JP2024141821A - Item transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

To develop a transport device that can transport groups of articles being transported from an upstream side to a downstream transport route in a uniform number of group of articles, in a type that has an upstream transport route having a plurality of transport routes to transport a plurality of groups of articles in parallel, and a plurality of transport routes that intersect with the upstream transport routes, in a case where the number of groups of articles being transported in parallel from the upstream side is greater than the number of downstream transport routes, but not an integral multiple of the number of downstream transport routes.SOLUTION: An article transport device that can supply a uniform number of groups of articles being transported from an upstream side to a downstream transport route by varying the number of articles M being supplied to the downstream transport route 11 at regular intervals and distributing them for groups of articles being transported from an upstream transport route 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an item transport device used in food production lines.

In the mass production of foods and other items, it is necessary to transport the items sequentially using a conveyor. In addition, in order to increase the number of items produced per unit time, it is often the case that multiple foods and other items are transported in parallel at the same time.
On the other hand, in a production line for products such as food, it may be necessary to transfer the food to another process in order to perform a predetermined treatment (heating, cooling, baking, humidifying, warming, drying, steaming, etc.).

In such cases, it can be difficult to simultaneously process multiple foods transported in parallel upstream in a specified manner due to processing capacity, etc., and it can sometimes be necessary to distribute and transport a specified number of foods to the downstream transport path that intersects with the upstream transport path.
Here, when attempting to distribute the groups of articles transported from the upstream side to the downstream conveying paths to supply a uniform number of items, there is not much difficulty in distribution if the number of groups of articles transported in parallel is an integer multiple of the number of conveying paths to which they are distributed.

However, if the number of groups of articles being conveyed in parallel is not an integer multiple of the number of conveying paths to which the articles are to be distributed, distribution becomes difficult.
Regarding such distribution of articles on a conveyor, for example, a technique such as that shown in Patent Document 1 below is disclosed.

Patent Publication No. 2015-34064

On the other hand, the above prior art is a technology for allocating a group of items that are continuously supplied in a line (series), and is not a type of technology for allocating multiple groups of items that are transported in parallel.

The inventors therefore considered a configuration in which, in a type having an upstream conveying path with multiple conveying paths that convey multiple groups of articles in parallel, and multiple conveying paths that intersect with the upstream conveying path, when the number of groups of articles conveyed in parallel from the upstream side is greater than the number of conveying paths on the downstream side and is not an integer multiple of that number, these groups of articles conveyed from the upstream side can be conveyed as a uniform number to the downstream conveying path, and considered a method of solving this problem.

As a result of intensive research by the present inventors, it has been found that a conveying apparatus is provided with an upstream conveying path having a plurality of (adjacent) conveying paths for conveying a plurality of groups of articles in parallel, and a downstream conveying path having a plurality of conveying paths intersecting the upstream conveying path,
In the case where the number of the article groups conveyed in parallel on the upstream side is greater than the number of conveying paths on the downstream side and is not an integer multiple thereof,
The present invention was completed by discovering that by varying the number of items supplied to the downstream conveying path from the group of articles conveyed in parallel from the upstream conveying path at constant intervals and allocating them, it is possible to supply a uniform number of items from the group of articles conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream conveying path.

That is, the first invention of the present application is
"An upstream conveying path having a plurality of conveying paths for conveying a plurality of groups of articles in parallel, and a downstream conveying path having a plurality of conveying paths intersecting the upstream conveying path,
In the case where the number of the article groups conveyed in parallel on the upstream side is greater than the number of conveying paths on the downstream side and is not an integer multiple thereof,
An article conveying device capable of supplying a uniform number of articles from the group of articles conveyed from the upstream conveying path to the downstream conveying path by varying and allocating the number of articles to be supplied to the downstream conveying path at regular intervals.

Next, the present invention can be suitably used in the case where a plurality of groups of articles are simultaneously transported on the upstream transport path.
That is, the second invention of the present application is
"An article sorting and conveying device as described in claim 1, wherein the upstream conveying path is a conveying path that simultaneously conveys multiple groups of articles."

Next, in the present invention, when the number of items supplied to the downstream conveying path is varied at regular intervals, it is preferable to carry out this by transferring an item that is an adjacent upstream conveying path that is installed so as to intersect with different downstream conveying paths and faces the boundary between these upstream conveying paths to a downstream conveying path different from the downstream conveying path to which the item is being conveyed.
That is, the third invention of the present application is
"An item transport device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the number of items supplied to the downstream conveying path is varied at regular intervals by transferring an item that is installed so as to intersect with different downstream conveying paths and faces the boundary between adjacent upstream conveying paths to a downstream conveying path different from the downstream conveying path along which the item is transported."

