JPH0790905B2 - Box-shaped transport device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a device for distributing box-like conveyed objects, for example, a box-like conveyed object having an upper opening such as a box for storing a beverage bottle is a signal from the outside of the system. The present invention relates to a distribution device for a box-like conveyed product, which distributes to any one of the main conveyor or a plurality of branch conveyors branched in sequence from the main conveyor.

[Conventional technology]

Beverages such as beer and juice are usually filled in bottles or the like in a beverage manufacturing factory and supplied to the market. In this case, the beverage bottle or the like is distributed in a state of being stored in the box. The beverage bottles supplied to the market are put back into the box and collected at the beverage manufacturing plant. Then, the bottle and the box are cleaned and reused, but at this time, the box that is not properly cleaned or the box that is damaged needs to be excluded from the regular box supply route.

Also, when storing bottles filled with contents such as beer in a box, it is necessary to exclude from the regular supply route those boxes in which a certain number of bottles are not stored, so-called bottles. In the case of a box containing an empty bottle,
Boxes containing empty bottles with a crown must be excluded from the regular supply route.

Conventionally, a box sorting device or an excluding device has been used to achieve such an object. The box sorting device includes, for example, a linear main conveyor, a branch conveyor extended from the main conveyor, and a side guide that swings between the two conveyors, and the side guide is based on an exclusion signal from the outside. A device has been developed in which the box side wall is pushed by a side guide to guide it to the branch conveyor by swinging the box toward the branch conveyor.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in the box sorter provided with the side guides on the side of the main conveyor, since the traveling direction of the box that is the object to be conveyed is suddenly changed, the impact on the bottle inside the object to be conveyed is large and it becomes a bottle. There is a problem that it may cause damage.

Further, in order to arbitrarily set the branch angle between the main conveyor and the branch conveyor, since the branch angle is constant, a new R section conveyor is required on the downstream side of the branch section, which complicates the device structure. There is a problem. Moreover, there is a problem in that there is no certainty in branching because the direction of the transported object is changed by swinging the side guide.

Further, in the conventional apparatus, it is possible to distribute the distribution to a single branch conveyor, but it is not possible to distribute it to a plurality of arbitrary branch conveyors according to the purpose.

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to reliably branch a box-like conveyed product conveyed on the main conveyor sequentially from the main conveyor in a mechanically held state. It can be guided to one of a plurality of branch conveyors that have been separated, and not only does not give a large impact to the box-shaped conveyed object during the sorting operation, but the feeding direction of the box-shaped conveyed object can be freely set. An object of the present invention is to provide a device for distributing box-like conveyed objects that can be arbitrarily distributed according to purpose.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, a main conveyor, and a plurality of branch conveyors each having a different conveying direction, while branching and branching from the main conveyor, arranged so as to be in contact with each conveyor. One turntable provided with the turntable, the turntable engaging the outer surface of the side wall of the box-like conveyed product carried on the main conveyor, and the turntable above the engaging part. An engaging pin that engages with the inner surface of the side wall of the box-like conveyed product that is engaged with the engaging portion when it is mounted so as to move up and down, and engages by engaging with the upper end of this engaging pin and rotating. A cam for moving the pin up and down, a position for positioning the cam for lowering the engaging pin and a position for positioning the cam for raising the engaging pin, respectively, and arranged so as to be movable back and forth above the main conveyor. A movable pin for lowering the engaging pin that engages with the cam by advancing in response to a signal from the outside to rotate the cam toward the position for lowering the engaging pin, and above each of the plurality of branch conveyors. A movable pin for raising an engaging pin, which is arranged to move forward and backward in a position, engages with the cam by advancing in response to a signal from outside the system, and rotates the cam toward a position where the engaging pin is raised. It is characterized by having.

