JPS6218411B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for processing products that are molded and sequentially conveyed by a conveyor, particularly blow-molded synthetic resin bottles, by utilizing the running motion of a conveyor. When arranging the products in a fixed array, checking a predetermined number of the aligned products, and transporting and storing them in a cardboard box, it is necessary to check the predetermined number of products individually and store each product in the cardboard box without any gaps. This relates to a chuck/alignment device for products to be aligned, and more specifically, it is used to align and store a large number of products without gaps in a cardboard box that has a limited volume. It is designed so that it can be inserted into a cardboard box in a closed state.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, there has been a device that uses the running motion of the conveyor to align a large number of molded products that are sequentially conveyed by a conveyor into a fixed array, and then automatically conveys and stores the products in a cardboard box while maintaining the aligned position. It is used in various ways.

In this conventional device, a desired number of alignment partition plates are arranged in parallel on the conveyor at intervals commensurate with the thickness of the products along the running direction of the conveyor, and the products are placed between each alignment partition plate on the conveyor. The products are naturally arranged in parallel on the conveyor by the number of columns according to the number of the alignment partition plates, and the arranged products are transported and stored in the cardboard as they are. It was hot.

For this reason, Fig. 1 shows the cardboard 26 of each product S.
As is clear from the plan view that simply shows how the products are stored inside, the products are lined up in parallel along the running direction of the conveyor.
Although the intervals between the products S in S′ are such that there is no gap at all, the intervals between adjacent products S in the parallel direction are at least equal to the thickness of the alignment partition plate, and Since the products S' in each column are completely arranged in parallel, the gaps formed between each product S are relatively large, and there is never a sufficient number of products S compared to the internal volume of the cardboard box 26. It was hard to say that it was able to store the .

For this reason, it is conceivable to store the products S in the cardboard boxes 26 in parallel in a staggered pattern, but it is true that if the products S are arranged in a staggered pattern in the cardboard boxes 26, they can be stored in the same cardboard box 26. The number of products S that can be produced increases.

As a conventional technique for arranging a large number of products S in parallel in a staggered manner, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-021945 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-017748 are known.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-021945 discloses that a clipper is attached to three support plates arranged in parallel, and the three support plates are linked so as to be mutually movable in parallel. By parallel movement of the book support plate, the products held by each clipper are arranged from a vertically and horizontally parallel arrangement to a staggered column-parallel arrangement.

However, with the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-021945, the number of vertical rows of products that can be arranged in a staggered manner is limited to three, so it is not possible to achieve a staggered arrangement of three or more rows. Since the parts that check must move in the direction of narrowing the distance between the product rows and in the direction of narrowing the distance between the products in one product row, the mechanism for moving between the base plates becomes complicated. Furthermore, since it utilizes parallel movement using a link mechanism, the resulting staggered arrangement of products does not become dense, and parallel movement (this parallel movement causes adjacent product rows to move diagonally). A gap will inevitably be created that allows for the following.

In addition, as in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-021945, the number of vertical columns of products that can be arranged in a staggered manner is up to three, so the Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-017748 has a staggered arrangement in multiple rows of three or more rows. This technology also provides a technology for arranging products in a staggered manner using a chuck mechanism to convey the products. It has not become familiar.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The drawbacks and inconveniences of the above-mentioned conventional technology are that the products arranged in parallel in the vertical and horizontal directions on the conveyor are checked column by column, and the checked product columns are mutually moved diagonally in the horizontal and vertical directions using a link mechanism. By using the product arranging ability of the conveyor, a dense staggered column of products can be created by simply moving the chuck function part (parallel movement in a single direction). Arrangement should be possible, and in this case, the chuck function part can be simply moved, so
The number of product rows to be sorted is not limited to three.

The present invention was devised to solve the problems in the conventional examples described above, and it handles a large number of product rows arranged on a conveyor at the same time, and also handles the chuck by only parallel movement of the chuck function part in a single direction. The technical problem is to arrange the products in parallel columns densely in a staggered manner.

