JP7181449B2 - Article conveying device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus configured to intermittently convey articles along an endless conveying path and sequentially stop at a plurality of processing stations provided along the conveying path.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as such an article conveying apparatus, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In this device, a plurality of grippers for holding bag-like containers are provided on the outer periphery of a rotating body that is intermittently driven to rotate. 2, the rotating body is temporarily stopped, and processing such as filling the contents into the bag-like container and sealing the opening of the bag-like container is performed.

In the sealing process, both sides of the opening of the bag-like container are sandwiched by a pair of heaters and heat-sealed. Immediately after this heating, the opening is completely sealed by cooling. The heating station and the cooling station for sealing are at the same angular position with respect to the rotating body, and the heating station is positioned below the cooling station. That is, the bag-like container is conveyed from the upstream processing station to the heating station by the rotation of the rotating body, heated, then lowered to the cooling station, cooled, and then raised to the heating station. It is returned and transported to the next processing station.

Japanese Patent No. 4241215

As described above, in the conventional article conveying apparatus, the article must be reciprocated between the heating station and the cooling station at a timing independent of the intermittent conveyance by the rotator, and the rotator stops for that time. There is a problem that the processing time becomes long, and the processing time as a whole becomes long.

The present invention provides an article conveying apparatus capable of flexibly adjusting the length of processing time at each station by allowing some articles to move between stations at a timing independent of the intermittent movement of articles. intended to provide.

The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus for intermittently moving articles so as to sequentially stop the articles at a plurality of processing stations provided along an endless conveying path, comprising: a guide member that moves along the conveying path; a plurality of carriers for holding articles, which are detachably attached to the guide member and move intermittently at a constant cycle integrally with the guide member along the conveying path in a connected state connected to the guide member; a switching means capable of switching a carrier stopped at a predetermined processing station out of the carriers to a released state in which the connection with the guide member is released; , and moving means for moving along the transport path.

Preferably, the conveying path includes at least a portion of a straight section, the guide members are configured such that adjacent guide members are arranged in a straight line in the straight section, the predetermined processing station is provided in the straight section, and the moving means moves a carrier stopped at a given processing station along a straight section when the carrier is switched to the released state.

Preferably, connecting pins are provided on the guide members determined at positions corresponding to the plurality of processing stations, and the carrier has engaging positions for engaging with the connecting pins provided on the guide members that stop at the predetermined processing stations. an engaging member movable between a release position released from the connecting pin and a switching means having a releasing member for moving the engaging member between the engaging position and the releasing position; is set at the released position, the moving means moves the carrier along the conveying path, and then the releasing member positions the engaging member at the engaging position to perform a process different from that of the predetermined processing station. It is engaged with the connection pin provided on the guide member stopped at the station.

According to the present invention, by making it possible to move some articles between stations at a timing independent of the intermittent movement of articles, it is possible to flexibly adjust the length of processing time at each station. Equipment can be provided.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a bag-like container is positioned at a heating station in the article conveying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a bag-like container is positioned at a cooling station in the article conveying apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a carrier and guide members; It is a side view which shows a carrier and a guide member. It is a side view which shows a carrier. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which a bag-like container is positioned at a heating station in the article conveying apparatus of the second embodiment; FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state in which a bag-like container is positioned at a cooling station in the article conveying apparatus of FIG. 6; FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the article conveying apparatus of the third embodiment, and showing a state from when the conveying body finishes intermittent movement until 1.0 second elapses; FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state from when 0.5 seconds have passed since the state of FIG. 8 was completed until 1.5 seconds have passed. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the state when 1.0 second has elapsed after the state of FIG. 9 was completed;

The invention will now be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 shows an article conveying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the conveying path has an oval shape and is formed by an endless conveying body 12 that is wound around a pair of sprockets 10 and 11 . The sprockets 10 and 11 are rotationally driven by a drive motor 17, and the carrier 12 intermittently moves counterclockwise in FIG. A plurality of processing stations S1-S8 are provided outside the carrier 12. As shown in FIG. The carrier 12 can hold bag-like containers (articles) C, and sequentially stops at each processing station S1 to S8. Various treatments are performed on the bag-like container C during this stop.

The conveying body 12 has a known structure, in which inner links 13 and outer links 14 are alternately arranged, and these links are connected by a connecting shaft 19 (see FIG. 5). are provided with rollers 15 engageable in recesses in the sprockets 10,11. A flat guide member 16 is fixed to each inner link 13, and a carrier 20 for holding the bag-like container C is detachably attached to each guide member 16. As shown in FIG. The guide member 16 moves along the conveying path and is linearly aligned with the adjacent guide member 16 between the pair of sprockets 10 and 11, i.e., in the straight section A. It is possible to transfer to another guide member 16 located.

