JPH06206633A - Container separating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a container separating device by which containers stacked in large number stages can be separated and supplied in groups of a single stage each from the lower stage side. CONSTITUTION:After containers 3 equivalent to a single row stacked in large number stages are transferred to/loaded on a roller conveyor 17 of a separating unit 16, the whole containers 3 are raised and stopped in the height where the lowermost stage container 3 is separated. After the containers 3 on the second or higher stages are held once with respective left and right holding members 23 constituting the separating unit 16, the roller conveyor 17 is lowered, and they are separated vertically into the container 3 stacked on the lowermost stage and the containers 3 on the second or higher stages. Or the containers 3 on the second or higher stages are held once and raised by the respective left and right holding members 23, and they are separated vertically into the container 3 stacked on the lowermost stage and the containers 3 on the second or higher stages. The separated lowermost stage container 3 is supplied to the next process by the roller conveyor 17, and the residual containers 3 are separated successively from the lower stage side by driving the separating unit 16, and are supplied to the next process.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a nesting type (trapezoidal) or stacking type (rectangular) container used for carrying fruit and vegetables such as mandarin oranges and watermelons, which are stacked on a pallet in multiple stages. The present invention relates to a container separating device used for the work of unloading the containers one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a separating device for loading and unloading a plurality of stacked containers as in the above example one by one, for example, as shown in FIGS. The trapezoidal containers 3 into which the ... are thrown are stacked in five stages and aligned and placed on the pallet 2, and the containers 3 are transported to the unloading position while being placed on the pallet 2, Each upper container 3 placed on the pallet 2
A transportation conveyor (not shown) which is temporarily lifted up by a separating arm (not shown) to an appropriate height and is disposed near the same position.
There is a device that sequentially transfers the containers 3 ... to and unloads the containers 3 stacked in multiple stages one by one.

[0003]

However, when the containers 3 stacked in a large number of stages as described above are separated by the separation arm, the separation arm has a wide moving range, so that the separation speed is limited and the unit time per unit time. Is not efficient, and it is difficult to make the separation speed correspond to the quality and type of fruit and vegetables put in the container.

As a method of increasing the above-mentioned separation efficiency, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, three upper side containers 3 ... Mounted on the pallet 2 are simultaneously held by an arm mechanism (not shown) at the same time. If you do, each trapezoidal container 3 ...
Since the left and right side surfaces and the front and rear side surfaces are inclined toward the bottom, the long side edge portions 3 of the respective containers 3 ...
b ... abut each other, and each container 3 ...
Since the bottom portions of the containers contact each other and the central container 3 is flipped upward, there is a problem that it is difficult to separate a plurality of containers 3 at the same time.

In view of the above problems, the present invention can increase the separation speed when separating containers stacked in a large number of stages, and can separate the containers according to the quality and type of the fruit and vegetables put into the containers. The purpose is to provide a container separation device.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in the container separating device, the delivering device is provided with an elevating mechanism for delivering the lowermost container separated by the separating device to the delivering position. It is a device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the separating means is a container separating apparatus provided with an elevating mechanism that moves up and down to relatively separate the containers of the second or more stages separated by the separating means. It is characterized by

[0008]

The apparatus according to claim 1 drives the lifting mechanism,
The lowermost container separated by the separating means is moved up and down to the delivery position, and the delivering means is driven to deliver the separated lowermost container to the next step. Similarly, since the elevating means is driven and the containers stacked in multiple stages are sequentially separated from the lower stage side, the impact applied at the time of container separation is reduced, and the separation work can be performed stably.

In the apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the elevating mechanism is driven to vertically move the containers of the second or more stages separated by the separating means to a position where they are relatively separated, and the sending means is driven to separate them. The container at the bottom is sent to the next process. Similarly, since the elevating means is driven to sequentially separate the containers stacked in multiple stages from the lower stage side, the impact force applied when separating the containers is reduced, and the separation work can be performed stably.

[0010]

According to the present invention, since a plurality of stacked containers are vertically separated from each other, the amount of movement when separating the containers vertically is reduced, and the separation speed can be increased and the work efficiency can be improved. it can. Furthermore, since multiple containers arranged in a row can be separated at the same time,
The separation efficiency can be further improved.

Further, by providing the container elevating mechanism on the sending-out means side, the movement when separating the container is only downward, the vibration given to the container is reduced, and the fruit and vegetables which are vulnerable to vibration and impact, for example, It can be applied to apples, oysters, melons, etc.

