JP6705713B2 - Cutting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for cutting an object to be cut into a predetermined shape.

An example of this type of device is described in Patent Document 1. The device is placed on a cutting conveyor with the original sandwich made by sandwiching the ingredients between two breads and placed on the cutting conveyor. It is configured to grip both sides. The original sandwich is cut by the cutter descending from above while being held by each holding member. Then, the commodity sandwich obtained by cutting is grasped and lifted by the tongs and accommodated in the accommodation member.

Japanese Patent No. 5719472

When the device described in Patent Document 1 is repeatedly used, there is a possibility that the residue generated by cutting may adhere to the cutter or the cutting conveyor. When the above residue is further repeatedly used in a state where it adheres to a cutter or a cutting conveyor, there is a possibility that the cutting waste adheres to a product sandwich, impairing the product property, or becoming unsanitary.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cutting device capable of smoothly and efficiently performing a cutting operation by eliminating the influence of foreign matter such as a residue generated by cutting.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention cuts the object to be cut by moving the object to be cut and moving the object at the same speed as the conveyor and descending toward the object to be cut. In the cutting device with a cutter, in the conveying direction of the object to be cut by the conveyor, in front of the position where the cutter is most lowered, air is blown obliquely from above the cutter to the cutter. A removing device for blowing off the adhered foreign matter is disposed, and a scraper configured to discharge the foreign matter adhered to the surface of the conveyor to both end sides in the width direction of the conveyor is disposed in front of the removing device in the transport direction. It is characterized by being.

Further, according to the present invention, a nozzle for disinfecting the cutter by injecting a disinfectant solution onto the cutter may be arranged at a position corresponding to a position where the cutter is most raised in the transport direction.

According to this aspect of the invention, the removing device is disposed in front of the position where the cutter is most lowered in the carrying direction, and blows air to the cutter to remove foreign matter adhering to the cutter. Therefore, it is possible to remove the foreign matter attached to the cutter after cutting the preceding cutting object. Further, it is possible to avoid or suppress the foreign matter blown off by the removing device from adhering to the subsequent object to be cut. Furthermore, since a scraper that removes foreign matter adhering to the conveyor surface is placed in front of the cutter in the transport direction, even if the foreign matter blown off from the cutter as described above remains on the conveyor surface, The foreign matter above can be removed by a scraper. As a result, it is possible to avoid or suppress the foreign matter from adhering to the object to be cut and impairing the merchantability, or becoming unsanitary. Further, since the foreign matter can be removed without stopping the repeated cutting work, the above-described cutting work can be smoothly performed and the efficiency of the cutting work can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the cutter can be sprayed with a disinfecting liquid to disinfect it, so that the device can be a sanitary device.

It is a side view which shows an example of a structure of the cutter in this invention. It is an arrow line view which follows the II-II line shown in FIG. It is a side view for demonstrating arrangement|positioning of the nozzle in this invention. FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line IV-IV shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows an example of a structure of the scraper in this invention. It is a side view which shows an example of a structure of the scraper in this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the cutting device which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows some cutting conveyors in this invention.

The cutting device according to the present invention includes a removing device that blows away foreign matter such as a residue generated by cutting from the cutter. Further, in order to prevent foreign matter blown off from the cutter from adhering to the subsequent objects to be cut that are continuously conveyed, the removing device is arranged in front of the cutter in the direction in which the objects to be cut are conveyed by the conveyor. Further, a scraper is provided in front of the removing device in the conveying direction in order to remove the foreign matter blown off and dropped on the conveyor. First, an example of the configuration of the cutting device will be described, and then, the mounting positions of the cutter and scraper will be described. The example described below is an example of obtaining a triangular cut object by cutting a square cut object along the diagonal direction.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the cutting device according to the present invention. A carry-in conveyor 1 is provided adjacent to the cutting device according to the present invention. The carry-in conveyor 1 conveys the object to be cut 2 toward the cutting device, and is constituted by a belt conveyor in the example shown here. The direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7 is the direction in which the cutting object 2 is conveyed by the carry-in conveyor 1. A stacking mechanism 3 is provided near the end of the carry-in conveyor 1. In the example shown here, the stacking mechanism 3 is configured by an unillustrated articulated robot. Further, a camera 4 for discriminating the direction and the posture of the cutting target object 2 placed on the carry-in conveyor 1 is arranged above the carry-in conveyor 1. The image data obtained by the camera 4 is analyzed by a controller (not shown), and the analysis result is transmitted to the above-mentioned articulated robot as a control command signal, and the articulated robot operates according to the position and orientation of the cutting object 2. Is configured to.

