JP3594142B2 - Pallet unloader - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a pallet unloading device of the type that discharges containers such as bottles stacked in a plurality of stages on a pallet via intermediate sheets from a topmost one onto a discharge conveyor. More particularly, it relates to a transfer path for discharging the uppermost container of the pallet onto a discharge conveyor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the past, various types of bulk pallet unloaders have been developed, including a large type that extrudes the uppermost container stacked on a pallet one by one onto a discharge conveyor, Which discharges the above-mentioned containers one row at a time on a discharge conveyor (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-105236).
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in a bulk pallet unloading device that sequentially discharges containers of this type, which are stacked in a plurality of stages, from the uppermost one, due to the mechanism, the extrusion level of the container at the uppermost stage is lower than that of the conveyor surface of another conveyor. To a higher position. In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the actual difference is that the height difference from the height of the other conveying surface is eliminated by the inclination of the discharge conveyor. Therefore, the conventional discharge conveyor needs a certain length to absorb the height difference, and there are many problems in terms of installation space. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to reduce the installation space of a discharge conveyor in the pallet unloader.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a vertical discharge path for pressing an uppermost container laminated on the pallet via an intermediate sheet by a container pushing mechanism and dropping the containers one by one from the frontmost container, An appropriate number of shutters for opening and closing the passages are arranged at the upper end opening and the intermediate portion of the discharge passage, and a discharge conveyor is arranged below the vertical discharge passage, and the discharge conveyor is stacked on a pallet by the container pushing mechanism. Pressing the uppermost container in the horizontal direction, transferring the containers in the first row onto a shutter with the upper end opening of the vertical discharge path closed, and then opening and closing the shutter to drop the containers. Therefore, a technical means is adopted in which the containers are sequentially dropped from the uppermost container on the discharge conveyor one line at a time through the vertical discharge path and discharged toward the next process.
[0005]
[Action]
According to the present invention, since the container is configured to be discharged by sequentially dropping the containers from the uppermost extrusion level of the pallet through the vertical discharge path onto the lower discharge conveyor one line at a time, as in the related art, The installation space can be greatly reduced as compared with the case where the inclined surface of the discharge conveyor absorbs the difference in height from the conveying surface of another conveyor. The control of dropping the container onto the carry-out conveyor is performed by controlling the opening / closing timing of each shutter disposed at the upper end opening and the middle of the vertical discharge path.
[0006]
【Example】
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. As shown in the figure, a pallet 3 in which a number of containers 1 such as bottles are stacked via an intermediate sheet 2 is placed on an elevator 5 of a well-known pallet elevating mechanism 4, and is always kept at a maximum through a control mechanism (not shown). Each time one stage of discharging is completed, the upper container 1 is sequentially raised so as to maintain a predetermined extrusion level. In the figure, reference numeral 6 denotes a container pushing mechanism for pushing out the uppermost container 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, both chains 11, 11 stretched between sprocket wheels 7, 8, 9 and 10, respectively. The container 1 is pressed in the horizontal direction by a pressing member 13 provided between the containers 12.
[0007]
In front of the container pushing mechanism 6, a vertical discharge path 14 is formed in which a row of the front row of the container 1 pressed by the pressing member 13 can fall. A cover member 15 having a substantially U-shaped planar shape is provided around the periphery. A first shutter 16 is attached to an upper end opening of the vertical discharge path 14, and is configured to open and close the path in cooperation with the pushing operation of the pushing mechanism 6. Further, an appropriate number of two shutters including a second shutter 17 and a third shutter 18 in this embodiment are also provided at an intermediate portion of the vertical discharge path 14. These shutters 16 to 18 are opened and closed at a predetermined timing in cooperation with each other by controlling driving means such as an air cylinder through a control mechanism (not shown). In the figure, reference numerals 19a to 19c denote walls forming the vertical discharge path 14, reference numerals 20 and 21 denote air cylinders which are examples of shutter driving means, and reference numerals 22 and 23 denote guide rails for opening and closing the shutter. Things. Further, a discharge conveyor 24 is disposed below the vertical discharge path 14, and the containers 1 are sequentially dropped on the discharge conveyor 24 one by one and discharged to the next step. . In the drawing, reference numeral 25 denotes an intermediate sheet take-out mechanism for removing the intermediate sheet 2, and each time the discharge of the container 1 for one stage is completed, the intermediate sheet 2 remaining on the uppermost container 1 is newly added. Is transported to a predetermined place. Reference numeral 26 denotes a suction unit for taking out the sheet, and 27 denotes a guide member.
