JPH0440248B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for packaging articles,
It is specifically designed to automatically and orderly pack items into paper boxes.

A common method for packaging gifts and food-related products is to pack each product into a presentation box, and the products are delivered to consumers via distribution channels while packed in the presentation box. For this reason, packaging materials are lightweight so that they do not become a burden during distribution, have a certain degree of strength to prevent damage to belongings, are inexpensive, and do not cause pollution when discarded by consumers and become garbage.
Various requirements are desired. Due to the above requirements, cardboard or boxes made of corrugated paper are mainly used as packaging materials.

However, paper boxes have the disadvantage that the molded shape is easily changed due to the strength of the folds, hygroscopicity, and temperature. For this reason, it is not suitable for machines to automatically pack items such as gifts, and most of the packing is done manually. In other words, if you simply try to pack the box with an automatic machine, the box will deform when you press the outside surface of the box during positioning, and the amount of deformation of the box will vary greatly depending on the strength and weakness of the folds when forming the box. The dimensional accuracy needed to pack items in an orderly manner cannot be achieved,
It is unsuitable as a gift as it is packed in a messy manner. In extreme cases, items may ride on the edge of the box and crush the box.
Of course, the deformation of the box described above is also influenced by the box's hygroscopicity, temperature, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for packaging articles that can automatically and easily pack articles even in paper boxes. The method of the present invention that achieves this objective involves horizontally transporting a box with an open top surface, lowering a positioning plate in synchronization with the transport of the box, and positioning the box by bringing it into contact with the inner wall of the box. , the apparatus is characterized in that a holding part holds an article, the holding part is lowered using a positioning plate as a guide, and the article held by this holding part is stuffed into a box, and the apparatus horizontally moves a box with an open top surface. a transfer device for transferring the box to a container, a sensor for detecting the transfer position of the box, a positioning plate provided to move up and down, and a holder that is provided to move up and down separately from the positioning plate and holding the article. a stuffing machine provided above the transfer device, a feeder for supplying articles to the holding section, and a positioning plate that lowers the positioning plate in synchronization with the transfer of the box based on the detection signal from the sensor. A control device that controls the stuffing machine to position the box by bringing it into contact with the inner wall of the box, lower the holding section using the positioning plate as a guide, and stuff the articles held by the holding section into the box. It is characterized by consisting of the following.

The present invention will be explained in detail below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2a is a front view showing its detailed structure, and FIG. 2b is a side view showing its detailed structure. As shown in these figures, a paper box 1 with an open top is transported in a horizontal direction by a belt conveyor 2, which is a transport device. A stuffing machine 3 is provided above the belt conveyor 2. This stuffing machine 3 consists of a positioning plate 5 that is moved up and down by an air cylinder 4, and a vacuum suction pad 7 (holding part 7 that is moved up and down by an air cylinder 6). Department). The article 9 fed by the vibrating feeder 8 is suctioned and held by the vacuum suction pad 7. Further, the position of the box 1 in the lateral direction (direction perpendicular to the transport direction) is defined by a guide plate 10. In addition, the stuffing machine 3 is
It can be moved perpendicularly to the transport direction and its position can be adjusted.

The transfer position of the box 1 is detected by an optical sensor 11, and this detection signal is input from a detector 12 to a control device 13. The control device 13 controls the stuffing machine 3 and the belt conveyor 2 as follows based on the detection signal.

(i) The positioning plate 5 is lowered in synchronization with the transport speed of the box 1 and brought into contact with the inner wall of the box 1.

(ii) The belt conveyor 2 is temporarily stopped upon contact.

(iii) In synchronization with the stop time of the belt conveyor 2, the vacuum suction pad 7 holding the article 9 is lowered. At this time, the article 9 descends while sliding onto the positioning plate 5, so the positioning plate 5 functions as a guide.

(iv) Pull up the positioning plate 5 just before the articles 9 are packed into the box 1. This is to prevent the positioning plate 5 from becoming a hindrance when stuffing the articles 9.

(v) Pack the articles 9 into the box 1, and then pull up the vacuum suction pad 7.

(vi) Next, the belt conveyor 2 is driven to transport the box 1 packed with the articles 9.

(vii) The lifted vacuum suction pad 7 holds the article 9 to be packed next.

(viii) Repeat steps (i) to (vii) below to perform the packing operation one after another.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, if a vacuum suction pad 7' capable of holding two articles 9 is used, two articles 9 can be packed at the same time. In this case, the positioning plate 5 is formed in a U-shape so that it can guide two articles 9 at the same time. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, if the tip of the positioning plate 5 is bifurcated, one side is used as a contact part 5a that contacts the inner wall of the box 1, and the other side is used as a guide part 5b that guides the article 9. Articles 9 can be accurately packed into a location.

As specifically explained above in conjunction with the embodiments, according to the present invention, even if the box has large dimensional changes such as a paper box, the positioning plate can position the box based on the inner wall of the box. Since the articles are packed using the positioning plate as a guide, the articles can be accurately packed in predetermined positions within the box without riding on the edge of the box or crushing the box.
Thus, items can be packed automatically.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view schematically showing an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2a is a front view showing its detailed structure, Fig. 2b is a side view showing its detailed structure, and Fig. 3 FIG. 4 is a front view showing a modification of the holding part, and FIG. 4 is a front view showing a modification of the positioning plate. In the drawing, 1 is a box, 2 is a belt conveyor (transfer device), 3 is a stuffing machine, 4 and 6 are air cylinders, 5 is a positioning plate, 7 is a vacuum suction pad (holding part), 8
9 is a vibration feeder, 9 is an article, 11 is a light sensor, 1
3 is a control device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A box with an open top surface is transported horizontally, and a positioning plate is lowered in synchronization with the transport of the box to abut against the inner wall of the box to position the box. 1. A method for packaging an article, which comprises holding the article with a positioning plate, lowering the holding section using a positioning plate as a guide, and packing the article held by the holding section into a box. 2. A transfer device for horizontally transferring a box with an open top, a sensor for detecting the transfer position of the box, a positioning plate provided to move up and down, and a device provided to move up and down separately from the positioning plate. A stuffing machine has a holding section for holding articles and is provided above the transfer device, a feeder for supplying articles to the holding section, and a feeder for transferring the boxes based on detection signals from the sensor. The positioning plate is simultaneously lowered and brought into contact with the inner wall of the box to position the box, and the holding part is lowered using the positioning plate as a guide to pack the articles held by this holding part into the box. An article packaging device comprising: a control device for controlling the stuffing machine.