[Means for solving problems]

The means of the present invention utilizes the running of the conveyor CV to move a large number of products S conveyed by the conveyor CV, and the thickness of the products S is placed on the conveyor CV along the running direction (column direction) of the conveyor CV. A predetermined number of alignment partition plates 20 arranged in parallel at intervals equal to
(see FIGS. 2 and 3) and the positioning plates 21 and 22 attached to this alignment dividing plate 20, every other column product S' (see FIGS. 2 and 3)
The product S at the tip of the product S (see figure) is located at the rear of the product S at the tip of the remaining column products S' by half the thickness of the product S (rearward along the direction of conveyance of the product S by the conveyor CV). When transporting and storing a large number of products S arranged vertically in parallel into the cardboard box 26 from the conveyor CV, it is possible to check each product S individually and to arrange each product S in a staggered manner without any gaps during transport. A large number of chuck pieces 4 that chuck the product S using vacuum action are mounted on the lower surface of the base plate 6.
Each product S of the tandem product S' is connected by an individual mounting tube 5.
Provide the same number of chuck bodies 3 as the vertically-column products S', arranged and fixed in a hanging manner at the same interval (the thickness interval of the products S) and in the arrangement direction (same as the vertical direction), and each chuck body 3 is , the chuck pieces 4 at the tips of every other chuck body 3 are arranged in parallel so that they are located behind the chuck pieces 4 at the tips of the remaining chuck bodies 3 by half the thickness of the product S; A guide along the parallel arrangement direction of each chuck body 3 is provided between both side walls 2 (walls located at both ends on the parallel direction side orthogonal to the column direction) of the frame body 1 provided above each chuck body 3. Erecting and fixing the pole 7, a guide bracket 8 fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 6 of each chuck body 3 is slidably fitted to the guide pole 7, and a guide bracket 8 fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 6 of each chuck body 3 is slidably fitted to the guide pole 7; The guide bracket is fixed to the guide pole 7 as a fixed bracket 8' in a non-slidable manner, and the chuck body 3 is located at one end in the parallel arrangement direction.
The cylinder 11 is fixed to a bracket 9 fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 6 of the chuck body 3 located at the other end, and the piston rod 1 of the cylinder 11 is fixed to the bracket 10 fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 6 of the chuck body 3 located at the other end.
2, between adjacent chuck bodies 3, so that these adjacent chuck bodies 3 are no further apart than an opening travel limit equal to the distance between the center lines of adjacent column products S'. Another object of the present invention is to provide a means for setting an open movement limit and an approach movement limit using a stopper structure that prevents products S of adjacent columns S' from coming closer than the abutting approach movement limit.

[Effect]

Since the device of the present invention is constructed as described above, when the piston rod 12 is at the forward limit,
By means of the means for setting the opening movement limit and the approach movement limit, each chuck body 3 assumes a posture in which the distance between them is located at the opening movement limit (see FIG. 5). That is, each chuck piece 4 of the chuck body 3 is
Each product S of the vertical products S' aligned on the CV has exactly the same mutual arrangement relationship. Therefore, if the device of the present invention is moved downward from directly above the products S on the conveyor CV in this state, each chuck piece 4 will be positioned exactly opposite each product S lined up on the conveyor CV. , this opposed product S is checked using vacuum action.

Furthermore, the arrangement of the chuck pieces 4 in each chuck body 3 is exactly the same as the arrangement of the products S in each column product S', so each chuck body 3 carries one column product S'. Since the product S held on one chuck body 3 will be chucked while maintaining the arrangement positional relationship on the conveyor CV of
remains the column product S', and the column products S' held in adjacent chuck bodies 3 are positioned with a space between them, although the products S are arranged in a staggered manner. It turns out.

Once the above-mentioned state of chucking each product S on the conveyor CV with the chuck piece 4 is achieved, when the cylinder 11 is driven and the piston rod 12 is moved backward, the chuck bodies 3 mutually move along the guide pole 7. It approaches the approach movement limit and stops at this approach movement limit position. When each chuck body 3 reaches its approach movement limit, the products S chucked in adjacent chuck bodies 3 come into contact with each other, thereby holding the products S aligned in a staggered manner with no gaps between them. The state will be as follows.

When each chuck body 3 moves, since the central chuck body 3 is fixed to the guide pole 7, each chuck body 3 will spread out and move around the central chuck body 3. The positioning of the apparatus of the present invention with respect to the conveyor CV and the cardboard 26 can be achieved accurately by using the central chuck body 3 as a reference.

