JP2024128242A - Alignment device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an aligning device capable of consistently, automatically and speedily performing the aligning treatment of a rectangular and relatively flat workpiece such as a pack of bonito flakes cut to pieces.SOLUTION: In an aligning device, a workpiece W vibration-conveyed on a conveyance surface 31 is inserted between a shutter 53 and a step 51, thereby being prevented from falling down from the conveyance surface 31, and is retained in a laid-down posture across the step 51. When the subsequent workpiece W goes to the position between the shutter 53 and the step 51, the subsequent workpiece W is inserted between the preceding workpiece W and the step 51, is prevented from falling down by the preceding work W, and is retained in a laid-down posture across the step 51. In this way, when the shutter 53 is closed, the conveyed workpieces W are sequentially inserted and are stacked in a bundle with their flat surfaces facing obliquely upward. The workpieces W stacked in a bundle on a standby chute 45 are sent out one by one from the upper side and are transferred to a confirmation chute 57.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an alignment device suitable for aligning rectangular and relatively flat workpieces such as packs of dried bonito flakes.

A pack of dried bonito flakes is made by wrapping dried bonito flakes in a packaging film, and is usually sold in a state where several pieces are packed together in a large bag, but it is not rare that the production of the pack of dried bonito flakes and the packing into the large bags are carried out on different lines or in different factories. In such cases, the packs of dried bonito flakes are temporarily stored in containers such as cardboard boxes, and then transported to the line where they are packed into the large bags, but the stored packs of dried bonito flakes are broken into pieces inside the container. Some of them are also bent during the process of being stored.
Therefore, when sending the products to the packaging machine where they will be stuffed into large bags, it is necessary to remove any defective products that are bent or otherwise damaged, and then line up the products one by one in the same direction with space between them on the conveyor that feeds the products into the packaging machine.

In the bonito flakes pack alignment device described in Patent Document 1, the bonito flakes packs are stopped on the horizontal surface at the end of the upstream conveyor in the conveying direction, and while being lifted upward by suction, they are moved horizontally, i.e., discharged, and dropped onto another conveyor downstream in the conveying direction. Even if the bonito flakes packs are stacked one above the other at the end of the upstream conveyor in the conveying direction, they are restricted by the guide plate and no longer shift sideways when they stop, so it is said that this has realized the bonito flakes packs being aligned one by one in the same direction on the downstream side.

JP 2017-190219 A

However, in this sorting device, the packs of dried bonito flakes are left to chance when they are placed on the transport conveyor, so the packs do not arrive in sequence at the right time, and there is inevitably some variation. This causes waiting times during the dispensing process, which results in an obstacle to speeding up the sorting process.
In the above, a pack of dried bonito flakes has been used as an example of the workpiece, but this is not limited to this and is a common issue when trying to align any rectangular, relatively flat workpiece.

The present invention was made in response to the above-mentioned problems with the conventional technology, and aims to provide a new and useful alignment device that can speed up the alignment process of rectangular and relatively flat workpieces by stabilizing the dispensing cycle.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is an alignment device for rectangular, flat workpieces, and is characterized by comprising a stacking mechanism for stacking multiple workpieces in a bundle with the flat surface facing diagonally upward, an alignment chute in which the orientation of the workpieces is aligned while being vibrated and transported, and a waiting chute provided downstream of the transport surface of the alignment chute, with a step between the transport surface and the alignment chute with a lower downstream side and a shutter at the downstream end, in which the preceding workpiece is blocked by the shutter in the waiting chute and is in a waiting position for transfer to the downstream side of the step, and the succeeding workpiece is inserted between the immediately preceding workpiece and the step and stacked in a bundle, and the preceding workpiece is discharged to take over the waiting position for transfer.

Preferably, the supply mechanism is constructed with a step in the alignment chute with the downstream side at a lower position and an openable and closable gate located beyond that downstream side, and when the gate is closed, the workpieces are stacked in a bundle in the same manner as the waiting chute, and when the gate is opened, the workpieces are supplied from the upper side toward the waiting chute.
Preferably, the orientation alignment mechanism is constructed so that the conveying surface of the alignment chute is upstream of the step, and one guide wall is moved toward the other guide wall midway in the conveying direction to narrow the path width, and a rotating roller is positioned in an upright position in the concave portion of the boundary where the path width changes, and the side of the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller facing the conveying surface rotates in the opposite direction to the conveying direction, causing any workpieces that hit it to rotate on their own axis, correcting their orientation and aligning them.
Preferably, the defective product discharge mechanism is provided upstream of the alignment chute and is composed of a receiving chute with an inclined conveying surface and a rotating roller above the conveying surface with its axial direction oriented diagonally across the conveying direction, and the side of the outer periphery of the rotating roller facing the conveying surface rotates in the opposite direction to the conveying direction, thereby ejecting and discharging any work that is hit.

Preferably, the system includes a transfer mechanism that adsorbs the workpieces stacked by the stacking mechanism from above onto a suction pad, lifts them up, and transfers them to another location, and a destination transport conveyor on which the workpieces are placed at the destination.
More preferably, the transfer mechanism is composed of a suction pad and a reciprocating lifting means for the suction pad in an oblique linear direction, and changes from lowering to lifting at the timing when the suction pad comes into contact with the workpiece.
More preferably, the transfer mechanism includes a shutter that opens when lifted, and if lifting of the workpiece fails, the shutter opens and the workpiece falls and is discharged.