The carrier 20 has a base 21 supported by the guide member 16 and a pair of grippers 22 supported by the base 21 for gripping both ends of the opening of the bag-like container C. As shown in FIG. The gripper 22 holds the bag-like container C in a predetermined state at the processing stations S1-S6. The approaching/separating motion of the pair of grippers 22 and the bag gripping motion of the grippers 22 are performed by known opening/closing mechanisms such as cams, air cylinders, and motors.

As processing stations S1 to S8, an insertion station S2, a heat sealing station S3, a cooling station S4, a standby station S5, a discharge station S6, and standby stations S7 and S8 are provided counterclockwise in FIG. 1 from the bag supply station S1.

At the bag supply station S1, bag-like containers C are supplied one by one to the gripper 22 by a known bag supply device 30. As shown in FIG. At the insertion station S2, the bag-like container C is set in a state where the mouth is opened, and a filling material (solid, liquid, powder, etc.) is supplied to the bag-like container C from a known filling device 31. As shown in FIG. In the heat-sealing station S3, the opening of the bag-like container C is clamped by a heating device 32 having a pair of clamping plates that are heated by heating wires or the like, and is thermocompressed and sealed. At the cooling station S4, the heat-sealed mouth portion of the bag-like container C is cooled by a known cooling device 33. As shown in FIG. The cooling device 33 clamps the opening of the bag-like container C between a pair of clamping plates made of a material having a high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and cools the bag-like container C so as not to wrinkle. At the discharge station S6, the gripper 22 is set in a released state, and the bag-like container C is picked up by a known discharge device 34 and transferred to the next process.

Nothing is done in the waiting stations S5, S7, S8.
In the heating station S3, the heating device 32 may have a configuration for sealing the opening of the bag-like container C by ultrasonic welding instead of thermocompression. Also, in the cooling station S4, the cooling device 33 may have a configuration for flowing cooling water to the clamping plates.

In this embodiment, the period of intermittent movement of the carrier 12 is 3 seconds. That is, carrier 20 moves between adjacent processing stations in 0.5 seconds and stops for 2.5 seconds at bag supply station S1, insertion station S2, standby station S5, discharge station S6, and standby stations S7 and S8. . However, the heat-sealing station S3 and the cooling station S4 stop for a different period of time than the bag supply station S1, etc., as will be explained below.

A suitable time for heat sealing at heat sealing station S3 is 0 to 1.0 seconds, whereas the processing at bag supply station S1, insertion station S2, and discharge station S6 is performed for 2.5 seconds. That is, if the time for stopping the bag-like container C at the heat sealing station S3 is set to 2.5 seconds as in the other processing stations S1, S2, and S6, there arises a problem that it is too long. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described below, the time for which the bag-like container C is stopped at the heat sealing station S1 is set to 1.0 second or less, and immediately after heat sealing, the bag-like container C is removed from the cooling station. It is moved to S4.

The heat-sealing station S3 is located at the upstream end of the straight section A of the conveying route, and the cooling station S4 is located near the center of the straight section A. In the straight section A, a linear rail 35 extending parallel to the endless transport body 12 is provided inside the endless transport body 12 . A finger support member 36 is attached to the linear rail 35 , and the finger support member 36 is displaceable along the linear rail 35 . A finger (release member) 37 is provided on the finger support member 36 , and the finger 37 can be moved toward and away from the carrier 20 . As will be described later, when the fingers 37 protrude toward the carrier 20, the carrier 20 is released from the guide member 16, which has been fixed until then, and can move toward the cooling station S4.

During heat sealing at heat sealing station S3, fingers 37 are positioned in a retracted position (indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 1) whereby carrier 20 is secured to guide member 16 and bag C is positioned at heat sealing station S3. is held to When the heat-sealing is completed, the fingers 37 move forward and are positioned at the projecting position (indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1), whereby the carrier 20 is released from the guide member 16, and the carrier 20 and the bag-like container C are straight. along a plurality of guide members 16 aligned to the cooling station S4. At this time, the conveying body 12 is stationary, and the other carrier 20 is fixed to the guide member 16, so that it does not move.

FIG. 2 shows the state in which the carrier 20 and bag-like container C have moved from the heat sealing station S3 to the cooling station S4, and this movement takes, for example, 0.5 seconds. If the period of intermittent movement of the carrier 12 is 3 seconds and the processing time at the heat sealing station S3 is 1.0 second, the bag-like container C is stopped at the cooling station S4 for 1.5 seconds. A cooling process is performed.