[Action]

According to the present invention configured as described above, the box-like conveyed product,
By mechanically lowering the engaging pin based on a signal from outside the system, the side wall of the turntable is mechanically held by the engaging portion of the turntable engaging the outer surface of the side wall and the engaging pin engaging the inner surface of the side wall. In this state, it is possible to reliably guide the main conveyor to any one of a plurality of branch conveyors that are sequentially branched. Moreover, since the box-shaped conveyed product is guided from the main conveyor to one of the plurality of branch conveyors together with the engaging portion of the turntable that rotates not linearly, the impact given to the bottle or the like in the box-shaped conveyed product is reduced. It is relatively small and can be distributed from the main conveyor to one of a plurality of branch conveyors without changing the conveying direction abruptly.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of a box-shaped conveyed product sorting apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 is a main conveyor for placing and carrying a box-like object A such as a box.
Is a plurality of rollers 1a, 1 that rotate together via a chain, etc.
It is a linear conveyor with a ... Main conveyor 1
A first branch conveyor 2 having a conveyance direction different from that of the first branch conveyor 2 is branched and provided on one side of the branch conveyor 2. The branch conveyor 2 includes a plurality of rollers 2a, 2a that integrally rotate via a chain or the like. It is a parallel linear conveyor. A second conveyor 3 is provided branching from the first branch conveyor 2, and a third branch conveyor 4 is provided further branching from the second branch conveyor 3. That is, the branch conveyors 2, 3 and 4 are arranged so as to branch from the main conveyor 1 in order. Then, a substantially disk-shaped turntable 5 is arranged at the branching portion of each conveyor 1, 2, 3, 4 and this turntable 5 is connected to the drive portion of the main conveyor 1 via a pair of bevel gears 6A, 6B. It is driven to rotate (see FIG. 2).

The main conveyor 1 is used to convey the box-like conveyed product A to the next process or the like as it travels.
2, 3 and 4 are for branching a box-like conveyed product A such as a box with poor cleaning from the main conveyor 1 and removing it from the main conveyor 1.

A pair of transmissive sensors 7 and 7 for detecting the passage of the tip Af of the box-like conveyed product A conveyed on the conveyor face each other on both sides of the branch portion of the main conveyor 1 on the slightly upstream side. Is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a support plate 8 is fixedly arranged above the turntable 5, and a line X passing through the center of the turntable 5 and substantially orthogonal to the main conveyor 1 is provided on the support plate 8. A proximity switch 9 protruding downward is provided slightly downstream of -X as shown in FIG. Further, the support plate 8 has a structure shown in FIGS.
As shown in the drawing, a pin actuating device 10 is provided at a lateral position of the turntable 5 and further passes through the center of the turntable 5 and is substantially orthogonal to the carrying direction of the first branch conveyor 2.
The first pin releasing device 31 is provided on the Y line, and the second pin releasing device 31 is provided.
The second pin releasing device 41 is provided on the ZZ line that is substantially orthogonal to the transport direction of the branch conveyor 3, and the third pin releasing device 51 is provided on the XX line that is substantially orthogonal to the transport direction of the third branch conveyor 4. ing.

The pin actuator 10 is a solenoid as shown in FIG.
11 and turntable 5 connected to this solenoid 11
And a movable pin 12 horizontally movable in the direction of the turntable 5 by exciting the solenoid 11.
It is configured to project horizontally in the direction of and to be retracted by releasing the excitation. The pin operating device 10 includes an engagement pin 25 of a pin unit 15 via a cam unit 14 described later.
Is for lowering.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first, second, and third pin releasing devices 31, 41, 51 are movable so as to be horizontally movable in the direction of the solenoid 32 and the turntable 5 connected to the solenoid 32. The movable pin 33 is horizontally projected toward the turntable 5 by the excitation of the solenoid 32, and is retracted by releasing the excitation. This pin release device 31, 41, 51 is used for the cam unit 14
It is for raising the engaging pin 25 of the pin unit 15 via.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the turntable 5 is provided with a large number of dogs 13, 13 ... Concentrically protruding upward at a position facing the proximity switch 9 (in the figure, shown). A total of 36 are provided). Dogs 13,13 ...
Activates the proximity switch 9 to move the pin operating device 10
This is for determining the excitation time of the solenoid 11.

