JP4344670B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

    The present invention relates to a conveying apparatus that cuts out a predetermined number of articles conveyed in a plurality of rows and sends them to the downstream side.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a transport device including a conveyor that carries articles in a predetermined set (matrix) state onto a downstream packaging conveyor. In this transport device, articles sequentially fed from a plurality of transport conveyors to the parallel conveyor are transported by the parallel conveyor to a position where they are in contact with the restriction stoppers and restricted from proceeding further, and each row on the parallel conveyor is predetermined. Accumulate items one after another until a number of items are available. When the number of articles in each row on the parallel conveyor reaches a predetermined number, the regulation stopper is lowered to open the outlet of the parallel conveyor, and the articles on the parallel conveyor are used for packaging downstream in the transport direction by an extrusion plate. It is configured to extrude onto a conveyor.

The parallel conveyor is provided with detection means for detecting articles conveyed by a limit switch, an optical sensor or the like for each row and counting whether or not the number is a predetermined number set in advance. Based on the output signal, the restriction stopper is operated to control the opening of the parallel conveyor.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-278165

  When the articles are arranged in contact on the conveyor, the articles are connected to the parallel conveyor by the line pressure, so that the count by the detection means becomes uncertain and the number of articles to be cut out from the conveyor is unsatisfactory. There is a risk that the correct number of articles will not be collected on the parallel conveyor. It is also pointed out that if the article is soft, the article on the conveyor may be crushed and damaged by this line pressure.

  That is, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems inherent in the prior art described above, and has been proposed to suitably solve this problem, and the number of cut-out articles is accurate and prevents damage to the articles. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer device.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the intended purpose, the transport device according to the present invention is:
A predetermined number of articles are cut out from each column of a plurality of accumulators that convey articles in a single row, gathered in a plurality of rows, and defined at predetermined intervals in the traveling direction of the transfer conveyor connected in series downstream . A conveying device for sending out toward the article storage compartment,
Each of the accumulators is configured by arranging a plurality of conveyors that are each driven by a motor in series, and corresponding to the number of cuts assigned to each row, each predetermined number of articles less than the number of cuts Dispersed on the conveyor and placed on the front and back of a predetermined number of articles in a non-contact state and stopped ,
Upon excision of the accumulator unit or these articles, a plurality of conveyors in each column placing the cut-out as many of each article in a non-contact state running simultaneously from a stopped state, the article downstream of each accumulator unit Based on the signal detected by the sensor at the time of sending out, the motor is controlled to stop after continuously running the plurality of conveyors until the number of cut out articles assigned to each row is counted. Features.

According to the conveying apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the articles are accumulated on the conveying conveyor in a non-contact state, the articles can be cut out satisfactorily and an accurate number of articles can be cut out. it can. In addition, since line pressure is not applied to the article to be accumulated, even a soft article such as a roll bread is not crushed and damaged. In addition, since each accumulated article is in a non-contact state when the article is cut out from each accumulator unit, for example, even when the article is conveyed at high speed, the count by the article detection by the sensor is reliable and an accurate number. Can be cut out in units of the number of collective articles.

According to the transport device of the second aspect, since the transport conveyor that sucks and transports the article is disposed on the downstream end side of the accumulator, even a light article or an article that tends to become unstable is good. Conveyance can be achieved. According to the transfer device of the third aspect, the number of accumulators can be changed by the setting means, and when used in the supply unit of the packaging machine, it is possible to cope with the manufacture of a plurality of types of packaging bodies having different article accommodation numbers. .

  According to the transport device of the fourth aspect, since the discharging means for discharging the articles out of the system is provided on the upstream side of the accumulating section, excessive article inflow from the upstream side can be prevented, and the arrangement of the articles in the accumulating section can be prevented. There is no disturbance. According to the conveyance apparatus which concerns on Claim 5, the article | item from an accumulation part can be favorably transferred to an article | item storage area. According to the transfer device of the sixth aspect, when the number of articles in the two rows of accumulators is an odd number, the number of cuts in one accumulator is increased by one than the number of cuts in the other accumulator. Since the number of cutouts in the accumulator section is switched alternately, the number of accumulator articles does not decrease only in one accumulator section, preventing the delivery of articles to the collective conveyor, that is, the downstream article storage section, from being interrupted Is done.

