JP7564435B2 - Item insertion device and item insertion method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an item insertion device and an item insertion method, and more specifically, to an item insertion device and an item insertion method for inserting a bag containing raw miso and ingredients for cup miso soup, for example, into a container.

A technique is known in which, when inserting a bag larger than the opening of a container into the container, the bag is held in a curved state by a guide member, the guide member transports the bag in that state to the position of the container, and the bag is pushed out to the side from the guide member to be inserted into the container in an overturned state (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2018-16386 A JP 2018-16387 A

The guide members in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 have an input port at the top and a holding surface that continues from the input port and penetrates laterally; when the bag is supplied from the input port to the holding surface, it becomes curved and is transported in that state by the guide member to the position of the container.
During this transport, there is a risk that the bags placed on the holding surface will fly out of the guide member, particularly at corners of the transport path, due to the centrifugal force that is applied. Therefore, in each of Patent Documents 1 and 2, guides must be provided at the corners of the transport path to prevent the bags from flying out of the guide member.
Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, the applicant of the present application has proposed an article insertion device having a guide member with an opening that opens and closes to make it easier to insert a bag, and is configured to significantly curve (deform) the bag when closed to hold it in place (Patent Application No. 2019-072321).
However, even with this article insertion device, when the bag to be stored is small or elongated, even if the bag is stored in the guide member in the correct position, the bag may slip and become slanted within the guide member during transport, causing the position to be disturbed. If the position of the bag is disturbed within the guide member in this way, when the bag is subsequently pushed sideways out of the guide member by the pusher and pushed into a container, the bag may be pushed in at an angle, causing part of the bag to protrude outside the opening of the container. This makes it impossible to attach the lid to the opening of the container in the next process, causing the generation of defective products.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention as set forth in claim 1 provides an article insertion device comprising a plurality of guide means capable of accommodating bag-shaped articles, a moving means for moving the guide means, an article supplying means for supplying bag-shaped articles to each of the guide means moved by the moving means, a container conveying means for conveying a container with its opening facing the guide means at an insertion position, and a pusher for pushing out the bag-shaped articles accommodated in the guide means into the container at the insertion position and inserting them into the container conveyed by the container conveying means,
the guide means includes a placement section on which the bag-shaped articles supplied from the article supply means are placed, a clamp member movable between a pressing position where the bag-shaped articles on the placement section are pressed and a retracted position where the clamp member is removed from the placement section, and a movement mechanism that moves the clamp member between the pressing position and the retracted position;
Moreover, the pusher is provided with a notch for avoiding interference with the clamp member of the guide means located at the pressing position,
When a bag-shaped article is placed on the placement portion of the guide means by the article supply means, the clamp member is moved from the retracted position to the pressing position by the movement mechanism, and the bag-shaped article is clamped between the clamp member and the placement portion,
At the insertion position, the bag-shaped article pressed by the clamp member of the guide means is pushed out to the side by the pusher and inserted into the container.
The present invention as set forth in claim 4 is a method for inserting a first bag-shaped object and a second bag-shaped object into a container having an opening, the method comprising the steps of:
conveying a guide means capable of accommodating a first bag-shaped article and a second bag-shaped article to a first supply position;
supplying a first bag-like article to a placement portion of the guide means at a first supply position;
a step of pressing and clamping a first bag-shaped object onto the placement portion with a clamp member;
conveying the guide means to a second supply position while the first bag-shaped article is pressed against the placement portion by the clamp member;
supplying a second bag-shaped object over the first bag-shaped object and the clamping member pressing the first bag-shaped object at a second supply position;
conveying a guide means holding the first bag-shaped article and the second bag-shaped article to an insertion position;
The method is characterized by having a step of simultaneously pushing the first bag-like item pressed by the clamp member and the second bag-like item superimposed thereon out sideways from the guide means at the insertion position and inserting them into the container.

