JP7019243B2 - Container supply device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container supply device, and more particularly to a container supply device that takes out one of a plurality of stacked containers and supplies the container to the next step.

In food factories and stores, a container supply device that supplies containers one by one from the container storage unit to the next process is used, and rice and side dishes are served on the containers supplied from this container supply device. Is done.

Here, in the container supply device, a claw (lower claw) that supports a plurality of containers stacked and accommodated in the container accommodating portion from below, and a claw (upper claw) that enters between the lowermost container and the container immediately above it. The containers are peeled off one by one by alternately inserting and removing the claws), and the peeled bottom container is taken out by suction or its own weight drop and automatically supplied.

Regarding the removal of the container in the container supply device, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-308222), Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-001040), and Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-000812). The techniques described in the publication) and the like are known.

JP-A-2002-308222A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-001040 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-000812

In the container supply device described above, the upper claws are inserted and removed from the gaps between the stacked containers, but for containers with a certain gap between the containers (about 4 mm or more), the containers can be inserted and removed stably, and one container is used. It can be taken out one by one.

However, in recent years, the gap between the stacked containers has become narrower due to the desire to efficiently transport as many containers as possible at one time, and in many cases, the space is narrower than 4 mm.

Then, in the above-mentioned container supply device, the upper claw cannot be inserted and removed from the gap between the containers, and the container cannot be taken out. As a result, the containers compatible with automatic supply are limited.

The present invention has been made from the above-mentioned technical background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a container supply device capable of taking out a container even if the space between the stacked containers is narrow.

In order to solve the above problems, the container supply device of the present invention according to claim 1 has a container accommodating portion for accommodating a container laminate composed of a plurality of laminated containers and a bottom portion of the container laminate. At the support position that supports the first container on the lower surface of the flange formed on the first container located, the support member that can move to the retracted position retracted from the flange, and the support position of the support member. On the other hand, the entry position for entering the gap between the flange formed in the first container and the flange formed in the second container located directly above the first container at a position shifted in the lateral direction, and the entry position. An approach member that can be moved to a detached position separated from the gap, an taking-out means for taking out the first container from below , a holding position for holding the container at an intermediate position of the container laminate, and not holding the container. The first holding member that can be moved to the non-holding position and the first holding member are moved from the holding position to the non-holding position, the approach member is set to the approach position, and the support member is retracted. At the position, the first container is taken out by the taking-out means, and then the first holding member is moved from the non-holding position to the holding position, and the support member is set to the support position, and then the entry member. The container is provided with a control means for executing the first control of supporting the container newly located at the lowermost portion of the container laminate by the support member. ..

In the invention of claim 1, the support member and the approach member of the container supply device of the present invention according to claim 2 are each composed of a plate-like body, and the support member linearly reciprocates. Then, it moves to the support position and the retracted position, and the approaching member linearly reciprocates to move to the approaching position and the leaving position.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, the tip end portion of the support member is inclined diagonally downward.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the support member and the entry member are radially from different peripheral edges of a circular rotating body having a predetermined thickness. The support member is formed in a fan shape that spreads outward, and the rotating body rotates to move to the support position and the retracted position, and the approach member rotates to the approach position. It is characterized in that it moves to the detached position.

In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the container supply device of the present invention according to claim 5 has the support member and the entry member arranged at least at two locations sandwiching the container. It is characterized by being done.

In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , the container supply device of the present invention according to claim 6 has the first holding member arranged at least at two opposite positions. It is characterized by that.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 7 is the container at an intermediate position higher than the first holding member in the container laminate in the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6. It further has a second holding member that can be moved to a holding position that holds the container and a non-holding position that does not hold the container, and the control means has a predetermined timing when the first holding member is in the holding position. The second holding member is moved from the holding position to the non-holding position and returned to the holding position again.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 8 is the ratio of once after the control means has performed the operation of taking out the first container a plurality of times in the invention according to claim 7 . The second holding member is moved from the holding position to the non-holding position and returned to the holding position again.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 7 or 8 , the second holding member is arranged at at least two opposite positions.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the control means controls the support member after executing the first control. The retracting position is set, the approaching member is set to the detaching position, the taking-out means is raised to lift the container laminate, the taking-out means is lowered to a predetermined position, and then the support member is set to the support position. The second control for supporting the first container by the support member is executed.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the control means controls the support member after executing the first control. The retracting position is set, the approaching member is set to the detaching position, the taking-out means is raised to lift the container laminate, the support member is set to the support position, and then the taking-out means is lowered to the first position. It is characterized in that a third control for supporting the container of 1 with the support member is executed.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 12 is the invention according to claim 10 or 11 , wherein the taking-out means is provided so as to be expandable and contractible, and has a suction portion that adsorbs the bottom surface of the first container. The control unit includes a regulating unit that regulates the height of the first container adsorbed on the adsorption unit, and the control means raises the taking-out means in a state where the bottom surface of the first container is adsorbed by the adsorption unit. And to lower.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 13 further includes an air injection means for injecting air at a position where the entry member enters in the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 12 . It is characterized by that.