More preferably, the destination location is provided with a front/back confirmation means for checking the front/back of the workpiece, and an inversion mechanism for inverting the workpiece if it is confirmed that the front/back is reversed, and the workpieces that have passed through the inversion mechanism are placed in the same orientation on the downstream transport conveyor, where they are finally aligned with spaces between each other.
More preferably, a foreign object confirmation means is provided to confirm whether the work is a foreign object or not, said confirmation means and the inversion mechanism side are separated, and the inversion mechanism has a cantilever means for cantilevering the side opposite said confirmation means, and if the work is confirmed to be a foreign object, the inversion mechanism side is cantilevered and the foreign object that has slid down from the confirmation means side is brushed off and discharged.

Preferably, multiple conveying lines are arranged in parallel alignment, and the vibrations applied to the alignment chute of each conveying line are out of phase with each other, so that the vibrations cancel each other out overall.

The alignment device of the present invention can speed up the alignment process for rectangular and relatively flat workpieces by making the delivery cycle constant.

1 is a front view of an entire alignment device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the alignment device of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one row of the conveying line of FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is a rear view of the conveyor line of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the defective product ejection mechanism of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the alignment mechanism of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the stacking mechanism and the replenishing mechanism of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the transfer mechanism of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the verification mechanism of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the foreign object discharge mechanism and the inversion mechanism of FIG. 3 . 11 is a perspective view of the foreign object discharge mechanism and the inversion mechanism of FIG. 10 as viewed from a different direction. 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the foreign object discharge mechanism of FIG. 10 . FIG. 9 is a timing diagram of the loosening operation of FIG. 8 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the alignment device of FIG. 1 as seen from above.

An alignment device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The workpieces W to be aligned are assumed to be packs of dried bonito flakes that are rectangular and relatively flat, with the four edges sealed to give at least the edges a firmness.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, in this alignment device 1, multiple components are supported on a body frame 3, and four conveying lines of the same configuration are arranged in parallel in a parallel alignment system, and when viewed from above, each conveying line extends in a straight line from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveying direction.
From the upstream side to the downstream side, there are an infeed section, an alignment section, and an outfeed section.
In the infeed section, a shared hopper 5 is disposed on the most upstream side. The downstream surface of the hopper 5 is blocked by two rows of parallel rise conveyors 7. The conveying surface of the belt 7a of each rise conveyor 7 is an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the downstream side, and guide walls 7b, 7b are provided at the side ends of the belt 7a.

The conveying surfaces of two-row supply conveyors 9, 9 are arranged facing each other downstream of the conveying surfaces of the rise conveyors 7, 7. The belts 9a, 9a of the supply conveyor 9 have an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the downstream side. A partition wall 9b is provided between the adjacent belts 9a, 9a, and guide walls 9c, 9c are provided at the side ends of the supply conveyor 9.
The numerous workpieces W that had been randomly placed into the hopper 5 are transferred from the riser conveyor 7 to the supply conveyor 9 driven by a motor, and are frictionally transported diagonally upwards downstream. At the end of the supply conveyor 9, the workpieces W are still randomly oriented and overlap one on top of the other, but they have been sorted into four rows, and each row is led to a corresponding downstream transport line.
The alignment section will be described below with a focus on one transport line.

The conveying surface 13 of the receiving chute 11 of the defective product discharge mechanism is disposed opposite to the conveying surface of the supply conveyor 9, and the next transfer destination of the work W is the receiving chute 11. As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the conveying surface 13 of the receiving chute 11 is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the downstream side. The conveying surface 13 is bent along the way at a valley fold line 13a, and the downward slope of the conveying surface 13c on the downstream side is gentler than that of the conveying surface 13b on the upstream side. The conveying surface 13c is also inclined on the lateral sides.
Guide walls 15, 15 are provided on both ends of the receiving chute 11 to prevent items from falling, and the guide wall 15a on the conveying surface 13c side is lower than the guide wall 15b on the conveying surface 13b side.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a rotating roller that is long in the axial direction. The rotating roller 17 is held in a position in which its axial direction crosses the conveying surface 13c that is inclined toward the side of the receiving chute 11, slightly above the guide wall 15a. The axial direction of the rotating roller 17 is inclined with respect to the conveying direction, and the intersection with the lower lateral guide wall 15a(1) of the guide walls 15a, 15a is located downstream of the intersection with the upper lateral guide wall 15a(2). The rotating roller 17 is held by a holding member 19 so as to be rotatable about its axis, and the rotation direction given by the motor drive is the direction shown by the arrow, and the direction opposite to the conveying direction on the side facing the conveying surface 13c.
Further, a collection container 21 with an open top is provided along the rotating roller 17 and the lower lateral guide wall 15a(1).

