KR102709831B1 - Cylindrical Can Aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a device for aligning cylindrical cans by inserting them into a tray in units of a predetermined quantity so that they can be easily fed into a subsequent process, and includes a vacuum generator (10), an inclined conveyor (20), a step conveyor (40), a can suction jig unit (80), a tray supply unit (50), a tray transfer support unit (60), and a tray discharge unit (70). The device is expected to have the effects of easy positioning of the device, thereby improving space utilization efficiency, simplifying the configuration, making it easy to manufacture and operate, reducing costs, and improving the stability and reliability of the device.

Description

Cylindrical Can Aligner

The present invention relates to a cylindrical can aligner for secondary batteries, which provides cylindrical cans by inserting one can into each compartment of a tray divided into n × m can receiving sections so that the cans can be easily fed into a subsequent process, and aligning the cans.

Secondary batteries are batteries that can convert chemical energy into electrical energy to power external circuits, and when discharged, they can receive external power and convert electrical energy into chemical energy to store electricity. Their range of applications is expanding beyond various mobile devices to include electric vehicles.

The secondary batteries currently being produced are cylindrical, square, and pouch-shaped, etc. Cylindrical secondary batteries are manufactured by inserting an electrode assembly consisting of a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode into the hollow space inside a cylindrical can with the bottom sealed, and sealing the opening at the top with a cap assembly.

The manufacturing process of the above-mentioned cylindrical secondary battery involves various processes, such as washing and drying a can formed into a cylindrical shape with a sealed bottom using a press, and inserting an electrode assembly into the hollow portion thereof. A process of aligning and transporting the can between each process is essential.

In this regard, the applicant of the present invention, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2438594 (published on August 31, 2022) entitled ‘Cylindrical can sorter for secondary batteries’ discloses a configuration in which cylindrical cans (10) supplied one by one through a conveyor (110) are inserted into a tray in which can receiving portions are divided into n × m sections, and the cylindrical cans are transported to a subsequent process in tray units, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The above-mentioned prior art has an inadequate configuration for feeding cylindrical cans formed in a prior process into a conveyor, so that cylindrical cans discharged in a prior process are not accurately fed into a can sorter, and since the can forming machine and the can sorter of the above-mentioned prior process must be placed close to each other, it causes inconvenience in the operation of the can forming machine and the can sorter, and since the configuration of each part of the can sorter is complex, the production time and production cost increase, and there is inconvenience in operation and maintenance.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2438594

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a cylindrical can sorter which increases the degree of freedom in arrangement between the equipment of a preceding process and the equipment of a subsequent process in the process of manufacturing a cylindrical can for a secondary battery, thereby making factory arrangement easy and efficient, and which facilitates the transport of cylindrical cans between the equipment of the preceding process and the equipment of the subsequent process, and which reduces the manufacturing time and manufacturing cost of the can sorter, and is easy to operate and maintain, and has improved stability and reliability.

The cylindrical can sorter of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems comprises an inclined conveyor (20), a step conveyor (40), a can suction jig unit (80), a tray supply unit (50), a tray transfer support unit (60), and a tray discharge unit (70), and is characterized in that the front end of the inclined conveyor (20) further comprises a vacuum generator (10) for sucking in cylindrical cans discharged from a preceding process and discharging them onto a conveyor belt (21) of the inclined conveyor (20).

And the vacuum generator (10) is characterized by including a hollow cylindrical vacuum generator main body (11), a housing (12) covering a portion of the outer surface of the vacuum generator main body (11), and a spring hose (13) connected to the end of the vacuum generator main body (11).

In addition, the inclined conveyor (20) is characterized by including a conveyor belt (21) formed by an inclined portion that is formed to be inclined from the floor surface to the same height as the loading surface of the step conveyor (40), a horizontal portion that is horizontally connected from the end of the inclined portion to the loading surface of the step conveyor (40) to transport the loaded cylindrical cans upward, a speed control motor (22) that drives the conveyor belt (21), a separation prevention wall (24) that prevents the cylindrical cans loaded on the conveyor belt (21) from coming off, a spring hose fixing member (25) that fixes the spring hose (13) of the vacuum generator (10) to the conveyor belt (21), and a proximity sensor (23) that is arranged on one end of the conveyor belt (21) to detect the transport state of the cylindrical cans.

Meanwhile, the step conveyor (40) is characterized by including a step conveyor belt (41) in which externally protruding partitions are arranged at equal intervals along the entire length of the conveyor belt, each of two adjacent partitions accommodates one cylindrical can, and the transport is stopped while one cylindrical can is inserted, thereby repeating transport and stop, a can presence/absence detection proximity sensor (44) installed at the front end of the step conveyor belt (41) to detect the presence or absence of a cylindrical can, a can inversion confirmation proximity sensor (45) installed at a position adjacent to the can presence/absence detection proximity sensor (44) to check whether the cylindrical can is inverted, and a pair of photo sensors (46) to detect whether a predetermined number of cylindrical cans are present on the step conveyor belt (41).

And the can suction jig unit (80) is characterized by including a suction jig (81) that is connected to a suction cylinder (90) and has a semicircular groove formed to accommodate a predetermined number of cylindrical cans (1) and supports one side of the predetermined number of cylindrical cans (1), a rotary cylinder (82) that rotates the suction jig (81) from horizontal to vertical or in the opposite direction, a square air cylinder (86) that moves the suction jig (81) up and down, and a guide pin (92) that accurately guides the suction jig (81) to the insertion port position of the tray.