Further, by providing the container elevating mechanism on the separating means side and providing the sending function only on the sending means side, even when the container is moved in the vertical direction, the separating speed and the sending speed are set. The speed can be increased, the efficiency of the separation work can be improved, and it can be applied to citrus fruits which are relatively susceptible to vibration and impact.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The drawings show a container supply device for sequentially separating and supplying trapezoidal containers stacked in multiple stages on a pallet, and in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is a container group 4 formed by stacking a predetermined number of synthetic resin containers 3 on a rectangular pallet 2 and separating the containers 3 one by one from the lower side of the container group 4 and arranging them in the subsequent stage. Supply to the sorting process or box packing process.

The above-mentioned container 3 is, as shown in FIG.
Attaching metal grips 5, 5 to the short side edges 3a, 3a of the trapezoidal container 3, and rotating the grips 5, 5 on the long side edges 3b, 3b of the container 3. Then, the next-stage container 3 is sequentially placed on each of the grips 5 and 5. For example,
As shown in FIG. 5, with the containers 3 stacked in five stages as one set, five sets are arranged in the length direction of the pallet 2,
In addition, two sets of the pallets 2 are arranged in the width direction, and each container group 4 formed by stacking 50 containers 3 is placed on the pallet 2 and the alignment unit 6 arranged at the front stage of the apparatus. The pallet 2 is transferred to the alignment position A.

The above-mentioned aligning unit 6 faces the opposite side surfaces of the container group 4 placed on the pallet 2 and aligns the aligning plates 7, 7.
Are arranged, and the air cylinders 8,
The piston rod 8 is connected and fixed, and the alignment plates 7 and 7 are moved back and forth in a direction facing both side surfaces of the container group 4 by driving the air cylinders 8 and 8.

On the other hand, the aligning plates 9 and 9 are rotatably supported by the front and rear sides of the container group 4 placed on the pallet 2 so as to be openable and closable, and the rear side of each of the aligning plates 9 and 9 is air-supported. By connecting and fixing the piston rods of the cylinders 10 and 10, by driving the air cylinders 10 and 10, the alignment plates 9 and 9 are rotated in a direction facing the front and rear surfaces of the container group 4. That is, the container group 4 placed on the pallet 2 is pressed from four directions to straighten the stacking posture of the containers 3 arranged in a large number, and then the shipping position of the shipping unit 11 arranged in the next stage. The pallet 2 is transferred to B via an appropriate conveyor.

The above-mentioned shipping unit 11 is a pallet 2
A vertically extending push plate 12 is disposed so as to face the rear surface of the container group 4 placed on the container group 4, and the piston rod of the air cylinder 13 is connected and fixed to the back side of the push plate 12 and the length of the pallet 2 is increased. Guide rails 14 and 14 are installed on the rear side of the container group 4 in parallel with the vertical direction, and an air cylinder 13 is slidably mounted between the guide rails 14 and 14 via a bracket 15.

That is, a motor with a reducer (not shown)
Driving force causes the air cylinder 13 to move in parallel to a position facing the rear surface of the containers 3 arranged in the length direction of the pallet 2, and the air cylinder 13 is driven to arrange the containers 3 arranged in the width direction of the pallet 2. Is extruded from the rear by an extruding plate 12, and a separation unit 16 is provided on the shipping side.
It is transferred to the roller conveyor 17 of. In addition, a motor with a reducer (not shown) corresponding to the movement of the air cylinder 13
Driving force moves the separation unit 16 in parallel to a position facing the front surface of the containers 3 arranged in the length direction of the pallet 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the separating unit 16 is provided on both sides of a roller conveyor 17 formed to have a predetermined length, and the container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 is placed on the upper side.
The attitude regulating plates 18, 18 are arranged so as to face both side surfaces of the
The stacking postures of the container 3 are vertically regulated by the posture regulating plates 18 and 18.

The above-mentioned roller conveyor 17 rotatably supports a large number of rollers 20 on the upper surface side of a mounting frame 19 having an open U-shape and has a U-shape. The container 3 is sequentially transferred to the slat conveyor 21 arranged on the shipping side by being rotated by the driving force of (not shown), and the slat conveyor 21 is driven by the driving force of a motor with a reducer (not shown). The container 3 is supplied to the sorting step or the box packing step arranged in the subsequent stage by rotating in the transfer direction.

On the other hand, the piston rod of the lifting cylinder 22 is connected and fixed to the lower surface of the mounting frame 19, and the container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 is lifted to a predetermined height by driving the lifting cylinder 22. The holding members 23, 23 are disposed so as to face both side surfaces of the second-stage container 3 that has been raised to a predetermined height, and the pistons of the air cylinders 24, 24 are provided on the back side of each holding member 23, 23. By connecting and fixing the rods and driving the air cylinders 24, 24,
Holding members 23, 23 are pressed against both side surfaces of the second stage container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 to temporarily hold the second to upper stage containers 3 as shown in FIG.