The workpiece W falls from the end of the conveying surface of the supply conveyor 9 and is transferred to the receiving chute 11 where it is received. If the workpiece W is a good product, it slides down with its flat surface facing up and down, passing through the gap between the rotating roller 17 and the conveying surface 13c and continuing to slide down toward the downstream side.
On the other hand, when the workpiece W is bent, since there is a rising portion w1, the rising portion w1 hits and gets caught on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller 17, preventing the workpiece W from moving downstream. Since the rotating roller 17 is rotating, the workpiece W is pushed back and repelled, sliding downward to the side, and finally gets over the guide wall 15a(1) and is ejected and collected in the collection container 21.

The conveying surface 13c of the receiving chute 11 has a width dimension that allows the workpiece W to rotate, so that the above-mentioned movement is possible when the workpiece hits the rotating roller 17.
The outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller 17 is made of silicone rubber and is somewhat sticky, so the force of pushing back is strengthened. In Fig. 5, the workpiece W(a) is conveyed while the rotating roller 17 is rotating as indicated by the arrow, and the workpiece W(a) is conveyed with a bent upright portion w1 and a lying portion w2, and the upright portion w1 hits the rotating roller 17, loses its posture, slides down the conveying surface 13c toward the lower side, and then goes over the guide wall 15a(1), is ejected, and falls into the collection container 21. Also, the non-defective workpiece W(b) is shown passing through the gap between the rotating roller 17 and the conveying surface 13c, and is further conveyed by sliding down toward the downstream side.

Since the workpieces W are flat, even if multiple pieces are stacked on top of each other, if the thickness is such that two pieces can pass through the gap, they can pass through in their stacked state. However, if the workpieces are stacked too much to pass through, when the upper workpiece W hits the outer periphery of the rotating roller 17, it is often ejected by the rotating roller 17 along with the workpiece W below it.

3 and 4, a vibrating conveying feeder is installed downstream of the conveying surface 13 of the receiving chute 11, and the work W from the receiving chute 11 will next transfer to the vibrating conveying feeder. The downstream side of the conveying surface 25 of the trough-shaped aligning chute 23 and the upstream side of the conveying surface 31 of the aligning chute 29 are arranged opposite to each other, and the conveying surface 25 of the aligning chute 23 is arranged opposite to the conveying surface 13 of the receiving chute 11.
The alignment chutes 23, 29 are vibrated by a vibration generating unit 35. In the vibration generating unit 35, an upper frame 35a and a lower frame 35b form a parallel link mechanism together with swing links 35c, 35c, and the tip of another crank 35d is connected to the upper frame 35a. The lower frame 35b is fixed to the machine frame 3, and as shown in FIG. 14, the base end of the crank 35d is connected via an eccentric cam to a crank shaft 35f to which the rotational force of a motor 35e fixed to the machine frame 3 is transmitted, so that the parallel link mechanism performs a crank operation as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4 when the crank shaft 35f rotates. Therefore, the vibration transmitted to the alignment chutes 23, 29 attached to the movable upper frame 35a includes not only a component in the conveying direction but also a component in the vertical direction, and the workpieces W are vibrated and conveyed downstream on the respective conveying surfaces 25, 31 based on the principle of vibration conveyance. The conveying surfaces 25, 31 are inclined downward toward the downstream side, and with the help of this inclination, smooth vibration conveyance is realized.

The conveying surface 25 of the alignment chute 23 is not inclined in the lateral direction, unlike the conveying surface 13c, and the height position of the upstream side of the conveying surface 25 is slightly lower than the height of the downstream side of the lateral lower side of the conveying surface 13c.
The width of the conveying surface 25 on the upstream side is approximately the same as the width of the conveying surface 13c of the receiving chute 11 projected onto the conveying surface 25, but the side connected to the upper lateral side is gradually moved downstream to become narrower, and is further cut out significantly along the way. Therefore, the conveying surface 25 on the upstream side is ensured to be approximately as wide as the conveying surface 13 of the receiving chute 11, but the conveying surface 25 downstream of the boundary is narrower to a degree slightly larger than the length dimension of the short side of the work W.

Reference numeral 37 denotes a rotating roller that is long in the axial direction. As shown in Fig. 6, this rotating roller 37 is held in a position in which its axial direction stands in a recessed portion of a boundary formed by cutting out the conveying surface 25 of the alignment chute 23 and is approximately perpendicular to the conveying surface 25. The rotating roller 37 is held by a holding member 39 so as to be rotatable about its axis, and the direction of rotation given by the motor drive is the direction shown by the arrow, with the side facing the conveying surface 25 rotating in the opposite direction to the conveying direction.
Guide walls 27, 27 are provided on both side ends of the conveying surface 25 of the alignment chute 23, but the guide walls 27 are missing in the above-mentioned recessed portion, and the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller 37 is exposed above the edge of the conveying surface 23.

When the workpiece W is transported on the transport surface 13c of the receiving chute 11, it is moved toward the guide wall 15a(1) on the lower lateral side, so that either the long side edge or the short side edge is moved toward the guide wall 15a(1).
When the long side edge is brought close to the guide wall 15a(1), the work W is transferred directly to the alignment chute 23; however, when the short side edge is brought close to the guide wall 15a(1), the work W is sandwiched between the opposing guide walls 27, and as the edge hits the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller 37 and receives a rotational force, the work W is swung around and rotates on its axis, with the result that the orientation is corrected so that one of the long side edges is brought close to the guide wall 27, and the work W is transported downstream in this corrected orientation.