The container supply device of the present invention according to claim 14 conveys the first container taken out by the taking-out means toward the next step in the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 13 . It is characterized by further having a transporting means for carrying.

According to the present invention, since the entry member is arranged so as to be laterally displaced with respect to the support member, the entry member reliably enters the gap between the flange of the first container and the flange of the second container. be able to. Therefore, even if the space between the stacked containers is narrow, the containers can be taken out.

It is a perspective view which shows the cooked rice processing mechanism provided with the container supply apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the cooked rice processing mechanism of FIG. (A) is a perspective view showing an example of a container into which cooked rice is put, and (b) is a plan view of the container of (a). It is explanatory drawing which shows the container supply apparatus and the cooked rice input apparatus which are one Embodiment of this invention which constitutes the cooked rice processing mechanism of FIG. 1 from the side. It is explanatory drawing which shows the container supply apparatus and the rice rice input apparatus of FIG. 4 from the plane. It is a perspective view which shows the handler provided in the container supply apparatus of this embodiment. It is the drawing which arranged the lower claw and the upper claw provided in the container accommodating part in the same vertical position, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view. It is a drawing which arranged the lower claw and the upper claw provided in the container accommodating part at the position shifted laterally from each other, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view. (A) to (c) are explanatory views continuously showing the operation when the tip portion of the lower claw provided in the container accommodating portion is tilted diagonally downward. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the holding guide and auxiliary holding guide provided in the container accommodating part. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of the holding guide and auxiliary holding guide provided in the container accommodating part. (A) to (f) are explanatory views continuously showing the operation of the lower claw, the upper claw, and the handler by the first control executed by the control unit in the container supply device of the present embodiment. (A) to (g) are explanatory views continuously showing the operation of the holding guide and the auxiliary holding guide by the first control executed by the control unit in the container supply device of this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the handler as a modification of this embodiment. (A) to (f) are explanatory views continuously showing the operation of the lower claw, the upper claw, and the handler by the second control executed by the control unit in the container supply device of the present embodiment. (A) to (f) are explanatory views continuously showing the operation of the lower claw, the upper claw, and the handler by the third control executed by the control unit in the container supply device of the present embodiment. It shows the state where the container is not adsorbed by the handler, and it is an explanatory diagram showing the height of the container when one container is supported and the height of the bottom container when many containers are supported. be. The state in which the container is adsorbed by the handler is shown, and the explanatory diagram showing the height of the container when one container is supported and the height of the bottom container when many containers are supported are compared. be. (A) to (e) are plan views showing an example of the shapes of the lower claw and the upper claw. The lower claw and the upper claw are modified examples provided in the container accommodating portion, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view seen from arrow B of (a), and (c) is (a). It is a side view seen from the arrow C of. 20 is a drawing showing a rotational position in which the lower claw is in the retracted position and the upper claw is in the detached position in the lower claw and the upper claw shown in FIG. 20, where FIG. 20A is a plan view and FIG. 20B is a side view. 20 is a drawing showing a rotational position in which the lower claw is in the retracted position and the upper claw is in the approach position in the lower claw and the upper claw shown in FIG. 20, where FIG. 20A is a plan view and FIG. 20B is a side view. 20 is a drawing showing a rotational position in which the lower claw is in the support position and the upper claw is in the detached position in the lower claw and the upper claw shown in FIG. 20, where FIG. 20A is a plan view and FIG. 20B is a side view.

Hereinafter, embodiments as an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings for explaining the embodiments, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals in principle, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rice processing mechanism provided with a container supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the rice processing mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a container, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing from the side a container supply device and a rice rice input device according to an embodiment of the present invention constituting the rice rice processing mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a container of FIG. Explanatory view showing the feeding device and the rice rice feeding device from a plan view, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a handler provided in the container feeding device of the present embodiment, and FIG. 7 shows the same vertical lower and upper claws of the container feeding device. Explanatory drawing showing the case of arranging at the position, FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the case where the lower claw and the upper claw of the container supply device are arranged at positions shifted laterally from each other, FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (c). Is an explanatory diagram that continuously shows the operation when the tip of the lower claw provided in the container storage portion is tilted diagonally downward, and FIG. 10 is an example of a holding guide and an auxiliary holding guide provided in the container housing portion. An explanatory diagram and FIG. 11 are explanatory views showing another example of the holding guide and the auxiliary holding guide provided in the container accommodating portion.