The stacking mechanism 3 is for stacking a plurality of objects to be cut 2 in a uniform posture, and includes a scooping mechanism attached to the arm portion of the articulated robot. It should be noted that the articulated robot easy lifting device is not shown in FIG. 7 in order to simplify the drawing. This scooping mechanism may be a conventionally known mechanism, and is configured to scoop up one of the cutting objects 2 placed flat on the carry-in conveyor 1. Then, the stacking mechanism 3 places the scooped-up cutting objects 2 on the other cutting objects 2 on the carry-in conveyor 1 with their postures aligned, and the plurality of cutting objects 2 thus stacked from the carry-in conveyor 1 It is configured to be picked up and sent to the next cutting process.

Following the carry-in conveyor 1, a cutting conveyor 5 corresponding to the conveyor in the present invention is arranged. The cutting conveyor 5 is for carrying the cutting object 2 further forward in the carrying direction, and for cutting the cutting object 2 in the carrying process. The cutting conveyor 5 is composed of a belt conveyor like the carry-in conveyor 1.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a part of the cutting conveyor 5. In the cutting conveyor 5, a slit 6 is formed in the central portion in the width direction over the entire circumference, and the cutting edge of the cutter descending toward the cutting object 2 is inserted into the slit 6. It has become. This is to avoid damage to the cutting conveyor 5 due to the cutter. The structure of the cutter will be described later. The cutting conveyor 5 is wound around a pulley 7 which is rotated by a motor (not shown), and a groove 8 is formed at the center of the pulley 7 in the width direction over the entire circumference of the pulley 7. .. The cutting conveyor 5 is wound around the pulley 7 so that the slit 6 is aligned with the groove 8.

In the articulated robot that constitutes the stacking mechanism 3, one corner 2A of the cutting object 2 faces forward in the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5, and a diagonal line passing through the corner 2A is the traveling direction. The object to be cut 2 is placed on the cutting conveyor 5 so as to be parallel to the slit 6, specifically, the slit 6. Such handling of the object 2 to be cut can be performed by teaching the articulated robot.

When cutting the cutting object 2, a corner pressing mechanism 9 for restricting the position and the posture of the cutting object 2 on the cutting conveyor 5 is arranged in front of the stacking mechanism 3 in the transport direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. There is. The corner pressing mechanism 9 includes two gripping members 10 and 11. One gripping member 10 is arranged on the right side of the cutting conveyor 5 in the carrying direction, and the other gripping member 11 is arranged on the left side of the cutting conveyor in the carrying direction. As described above, the gripping members 10 and 11 are placed on the cutting conveyor 5 with one corner portion 2A facing forward in the transport direction and the diagonal line passing through the corner portion 2A being parallel to the transport direction. It is configured to press each of the other two corners 2B, 2B of the object 2. The left and right gripping members 10 and 11 are provided with patch plates 10A, 10B, 11A and 11B along two sides of the other two corner portions 2B and 2B, respectively, and these patch plates 10A, 10B, 11A and 11B. Is arranged so that the opening angle is right angled according to the angles of the above-mentioned corner portions 2B, 2B. Each of the gripping members 10 and 11 is configured to be moved toward and away from the object to be cut 2, moved at the same speed as the cutting conveyor 5, and returned to its original position. Further, one of the backing plates 10A and 11B is configured to be retracted in a direction away from the cut object obtained by cutting when the cutting of the cutting target object 2 by the cutter is completed.