Also, on the periphery of the turntable 5, the dog
The same number of cam units 14 and pin units 15 as 13, 13, ... Are provided, and the lower peripheral wall 5a of the turntable 5 is a box that has been conveyed on the main conveyor 1 as shown in FIG. It is adapted to come into contact with and engage with the upper side wall Aw of the conveyed article A.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, each of the cam units 14 has a rotating shaft 16, a bearing 17 fixed to the turntable 5 for rotatably supporting the rotating shaft 16, and a rotation shaft. A lever 18 fixed to the tip of the moving shaft 16, a cam 19 fixed to the rotating shaft 16 integrally with the lever 18, a swing lever 20 fixed to the rear end of the rotating shaft 16, A pin 21 protruding near the upper end of the swing lever 20, a pin 22 fixed to the turntable 13 at a position vertically below the pin 21, and both pins.
It is composed of a tension coil spring 23 stretched between 21,22.

On the other hand, the pin unit 15 includes an engagement pin 25 supported by a support 24 so as to be vertically movable, and a cam follower that is rotatably supported by a pin 29 on the upper end of the engagement pin 25 and contacts the cam 19. 26 and a compression coil spring 27 housed inside the support 24 so as to urge the engagement pin 25 upward. The engagement pin 25 conveys on the main conveyor 1 when it descends. It has been lowered into the box-shaped object A
It is arranged so that it can be engaged with the inner surface Awi of the side wall.

Then, when the movable pin 12 of the pin operating device 10 projects toward the turntable 5, the movable pin 12 contacts the lever 18, and the rotation of the turntable 5 causes the lever 18 to move.
6 is pushed by 12 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction from the two-dot chain line position to the solid line position as shown in FIG. As shown, the cam 19 also rotates from the two-dot chain line position to the solid line position to lower the cam follower 26 and the engaging pin 25. At the same time, the oscillating lever 20 fixed to the oscillating shaft 16 also oscillates, and when the oscillating lever 20 exceeds the neutral position of the tension coil spring 23, that is, the most extended position, FIG. , (As viewed from the opposite direction to FIG. 6), the tension coil spring 23 holds it in the solid line state shown in the figure. As a result, the rotary shaft 16 is locked and the engagement pin 25 is maintained in the lowered state.

Further rotation of the turntable 5 causes the lever 18 to move one of the first, second and third pin releasing devices 31, 41, 51 at its lower part as shown in FIG. By making contact with 33, the rotating shaft 16 rotates in the opposite direction to the above, and the cam 19 moves with the lever.
It rotates in the same direction as 18, so that the engaging pin 25 is raised by the urging force of the compression coil spring 27, and at the same time, the swing lever 20 also rotates in the same direction as the lever 18 (FIG. 7, FIG. 5, FIG. (It is in the opposite direction because it is viewed from the opposite side of FIG. 6), but when this rotation exceeds the neutral position of the tension coil spring 23, it returns to the original state and holds this state, that is, the engagement pin. 25 climbs are maintained.

In this manner, the pin unit 15 causes the pin actuating device 10 to lower the engaging pin 25 via the cam unit 14, and the pin releasing devices 31, 41, 51 cause the engaging pin 25 to move through the cam unit 14. This engagement pin is designed to be raised
By lowering 25, as shown in FIG.
While being inserted into and holding the upper side wall inner surface Awi, the lower side peripheral wall 5a of the turntable 5 engages and holds the upper side wall outer surface Awo of the box-like conveyed product A, that is, the operating pin 25 and the peripheral wall 5
The side wall Aw of the box-shaped conveyed product A is sandwiched by a and the turntable 5 is rotated in this state to ensure that the box-shaped conveyed product A is
Can be led to any of the third branch conveyors 2, 3, 4
As the engaging pin 25 rises, the holding of the box-shaped conveyed product A by the engagement pin 25 is released, and the box-shaped conveyed product A is conveyed by any of the first to third branch conveyors 2, 3, and 4. .

