JPH0351214A - Article transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smooth transport by constructing slant conveyors, positioned at supply and delivery sides and connected to a lift conveyor, of a pair of telescoping frames and an endless transport body, in the subject device using the lift conveyor. CONSTITUTION:When a lifting conveyor 8 is lifted on a lift frame 32, a distance between the lift frame 32 and a fixed frame 11 is varied. Accordingly, slant conveyors 7 and 9 are inclined and telescoping frames 56 and 57 are telescoped to absorb the variation of a distance between connecting shafts 60 and 61. In this case, a belt-tension adjusting means is operated to adjust belt tension. With this constitution, as the lifting conveyor is lifted, the slant conveyor is also adjusted in a most suitable position and, therefire, smooth transport can be maintained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an article conveying device, and more specifically, to an article conveying device that supplies articles to an elevating conveyor that can be raised and lowered and discharges the articles from the elevating conveyor. The present invention relates to an article conveying device.

"Prior Art" Conventionally, a conveyor that can extend and contract its entire length is well known as a conveyor for conveying articles.

Conventionally, as an article conveying device for a palletizer, a device is known in which a large number of conveyors are combined to convey articles from an article supply section at a fixed position to an article stacking section that can be raised and lowered (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-87126 Publication No.).

Furthermore, there is also known an article conveying device that is equipped with a horizontal conveyor and an inclined conveyor, and the inclination angle of the inclined conveyor can be changed (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 11847/1984).
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``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' By the way, for example, as an anchor, among the cylindrical articles stored in multiple rows in a box, a gripping head is inserted forward into and held in each of the cylindrical articles in the − row, and A device is known in which articles are taken out of the box one row at a time by retracting the gripping head.

In this type of anchor, when the height of the cylindrical article is changed, an elevating conveyor that supplies the box containing the cylindrical article to a position below the gripping head is raised and lowered, and the cylindrical article and the gripping head are raised and lowered. It is desirable that the height relative to the head be a predetermined amount. In this case, boxes containing cylindrical articles are supplied from the entrance conveyor to the elevating conveyor, and empty boxes from which the cylindrical articles have been taken out by the uncaser are discharged from the elevating conveyor to the exit conveyor. Become so.

In order to easily supply and discharge boxes, even if the elevating conveyor is raised or lowered according to the size of the cylindrical article, the positions of the conveyor on the entrance side and the conveyor on the exit side must remain constant at all times. Although this is desirable, there has been no article conveying device suitable for such purposes.

"Means for Solving the Problems" In view of such circumstances, the present invention includes an elevating conveyor that is movable up and down and conveys articles, one end of which is pivotally connected to a fixed frame, and the other end of which is connected to the elevating conveyor. an inclined conveyor on the article supply side that is pivotally connected to the fixed frame; and an inclined conveyor on the article discharge side that has one end pivotally connected to the fixed side frame and the other end pivotally connected to the lifting conveyor, and each of the inclined conveyors , a first telescoping frame and a second telescoping frame that are mutually telescoping, a first rotating shaft pivotally supported by the first telescoping frame, a second rotating shaft pivotally supported by the second telescoping frame, and a second rotating shaft pivotally supported by the second telescoping frame; The present invention provides an article conveying device comprising an endless body that is suspended between a rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft to convey an article, and a tension adjusting means that keeps the tension of the endless body substantially constant. be.

"Operation" According to the above configuration, when the distance between the elevating frame and the fixed frame changes by raising or lowering the elevating frame, the first telescopic frame and the second telescopic frame of each inclined frame change.
The telescopic frame expands and contracts to absorb changes in distance. At this time, even if the first telescoping frame and the second telescoping frame expand and contract and the distance between the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft provided in each telescoping frame changes, the endless body spanned between them changes. Since the tension is kept substantially constant by the tension adjustment means, smooth conveyance of the articles from the supply-side inclined conveyor to the lift-side conveyor and the discharge-side inclined conveyor can be maintained even when the lifting frame is raised or lowered. can.