A cutter 12 is arranged above the center of the cutting conveyor 5 in the width and length directions. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of the configuration of the cutter 12. The cutter 12 is for cutting the object 2 whose position and orientation are determined by the gripping members 10 and 11 and which is being conveyed by the cutting conveyor 5. In the example shown here, one flat plate-shaped cutting blade (blade) 13 is configured to linearly cut the object 2 to be cut along the diagonal line described above. In the example shown here, an ultrasonic cutter for ultrasonically vibrating the blade 13 is adopted. Further, in FIG. 7, a position where the cutter 12 and each mechanism for operating the cutter 12 as described later are arranged is described as a region surrounded by a dotted line.

The blade 13 is attached to the elevating table 14 including a mechanism (not shown) for vibrating ultrasonic waves. The elevating table 14 is attached to a movable part such as a piston in an elevating cylinder 15 arranged vertically, and is configured to move up and down by the elevating cylinder 15. The elevating cylinder 15 is attached downward to a slider 16 arranged above the cutting conveyor 5 and in the width direction of the cutting conveyor 5. One end of the slider 16 is connected to a linear guide 17 arranged parallel to the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5. The other end of the slider 16 is connected to a longitudinal cylinder 18 that moves back and forth in a direction parallel to the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5. The linear guide 17 and the front-back movement cylinder 18 are attached to a frame member 19 of the cutting device.

That is, the slider 16, the lifting cylinder 15 and the blade 13 attached to the slider 16 are configured to move back and forth in the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5 based on a control command signal from a controller (not shown). Further, the blade 13 is configured to be moved downward by the elevating cylinder 15 to cut the object 2 to be cut while the blade 13 is being moved forward in the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5 by the forward/backward moving cylinder 18. Specifically, the cutting target 2 is cut by the blade edge of the blade 13 moving in parallel so as to approach the cutting conveyor 5 from the upper left side to the lower right side in FIG. The most lowered position in the vertical direction is the end point EP described later. At this end point EP, the lowering of the blade 13 is stopped. Then, the blade 13 is advanced with the vertical movement stopped, and then raised. Then, they are made to go backwards and be further raised. In this way, the original position is restored. The movement locus of the central portion 13A of the blade edge in the length direction of the blade 13 when the blade 13 operates as described above is indicated by an arrow in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an air nozzle 20 is provided at a position where the cutting of the object 2 to be cut by the cutter 12 is completed, that is, at the front side of the end point EP or at substantially the same position. Here, the arrangement of the air nozzles 20 will be described. FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line II-II shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 20 are provided respectively. Each air nozzle 20 is attached to the frame member 19 of the cutting device at a predetermined angle. That is, the air is blown obliquely upward from the tip of the blade 13. Each of the air nozzles 20 is connected to, for example, an air compressor (not shown), and is configured to blow the compressed air to the blade 13 continuously or intermittently. The air compressor is configured to operate based on a command signal from a controller (not shown). The air nozzle 20 and the air compressor correspond to the removing device in this invention. Further, it is only necessary to blow air to the blades 13 to remove the foreign matters attached to the blades 13. Therefore, a blower may be used instead of the air compressor.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the position where the blade 13 is moved backward by the slider 16 to the rearmost side in the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5 and the blade 13 is moved upward by the elevating cylinder 15 in the vertical direction is shown. , The starting point SP of the cutting operation or the standby position of the blade 13. On the other hand, as described above, the position where the blade 13 is moved forward by the slider 16 in the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5 and the blade 13 is moved downward by the elevating cylinder 15 in the vertical direction is set. , Which is the end point EP of the cutting operation. The air nozzle 20 is provided in the frame member 19 of the cutting device so that the central portion 20A of the air nozzle 20 in the direction parallel to the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5 is located in front of the end point EP in the traveling direction or at substantially the same position. Is attached.