In FIG. 1, the rice processing mechanism of the present embodiment includes a container supply device M1 for supplying a container into which rice is charged, and a rice rice input device M2 for charging a predetermined weight of rice into a container supplied from the container supply device M1. In the next step (for example, the measuring distribution device M3 that measures and distributes the weight (total weight) of the container into which the rice is charged by the rice rice charging device M2, and the container that is distributed as having the total weight within a predetermined range). It is provided with a transport device M4 for transporting to the side dish serving process) and a discharge device M5 for discharging a container whose total weight is out of the predetermined range to the outside of the machine. Further, an input unit 1 for setting the operation of the cooked rice processing mechanism is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cooked rice processing mechanism of the present embodiment has a control unit (control means) S that controls the entire operation of the apparatus. A signal from the input unit 1 in which the operator sets the operation is input to the control unit S. Then, based on the signal from the input unit 1, the operations of the container supply device M1, the cooked rice feeding device M2, the measurement distribution device M3, and the like are controlled.

A cooked rice supply device (not shown) for supplying a cooked grain weighed to a predetermined weight is connected to the cooked grain processing mechanism M2 provided in the cooked rice processing device.

As shown in FIG. 3, the container t into which the rice rice R (FIGS. 4 and 5) is charged is, for example, a quadrangular tray formed by vacuum forming a thermoplastic resin sheet. This container t is divided into two areas by a partition wall, one of which is a rice serving area ta on which rice R is served, and the other is a side dish serving area tb on which side dishes are served. .. Further, on the peripheral edge of the container t, a flange tf protruding outward is formed over the entire circumference.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the container supply device M1 for supplying the container t having the above-mentioned shape is a tower-type container storage unit 10 for accommodating the container laminate T composed of a plurality of stacked containers t. It is equipped with. Further, the container supply device M1 is provided with a pair of container transfer conveyors (conveyor means) 11 extending from directly under the container storage unit 10 to the cooked rice charging device M2, which is the next step. A handler that sucks a container t (hereinafter, “first container t1”) located at the lowermost part of the container laminate T at the lower part of the container accommodating portion 10 and takes it out from below and places it on the container transfer conveyor 11. (Removing means) 12 is installed so as to be able to move up and down between the pair of container transport conveyors 11. Further, a pushing portion 13 is provided which pushes the container t to which the container transport conveyor 11 is conveyed and pushes the rice rice feeding device M2 into a predetermined position.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the handler 12 is made of a pedestal portion 12a and a plurality of rubber-made bellows structures that are stretchably provided on the pedestal portion 12a and adsorb the bottom surface of the first container t1. It includes a pad (suction portion) 12b and an elevating stay 12c for raising and lowering the pedestal portion 12a by driving from a drive motor (not shown). The handler 12 of the present embodiment has a structure of sucking and taking out the first container t1 in this way, but other than the present embodiment, for example, a structure of gripping and taking out the first container t1. The structure of may be adopted.

By such a container supply device M1, the container laminate T accommodated in the container accommodating portion 10 is attracted to the handler 12 one by one in order from the lowermost container t and placed on the container transport conveyor 11. After being transported to the container transport conveyor 11, it is set in the rice rice feeding device M2 by the pushing unit 13.

The cooked rice charging device M2 is provided with a stage 20 in which the container t sent from the container supply device M1 is installed. Further, a charging plate 21 on which the cooked rice R sent from the cooked rice supply device (not shown) is placed is provided directly above the stage 20 at a distance from the stage 20. The loading plate 21 is formed of two plates arranged so as to face each other, which are in a closed position in a horizontal state and rotate downward around both ends to be a loading position.

Therefore, the rice R is placed on the rice R in the closed position with the charging plate 21 placed, and the container t is also installed on the stage 20, and the charging plate 21 is rotated downward to the open position from the closed position. When the rice R is moved to, the cooked rice R on the charging plate 21 is dropped and thrown into the rice-filled region ta of the container t by its own weight.