Since each end of each of the inclined frames is pivotally connected to the fixed side frame, even when the elevating conveyor is raised or lowered, the end of the fixed side frame of each inclined frame remains at a constant position. Even if a conveyor is connected to the end of each inclined frame, each conveyor is not affected by the elevation and descent of the elevating conveyor, and each conveyor can be installed at a fixed position.

``Embodiment'' The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIG. Empty cylindrical articles 3 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) can be taken out one after another.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each empty cylindrical article 3 before being filled with a filler such as toothpaste is brought into contact with the bottom 2a of the box 2 with a cap 4 screwed onto the mouth in advance. It is stored in the box 2 upside down. The cylindrical articles 3 housed in these boxes 2 are made of soft synthetic resin and are maintained in a cylindrical shape by their own elasticity.

In this embodiment, the cylindrical articles 3 are stored in the box 2 in one row of 11 articles in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the box 2, and each column of cylindrical articles 3 adjacent to the conveying direction of the box 2 is stored in the box 2. Article 3
are shifted in the row direction at a pitch that is half the pitch P between the respective cylindrical articles 3, so that the cylindrical articles 3 are housed in the box 2 in a staggered manner.

As shown in FIG. 1, the boxes 2 containing the cylindrical articles 3 in a staggered manner are transported from a horizontally disposed fixed conveyor 6 constituting a box conveyor 5 to an inclined elevating conveyor 8 via an inclined conveyor 7. The cylindrical article 3 is conveyed and positioned by the elevating conveyor 8 to the carry-in position A, and at the carry-in position A, the cylindrical article 3 is intermittently moved at a required pitch P' (see Fig. 3), which is smaller than the above-mentioned pitch P. progress is being made. The elevating conveyor 8 is configured such that when the height of the cylindrical article 3 is changed, the cylindrical article 3 can be raised and lowered diagonally while maintaining a constant inclination according to the height.

Above the carry-in position A, a movable frame 13 is attached to a rotary shaft 12 that is rotatably supported on a fixed frame 11. It includes branch parts 13A, 13B, and 13C arranged at equal intervals 1, and each branch part 1
3A to 13C are provided with delivery mechanisms 14A, 14B, and 14C for taking out the cylindrical article 3 from the box 2, respectively.

The movable frame 13 is rotated every 1/3 rotation in a certain direction by a rotational drive mechanism 15 (see FIG. 2), that is, 120
For example, the first delivery mechanism 1
When the transfer mechanism 4A is placed in the carry-in position A, the second transfer mechanism 14B is placed in the carry-out position B, and the third transfer mechanism 14c is placed in the play position C, and by the following intermittent rotation, The first delivery mechanism 14A is in the idle position C, the second delivery mechanism 14B is in the carry-in position A, and the third
The delivery mechanism 14C can be positioned at the unloading position B, respectively.

Each of the above-mentioned delivery mechanisms 14A to 14C has the same configuration, and each of the 11 gripping heads 19 provided in each delivery mechanism 14A to 14C is placed inside the horizontal row of cylindrical articles 3 in the box 2 at the carrying-in position A. The cylindrical articles 3 are inserted forward into the box 2 to hold the cylindrical articles 3, and the cylindrical articles 3 held by the cylindrical articles 3 can be taken out from the box 2 by retreating.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each of the gripping heads 19 includes a rod 20 disposed along the forward and backward directions described above, and a flat conical guide member 21 attached to the tip of the rod 20. and an elastic member 22 made of disk-shaped rubber or the like attached to the rear of the guide member 21. When the gripping head 19 moves forward, the guide member 21 is loosely fitted into the cylindrical article 3 with a small gap, and the elastic member 22 is press-fitted into the cylindrical article 3. The cylindrical article 3 due to the frictional force with the cylindrical article 3
It is now possible to hold.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cylindrical article 3 that is intermittently transported from the carry-in position A to the carry-out position B via the play position C is removed by the removal means provided at the carry-out position B. The cylindrical articles 3 are pulled out from the gripping heads 19 by the comb teeth-like members 25 (FIG. 2), and the cylindrical articles 3 pulled out from each gripping head 19 fall horizontally and parallelly onto the article conveyor 26.
The article is conveyed to the next process by the article conveyor 26.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the rods 20 of each of the gripping heads 19 are inserted into the gaps 25a of the comb-like members 25 when the delivery mechanisms 14A to 14C are rotated and positioned at the unloading position B. When each gripping head 19 is inserted and retreated in that state, the cylindrical member 3 held by each gripping head 19 comes into contact with the teeth 25b of the comb-like member 25 and is pulled out from each gripping head 19. It looks like this.