Although not shown in detail, each of the two cut objects 2C and 2C obtained by cutting the object 2 to be cut is lifted from the cutting conveyor 5 and then moved to the end point EP or slightly forward of the end point EP. A pickup mechanism that conveys the material toward the process is provided. The pickup mechanism includes, for example, a tongue attached to an arm portion of an articulated robot, and the tongs are used to grip and lift the cut objects 2C, 2C on the cutting conveyor 5 and convey them toward the next process. Has been done. Further, in the course of the transportation, it is configured so that the directions, that is, the postures of the cut objects 2C, 2C can be changed. The tongue is inserted toward the cut objects 2C, 2C from the position where the one of the contact plates 10A, 11B was located after the above-mentioned one of the contact plates 10A, 11B retracted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a nozzle 21 for injecting the disinfectant solution onto the blade 13 is provided at a position corresponding to the starting point SP of the cutter 12. Here, the arrangement of the nozzles 21 will be described. FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line IV-IV shown in FIG. 3, and as shown in FIG. Each is provided. Each nozzle 21 is attached to the frame member 19 of the cutting device at a predetermined angle. That is, the disinfecting liquid is sprayed from diagonally above the blade tip of the blade 13. In the example shown here, the nozzle 21 is attached to the frame member 19 so as to face the blade 13 at 45° with respect to the direction parallel to the blade 13. Each nozzle 21 is configured to spray the disinfecting liquid on the blade 13 based on a predetermined schedule. For example, when the cutting device is started or stopped, or when the type of the cutting object 2 is changed, it is preferable that the cutting object 2 is not arranged below the blade 13. This is to prevent the disinfecting liquid from mixing into the object 2 to be cut. The nozzle 21 is configured to operate based on a command signal from a controller (not shown). As the disinfectant solution, alcohol-based disinfectant solution such as ethanol, hydrogen peroxide solution and the like are preferable.

A scraper 22 is provided near the end of the cutting conveyor 5. FIG. 5 is a top view showing an example of the configuration of the scraper 22, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing an example of the configuration of the scraper 22. The scraper 22 is provided with two plate members 23 and 24 configured so that the opening angles thereof are right angles, and the first plate member 23 is rearward of the second plate member 24 in the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5, that is, a corner. It is arranged on the side of the holding mechanism 9 and its lower end in the vertical direction is in light contact with the surface of the cutting conveyor 5. Further, the slits 6 are arranged on the cutting conveyor 5 so that the corner portions 23A of the first plate member 23 coincide with each other. Both ends 23B, 23B of the first plate member 23 extend outside the both ends of the cutting conveyor 5 in the width direction of the cutting conveyor 5. The second plate member 24 is connected to the inner surface of the first plate member 23 in the vertical direction and slightly above the first plate member 23 with a slight shift. The inner surface of the second plate member 24 and the frame member 19 of the cutting device are connected via a connecting member 25. That is, the scraper 22 is fixed to the cutting device, and when the cutting conveyor 5 travels in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7, the scraper 22 removes foreign matter attached to the surface of the cutting conveyor 5. The foreign matter moves along the outer surface of the first plate member 23 and is discharged to the outside of the cutting device from both ends 23B and 23B of the first plate member 23. A gap may be provided between the lower end of the first plate member 23 and the surface of the cutting conveyor 5. In short, it suffices that the scraper 22 be provided so as to remove the foreign matter on the cutting conveyor 5.

Next, the operation of the cutting device having the above configuration will be described. The power switch of the cutting device is turned on and the disinfectant solution is jetted from the nozzle 21 to the blade 13. By doing so, the blade 13 is sterilized, and the blade 2 is prepared for carrying in. The objects 2 to be cut on the carry-in conveyor 1 are scooped up by the scooping device of the stacking mechanism 3 and transferred from the carry-in conveyor 1 to the cutting conveyor 5. In that case, one predetermined corner portion 2A of the cutting object 2 faces forward in the conveying direction by the cutting conveyor 5, and the diagonal line passing through the corner portion 2A is made substantially coincident with the center line of the cutting conveyor 5. That is, it is obliquely placed on the cutting conveyor 5.