As shown in these drawings, the container accommodating portion 10 of the container supply device M1 is provided with a plate-shaped lower claw (support member) 14 and a plate-shaped upper claw (entrance member) 15. Has been done. The lower claw 14 reciprocates linearly to a support position for supporting the first container t1 on the lower surface of the flange tf formed on the first container t1 and a retracted position retracted from the flange tf. It is movable. Further, the upper claw 15 similarly reciprocates linearly so that the flange tf formed on the first container t1 and the container t located directly above the first container t1 (hereinafter, "second container"). It is possible to move to an approach position that enters the gap with the flange tf formed in t2 ") and a detachment position that separates from this gap.

Further, the upper claw 15 is arranged at a position laterally displaced from the support position of the lower claw 14. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower claws 14 and the upper claws 15 provided one by one on each of the four sides of the container t are arranged alternately in a plan view (that is, in the circumferential direction). ..

Here, the relationship between the positions of the lower claw 14 and the upper claw 15 and the container t will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 shows a case where the lower claw and the upper claw are arranged at the same vertical position, and FIG. 8 shows a case where the lower claw and the upper claw are arranged at positions shifted laterally from each other (in the claw arrangement of the present embodiment). Equivalent) are shown respectively. In these drawings, (a) is a plan view and (b) is a side view.

When the lowermost first container t1 is supported by the lower claw 14, the container laminate T, which is an aggregate of the stacked containers t, is affected by its own load and bends greatly toward the bottom. The gap between the flange tf of the first container t1 supported by the lower claw 14 and the flange tf of the second container t2 immediately above the flange tf becomes narrow. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the upper claw 15 is arranged at the same vertical position as the lower claw 14, it becomes difficult to reliably advance the upper claw 15 into the narrowed gap (). See FIG. 7 (b)).

Here, when the lowermost first container t1 is supported by the lower claw 14, the gap between the flanges tf located directly above the lower claw 14 becomes narrow as described above, but the lower claw 14 supports it. Since the influence of the load of the container laminate T is reduced in the other portions, a gap between the flange tf of the first container t1 and the flange tf of the second container t2 immediately above the flange t1 is secured. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8 corresponding to the present embodiment, when the upper claw 15 is arranged so as to be laterally displaced with respect to the lower claw 14, the upper claw 15 is placed on the flange tf of the first container t1. And the flange tf of the second container t2 can be reliably entered (see FIG. 8B).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the lower claw 14 and the upper claw 15 are provided one by one on each of the four sides of the container t, and these are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction. It suffices if they are arranged at two places sandwiched between them, and they do not have to be arranged alternately in the circumferential direction.

The control unit S described above takes out the first container t1 by the handler 12 with the upper claw 15 in the approach position and the lower claw 14 in the retracted position, and then sets the lower claw 14 in the support position and the upper claw 15 in the detachment position. Then, the first control of supporting the container t (new first container t1) newly located at the lowermost part of the container laminate T with the lower claw 14 is executed. The details of this first control will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 9, the tip end portion of the lower claw 14 may be inclined diagonally downward. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the first container t1 is held at an angle, it is in the retracted position as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C. Since the lower claw 14 moves to the support position while lifting the first container t1 by the inclination of the tip portion, the posture of the first container t1 can be corrected.

Now, returning to FIGS. 4 and 5, the container supply device M1 has a holding guide (first holding member) 17 for holding the container t at an intermediate position of the container laminate T, and an intermediate position higher than the holding guide 17. Auxiliary holding guides (second holding members) 18 for holding the container t of the container t are provided at four locations around the container laminated body T. In the holding guide 17 and the auxiliary holding guide 18, the portion facing the container t has, for example, a sawtooth shape (see FIG. 10) or a corrugated shape along the vertical direction, or a brush shape (see FIG. 11) or an uneven surface. , A plurality of containers t at predetermined positions are sandwiched and held from both sides.

It is sufficient that the holding guide 17 and the auxiliary holding guide 18 are arranged at two facing locations, and may not be arranged at four locations around the container laminate T as in the present embodiment. Further, the shapes of the portions of the holding guide 17 and the auxiliary holding guide 18 facing the container t are not limited to those described above, and the holding container t may be a plurality of or one.

The holding guide 17 and the auxiliary holding guide 18 are movable to a holding position for holding the container t at an intermediate position described above and a non-holding position for not holding the container t, respectively. Then, when executing the first control described above, the control unit S moves the holding guide 17 from the holding position to the non-holding position, takes out the first container t1 by the handler 12, and then takes out the first container t1. Before 15 becomes the detached position, it is moved from the non-holding position to the holding position. Further, the auxiliary holding guide 18 is moved from the holding position to the non-holding position at a predetermined timing when the holding guide 17 is in the holding position. The details of these controls will also be described later.