  Next, the transfer device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of preferred embodiments. In the embodiment, a case will be described in which articles conveyed in two rows are gathered and sent to the downstream side.

  FIG. 1 shows an article supply apparatus including a conveyance device according to an embodiment. The article supply apparatus 10 includes a supply conveyor 14 that conveys an article 12 such as a roll pan that is randomly placed on a conveyance surface. On the downstream side, an alignment conveyor 18 is connected to deliver the articles 12 delivered from the supply conveyor 14 to a first curve conveyor 16 that is aligned in two rows and connected downstream. This first curve conveyor 16 changes the conveyance direction of the article 12 by 90 °, and the distribution conveyor 22 is passed through a delivery conveyor 20 provided with a checker (metal detector or the like) (not shown) on the downstream side thereof. Is connected.

  In the distribution conveyor 22, a distribution member 24 that tilts horizontally in the width direction with the downstream end as a fulcrum is disposed at the center in the width direction on the conveyance surface, and each row aligned by the alignment conveyor 18 is arranged. The distribution member 24 is tilted in the width direction so that the number of articles 12 conveyed is substantially equal downstream, and the articles 12 on one row side are deflected to the other row side. The row-side article 12 is configured to be deflected to one row side. A second curve conveyor 26 is connected to the downstream side of the distribution conveyor 22 and is configured to change the conveyance direction of the article 12 delivered from the distribution conveyor 22 by 90 °. In the embodiment, the article 12 is unloaded from the second curve conveyor 26 in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the article 12 carried into the first curve conveyor 16, and the entire article 12 in the article supply apparatus 10 is configured. As shown in FIG. 1, the flow is set so as to be substantially U-shaped in a plan view.

  An adjustment conveyor 28 is connected to the downstream side of the second curve conveyor 26. The adjusting conveyor 28 includes a discharge member (discharge means) that discharges the articles 12 conveyed after that to the outside when the number of accumulations of the articles 12 in the accumulators 36 and 36 described later reaches a predetermined number. 30 are arranged on the upstream side corresponding to each accumulator 36. That is, each discharge member 30 is disposed on the conveyance surface of the adjustment conveyor 28 so as to be tiltable horizontally in the width direction with the upstream end in the conveyance direction as a fulcrum, and allows passage of the article 12 along the conveyance direction. A position between the position and a discharge position that obliquely intersects with the conveying line of the corresponding article row is operated by an electromagnetic valve as first operating means 32 (see FIG. 3) controlled by the control unit 40 described later. It is configured to be tilted by an air cylinder. Therefore, when the discharge member 30 is tilted from the passage allowable position to the discharge position, the article 12 conveyed from the upstream side comes into contact with the discharge member 30 and is discharged out of the conveyor. The discharge member 30 is configured by winding an endless belt between a pair of pulleys whose axes are vertical, and configured to smoothly discharge the article 12 by running the endless belt with a motor. .

  The conveying device 34 of the embodiment is connected to the downstream side of the adjusting conveyor 28 and includes two rows of accumulating portions 36 and 36 corresponding to the number of rows of articles 12 conveyed by the conveyor 28, and both accumulating portions. A predetermined number of articles 12 can be accumulated in 36,36. Each accumulator 36 is configured to cut out the number of articles 12 allocated in advance toward the collective conveyor 52 described later with respect to the accumulated articles 12. In addition, since the structure of both the accumulator parts 36 and 36 is the same, it demonstrates about the structure of one accumulator part 36, and shall attach | subject and show the same code | symbol to the same member of the other accumulator part 36. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the accumulator 36 is composed of seven conveyors 38 used for accumulation arranged in series at regular intervals in the conveying direction. Each conveyor 38 is endlessly circulating in an endless belt in a predetermined direction by a first motor (motor) 42 such as a servo motor (variable speed motor) connected to a control unit 40 (see FIG. 3) in the conveyor 34. Consists of a belt conveyor. Each transport conveyor 38 is configured to disperse and place a predetermined number (plural) of articles 12 of the number of cuts assigned to the accumulator 36 formed by the transport conveyor 38. That is, the number (number) of articles 12 placed on one transport conveyor 38 is less than the number of cutouts, and the cutout number of articles 12 is placed across the plurality of transport conveyors 38. It has become. In the embodiment, the length in the transport direction of each transport conveyor 38 (the length of the transport surface) is set so that two articles 12 can be placed in a non-contact state. In other words, the length of the conveying conveyor 38 in the conveying direction (the length of the conveying surface) is set slightly longer than the value obtained by multiplying the conveying direction length of the article 12 by the number of articles to be accumulated on the conveying conveyor 38. . In the following description, when identifying the respective transport conveyors 38, the first transport conveyor 38, the second transport conveyor 38,..., The seventh transport conveyor 38 are designated in order from the downstream side in the article transport direction. Shall.