The object to be cut 2 placed on the cutting conveyor 5 is lightly gripped by the gripping members 10 and 11, its position and orientation (posture) are determined, and it moves in that state. When the object 2 to be cut is conveyed below the cutter 12, the front-rear moving cylinder 18 and the lifting cylinder 15 of the cutter 12 start operating. In this case, the blade 13 is arranged at the above-mentioned starting point SP. Then, the blade 13 is lowered toward the object to be cut 2 while advancing forward in the traveling direction of the cutting conveyor 5. That is, the central portion 13A of the blade 13 moves obliquely from the starting point SP toward the ending EP, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. By doing so, the cutting object 2 is cut. The two cut objects 2C, 2C obtained by cutting are gripped and lifted by the tongs of a pickup mechanism (not shown) and conveyed to the next step.

At the end point EP, the blade 13 is located at the lowermost position in the vertical direction, but since the slit 6 is formed in the cutting conveyor 5, the blade edge of the blade 13 is inserted into the slit 6, and the blade edge and the cutting conveyor. No contact with 5. When the blade 13 reaches the end point EP, the blade 13 is advanced with its vertical movement stopped. After that, it can be raised while moving forward. Then, while moving backward, the vehicle is further raised and returned to the starting point SP.

In this manner, air is mainly blown from the air nozzle 20 to the blade 13 while the blade 13 is being raised while being advanced and is being raised while being moved backward. The air blows off foreign matters such as residues produced by the cutting from the blade 13. The air nozzle 20 blows air to the blade 13 from diagonally above to below, so that the foreign matter blown off from the blade 13 falls below the air nozzle 20. Therefore, foreign matter is unlikely to adhere to the subsequent cutting target 2. Further, some of the above-mentioned foreign matters fall on the cutting conveyor 5. The foreign matter moves while remaining on the cutting conveyor 5, and is removed by a scraper 22 attached near the end of the cutting conveyor 5. Then, the scraper 22 is moved along the shape of the scraper 22 and discharged to the outside of the cutting device.

Therefore, according to the cutting apparatus of the present invention, even if a foreign substance such as a residue is generated along with the cutting of the cutting target object 2, the foreign substance adheres to the cutter 12 or the cutting conveyor 5 and the subsequent cutting target object 2 is cut. It is possible to suppress the inconvenience of being attached to Therefore, the product is not compromised. Further, since the cutting device is not stopped when the foreign matter is removed by the air nozzle 20 or the scraper 22, the cutting work described above can be performed smoothly and the work efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, the blade 13 can be disinfected by spraying a disinfectant solution at the time of starting or ending the cutting operation, so that a sanitary device can be obtained.

2... Object to be cut, 5... Cutting conveyor (conveyor), 12... Cutter, EP... End point (position where cutter is most lowered), 20... Air nozzle (removing device), 22... Scraper.

Claims (2)

In a cutting device comprising a conveyor that conveys an object to be cut, and a cutter that is moved at the same speed as the conveyor and is lowered toward the object to be cut to cut the object to be cut,
In the conveying direction of the object to be cut by the conveyor, in front of the position where the cutter is most lowered, a removing device is provided that blows air from diagonally above the cutter to blow away foreign matter adhering to the cutter. ,
A cutting device, which is arranged in front of the removing device in the conveying direction, and is configured to discharge a foreign substance adhering to the surface of the conveyor to both ends in the width direction of the conveyor. The nozzle for disinfecting the cutter by injecting an antiseptic solution to the cutter is disposed at a position corresponding to a position where the cutter is most raised in the transport direction. Cutting device.

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