JP2008019075A - Conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To alleviate impact during dropping discharge of conveyance articles and prevent the articles from being caught into a discharge port and chips of the articles etc. from remaining in the discharge port in a conveying device for conveying the articles by horizontally reciprocating a trough at different speeds. <P>SOLUTION: The conveying device horizontally conveys articles by approximately horizontally reciprocating the trough 2 at different speeds such that the speeds of the forward motion and return motion vary with each other. The trough 2 is formed by a bottom plate 21 extending in the article conveyance direction B and side wall plates 22, 23 connected with and formed in side end parts of the bottom plate 21 and extended in the article conveyance direction B and toward the upper face side of the bottom plate 21. The outside downward rotation of some section in the article conveyance direction B of the side plate 22 around a connecting portion with the bottom plate 21 forms an inclined plate serving as a gate 221 for opening the discharge port 2b of the conveyance articles to slide the articles discharged from the discharge port 2b downwardly on the side wall 22 of the trough 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveying device that conveys an article by driving a trough in a reciprocating different speed in a horizontal direction.

Conventionally, in a transport device that transports articles by reciprocating different speeds in the horizontal direction so that the drive speed is different between forward and backward movement, a discharge port is formed on the bottom plate of the trough, The transported article is discharged by operating a gate that is provided at this discharge port and opens and closes horizontally (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP-A-62-201708 Special Table 2004-523443

  However, in the above-described conventional transfer device, since the space for providing the gate operating mechanism is taken, the height of the discharge port (the bottom plate of the trough) cannot be lowered, and the article is damaged due to the impact at the time of dropping and discharging. There is. In addition, there is of course a step between the discharge port and the gate that is closed so as to cover it from below, and the gate slides with respect to the discharge port. Inconveniences such as remaining fragments and wrinkles and articles being caught in the gap between the gate and the bottom plate. In particular, when the goods to be conveyed are fried confectionery such as potato chips, oil stains stick around the outlet, and the oil contained in the remaining debris and straw reduces the quality of the product. Cause malfunctions.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, the present invention reduces the impact at the time of falling discharge of the transported article in the transporting apparatus for transporting the article by driving the trough in a reciprocating different speed in the horizontal direction. The purpose of this is to prevent the occurrence of biting of the product and the remaining of fragments of articles.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the transport device for transporting an article in the horizontal direction by driving the trough in a reciprocating different speed in a substantially horizontal direction so that the speed differs between the forward movement and the backward movement, the trough Is formed of a bottom plate extending in the article conveying direction and a side wall plate connected to a side end portion of the bottom plate and extending in the article conveying direction and on the upper surface side of the bottom plate. However, in a partial section in the article conveyance direction, by turning outward and downward with the connection portion with the bottom plate as a rotation center, it becomes a gate that opens the discharge port of the conveyance article on the side wall of the trough, Provided is a conveying device characterized in that it forms an inclined plate for sliding an article discharged from the discharge port downward.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the conveying device according to the first aspect, the bottom plate is inclined in a direction perpendicular to the article conveying direction so that the conveyed article in the trough slides toward the discharge port. Provided is a transport device characterized in that

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the conveying apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the inclination angle of the bottom plate and the inclination angle of the inclined plate are substantially the same.

  According to the conveying apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the following excellent effects are obtained. Since the article is dropped through the inclined plate extending downward from the bottom plate of the trough, the drop of free fall is smaller than the case of dropping directly from the discharge port formed in the bottom plate of the trough, and the impact at the time of discharge is reduced. Damage to the article is prevented. In addition, since the bottom plate of the trough is not provided with an uneven outlet, it is easy to clean and does not accumulate articles such as germs. In addition, since the gate is pivotally opened and closed, the transported article is not bitten like a discharge opening that opens and closes horizontally. In addition, since the gate is pivoted to open and close with the connection portion with the bottom plate as the rotation center, there is no step in the connection portion, and the article bag is difficult to collect.

  According to the transport apparatus described in claim 2 of the present invention, in addition to the effects exhibited by the transport apparatus described in claim 1, the following excellent effects are achieved. Since the bottom plate is inclined in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the articles so that the conveyed articles slide down toward the opened discharge port, the articles can be discharged quickly. In addition, since the lower end of the inclined plate can be positioned further downward, the impact applied to the article at the time of dropping and discharging can be further alleviated.

  According to the conveying apparatus described in claim 3 of the present invention, in addition to the effects exhibited by the conveying apparatus described in claim 2, the following excellent effects are exhibited. If the inclination angle of the inclined plate is set to be gentler than the inclination angle of the bottom plate, there is a risk of debris etc. of the article collecting near the connecting portion between the inclined plate and the bottom plate, conversely, the inclination angle of the inclined plate is If the angle is set steeper than the inclination angle of the bottom plate, the effect of reducing the drop impact by the inclination plate is reduced. However, by setting both angles substantially the same, these two disadvantages can be avoided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a transport apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 1, and shows a state in which a transport article is placed on a trough, and FIG. It is a perspective view of the trough provided. Since the trough has a large overall length, both ends of the trough extending direction are omitted in FIGS. 1 and 3.