By utilizing the present invention, a conveying system is provided with an upstream conveying path having a conveying path for conveying a plurality of groups of articles in parallel, and a downstream conveying path having a plurality of conveying paths intersecting the upstream conveying path,
Even when the number of groups of articles conveyed in parallel on the upstream side is greater than the number of conveying paths on the downstream side and is not an integer multiple of the number, it is possible to supply the groups of articles conveyed from the upstream side to the conveying paths on the downstream side in a uniform number.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of an article transport device of the present invention; 1 is a schematic plan view showing a first embodiment of an article transport device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a modified type of the first embodiment of the article transport device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a modified type of the first embodiment of the article transport device of the present invention. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an "intersection" state in an article transport device of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a comparative example of the present invention. 1A is a perspective schematic diagram showing a lift stopper and a lift movement bar in a first embodiment of an article transport device of the present invention; FIG. 1A to 1D are schematic perspective views showing the distribution state of articles in a basic state (when no transfer is performed) in a first embodiment of an article transport device of the present invention. 1A to 1D are schematic perspective views showing the distribution state of articles when transferring one article in the article transport device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, progressing in the order of (A) → (B) → (C) → (D). 1A to 1D are schematic perspective views showing the distribution state of articles when two articles are transferred in the article transport device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, progressing in the order of (A) → (B) → (C) → (D). FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a second embodiment of an article transport device of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a third embodiment of an article transport device of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing a fourth embodiment of an article transport device of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing a fifth embodiment of an article transport device of the present invention.

1 upstream conveying path 3 first upstream conveying path 5 second upstream conveying path 7 third upstream conveying path 9 partition member 11 downstream conveying path 13 first downstream conveying path 15 second downstream conveying path 17 third downstream conveying path 19 item supply port 23 first fixed stopper 25 second fixed stopper 27 third fixed stopper 31 first lift stopper 33 first lift movement bar 35 second lift stopper 37 second lift movement bar 39 support 41 movable plate 51 fourth upstream conveying path 53 fourth downstream conveying path 55 fourth fixed stopper 61 item conveying device M item

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The first invention of the present application is
"The system includes an upstream conveying path having (adjacent) conveying paths for conveying a plurality of groups of articles in parallel, and a downstream conveying path having a plurality of conveying paths intersecting the upstream conveying path,
In the case where the number of the article groups conveyed in parallel on the upstream side is greater than the number of conveying paths on the downstream side and is not an integer multiple thereof,
An item conveying device that can supply a uniform number of items from a group of items conveyed from the upstream conveying path to the downstream conveying path by varying the number of items supplied to the downstream conveying path at regular intervals and allocating them.
", is.
The present invention will be described below with reference to a first embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

The object M in the present invention includes various aspects, and in particular, the object M in the present invention can be applied to food. In this case, it goes without saying that the object M includes the food itself and the container in which the food is stored (the food in the container).
For example, a container containing food to be processed by heating, steaming, freezing, etc. can be used as an article according to the present invention.

The article transport device 61 of the present invention can be used in various production lines. In particular, it is suitable for use in the case where a plurality of articles M are supplied in parallel from an upstream transport path, and these articles M are sequentially supplied to a plurality of downstream transport paths.
For example, there are cases where multiple foods supplied in parallel from the upstream side are transported along multiple downstream conveying paths in order to be individually packaged, or where the foods are transported along multiple downstream conveying paths for specific processing.
In addition, the above-mentioned food may be the food itself or a container in which the food is stored.

An upstream conveying path having multiple (adjacent) conveying paths for conveying multiple groups of articles in parallel: In the present invention, the upstream conveying path (upstream conveying path 1) refers to a conveying path for conveying multiple groups of articles in parallel, and the conveying path has multiple conveying paths (first upstream conveying path 3, second upstream conveying path 5, third upstream conveying path 7). Note that, in the present invention, the number of articles supplied from the upstream side is not particularly limited, but it is possible to supply the articles from the upstream conveying path at a supply speed of approximately 100 to 500 articles per minute.
Next, in a first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, eight articles are simultaneously transported in parallel on the upstream side.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the type shown in FIG.

Next, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the upstream conveying path is formed of three conveying paths, namely, a first upstream conveying path 3, a second upstream conveying path 5, and a third upstream conveying path 7. Two articles are supplied from the first upstream conveying path 3, three from the second upstream conveying path 5, and three from the third upstream conveying path 7.
In addition to the above embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, an upstream transport path may be provided for each individual article.
Furthermore, it goes without saying that each transport path may be partitioned by a partition member 9 as shown in FIG. 4, regardless of the number of transport paths.

