JP2022156033A - Erecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an erecting apparatus capable of stably erecting a workpiece facing a desired direction.SOLUTION: An erecting apparatus that erects a workpiece includes an erecting unit including an upstream transport unit 41 that transports the workpiece and a downstream transport unit 42 that is adjacent to a downstream side of the upstream transport unit 41 and transports the workpiece. The upstream transport unit 41 is configured to rotate and erect around an axis disposed on an end portion side adjacent to the downstream transport unit 42 and extending in a first direction perpendicular to a transport direction. The downstream transport unit 42 is configured to rotate and erect around an axis disposed on an end portion side adjacent to the upstream transport unit 41 and extending in the first direction. The erecting unit is configured to rotate the upstream transport unit 41 and the downstream transport unit 42 around an axis extending in the first direction while maintaining an angle formed by the upstream transport unit 41 and the downstream transport unit 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to an erecting device for erecting a work.

Various methods have been proposed for erecting and reversing a work conveyed by a conveyor. For example, a method is disclosed in which a reversing device is provided between two conveyors arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side, the both sides of the work are gripped by this reversing device, the work is lifted and reversed as it is, and transferred to the downstream conveyor. . In addition, a method has been proposed in which a part of the work is lifted by a rotating arm, an elevating arm, or the like to stand up and rotate (Patent Document 1, etc.).

JP 2012-126496 A

However, the method of gripping both sides of the work and lifting/rotating/reversing requires a large-scale device, and there are issues such as installation space and introduction cost. Also, in the method of lifting a part of the work by a rotating arm or a lifting arm, the work can be raised in one direction, but it is not suitable for changing the direction of the front and back of the work. In addition, when the shape of the work tends to collapse, it is difficult to stabilize the shape of the work and raise it by the method of supporting and raising a part of the work.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an erecting device capable of stably erecting a work in a desired direction.

The present invention is an erecting device for erecting a work, comprising an erecting section having an upstream transport section for transporting the work, and a downstream transport section adjacent to the downstream side of the upstream transport section for transporting the work. wherein the upstream transport section is configured to turn and stand up around an axis arranged on an end side adjacent to the downstream transport section and extending in a first direction perpendicular to the transport direction; is arranged on an end side adjacent to the upstream conveying section and is configured to turn and stand up about an axis extending in the first direction; The upstream conveying section and the downstream conveying section are configured to turn around the axis extending in the first direction while maintaining the angle formed by the conveying sections.

The erecting device may further include a stock conveying section for stocking the works discharged from the erecting section. and a stock portion.

In the erecting device, the plurality of works conveyed from the erecting section to the stock conveying section may include a first work and a second work, and the first work and the second work are arranged in the stock conveying section. When the work is conveyed in order, the upstream stock section conveys the first work to the downstream stock section, and the downstream stock section keeps the first work until the second work is conveyed to the upstream stock section. It can be configured to hold a workpiece.

In the erecting device, the work has a first surface and a second surface facing thereto, and either the first surface or the second surface of the erecting portion is located on the downstream side in the conveying direction. , and the first surface and the second surface of the plurality of works sequentially conveyed from the standing section to the stock conveying section alternately face the downstream side in the conveying direction. In the stock conveying unit, the first work and the second work are configured such that the same surfaces of the first surface and the second surface face each other. It can be configured to be stocked as

In the erecting device, when the first work and the second work are conveyed in this order, the first work and the second work are carried into the erecting section with the first surface facing downward. In the stock conveying section, the first work and the second work can be stocked so that the second surfaces face each other.

In the erecting device described above, the work may be a laminate in which a plurality of signatures are stacked and the plurality of signatures are bundled.

The erecting device may further include a second erecting portion having the same configuration as the erecting portion downstream of the erecting portion, wherein the second erecting portion knocks down the workpiece erected by the erecting portion, A mechanism can be used to reverse the up and down direction of the workpiece.