[0008]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. As described above, when the actual pallet 3 in which a number of containers 1 such as bottles are stacked via the intermediate sheet 2 is placed on the elevating platform 5 of the pallet elevating mechanism 4, the elevating and lowering is performed via a control mechanism (not shown). The mechanism 4 is driven to raise the uppermost container 1 to a predetermined extrusion level. Next, the pushing mechanism 6 is driven, and the uppermost container 1 is pressed in the horizontal direction by the pressing member 13, and the containers 1 in the front row of the container group are placed in the upper end opening of the vertical discharge path 14. It advances forward until it is transferred onto the closed shutter 16, and stops pressing when it reaches the shutter 16. Thereafter, the first shutter 16 is opened and closed by driving the air cylinders 20 and 21 by a control mechanism (not shown). While the passage between the opening operation and the closing operation of the first shutter 16 is open, the stopped one row of containers 1 falls on the second shutter 17 on the second stage above the opening. Become.
[0009]
Next, the push-out mechanism 6 is driven again to transfer the next row of containers 1 in the new front row onto the first shutter 16 to stop the pressing operation. That is, the containers 1 are pressed and transferred by one line. Before and after the pressing operation again, the second shutter 17 of the second stage is opened and closed, and the container 1 stopped on the shutter 17 is dropped on the third shutter 18 of the third stage. After that, the first shutter 16 is opened and closed, and the container 1 stopped on the first shutter 16 is dropped on the second shutter 17. As a result, the container 1 is stopped on the second shutter 17 and the third shutter 18.
[0010]
Further, the push-out mechanism 6 is driven again to transfer the next row of containers 1 in the new front row onto the first shutter 16 to stop the pressing operation. Before or after this, firstly, the third-stage third shutter 18 is opened and closed, and the stopped row of containers 1 is dropped on the discharge conveyor 24 above the third-stage third shutter 18. Is opened and closed, and the container 1 stopped at the top is dropped onto the third shutter 18 at the third stage. Thereafter, the first shutter 16 is opened and closed again, and the container 1 above the first shutter 16 is dropped onto the second shutter 17.
[0011]
Thereafter, by repeating the above operation, the containers 1 in the uppermost stage are sequentially discharged onto the discharge conveyor 24 one row at a time via the vertical discharge path 14. In this case, regarding the operation timings between the above operations, the third shutter 18, the second shutter 17, and the first shutter 17 are sequentially arranged from below after a row of containers dropped on the discharge conveyor 24 are discharged. Each container 1 is sequentially dropped one step at a time while opening and closing each shutter in the order of 16 and leaving each drop space, and then the next row of containers 1 is pushed onto the first shutter 16 by the pushing mechanism 6. As a result, there is a restriction on the timing of the press transfer. That is, each of the shutters 16 to 18 is linked with the pushing operation of the pushing mechanism 6 on the condition that, in principle, the next container 1 exists in the upper part and the previous container 1 does not exist in the lower space. It will be opened and closed.
[0012]
When the above operation is repeated and the uppermost container 1 is completely discharged, the pallet elevating mechanism 4 raises the container 1 by one stage, raises the next container 1 to the extrusion level, and removes the intermediate sheet 2. The intermediate sheet removal mechanism 25 removes the sheet to a predetermined place. Thereafter, by repeating the above operations, the unloading operation of the container 1 is continued.
In addition, the conveying direction of the discharge conveyor 24 is not limited to the mode parallel to the vertical discharge path 14 as in the above-described embodiment, but is changed to a right-angle direction so that the discharge conveyor 24 is conveyed in the width of one line. It is also possible. The vertical angle of the vertical discharge path 14 does not need to be strictly vertical, and may be slightly inclined as long as the free fall of the container 1 is not hindered. Further, the installation position of the vertical discharge path 14 can be changed as long as it is within the range where the container can be pushed out by the container pushing-out mechanism 6. In addition, the number of shutters provided at the intermediate portion of the vertical discharge path 14 may be selected according to the level of the difference between the extrusion level and the other transport surface.
[0013]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the containers are dropped from the uppermost extrusion level of the pallet through the vertical discharge path onto the lower discharge conveyor one line at a time, so that the uppermost extrusion level of the pallet and other transport surfaces Since the height difference from the above is directly eliminated, the installation space can be significantly reduced as compared with the related art.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Container, 2 ... Intermediate sheet, 3 ... Pallet, 4 ... Pallet raising / lowering mechanism, 6 ... Container pushing mechanism, 13 ... Pressing member, 14 ... Vertical discharge path, 16 ... 1st shutter, 17 ... 2nd shutter, 18 ... Third shutter, 20, 21 ... air cylinder, 22, 23 ... guide rail, 24 ... discharge conveyor, 25 ... intermediate sheet take-out mechanism

Claims (1)

A pallet lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the pallet, a container pushing mechanism for pressing the uppermost container stacked on the pallet via an intermediate sheet in a certain direction, and a container pressed by the container pushing mechanism falling by one row. A possible vertical discharge path is provided, and an appropriate number of shutters for opening and closing the path are provided at an upper end opening and an intermediate portion of the vertical discharge path, and a discharge conveyor is provided below the vertical discharge path. By pressing the uppermost container stacked on the pallet in the horizontal direction by the container push-out mechanism, the containers in the first row are transferred onto a shutter with the upper end opening of the vertical discharge path closed, and By opening and closing the shutter to drop the container, the container is sequentially dropped from the uppermost container through the vertical discharge path one line at a time onto the discharge conveyor and discharged. Pallet and unloading equipment.

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