JP2015039768A - Accumulation device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an integration device having a simple structure capable of semi-stacked integration.
An integrated device including a pantograph mechanism 12 in which a plurality of cross links 9 that intersect two pins 6 and 7 and are pin-coupled at the intersections are connected by pin-bonding ends of the links 6 and 7 to each other. 5, the pantograph mechanism 12 is provided with a plurality of suction tools (suction cups 16) for sucking and holding the product P, and the angle of the suction tools with respect to the link 6 is kept constant. When the pantograph mechanism 12 is extended, the suction surface 16a is directed downward according to the inclination of the link 6, and when the pantograph mechanism 12 is shortened, the suction surface 16a is determined according to the inclination of the link 6. Set to face diagonally downward.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for accumulating a plurality of products in a half-stacked state.

  Conventionally, in order to improve the appearance of boxes of confectionery and the like, the confectionery is sometimes arranged in a half-pile state such as sashimi. As described above, as an apparatus for putting a product in a half-stacked state, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the transfer robot includes a plurality of picking heads, and a suction tool for sucking the product is attached to the tip of each picking head. There are known handling devices. In this handling device, the gap between the picking heads is widened and the end of the product is sucked and held by the suction tool, so that the product hangs obliquely with its weight and the picking head interval is reduced as it is. The products are accumulated in a half-stacked state.

  By the way, as an apparatus for accumulating a plurality of products with a reduced interval, an apparatus having a pantograph mechanism is known as disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example. In this device, guide rods are arranged in three stages, and a slide bar is fixed so as to be slidably mounted on each of the upper and lower rods, and a plurality of such slide bars are provided. These are connected by a pantograph mechanism. The pantograph mechanism consists of two X links that intersect two links in an X shape and are pin-coupled at the intersection. Is engaged with a vertically long guide groove provided on the upper side of the slide bar, and a lower pin is engaged with a vertically long guide groove provided on the lower side of the slide bar. The pin at the intersection of the X link is rotatably coupled to a slider attached to the middle rod. Further, the lower end of the slide bar is rotatably connected to the base end of a gripping arm provided with an article gripping tool at the tip, and one end of a short first lever is connected to the rotation axis of the holding arm. And it is fixed to keep a certain angle. The other end portion of the long second lever, one end portion of which is rotatably coupled to the lower pin of the X link, is pin-coupled to the other end portion of the first lever. This pantograph mechanism expands and contracts by moving the slider of the middle rod, and the angle of the gripping arm changes. That is, when the slider is moved so as to reduce the distance between each other, the upper pin of the X link moves upward along the guide groove and the lower pin moves downward, so that the inclination of the link increases, and as a whole The pantograph mechanism is shortened. Along with this, the interval between the slide bars is also reduced, and the pitch of the gripping arms is also reduced. Further, since the lower pin of the X link moves downward, the second lever is pushed down to apply a rotational force to the first lever, and the article gripping arm grips from the horizontal posture with the gripping tool facing sideways. The tool is in a vertical position with its face down. In order to collect articles by this apparatus, first, the pantograph mechanism is extended, and after the articles conveyed on the conveyor at a predetermined interval are caught from the front by the gripping tool of the article gripping arm in a horizontal posture, the pantograph mechanism Is lifted and shrunk to bring the gripping arm into a vertical posture, thereby narrowing the interval between articles together.

JP 2011-32089 A Registered Utility Model No. 3053244

  However, the apparatus described in the cited document 1 has a drawback of lacking stability because the end of the product is adsorbed and held. On the other hand, the apparatus of the cited document 2 has a complicated structure such as a link for rotating the gripping arm (link composed of the first lever and the second lever). Since it is necessary to bring the gripping tool into contact with the article from the side of the structure, and the gripping arm rotates while holding the article, there is a concern that the article may come off the gripping tool due to centrifugal force. In order to prevent this, adjustment and the like are expected to take time.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device having a simple structure capable of semi-stacked integration.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is a pantograph mechanism in which a plurality of cross links that intersect two links and are pin-coupled at the intersections are coupled by pin-coupling the ends of the links. The pantograph mechanism is provided with a plurality of suction tools for sucking and holding products, and these suction tools maintain a constant angle with respect to the link in a state where the suction tool holds the link. In the state where the pantograph mechanism is attached integrally with the end portion, the suction surface faces directly downward according to the inclination of the link, and in the state where the pantograph mechanism is shortened, the suction surface according to the inclination of the link Is characterized by facing diagonally downward.

  A second aspect of the invention is based on the premise of the stacking apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention and is characterized in that the attachment angle of the suction tool relative to the end of the link can be changed.