In the present invention, the upstream conveying path 1 intersects with the downstream conveying path (downstream conveying path 11). In the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 1, each upstream conveying path (3, 5, 7) has a downstream conveying path (13, 15, 17) that intersects with the upstream conveying path at its end.
In the present invention, the term "intersect" refers to a state in which the downstream transport path intersects with the traveling direction of the upstream transport path as shown in FIG.

In the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the end of the conveyor of the first upstream conveying path 3 for conveying two articles at the left edge of the drawing is continuous with the conveyor of the first downstream conveying path 13 which intersects with it.
In addition, the end of the conveyor of the second upstream conveying path 5 which conveys the three articles in the center of the page is continuous with the conveyor of the second downstream conveying path 15 which intersects with it.
Furthermore, the end of the conveyor of the third upstream conveying path 7, which conveys the three articles at the right edge of the drawing, is continuous with the conveyor of the third downstream conveying path 17 which intersects with it.
Additionally, in each downstream conveying path, the groups of articles are conveyed in series in a single row.

The present invention applies to cases where the number of article groups transported in parallel on the upstream side is greater than the number of transport paths on the downstream side and is not an integer multiple of that number .
This is, for example, a comparative example of the present invention. For example, if the number of articles transported from the upstream conveying path is nine as shown in Figure 6 and these are to be distributed to three downstream conveying paths, the articles can be distributed without any problems by supplying each evenly divided number (three articles) to the corresponding downstream conveying paths (13, 15, 17) as shown in Figure 6.

On the other hand, for example, when eight articles are distributed to three downstream conveying paths (13, 15, 17) as shown in Figures 1 and 2, they cannot be distributed evenly as in the case of Figure 6, and the present invention is preferably applicable in such cases.
In addition, in the present invention, as another embodiment, the assumed pattern regarding the number of articles conveyed from the upstream conveying path and the number of downstream conveying paths is roughly as shown in the following Table 1.

In the present invention, the number of items to be supplied to the downstream conveying path from the group of items transported from the upstream conveying path is varied at regular intervals and distributed.By varying the number of items to be supplied to the downstream conveying path 11 from the group of items M transported from the upstream conveying path 1 at regular intervals and distributing it, it is possible to supply a uniform number of items to the downstream conveying path from the group of items transported from the upstream side.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a type is shown in which eight groups of articles are transported in parallel, and three upstream transport paths are provided as upstream transport paths 1 for the eight articles: a first upstream transport path 3, a second upstream transport path 5, and a third upstream transport path 7. Each transport path transports two articles (first upstream transport path 3), three articles (second upstream transport path 5), and three articles (third upstream transport path 7).

Furthermore, further upstream of the upstream conveying path 1 is an article supply port 19 as shown in Figure 2, and eight articles are supplied in parallel from the supply port 19 at the same time, with a predetermined interval between them.
Next, a first downstream conveying path 13 is provided continuous with the conveyor end of the first upstream conveying path 3 and conveys articles in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the first upstream conveying path 3. The first downstream conveying path 13 is configured to convey articles in a line (in series) by a conveyor.
In addition, the group of articles transported from the first upstream conveying path 3 is configured to climb over the conveyor end of the first upstream conveying path 3 and reach the first downstream conveying path 13, and a first fixed stopper 23 is provided on the side of the first downstream conveying path 13 to prevent the articles from climbing over and spilling out of the first downstream conveying path 13.

Next, the second upstream transport path 5, the second downstream transport path 15, and the second fixed stopper 25 are similarly provided. Furthermore, the third upstream transport path 7, the third downstream transport path 17, and the third fixed stopper 27 are similarly provided.
Next, a first lifting stopper 31 and a first lifting moveable bar 33 are installed at the conveyor end of the second upstream conveying path 5, above the first downstream conveying path side, and are configured to enable the transfer of items closest to the boundary between the second upstream conveying path 5 and the first upstream conveying path 3 from the second upstream conveying path 5 to the first downstream conveying path 13, as will be described in detail later.
Similarly, a second lifting stopper 35 and a second lifting movement bar 37 are installed at the conveyor end of the third upstream conveying path 7, above the second downstream conveying path side, and are configured to enable the transfer of items closest to the boundary between the third upstream conveying path 7 and the second upstream conveying path 5 from the third upstream conveying path 7 to the second downstream conveying path 15, as will be described in detail later.