  Above each of the first to sixth transport conveyors 38, a first sensor 44 capable of detecting the article 12 is disposed on the upstream end side in the transport direction, and the article 12 is detected on the downstream end side in the transport direction. A possible second sensor 46 is provided. Both sensors 44, 46 are connected to the control unit 40, and control each conveyor 38 (first motor 42) based on the article detection signal transmitted from the both sensors 44, 46 by the control unit 40. Composed. That is, each of the first to sixth transport conveyors 38 travels in a state where the article 12 is not placed when accumulating the article 12, and as shown in FIG. When the first sensor 44 detects that the 12 has been transferred (the rear end of the article 12 is detected), the transfer is stopped. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the fact that the subsequent article 12 conveyed by the upstream conveyance conveyor 38 with respect to the stopped article 12 has approached a predetermined interval has been detected. When the second sensor 46 detects (detects the front end of the article 12), the stopped downstream conveyance conveyor 38 (the conveyance conveyor 38 on which one article 12 is placed on the upstream end side) travels. As a result, the article 12 on the downstream conveyor conveyor 38 and the subsequent article 12 are placed on the conveyor conveyor 38 in a non-contact state, and the downstream article 12 is detected by the second sensor 46 of the conveyor conveyor 38. When detected, the conveyance conveyor 38 is set to stop traveling (see FIG. 4C).

  As described above, the two articles 12 and 12 are stopped in a non-contact and accumulated state in order from the most downstream first conveyor 38, and the number of articles (accumulation number) is determined in both the accumulator parts 36 and 36. When the number of accumulable accumulators set equal to or greater than the allocated excision number is reached, the conveying conveyors 38 that are stopped in the accumulating state are simultaneously run (the first motor 42 is driven) by the control unit 40, and both accumulator units are 36 and 36 are set so that the cutting of the article 12 starts simultaneously. The article 12 cut out from each accumulator 36 is detected by a third sensor 58 disposed on a collective conveyor 52 (described later) provided downstream of both the accumulators 36, 36. When the number of cutouts and the number of counts counted by the counter 40a and assigned in each accumulator 36 become the same, the transport conveyor 38 of each accumulator 36 is stopped. As for the presence / absence of the article 12 on each conveyance conveyor 38 in the accumulator 36, the current accumulation state is determined by the article detection signal of the first sensor 44.