A connection structure between the carrier 20 and the guide member 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. Four guide roller shafts 23 are fixed to the lower surface of the base 21 of the carrier 20, and a guide roller 24 is provided on each of the guide roller shafts 23 so as to be rotatable about its axis. The guide rollers 24 are engaged with the edges of the guide member 16 (the upper edge and the lower edge in FIG. 3), thereby allowing the carrier 20 to move relative to the guide member 16 in the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 3). is.

A pair of claws (engagement members) 25 are provided on the lower surface of the base 21 so as to be swingable via a swing shaft 26 . Of the four guide roller shafts 23, the guide roller shaft 23 on the linear rail 35 side (the upper side in FIG. 3) and the pawl 25 are connected by a spring 27, and the pair of pawl 25 is always biased in the closing direction. . A connection pin 28 is provided near the tip of each claw 25 in the guide member 16 , and each claw 25 is normally biased by a spring 27 to engage with the connection pin 28 . As a result, the carrier 20 is connected and fixed to the guide member 16, and the carrier 20 and the guide member 16 move integrally along the transport path.

A lead-in guide 29 is provided on the base 21 . A lead-in guide 29 is provided near the rear end of the pawl 25, i.e. near the end opposite the connecting pin 28, and has a hole for receiving the finger 37. As shown in FIG. The finger 37 can move toward and away from the carrier 20 as described above. As a result, the claws 25 are released and separated from the connecting pins 28 , and the carrier 20 is disconnected from the guide member 16 and can move independently of the guide member 16 . On the other hand, when the finger 37 retreats and comes out of the hole of the guiding guide 29 , the pawl 25 is urged by the spring 27 to engage the connecting pin 28 , and the carrier 20 is connected to the guide member 16 .

Fingers 37 are provided on finger support members 36 attached to linear rails 35 . Therefore, the finger 37 can move the pawl 25 between the engaging position where it engages the connecting pin 28 and the releasing position where it is released from the connecting pin 28 because the carrier 20 is provided in the straight section A. This is when it stops at the heat sealing station S3 and the cooling station S4. With the pawl 25 in the release position, the finger support member 36 is driven by the controller 38 to move along the linear rail 35 so that the finger 37 moves the carrier 20 through the lead-in guide 29. It is moved relative to the guide member 16 .

A control device 38 controls the movement of the fingers 37 toward and away from the guiding guide 29 and the movement of the carrier 20 relative to the guide member 16 . Controller 38 and finger 37 thus disengage carrier 20 from guide member 16, which is stopped at heat sealing station S3 or cooling station S4, by moving pawl 25 between the engaged and released positions. A switching means for switching to the released state is configured. The control device 38, the fingers 37, and the guide 29 constitute moving means for moving the carrier 20 along the straight section A in the released state.

The structure of the carrier 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. The inner links 13 and the outer links 14 are alternately arranged and connected by a connecting shaft 19, whereby the endless carrier 12 is constructed. A column 18 extending upward is attached to the inner link 13 , and the guide member 16 is fixed to the upper end of the column 18 . The guide member 16 is a horizontal plate extending in the circumferential direction of the carrier 12, and both ends of the guide member 16 are positioned near the center of the outer link 14 in the circumferential direction. Therefore, in the straight section A, the adjacent guide members 16 are close to each other and form an elongated guide mechanism arranged in a straight line. In addition, in the straight section A in the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, five guide members 16 are arranged in a straight line.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.
With the carrier 20 positioned at the bag supply station S1, the insertion station S2, the discharge station S6, and the standby stations 5, 7, 8, the carrier 12 stops for 2.5 seconds. During this time, the bag-like container C is supplied to the gripper 22 at the bag supply station S1, the filling material is supplied to the bag-like container C at the insertion station S2, and the bag-like container C is taken out at the discharge station S6 to proceed to the next step. be transported.

On the other hand, in the heat-sealing station S3, the heat-sealing is completed within the first 1.0 seconds, and the finger 37 advances to release the claws 25 and release the carrier 20 from the guide member 16. FIG. In the next 0.5 seconds, the carrier 20 holding the heat-sealed bag-like container C moves along the linearly aligned guide members 16 to the cooling station S4. At the cooling station S4, the cooling process is performed for 1.5 seconds, the fingers 37 are retracted, and the carrier 20 is connected to the guide member 16 positioned at the cooling station S4.