According to the erecting device of the present invention, the work can be stably erected in a desired direction.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a work erected by the erecting device according to the present invention; 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a transport system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a side view of a main conveying device. It is a side view of an upright part. It is a side view which shows the operation example of an upright part. It is a side view which shows the operation example of an upright part. It is a side view which shows the operation example of an upright part. It is a side view of a stock conveyance part. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. It is a side view which shows the operation example of a standing-up apparatus. FIG. 4 is a side view showing an example of works stocked in a stock transport section; FIG. 11 is a side view showing another example of the erecting device; FIG. 11 is a side view showing another example of the erecting device; FIG. 11 is a side view showing another example of the erecting device; FIG. 11 is a side view showing another example of the erecting device; FIG. 11 is a side view showing another example of the erecting device;

An embodiment of a work transfer system including an erecting device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<1. Overview of Work>
First, the workpiece 1 to be transported by the transport system of this embodiment will be described. The workpiece 1 is formed by stacking and bundling a plurality of rectangular signatures 10, and is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. Here, for convenience of explanation, the six surfaces of the workpiece 1 are referred to as first to sixth surfaces 101 to 106. As shown in FIG. The first side 101 is the side on which the bag 11 sides of the signatures 10 line up, and the second side 102 is the side opposite to the first side 101 . Further, the third surface 103 and the fourth surface 104 are surfaces that correspond to the surfaces of the signature 10 and face each other. And the fifth surface 105 and the sixth surface 106 are the remaining opposing surfaces. Thus, the stacked signatures 10 are bound by a plurality of bands 12. As shown in FIG. Each band 12 is wound around the workpiece over the first to fourth surfaces 101-104.

<2. Outline of Conveyor System>
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the transport system. As shown in FIG. 2, the transport system of the present embodiment includes a main transport device 2 that transports the workpieces 1 in a line, and a standing device that is arranged downstream of the main transport device 2 and performs erection and stocking of the workpieces. a device 3; The erecting device 3 includes an erecting section 4 for erecting the work 1 and a stock conveying section 5 arranged downstream of the erecting section 4 for stocking the work 1 . Further, the work 1 stocked in the stock conveying unit 5 is gripped by a robot arm (not shown) and conveyed to a waiting area or the like. Each part will be described in detail below. Further, hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the work 1 and extending horizontally will be referred to as an orthogonal direction (first direction).

<3. Main Conveyor>
FIG. 3 is a side view of the main transport device. As shown in FIG. 3, the main conveying device 2 is formed by arranging a plurality of known roller conveyors 21 from the upstream side to the downstream side. In this main conveying device 2, the work 1 is conveyed with the third surface 103 facing downstream and the fourth surface 104 facing upstream. Also, the first surface 101 of the workpiece 1 faces downward and is in contact with the roller conveyor 21, and the second surface 102 faces upward. Therefore, the fifth surface 105 and the sixth surface 106 of the workpiece 1 are oriented in orthogonal directions.

<4. Standing part>
FIG. 4 is a side view of the standing portion. The standing portion 4 includes an upstream transport portion 41, a downstream transport portion 42 adjacent to the downstream side of the upstream transport portion 41, and a rotating member 44 arranged between the upstream transport portion 41 and the downstream transport portion 42. I have. The rotating member 44 extends in an orthogonal direction, and is rotatably supported around an axis by a motor (not shown), which is not particularly limited.

The upstream transport section 41 includes a plurality of rollers 411 arranged in the transport direction and a pair of frames 412 arranged to sandwich the plurality of rollers 411 . Each roller 411 is configured to be driven by a motor (not shown), and the plurality of rollers 411 are configured to be driven separately for each roller 411 . However, it may be configured such that a plurality of rollers 411 are driven in conjunction (each roller 411 is driven at the same speed), and there is no particular limitation. Each axial end of each roller 411 is fixed to a frame 412 . Each frame 412 is connected to the rotating member 44, and the entire upstream transport section 41 is configured to turn around the rotating member 44 when the rotating member 44 rotates. Further, the connection state between each frame 412 and the rotating member 44 is configured to be releasable.

With the above configuration, the upstream transport section 41 can take a first state extending in the horizontal direction and a second state in which it turns around the rotating member 44 from the first state and stands at an angle of about 90 degrees. It's becoming

The downstream conveying section 42 is configured substantially similarly to the upstream conveying section 41, and includes a first state extending in the horizontal direction and a second state rotating around the rotating member 44 from the first state and standing at an angle of about 90 degrees. state. Specifically, it is as follows.