The workpiece W is vibrated, so that it floats up and rotates easily. In addition, the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller 37 is made of somewhat sticky silicone rubber, which increases friction, and the momentum of the swinging is strengthened. Therefore, the rotation of the rotating roller 37 is easily transmitted to the workpiece W, realizing smooth rotation.
FIG. 6 shows the transition of movement of the workpiece W from when the edge of the workpiece W hits the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller 37 while the rotating roller 37 is rotating as indicated by the arrow, until the workpiece W is vibrated and transported while its posture is corrected.

As shown in Figures 3, 4, and 7, the alignment chute 29, which is the transfer point from the alignment chute 23 for the work W, has approximately the same shape and the same downward slope as the alignment chute 23, but the distance to the movable upper frame 35a is shorter, and the upstream end of the conveying surface 31 of the alignment chute 29 is at a height position one step lower than the downstream end of the conveying surface 25 of the alignment chute 23, the difference being the step 41. A flap 25a folded diagonally downward is extended from the downstream end of the conveying surface 25, and the inclined upper surface of this flap 25a spans the step 41 between the conveying surface 25 and the conveying surface 31.

The alignment chute 29 is divided into halves at the widthwise center of the conveying surface 31, and the widthwise center forms a groove 32 that extends along the conveying direction.
A long and narrow strip-shaped gate 43 is capable of protruding through the groove 32 above the conveying surface 31, and these together form a supply mechanism.
A rod of an air cylinder 44 is connected to the base end side of the gate 43, and passes through the groove 32 and appears and disappears above the conveying surface 31 in response to the extension and contraction of the rod. The air cylinder 44 is supported on the machine frame 3 side, and is adjusted so that the plate surface of the gate 43 moves while maintaining a substantially parallel posture with a predetermined gap relative to the inclined upper surface of the flap 25a during the extension and contraction of the rod.
When the gate 43 protrudes above the transport surface 31, the gate 43 is closed, and when the gate 43 retracts from the transport surface 31, the gate 43 is opened.

When the gate 43 is closed, the workpieces W that have been vibrated and transported on the transport surface 25 are inserted between the gate 43 and the inclined upper surface of the flap 25a, and are prevented from being transported downstream by the gate 43, and are placed on the inclined upper surface of the flap 25a, where they are retained in a lying position and tilted down. When the workpieces W are overlapping, if the overlapping portion is large, they are inserted as they are. Also, if the overlapping portion is small, the workpieces W on the lower side are separated when they are tilted down, and are separated into the workpiece W that is inserted first and the workpiece W that is followed. Therefore, as long as the orientations are the same, there is no problem even if the workpieces W are transported overlapping with each other.
When the succeeding workpiece W approaches that position, it is inserted between the preceding workpiece W and the inclined upper surface of the flap 25a, and the preceding workpiece W covers it from above, preventing it from being transported downstream, and is placed on the inclined upper surface of the flap 25a and held there in a lying position.

In this manner, when the gate 43 is closed, the transported works W are inserted one after another and stacked vertically in a bundle.
When the gate 43 opens, the workpieces W stacked in a bundle are successively pushed out from the top toward the downstream side, separated from the bundle, and transported further downstream.
Furthermore, since the downward slope of the conveying surface 25 is gentle, the workpiece W does not roll off while the gate 43 is opening or closing.

The upstream side of the conveying surface 47 of the waiting chute 45 of the stacking mechanism is arranged opposite the downstream side of the conveying surface 31 of the alignment chute 29 for the work W, and the next transfer destination of the work W is the waiting chute 45. The conveying surface 47 of this waiting chute 45 is approximately the same width as the conveying surface 31 of the alignment chute 29, but its length dimension in the conveying direction is shorter and has a larger downward slope. The upstream end side of the conveying surface 47 wraps around to the underside of the downstream end of the conveying surface 31, and a step 51 is formed between the downstream side of the conveying surface 31 and the conveying surface 47. The waiting chute 45 is configured as a split half with the conveying surface 47 at the center in the width direction as the dividing part, and is supported on the machine frame 3 side, and is in a state where the alignment chute 29 is sandwiched from the outside in the width direction.

A shutter 53 is provided opposite the downstream end of the waiting chute 45 .
The shutter 53 has a pair of shutter surfaces 53a, 53a formed by cutting a U-shape out of a single flat plate. A rod of an air cylinder 55 is connected to the base end side of the shutter 53, and the pair of shutter surfaces 53a, 53a move up and down in response to the extension and contraction of the rod. The air cylinder 55 is supported on the machine frame 3 side, and is adjusted so that the shutter surfaces 53a, 53a move while maintaining a position approximately perpendicular to the conveying surface 47 during the extension and contraction of the rod.