  The invention of claim 3 is based on the stacking device according to the invention of claim 1 or 2, and the pantograph mechanism is provided at the tip of a plurality of support arms slidably suspended on one guide rail. The pins at the intersecting portions are supported by being axially attached, and are expanded and contracted by changing the interval between the plurality of support arms.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the pantograph mechanism is extended, the suction surface of the suction tool automatically faces downward, so that the upper surface of the product can be sucked and stably held. When the pantograph mechanism is shortened, the suction surface automatically faces obliquely downward, so that the product held by suction is accumulated in a semi-overlapping state in which a part of the product is wrapped while reducing the distance from the next. The product can be adsorbed by the adsorbing tool only by adsorbing the center of the product, so that stable adsorbing and holding can be performed. A plurality of products may be adsorbed by the adsorber at once, or may be performed one by one in order.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the attachment angle of the suction tool can be changed with respect to the end of the link, it is possible to cope with changes in different product sizes, product pitches, and the like.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the pantograph mechanism is supported from above, the plurality of support arms suspended from one guide rail without hindering the pickup of the product. Because of the simple structure supported by, adjustment work and maintenance work can be easily performed.

  According to the stacking apparatus according to the present invention, after the product is adsorbed from above with the pantograph mechanism extended, the product can be stacked in a semi-stacked manner simply by shrinking the pantograph mechanism. Since the structure is simple, maintenance is easy and design costs can be reduced.

The top view of the boxing apparatus provided with the stacking apparatus which concerns on this invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a boxing process in the boxing device of FIG. 1, where (a) shows the first row of boxes, (b) shows the stacking device at the product suction position, and (c) shows two rows. It shows that the eyes are boxed. 1 is a front view of an integrated device according to the present invention. It is a front view which shows the integration | stacking process of the integration | stacking apparatus based on this invention, (a) shows the place where the product was picked up, (b) where the pan tag lug mechanism was shortened and integrated, (c) shows the place packed in a box. ing.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the stacking apparatus according to the present invention is used in a boxing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of the boxing device, FIG. 2 (a) shows a state in which the products in the first row are boxed, and (b) picks up the products in the second row. (C) shows a state in which the products in the second row are boxed. FIG. 3 (a) is a front view of the stacking apparatus, showing a state in which the pantograph mechanism is extended. Fig. 4 shows the state of boxing, (a) shows the state of picking up the product, (b) shows the state of collecting the products by shortening the pantograph mechanism, and (c) shows the state of the product. It shows how it was supplied to an empty box.

  1 includes a product supply conveyor 2 that supplies pillow-wrapped products P, a box transfer conveyor 3 that transfers boxes B, and an articulated robot 4 that supplies products P to boxes B. The two conveyors are arranged in parallel with the articulated robot 4 in between. In this embodiment, the product feeding conveyor 2 and the box conveying conveyor 3 have the same conveying direction (from right to left in the drawing), but they can be opposite to each other. The product supply conveyor 2 conveys the product P, which is pillow-wrapped by an upstream unillustrated packaging machine, at regular intervals, and the box conveyance conveyor 3 conveys the empty box B supplied upstream at regular intervals. . Both the product supply conveyor 2 and the box transport conveyor 3 are intermittently operated. In particular, the box transport conveyor 3 is intermittently operated with a long stop time in order to secure time for supplying the product P to the box B. The articulated robot 4 has a stacking device 5 at the tip, picks up a plurality of products P supplied by the product supply conveyor 2, collects the products P by reducing the interval between them, and then transports them by the box transport conveyor 3. It supplies to the empty box B which has been done.

  As described above, as shown in FIG. 2, the stacking device 5 is pivotally attached to the tip of the articulated robot 4 so as to be horizontally rotatable. The stacking device 5 includes a pantograph mechanism 12 in which two links 6 and 7 are crossed and a cross link 9 is connected by pins 8 and link ends are connected by pins 10 and 11. The pantograph mechanism 12 is supported by pivotally attaching a pin 8 to the distal end portions of a plurality of support arms 14 suspended from one guide rail 13. The guide rail 13 is disposed downward, and a plurality of slide blocks 15 are slidably attached. One support arm 14 is attached to each slide block 15 at its base end. One of the slide blocks 15 at both ends (the left side in the drawing) is fixed, and the middle support arm 14 (the third from the left in the drawing) is connected to a direct acting actuator (not shown). Therefore, by sliding the support arm 14 with the actuator, the interval between the support arms 14 is widened or narrowed, and the angles of the two links 6 and 7 of each cross link 9 are changed. As a result, the pantograph mechanism 12 is changed. Expands and contracts.