Here, with regard to the first and second lift stoppers 31, 35, only the main parts are shown in FIG. 1, but in reality, the lift stoppers are connected to a support body 39 provided at the upper part as shown in FIG. 7(A), and a movable plate 41 of the lift stoppers can be extended and retracted up and down as required by a known control mechanism.
In addition, the first and second lifting and lowering movable bars 33, 37 are capable of moving within a predetermined distance in the forward and backward directions of the conveying direction of the downstream conveying path, and the movable plate 41 is capable of extending and retracting up and down as required.

More specifically, the lifting and lowering bar is extendable and retractable via a movable plate 41, and is connected to a rail attached to the lower part of the support 39, allowing it to move back and forth within a specified distance as shown in FIG. 7(B). It is configured so that item M can be transferred by pushing item M with the movable plate 41.

Next, a specific description will be given of the case where the number of pieces supplied to the downstream conveying path is varied at regular intervals and distributed, taking the first embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs.
8 shows the state of supply of articles from the upstream conveying path 1 (first upstream conveying path 3, second upstream conveying path 5, third upstream conveying path 7) to the downstream conveying path 11 (first downstream conveying path 13, second downstream conveying path 15, third downstream conveying path 17) when no transfer is performed (hereinafter referred to as the "basic state"). The basic state shows the case where the first lifting stopper 31 and the second lifting stopper 35, the first lifting and moving bar 33 and the second lifting and moving bar 37 are not operating.

In this case, two articles transported in the first upstream conveying path 3 are supplied as is to the first downstream conveying path 13. Similarly, three articles transported in the second upstream conveying path 5 are supplied as is to the second downstream conveying path 15. Similarly, three articles transported in the third upstream conveying path 7 are supplied as is to the third downstream conveying path 17. The number of articles supplied to the downstream conveying paths in the basic state is first downstream conveying path: second downstream conveying path: third downstream conveying path = 2:3:3.
Next, FIG. 9 shows a state in which one article is transferred from the second upstream conveying path to the first downstream conveying path from the conveying form in the basic state described above.

In other words, an item M on the second upstream conveying path 5 facing the boundary with the first upstream conveying path 3 adjacent to the left side of the second upstream conveying path 5 on the paper surface is supplied to the second downstream conveying path 15 in the basic state, but this shows a state in which the item M is transferred to the first downstream conveying path 13, which is a different downstream conveying path.
Specifically, when the item M approaches the second downstream conveying path 15, the first lifting stopper 31 and the movable plate 41 of the first lifting moving bar 33 extend, and the movable plate 41 of the first lifting stopper 31 prevents the item M from being supplied to the second downstream conveying path 15. In addition, the movable plate 41 of the first lifting moving bar 33 pushes the item M and moves to the side of the first downstream conveying path 13, thereby forcibly transferring the item M to the first downstream conveying path 13.
Furthermore, when the article transfer operation is completed, the movable plate 41 of the first lift stopper 31 returns to the upper position, the first lift movement bar 33 moves to its original position, and the movable plate 41 also returns to the upper position.
By this transfer operation, the number of pieces transported to the downstream transport paths becomes first downstream transport path: second downstream transport path: third downstream transport path=3:2:3.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a configuration in which one item M is transferred from the second upstream conveying path 5 to the first downstream conveying path 13, and one item M is transferred from the third upstream conveying path 7 to the second downstream conveying path 15, from the conveying configuration in the basic state described above.

In the basic state described above, an item M on the second upstream conveying path 5 facing the boundary with the first upstream conveying path 3 adjacent to the left side of the second upstream conveying path 5 on the paper surface is supplied to the second downstream conveying path 15, but in this embodiment, unlike this, it is transferred to the first downstream conveying path 13.
Specifically, when the item M approaches the second downstream conveying path 15, the first lifting stopper 31 and the movable plate 41 of the first lifting moving bar 33 extend, and the movable plate 41 of the first lifting stopper 31 prevents the item M from being supplied to the second downstream conveying path 15. In addition, the movable plate 41 of the first lifting moving bar 31 pushes the item M and moves to the side of the first downstream conveying path 13, thereby forcibly transferring the item M to the first downstream conveying path 13.
Furthermore, when the article transfer operation is completed, the movable plate 41 of the first lift stopper 31 returns to the upper position, the first lift movement bar 33 moves to its original position, and the movable plate 41 also returns to the upper position.

Similarly, an item M on the third upstream conveying path 7 facing the boundary with the second upstream conveying path 5 adjacent to the left side of the third upstream conveying path 7 on the paper surface is supplied to the third downstream conveying path 17 in the basic state, but is transferred to the second downstream conveying path 15, which is a different downstream conveying path.
Specifically, when the item M approaches the third downstream conveying path 17, the second lifting stopper 35 and the movable plate 41 of the second lifting moving bar 37 extend, and the movable plate 41 of the second lifting stopper 35 prevents the item M from being supplied to the third downstream conveying path 17. In addition, the movable plate 41 of the second lifting moving bar 37 pushes the item M and moves to the side of the second downstream conveying path 15, thereby forcibly transferring the item M to the second downstream conveying path 15.
When the article transfer operation is completed, the movable plate 41 of the second lift stopper 35 returns to the upper position, the second lift movement bar 37 moves to its original position, and the movable plate 41 also returns to the upper position.