And the tray supply unit (50) includes a frame (51) composed of a lower horizontal frame (51a) that is coupled horizontally to the upper surface of the base (100), two vertical frames (51b) that are coupled orthogonally upward from both ends of the lower horizontal frame (51a) and are arranged to face each other, and an upper horizontal frame (51c) that connects the upper ends of the two vertical frames (51b) to be horizontally coupled, and the two vertical frames (51b) are each composed of two fixed members (53a) and one movable member (53b) made of a metal plate having a predetermined width, and the fixed members (53a) are arranged at a predetermined interval, and the movable member (53b) is arranged between the two fixed members (53a), and a plurality of members (53a and movable members) are provided at the same height with a predetermined interval along the vertical direction. It is characterized in that the holes are formed to penetrate and the support claws for supporting the tray are received in the holes.

In addition, a tray transfer cylinder (55) is mounted on the upper side of the two fixed members (53a) so that its piston rod reciprocates up and down, and the piston rod has a support claw accommodated in the long hole of the fixed member (53a) via a connecting rod so as to protrude outside the long hole or be accommodated inside the long hole, and a tray transfer cylinder (55) is also mounted on the upper side of the movable member (53b), and its piston rod is connected to the upper end of the movable member (53b) so as to raise and lower the movable member (53b).

The cylindrical can sorter according to the present invention is expected to have the effects of improving space utilization efficiency by making it easy to adjust the position of the equipment, reducing production costs by making the configuration simple and easy to manufacture and operate, and improving the stability and reliability of the equipment.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a cylindrical can aligner for secondary batteries according to the prior art.
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a cylindrical can aligner of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a cylindrical can aligner of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a vacuum generator of the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an inclined conveyor of the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a bypass unit of the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a step conveyor of the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a tray supply unit of the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a tray transfer support part of a cylindrical can sorter of the present invention, (a) is a perspective view showing a tray support member installed on the upper surface of a base of the present invention, and (b) is a perspective view of the tray transfer support part.
Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing a can suction jig unit of a cylindrical can sorter of the present invention, (a) is a side view in a standby state, and (b) is a front view showing a state immediately before inserting a cylindrical can into a tray.

Hereinafter, a cylindrical can aligner for secondary batteries according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the cylindrical can, which is the target of alignment of the present invention, is a cylindrical can with one side closed and the other side open, the tray is made of iron wire and is divided into n×m cylindrical can insertion ports in a width×length ratio, the insertion and discharge of the cylindrical can is performed through the upper surface of the tray, the lower surface and the side surfaces are closed with iron wire to prevent the cylindrical can from passing through, and the height is configured to be higher than the height of the cylindrical can to be accommodated.

In addition, the tray supply unit (50) is installed at the front (front) based on the base (100) of the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention, and the tray discharge unit (70) is installed at the rear (back).

Descriptions of other previously known matters are omitted or simplified to clarify the gist of the present invention.

The cylindrical can sorter for secondary batteries of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises: a vacuum generator (10) for sucking cylindrical cans discharged from a preceding process from a position where the cylindrical cans are seated and for discharging them to the other side; an inclined conveyor (20) for transporting cylindrical cans discharged from the vacuum generator (10) upward along an inclined path; a step conveyor (40) for loading cylindrical cans discharged from the end of the inclined conveyor (20) and transporting them in a horizontal direction; a can suction jig unit (80) for sucking cylindrical cans transported by the step conveyor (40) by a predetermined quantity unit and moving them to a predetermined cylindrical can insertion position and then inserting them into a tray waiting at the cylindrical can insertion position; a tray supply unit (50) that serves as an inlet for supplying empty trays to the cylindrical can sorter from the outside; an empty tray supplied to the tray supply unit (50) for transporting the empty trays to the cylindrical can insertion position. It comprises a tray transfer support unit (60) for transporting a tray with a cylindrical can inserted therein to a tray discharge unit (70) and a tray discharge unit (70) for transporting a tray with a cylindrical can inserted therein to the outside of a cylindrical can sorter, and a bypass unit (30) is further provided between the inclined conveyor (20) and the step conveyor (40) for removing a cylindrical can transported from the inclined conveyor (20) from the transport path in the event that the operation of the step conveyor (40) stops for an unexpected reason.

A cylindrical can sorter of this type is a device that sorts a plurality of cylindrical cans for secondary batteries by inserting them into a designated tray so that they can be easily fed into a subsequent process, and operates in conjunction with a preceding process that discharges cylindrical cans individually, such as a molding machine for cylindrical cans for secondary batteries.

Looking specifically at the detailed configuration of each component of the cylindrical can sorter mentioned above, as shown in Fig. 4, the vacuum generator (10) is configured to include a hollow cylindrical vacuum generator main body (11), a housing (12) covering a portion of the outer surface of the vacuum generator main body (11), and a spring hose (13) connected to the end of the vacuum generator main body (11).

The front end of the above vacuum generator main body (11) is positioned at a position where the cylindrical cans discharged individually in the preceding process are settled, so that the cylindrical cans are sucked in along their length and then discharged through the end end of the vacuum generator main body (11) so as to be loaded onto the upper surface of the conveyor belt (21) of the inclined conveyor (20) via the spring hose (13). Therefore, the inner diameter of the vacuum generator main body (11) and the spring hose (13) is slightly larger than the diameter of the cylindrical can so that the cylindrical cans can be transported smoothly.