Next, in the container supply device of the present embodiment, the first control executed by the control unit S will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12A, in the standby state, the lower claw 14 supports the first container t1 on the lower surface of the flange tf formed on the first container t1 located at the lowermost part of the container laminate T. At the support position, the upper claw 15 is in an approach position that has entered the gap between the flange tf formed in the first container t1 and the flange tf formed in the second container t2 located immediately above the flange tf. .. Further, the handler 12 supports the bottom surface of the first container t1.

From this standby state, as shown in FIG. 12 (b), the lower claw 14 moves to a retracted position retracted from the flange tf, and then, as shown in FIG. 12 (c), the handler 12 is the first container. It adsorbs t1 and descends. When the handler 12 is lowered, the container t above the second container t2 is supported by the upper claw 15, so that the container t is not pulled out together with the first container t1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12 (d), the lower claw 14 returns to the support position, the handler 12 is further lowered, and the pulled out first container t1 is placed on the container transfer conveyor 11. ..

After that, as shown in FIG. 12 (e), when the upper claw 15 moves to a detaching position away from the gap between the flange tf of the first container t1 and the flange tf of the second container t2, the container laminate T The remaining container t of the container t is dropped, and the container t (that is, the container t that was previously the second container t2) newly located at the bottom of the container laminate T is supported by the lower claw 14. .. The drawn container t (first container t1) is conveyed to the cooked rice charging device M2, which is the next step, by the container transfer conveyor 11.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 12 (f), the upper claw 15 returns from the detached position to the approached position, and the handler 12 rises to a position supporting the bottom surface of the new first container t1. Here, as described above, since the upper claw 15 is arranged so as to be laterally displaced with respect to the lower claw 14, the upper claw 15 is the flange tf of the first container t1 and the second container t2. It is possible to reliably enter the gap with the flange tf. Therefore, even if the distance between the stacked containers t is narrow, the containers t can be taken out.

As a result, the series of container take-out operations (first control) by the control unit S is completed, and the process returns to the standby state shown in FIG. 12 (a).

Next, in the container supply device of the present embodiment, the operation of the holding guide 17 and the auxiliary holding guide 18 in the first control will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the lower claw 14 has a tip portion inclined diagonally downward.

As shown in FIG. 13A, in the standby state (corresponding to FIG. 12A), the holding guide 17 is in a holding position for holding the container t at an intermediate position of the container laminated body T by sandwiching it from both sides. The auxiliary holding guide 18 is in a holding position where the container t at an intermediate position higher than the holding guide 17 is sandwiched and held from both sides. Therefore, in the standby state, the container t laminated on the container laminated body T is a set of a predetermined number of containers t (five in the present embodiment) from the bottom by the holding guide 17 and the auxiliary holding guide 18, and above the container t. It is divided into three sets of a set of a predetermined number of containers t (11 in the present embodiment) and a set of the remaining containers t on the set. As a result, the number of containers t held by the lower claw 14 becomes the number of containers t below the holding guide 17.

From this standby state, as shown in FIG. 13B, the lower claw 14 moves to the retracted position, and the holding guide 17 moves to the non-holding position where the container t is not held and is held by the holding guide 17. The set of containers t is dropped, and the first container t1 is pulled out by the handler 12 (corresponding to FIG. 12 (b)).

After taking out the container, as shown in FIG. 13 (c), the lower claw 14 returns to the support position and the holding guide 17 returns to the holding position (corresponding to FIG. 12 (d)). The timing at which the holding guide 17 returns to the holding position may be before the upper claw 15 described below moves to the detaching position, and may not be the same as the timing at which the lower claw 14 returns to the supporting position.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13 (d), when the upper claw 15 moves to the detached position (corresponding to FIG. 12 (e)), it is held by the container t below the holding guide 17 (that is, held by the holding guide 17). No container t) falls and is held by the lower claw 14. At this time, since the container t above the holding guide 17 is held by the holding guide 17, the number of containers t held by the lower claw 14 is the number of containers t below the holding guide 17 (= in the standby state). The number of sheets that was sometimes held).

After that, as shown in FIG. 13 (e), the upper claw 15 returns from the detached position to the approached position (corresponding to FIG. 12 (f)), and is in the above-mentioned standby state.