According to the invention of claim 1, the bag-like article supplied to the placement section of the guide means is held in a pressed state by the clamp member from above, so that the bag-like article on the placement section can be prevented from shifting position or changing its posture when the guide means holding the bag-like article is moved to the insertion position. Therefore, when the bag-like article is pushed out to the side from the guide means at the insertion position and inserted into the container, a part of the bag-like article is prevented from protruding from the opening of the container, thereby preventing the occurrence of defective products.
According to the invention of claim 4, the first bag-like object supplied to the placement portion of the guide means is held in a pressed state by the clamp member from above, so that the first bag-like object on the placement portion can be prevented from shifting position or changing its posture when the guide means holding the first bag-like object is moved to the insertion position. Therefore, at the insertion position, the first bag-like object pressed by the clamp member and the second bag-like object superimposed thereon can be pushed out sideways from the guide member at the same time and inserted into the container. Therefore, it is possible to prevent parts of the first bag-like object and the second bag-like object inserted into the container at the insertion position from protruding out of the opening of the container, thereby preventing the occurrence of defective products.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an article insertion device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the guide means in Figure 1 is shown in Figure 2(a), where Figure 2(a) is a side view of the guide means, showing the clamp member in a retracted state, Figure 2(b) is a front view of the main parts of Figure 2(a), showing the holding member in an open state, Figure 2(c) is a side view of the guide means, showing the first article being held down by the clamp member, and Figure 2(d) is a front view of the main parts of Figure 2(c), showing the holding member in a closed state. 3(a) shows the configuration of the guide means in FIG. 1, FIG. 3(a) is an exploded view of the main parts of the guide means, FIG. 3(b) is a front view of the main parts of FIG. 2(c) showing the state in which the holding member is closed to accommodate the first and second articles, FIG. 3(c) is a front view of the main parts of FIG. 2(c) showing the positional relationship between the guide means and the tip of the pusher, and FIG. 3(d) is an enlarged view of the tip of the pusher in FIG. 3(c). FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion taken along line III-III in FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of a main part of the moving means of FIG. 4 . FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main part of FIG. 5 .

The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is an item insertion device. This item insertion device 1 stores a first item 3A in each guide means 2 that moves in a circular manner in the direction of the arrow in a first supply area A, and then stores a second item 3B in a second supply area B on top of the first item 3A stored in the guide means 2. In the insertion area C, a pusher 4 pushes the first item 3A and second item 3B stored in the guide means 2 to the side, so that the first item 3A and second item 3B can be inserted simultaneously into a container 5 that has been turned over.

In this embodiment, the first item 3A and the second item 3B are flexible sealed rectangular bags, with miso paste contained in the first item 3A and ingredients for miso soup contained in the second item 3B. The cup-shaped container 5 has a tapered side 5a that narrows toward the bottom 5b, and the opening 5c formed at the top is circular.

In addition, the longitudinal sides of the first and second objects 3A and 3B in this embodiment are longer than the diameter of the opening 5c of the container 5 and the height of the container 5. Therefore, if the first and second objects 3A and 3B are to be placed in the container 5 as they are, the first and second objects 3A and 3B may interfere with the opening 5c of the container 5, or a part of the first and second objects 3A and 3B may protrude from the opening 5c of the container 5. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first and second objects 3A and 3B are supplied to and held by the guide means 2, so that the longitudinal sides of the first and second objects 3A and 3B are deformed into a U-shape before being inserted into the container 5, and the first and second objects 3A and 3B in this state are pushed out to the side from the guide means 2 by the pusher 39 and inserted into the container 5 (see FIG. 4).

The length of the longitudinal side of the first item 3A is shorter than the length of the longitudinal side of the second item 3B, so that even when placed in the guide means 2, it only bends slightly and is not strong enough to be held firmly by the guide means 2 alone.

The item insertion device 1 includes a number of guide means 2 that accommodate the first item 3A and the second item 3B, a moving means 9 that continuously circulates and transports the number of guide means 2 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1, a first supply means 7 that supplies the first item 3A to the guide means 2 in the first supply area A, a second supply means 8 that supplies the second item 3B to the guide means 2 in the second supply area B, a container transport means 11 that transports the container 5 while turning it over in the insertion area C, a push-out means 4 that pushes the first item 3A and the second item 3B out of each guide means 2 into the turned-over container 5 in the insertion area C, and a control device 13 that controls the operation of these.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first supply means 7 includes a first belt conveyor 7A for transporting the first item 3A, a first camera 7B for photographing the first item 3A on the first belt conveyor 7A, and a first robot 7C for holding the first item 3A on the first belt conveyor 7A and transporting it above the guide means 2.