Therefore, the vacuum generator (10) has the effect of accurately placing the cylindrical can discharged from the preceding process on the conveyor belt (21) of the inclined conveyor (20).

In addition, the spring hose (13) is made of a flexible material, so it can be easily bent, and its length can be easily adjusted as needed, so it can be easily changed by considering the location and spacing of the equipment of the preceding process and the cylindrical can sorter. Therefore, the arrangement of each equipment can be easily adjusted, and furthermore, it has the effect of increasing the space efficiency of the factory.

The inclined conveyor (20) is a component that transports a cylindrical can discharged from a vacuum generator (10) upward along the length of the cylindrical can so that it is loaded onto a step conveyor belt (41) of a step conveyor (40). The inclined conveyor (20) is supported by a frame forming the skeleton of the inclined conveyor (20) and includes a conveyor belt (21) on which a cylindrical can is loaded, a speed control motor (22) that drives the conveyor belt (21), a separation prevention wall (24) that prevents the cylindrical can loaded onto the conveyor belt (21) from being detached, a spring hose fixing member (25) that secures the spring hose (13) of the vacuum generator (10) to the conveyor belt (21), and a proximity sensor (23) that is arranged on one end of the conveyor belt (21) and detects the transport state of the cylindrical can.

The above-mentioned inclined conveyor (20) includes a conveyor belt (21) formed by an inclined portion formed to be inclined from the floor surface where the cylindrical can sorter is installed to the same height as the loading surface of the step conveyor (40), a horizontal portion horizontally connected from the end of the inclined portion to the loading surface of the step conveyor (40), a guide roller installed at a connection portion of a frame supporting the inclined portion and the horizontal portion to change the moving direction of the conveyor belt (21), a drive roller installed at the end of the horizontal portion to drive the conveyor belt (21), a driven roller installed at the front end of the inclined portion to reverse the moving direction of the conveyor belt (21), and a plurality of tension rollers installed at the lower side of the frame to adjust the tension of the conveyor belt (21), and a plurality of magnets are embedded in a row at a predetermined interval on the upper surface of the inclined portion and the circumference of the guide roller so that the cylindrical cans loaded on the upper surface of the inclined portion of the conveyor belt (21), i.e., the loading surface, are in close contact with the upper surface of the inclined portion of the conveyor belt (21). The cylindrical cans transported upward along the inclined portion of the conveyor belt (21) are prevented from slipping and falling.

The above conveyor belt (21) is a thin, long, strip-shaped plate-shaped member that is not elastic and has a non-slip surface treatment or is made of a material with an appropriate surface friction coefficient so that the loaded cylindrical cans are transported smoothly without slipping.

And the speed control motor (22) driving the conveyor belt (21) is configured as a servo motor capable of controlling the transport speed of the conveyor belt (21), and a separation prevention wall (24) is installed parallel to both sides of the inclined portion and the horizontal portion to prevent the separation of the cylindrical cans loaded on the conveyor belt (21) and being transported, and to enable the cylindrical cans to be discharged to a predetermined position and accurately loaded into the loading position of the step conveyor (40). The separation prevention wall (24) is installed over the entire section of the inclined portion and the horizontal portion, and its height may be such that the center of the cylindrical can being transported is accommodated, and the gap between the separation prevention walls (24) on both sides is set to be the same as the loading gap of the step conveyor (40) so as to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical can so as not to interfere with the transport, and to be exactly aligned with the loading position of the step conveyor (40).

In addition, the spring hose fixing member (25) is installed facing each other on both sides of the front end of the conveyor belt (21), and is composed of a pair of walls having a height capable of accommodating the spring hose (13), and a cover member that presses and fixes the spring hose (13) accommodated between the pair of walls so that the bottom surface thereof contacts the upper surface of the conveyor belt (21) and prevents it from coming off.

And the above proximity sensor (23) detects a cylindrical can loaded and transported on a conveyor belt (21) and notifies the control unit (not shown) so that the control unit can change the driving speed of the conveyor belt (21) or stop it.

A conveyor belt (21) like this is expected to have a simpler structure than conventional technology using multiple ropes, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

Meanwhile, in the case where the step conveyor (40) stops operating or operates abnormally for an unexpected reason while cylindrical cans are normally supplied to the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention in the preceding process, the loading of cylindrical cans onto the step conveyor (40) must be stopped until the step conveyor (40) operates normally.

To this end, a bypass unit (30) is installed on the horizontal portion of the conveyor belt (21), and the bypass unit (30) is configured to include, as shown in FIG. 6, a bypass rotation roller (31) that detaches a cylindrical can from the horizontal loading surface of the conveyor belt (21), a speed control motor (32) that drives the bypass rotation roller (31), a bypass block (33) that guides the cylindrical can discharged from the bypass rotation roller (31) toward a storage box where it can be temporarily stored, and a vertical movement cylinder (34) that moves the bypass rotation roller (31) up and down.

The above bypass rotation roller (31) is a disc-shaped member to which one end of a driving shaft is connected at the center, and a U-shaped groove is formed on the circumference thereof to accommodate a cylindrical can, and a plurality of magnets are embedded at a predetermined interval on the bottom of the U-shaped groove, and the depth of the U-shaped groove is formed to be the same as the height of the detachment prevention wall (24), and the bypass unit (30) is arranged so that the U-shaped groove is aligned with the transport direction of the conveyor belt (21).