Transport 12 is then driven for 0.5 seconds to transfer each carrier 20 to the next processing station S1-S8. Thereafter, similar operations are repeated to process the bag-like container C. As shown in FIG.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the heat sealing at the heat sealing station S3 is completed, the finger 37 advances, and the claw 25 is set at the releasing position where the claw 25 is released from the connecting pin 28, and the carrier 20 is switched to the released state. and moves along the straight section A of the transport path to the cooling station S4. At the cooling station S4, the finger 37 is retracted to position the pawl 25 at the engagement position and engage the connecting pin 28 provided on the guide member 16 which was stopped at the cooling station S4.

In this way, the heat sealing at the heat sealing station S3 can be completed earlier than at other processing stations such as the insertion station S2, and the bag-like container C can be transferred to the cooling station S4. The time required for the processing at heat sealing station S3 and cooling station S4, and the movement of carrier 20 relative to guide member 16 between these stations S3 and S4, is the period of intermittent movement of carrier 12. It is 3.0 seconds, and the processing time at each station S3, S4 can be freely determined according to the purpose.

6 and 7 show a second embodiment. Unlike the first embodiment, the second embodiment has a circular conveying path and the conveying body 40 is a circular rotary table. The carrier 40 is intermittently driven around the central axis by a drive mechanism (not shown) to rotate counterclockwise in the figure. A circular guide member (guide rail) 41 is integrally provided on the outer peripheral edge of the carrier 40 (that is, the carrier path), and the carrier 20 is supported by the guide member 41 so as to be relatively rotatable. The carrier 20 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and includes a base 21 which is movably provided with respect to the guide member 41, and a pair of bases 21 which are supported by the base 21 and grip both ends of the opening of the bag-like container C. a gripper 22;

A finger rotation mechanism 42 is provided on the central axis of the carrier 40 , and a finger reciprocating mechanism 43 is provided on the finger rotation mechanism 42 . A finger 45 is attached to the tip of an arm 44 radially extending from the finger reciprocating mechanism 43, and the arm 44 can be retracted along the radial direction. That is, the fingers 45 move radially to connect the carrier 20 and the guide member 41 as in the first embodiment, or disconnect the carrier 20 from the guide member 41 .

A plurality of processing stations S1 to S8 are provided outside the transport path. The period of intermittent movement of the conveying body 12 is 3 seconds as in the first embodiment. Pause for 2.5 seconds at station S5, discharge station S6, and standby stations S7, S8. At the heat-sealing station S3, the heat-sealing is completed during the first 1.0 seconds, the finger 45 advances, the carrier 20 is released from the guide member 41, and the heat-sealing is completed during the next 0.5 seconds. The carrier 20 sandwiching the sealed bag-shaped container C moves along the guide member 41 to the cooling station S4. At the cooling station S4, the cooling process is performed for 1.5 seconds and the fingers 45 are retracted to connect the carrier 20 to the guide member 41. FIG.

Figures 8-10 show a third embodiment. FIG. 8 shows the state from the end of the intermittent movement of the carrier 12 (hereinafter referred to as the starting point) until 1.0 seconds have passed. , and 1.5 seconds later, and FIG. 10 shows the state after 1.0 seconds have passed since the state of FIG. 9 was completed (that is, 4.0 seconds after the starting point). Since it takes 0.5 seconds to return from the state of FIG. 10 to the state of FIG. 8, the period of intermittent movement in the third embodiment is 4.5 seconds.

Although the distances between two adjacent processing stations are shown to be different in FIGS. 8 to 10, they are actually the same distance. The time taken to move from the discharge station S19 to the bag supply station S11 is the same.

The differences of the third embodiment from the first embodiment are the processing contents of the processing stations S11 to S19 and the transfer body 12 being movable when the carrier 20 is stopped at the processing station S13. Other configurations and actions are basically the same as those of the first embodiment.

As the processing stations S11 to S19, from the bag supply station S11 counterclockwise in FIGS. A station S18 and an ejection station S19 are provided. The conveying route has a first straight section E and a second straight section F, and the configuration and operation of the first straight section E are the same as those of the straight section A of the first embodiment. The second straight section F corresponds to the first filling station S12, the second filling station S13, and the standby station S14, and its configuration and operation are different from those of the first embodiment.

During the first 1.0 seconds shown in FIG. 8, the carrier 12 is stopped and each processing station performs a predetermined process. At the bag feeding station S11, the bags are fed to the gripper 22 (see FIG. 1), and at the first filling station S12 and the second filling station S13 the filling is fed to the bags. At the heat sealing station S16, the opening of the bag-like container is heat-sealed, and at the discharging station S19, the bag-like container is taken out and transferred to the next step.