〔Example〕

The chuck piece 4 chucks the product S using vacuum action, and has the following structure:
A negative pressure is generated between the product S and the chuck piece 4 by vacuum action, and the product S is directly chucked by this negative pressure, and the displacement caused by the vacuum action is caused by elastic deformation of an elastic body. Convert to
It is thought that the product S is held between the elastic bodies that are elastically deformed.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, a rubber or the like having a tapered surface that allows the upper end of the mouth of the product S to come into close contact with the frame 4a having a downwardly open space into which the mouth of the product S can enter with ample space. A bullet 4b is inserted and assembled, and a through hole 4c communicating vertically is opened in the center of the bullet 4b, so that the product S is directly chucked by negative pressure due to vacuum action, or as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, a through hole 4e that communicates with the inside of the attachment pipe 5 is provided at the attachment base of the frame 4a to the attachment pipe 5.
A suction cup-shaped suction piece 4d having a suction plate 4d is attached, and the suction plate 4g is assembled and positioned on the deformed part 4f' opposite to this suction piece 4d, and the mouth of the product S that has entered the frame 4a is clamped from the side. A clamping piece 4f made of an elastic material such as rubber is assembled into the frame 4a in order to position the clamping part 4f'' at a position where it can be held.

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the opening of the product S enters into the frame 4a due to the downward movement of the chuck piece 4,
The deformable portion 4f' is elastically deformed by the opening of the product S inserted into the frame 4a as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 8, and presses the suction plate 4g against the suction plate 4d.

At this time, due to the deformation of the deformed portion 4f', the holding piece 4f
Since the whole is elastically deformed as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 8, the opening of the product S is held by the holding part 4f''.

On the other hand, the clamping piece 4f that is elastically deformed to clamp the mouth of the product S keeps the suction plate 4g attracted to the suction piece 4d due to the vacuum action that acts through the inside of the attachment pipe 5. The product S will be held between the two until it runs out.

The passages formed in each attachment tube 5 communicate with passages formed in the base plate 6,
It is connected by a pipe to an exhaust pump (not shown).

This configuration is common to each chuck body 3.

Further, as means for setting the opening movement limit and the approach movement limit between adjacent chuck bodies 3, a combination of the stopper plate 13 and stopper pin 15 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be considered.

That is, a stopper plate 13 is fixed on the base plate 6 of the chuck bodies 3 arranged in parallel to set and regulate the distance between adjacent chuck bodies 3. This stopper plate 13 has a flat plate shape, and has an extending portion 13' extending from the base plate 6 of one of the adjacent chuck bodies 3. An elongated hole 14 having a predetermined length along the moving direction of the body 3, that is, the parallel direction, is formed, and a stopper pin 15 protruding from the base plate 6 located below is loosely fitted into the elongated hole 14.

That is, when the cylinder 11 is activated and the distance along the parallel direction of the chuck pieces 4 in the adjacent chuck bodies 3 becomes equal to the distance along the parallel direction of the adjacent column products S' on the conveyor CV, The stopper pin 15 comes into contact with one end of the elongated hole 14 to prevent the gap between the two chuck bodies 3 from increasing any further, and also sets the gap between the two chuck bodies 3, and conversely, the cylinder 11 operates. When trying to bring both chuck bodies 3 closer together, a long distance is required to stop the approach of both chuck bodies 3 at a position where the products S chucked on adjacent chuck bodies 3 come into contact with each other in their body parts. A stopper pin 15 abuts on the other end of the hole 14 to regulate and set the limit of approach movement between the chuck bodies 3.

The means for setting the opening movement limit and the approach movement limit between adjacent chuck bodies 3 is provided by this stopper plate 1.
The combination is not limited to the long hole 14 formed in the base plate 6 and the stopper pin 15. For example, the approach movement limit of both adjacent chuck bodies 3 can be
The width of the chuck bodies 3 may be set to a predetermined value, and the side end surfaces of the base plates 6 may come into contact with each other to set the approach movement limit of the chuck bodies 3. A slide rod is fixed to the plate 5, and a slide bracket that is slidably fitted to the slide rod is fixed on the base plate 6 of the other chuck body 3, and the slide limit of the slide bracket relative to the slide rod is fixed with a pin or the like. It may be configured such that the settings are made.