And the above speed control motor (32) is a motor coupled to the other end of the driving shaft to drive the bypass rotation roller (31), and adopts a servo motor capable of changing the rotation speed so that the transport speed of the cylindrical can accommodated and transported in the U-shaped groove and the transport speed of the conveyor belt (21) are synchronized.

In addition, the bypass block (33) is formed so that the cylindrical can movement path is formed in a curved shape, and the cylindrical can entry-side surface and the discharge-side surface of the bypass block (33) are formed at right angles, and the bottom surface of the entry-side cylindrical can movement path is arranged to be in contact with the bottom surface of the U-shaped groove of the bypass rotation roller (31), so that the cylindrical can movement path of the bypass block (33) is connected from the U-shaped groove without a step, so that the cylindrical can is discharged smoothly.

And the above-mentioned vertical movement cylinder (34) is a component that moves the above-mentioned bypass rotation roller (31) up and down. When the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention operates normally, the above-mentioned bypass rotation roller (31) is positioned at an upper standby position spaced apart from the loading surface of the conveyor belt (21) by a predetermined distance. When the cylindrical can conveyed by the above-mentioned conveyor belt (21) needs to be bypassed, the above-mentioned bypass rotation roller (31) is lowered so that the gap between the bottom surface of the above-mentioned U-shaped groove and the loading surface of the above-mentioned conveyor belt (21) becomes the same gap as the outer diameter of the above-mentioned cylindrical can. The above-mentioned bypass rotation roller (31) is rotated at a circumferential speed equal to the transporting speed of the above-mentioned conveyor belt (21) by the above-mentioned speed control motor (32). Accordingly, the cylindrical cans transported by the conveyor belt (21) are received on the upper outer surface of the U-shaped groove of the rotating bypass rotation roller (31), and are attached by the magnetic force of the magnet embedded in the U-shaped groove, and move along the circumference of the bypass rotation roller (31) and are discharged into the cylindrical can storage box through the movement path of the bypass block (33). Thereafter, when the operation of the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention is normalized, the vertical movement cylinder (34) raises the bypass rotation roller (31) and positions it in the standby position, and the cylindrical cans received in the cylindrical can storage box are fed into the inclined conveyor (20) through the vacuum generator (10) when the preceding process is stopped.

The conventional technology related to the bypass of cylindrical cans installs an inclined conveyor and a horizontal conveyor separately, and installs a connecting transport path connecting the two conveyors between the inclined conveyor and the horizontal conveyor, wherein the connecting transport path is structured to enable the transport path of the cylindrical can to be interrupted by rotating around a hinge on one side, and when the cylindrical can being transported needs to be bypassed, the connecting transport path is disconnected so that the cylindrical can being transported falls and is accommodated in a cylindrical can storage box. On the other hand, when the bypass unit (30) of the present invention is applied, a single inclined conveyor (20) including an inclined portion and a horizontal portion replaces the inclined conveyor and the horizontal conveyor of the conventional technology, and since a separate connecting transport path is unnecessary, the configuration is expected to be simplified.

The step conveyor (40) is configured to receive cylindrical cans discharged from the inclined conveyor (20) and arrange them in a row, and as shown in FIG. 7, is installed on a support frame having a predetermined height and comprises a step conveyor belt (41) for transporting cylindrical cans, a drive unit (42) consisting of a servo motor and a reducer for driving the step conveyor belt (41), a can guide block (43) installed on both sides of the transport path of the step conveyor belt (41) to prevent the cylindrical cans being transported from coming off, a can presence/absence detection proximity sensor (44) installed at a position close to the front end of the step conveyor belt (41) but spaced a predetermined distance upward so as not to come into contact with the upper surface of the step conveyor belt (41) to detect the presence/absence of cans, and a can presence/absence detection proximity sensor (44) installed at one side of the step conveyor belt (41) but adjacent to the can presence/absence detection proximity sensor (44) to check whether the cans are inverted. It includes a can reversal confirmation proximity sensor (45) and a pair of photo sensors (46) that detect whether the cans loaded and being transported on the step conveyor belt (41) have reached a set quantity, but an origin sensor (not shown) is additionally provided on one side of the driving shaft of the driving unit (42).

The support frame is composed of two legs, the lower part of which is fixed to the upper surface of the base (100) of the cylindrical can sorter of the present invention, and the step conveyor belt (41) is installed on the upper surface formed by connecting the upper parts of the two legs.

The above step conveyor belt (41) has partitions protruding outward from the surface of the conveyor belt at equal intervals and installed over the entire length of the step conveyor belt (41), and one cylindrical can is received and aligned in each loading compartment formed between two adjacent partitions, and the cylindrical can is transported in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction by aligning the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical can with the width direction of the conveyor belt. Accordingly, the cylindrical can discharged from the inclined conveyor (20) is loaded directly onto the step conveyor belt (41) without going through a separate direction change process, thereby achieving the effect of simplifying the configuration.

Meanwhile, the spacing of the loading compartments based on the transport direction of the step conveyor belt (41) is the same as the width of each compartment formed in the tray into which the cylindrical can is inserted, and is the same as the one-time transport interval (pitch) of the step conveyor belt (41) that repeats transport and stop.