At this time, the elastic member 22 comes to pass through the gap 25a of the comb-like member 25 while being elastically deformed, and the guide member 21 is elongated vertically along the gap 25a so that it can pass through the gap 2Sa. (see FIGS. 5 and 6), thereby giving it a flat conical shape.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the elastic member 22 is formed with an opening 22a consisting of a through hole that communicates the inside of the cylindrical article 3 with the atmosphere, and the elastic member 22 is pulled out from inside the cylindrical article 3. In this case, the inside of the cylindrical article 3 is prevented from becoming negative pressure,
This prevents the soft cylindrical article 3 made of soft synthetic resin from being deformed by the negative pressure, and at the same time allows it to be pulled out smoothly. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 8,
The opening 22a° formed in the elastic member 22° does not need to be a through hole, and may be, for example, a notch formed on the outer periphery thereof.

Next, in FIG. 1, when 11 horizontal rows of cylindrical articles 3 are taken out from the box 2 by the preceding delivery mechanism 14A, the box 2 is moved by the elevating conveyor 8 at the pitch P°.
It will move forward intermittently. Then, when the subsequent delivery mechanism 14B is positioned at the carry-in position A by rotation of the movable frame 13, the gripping head 19 moves forward and backward in the same manner as described above to take out 11 horizontal rows of cylindrical articles 3 from inside the box 2. It becomes like this. At this time, the gripping head 1 of the delivery mechanism 14B
9 is displaced in the column direction at a half pitch %P, so that even if the cylindrical articles 3 are stored in the box 2 in a staggered manner, the cylindrical articles 3 can be taken out smoothly.

The empty box 2 in which all the cylindrical articles 3 have been taken out in this way is carried out from the elevating conveyor 8 via the inclined conveyor 9 and the horizontally disposed fixed conveyor 10. A new box 2 is carried into the carrying-in position A on the conveyor 8, and the above-described operation is repeated.

However, as shown in FIG. 9, an elevating mechanism 31 for supporting and elevating the elevating conveyor 8 is provided on the inclined portion 11a of the fixed frame 11, and the elevating mechanism 31 keeps the elevating conveyor 8 in a constant inclination state. It is possible to raise and lower the holding head 19 at the carry-in position A in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface of the inclined part 11a while maintaining the holding position.

The elevating mechanism 31 has guide shafts 33 erected toward the inclined portion 11a at the four corners of the bottom of the elevating frame 32 constituting the elevating conveyor 8, and these guide shafts 33 are attached perpendicularly to the inclined portion 11a. The cylindrical guides 34 are slidably fitted to each other.

The inclined portion 11a rotatably supports a screw shaft 35 arranged parallel to the guide shaft 33 at an intermediate position between two adjacent guide shafts 33, and each screw shaft 35 is attached to the lifting frame 32. They are screwed into fixed nut members (not shown), and each screw shaft 35 is linked to a motor 37 via a worm gear (not shown) and a drive shaft 36 that is moved by the worm of each worm gear.