At this time, since the container t above the holding guide 17 is held by the holding guide 17, the number of containers t held by the lower claw 14 is not the number of the entire container laminated body T, but the holding guide 17. It becomes the number of containers t below. Therefore, the load applied to the lower claw 14 of the container t can be reduced, and the load applied to the lower claw 14 and the number and bending of the containers t can be made constant. As a result, the gap between the flange tf of the first container t1 and the flange tf of the second container t2 immediately above the flange tf does not disappear due to the load, and the height of the container t does not change due to the load. The upper claw 15 can be stably inserted into the entry position (the position where the upper claw 15 has entered the gap between the flange tf formed in the first container t1 and the flange tf formed in the second container t2 located immediately above the flange tf). can.

Then, if the holding position of the container t by the holding guide 17 is set so that the number of the containers t held by the lower claw 14 is as small as possible, the phenomenon that the container t bends due to the load (that is, the gap between the containers disappears). Phenomenon) can be greatly alleviated or eliminated.

Here, in a series of cycles by the lower claw 14, the upper claw 15, and the holding guide 17 shown in FIGS. 13 (a) to 13 (e), the holding guide 17 is in the holding position as shown in FIG. 13 (f). At one time, the auxiliary holding guide 18 is moved from the holding position to the non-holding position where the container t is not held, and the plurality of containers t laminated and held on the auxiliary holding guide 18 are dropped, and then FIG. 13 (g). ), Return to the holding position again.

By doing so, the impact load due to the replenishment of the container t to the holding guide 17 and the load of the stacked containers t can be dispersed, and the load applied to the holding guide 17 and the claws 14 and 15 is always constant. Can be done.

The operation of moving the auxiliary holding guide 18 from the holding position to the non-holding position and returning it to the holding position can be performed at any predetermined timing as long as the holding guide 17 is in the holding position. That is, it may be performed every time the handler 12 takes out the first container t1. However, if this operation is performed each time, there is a concern that the lower claw 14, the upper claw 15, and the holding guide 17 will be loaded with the drop of the container t, and the movement of the lower claw 14 and the upper claw 15 will become unstable. Therefore, it is desirable that the handler 12 performs the operation of taking out the first container t1 a plurality of times (for example, 5 times) and then once.

By the way, when the first container t1 located at the lowermost part of the container laminate T is taken out from below by the handler 12, the lower claw 14 moved from the retracted position and the upper claw 15 moved from the detached position are in the original positions (that is,). It is conceivable that the container t cannot return to the support position in the case of the lower claw 14 and the approach position in the case of the upper claw 15, and as a result, the container t does not enter the standby state shown in FIG. 12 (a).

Therefore, assuming such a case, the control unit S of the container supply device of the present embodiment performs the second control or the third control described below after executing the first control described above. After the execution, the next first control is executed.

Hereinafter, the second control and the third control will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 18.

Here, FIG. 14 is a handler 12 as a modification of the present embodiment used when executing the second control and the third control, and is a suction pad for the handler 12 shown in FIG. A regulating portion 12d that regulates the height of the first container t1 sucked on the 12b is provided on the pedestal portion 12a so as to surround the suction pad 12b.

As described above, the suction pad 12b is expandable and contractible. Therefore, by providing the regulating portion 12d, when the first container t1 is sucked and the suction pad 12b is shrunk, the bottom surface of the first container t1 is pressed against the flat surface of the regulating portion 12d. The height of the container t1 of 1 will be regulated. The handler 12 may adopt a structure other than that of the present embodiment, and the height of the first container t1 may be regulated by means other than adsorption, such as gripping.

By the way, FIG. 15A shows a case where the first container t1 is tilted without being held by a part of the lower claws 14 as an example in which the container t is not in the standby state. Then, in the second control, with respect to the state where the first container t1 is tilted, as shown in FIG. 15B, the handler 12 is raised to lift the tilted first container t1 and the lower claw 14 is lifted. Is set to the retracted position, the upper claw 15 is set to the detached position, and the holding guide 17 is set to the non-holding position.

At this time, when the container t is not adsorbed by the handler 12, the height of the container t when one container t shown on the left side of FIG. 17 is supported and the container t shown on the right side of FIG. 17 are used. As shown in the comparison with the height of the bottom container t when a large number of sheets are supported, when the load differs depending on the number of stacked containers t, the height of the container t due to the elasticity of the rubber used for the suction pad 12b. Is not constant. On the other hand, when the container t is sucked by the suction pad 12b of the handler 12, the bottom surface of the container t is pressed against the surface of the regulating portion 12d, so that when one container t shown on the left side of FIG. 18 is supported. As shown in the comparison between the height of the container t and the height of the bottom container t when a large number of containers t shown on the right side of FIG. 18 are supported, the load differs depending on the number of stacked containers t. However, the height of the container t becomes constant.