When a large number of first items 3A are placed on the first conveyor belt 7A in random orientation and transported, the first camera 7B photographs the first items 3A on the first conveyor belt 7A, allowing the control device 13 to recognize their position and orientation.

The control device 13 controls the operation of the first robot 7C according to the position and orientation of each first item 3A photographed by the first camera 7B. In other words, the first robot 7C has a suction head (not shown) that uses negative pressure to suction and hold the first item 3A on the first belt conveyor 7A, and uses the suction head to suction and hold the first item 3A on the first belt conveyor 7A based on the recognition results of the first camera 7B.

The first robot 7C then rotates the orientation of the first item 3A to an orientation suitable for transferring it to the guide means 2, and then transfers the first item 3A to the guide means 2 while moving it in synchronization with the guide means 2 being transported at the first supply position A. At that time, the first item 3A is transferred to the guide means 2 so that the longitudinal side of the first item 3A is perpendicular to the direction of movement of the guide means 2.

The second supply means 8 is provided at a position downstream of the first supply means 7 in the conveying direction and separated from the first supply means 7. Like the first supply means 7, the second supply means 8 includes a second belt conveyor 8A that conveys the second items 3B in a random state, a second camera 8B that photographs the second items 3B on the second belt conveyor 8A, and a second robot 8C that holds and transports the second items 3B on the second belt conveyor 8A.

The second robot 8C has a suction head (not shown) similar to that of the first robot 7C, and the operation of the second robot 8C is also controlled by the control device 13. When the second robot 8C uses its suction head to suction and hold the second item 3B on the second belt conveyor 8A, it places the second item 3B on the first item 3A transferred to the guide means 2 at the first supply position A while moving the second item 3B in synchronization with the guide means 2 being transported in the second supply area B. At this time, the second item 3B is placed on the guide means 2 so that the longitudinal side of the second item 3B is perpendicular to the movement direction of the guide means 2.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the guide means 2 includes a placement section 2A on which the first item 3A is placed, a pair of holding members 15A, 15B that can be opened and closed between a closed holding position and an expanded open position, a clamping member 16 that holds down the first item 3A on the placement section 2A from above, a first moving mechanism 21 (opening and closing interlocking mechanism) that opens and closes the holding members 15A, 15B, and a second moving mechanism 22 (moving mechanism) that swings the clamping member 16 between a retracted position and an advanced position.

A pair of plate-shaped support parts 17A, 17B are erected on the upper surface of the support member 17 attached to the moving means 9 described later, and the bases of the holding members 15A, 15B are attached to the upper parts of the support parts 17A, 17B via support pins 23, 23 so as to be able to swing, maintaining a predetermined distance between them.

The holding members 15A and 15B are of the same shape, and are supported so that their longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the guide means 2. They are opened and closed with the holding surfaces 15D, which are the inner surfaces, facing each other. The space between the upper ends of the holding members 15A and 15B serves as the inlet 15C for supplying the two articles 3A and 3B, and the inner surfaces of the holding members 15A and 15B facing each other serve as the holding surfaces 15D for holding the second article 3B. The holding surfaces 15D are substantially arc-shaped when viewed from the side, and multiple linear grooves are formed on the holding surfaces 15D along the pushing direction (longitudinal direction) of the pusher 39. The multiple linear grooves make it easier for the holding surfaces 15D to push the second article 3A toward the container 5 on the side without sliding vertically and while maintaining the C-shape.

The holding members 15A and 15B are moved by a first moving mechanism 21 between the wide open position shown in Fig. 2(a) and Fig. 2(b) and the closed position shown in Fig. 2(c) and Fig. 2(d). The first item 3A and the second item 3B are supplied to the placement section 2A from an input port 15C located between the holding members 15A and 15B in the open position.

The mounting section 2A is made up of three rectangular column members that are connected across the upper ends of the support sections 17A and 17B with a specified distance between them. In other words, the mounting section 2A is provided on the upper ends of the support sections 17A and 17B between the pair of holding members 15A and 15B, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the holding members 15A and 15B.

