with and supported by the front surface of the leading article 4, The pressing plate 60 b presses the group G of the articles 4. In addition, as described above, the alignment conveyor 6 and the tray transport conveyor 52 are also synchronized, and the group G of plate-like articles 4 being transported by being held by the upright standing fingers 50 and the contact members 16 from the front and rear. The trays 54 being conveyed by the tray supply conveyor 52 also have the same position in the conveyance direction. As described above, the plate-like article 4 being conveyed by the alignment conveyor 6 and the pusher 56 and the tray 54 being conveyed by the tray supply conveyor 52 are moved forward while the positions in the conveying direction coincide with each other. By operating the cylinder 58, a group of plate-like articles 4 on the alignment conveyor 6 can be put into the tray 54.

  The operation of the article conveying apparatus according to the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. 4A to 4E and FIGS. 5A to 5C illustrating the operation. The article supply conveyor 2 continuously conveys the plate-like articles 4 in a state where they are laid horizontally at equal intervals. In this embodiment, the article supply conveyor 2 conveys the plate-like article 4 at a constant speed. Below the downstream end 2a of the article supply conveyor 2, the upstream end 6a of the alignment conveyor 6 facing the same conveyance direction as the article supply conveyor 2 is arranged so as to overlap vertically and is conveyed by the article supply conveyor 2. The plate-like article 4 that has fallen falls on the alignment conveyor 6 below. The alignment conveyor 6 normally travels at a slower speed than the article supply conveyor 2, and the plate-like article 4 to be next charged is placed on the rear end portion of the plate-like article 4 previously charged on the alignment conveyor 6. Are supplied so that the front ends of the two overlap.

  In this embodiment, five plate-like articles 4 are raised together as one group G and accommodated in a tray 54, and are provided at equal intervals on both belt conveyors 6A and 6B of the alignment conveyor 6. After the five plate-like articles 4 are inserted between the two front and rear sets of the two abutting members 16 (see the group of plate-like articles 4 indicated by G1 in FIG. 4), the alignment conveyor Accelerate 6 for a short time. By accelerating the aligning conveyor 6, after the contact member 16 located behind the group G 1 of the five plate-like articles 4 passes, the next plate-like article 4 is put on the aligning conveyor 6. (See FIG. 4 (b)).

  Standing means 18 is provided slightly downstream from the position where the plate-like articles 4 are supplied from the article supply conveyor 2 to the alignment conveyor 6, and one group G <b> 1 plate conveyed in a stacked manner in the front and rear direction. The shaped article 4 is erected by the erection means 18. When the plate-like article 4 of one group G1 reaches the upstream side of the standing means 18, the cam follower 38 of the arm 31 supported by the bracket 26 is positioned in the lower horizontal groove 36a of the cam groove 36. Thus, the standing finger 50 is in a horizontal state (see the standing finger indicated by reference numeral 50A in FIG. 4B and FIG. 3).

  The moving speed of the bracket 26 provided with the upright fingers 50 is controlled by the drive of the servo motor 24 and moves at a speed lower than the conveying speed of the alignment conveyor 6 until the group G of the plate-like articles 4 is raised. (See the standing fingers positioned in front of the group G1 in FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (e)), and after completion of the standing, the interval between the contact member 16 and the standing fingers 50 is raised. The group G2 advances in synchronization with the alignment conveyor 6 so as to be substantially the same as the width in the transport direction of the group G2. As the bracket 26 advances, the cam follower 38 provided on the arm 31 of the standing means 18 enters the ascending groove 36b from the lower horizontal groove 36a via the branch portion. As the cam follower 38 moves up, the large-diameter gear 32 rotates, the small-diameter gear 48 meshing with the large-diameter gear 32 rotates in the reverse direction, and the upright finger 50 starts to rotate toward the rear side in the traveling direction (see FIG. (See standing finger below group G1 in 4 (c)). When the upright fingers 50 gradually rise and protrude on the conveying surface 6c of the aligning conveyor 6 (see FIG. 4D), the plate-like article 4 is engaged with the lower surface of the leading plate-like article 4 of the group G1. Stand up. In the plate-like article 4 of one group G1, the front end part of the rear article 4 overlaps the rear end part of the front article 4, and when the leading article 4 is erected, the rear article 4 is sequentially When standing up (see FIG. 4 (e)) and finally the standing fingers 50 are completely upright, the plate-like article 4 of one group G is brought into contact with the standing fingers 50 on the front side and the abutting members on the rear side. 16 is held in a state where the front and rear sides are sandwiched, and is in a completely upright state (see a group of plate-like articles indicated by reference numeral G2 in FIG. 4A).