  A suction cup 16 is attached to the lower end of the link 6 of the pantograph mechanism 12 as an adsorbing tool that can adsorb the product P by air. These suction cups 16 are attached in a state in which the angle with respect to the link 6 is kept constant, and when the pantograph mechanism 12 is extended, the suction surface 16a is directed downward according to the inclination of the link 6 and is shortened. Is set so that the suction surface 16a faces obliquely downward according to the inclination of the link 6. In addition, the suction cup 16 can change the attachment angle with respect to the edge part of the link 6, can respond even when a product size or a product pitch is changed, and is excellent in versatility.

Next, the operation of the boxing device 1 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the articulated robot 4 is driven to move the stacking device 5 at the front end portion above the product supply conveyor 2. At this time, the pantograph mechanism 12 of the stacking device 5 is extended to stand by in a state where the suction surface 16a of the suction cup 16 faces directly below. When a predetermined number of products P are transported to the pickup position for picking up the products P, the product supply conveyor 2 is stopped, and at the same time, as shown in FIG. 16 holds the product P by suction. At this time, since the pantograph mechanism 12 is supported by the plurality of support arms 14 from above, the pickup of the product P is not hindered. Then, the stacking device 5 is raised and moved above the empty box B waiting on the box conveyor 3 as shown in FIG. 2 (a). Next, the stacking device 5 is lowered while shortening the pantograph mechanism 12, but as shown in FIG. 4 (b), if the pantograph mechanism 12 is shortened, the inclination of the link 6 increases, and accordingly the suction cup The sixteen suction surfaces 16a are inclined obliquely downward so that not only the interval between the products P is reduced, but also the adjacent products P are stacked so as to overlap each other. When the products P accumulated in this way are stored in the box B, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), it is possible to perform a good-looking boxing in which the products are arranged in a half-stacked state.
Similarly, the second row is also boxed (FIGS. 2B and 2C), and when the two rows of boxes are completed, the box transport conveyor 3 is driven to wait for the next empty box B at the boxing position. Let

  In this embodiment, the box transport conveyor 3 and the product transport conveyor 2 are both intermittently operated, but can also be continuously operated. In this case, the articulated robot 4 follows the product P and the box B while picking up and Pack the box.

  The accumulating device 5 can also have a more strong structure by arranging a plurality of pantograph mechanisms 12 in parallel and connecting them at the positions of the corresponding pins 8, 10, 11. In this case, the direction of the suction cup 16 is adjusted according to the inclination of the link 6 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment by spanning the connection member between the ends of the links 6 of the both pantograph mechanisms 12 and fixing the suction cup 16 to the connection member. Can be changed.

  You may provide the positioning means which makes the space | interval of a product constant in a product supply conveyor. The positioning means may be a means for positioning or retracting the stopper member on the conveying surface of the conveyor, and if it is a multi-stage conveyor, it can be made to appear between the conveyors. In addition, if the stopper member is provided in the accumulator, the intervals between the products can be made uniform when the products are picked up. Also, a finger conveyor or a multi-stage conveyor that can be individually controlled can be used. The adsorber may be a bellows type. Since the product shrinks when the product is sucked, when picking up a predetermined number of products, the already sucked product does not come into contact with the transport surface of the product supply conveyor, and the product damage can be reduced. Further, if an image processing sensor is provided, even if the product flows in a state where the direction and interval are different, the posture of the stacking device can be corrected and picked up accordingly.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Box-packing apparatus 2 Product supply conveyor 3 Box conveyance conveyor 4 Articulated robot 5 Stacking device 6, 7 Link 8 Pin 9 Cross link 10, 11 Pin 12 Pantograph mechanism 13 Guide rail 14 Support arm 15 Slide block 16 Suction cup 16a Suction surface B Box P product

Claims (3)

An integrated device including a pantograph mechanism in which two links are crossed and a plurality of cross links that are pin-coupled at the intersections are coupled by pin-coupling ends of the links,
The pantograph mechanism is provided with a plurality of suction tools for sucking and holding products, and these suction tools are integrally attached to the end of the link while maintaining a constant angle with respect to the link. When the pantograph mechanism is extended, the suction surface is directed downward according to the inclination of the link, and when the pantograph mechanism is shortened, the suction surface is directed obliquely downward according to the inclination of the link. An integrated device characterized.   2. The stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an attachment angle of the suction tool with respect to an end portion of the link can be changed.   The pantograph mechanism is supported by axially attaching pins of the intersecting portions to the tip portions of a plurality of support arms slidably suspended on one guide rail, and the plurality of supports 3. The stacking device according to claim 1, wherein the stacking device expands and contracts by changing an interval between the arms.

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