When the shutter surface 53a moves upward, the shutter 53 opens, and when the shutter surface 53a moves backward downward toward the transport surface 47, the shutter 53 closes.
When the shutter 53 is closed, the workpiece W that has been vibrated and transported on the transport surface 47 is inserted between the shutter 53 and the step 51, so that it is prevented from falling from the transport surface 47 and is retained in a lying position straddling the step 51.
When the succeeding work W approaches there, it is inserted between the preceding work W and the step 51, and is prevented from falling by the preceding work W, and is held in a lying position straddling the step 51. In this way, when the shutter 53 is closed, the conveyed work W is inserted one by one and is stacked in a bundle with the flat surface facing diagonally upward.
When the downstream short edge of the uppermost work W directly hits the shutter 53 and that work W is sent for replenishment, the work W immediately below it protrudes toward the downstream side due to vibration, and hits the shutter 53 directly, taking the position of the work W above it.

The works W stacked in a bundle in the waiting chute 45 are attracted from above and transferred one by one to the confirmation chute 57.
The confirmation chute 57 has a similar shape and almost the same width as the waiting chute 45, and its conveying surface 59 is connected in series with the conveying surface 47 of the waiting chute 45 when viewed from above, and guide walls 61, 61 regulate misalignment, so that the long side edge of the workpiece W is maintained in a position along the conveying direction even after transfer. Also, as shown in a side view, the downward slope is greater, and the upstream side of the conveying surface 59 is at a higher position than the height position of the downstream end side of the guide wall 49 of the conveying surface 47. Also, a gap is provided between the upstream end of the conveying surface 59 and the downstream end of the conveying surface 47 that is large enough for the workpiece W to fall when the shutter 53 is opened.

9, a long, thin, shaft-like gate 63 is capable of protruding upward, facing the downstream end of the conveying surface 59 of the confirmation chute 57. A rod of an air cylinder 65 is connected to the base end of the gate 63, and the gate 63 appears and disappears above the conveying surface 59 in response to the extension and retraction of the rod. The air cylinder 65 is supported on the machine frame 3 side, and is adjusted so that the gate 63 moves while maintaining a position perpendicular to the conveying surface 59 while the rod is extending or retracting.
When the gate 63 protrudes above the transport surface 59, the gate 63 closes, and when the gate 63 retracts from the transport surface 59, the gate 63 opens.
When the gate 63 is closed, the transferred workpiece W is retained in the confirmation chute 57. Since the gate 63 appears and disappears from a round hole 59a formed on the downstream side of the conveying surface 59, the workpiece W is unlikely to rotate even if the downward slope of the confirmation chute 57 is steep.
Even if there is a gap between the guide walls 61, 61, rotation is difficult.

In Figure 8, reference numeral 67 denotes a vacuum pad (suction pad). The transfer mechanism is configured by connecting the rod of an air cylinder 69 to this vacuum pad 67. The air cylinder 69 is supported on the machine frame 3 side, and while the rod is extending or retracting, the vacuum pad 67 is adjusted so that it moves up and down reciprocally in an oblique direction as shown by the arrow, opposite to the lifting and lowering of the rod of the air cylinder 69, while maintaining a position in which the suction side faces downward.
The vacuum pad 67 descends and heads above the transport surface 47 of the waiting chute 45, and then rises and heads above the transport surface 59 of the confirmation chute 57. The vacuum pad 67 descends and contacts the uppermost workpiece W among the workpieces W stacked on the transport surface 47, adsorbing it, and then rises and lifts it up, heading toward the transport surface 59, and when it gets closest to it, stops adsorption and further sprays compressed air to release the workpiece W, and drops it onto the transport surface 59. This is the dispensing operation.

At this time, the gate 63 is closed, so that the fallen workpiece W is retained in a lying position on the conveying surface 59.
3, reference numeral 71 denotes a sensor (photoelectric sensor) for checking the presence or absence of a waiting workpiece. While this sensor 71 for checking the presence or absence of a waiting workpiece is ON, the dispensing operation continues.
Since the vacuum source connected to the vacuum pad 67 has a built-in suction confirmation sensor, if the vacuum pad 67 fails to suction the workpiece W and it gets caught on the upper edge of the shutter 53, the suction confirmation sensor will not function and will determine that it is a foreign object, and the shutter 53 will be opened to drop and discharge all waiting workpieces W including the caught workpiece W.
Also, reference numeral 73 denotes a remaining workpiece confirmation sensor (photoelectric sensor). When a workpiece W is lifted up and discharged from the conveying surface 47 of the standby chute 45, the number of stacked works decreases accordingly, so that when the number of standby works W decreases, the remaining workpiece confirmation sensor 73 turns OFF, the gate 43 opens, and the workpiece W is sent out.
After the gate 43 opens, the workpieces W continue to be supplied to the waiting chute 45 until a preset number of workpieces W is reached, that is, until the waiting workpiece remaining confirmation sensor 73 turns ON.
The downstream short edge of the uppermost workpiece W directly contacts the shutter 53, and when that workpiece W is discharged, the workpiece W immediately below it protrudes downstream due to vibration and directly contacts the shutter 53, taking the position of the workpiece W above it. Therefore, the uppermost workpiece W is always waiting in the optimal position in the downward direction of the vacuum pad 67.

FIG. 13 shows a timing diagram of the workpiece loosening operation in which the transfer mechanism and the supply mechanism are linked.
The descending vacuum pad 67 starts to rise after it comes into contact with the workpiece W, so that excessive load is not applied to the workpiece W. In addition, the opening and closing operation of the gate 43 controlled by the sensing of the remaining waiting work confirmation sensor 73 is adjusted so that there is no shortage of waiting workpieces W, so that there is always a workpiece W waiting where the vacuum pad 67 descends.