A stopper 25 is provided on the shipping side of the roller conveyor 17 so as to be retractable, and the stopper 25 is projected onto the conveying surface by an air cylinder or the like (not shown).
The container 3 transferred from the pallet 2 is stopped on the roller conveyor 17, the stopper 25 is set below the conveying surface, and the container 3 is transferred from the roller conveyor 17 to the slat conveyor 21.

Assuming that the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, the separating operation of the container 3 by the container supply device 1 will be described below.

First, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a container 3 in which a large number of fruit vegetables C such as mandarin oranges are put is placed in a pallet 2.
In addition to stacking the same containers 3 in a predetermined number, a container group 4 formed by stacking a predetermined number of the same containers 3 is placed on the pallet 2, and the pallet 2 is transferred to the alignment position A of the alignment unit 6 arranged in the preceding stage.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the alignment unit 6
The air cylinders 8 and 10 are driven to press the aligning plates 7 and 9 against the side surfaces of the container group 4 placed on the pallet 2, and the container group 4 is pressed from four sides to arrange each of the containers 3 arranged in a large number. After the stacking posture of ... is straightened, the pallet 2 is transferred to the shipping position B of the shipping unit 11 arranged in the next stage.

Next, the air cylinder 13 of the unloading unit 11 is driven to extrude each of the containers 3 and 3 in the first row placed on the pallet 2 from the rear side by the extruding plate 12, and the separation is arranged on the unloading side. Roller conveyor 1 of unit 16
Reprinted in 7.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the separation unit 1
6, the lifting cylinder 22 is lifted to lift the containers 3 and 3 for one row placed on the roller conveyor 17 to a predetermined height, and at the same time, the air cylinders 24 and 24 arranged on both upper side portions are provided. Is driven to press the holding members 23, 23 against the second stage container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 to temporarily hold the second to fifth stage containers 3.

Thereafter, the lifting cylinder 22 is driven downward to lower the roller conveyor 17 to a position horizontal to the slat conveyor 21, and the roller conveyor 17 is rotationally driven in the shipping direction to separate the first stage. Container 3,
3 is transferred to the slat conveyer 21, and the containers 3 are sequentially supplied to the slat conveyer 21 in the sorting step or the box packing step arranged in the subsequent stage.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 3, the roller conveyor 17 is raised, the holding members 23 and 23 release the holding, and the second stage container 3 held at a predetermined height is placed on the roller conveyor 17. Place the roller conveyor 17
And the air cylinders 24, 24 arranged on both upper sides are driven to temporarily hold the third stage container 3 placed on the roller conveyor 17 by the holding members 23, 23. That is, the roller conveyor 17 is moved up and down to sequentially separate the third, fourth and fifth containers 3 held at a predetermined height from the lower side.

On the other hand, the second to fifth columns placed on the pallet 2
The air cylinder 13 and the separation unit 16 of the shipping unit 11 are moved in parallel to the positions facing the front and rear surfaces of the container 3 in the second row, and the containers 3, 3 in the second to fifth rows placed on the pallet 2 are placed. Are sequentially transferred to the roller conveyor 17, and the containers 3 stacked in multiple stages by the separation unit 16 are sequentially separated from the lower stage side and supplied.

As described above, since the containers 3 stacked in a large number of stages are relatively separated vertically, the amount of movement when the containers 3 are vertically separated is reduced, and the separation speed can be increased and the work efficiency can be improved. . Further, since the two containers 3 and 3 can be separated at the same time, the separation efficiency can be further improved. And the roller conveyor 17
By moving up and down by the lifting cylinder 22, the movement when separating the container 3 is only in the downward direction, the vibration given to the container 3 is reduced, and the fruit vegetables vulnerable to vibration and impact,
For example, it can be applied to apples, oysters, melons, and the like.

6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show the left and right holding members 2 respectively.
3 and 23 are moved up and down to show another separation method in which the containers 3 stacked in 5 stages are sequentially separated from the lower stage side. The holding members 23, 23 are arranged at the same position, the air cylinders 24, 24 arranged at both sides of the same position are horizontally fixed on the elevating frames 26, 26, and the air cylinders 24, 24 are arranged at both lower sides. The piston rods of the lifting cylinders 27, 27 are connected and fixed to the lower surfaces of the lifting frames 26, 26.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, after the container 3 on the second stage from the bottom placed on the roller conveyor 17 is once held by the left and right holding members 23, 23, as shown in FIG. , The lifting cylinders 27, 27 are lifted to raise the respective containers 3 of the second or more stages held by the holding members 23, 23 to an appropriate height, and the containers 3, 3 stacked at the bottom stage. Separate only. At the same time, the roller conveyor 17 is driven to separate the lowest containers 3, 3
Are transferred to the slat conveyor 21 and sequentially supplied to the next step. As shown in FIG. 8, the lifting cylinders 27, 27 are lowered to transfer the containers 3 of the second or more stages held by the holding members 23, 23 onto the roller conveyor 17.