(Conveyor 1)
As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the transport device 1 supports a trough 2 having a U-shaped cross-section that extends in the horizontal direction and on which transported articles are placed, and supports the trough 2. A link mechanism 3 that drives the trough 2 to reciprocate at different speeds in substantially horizontal directions (arrows A1 and A2 directions) so that the drive speeds are different, a drive unit 4 that drives the link mechanism 3, and a control unit 5 that controls the drive unit 4 The transported article placed on the trough 2 is transported in the horizontal direction (arrow B direction) by the reciprocating different speed drive.

(Trough 2)
The trough 2 is connected to the bottom plate 21 extending in the article conveyance direction and inclined in a direction orthogonal to the article conveyance direction, and both side ends of the bottom plate 21, and in the article conveyance direction and on the upper surface side of the bottom plate 21. And two side wall plates 22 and 23 extending. The trough 2 is reciprocally driven at different speeds in the substantially horizontal direction by the link mechanism 3 at a low speed during the forward movement indicated by the arrow A1 and at a high speed during the backward movement indicated by the arrow A2. As a result, the transported article placed on the trough 2 moves forward without causing relative movement with the trough 2 when the trough moves forward at a low speed, and moves to the trough 2 when the trough 2 moves backward at a high speed. On the other hand, it is conveyed in the direction of arrow B by sliding relatively. The side wall plate 22 connected to the lower end side in the inclination direction of the bottom plate 21 rotates around a hinge 22a provided at a connection portion with the bottom plate 21 in a partial section in the article conveyance direction, to the side wall 2a of the trough 2. A gate 221 for opening the discharge port 2b is formed.

  The gate 221 is connected to the extension rods 24a and 25a of the drive cylinders 24 and 25 provided on the lower surface side of the bottom plate 21 via the bracket 222, and as shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, the extension rod 25a (24a). As shown by the two-dot chain line, the discharge port 2b is closed by turning the telescopic rod 25a (24a) so that the discharge port 2b is opened. As described above, the bottom plate 21 of the trough 2 is inclined so that the conveyed article in the trough 2 is slid toward the discharge port 22a. An inclined plate is formed that, when opened, guides the conveyed articles discharged from the discharge port 2b by continuously sliding downward. The bottom plate 21 and the inclined plate (gate 221) are set to have substantially the same inclination angle, and are smoothly continuous without a step. Note that guide guards 223 and 224 are formed on both sides of the discharge port 2b so as to protrude from the side wall plate 22 to the outside of the trough so that the conveyed articles sliding down the inclined plate do not spill sideways.

(Link mechanism 3)
The link mechanism 3 is a parallel motion mechanism for driving the trough 2 to reciprocate at different speeds in a substantially horizontal direction, and includes a lever link 31 and an auxiliary link 32. As shown in FIG. 1, the lever link 31 and the auxiliary link 32 are rod-like bodies provided with rotation support portions 31 a and 32 a on the upper end side and rotation support portions 31 b and 32 b on the lower end side. The trough 2 is received and supported by the support portions 31 a and 32 a, and the rotation support portions 31 b and 32 b are received and supported at the same height position of the base 11. The links 31 and 32 have the same link length (the distance between the upper and lower rotation support portions) and are provided in parallel to each other, and the upper end side is swung so that the trough 2 is substantially parallel to the horizontal direction. Can be moved.

(Driving means 4)
The driving means 4 includes a connecting link 41, a rotating crank 42, a prime mover 43, and a transmission device 44, and is provided on the base 11 to drive the link mechanism 3 in both reciprocating speeds. One end of the connecting link 41 is connected to a third rotation support part 31 c provided in the middle part of the lever link 31, and the other end is connected to a rotation support part 42 a provided on the rotary crank 42. The rotating crank 42 is rotationally driven by a prime mover 43 through a transmission device 44 including a pulley and a belt. The prime mover 43 is a servo motor whose rotational speed is controlled by the control unit 5 so that the swing speed of the lever link 31 is low during the forward movement indicated by the arrow A1 and high during the backward movement indicated by the arrow A2. Thus, the trough 2 is reciprocated at different speeds in the directions of the arrows A1 and A2.

(Control unit 5)
The control unit 5 is connected to a weight detector (not shown) that can detect the weight of the transported article placed on the trough 2, and is transported on the trough 2 based on an output signal from the weight detector. The flow rate of the conveyed article can be detected. Further, the control unit 5 controls the flow rate of the conveyed article at the driving speed of the prime mover 43, and appropriately adjusts the discharge amount of the conveyed article discharged from the discharge port 2b.