The checking chute 57 has an inverted concave arch 62 suspended between a pair of guide walls 61, 61, and an image monitoring camera 75 is installed on the top surface as a front/back checking means. The image captured by this image monitoring camera 75 is used to determine not only whether the front and back of the workpiece W are lying correctly, but also whether it is a non-defective product or a foreign object.
In addition, a work confirmation sensor (photoelectric sensor) 77 is installed on one of the guide walls 61, and when the work W is confirmed by this work confirmation sensor 77, the sensor is turned ON and the shutter of the image monitoring camera 75 is released.

10, the upstream side of the conveying surface 81 of the first relay chute 79 is disposed opposite the downstream side of the conveying surface 59 of the confirmation chute 57 for the work W, and the next transfer destination for the work W is the first relay chute 79. The conveying surface 81 of the first relay chute 79 has approximately the same width as the conveying surface 59 of the confirmation chute 57, and has approximately the same downward slope. However, the conveying surface 81 rotates so that the upstream end side of the conveying surface 81 is raised, and a gap is provided between the conveying surface 81 and the downstream side of the confirmation chute 57 by that amount.
Reference numeral 85 denotes an air cylinder, and one guide wall 83 side of the air cylinder 85 is cantilevered to the rod of the air cylinder 85 via a connecting member 87. The air cylinder 85 is supported on the machine frame 3 side, and the first relay chute 79 is adjusted to rotate by the extension and contraction of the rod. The upstream side of the conveying surface 81 is lifted by the contraction of the rod.

When the gate 63 opens, the workpiece W held in the confirmation chute 57 slides down toward the first relay chute 79, but if the image monitoring camera 75 determines that the workpiece W is a foreign object, the first relay chute 79 is lifted as shown in FIG. 12, and the workpiece W is dispensed and discharged from the gap between the upstream side of the first relay chute 79 and the downstream side of the confirmation chute 57. A collection container (not shown) with an open top is installed below the gap, and the workpiece W falls into the collection container and is collected.

The work W transfers from the first relay chute 79 to an inversion mechanism 89 .
10 and 11, the reversing mechanism 89 has a flat rectangular cylinder 89a, the inner bottom surface of which is flush with and faces the downstream end of the conveying surface 81 of the first relay chute 79. A disk-shaped gate 91 is capable of protruding upward, facing the downstream end surface of the rectangular cylinder 89a. An air cylinder 93 is directly connected to the base end of the gate 91, and the gate 91 appears and disappears above the downstream end surface of the rectangular cylinder 89a when driven by the air cylinder 93. The air cylinder 93 is supported on the machine frame 3 side, and is adjusted so that the gate 91 moves while maintaining a position perpendicular to the downstream end surface of the rectangular cylinder 89a during the extension and retraction of the rod.

When the gate 91 protrudes above the rectangular cylinder 89a, the gate 91 closes, and when the gate 91 retracts below the rectangular cylinder 89a, the gate 91 opens.
The inner bottom surface of the square cylinder 89a is inclined at approximately the same downward gradient as the conveying surface 81 of the first relay chute 79, and the workpiece W slides down from the first relay chute 79 toward the inside of the square cylinder 89a while maintaining a lying position, and when the gate 91 is closed, the workpiece W that has entered is retained by the gate 91.

The rectangular cylinder 89a is fitted into the hole of the rotating disk 89b so as to be integrated with it, with the axial direction of the rectangular cylinder 89a being perpendicular to the plate surface of the rotating disk 89b. The rotating disk 89b is rotatably held by roller members 89d provided along the edge of a round opening of a holed holding plate 89c fixed to the machine frame 3, and the rectangular cylinder 89a is held in a position in which it passes through the opening of the holding plate 89c.
A pneumatic rotary actuator 95 is fixed to the machine frame 3, and one end of an arm 97 is connected to the shaft. The middle of the arm 97 is fixed to the machine frame 3, and the other end is connected to the rotating disk 89b. Therefore, the square cylinder 89a rotates together with the rotating disk 89b in response to the rotation of the shaft, and the flat surface of the workpiece W held within the square cylinder 89a is inverted upside down.
Thereafter, when the gate 91 is opened, the workpiece W slides down while maintaining its inverted position.

The downstream side of the inversion mechanism 89 for the work W is the sending section, and the transfer point from the square cylinder 89a is the second relay chute 99. The conveying surface 101 of this second relay chute 99 has a larger downward gradient than the inversion mechanism 89 side, and the work W slides down while being restricted from shifting to the side by guide walls 103, 103.
As shown in FIG. 2, a belt conveyor type transport conveyor 105 is disposed downstream of the transport surface 101, and the workpiece W placed on the horizontal transport surface is frictionally transported in a lying position toward the downstream side by the motor drive.
The works W slide down from the conveying surface 101 of the second relay chute 99 and are immediately conveyed downstream by friction when their short side edges hit the horizontal conveying surface 107, so that they are conveyed one by one at intervals in a lying position with the same orientation on the conveying surface 107.
By performing the transfer operation in a constant repeated cycle, the workpieces W can be arranged at equal intervals on the transport surface 107.