Next, the operation of the box-shaped conveyed product sorting apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In the description of the operation, the case where the box-shaped conveyed product A is distributed to the first branch conveyor 2 will be described.

First, the box-like conveyed material A is irregularly placed on the main conveyor 1 first.
It is conveyed from the right side of the figure to the left side.

When the box-like conveyed product A crosses the sensors 7 and 7, the position of its tip Af is detected. After that, when the dog 13 arranged on the turntable 5 is located immediately below the proximity switch 9, for example, Cleaning defects, etc. from an inspection device outside the system located upstream of this device should be eliminated from the main conveyor 1 and guided to one of the first to third conveyors 2, 3 and 4 branch conveyors. The solenoid 11 of the pin actuating device 10 is excited by the exclusion signal from the outside, and the movable pin 12 projects toward the turntable 5 by this excitation.

Then, when the movable pin 12 projects, the tip of the movable pin 12 and the upper portion of the lever 18 of the cam unit 14 come into contact with each other, and the lever 18 rotates as the turntable 5 rotates. afterwards,
After the contact between the movable pin 12 and the lever 18 is released, the solenoid 11 is deenergized and the movable pin 12 is retracted.

The rotation of the lever 18 causes the cam 19 through the rotary shaft 16.
6 also rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 6 to rotate the cam follower 26.
And the engaging pin 25a at the pin insertion position L ₁ (shown in FIG. 1) is lowered against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 27 of the pin unit 15 and the swing lever 20 is also moved to the 7th position. When the swing lever 20 is rotated clockwise in the drawing and exceeds the neutral position of the tension coil spring 23, the urging force of the spring maintains the solid line state shown in the drawing. As a result, the rotary shaft 16 is locked and the engagement pin 25 is maintained in the lowered state.

As a result, in the side wall Aw of the box-like conveyed product A, the side wall outer surface Awo is mechanically held by the peripheral wall 5a of the turntable 5 and the side wall inner surface Awi is mechanically held by the engagement pin 25, and the turntable 5 rotates in this state. The box-shaped conveyed product A is surely guided to the branch conveyor 2. At this time, since the box-shaped conveyed product A is guided from the main conveyor 1 to the branch conveyor 2 together with the peripheral wall 5a of the turntable 5 that rotates not linearly, the impact given to the box-shaped conveyed product A is relatively small, In addition, it is possible to sort without changing the transport direction abruptly.

Then, when the box-like conveyed product A is completely guided to the branch conveyor 2, the movable pin 33 of the first pin releasing device 31 in operation abuts the lower portion of the lever 18, and the lever is accompanied by the rotation of the turntable 5. The lever 18 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 5, which is opposite to that at the time of operation, and the lever 18 is released from contact with the movable pin 33. By this rotation of the lever 18, the cam 19 also rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 6 via the rotation shaft 16, and the cam follower 26, and by extension, the engagement pin at the pin removal position L ₂ (shown in FIG. 1). 25a rises due to the biasing force of the compression coil spring 27 of the pin unit 15. At the same time, the rocking lever 20 also rotates counterclockwise, and the rocking lever 20 moves the tension coil spring 23.
When it goes beyond the neutral position, it is held in the two-dot chain line state shown by the biasing force of the spring. As a result, the rotary shaft 16
Is locked and the raised state of the engagement pin 25 is maintained.

Box-like conveyed product A such as poor cleaning due to the rise of the engaging pin 25
The inner surface Awi of the upper side wall is released from the holding by the engagement pin 25, and is conveyed to the next step required by the branch conveyor 2.

When the box-shaped conveyed product A is a good product, the box-shaped conveyed product A is conveyed on the main conveyor 1 from the right side to the left side in FIG.