  Note that the first sensor 44 is omitted for the seventh transport conveyor 38 located on the most upstream side in the accumulator 36, and the second sensor 46 detects the article 12 when the sixth transport conveyor 38 is in an accumulating state. Then, the article 12 stops with the article 12 placed on the downstream end side. When the article 12 is placed on the downstream end side of the seventh transport conveyor 38, the discharge member 30 is tilted to the discharge position, so that no more articles 12 are supplied to the accumulator 36. . In addition, the seventh transport conveyor 38 starts traveling for cutting out the article by the sixth transport conveyor 38 located on the downstream side, and the article 12 placed on the sixth transport conveyor 38 is in the fifth transport downstream. The controller 40 is controlled by the controller 40 so that the article 12 travels when it is sent to the conveyor 38 and is transferred to the sixth transport conveyor 38.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 40 is provided with a setting unit 49 for setting the number of cutouts in response to an input from the input unit 48 such as a touch panel display or a data input key. The number of articles 12 cut out is assigned to each accumulator 36 in accordance with the number of articles 12 (collected by an assembly conveyor 52 described later) (referred to as the number of assemblies). For example, when the number of sets is input to the input unit 48, the numerical value is assigned as the number of cutouts of each accumulator 36 by calculating the number of sets or reading the stored numerical value. When the set number N is an even number, the number of articles cut out from each accumulator 36 is the same number (N / 2), and when the number is an odd number, the number of articles cut out from one accumulator 36 ((N + 1) / 2) is One more than the other ((N−1) / 2), and the other is assigned so that the other is one more at the next cutout. That is, for example, when the number of sets is 8 (even number), 4 are assigned to both the accumulator units 36 and 36 as the number of cutouts. When the number of sets is 9 (odd number), 5 is assigned as the number of cuts of one accumulator 36, whereas 4 is assigned as the number of cuts of the other accumulator 36. While four are assigned as the number of cutouts of one accumulator 36, five are assigned as the number of cutouts of the other accumulator 36. In this way, when the number of cutouts of both the accumulator parts 36 and 36 is different, the cutout number is set to be alternately switched every time the article 12 is cut out, and the accumulator of the article 12 of only one of the both accumulator parts 36 and 36 is set. It is set so that the number does not decrease. In addition, regarding the setting of the number of cutouts, other information associated with the number of sets (product name, product number, etc.) is stored in advance, and this information is input to the input unit 48, and assigned in correspondence with the number of sets. The stored number of cuts of each accumulator 36 may be read and set. In this case, the number of sets may be stored together with the information, and the number of sets may be read when the information is input to the input unit 48, and this may be calculated to obtain the number of cutouts of each accumulator 36. In the embodiment, the input unit 48 and the setting unit 49 constitute a setting unit that can change the number of cut out articles 12.

  The predetermined number of conveyors 38 located on the downstream end side of the accumulator 36 has a plurality of suction holes 38a formed in the endless belt at predetermined intervals in the traveling direction, and a suction (not shown) below the transport surface. A suction chamber 50 connected to the source is provided, and is configured to function as a suction conveyor that transports the article 12 by sucking and holding the article 12 on the transport surface by a suction force acting through the suction hole 38a. Note that the number of conveyance conveyors 38 that function as suction conveyors corresponds to the number of articles 12 cut out from each accumulator 36 at a time, and the maximum number of cutouts at a time is six. In the embodiment in which the articles 12 are set to be accumulated two by two, three (first to third conveyors 38) are arranged in each accumulator 36.

  One collecting conveyor 52 having a width capable of receiving the articles 12 carried out from each accumulator 36 is connected to the downstream side of the both accumulators 36, 36. The collective conveyor 52 is an endless belt conveyor that circulates an endless belt in the same direction as the conveying conveyor 38 by a second motor (motor) 54 such as a servo motor (variable speed motor) connected to the control unit 40. Thus, the article conveying speed of the collective conveyor 52 is set to be substantially the same as that of the conveying conveyor 38. The length of the collective conveyor 52 in the conveyance direction (the length of the conveyance surface) is such that a predetermined number (the number of collections) of articles 12 cut out from both the accumulator parts 36 and 36 in a single cutting operation are in contact with each other. Is set to be mountable.

  Above the conveying surface of the collective conveyor 52, there is a pair of side conveyors 56, 56 consisting of an endless belt conveyor that runs at substantially the same speed synchronously by a second motor 54 that drives the conveyor 52. As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet is provided spaced apart in the width direction across the center of the transport line. Each of the side conveyors 56 is disposed in a standing posture in which the traveling surface of the endless belt is orthogonal to the conveying surface of the collective conveyor 52, and the side conveyors 56 and 56 are close to each other as they travel downstream. The articles 12 conveyed on the collective conveyor 52 are guided from the side and can be narrowed toward the center of the conveyance line. In addition, the downstream space | interval of both the side conveyors 56 and 56 is comprised so that adjustment is possible, and it can be now adjusted now according to the dimension of the articles | goods 12, etc. FIG.