Conveyor used when implementing the device of the present invention
The CV is preferably relatively wide and has a smooth upper surface, and the alignment partition plate 20, positioning plate 21,
The part where the products S are aligned on the conveyor CV formed by the 22 and 22 is provided near the conveyance end of the conveyor CV, and in the illustrated embodiment, there are nine alignment partition plates 20 including the side plates. Positioning plates 21 and 22 are attached to the tip of the alignment partition plate 20 at every other position so as to block the alignment passage formed between the alignment partition plates 20. . This alignment dividing plate 20 and both positioning plates 21,
In the present invention, the alignment portion formed by This is convenient for the operation of the device.

As means for moving the device of the present invention between the aligned portion formed on the conveyor CV and the cardboard box 26 installed at a predetermined location, various configuration means can be considered, and the configuration is not specified. ,
In the case of the illustrated embodiment, a guide rail 23 is constructed from above the aligned portion on the conveyor CV to above the cardboard 26, a traveling base 24 is attached to the guide rail 23 so as to be freely movable, and a traveling base 24 is attached to the traveling base 24. It consists of an elevating cylinder 25 in which the device of the present invention is assembled and fixed to the tip (lower end in FIG. 4) of the piston rod.

The means for moving the device of the present invention is such that the device of the present invention is placed in a standby position directly above the aligned portion, and each product in the column is moved.
Once S' is formed, the lifting cylinder 25 is operated to lower the device of the present invention and chuck each product S.

Once the product S has been chucked by the device of the present invention, the lifting cylinder 25 is operated in the opposite direction to raise the device of the present invention, and then the traveling base 24
The device of the present invention is transported along the guide rail 23 to just above the cardboard box 26, and the lift cylinder 25 is operated again to lower the device of the present invention that is chucking the product S. Insert it into the cardboard box 26. When the chucked product S reaches the lower limit for inserting into the cardboard box 26, the chuck on the product S by the device of the present invention is released, but the elevating cylinder 25 is reversed after waiting for the chuck on the product S of the device of the present invention to be released. The device of the present invention is raised by operating the device in the direction shown in FIG.

By monitoring changes in the air pressure in the exhaust pipes connected to each chuck body 3, it is possible to easily know whether chuck of the product S by the chuck piece 4 has been achieved. In other words, if the pressure inside the exhaust pipe does not drop to the set negative pressure no matter how long it takes, either chuck piece 4
This means that the product S is not chucked at this time, and conversely, if the pressure in the exhaust pipe quickly drops to the set negative pressure, it means that all the chuck pieces 4 have chucked the product S. Because it means.

Further, as in the illustrated embodiment, the attachment tube 5 preferably has a length equal to the height of the cardboard 26 minus the height of the product S. This is because the products S arranged in a dense staggered manner are tightly stored inside the cardboard box 26, so the base plate 26
This is because there is no room for the frame 1 to enter.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In this way, the device of the present invention can arrange the products S in a dense staggered pattern and store them in the cardboard box 26, so as is clear from FIG.
Cardboard 26 of the same size compared to the conventional one
The number of products S that can be stored inside can be increased.

In addition, since the operation of arranging the products S in a dense staggered pattern requires only a simple linear movement, the time required to complete the operation is short and the configuration is relatively simple, and furthermore, the operation control is simple and stable. It becomes what it is.

Since the chuck bodies 3 are moved in the parallel arrangement direction using the central chuck body 3 as a reference position, the amount of movement of each chuck body 3 can be reduced, and the moving distance between each chuck body 3 can be reduced. Since the setting is only set between 3 adjacent chucks, the setting value can be unified to a single value,
As a result, the configuration for setting the amount of movement between each chuck body 3 can be made extremely simple and accurate.

Furthermore, since the chuck action of the product S utilizes vacuum action, the product S will not be damaged, and the product S will surely come off when the chuck force is released, thus making it possible to obtain a smooth chuck action. .

Furthermore, since it is easy to check and release the chuck on the product S by the chuck piece 4, and to detect the mutual movement limit of each chuck body 3, automatic control using these detection signals can be easily carried out. This makes it easy to automatically control the entire conveyance of the products S from the belt conveyor CV into the cardboard box 26 in a dense staggered arrangement.