The transport conveyor 105 serves as a common transfer destination for the four rows of second relay chutes 99, and on the transport surface 107, the workpieces W are transported in four rows in the transport direction, i.e., the longitudinal direction.
According to this alignment device 1, good quality workpieces W with aligned length and width are always waiting on the lowering side of the vacuum pad 67. Moreover, transfer is completed only by the raising and lowering operation of the vacuum pad 67, and there is no need to correct the posture of the workpiece W at the transfer destination. Therefore, the transfer operation proceeds continuously and at high speed. As a result, the alignment process of the workpieces W can be consistently realized automatically and quickly.
14, one vibration generating unit 35 is provided for one conveying line, and the base ends of the cranks 35d are connected to the crankshaft 35f of a common motor 35e via eccentric cams, but the connection angles of the cranks 35d are shifted by 90°. Therefore, the phases of the vibrations applied to the alignment chutes 23, 29 of each conveying line cancel each other out, suppressing the vibrations applied to the machine frame 3.
In FIG. 14, for ease of viewing, the four cranks 35d are connected at the same angle.

The vibration applied by the vibrating transport feeder is used not only for transport but also for rotation of the rotating roller 37 due to contact, so low-frequency vibration (for example, amplitude of about 4 mm, frequency of about 8 Hz) is recommended.
Instead of a belt conveyor, the main part of the transport is constituted by alignment chutes 23, 29, making it possible to construct the device while minimizing the number of consumable belts.
The drive system, including the motor and air cylinder, has also been reduced as much as possible by combining it with the design of the chute, resulting in a simple structure.
Since the workpieces W are supplied in a stacked state to the supply conveyor 9, the supply conveyor 9 may be operated intermittently.

The alignment device 1 is configured as described above, and by providing a stacking mechanism, even if there is variation in the feeding of the workpieces W from the rising conveyor 7 and the supply conveyor 9, the variation is offset by the standby chute 45 always storing a plurality of workpieces W, thereby realizing a constant delivery cycle. In particular, by using a supply mechanism in combination, it is possible to preliminarily adjust the feeding of the workpieces W to the standby chute 45 on the upstream side, and it is not necessary to store too many workpieces W in the standby chute 45. Therefore, it is easy to maintain the uppermost workpiece W in a lying position that is easy to deliver without standing up.
In addition, the orientation alignment mechanism is provided to actively align the orientation of the workpieces W, and since it is not a passive mechanism that relies on the workpieces naturally fitting into the guide plate as in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reliably align the orientation of the workpieces W. Note that when trying to regulate the alignment of sharp edges on all four sides, such as bonito flake packs, as described above, they tend to get stuck in small gaps or get caught on slight unevenness, which can sometimes lead to problems such as clogging. However, in this alignment device 1, the alignment chute 23 is made by bending a stainless steel plate and has a smooth trough shape, so the above problems can be avoided. In addition, stainless steel plates do not wear out and are easy to clean, making them superior to belt conveyors in terms of maintenance costs and hygiene.

The alignment device 1 is equipped with a mechanism for discharging foreign objects and defective products, which allows them to be removed from the conveying line before they cause problems downstream, so the device does not have to be stopped temporarily. In addition, if foreign objects or defective products were to be manufactured and released onto the market without causing any problems, this could cause a loss of credibility for the manufacturer, but this can also be avoided.

In the alignment device 1, the workpieces W are aligned and waiting in the waiting chute 45, so the transfer mechanism can lift and dispense the workpieces W by simply raising and lowering the vacuum pads 67 without rotating the hand to which the vacuum pads 67 are attached. If the workpieces are not aligned, it would be necessary to detect the orientation of the workpieces using image processing, calculate the correction angle for each workpiece, and have the robot hand perform the complex and precise rotation operation required each time, but this alignment device 1 does not require such a configuration. By performing the dispense process with such a simple pick-up operation, it is possible to further speed up the alignment process of the workpieces W. In addition, this leads to a simplification of the transfer mechanism, which is advantageous in that it also reduces the initial cost of constructing the device.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and the invention also includes design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.
For example, if the edge of the workpiece W is firm, it will not break when it hits the rotating roller 37, so it is not necessary to seal the edge.
Furthermore, if the workpiece W is square, rotation using the rotating rollers 37 is not necessary.
Also, unlike the conveying surface 13c, the conveying surface 25 of the alignment chute 23 is not inclined in the lateral direction, but may be inclined in the same manner as the conveying surface 13c. Also, in this alignment device 1, the transfer mechanism lifts and dispenses the workpieces W one by one, but in the waiting chute 45, multiple workpieces W are stacked in a bundle and aligned vertically, and the number of stacked workpieces can be adjusted to a constant number, so that it is possible to accommodate cases where a constant number of workpieces W need to be dispensed at the same time depending on the delivery destination.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1...Alignment device 3...Machine frame 5...Hopper 7...Rising conveyor 7a...Belt 7b...Guide wall 9...Supply conveyor 9a...Belt 9b...Partition wall 9c...Guide wall 11...Receiving chute 13...Conveying surface 13a...Valley fold line 13b, 13c...Conveying surface 15...Guide wall 15a, 15b...Guide wall 17...Rotating roller 19...Holding member 21...Collection container 23...Alignment chute 25...Conveying surface 25a...Flap 27...Guide wall 29...Alignment chute 31...Conveying surface 32...Groove 33...Guide wall 35...Vibration generating section 35a...Upper frame 35b...Lower frame 35c...Swinging link 35d...Crank 35e...Motor 35f...Crank shaft 37...Rotating roller 39...Holding member 41...Step 43...gate 44...air cylinder 45...waiting chute 47...transport surface 49...guide wall 51...step 53...shutter 53a...shutter surface 55...air cylinder 57...confirmation chute 59...transport surface 59a...round hole 61...guide wall 62...arch 63...gate 65...air cylinder 67...vacuum pad (suction pad) 69...air cylinder 71...waiting work presence confirmation sensor 73...waiting work remaining confirmation sensor 75...image monitoring camera 75a...beam 77...work confirmation sensor 77a...beam 79...first relay chute 81...transport surface 83...guide wall 85...air cylinder 87...connecting member 89...reversal mechanism 89a...square cylinder 89b...rotating disc 89c...holding plate 89d...roller member 91...gate 93...air cylinder 95...rotary actuator 97: Arm 99: Second relay chute 101: Conveying surface 103: Guide wall 105: Conveying conveyor 107: Conveying surface W: Workpiece w1: Rising portion w2: Lying portion