  Above the collective conveyor 52, third sensors 58 for counting articles are disposed on the upstream end side corresponding to the respective accumulators 36, and the articles 12 cut out from the accumulator 36 by the respective third sensors 58. The detection signal that is detected is counted by the counter 40a of the control unit 40. Then, when the count number of the detection signal in the counter 40a becomes the same as the number of cuts allocated in each accumulator 36, the control unit 40 transfers the transfer conveyor 38 (first motor) of the corresponding accumulator 36. 42) is set to stop control. Further, downstream of the collective conveyor 52 (side conveyor 56), a stopper 70 is moved up and down by an air cylinder operated by an electromagnetic valve as second operating means 68 (see FIG. 3) controlled by the control unit 40. (See Fig. 2). The stopper 70 is moved by the second actuating means 68 between a restricting position for restricting the delivery of the articles 12 from the collective conveyor 52 and an upper open position for permitting the delivery of the articles 12 at the restricting position. It functions to stop the movement of the articles 12 and to collect the articles 12 on the collecting conveyor 52 so that the front and rear intervals of the articles 12 are closed. Then, the second actuating means 68 is actuated by the control unit 40 at the delivery timing to the downstream side (the article accommodating section 64), and the stopper 70 is moved to the open position, whereby the articles 12 gathered thereby are gathered from the gathering conveyor 52. It is to be sent out. In the embodiment, the third sensor 58 and the counter 40a constitute counting means for counting the number of articles 12 cut out from the accumulator 36.

  A transfer conveyor 60 in a packaging machine such as a horizontal bag making and filling machine as a processing machine is connected to the downstream side of the collective conveyor 52. The transfer conveyor 60 is a slat conveyor in which a large number of slats are installed between a pair of endless chains spaced apart in the width direction, and a large number of partition members 62 are attached at predetermined intervals in the traveling direction. An article storage section 64 is defined between the partition members 62 and 62 to be formed. That is, it is configured to transfer the aggregated articles gathered by the collective conveyor 52 toward the packaging machine while being accommodated in the article accommodating section 64. The packaging machine (transfer conveyor 60) is provided with an encoder 66 as a position detection means of the partition member 62, that is, the article storage section 64, and a signal from the encoder 66 is sent to the control unit 40. Configured to be. Then, in the control unit 40, based on the position signal of the partition member 62 (article receiving section 64) from the encoder 66, a collective article delivery timing signal for moving the stopper 70 from the restriction position to the open position, A restriction timing signal for moving the stopper 70 from the open position to the restriction position is generated. In place of the regulation timing signal, a fourth sensor 72 connected to the control unit 40 and capable of detecting the article 12 is provided corresponding to each accumulator 36 on the downstream end side in the transport direction above the collective conveyor 52. The stopper 70 is moved from the open position to the restricting position when the assembled articles gathered on the conveyor 52 are sent downstream and both the fourth sensors 72, 72 are in a non-detection state. It may be.

(Effects of Example)
Next, the operation of the transport apparatus according to the above-described embodiment will be described. It is assumed that the number of articles 12 gathered by the gathering conveyor 52 is eight, and the number of cuts of each accumulator 36 is set to four.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the articles 12 delivered from the supply conveyor 14 to the alignment conveyor 18 and arranged in two rows are a first curve conveyor 16, a delivery conveyor 20, a distribution conveyor 22, a second curve conveyor 26, and an adjustment conveyor. 28, and is conveyed toward both the accumulating parts 36, 36. Note that both the discharge members 30 and 30 are allowed to pass the article 12 by facing the passage allowable position.

  In a state where the articles 12 are not placed on the respective conveyors 38 in the accumulators 36 and 36, all the conveyors 38 are traveled, and the articles 12 in each row conveyed by the adjusting conveyor 28 are corresponding accumulators. It is delivered to the conveyors 38 of the sections 36 and 36. In each accumulator 36, when the first sensor 44 detects that the leading article 12 has been transferred to the upstream end side of the first transport conveyor 38, the first transport conveyor 38 is stopped. Then, when the subsequent article 12 conveyed by the second conveyance conveyor 38 is detected by the second sensor 46 of the second conveyance conveyor 38 while the first conveyance conveyor 38 is stopped, the first conveyance conveyor 38 travels again. Then, the subsequent articles 12 are transferred to the first transport conveyor 38. When the first article 12 is detected by the second sensor 46, the first transport conveyor 38 stops and the two articles 12, 12 are placed in a non-contact state thereon.