And the step conveyor belt (41) loads a cylindrical can while stationary, transfers the step conveyor belt (41) one pitch, then stops and loads another cylindrical can again, repeating the process. To precisely control this step transfer, a servo motor is applied to the drive unit (42).

In addition, the can presence detection proximity sensor (44) detects whether a cylindrical can is loaded in the loading compartment of the step conveyor belt (41), and stops the transport of the step conveyor belt (41) when the cylindrical can is not loaded, and the can reversal confirmation proximity sensor (45) detects the loading direction of the cylindrical can loaded in the loading compartment of the step conveyor belt (41), and issues an alarm if the direction does not match a predetermined direction so that corrective action can be taken.

And, at the end of the step conveyor belt (41), a photo sensor (46) configured by arranging a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit on both sides is installed to detect the leading edge of a group of cylindrical cans arranged in a single row on the step conveyor belt (41), and at a position spaced apart from the photo sensor (46) of the end by a predetermined loading section, a photo sensor (46) having the same configuration as the photo sensor (46) is installed to detect the leading edge of the group of cylindrical cans, thereby suction-moving a predetermined number of cylindrical cans, i.e., the group of cylindrical cans, to a can suction jig unit (80) and inserting them simultaneously into a waiting tray.

And, a drive shaft is coupled to the drive roller of the step conveyor (40), and a drive unit (42) composed of a servo motor and a reducer is connected to one end of the drive shaft, and an origin sensor is installed at the other end of the drive shaft so as to be adjacent to the outer surface of the drive shaft, which indicates the difference between the current position of the step conveyor belt (41) and a reference point so that the transport direction position of the step conveyor belt (41) can be adjusted so that the loading compartment of the step conveyor belt (41) and the end portion of the inclined conveyor (20) exactly align with each other so that cylindrical cans can be loaded smoothly.

A step conveyor (40) like this operates as follows.

First, the worker adjusts the position of the step conveyor belt (41) based on the above-described origin sensor, and when the step conveyor (40) is operated, the can presence/absence detection proximity sensor (44) detects whether a cylindrical can is loaded and transports the step conveyor belt (41), and the can inversion confirmation proximity sensor (45) installed at an adjacent position detects the loading direction of the cylindrical can, and if a cylindrical can loaded in a different direction from a predetermined direction is found, corrective action is taken and then transport of the cylindrical can is continued. By repeating this process, when the leading edge of a group of cylindrical cans is detected by a photo sensor (46) installed at the end of a step conveyor belt (41), and when a cylindrical can is also detected by a photo sensor (46) installed at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the front edge of the step conveyor belt (41), a predetermined number of cylindrical cans are aligned in a row, and the process of moving the aligned cylindrical cans at once by a can suction jig unit (80) and inserting them into a tray is repeated.

As shown in Fig. 10, the above can suction jig unit (80) is configured to include a suction jig (81) that suctions and supports one side of a cylindrical can (1), a rotary cylinder (82) that rotates the suction jig (81) from horizontal to vertical or in the opposite direction, and a square air cylinder (86) that moves the suction jig (81) up and down.

The above-mentioned adsorption jig (81) has a predetermined number of semicircular grooves formed with a radius that can accommodate cylindrical cans (1) and has the same spacing as the partition walls formed on the step conveyor belt (41). At this time, the number of the semicircular grooves is determined by considering the number of can insertion holes partitioned in the tray and whether to fill one row of can insertion holes of the tray at once or in two parts.

And the width of the above-mentioned suction jig (81) is determined so that it absorbs and supports only less than half of the total length of the cylindrical can (1) when the cylindrical can (1) is placed horizontally.

In addition, the adsorption jig (81) performs an adsorption and separation operation of a cylindrical can (1) by means of an adsorption cylinder (90), rotates or reverses the rotation axis in a right angle direction by means of a rotary cylinder (82) connected via a coupling (83), and reciprocates up and down by means of a square air cylinder (86) driven by a solenoid valve (87) equipped with a manifold.

This can suction jig unit (80) operates as follows.

First, the suction jig (81) is kept horizontal as shown in (a) of Fig. 10 and is placed at a predetermined distance above the step conveyor belt (41), and when a preset number of cylindrical cans (1) are positioned in a predetermined section of the step conveyor belt (41), the piston rod of the square air cylinder (86) operated by the solenoid valve (87) is lowered to lower the suction jig (81) to the upper surface of the cylindrical can (1) on the step conveyor belt (41), and the suction cylinder (90) is operated to adsorb one side of the cylindrical can (1) to the suction jig (81), and while keeping the cylindrical can (1) horizontal, the piston rod of the square air cylinder (86) is raised to return the suction jig (41) to its original position.

Thereafter, the above-mentioned suction jig (81) moves along the rail installed on the upper side of the can suction jig unit (80) by the proximity sensor (84) and the control unit (not shown) to be positioned on the upper side of the waiting tray, and the rotary cylinder (82) rotates the suction jig (81) so that the end of the cylindrical can (1) that is not suctioned faces downward, that is, so that the suction jig is in a vertical state, and the guide pin (92) is lowered first by the square air cylinder (86) to a position slightly lower than the lower end of the cylindrical can (1) (Fig. 10 (b)), and then the guide pin (92) and the suction jig (81) are lowered simultaneously by the square air cylinder (86), and the suction jig (81) is lowered until the part of the cylindrical can (1) that is not suctioned by the suction jig (81) is partially inserted into the insertion port of the tray, and the suction cylinder (90) is stopped so that the cylindrical can (1) is Drop it so that it is fully inserted into the tray.