Therefore, in the second control, the handler 12 is moved up and down while sucking the container t with the suction pad 12b. However, in the third control, it is not always necessary to adsorb and keep the height of the container t constant, so that the handler shown in FIG. 6 is not the handler 12 provided with the regulation unit 12d as shown in FIG. It may be 12 (handler without a regulatory unit). The reason will be described later.

The distance between the container t held by the holding guide 17 and the container t below the container t is wide, and even if the entire container t is lifted by the handler 12 as described below, the container t is held by the holding guide 17. If it does not collide with the container t, it is not necessary to set the holding guide 17 in the non-holding position.

Now, when the first container t1 tilted by the handler 12 is lifted, as shown in FIG. 15C, the handler 12 is further raised to lift the entire container t.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15 (d), the handler 12 is lowered and returned to the fixed position. The fixed position means that the height of the container t allows the lower claw 14 to support the first container t1 at the support position, and the upper claw 15 at the approach position to the flange tf of the first container t1 and the second container. It is a position where the height is such that the t2 can enter the gap with the flange tf.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 15 (e), the lower claw 14 is moved from the retracted position to the support position to support the first container t1 located at the lowermost position, and finally, in FIG. 15 (f). As shown, the handler 12 is lowered and the upper claw 15 is moved from the detached position to the approached position. As a result, the container t can be restored to the standby state.

The second control may be terminated without lowering the handler 12 (that is, the bottom surface of the first container t1 is supported by the handler 12), and the process may shift to the first control described above.

Next, the third control will be described with reference to FIG.

In the third control, in the second control, the handler 12 is returned to the fixed position in FIG. 15 (d), and the lower claw 14 is moved to the support position in the next FIG. 15 (e) to move the first container. While t1 is supported, the corresponding operations are different from those in FIGS. 16 (d) and 16 (e). Since the other points are the same as those of the second control, duplicated description will be omitted.

In the third control, as shown in FIG. 16 (c), the handler 12 is raised to lift the entire container t, and then the lower claw 14 is moved from the retracted position as shown in FIG. 16 (d). Move to the support position. Then, as shown in FIG. 16E, the handler 12 is lowered to support the first container t1 with the lower claw 14.

According to such a third control, the first container t1 is clawed by simply lowering the handler 12 without lowering the handler 12 to return the handler 12 to the exact fixed position as in the second control. It can be supported by 14.

Therefore, since it is not necessary to accurately return the handler 12 to a fixed position and accurately position the height of the container t, it is not necessary to keep the height of the container t supported by the handler 12 constant regardless of the number of containers. .. Therefore, the handler 12 shown in FIG. 6 without the regulation unit 12d may be used for the third control.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed in the present specification are exemplary in all respects and are limited to the disclosed technology. is not it. That is, the technical scope of the present invention is not limitedly interpreted based on the description in the above-described embodiment, but should be interpreted in accordance with the description of the scope of claims, and the scope of claims. All changes are included as long as they do not deviate from the stated technology and the equivalent technology and the gist of the claims.

For example, with respect to the lower claw 14 and the upper claw 15, various shapes can be adopted as long as they can be moved between the support position and the retracted position, or can be moved between the approach position and the detachment position. As an example, as shown in FIG. 19, the tip side has a square shape (FIG. 19 (a)), the tip side has a tapered and rounded shape (FIG. 19 (b)), and the tip side has a semicircular shape (FIG. 19). 19 (c)), a shape in which the tip side is cut into a V shape (FIG. 19 (d)), a shape in which the tip side is a comb tooth (FIG. 19 (e)), and the like can be adopted.

Further, the lower claw 14 and the upper claw 15 may be configured to rotate instead of reciprocating linearly.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 20, the lower claw 14 and the upper claw 15 can be formed in a fan shape extending radially outward from different peripheral edges of a circular rotating body 19 having a predetermined thickness. Conceivable.

According to such a lower claw 14 and an upper claw 15, the positions of these claws 14 and 15 move due to the rotation of the rotating body 19, and as shown in FIG. 21, the lower claw 14 is in the retracted position and the upper claw 15 is used. Is the detachment position, as shown in FIG. 22, the lower claw 14 is in the retracted position and the upper claw 15 is in the approach position, and as shown in FIG. 23, the lower claw 14 is in the support position and the upper claw 15 is in the detachment position.

Further, an air injection means (not shown) for injecting air may be provided at a position where the upper claw 15 enters, that is, in a gap between the flange tf of the first container t1 and the flange tf of the second container t2. .. If the air injection means is provided, the first container t1 and the second container t2 can be easily separated, so that the certainty of taking out by the handler 12 is improved.