As is clear from the above description, the present invention allows products to be easily arranged in a dense staggered pattern, thereby increasing the number of products that can be stored in a cardboard box of the same size. The staggered alignment operation is simple and the configuration is simple, so the operation can be completed in a short time and has many excellent effects such as reliable, smooth and safe operation. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a simplified plan view showing a conventional device in which products are stored and aligned in a cardboard box. Second
The figure is a simplified plan view showing the arrangement of products arranged in a dense staggered pattern on a conveyor by the device of the present invention, and Figure 3 shows the products arranged by the device of the present invention and stored in a cardboard box. FIG. 3 is a simplified plan view showing an example of the arrangement. FIG. 4 is an overall simplified side view showing the mode of movement in which the products on the conveyor are checked by the device of the present invention and transported and stored in a cardboard box. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway overall perspective view showing the structure of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention in a state located directly above products lined up on a conveyor. Figure 6 shows the fifth box located directly above the cardboard box to store the product inside the cardboard box.
1 is a partially cutaway overall perspective view showing the configuration of one embodiment of the device of the present invention shown in the figure. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing one embodiment of the chuck piece, and FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment of the chuck piece. Explanation of symbols, 1; Frame body, 2; Side wall, 3; Chuck body, 4; Chuck piece, 5; Mounting pipe, 6; Base plate, 7; Guide pole, 8; Guide bracket, 8'; Fixed bracket, 9 , 10; Bracket, 11; Cylinder, 12; Piston rod, 1
3; Stopper plate, 13'; Extension part, 14; Long hole, 15; Stopper pin, 20; Alignment partition plate,
21, 22; positioning plate, 23; guide rail,
24; Traveling base, 25; Lifting cylinder, 26;
Cardboard, CV; conveyor, S; product; S′; vertical product.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. As the conveyor CV runs, the conveyor CV
A predetermined number of alignment partition plates 20 are arranged in parallel along the running direction at intervals equal to the thickness of the product S, and a positioning plate 21 is attached to the alignment partition plates 20.
22, a large number of products arranged in parallel such that the tip product S of every other column product S' is located half the thickness behind the tip product S of the remaining column products S'. A chuck/aligning device that chucks the products S individually when transporting and storing the products S from a conveyor CV into a cardboard box 26, and also arranges the products S being transported in a staggered manner without any gaps; A large number of chuck pieces 4 that chuck the products S using vacuum action are individually attached to the lower surface of the base plate 6 and fixed in a hanging manner with each product S of the vertically-column products S' at the same intervals and in the arrangement direction. The same number of chuck bodies 3 as the vertically-column products S' on the conveyor CV consisting of The chuck bodies 3 are arranged in parallel so as to be located at the rear half of the length, and the chuck bodies 3 are placed between both side walls 2 of the frame body 1 provided above the chuck bodies 3 disposed in parallel. ... on the guide pole 7 which is installed and fixed along the parallel arrangement direction.
A guide bracket 8 fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 6 of each chuck body 3 is slidably fitted, and a guide bracket 8 is provided on the chuck body 3 located in the center of the chuck bodies 3 arranged in parallel. The guide bracket is fixed non-slidably to the guide pole 7 as a fixed bracket 8', and the cylinder 11 is fixed to a bracket 9 fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 6 of the chuck body 3 located at one end in the parallel arrangement direction. The tip of the piston rod 12 of the cylinder 11 is fixed to a bracket 10 fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 6 of the chuck body 3 located at the other end of the chuck body 3 in the parallel arrangement direction, and
is not further apart than an open travel limit equal to the distance between the center lines of adjacent column products S′, and
The base plate of the adjacent chuck body 3 is provided with a means for setting the opening movement limit and the approach movement limit using a stopper mechanism to prevent the products S of the adjacent column products S' from coming closer than the abutting approach movement limit. 6
Product chuck/alignment device installed between. 2. The means for setting the opening movement limit and the approach movement limit between adjacent chuck bodies 3 along the parallel arrangement direction is provided by an extension of the stopper plate 13 fixed on the base plate 6 of one chuck body 3. 13' is placed in an extending position on the base plate 6 of the other chuck plate 3, and the extending portion 13' is provided with a length equal to the relative movement distance from the opening movement limit to the approach movement limit of the adjacent chuck bodies 3. Then, a long hole 14 is opened along the parallel arrangement direction, and the chuck body 3 is loosely fitted into the long hole 14 so that it comes into contact with one end of the long hole 14 when the adjacent chuck bodies 3 are at the open movement limit. A stopper pin 15 that comes into contact with the other end of the elongated hole 14 when both chuck bodies 3 are at the limit of approach movement is provided so as to protrude from a base plate 6 located below the extending portion 13'. chuck/array equipment for products listed in item 1.