Finally, the suction jig (81) returns to the initial standby position by performing the insertion operation described above in reverse order, and by repeating this operation, a cylindrical can (1) is inserted into the empty tray.

Other drawing symbol 85 is a ball bushing that guides a support plate on which a square air cylinder (86) is installed in a vertical direction, 88 is a spring that supports a pusher block (89), and 91 is a floating joint attached to the tip of a piston rod.

This type of can suction jig unit (80) uses a suction cylinder (90) to suction a cylindrical can (1) onto a suction jig (81), so it has a simpler configuration than conventional technology and has the effect of improving the safety and reliability of suction.

The input, transfer and discharge of the trays are carried out by moving from one side of the base (100) to the other side perpendicular to the step conveyor belt (41), with the tray supply unit (50) positioned in front, followed by the tray transfer support unit (60) and the tray discharge unit (70).

The tray supply unit (50) is configured to act as an inlet for empty trays to be fed in from the outside, and is configured to include a frame (51) forming the skeleton of the unit, supports for each component, and driving members, as shown in Fig. 8.

First, the frame (51) is composed of a lower horizontal frame (51a) that is joined horizontally to the upper surface of the base (100), two vertical frames (51b) that are joined orthogonally upward from both ends of the lower horizontal frame (51a) and arranged to face each other, and an upper horizontal frame (51c) that is joined horizontally by connecting the upper ends of the two vertical frames (51b).

The above lower horizontal frame (51a) is a metal plate having a predetermined width, and is formed with two ball bushings (52) penetrating through the middle thereof, and is fixedly connected to the upper surface of the base (100) via a ball screw (not shown), so that the installation position of the frame (51) can be finely adjusted in the vertical direction.

The above two vertical frames (51b) are each composed of two fixed members (53a) and a movable member (53b) made of a metal plate having a predetermined width, and the fixed members (53a) are arranged at a predetermined interval, and the movable member (53b) is arranged between the two fixed members (53a), and a plurality of long holes are formed to penetrate through the fixed members (53a) and the movable member (53b) at the same height and at a predetermined interval along the vertical direction, and support claws for supporting trays are received in the long holes, and the support claws protrude into the frame (51) to support the bottom surface of the tray or are received inside the long holes.

The upper horizontal frame (51c) is a plate that is fixedly joined to the upper surface of the fixed member (53a) of the two vertical frames (51b), and an operation stop switch button (54) is installed at the upper center thereof so that an operator can stop the operation of the tray supply unit (50) when necessary. In addition, the upper horizontal frame (51c) is formed with a protrusion so as to protrude outwardly from the two vertical frames (51b), and a through hole is formed on the upper side of the movable member (53b) of the two vertical frames (51b) so that the movable member (53b) can reciprocate up and down, and a tray transfer cylinder (55) is mounted on each of the protrusions, and a through hole is formed so that the piston rod of the tray transfer cylinder (55) can reciprocate up and down.

The piston rod of the above tray transfer cylinder (55) operates a support claw accommodated in the hole of the above fixed member (53a) via a connecting rod (not shown) to protrude out of the hole or be accommodated inside the hole.

Meanwhile, a first support plate (57a) is installed at a predetermined interval on the upper side of the upper horizontal frame (51c) via a plurality of ball screws (56) and ball bushes (52), and a tray transfer cylinder (55) is mounted on each side of the upper surface of the first support plate (57a). The piston rod of the tray transfer cylinder (55) penetrates the first support plate (57a) in the vertical direction and is connected to the upper side of the movable member (53b) so as to reciprocate the movable member (53b) in the vertical direction. As the movable member (53b) reciprocates, the support claws accommodated in the long holes formed in the movable member (53b) protrude to support the tray or are accommodated inside the long holes. When the movable member (53b) is lowered, the support claws protrude outside the long holes, and when it is raised, they are accommodated inside the long holes.

And, a second support plate (57b) is installed at a predetermined interval on the upper side of the first support plate (57a), and a solenoid valve (59) including a servo motor (58) and a manifold is installed on the upper surface of the second support plate (57b). The servo motor (58) can change the position of the movable member (53b) by adjusting the vertical position of the first support plate (57a), thereby finely adjusting the reference position of the movable member (53b), and the solenoid valve (59) provides operating air pressure to each tray transfer cylinder (55) through the manifold.

In addition, a guardrail (not shown) is formed on the inside of the two vertical frames (51b) to prevent the entry of trays. Since there is no guardrail directly above the lower horizontal frame (51a), the inserted tray can enter the tray transfer support unit (60), and a proximity sensor capable of detecting the presence or absence of a tray is provided at the entry position where the tray can enter the tray transfer support unit (60) from the tray supply unit (50).

This tray supply unit (50) operates as follows. First, when work is first started or when the absence of trays is detected in the tray supply unit (50) by a proximity sensor that detects the presence or absence of trays, the worker inserts empty trays loaded on the carrier and waiting into the frame (51) one by one into a position where the support claws protrude into the inside of the frame (51) to support the trays. Then, the support claws of the fixed members (53a) are received into the long hole, and the trays are lowered while being supported horizontally by the support claws of the movable members (53b) and moved to the bottom of the frame (51) to be stacked. At this time, the support claws of the fixed members (53a) protrude to support the bottom surfaces of the stacked trays, and the movable members (53b) rise while the support claws are received inside the long hole and return to the original position, repeating the process.