The downstream conveying section 42 includes a plurality of rollers 421 arranged in the conveying direction and a pair of frames 422 arranged to sandwich the plurality of rollers 421 . Each roller 421 is configured to be driven by a motor (not shown), and the plurality of rollers 421 is configured to be driven separately for each roller 421 . However, it may be configured such that the plurality of rollers 421 are driven in conjunction (each roller 421 is driven at the same speed), and there is no particular limitation. Each axial end of each roller 421 is fixed to a frame 422 . Each frame 422 is connected to a rotating member 44, and the entire downstream transport section 42 is configured to pivot around the rotating member 44 when the rotating member 44 rotates. Further, the connection state between each frame 422 and the rotating member 44 is configured to be releasable. Therefore, when the downstream transport section 42 turns, the frame 412 of the upstream transport section 41 and the rotating member 44 are disconnected. Similarly, when the upstream transport section 41 turns, the frame 422 of the downstream transport section 42 and the rotating member 44 are disconnected. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, when one of the transport units 41 and 42 is rotating, the frame of the other transport unit 41 and 42 and the rotating member 44 are disconnected. do.

Further, when the frames 412, 422 of both transporting parts 41, 42 and the rotating member 44 are in a connected state, both transporting parts 41, 42 turn together when the rotating member 44 rotates. For example, when the upstream transport section 41 is in the second state and the downstream transport section 42 is in the first state as shown in FIG. The rotating member 44 is configured to rotate together with the upstream transport section 41 and the downstream transport section 42 while maintaining this state. When the rotation of the rotating member 44 is completed and the upstream transport section 41 is in a horizontal state (first state), the upstream transport section 41 is positioned at the same height as the roller conveyor 21 of the main transport device 2. It's becoming Similarly, for example, when the upstream conveying section 41 is in the first state and the downstream conveying section 42 is in the second state, when the rotating member 44 is rotated clockwise, the downstream conveying section 42 is moved as shown in FIG. In the horizontal state (first state), the downstream conveying section 42 is positioned at the same height as the roller conveyer of the stock conveying section 5 .

<5. Stock Conveyor>
FIG. 8 is a side view of the stock transport section. As shown in FIG. 8 , the stock conveying section 5 includes an upstream stock section 51 and a downstream stock section 52 adjacent to the upstream stock section 51 on the downstream side. The upstream stock section 51 and the downstream stock section 52 are composed of known roller conveyors having rollers 511 and 521, respectively, and can be driven separately. Therefore, at least one of the upstream stock section 51 and the downstream stock section 52 can be driven to convey the workpiece 1 downstream.

As described above, the upstream stock portion 51 and the downstream stock 52 are driven separately for each stock portion. In this case, each of the stock units 51 and 52 can be composed of a single conveyor. In this case, the upstream side of the single conveyor is the upstream stock unit, and the downstream side thereof is the downstream stock unit.

<6. Operation Method of Transport System>
Next, a method of operating the transport system configured as described above will be described. In the following description, processing when two works 1 are sequentially transported from the main transport device 2 toward the standing portion will be described. However, for convenience of explanation, the work to be transported first is called the first work 1A, and the work to be transported next is called the second work 1B.

As shown in FIG. 9A, when the first work 1A is conveyed to the standing portion 4, when the first work 1A is placed on the downstream conveying portion 42, the rollers 411 and 421 of the conveying portions 41 and 42 are Stop driving. Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the upstream transport section 41 is turned and raised. As a result, the angle formed by the upstream conveying portion 41 and the downstream conveying portion 42 becomes approximately 90 degrees. At this time, the fourth surface 104 of the first work 1A is in contact with the rollers 411 of the upstream transport section 41 . Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9C, the rotating member 44 is rotated after the frames 412 and 422 of the transporting units 41 and 42 and the rotating member 44 are connected. As a result, both of the conveying units 41 and 42 rotate together with the first work 1A while maintaining the angle formed by 90 degrees, and the first work 1A stands up so that the third surface 103 faces upward. Following this, as shown in FIG. 9D, the downstream transport section 42 is pivoted into a horizontal position. As a result, the first work 1A stands up with the first surface 101 facing the downstream side. From this state, as shown in FIG. 9E, the transport units 41 and 42, the upstream stock unit 51, and the downstream stock unit 52 are driven to move the first work 1A to the upstream end of the downstream stock unit 52. . At this time, the second work 1B is being supplied from the main transport device 2 to the standing portion 4. As shown in FIG.

Next, when the second work 1B is placed on the upstream conveying section 41, the driving of the rollers 411 and 421 of both conveying sections 41 and 42 is stopped. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9F, the downstream transport section 42 is turned and raised. As a result, the angle formed by the upstream conveying portion 41 and the downstream conveying portion 42 becomes approximately 90 degrees. At this time, the third surface 103 of the second work 1B is in contact with the rollers 421 of the downstream transport section 42 . Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9G, the rotating member 44 is rotated after the frames 412 and 422 of the transporting units 41 and 42 and the rotating member 44 are connected. As a result, both of the conveying units 41 and 42 rotate together with the second work 1B while maintaining the angle formed by 90 degrees, and the second work 1B stands up so that the fourth surface 104 faces upward. Following this, as shown in FIG. 9H, the upstream transport section 41 is swiveled into a horizontal state. From this state, as shown in FIG. 9I, each of the conveying sections 41 and 42 or the downstream conveying section 42 and the upstream stock section 51 are driven to move the second work 1B to the downstream end of the upstream stock section 51 .