  When the upright group G2 of the plate-like articles 4 conveyed by the aligning conveyor 6 reaches the front surface of the pusher 56 (see the plate-like article group G2 in FIG. 4B), the pusher 56 is in this group. Advancing starts with the article 4 of G2. Further, the tray 54 conveyed by the tray conveying conveyor 52 also moves forward in synchronization with the article 4 and the pusher 56 (see FIGS. 4C and 5A). When the vehicle further advances, the cam follower 38 of the standing means 18 enters the descending groove 36c from the upper horizontal groove 36d, and the large-diameter gear 32 starts to rotate as the arm 31 rotates to rotate the small-diameter gear 48 and the standing finger 50. Let When the standing finger 50 starts to rotate toward the front side in the direction of travel of the alignment conveyor 6 and moves away from the plate-like article 4 (see FIG. 4D), the air cylinder 58 of the pusher 56 is actuated to start the leading article. With the front surface of 4 supported by the front end support member 60a, the pressing member 60 moves in a direction crossing the alignment conveyor 6 (see FIG. 5B). By the movement of the pressing member 60, the pressing plate 60b pushes out the plate-like article 4 and puts it into the tray 54 on the tray transfer conveyor 52 (see FIGS. 4E and 5C). Since the articles 4 are pushed out while the front surfaces of the articles 4 of one group G are supported by the front support member 60a, the articles 4 can be pushed out stably and accommodated in the tray 56. Further, since the front surface of the pressing plate 60b has an arc shape that matches the shape of the article 4, the article 4 can be rotated and extruded smoothly during extrusion.

  When the standing finger 50 of the standing means 18 reaches the push-out position of the article 4 by the pusher 56, the cam follower 38 pushes down the downstream guide member 44 and enters the lower horizontal groove 36a from the descending groove 36c of the cam groove 36, By rotating the large-diameter gear 32, the small-diameter gear 48 and the upright finger 50 are rotated to bring the upright finger 50 into a horizontal state facing forward in the conveying direction (shown by 50D in FIG. 4 (e) and FIG. 3). See Standing Finger). After the bracket 26 and the standing finger 50 of the standing means 18 reach the downstream end of the moving range, the servomotor 24 is driven to move backward toward the upstream side. A downstream guide member 44 is disposed in the vicinity of the joining portion of the cam groove 36. The cam follower 38 is guided by the downstream guide member 44 and returns to the upstream side in the lower horizontal groove 36a. Return to the original position in the state.

  In the above-described embodiment, the plate-like article on the front side is rotated by rotating the standing finger 50 of the standing means 18 facing the front in a horizontal state upward with the lower end side (rotary shaft 47) on the rear side as a fulcrum. The group G of plate-like articles being conveyed in a state where the front end parts of the plate-like articles 4 on the rear side are sequentially overlapped on the rear end part of the four pieces is set up to stand up. The plate-like article 4 can be erected with other configurations. For example, the lower side of the finger supported downward with the upper part serving as a fulcrum may be rotated and engaged with the lower surface side of the plate-like article 4 to be erected. In addition, the standing finger is configured to be able to move forward and backward from below the alignment conveyor 6 that conveys the plate-like article 4 in an upright state, and this standing finger is applied to the lower surface side of the leading article 4 of the group G. It is also possible to raise all the plate-like articles 4 of one group G by bringing them into contact with each other and pushing them up. In this configuration, the standing fingers are advanced at a speed slower than the conveying speed of the alignment conveyor 6 until the standing fingers raise the group G of the articles 4, and after the articles 4 are raised, the alignment fingers are aligned. It is necessary to advance in synchronization with the speed of the conveyor 6. Furthermore, the standing finger which formed the engaging part which bends a lower end part in L shape and can be hooked on the front-end | tip of the articles | goods 4 is arrange | positioned upwards, and the lower end part is comprised so that it can descend | fall to the articles | goods 4 on the alignment conveyor 6 Then, the group G can be erected by lowering the standing finger and hooking the tip of the leading article 4 on the L-shaped engaging portion and then raising it. Even in this configuration, similarly to the standing finger 50 of the above embodiment, until one group G is raised, the group G is moved at a speed slower than the conveying speed of the article 4, and at the same speed after the standing is finished. Move forward.

G Plate-shaped article group 2 Supply means (article supply conveyor)
4. Plate-like article 6. Article conveying means (alignment conveyor)
16 Contact member 18 Standing means 52 Container transport means (tray transport conveyor)
54 Container (tray)
56 Pushing means

Claims (3)

  Article conveying means for conveying a group of plate-like articles in which a front end portion of the plate-like article is overlapped from above with a rear end portion of the plate-like article forward in the conveying direction, with a predetermined interval before and after, A contact member that is provided in the article transporting means and contacts the last article of the group of plate-like articles, and a lower surface of the article positioned at the head of the group of plate-like articles transported by the article transporting means. In addition, an article conveying apparatus comprising: an erecting means for erecting the article group by moving the front end side of the article in a raising direction.   After supplying a predetermined number of plate-like articles from the supply means to the article conveying means, the supply means is provided at a position higher than the article conveying means and supplies a plurality of plate-like articles to the conveying means at a predetermined interval. The article conveying means is transported at a speed relatively higher than the conveying speed of the supply means for a predetermined time so as to leave an interval between groups of plate-like articles conveyed by the article conveying means. 2. The article conveying apparatus according to 1.   A plate comprising container conveying means for conveying a container for storing the plate-like article, and extrusion means for extruding an article on the article conveying means onto the container conveying means, and is erected on the article conveying means by an erecting means The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the group of shaped articles is extruded by an extruding means and accommodated in a container on the container conveying means.

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