For the next 0.5 seconds (between the state shown in FIG. 8 and the state shown in FIG. 9), it was positioned at the first filling station S12, the second filling station S13 and the heat sealing station S16 in the state of FIG. As for carrier 20, it is disconnected from guide member 16 (see FIG. 1) and moved linearly to the next processing station. Specifically, the bag-like containers filled in the first filling station S12 move to the second filling station S13, and the bag-like containers filled in the second filling station S13 move to the standby station S14 (see FIG. 9). Also, the bag-like container heat-sealed at the heat-sealing station S16 moves to the cooling station S17 (see FIG. 9).

During the 1.5 seconds shown in FIG. 9, the conveying body 12 is stopped and each processing station performs a predetermined process. At the bag supply station S11, the same processing as in FIG. 8 is performed, that is, one bag-like container is supplied to the gripper 22 within 3 seconds from the starting point. There are no bags at the first filling station S12 and nothing is done. At the second filling station S13, a filling different from that at the first filling station S11 is supplied to the bag-shaped container filled in the first filling station S11 in the state of FIG. There is no pouch at heat seal station S16 and nothing is done. At the cooling station S17, the opening of the bag-shaped container located at the heat sealing station S16 in FIG. 8 is cooled. At the discharge station S19, the bag-like container is discharged and transferred to the next process.

Upon completion of the state shown in FIG. 9 (i.e., 3.0 seconds after the starting point), the carrier 20 of the second filling station S13 remains released from the guide member 16 (see FIG. 1), while the waiting station S14 and the carrier 20 of the cooling station S17 are connected to the guide member 16, and the carrier 12 is driven in this state. The carrier 12 rotates from the position shown in FIG. 9 to the position shown in FIG. 10 in 1.0 second. The processing station carrier 20 moves along the transport path to the next processing station (see FIG. 10).

Therefore, the total residence time of the carrier 20 at the second filling station S13 is 2.5 seconds, after which the carrier 20 of the second filling station S13 is connected to the guide member 16 and the carrier 12 is driven to 8 states.

Thus, in the third embodiment, the filling time in the first filling station S12 can be set to 1.0 seconds, and the filling time in the second filling station S13 can be set to 2.5 seconds. The processing time at the heat sealing station S16 and the cooling station S17 is the same as in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the conveying body 12 can be moved along the conveying path while holding some of the carriers 20 at predetermined processing stations. Therefore, the length of processing time at each processing station can be flexibly adjusted.

As a release mechanism for fixing and releasing the carrier 20 to and from the guide member 16, the carrier 20 is provided with an air cylinder and a motor for opening and closing the claws 25, and the carrier 20 is moved along the linear race 35. may be provided.

The conveying body 12 is not limited to a chain conveyor in which the inner links 13 and the outer links 14 are alternately arranged, and may have other configurations such as a belt shape.

In the first embodiment, the cooling station S4 may be installed immediately upstream of the discharge station S6, that is, the standby station S5.

16 guide member 20 carrier 29 guide (moving means)
37 fingers (switching means, moving means)
38 control device (switching means, moving means)

Claims (3)

An article conveying apparatus for intermittently moving articles so as to sequentially stop the articles at a plurality of processing stations provided along an endless conveying path,
a guide member that moves along the transport path;
A plurality of carriers for holding articles, which are detachably attached to the guide member and intermittently move along the transport path integrally with the guide member at a constant cycle in a connected state connected to the guide member. When,
switching means capable of switching a carrier stopped at a predetermined processing station among the plurality of carriers to a released state in which connection with the guide member is released;
An article conveying apparatus, further comprising moving means for moving the carrier along the conveying path at a timing different from the constant cycle in the released state. At least part of the transport path includes a straight section,
The guide member is configured such that adjacent guide members are arranged in a straight line in the straight section,
The predetermined processing station is provided in the straight section,
2. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving means moves the carrier along the straight section when the carrier stopped at the predetermined processing station is switched to a released state. . connecting pins are provided on guide members defined at positions corresponding to the plurality of processing stations;
The carrier is provided with an engaging member movable between an engaging position where it engages with a connecting pin provided on a guide member stopped at a predetermined processing station and a releasing position where it is released from the connecting pin. ,
The switching means has a releasing member for moving the engaging member between the engaging position and the releasing position, and the moving means moves the carrier to the carrying position while the engaging member is set at the releasing position. After moving along the path, the engaging member is positioned at the engaging position by the releasing member, and the connecting pin provided on the guide member stopped at a processing station different from the predetermined processing station. 3. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the articles are engaged.

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