  Thereafter, similarly, the second conveying conveyor 38, the third conveying conveyor 38,... And the two articles 12, 12 are sequentially stopped in a non-contact state. In this way, the two articles 12 and 12 are accumulated in a non-contact state on each conveyance conveyor 38, and the articles 12 accumulated on the upstream side of the downstream conveyance conveyor 38 and the conveyance conveyor 38 on the upstream side thereof are collected. Since the product 12 is in a non-contact state (that is, all the accumulated products 12 are in a non-contact state) with the product 12 accumulated downstream, the line pressure does not act on the product 12 and is flexible like a roll pan. Even the fragile article 12 is prevented from being crushed and damaged.

  When the number of articles accumulated in both the accumulators 36 and 36 reaches the number of accumulable accumulators equal to or greater than a preset number of cutouts, the control unit 40 cuts out the articles 12 and 12 from both the accumulators 36 and 36. The conveying conveyors 38 that are stopped in the accumulating state are simultaneously moved so as to simultaneously start. As a result, the articles 12 are sent from the accumulators 36 to the running conveyor 52, and each third sensor 58 outputs a detection signal every time it detects the conveyed article 12, and counts the detection signals. When the count number at the counter 40a reaches the same number (4) as the number of cutouts, the control unit 40 stops the corresponding conveyer 38 of the accumulator unit 36. The articles 12 transferred to the collective conveyor 52 are gathered in a state where the front and rear intervals are clogged by the movement being restricted by the stopper 70 facing the restriction position. When the articles 12 are cut from the accumulators 36 to the collective conveyor 52, the accumulated articles 12 and 12 are in a non-contact state, so that the article detection by the third sensors 58 is reliable. An exact number of articles 12 can be cut out.

  In the embodiment, since the three downstream conveyors 38 corresponding to the maximum number of cutouts in each accumulator 36 are configured to function as suction conveyors, respectively, lightweight articles and articles that are likely to become unstable. Even if it is 12, good conveyance can be achieved. Further, since the positional deviation of the articles 12 can be prevented, it is possible to cut out an accurate number of articles 12 from the accumulators 36 and 36 to the collective conveyor 52.

  The articles 12 conveyed on the collective conveyor 52 are width-adjusted from the side to the center of the conveyance line by a pair of side conveyors 56, 56, and the articles 12 are forward and backward and in the width direction on the collective conveyor 52. It is gathered in the state brought to. Then, at the timing of receiving the delivery timing signal from the control unit 40, the stopper 70 moves from the restriction position to the open position, and the collective article 52 delivers the collective article, so that the collective article is transferred to the transfer conveyor 60. Are transferred into the article storage section 64.

  The accumulating parts 36, 36 are related to the number of processing of the transfer conveyor 60 (the number of articles sent out downstream) and the supply amount of the articles 12 from the adjusting conveyor 28 to the accumulating parts 36, 36. The number of accumulators of the articles 12 at a predetermined number (in the embodiment, the number of articles when the articles 12 are placed and stopped up to the seventh transport conveyor 38, but may be set as appropriate with the number of articles larger than the number of cuts per one time. ), The discharge member 30, 30 is actuated by the control unit 40 and tilted from the passage allowable position to the discharge position. As a result, the articles 12 conveyed from the upstream side abut against the respective discharge members 30 and are discharged out of the conveyor, preventing excessive inflow of articles into the accumulator parts 36, 36, and at the accumulator parts 36, 36. The arrangement of the articles 12 is not disturbed.