Claims (10)

An alignment device for rectangular, flat workpieces, comprising:
A stacking mechanism that stacks multiple workpieces in a bundle with the flat surface facing diagonally upward.
The apparatus includes an alignment chute in which the orientation of the workpiece is aligned while the workpiece is vibrated and conveyed, and a standby chute that is provided downstream of the conveying surface of the alignment chute and has a step between the alignment chute and the conveying surface such that the downstream side is at a lower level, and has a shutter at the downstream end;
The preceding work is blocked by the shutter in the waiting chute and is in a waiting position for transfer to the downstream side of the step across the step, and the succeeding work is inserted between the preceding work and the step and stacked in a bundle, and the preceding work is discharged to take over the waiting position for transfer. 2. The alignment device according to claim 1,
The supply mechanism is constructed with a step on the alignment chute with the downstream side at a lower level and an openable gate located on the downstream side,
This alignment device is characterized in that when the gate is closed, the workpieces are stacked in a bundle in the same manner as in the waiting chute, and when the gate is opened, the workpieces are supplied from the upper side toward the waiting chute. 2. The alignment device according to claim 1,
This alignment mechanism is constructed so that the conveying surface of the alignment chute is upstream of a step, and one guide wall is moved toward the other guide wall midway in the conveying direction to narrow the path width, and a rotating roller is positioned in an upright position in the concave portion of the boundary where the path width changes, and the side of the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller facing the conveying surface rotates in the opposite direction to the conveying direction, causing any workpieces that hit it to rotate on their own axis and have their orientation corrected and aligned. 2. The alignment device according to claim 1,
An alignment device characterized in that the defective product discharge mechanism is provided upstream of the alignment chute and is composed of a receiving chute with an inclined conveying surface and a rotating roller above the conveying surface with its axial direction oriented diagonally across the conveying direction, and the side of the outer periphery of the rotating roller facing the conveying surface rotates in the opposite direction to the conveying direction, thereby ejecting and discharging any work that hits it. 2. The alignment device according to claim 1,
This alignment device is characterized by having a stacking mechanism, a transfer mechanism that adsorbs stacked workpieces from above onto a suction pad, lifts them up, and transfers them to another location, and a transfer conveyor on which the workpieces are placed at the transfer destination. In the alignment device according to claim 5,
The transfer mechanism is composed of a suction pad and a reciprocating lifting means for the suction pad in a diagonal linear direction, and is an alignment device characterized in that the suction pad changes from lowering to rising when it comes into contact with the workpiece. In the alignment device according to claim 5,
An alignment device characterized in that the transfer mechanism is equipped with a shutter that opens when raised, and if lifting of a workpiece fails, the shutter opens and the workpiece falls and is discharged. In the alignment device according to claim 5,
At the transfer destination, a front/back confirmation means is provided to check the front/back of the workpiece, and an inversion mechanism is provided to invert the workpiece if it is confirmed that the front/back is reversed.The workpieces that pass through the inversion mechanism are placed in the same orientation on the downstream transport conveyor, where they are finally aligned with space between them.This is an alignment device characterized by the above. 9. The alignment device according to claim 8,
This alignment device is also provided with a foreign object confirmation means for confirming whether the work is a foreign object or not, said confirmation means and the inversion mechanism are separated, and the inversion mechanism has a cantilever means for cantilevering the side facing the confirmation means, and if a work is confirmed to be a foreign object, the inversion mechanism is cantilevered and any foreign object that has slid down from the confirmation means side is removed and discharged. An alignment device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
This alignment device is characterized in that a plurality of conveyor lines are arranged in parallel for alignment, and the vibrations applied to the alignment chute of each conveyor line are out of phase with each other, so that the vibrations cancel each other out as a whole.

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