Thereafter, in the same manner as described above, the remaining containers 3 mounted on the roller conveyor 17 are held by the left and right holding members 23, 23, respectively, and are sequentially separated from the lower stage side. Similar to the example, the impact force applied during separation is greatly reduced, and separation work can be performed stably,
The left and right holding members 23, 23 are connected to the lifting cylinders 27,
Since the containers 3 and 3 that have been lifted up and down by 27 are sequentially delivered by the roller conveyor 3, the separation speed and the delivery speed can be increased even if the movement when separating the containers 3 is in the up and down direction. The efficiency can be improved, and it can be applied to citrus fruits, which are relatively susceptible to vibration and shock.

In FIG. 9, the pallet 2 on which a large number of containers 3 are placed is intermittently fed by the feed conveyor 28, and the containers 3 on the first to fifth rows placed on the pallet 2 are intermittently fed. , 3 is sequentially loaded and unloaded one row at a time, and another unloading method is shown. The pallet 2 on which 50 containers 3 are placed is placed on the feed conveyor 28 and the loading position from the alignment position A is set. When the pallet 2 is transported to the B, and the pallet 2 is transported to the alignment position A, the alignment unit 6 is driven to straighten the stacking posture of the containers 3 mounted on the pallet 2. When the pallet 2 is conveyed to the unloading position B, the feeding conveyor 28 is intermittently driven to bring the containers 3 and 3 of the first to fifth rows placed on the pallet 2 into the unloading unit 11 one by one. Supply in sequence. At the same time, the unloading unit 11 is driven to sequentially unload the first to fifth rows of containers 3 and 3 placed on the pallet 1 one by one, so that the first row placed on the pallet 2 is unloaded. The unloading work can be performed more efficiently than moving the unloading knit 11 to the positions corresponding to the containers 3 and 3 in the 5th to 5th rows.

In the correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment, the container separating device of the present invention corresponds to the container supplying device 1 of the embodiment, and hereinafter, similarly, the separating means is:
It corresponds to the separation unit 16, the roller conveyor 17, the lifting cylinder 22, the holding member 23, and the air cylinder 24, and the delivery means corresponds to the roller conveyor 17,
The raising / lowering mechanism of the feeding means corresponds to the raising / lowering cylinder 22 of the roller conveyor 17, and the raising / lowering mechanism of the separating means corresponds to the raising / lowering cylinder 27 of the separation unit 16. It is not limited to only.

In the above-described embodiment, the roller conveyor 17 and the holding members 23, 23 are stopped up and down to an appropriate height by a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder. For example, an appropriate lifting means such as a ball screw mechanism or a chain mechanism is used. The roller conveyor 17 and the holding members 23, 23 may be stopped up and down at an appropriate height.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a container supply device.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a separation unit that lifts and lowers a roller conveyor to separate the roller conveyor.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a container holding state of the separation unit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a stacked state of the containers.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a group of containers placed on a pallet.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a separation unit that vertically moves and separates the left and right holding members.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state in which each of the left and right holding members holds a container of a second stage or more.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a state where the lowermost container is held by the left and right holding members.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an operation of intermittently moving a pallet to unload containers one by one.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the container showing the separating operation of the conventional method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Container supply device 2 ... Pallet 3 ... Container 11 ... Shipping unit 12 ... Extrusion plate 13 ... Air cylinder 16 ... Separation unit 17 ... Roller conveyor 22 ... Lifting cylinder 23 ... Holding member 24 ... Air cylinder 27 ... Lifting cylinder

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A separating means for vertically separating a container, which is stacked in multiple stages and supplied to a separating unit, from the lowermost container and the second and higher containers, and the uppermost container separated by the separating means. What is claimed is: 1. A container separating device comprising a sending means for sending the lower container from the separating unit, wherein the sending means is a lifting mechanism for moving the lowermost container separated by the separating means to a sending position. Container separation device equipped with. 2. A separating means for vertically separating a container formed by stacking a large number of stages supplied to a separating unit into a lowermost container and a container of a second or more stages, and a container separated by the separating means. A container separating device comprising a sending means for sending the lower container from the separating unit, wherein the separating means moves up and down in order to relatively separate the second or more containers separated by the separating means. Container separation device equipped with a lifting mechanism.