In this state, the second surface 102 of the first work 1A faces the second surface 102 of the second work 1B. On the other hand, the first surface 101 of each work 1A, 1B faces outward. As described above, the first surface 101 is thicker than the opposite side because the bag 11 side of the signatures 10 is aligned. Therefore, in an extreme illustration, as shown in FIG. 10, the first surface 101 is longer than the second surface 102 in the vertical direction in FIG. Therefore, each of the works 1A and 1B tends to fall toward the second surface 102 side. Therefore, when the second surfaces 102 of the two works 1A and 1B are opposed to each other, the two works 1A and 1B contact each other so as to support each other, so that the works 1A and 1B can be prevented from falling down.

After that, the two works 1A and 1B arranged opposite to each other are sandwiched by a robot arm or the like, and transported to the standby position. By repeating the above steps, the workpiece 1 can be arranged at the standby position.

Arrangements other than those for the purpose of preventing the workpieces 1A and 1B from falling down are also possible. That is, in the explanation of the operation method of the above-mentioned transport system, the operation for causing the second surfaces 102 of the works 1A and 1B to face each other in each stock transport section has been described, In that case, when the first work 1A is conveyed to the erecting section 4, it is stopped at the upstream conveying section 41, the first work 1A is erected as described above, and the upstream side of the downstream stock section 52 is moved. move to the end. That is, the operations shown in FIGS. 9E to 9H are performed. Next, when the second work 1B is conveyed to the erecting section 4, it is stopped at the downstream conveying section 42, and similarly the second work 1B is erected and moved to the downstream end of the upstream stock section 51. That is, the operations shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D are performed. In this way, the first surfaces 101 of the works 1A and 1B are opposed to each other in the stock conveying section 5 . Further, the first surface 101 and the second surface 102 may be opposed to each other, and which surfaces of the workpiece 1 are to be opposed to each other can be appropriately determined according to the shape of the workpiece 1, the state of transportation from upstream, and the post-process. It's good if you decide, it's not limited.

<7. Features>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the two conveying portions 41 and 42 are configured to be turnable in the standing portion 4, and the two conveying portions 41 and 42 are turned while maintaining an angle of 90 degrees. It is configured to Therefore, the workpiece 1 can be transported and erected so that either the first surface 101 or the second surface 102 faces the downstream side. Therefore, the workpieces 1 can be stocked in the stock conveying unit 5 in a desired orientation, and as described above, the two workpieces 1A and 1B can be arranged so that the second surfaces 102 face each other so that they do not fall over. can.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 9B and the like, since the angle formed by the two conveying portions 41 and 42 is about 90 degrees, when the work 1 is erected, the two orthogonal surfaces 101 and 104 of the work 1 are placed between the conveying portions. Since the work 1 is supported by 41 and 42, it can be stably erected even when the work 1 has a different thickness such as a stack of a plurality of signatures.

<8. Variation>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Moreover, the following modified examples can be combined as appropriate.

<8-1>
In the above embodiment, the main transport device 2 and the erecting device 3 are arranged in a straight line, but the main transporting device 2 and the erecting device 3 can be arranged in parallel. In this case, the work 1 on the main conveying device 2 can be pushed in the orthogonal direction by a pusher or the like so that it can be transferred to the upstream conveying section 41 of the standing section 4 .

<8-2>
The configuration of the standing portion 4 is not particularly limited. It suffices that both transporting parts 41 and 42 are configured so as to be able to rotate integrally. Therefore, as long as this configuration can be achieved, the configuration for rotating each of the conveying units 41 and 42 and for integrally rotating the conveying units 41 and 42 can be changed as appropriate.