By this transfer operation, the numbers of pieces transported to the downstream transport paths are first downstream transport path: second downstream transport path: third downstream transport path=3:3:2.
Of course, the order in which the above states are repeated is not particularly limited.

As described above, by repeatedly implementing the three configurations of the basic configuration (Figure 8), the configuration in which one item is transferred from the basic configuration (Figure 9), and the configuration in which two items are transferred from the basic state (Figure 10), it is possible to uniformly supply the number of items to each downstream conveying path.
Furthermore, by utilizing the present invention, production is possible without changing the production speed on the upstream transport path and the production speed on the downstream transport path.
The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment described above, and may be, for example, a second embodiment as shown in Fig. 11. In this embodiment, the orientation of the second downstream transport path is opposite to that of the first embodiment.
Furthermore, for example, a third embodiment as shown in FIG. 12 is also possible.

In other words, in the third embodiment of FIG. 12, in the first state, only the first lift stopper 31 and the first lift movement bar 33 are operated to set the number of items supplied to the first downstream conveyance: second downstream conveyance path: third downstream conveyance path to 3:3:2, and then, in the second state, both the first lift stopper 31 and the first lift movement bar 33, and the second lift stopper 35 and the second lift movement bar 37 are operated to set the number of items supplied to the first downstream conveyance: second downstream conveyance path: third downstream conveyance path to 3:2:3. Furthermore, in the third state, only the second lift stopper 35 and the second lift movement bar 37 are operated to set the number of items supplied to the first downstream conveyance: second downstream conveyance path: third downstream conveyance path to 2:3:3. By repeating the first state to the third state in this way, it is possible to uniform the number of items supplied to each downstream conveyance path.

Of course, the order in which each state is repeated is not particularly limited.
Furthermore, as an embodiment similar to the third embodiment of FIG. 12, a fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 13 is also possible.

In the fourth embodiment, the positions of the lift stopper and the lift movement bar are different from the other embodiments described above. That is, since the items placed on the first and third downstream conveying paths (13, 17) flow away in the conveying direction, the items can be transferred to the second downstream conveying path 15 by moving the lift movement bar toward the second downstream conveying path 15. This embodiment also makes it possible to uniform the number of items supplied to each downstream conveying path.

In the above embodiments, the number of conveyances on the upstream conveying path is 8, and the number of conveyances on the downstream conveying path is 3. The present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various aspects are possible, as shown in Table 1.
For example, a fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment in which ten articles are transported by four upstream conveyors and then downstream by four downstream conveyors.

In the fifth embodiment of Figure 14, if the basic state is a state in which no transfer is performed, the four patterns of basic state → activation of first lifting stopper 31 and first lifting movement bar 33 → activation of second lifting stopper 35 and second lifting movement bar 37 → activation of both first lifting stopper 31 and first lifting movement bar 33, and second lifting stopper 35 and second lifting movement bar 37 change the numbers of articles supplied to each of the first downstream conveying path: second downstream conveying path: third downstream conveying path: fourth downstream conveying path in the following order: 2:3:3:2 → 3:2:3:2 → 2:3:2:3 → 3:2:2:3.
Therefore, by repeating the above four patterns, it is possible to uniformly supply articles to each downstream conveying path. It is needless to say that the order in which each state is repeated is not particularly limited.

Claims (3)

an upstream conveying path having a plurality of conveying paths for conveying a plurality of groups of articles in parallel, and a downstream conveying path having a plurality of conveying paths intersecting the upstream conveying path,
In the case where the number of the article groups conveyed in parallel on the upstream side is greater than the number of conveying paths on the downstream side and is not an integer multiple thereof,
An item conveying device that can supply a uniform number of items from a group of items conveyed from the upstream conveying path to the downstream conveying path by varying the number of items supplied to the downstream conveying path at regular intervals and allocating them.
2. An article sorting and conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the upstream conveying path is a conveying path that simultaneously conveys a plurality of groups of articles.
The item transport device according to claim 1 or 2, in which the number of items supplied to the downstream transport path is changed at regular intervals by transferring an item that is installed so as to intersect with a different downstream transport path and faces the boundary between adjacent upstream transport paths to a downstream transport path different from the downstream transport path to which the item is transported.