Therefore, by driving each screw shaft 35 to rotate synchronously in the forward and reverse directions by the motor 37 via the drive shaft 36 and the worm gear, the elevating conveyor 8 can be raised and lowered in a direction perpendicular to the inclined portion 11a. .

Next, rotary shafts 38 are rotatably supported at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the elevating frame 32.
A sprocket 39 is attached to each end of the chain 8, and two chain chains 40 are hung in parallel between each sprocket 39, and the box 2 is connected at a predetermined interval between both chains 40.
A pressing bar 41 is attached that engages with and transfers it in the direction of the arrow. A servo motor 42 is connected to one of the rotating shafts 38, so that the servo motor 42 can move the chino 40 in the direction of the arrow.

An introduction conveyor 45 is provided between the two chains 40 on the incoming side of the boxes 2, that is, on the side of the inclined conveyor 7, and an inlet conveyor 45 is provided on the outgoing side of the boxes 2 to support the bottom surface of the boxes 2. A slide plate 46 is provided. The introduction conveyor 45 has rotating shafts 47 disposed at both ends thereof, and an endless belt 4 stretched between both rotating shafts 47.
8, and is driven together with the inclined conveyor 7 when introducing the boxes 2 from the inclined conveyor 7 onto the elevating conveyor 8, so that the boxes 2 can be introduced from the inclined conveyor 7 onto the introduction conveyor 45. It has become.

The width of the introduction conveyor 45 is as shown in FIG.
The bottom surface of the box 2 is set narrower than the width of the elevating conveyor 8, and is provided on both sides of the introduction conveyor 45 and whose position is adjustable for guiding the box 2. Slide rail 50 that supports
has been established. As shown in FIG. 9, each slide rail 50 is linked to an air cylinder 51 provided on the elevating frame 32, and the air cylinder 51 moves the slide rail 50 lower than the upper surface of the belt 48 of the conveyor 45. The box 2 can be raised and lowered into a lowered position and a raised position where it slightly protrudes from the top surface and supports the bottom surface of the box 2.

Therefore, the introduction conveyor 45 from the inclined conveyor 7
When the box 2 is delivered to the top, the inclined conveyor 7 and the introduction conveyor 45 are driven simultaneously as described above, the box 2 is carried from the inclined conveyor 7 onto the introduction conveyor 45, and the box 2 is transferred to the introduction conveyor 45. When it is carried to a predetermined position above, a sensor (not shown) detects this and the operation of the introduction conveyor 45 and the inclined conveyor 7 is stopped. In this state, the slide rail 50 is raised by the air cylinder 51, and the boxes 2 on the introduction conveyor 45 are supported by the slide rail 50.

Furthermore, when the box 2 is supported by the slide rail 50, the aforementioned servo motor 42
The press bar 41 provided at 0 is moved forward and comes into contact with the rear surface of the box 2, causing the box 2 to slide forward from the slide rail 50 onto the slide plate 46. When the cylindrical article 3 in the front row in the box 2 is located at the carry-in position A, this is detected by a sensor (not shown) and the forward movement of the box 2 is stopped. On the other hand, when the box 2 is carried out from the slide rail 50 to the slide plate 46, the slide rail 50
is lowered to the original lowering end position by the air cylinder 51.

As described above, the 11 horizontal rows of cylindrical articles 3 in the front row are transferred to one delivery mechanism 14 provided on the movable frame 13.
When taken out by A, the box 2 is moved by the servo motor 42
is intermittently advanced by the pitch P° mentioned above,
The cylindrical articles 3 in the second row are taken out by the next delivery mechanism 14B.

In this way, the box 2 is intermittently advanced to a predetermined point P°, and each delivery mechanism 14A to 1 of the movable frame 13 is
4c and all the cylindrical articles 3 in the box 2 are taken out, the press bar 41 is moved forward by the servo motor 42 and the empty box 2 is transferred to the inclined conveyor 9. to be discharged.