The height of the top surface of each of the rectangular column members that make up the mounting section 2A is the same, and the first item 3A is placed horizontally on these rectangular column members. In addition, a protrusion 2Aa is formed on the inner end of the central rectangular column member, and the presence of this protrusion 2Aa prevents the first item 3A placed on the mounting section 2A from falling inward.

The clamp member 16 is roughly L-shaped, but its tip is divided into a pair of holding portions 16A, 16A (see Figs. 2(c) and (d)). The distance between these holding portions 16A, 16A is set to match the distance between the rectangular column members on both sides that make up the mounting portion 2A, so that when the clamp member 16 is swung forward, the holding members 16A, 16A overlap with the rectangular column members on both sides of the mounting portion 2A.

The clamp member 16 can be moved by the second moving mechanism 22 between a retracted position (see FIG. 2(a)) in which the pressing portions 16A, 16A are retracted to an outward position offset from the mounting portion 2A, and an advanced position (see FIG. 2(c)) in which the pressing portions 16A, 16A overlap the mounting portion 2A. In the advanced position, the first item 3A can be clamped between the pressing portions 16A, 16A and the mounting portion 2A.

Next, the configuration of the first moving mechanism 21 and the second moving mechanism 22 will be described. The first moving mechanism 21 includes a first rod 25 that is slidably inserted through the vertical guide hole 17C on the outer side of the support member 17, and link members 26, 26 that are provided between the first rod 25 and the lower ends of the holding members 15A and 15B. A cam follower 27 is attached to the lower end of the first rod 25.

A cam member 28 of a predetermined height is disposed in the first supply area A and the second supply area B when the guide means 2 is moved. On the other hand, no cam member 28 is provided in the movement area of the cam follower 27 other than the first supply area A and the second supply area B.

Therefore, when the guide means 2 moves between the first supply area A and the second supply area B, the cam follower 27 engages with the cam member 28, and the first rod 25 is raised a predetermined amount from the lowered end to the upper end. As a result, the holding members 15A and 15B are opened from the closed position to the open position via the link members 26 and 26, and the input port 15C is opened to the maximum extent (see Figures 2(a) and (b)).

On the other hand, the second moving mechanism 22 includes a second rod 29 that is slidably inserted through the vertical guide hole 17D on the inner side of the support member 17, and multiple link members 30A, 30B that are provided between the second rod 29 and the lower end of the clamp member 16.

A fixed plate 31 protrudes from and is connected to the side of the support portion 17A, and the lower part of the clamp member 16 is attached to the tip of this fixed plate 31 via a pin 32 so that it can swing. The upper end of the link member 30B is also attached to this pin 32 so that it can swing.

A cam follower 34 is attached to the lower end of the second rod 29. A cam member 35 of a predetermined height is disposed below the first supply area A when the guide means 2 is moved. On the other hand, no cam member 35 is provided in any area of movement of the cam follower 34 other than the first supply area A.

Therefore, when the guide means 2 moves through the first supply area A, the cam follower 34 engages with the cam member 35, and the second rod 29 is raised a predetermined amount from the lower end to the upper end. As a result, the pressing portions 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16 are swung outward from above the mounting portion 2A via the link members 30A, 30B to the retracted position (see FIG. 2(a)).

On the other hand, when the guide means 2 passes through the first supply area A, the cam follower 34 disengages from the cam member 35, and the second rod 29 descends from the upper end to the lower end under its own weight. As a result, the clamp member 16 is swung via the link members 30A and 30B, and the pressing portions 16A and 16A advance to the forward position. As a result, the first article 3A on the placement portion 2A is clamped between the placement portion 2A and the pressing portions 16A and 16A of the clamp member 16, so that the first article 3A is pressed so as not to shift position (see FIG. 2(d)).

The moving means 9 that moves each guide means 2 in a circular manner is composed of a number of first members 9A and second members 9B arranged alternately as shown in Figures 4 to 6. The first members 9A and second members 9B are connected to each other in a swingable manner via a vertical rotation shaft 9C, so that the moving means 9 is endless as a whole.