Then, the box-like conveyed product A crosses the sensors 7, 7 to detect the position of its tip Af, and thereafter, the dog 13 arranged on the turntable 5 is located immediately below the proximity switch 9. However, the solenoid 11 does not operate because it is not a defective signal. Therefore, the engagement pin 25 does not descend and does not engage with the box-like conveyed product A. That is, the box-like conveyed product A is conveyed leftward by the main conveyor 1 and discharged.

Further, for example, when the box-like conveyed product A is guided to the second branch conveyor 3 for purposes other than poor cleaning such as damage to the box-like conveyed product, the first pin release device 31 is deactivated. Activate the release device 41. When the box-like conveyed product A is guided to the third branch conveyor 4, the first and second pin releasing devices 31 and 41 are deactivated and the third pin releasing device 51 is activated.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention as is clear from the above description of the embodiments,
Since the box-like conveyed product can be distributed to one of a plurality of branch conveyors that are sequentially branched from the main conveyor without suddenly changing the traveling direction, it can be used as a bottle in the box-like conveyed product. It gives less shock and can prevent damage such as bottles.

Further, according to the present invention, the box-like conveyed product is branched from the main conveyor in a mechanically held state in which the outer surface is supported by the peripheral wall of the turntable and the inner surface is supported by the operating pin on the side wall thereof. Since this is guided to, the sorting operation becomes reliable. Moreover, it is sufficient to provide a turntable having a simple structure, which simplifies the device structure.

Further, since it is possible to branch to an arbitrary branch conveyor, it is possible to branch the conveyed product into a plurality of routes according to the purpose. Further, in the present invention, the mechanism for moving up and down the engaging pin that holds the box-shaped conveyed object has a very simple structure, and even if any number of branch conveyors are installed, It is possible to distribute the box-like conveyed product to a desired branch conveyor simply by installing movable pins for raising and retracting the engaging pins for each conveyor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an apparatus for distributing box-like conveyed products according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a right side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a cam unit and a pin unit. 4 is a plan view of the cam unit and the pin unit, FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the cam unit, FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of the cam and the cam follower, FIG. 7 is FIG. 5 and FIG. It is a side view of the cam unit seen from the opposite direction. 1 ... Main conveyor, 2 ... First branch conveyor, 3 ... Second branch conveyor, 4 ... Third branch conveyor, 5 ... Turntable, 5a ... Turntable peripheral wall, 7 ... Sensor, 8 ... ... Support plate, 9 ... Proximity switch, 10 ... Pin actuating device, 12 ... Movable pin, 13 ... Dog, 14 ... Cam unit, 15 ... Pin unit, 16 ... Rotating shaft, 18 ... Lever, 19 …… Cam, 20 …… Rotating lever, 23 …… Tension coil spring, 25 …… Engaging pin, 26 …… Cam follower, 27 ……
Compression coil spring, 31 ... first pin releasing device, 33 ... movable pin, 41 ... second pin releasing device, 51 ... third pin releasing device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A main conveyor, a plurality of branch conveyors branched and branched from the main conveyor in sequence, each branch conveyor having a different conveying direction, and one turn arranged so as to be in contact with each of the conveyors. A turntable, and the turntable is mounted on the turntable so that the turntable engages with the outer surface of the side wall of the box-like conveyed product carried on the main conveyor, and the turntable is vertically movable above the engaging part. The engaging pin that engages with the inner surface of the side wall of the box-like conveyed product that is engaged with the engaging portion when lowered and the cam that moves the engaging pin up and down by engaging with the upper end of the engaging pin and rotating. And a positioning means for positioning the cam at a position where the engagement pin is lowered and a position where the engagement pin is raised, respectively, and is arranged so as to be able to move forward and backward above the main conveyor, and to receive signals from outside the system. By moving forward, the movable pin for engaging the cam and rotating the cam to the position where the engaging pin is lowered, and the movable pin for lowering the engaging pin, and being able to move back and forth to the respective upper positions of the plurality of branch conveyors. And a movable pin for engaging pin raising for engaging with the cam and rotating the cam toward a position for raising the engaging pin by advancing by a signal from outside the system. Characteristic box-shaped transport device.