Further, while the delivery mechanisms 14A to 14C are sequentially taking out the cylindrical articles 3 from the boxes 2, the following boxes 2 are introduced from the inclined conveyor 7 onto the introduction conveyor 45 and are supported by the slide rails 50. , the above pressing bar 4
At the same time as the empty box 2 is discharged onto the inclined conveyor 9, the subsequent press bar 41 carries a new box 2 into the carry-in position A.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the inclined conveyor 7 includes a first telescoping frame 56 and a second telescoping frame 57 that are telescopically connected to each other. That is, a pair of left and right guide shafts 58 are fixed to both sides of the first telescoping frame 56 along the transport direction of the box 2, and to each guide shaft 58 are cylinders fixed to both sides of the second telescoping frame 57. The shaped guide 59 is slidably fitted to the first
The telescoping frame 56 and the second telescoping frame 57 are expandable and retractable in the transport direction of the box 2.

A support column 1 forming a part of the fixed frame 11 is provided.
1b, a first connecting shaft 60 is horizontally disposed and fixed, a second connecting shaft 61 is horizontally disposed and fixed to the elevating frame 32, and is provided at the right end of the first telescoping frame 56. The bearing 62 is connected to the first connecting shaft 6 on the fixed frame 11 side.
0, and a bearing 63 provided on the left end of the second telescopic frame 57 is supported pivotally on a second connecting shaft 61 provided on the elevating frame 32.

Therefore, the above-mentioned elevating conveyor 8 is connected to the elevating mechanism 3.
1, the left end of the second telescoping frame 57, which is pivotally supported by the elevating frame 32 of the elevating conveyor 8 via a bearing 63 and the second connecting shaft 61, is also raised integrally, whereby the telescoping frame 56 .57 comes to swing around the first connecting shaft 60 on the fixed frame 11 side. At this time, the distance between the connecting shafts 60 and 61 varies as the elevating frame 32 moves up and down, but this variation can be absorbed by the expansion and contraction of the telescopic frames 56 and 57.

Furthermore, rotating shafts 66 and 67 are rotatably attached to the first connecting shaft 60 and the second connecting shaft 61, respectively, and an endless belt 68 is passed between the rotating shafts 66 and 67. This belt 68 is further extended between a rotating shaft 69 provided on the second telescoping frame 57 and two rotating shafts 70 and 71 provided at both lower end positions of the first telescoping frame 56. The two rotation shafts 67.69 provided on the telescopic frame 57 and the two rotation shafts 66.70 provided on the first telescoping frame 56 substantially maintain the tension of the belt 68 even when both frames 56.57 are extended or contracted. It constitutes a tension adjusting means 72 that keeps the tension constant.

That is, the four rotation shafts 66, 67, 69, 70 constituting the tension adjustment means 72 are connected to the belt 68a between the rotation shaft 66 of the first telescoping frame 56 and the rotation shaft 67 of the second telescoping frame 57; A belt 68b between the two rotating shafts 67, 69 provided on the telescopic frame 57, and a belt 68c between the rotating shaft 69 of the second telescopic frame 57 and the rotating shaft 70 of the first telescopic frame 56 are connected to both frames 56.
57 at a position parallel to the direction of expansion and contraction.

According to such an arrangement, for example, the first telescoping frame 56
When the second telescopic frame 57 is displaced to the right with reference to
is also displaced to the right, thereby shortening the overall length of belt 68a described above by the amount of displacement, but since belt 68c becomes longer by the same amount, the overall tension of belt 68 can be kept substantially constant. .

In addition, the first telescopic frame 56 and the second telescopic frame 57 are provided with support for supporting the belt 68a at the lower part of the belt 68a mentioned above, that is, at the lower part of the belt 68a that conveys the box 2, as shown in FIG. Support plates 76 and 77 are attached respectively. These support plates 76, 77 are provided with interlocking comb-like portions on mutually opposing portions, thereby allowing both frames 56, 57 to expand and contract, and allowing both frames 56, 57 to expand and contract. The belt 68a is always supported by the belt 68a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, an inclined conveyor 9 connected to the box discharge side of the elevating conveyor 8
The structure is substantially the same as that of the inclined conveyor 7 except that the direction is reversed.