Rollers 9D are attached to both the top and bottom ends of each rotating shaft 9C. A support shaft 9E is connected horizontally to the inner side of each second member 9B, and a guide means 2 is attached to the outer side of the second member 9B via a support member 17. This keeps the adjacent guide means 2 at equal intervals in the direction of movement when moved by the moving means 9.

A roller 9F is attached to the tip of the support shaft 9E, and the roller 9F of the support shaft 9E rolls on a support rail 18A arranged at a predetermined height. In addition, the upper and lower rollers 9D, 9D of each rotating shaft 9C roll while engaging with guide rails 18B, 18B arranged at upper and lower positions (see Figure 4). As shown in Figure 1, the upper and lower rollers 9D, 9D of each rotating shaft 9C also engage with a pair of upper and lower sprockets 19 arranged in four locations.

When each sprocket 19 is rotated counterclockwise by a driving source (not shown), each of the first members 9A and second members 9B constituting the moving means 9 travels in a circular motion in the counterclockwise direction, so that the guide means 2 connected to each of the second members 9B is moved in a circular motion along a predetermined movement trajectory while maintaining the first supply area A, second supply area B and insertion area C at a predetermined height.

Next, the pushing means 4, which includes the container transport means 11 for transporting the container 5 and the pusher 39 for pushing the first item 3A and the second item 3B sideways from the guide means 2, will be described. The container transport means 11 for transporting the container 5 is adapted to tip the container 5 from an upright state to a rolled-over state at the insertion position C while transporting the container 5 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1 at the same interval as the guide means 2, and the first item 3A and the second item 3B are supplied into the container 5 during this rolled-over state. The container transport means 11 then changes the position of the container 5 from the rolled-over state to an upright state and transports it downstream.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the pushing means 4 comprises a pair of endless chains 37, 37 looped around two pairs of sprockets 36, 36 on the upstream and downstream sides, a number of rods 38 arranged at equal intervals in the running direction across the pair of chains 37, 37 so as to be movable horizontally by a mechanism not shown, and pushers 39 fixed to the tip of each rod 38. Each rod 38 is arranged on the chains 37, 37 at the same intervals as the guide means 2.

The direction in which the rod 38 moves back and forth is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the guide means 2 in the insertion area C, and the rod 38 and the pusher 39 move back and forth between the retreated position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4 and the advanced position shown by the imaginary line. In other words, the pusher 39 can be inserted into the guide means 2 from the clamp member 16 in the guide means 2 moving through the insertion area C, and can move to a position close to the opening 5c of the container 5 in the overturned state.

As shown in Fig. 3(c) and Fig. 3(d), three notches 39A are formed on the lower side of the pusher 39 to prevent interference with the placement portion 2A of the guide means 2 and the pressing portions 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16. As a result, when the pusher 39 is advanced, the placement portion 2A and the pressing portions 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16 pass through the notches 39A, so that the pusher 39 engages with the first article 3A and the second article 3B in the guide means 2 without interfering with the placement portion 2A and the pressing portions 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16, and pushes both articles 3A, 3B out to the side while deforming them into a U-shape and inserts them simultaneously into the container 5.

The operation of the article insertion device 1 having the above configuration will be described.
The first item 3A transported on the first belt conveyor 7A is adsorbed and held by the first robot 7C, and the second item 3B transported on the second belt conveyor 8A is adsorbed and held by the second robot 8C.

A cam 28 and a cam 35 are arranged within the first supply area A, and the guide means 2, which is moved within the first supply area A by the moving means 9, operates the first moving mechanism 21 by engaging the cam follower 27 with the cam 28, and the holding members 15A, 15B move from the closed position to the open position, opening 15C to the maximum open state (see Figures 2(a) and (b)), and the cam follower 34 engages with the cam 35, and the second moving mechanism 22 operates to move the pressing parts 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16 from above the mounting part 2A to a retracted position swung outward.

The first robot 7C follows the guide means 2 moving within the first supply area A and supplies the first item 3A from above to the placement section 2A with the longitudinal side of the first item 3A aligned in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the guide means 2 (perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the holding members 15A, 15B). At that time, the longitudinal side of the first item 3A is placed on the placement section 2A in a slightly curved state as it abuts against the holding surfaces 15D of the holding members 15A, 15B (see FIG. 2(b)).