In the container supply device described above, a tray-shaped container into which cooked rice is put is exemplified, but various containers such as a bowl-shaped container and a curry container can be applied. Further, the container is not limited to the container into which the cooked rice is put, and may be a container other than cooked rice such as a cup.

1 Input unit 10 Container storage unit 11 Container transport conveyor 12 Handler (removal means)
12a Pedestal part 12b Suction pad (suction part)
12c Elevating stay 12d Restriction part 13 Pushing part 14 Lower claw (support member)
15 Upper claw (entrance member)
17 Holding guide (first holding member)
18 Auxiliary holding guide (second holding member)
19 Rotating body 20 Stage 21 Input plate M1 Container supply device M2 Rice input device M3 Measurement distribution device M4 Conveyor device M5 Discharge device R Rice rice S Control unit (control means)
T container laminated body t container t1 first container t2 second container ta rice rice filling area tb side dish filling area tf flange

Claims (14)

A container accommodating portion for accommodating a container laminate composed of a plurality of laminated containers,
A support member that can be moved to a support position that supports the first container on the lower surface of a flange formed in the first container located at the bottom of the container stack, and a retracted position that is retracted from the flange.
The flange formed in the first container at a position laterally displaced from the support position of the support member and the flange formed in the second container located directly above the first container. An approach member that can move to the entry position that enters the gap and the exit position that leaves the gap,
The taking-out means for taking out the first container from below, and
A first holding member that can be moved to a holding position for holding the container and a non-holding position for not holding the container at an intermediate position of the container laminate.
The first holding member is moved from the holding position to the non-holding position, the entry member is set to the entry position, the support member is set to the retracted position, and the first container is taken out by the taking-out means. After that, the first holding member is moved from the non-holding position to the holding position, the support member is set to the support position, and then the entry member is set to the detachment position. A control means for executing the first control of supporting the container located at the lower portion by the support member, and
A container supply device characterized by having. The support member and the approach member are each composed of a plate-shaped body.
The support member reciprocates linearly to move to the support position and the retracted position.
The approaching member reciprocates linearly and moves to the approaching position and the leaving position.
The container supply device according to claim 1. The tip of the support member is inclined diagonally downward.
The container supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container supply device is characterized by the above. The support member and the entry member are formed in a fan shape extending radially outward from different peripheral edges of a circular rotating body having a predetermined thickness.
In the support member, the rotating body rotates and moves to the support position and the retracted position.
In the approach member, the rotating body rotates and moves to the approach position and the exit position.
The container supply device according to claim 1. The support member and the entry member are arranged at least at two locations sandwiching the container.
The container supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the container supply device is characterized by the above. The first holding member is arranged at at least two facing positions.
The container supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the container supply device is characterized by the above. Further having a second holding member that can be moved to a holding position for holding the container and a non-holding position for not holding the container at an intermediate position higher than the first holding member in the container laminate.
The control means moves the second holding member from the holding position to the non-holding position at a predetermined timing when the first holding member is in the holding position, and returns the second holding member to the holding position again.
The container supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the container supply device is characterized by the above. The control means moves the second holding member from the holding position to the non-holding position at a rate of once after the taking-out means performs the operation of taking out the first container a plurality of times, and again the holding position. Return to,
7. The container supply device according to claim 7 . The second holding member is arranged at at least two facing positions.
The container supply device according to claim 7 or 8 . The control means is
After executing the first control,
The support member is set to the retracted position, the approach member is set to the detached position, the take-out means is raised to lift the container laminate, and then the take-out means is lowered to a predetermined position before the support member is moved. A second control is executed in which the first container is supported by the support member at the support position.
The container supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the container supply device is characterized by the above. The control means is
After executing the first control,
The support member is set to the retracted position, the approach member is set to the detached position, the take-out means is raised to lift the container laminate, the support member is set to the support position, and then the take-out means is lowered. A third control for causing the first container to be supported by the support member is executed.
The container supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the container supply device is characterized by the above. The take-out means includes a suction portion that is extensible and adsorbs the bottom surface of the first container, and a regulation portion that regulates the height of the first container that is adsorbed by the suction portion.
The control means raises and lowers the take-out means in a state where the bottom surface of the first container is sucked by the suction portion.
The container supply device according to claim 10 or 11 . Further having an air injection means for injecting air at a position where the approach member enters.
The container supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the container supply device is characterized by the above. Further comprising a transport means for transporting the first container taken out by the take-out means toward the next step.
The container supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the container supply device is characterized by the above.

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