The tray transfer support member (60), as illustrated in FIG. 9, comprises four pairs of tray support members (61) that each support the bottom surface of both ends of the tray, an LM guide (Linear Motion Guide; 62) that is installed between the four pairs of tray support members (61) and comprises a distance detector such as an encoder and a servo motor, and a transfer member (64) that is installed on the LM guide (62) and has three tray supports (63) arranged at equal intervals, and the tray supports (63) are configured to support the central portion of the bottom surface of the tray so as not to overlap the support portion of the tray support members (61).

And the tray discharge unit (70) is installed at the very back of the upper plate of the base (100), and is substantially the same in configuration as the tray supply unit (50). However, the tray supply unit (50) moves an empty tray from the upper side to the lower side between two facing vertical frames (51b), whereas the tray discharge unit (70) moves a tray with a cylindrical can inserted from the lower side to the upper side between two facing vertical frames, and further, a proximity sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a tray is arranged not only on the lower side of the frame but also on the upper side to notify the operator that the frame is full of trays, thereby preventing the occurrence of unexpected accidents.

The input, transfer, and discharge operations of the tray according to this configuration are as follows.

First, when the worker inserts a plurality of empty trays into the tray supply section (50) in the upper tray insertion space formed by protruding all of the support claws, the support claws of the fixed members (53a) on both sides opposite each other retract and are stored inside the long hole, and the support claws of the movable members (53b) on both sides maintain the protruding state so as to support the bottom surface of the empty tray that has been inserted and descend. When the descending empty tray reaches just above the entry position on the upper surface of the lower horizontal frame (51a), a proximity sensor detects whether a tray exists at the entry position, and if a tray exists, the descent of the tray is stopped, the support claws of the fixed members (53a) on both sides protrude to support the bottom surface of the tray, and the support claws of the movable members (53b) on both sides are stored inside the long hole, and the movable member (53b) rises to return to the original position so that the process of transporting the next empty tray that is inserted can continue.

Meanwhile, if there is no tray at the entry position, the tray is lowered to the entry position and supported by a pair of tray support members (61) of the tray transfer support member (60) waiting at the entry position, and the support claws of the movable members (53b) on both sides are stored inside the hole, and the movable member (53b) rises to the original position to continue feeding empty trays, so that empty trays are stacked and waiting inside the tray supply member (50).

And when the control unit notifies that there is no tray on the tray support member (61) located at the cylindrical can (1) insertion position (alignment position) of the adsorption jig (81), the four pairs of tray support members (61) are lowered below the upper surface of the tray support member (63) of the moving unit (64). Accordingly, the bottom surface of the tray is supported by the tray support member (63) of the moving unit (64), and the tray support member (63) moves one step at a time by the LM guide (62) from the tray entry position to the buffer position, the alignment position, and the discharge position in that order, and a pair of tray support members (61) are installed at each of the positions.

When the above tray support (63) reaches each position, the pairs of tray support members (61) rise above the upper surface of the tray support members (63) of the moving base (64), the bottom surface of the tray is supported by the pairs of tray support members (61), and the moving base (64) returns to the original position.

That is, the tray transported by the moving platform (64) remains in the corresponding position supported by the pairs of raised tray support members (61), and the moving platform (64) returns to the original position. At this time, when a new tray is inserted into the entry position through the tray supply unit (50), it is supported by the tray support members (61) that were raised, and when the tray support members (61) are lowered again, a new tray is positioned on the frontmost tray support member (63) of the moving platform (64), and the tray that was inserted just before is positioned on the middle tray support member (63). By repeating this process, the tray moves to the input position, buffer position, alignment position, and discharge position.

In this way, the tray supply unit (50) is not a method of dropping empty trays by their own weight, but is supported by a movable member (53b) and moved to the required position, so it is highly safe and reliable, and in the tray discharge unit (70), a number of trays with cylindrical cans inserted are stacked in a state of waiting for discharge, so there is an effect of increasing convenience in manpower operation.

Meanwhile, in order to reliably fix the tray so that the position of the tray does not change during the process of inserting the cylindrical can (1) into the tray at the above-mentioned alignment position, an unillustrated support member is additionally provided to support the side of the tray, and the support member is driven by an air cylinder.

By repeating this operation, when it is detected that all cylindrical cans (10) have been inserted into the trays that have settled in the alignment positions, the moving unit (64) is moved so that the trays are moved to the discharge position. When the trays are detected at the discharge position, they are raised by the tray discharge unit (70) and put into a discharge standby state, and the worker takes the trays in the discharge standby state out.

The present invention is not limited to the specific preferred embodiments described above, and anyone with ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains may make various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims, and such modifications are within the scope of the claims.