For example, it can be configured as follows. As shown in FIG. 11A , a shaft member 45 is provided on the most downstream roller 411 of the upstream transport section 41 so that the upstream transport section 41 turns around this shaft member 45 . A shaft member 46 is provided on the most upstream roller 421 of the downstream conveying section 42 so that the downstream conveying section 42 turns around this shaft member 46 . Then, in the state where the work 1 is placed on the downstream transport section 42, the upstream transport section 41 is rotated and erected as shown in FIG. 11B. As a result, the angle formed by the upstream conveying portion 41 and the downstream conveying portion 42 becomes approximately 90 degrees. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11C, both the upstream transport section 41 and the downstream transport section 42 are swung upstream while maintaining an angle of 90 degrees, whereby the workpiece 1 can be erected.

<8-3>
Although roller conveyors are used in the main conveying device 2, the erecting section 4, and the stock conveying section 5, the present invention is not limited to this. Often, a belt conveyor or the like can also be employed. Alternatively, as a conveying means instead of a roller conveyor, it is possible to place a work on a highly slidable conveying surface and move the work by another actuator such as a pusher to convey the work.

<8-4>
In the above-described embodiment, the erecting device 3 is provided with the stock conveying unit 5 , but the stock conveying unit 5 is not essential, and the erecting device 3 can be configured only with the erecting unit 4 . Therefore, after the work 1 is erected in an arbitrary direction in the erecting section 4, it can be transported to a standby area other than the stock transporting section 5, or the like.

<8-5>
As shown in FIG. 12A, a second standing portion 7 having the same configuration as the standing portion 4 may be provided on the downstream side of the standing portion 4 . With this configuration, the following operations can be performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 12A, after the work 1 is erected in the erecting section 4 so that the first surface 101 faces the downstream side, it is conveyed to the downstream conveying section 72 of the second erecting section 7 and then conveyed upstream. The part 71 is raised. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12B, when both the upstream transport section 71 and the downstream transport section 72 are rotated counterclockwise, the workpiece 1 is arranged on the upstream transport section 71 so that the first surface faces downward. Therefore, the vertical orientation of the work can be reversed from the orientation conveyed by the main conveying device 2 as shown in FIG.

<8-6>
The type of work 1 is not particularly limited, and may be other than those shown in the above embodiments. Therefore, it is possible to target various objects such as a rectangular parallelepiped container, a mass, etc., other than the laminated body in which signatures are bundled.

1 work 3 erecting device 4 erecting section 41 upstream conveying section 42 downstream conveying section 5 stock conveying section 51 upstream stock section 52 downstream stock section

Claims (7)

An erecting device for erecting a work,
An upright section having an upstream transport section for transporting the work and a downstream transport section for transporting the work adjacent to the downstream side of the upstream transport section,
The upstream conveying section is configured to turn and stand up around an axis arranged on an end side adjacent to the downstream conveying section and extending in a first direction perpendicular to the conveying direction,
The downstream transport section is configured to turn and stand upright around an axis extending in the first direction and disposed on an end side adjacent to the upstream transport section,
The standing portion is configured to turn the upstream conveying portion and the downstream conveying portion around an axis extending in the first direction while maintaining the angle formed by the upstream conveying portion and the downstream conveying portion. , erector. further comprising a stock conveying unit for stocking the work ejected from the standing unit;
The stock conveying unit is
2. The erecting device according to claim 1, comprising an upstream stock section and a downstream stock section adjacent to the downstream side of the upstream stock section. When the plurality of works conveyed from the standing portion to the stock conveying portion includes a first work and a second work, and the first work and the second work are conveyed in this order,
The upstream stock section conveys the first workpiece to the downstream stock section,
3. The erecting device according to claim 2, wherein said downstream stock section is configured to hold said first work until said second work is transported to said upstream stock section. The workpiece has a first surface and a second surface facing the first surface, and the upright portion is configured so that either the first surface or the second surface faces the downstream side in the conveying direction. erecting the workpiece;
The plurality of works conveyed in order from the erecting section to the stock conveying section are erected by the erecting section so that the first surface and the second surface alternately face the downstream side in the conveying direction. configured to
4. The erecting device according to claim 3, wherein said first work and said second work are stocked in said stock conveying section such that the same surfaces of said first surface and said second surface face each other. When the first work and the second work are conveyed in this order,
The first work and the second work are carried into the standing portion with the first surface facing downward,
5. The erecting device according to claim 4, wherein said first work and said second work are stocked in said stock conveying section such that said second surfaces face each other. 5. The erecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the work is a laminate in which a plurality of signatures are laminated and the plurality of signatures are bundled. A second standing portion having the same configuration as the standing portion is further provided downstream of the standing portion,
5. The erecting device according to claim 1, wherein the second erecting portion is configured to lay down the work erected on the erecting portion to turn the work upside down.

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