(Characteristics of the conveying device 1)
The transport apparatus 1 according to this embodiment has the following characteristics. First, the side wall plate 22 that forms the side wall 2a of the trough 2 rotates outwardly and downwardly around a connecting portion with the bottom plate 21 in a partial section in the article conveyance direction, and the article to be conveyed to the side wall 2a of the trough 2 And a gate 221 that opens the discharge port 2b, and an inclined plate that slides the articles discharged from the discharge port 2b downward.

  Since the transported article is dropped through the inclined plate extending downward from the bottom plate 21 of the trough 2, the drop of the free fall is smaller than that of the conventional transporting device that directly drops the transported article from the discharge port formed on the trough bottom plate itself. Thus, the impact applied to the transported article is reduced, and the transported article is prevented from being damaged. Further, since the bottom plate 21 does not have an uneven discharge port and is formed flat as shown in FIG. 2, it is easy to clean and there is no fear of collecting articles such as germs. In addition, since the gate 221 is pivotally opened and closed, the transported article is not bitten like a conventional discharge port that opens and closes horizontally. Further, since the gate 221 is pivotally opened and closed with the connection portion with the bottom plate 21 as a pivot center, there is no step in the discharge port 2b portion, and the article bag is not easily collected.

  Second, the transport apparatus 1 has a feature that the bottom plate 21 is inclined in a direction orthogonal to the article transport direction so that the transported articles in the trough 2 slide toward the discharge port 2b. Accordingly, it is possible to quickly discharge the article so that the conveyed article slides naturally from the opened discharge port 2b. Moreover, since the lower end of the inclined plate formed by the gate 221 can be positioned further downward, the impact applied to the transported article that is dropped and discharged is further alleviated and the risk of breakage is further reduced.

  Third, the conveying device 1 has a feature that when the discharge port 2b is opened, the inclination angle of the bottom plate 21 and the inclination angle of the inclined plate (gate 221) are substantially the same. If the inclination angle of the inclined plate is set to be gentler than the inclination angle of the bottom plate 21, there is a possibility that debris or the like of articles will accumulate near the connecting portion between the inclined plate and the bottom plate 21. Conversely, the inclination angle of the inclined plate However, if the inclination angle is set to be steeper than the inclination angle of the bottom plate 21, the conveyed article that slides down along the bottom plate 21 falls directly from the discharge port 2b without using the inclination plate, and the drop impact by the inclination plate is caused. However, these two disadvantages can be avoided by setting both angles substantially the same.

  Fourthly, since the link mechanism 3 and the driving means 4 for driving the trough 2 are constituted by a so-called lever crank mechanism, the generated vibration is extremely gentle, and the article placed on the trough 2 In addition, there is little cracking and breakage of the device, and the damage to the drive cylinders 24 and 25 which are the gate opening / closing mechanism is also small, so that the device failure is prevented.

(Modification of the above embodiment)
In the above embodiment, the reciprocating different speed driving of the trough 2 has been described as being low speed during the forward movement in the direction of conveying the article and high speed during the backward movement returning in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the article. You may employ | adopt the reciprocating different speed drive which makes a low speed at the time of a high speed and a backward movement. Inertia force in the conveyance direction is applied to the article by high-speed movement during forward movement, and the article is conveyed in the horizontal direction by sliding the article on the trough with inertial force when reversing the operation from forward movement to backward movement. . In the above embodiment, as a means for driving the trough to reciprocate at different speeds in the horizontal direction, a reciprocating drive system using an insulator crank mechanism is adopted. However, other driving such as using a driving cylinder similar to the driving cylinders 24 and 25 is used. Of course, the method may be adopted.

  In addition, the transport apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

The front view which shows the conveying apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 1 and shows a state where a transported article is placed on a trough. The perspective view of the trough provided in a conveying apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer device 2 Trough 2b Discharge port 21 Bottom plate 22 Side wall plate 221 Gate (inclined plate)
3 Link mechanism 31 Insulator link 32 Auxiliary link 4 Driving means 41 Connecting link 42 Rotating crank 43 Motor 44 Transmission device 5 Control unit

Claims (3)

In the conveying device that conveys the article in the horizontal direction by driving the trough to reciprocate at different speeds substantially in the horizontal direction so that the speed differs between the forward movement and the backward movement,
The trough is formed of a bottom plate extending in the article conveying direction, and a side wall plate connected to a side end of the bottom plate and extending in the article conveying direction and on the upper surface side of the bottom plate,
In the partial section in the article transport direction, the side wall plate turns outwardly and downwardly with the connecting portion with the bottom plate as a rotation center, thereby providing a gate for opening the discharge port of the transported article on the side wall of the trough. And a sloping plate that slides down the articles discharged from the discharge port. In the conveyance apparatus of Claim 1,
The conveying apparatus, wherein the bottom plate is inclined in a direction orthogonal to the article conveying direction so that the conveyed article in the trough slides toward the discharge port. In the conveyance apparatus of Claim 2,
The conveying apparatus, wherein an inclination angle of the bottom plate and an inclination angle of the inclined plate are substantially the same.

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