1: Cylindrical can,
10: Vacuum generator, 11: Vacuum generator main body, 12: Housing, 13: Spring hose,
20: Inclined conveyor, 21: Conveyor belt, 22: Speed control motor, 23: Proximity sensor, 24: Detachment prevention wall, 25: Spring hose fixing bracket,
30: Bypass unit, 31: Bypass rotation roller, 32: Speed control motor, 33: Bypass block, 34: Vertical movement cylinder,
40: Step conveyor, 41: Step conveyor belt, 42: Drive unit, 43: Can guide block, 44: Can presence detection proximity sensor, 45: Can reversal confirmation proximity sensor, 46: Photo sensor,
50: tray supply section, 51 (51a+51b+51c): frame, 51a: lower horizontal frame, 51b: vertical frame, 51c: upper horizontal frame, 52: ball bushing, 53a: fixed member, 53b: movable member, 54: operation stop switch button, 55: tray transfer cylinder, 56: ball screw, 57a: first support plate, 57b: second support plate, 58: servo motor, 59: solenoid valve,
60: Tray transfer support member, 61: Tray support member, 62: LM guide, 63: Tray supporter, 64: Moving base,
70: Tray discharge section,
80: Can suction jig unit, 81: Suction jig, 82: Rotary cylinder, 83: Coupling, 84: Proximity sensor, 85: Ball bushing, 86: Square air cylinder, 87: Solenoid valve, 88: Spring, 89: Pusher block, 90: Suction cylinder, 91: Floating joint, 92: Guide pin
100 : Base

Claims (7)

In a cylindrical can sorter that inserts and sorts cylindrical cans into a tray in units of a predetermined quantity,
The above cylindrical can sorter includes an inclined conveyor (20), a step conveyor (40), a can suction jig unit (80), a tray supply unit (50), a tray transfer support unit (60), and a tray discharge unit (70).
The tip of the above inclined conveyor (20) is further provided with a vacuum generator (10) that sucks in the cylindrical can discharged from the preceding process and discharges it onto the conveyor belt (21) of the above inclined conveyor (20).
A cylindrical can sorter characterized by comprising: a conveyor belt (21) for transporting loaded cylindrical cans upwards, wherein the inclined conveyor (20) is formed by an inclined portion that is formed to be inclined from the floor surface to the same height as the loading surface of the step conveyor (40), a horizontal portion that is horizontally connected from the end of the inclined portion to the loading surface of the step conveyor (40), a speed control motor (22) that drives the conveyor belt (21), a separation prevention wall (24) that prevents the cylindrical cans loaded on the conveyor belt (21) from coming off, a spring hose fixing member (25) that fixes the spring hose (13) of the vacuum generator (10) to the conveyor belt (21), and a proximity sensor (23) that is arranged on one end of the conveyor belt (21) to detect the transport state of the cylindrical cans. In the first paragraph,
A cylindrical can aligner characterized in that the vacuum generator (10) includes a hollow cylindrical vacuum generator main body (11), a housing (12) covering a portion of the outer surface of the vacuum generator main body (11), and a spring hose (13) connected to the end of the vacuum generator main body (11). delete In the first paragraph,
The step conveyor (40) is a cylindrical can sorter characterized by including a step conveyor belt (41) in which protruding partitions are arranged at equal intervals along the entire length of the conveyor belt on the surface, each of which accommodates one cylindrical can between two adjacent partitions, and the transport is stopped while one cylindrical can is inserted, thereby repeating transport and stop, a can presence/absence detection proximity sensor (44) installed at the front end of the step conveyor belt (41) to detect the presence or absence of a cylindrical can, a can inversion confirmation proximity sensor (45) installed at a position adjacent to the can presence/absence detection proximity sensor (44) to check whether the cylindrical can is inverted, and a pair of photo sensors (46) to detect whether a predetermined number of cylindrical cans are present on the step conveyor belt (41). In the first paragraph,
The above can suction jig unit (80) is characterized by including a suction jig (81) that has a semicircular groove formed to accommodate a predetermined number of cylindrical cans (1) and is connected to a suction cylinder (90) to suction and support one side of the predetermined number of cylindrical cans (1), a rotary cylinder (82) that rotates the suction jig (81) from horizontal to vertical or in the opposite direction, a square air cylinder (86) that moves the suction jig (81) up and down, and a guide pin (92) that accurately guides the suction jig (81) to the insertion port position of the tray. In the first paragraph,
The above tray supply unit (50) includes a frame (51) composed of a lower horizontal frame (51a) that is coupled horizontally to the upper surface of the base (100), two vertical frames (51b) that are coupled orthogonally upward from both ends of the lower horizontal frame (51a) and arranged to face each other, and an upper horizontal frame (51c) that is coupled horizontally by connecting the upper ends of the two vertical frames (51b).
A cylindrical can sorter characterized in that the two vertical frames (51b) are each composed of two fixed members (53a) and one movable member (53b) made of a metal plate having a predetermined width, the fixed members (53a) are arranged at a predetermined interval, the movable member (53b) is arranged between the two fixed members (53a), and a plurality of holes are formed to penetrate through the fixed members (53a) and the movable member (53b) at the same height and at a predetermined interval along the vertical direction, and the holes receive support claws for supporting the tray. In Article 6,
A tray transfer cylinder (55) is mounted on the upper side of the two fixed members (53a) so that the piston rod moves up and down, and the piston rod protrudes a support claw accommodated in the long hole of the fixed member (53a) through a connecting rod to the outside of the long hole or is accommodated inside the long hole.
A cylindrical can sorter characterized in that a tray transfer cylinder (55) is mounted on the upper side of the above movable member (53b) and its piston rod is connected to the upper end of the above movable member (53b) to raise and lower the above movable member (53b).

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