Therefore, description of its specific configuration will be omitted.

According to the above configuration, when the elevating conveyor 8 is raised or lowered when changing the height of the cylindrical article 3, the inclined conveyors 7.9 on both sides are inclined accordingly, and the elevating frame 32 is The above-mentioned connecting shaft 60.
61 varies, but this variation can be absorbed by the expansion and contraction of the telescoping frames 56.57 of each inclined conveyor 7.9, and even if the telescoping frames 56.57 expand and contract, the tension of the belt 68 is kept substantially constant by tension adjustment means 72.

Therefore, when changing the height of the cylindrical article 3, it is only necessary to raise and lower the elevating conveyor 8, which makes the work extremely easy. Since this does not change, feeding and discharging the box 2 is also facilitated.

In the above embodiment, the fixed conveyor 6.10 is connected to the double inclined conveyor 7.9, but these conveyors 6.1
0 may be omitted and the box 2 may be carried in and out manually. Also, the tension adjustment means 72 of the endless belt 68 is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be, for example, a chain tensioner or the like. mechanism can be used.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, according to the present invention, the fluctuation in the distance between the lifting frame and the fixed frame caused by raising and lowering the lifting frame can be compensated for by each inclined conveyor connected to the entrance side and the exit side of the lifting frame. Even if the distance between the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft provided in each telescoping frame fluctuates due to the expansion and contraction of the first telescoping frame and the second telescoping frame, the tension adjusting means As a result, the tension of the endless body spanned between both rotating shafts can be kept substantially constant, so that the tension from the supply-side inclined conveyor to the lifting conveyor and the discharge-side inclined conveyor is always maintained regardless of the lifting and lowering of the lifting frame. Smooth conveyance of articles can be maintained.

Since each end of each inclined frame is pivotally connected to the fixed side frame, the end of the fixed side frame of each inclined frame is always at a constant position even when the elevating conveyor is raised or lowered. Even if the elevating frame is raised or lowered, the effect is that articles can always be supplied or discharged from the same position to each tilting frame.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention.
The right side view of the figure, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the box and the cylindrical article,
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of Figure 3, and Figure 5 is the gripping head 1.
9 is an enlarged view of Fig. 9, Fig. 6 is a right side view of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of Fig. 2.
8 is a front view showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view of the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 10 is an enlarged front view of the main part of FIG. 9. 11 is a plan view of the inclined conveyor 7, and FIG. 12 is a front view of FIG. 11. 2... Box 3... Cylindrical article 5...
Box conveyor 6, lO...Fixed conveyor 7.9
... Inclined conveyor 8 ... Elevating conveyor 11 ...
Fixed frame lla... Strut 31... Elevating mechanism 32... Elevating frame 56... First telescopic frame 57... Second telescopic frame 58... Guide shaft 59... Cylindrical guide 66. 67...
・Rotating shaft 72... Tension adjustment means Fig. 3 Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. ! Figure Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] An elevating conveyor that is movable up and down and conveys articles;
An inclined conveyor on the article supply side having one end pivotally connected to the fixed frame and the other end pivotally connected to the lifting conveyor, and one end pivotally connected to the fixed side frame and the other end pivotally connected to the lifting conveyor. a first telescoping frame and a second telescoping frame that are mutually telescoping, and a first rotating shaft pivotally supported by the first telescoping frame; a second rotating shaft pivotally supported by a second telescoping frame; an endless body that is suspended between the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft to convey an article; and a tension of the endless body that is kept substantially constant. 1. An article conveying device comprising a tension adjusting means for maintaining the tension of the article.