[Example of change]
The present application is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and other configurations can be appropriately employed.
1. The number of articles accumulated in each conveyor 38 may be three or more. In this case, the length of each conveyor 34 in the conveying direction (conveying surface) so that the articles 12 are placed in a non-contact state. Length). The number of articles is set to be equal to or less than the number of articles 12 cut out in each accumulator 36.
2. Depending on how the articles 12 are gathered, the number of accumulators 36 may be three or more. In this case, the articles 12 may be arranged and conveyed by the upstream alignment conveyor 18 in a corresponding number of rows.
3. The number of conveyors 38 in each accumulator 36 includes the number of articles 12 to be assembled (the number of articles 12 cut out from the accumulator 36) and the number of articles 12 conveyed within a certain time from the upstream side. It can be appropriately set according to the flow mode of the article 12 such as being substantially constant or having a wave.
4). The discharge member 30 may be activated when the number of articles flowing into each accumulator 36 exceeds the number of processes of the accumulator 36. In this case, for example, the article 12 conveyed on the adjustment conveyor 28 may be detected by a sensor, and this signal may be counted.
5. The stopper 70, the second operating means 68, the fourth sensor 72, etc. may be omitted, and the control may be performed as follows. That is, when the number of articles 12 accumulated in each accumulator 36 is equal to or greater than the number of accumulable accumulators, the conveying conveyors 38 that are in an accumulating state (stopped) in response to a delivery timing signal based on a signal from the encoder 66 are simultaneously used. The operation of the first motor 42 is controlled so as to start traveling. The stop of the conveyor 38, that is, the cutting operation of the article 12 is the same as the control described above. In this case, the articles 12 cut out from the respective accumulators 36 are sent out to the article storage section 64 in the aligned state (non-contact state) as they are by the collective conveyor 52 that travels.
6). The stopper 70, the second actuating means 68, etc. may be omitted and the control may be performed as follows. That is, the traveling speed of the collective conveyor 52 is set to be slower than that of the transport conveyor 38, and when the articles 12 cut out from the respective accumulators 36 are transferred to the traveling collective conveyor 52, the interval is reduced. Like that. The fourth sensor 72 is used to detect the leading article 12 cut out from each accumulator 36. When the leading article 12 is detected by the sensor 72, the traveling of the collective conveyor 52 is stopped. In this state, the second motor 54 is controlled so that the running is started by the feed timing signal based on the signal from the encoder 66. In this case, the aggregated cut-out articles once stopped by the signal from the fourth sensor 72 are sent out when it is time to place them in the article storage compartment.

It is a schematic plan view which shows the whole structure of the article | item supply apparatus which employ | adopted the conveying apparatus which concerns on the suitable Example of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the conveying apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a control block diagram of the conveying apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the accumulation process of the conveying apparatus which concerns on an Example.

Explanation of symbols

12 article, 30 discharge member (discharge means), 36 accumulator section 38 transport conveyor, 42 first motor (motor), 48 input section (setting means)
49 Setting part (setting means), 52 Collective conveyor, 54 Second motor (motor)
58 3rd sensor (sensor) , 60 transfer conveyor, 64 article storage compartment

Claims (6)

A transfer conveyor (60) that cuts out a predetermined number of articles (12) from each row of a plurality of accumulators (36) that convey the articles (12) in one row, collects them in multiple rows, and connects them in series downstream. A conveying device for sending out toward the article storage section (64) defined at predetermined intervals in the traveling direction of
Each accumulator section (36) each motor (42) a plurality of conveyor is traveling (38) is constituted by arranging in series, corresponding to the number of cutout assigned to each column, the number of the cut Disperse a smaller number of predetermined number of articles (12) on each conveyor (38), place the front and rear of the predetermined number of articles (12) in a non-contact state, and stop .
Upon excision of the accumulating portion (36) or al of the article (12), simultaneously a plurality of conveyors in each row being placed cut as many respective article (12) in a non-contact state (38) from the stopped state traveling in the up based on the signal detected by the sensor (58) when feeding the articles (12) downstream of the accumulating portion (36), counts the number of cut-out of articles assigned to each row (12) The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the motor (42) is controlled to stop after the plurality of transport conveyors (38) continuously run.   The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport conveyor (38) positioned on the downstream end side of each accumulator (36) is configured to suck and transport the article (12). The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising setting means (48, 49 ) for setting the number of cuts of each accumulator (36). Articles supplied toward the accumulation part (36) on the upstream side when the accumulation number of the article (12) in the accumulation part (36) or the number of articles flowing into the accumulation part (36) reaches a predetermined number The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a discharging means (30) for discharging (12) out of the system. The article (12) traveled by the motor (54) and cut out from each accumulator part (36) is brought into a gathered state in which the interval is tight, and the width is guided from the side toward the center of the conveyance line to guide the article. The conveying apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4 which has the collective conveyor (52) sent out to an articles | goods accommodation division (64). The accumulator part (36) has two rows, and when the number of articles to be assembled is an odd number, the number of cutouts from one accumulator part (36) is one more than the number of cutouts from the other accumulator part (36). In addition, each time the number of cutouts is cut out, the odd number cutout row is set to be alternately switched between one row and the other row .

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