When the guide means 2 with the first item 3A placed on it passes through the first supply area A, the cam follower 27 disengages from the cam 28, causing the first moving mechanism 21 to operate and the holding members 15A, 15B to move from the open position to the closed position, slightly bending the first item 3A held between the pressing portions 16A, 16A and the mounting portion 2A into a U-shape, and the cam follower 34 disengages from the cam 35, causing the second moving mechanism 22 to operate and move the pressing portions 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16 to the forward position, thereby clamping the first item 3A between the pressing portions 16A, 16A and the mounting portion 2A (see Figures 2 (c) and (d)). In this way, even if the holding members 15A, 15A are closed, the first item 3A, which has a short side length and cannot be curved significantly, is clamped between the pressing parts 16A, 16A and the placement part 2A, so that the position of the first item 3A can be prevented from shifting within the guide means 2.

In the second supply area B, a cam member 28 is arranged in the same way as in the first supply area A, and the guide means 2, which is moved within the second supply area B by the moving means 9, engages the cam follower 27 with the cam member 28 again, thereby operating the first moving mechanism 21 and moving the holding members 15A and 15B from the closed position to the open position, so that the input port 15C is fully opened.

On the other hand, since the cam member 35 is not positioned anywhere other than the first supply area A, the pressing portions 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16 maintain their forward position after passing through the first supply area A, and are in a state of pressing down the first item 3A on the placement portion 2A.

The second robot 8C, following the guide means 2 moving within the second supply area B, supplies the second item 3B from the open inlet 15c, aligning the longitudinal side of the second item 3B in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the guide means 2, and stacks it on top of the first item 3A on the placement section 2A and the holding sections 16A and 16A.

When the guide means 2 to which the second article 3B has been supplied passes through the second supply area B, the cam follower 27 disengages from the cam member 28, and the first moving mechanism 21 is actuated to move the holding members 15A, 15B from the open position to the closed position. As a result, the first article 3A held between the pressing parts 16A, 16A and the placement part 2A is only slightly curved into a U-shape, but the second article 3B, which has a side longer than the first article 3A, is curved into a large U-shape by the holding surface 15D and is firmly held by the holding surface 15D, preventing it from shifting position within the guide means 2 (see FIG. 3(b)).

The guide means 2 holding the first item 3A and the second item 3B with the holding members 15A, 15A in the closed position and the pressing parts 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16 in the advanced position is moved to the insertion area C by the moving means 9, and while moving through the insertion area C, the first item 3A and the second item 3B are pushed outward by the pusher 39 and inserted into the container 5 in the overturned state. At this time, since the pusher 39 has a notch 39A formed therein, it can move forward without interfering with the placement part 2A and the pressing parts 16A, 16A of the clamp member 16, so that the first item 3A and the second item 3B held by the placement part 2A and the pressing parts 16A, 16A can be pushed outward simultaneously to the side.

The container 5 into which the first item 3A and the second item 3B have been supplied is returned from its overturned state to an upright state by the container transport means 11 and then transported downstream to a lid attachment device (not shown), where a lid is attached to the opening 5c of the container 5.

The guide means 2 from which the first item 3A and the second item 3B have been pushed out is moved again to the first supply area A by the moving means 9 with the pressing portions 16A, 16A of the clamping member 16 in the forward position overlapping with the placement portion 2A and the holding members 15A, 15B in the closed position.

As described above, the guide means 2 of this embodiment is equipped with a clamp member 16 that presses down on the first item 3A placed on the placement section 2A from above. Therefore, even if the first item 3A has a short longitudinal side that cannot be curved significantly by the guide member 2 and cannot be held firmly, or even if the longitudinal side of the first item 3A can be curved significantly by the guide member but the transverse side is very short and slender, resulting in little friction and making it prone to shifting position within the guide means 2, the first item 3A can be pressed down onto the placement section 2A by the pressing section 16A of the clamp member 16 and held in place to prevent it from shifting position.

Even if the posture of the first item 3A on the placement section 2A becomes tilted during the transport process of the guide means 2, the first item 3A is pushed out by the pusher 39 while being held down by the clamp member 16, so that resistance is applied to the first item 3A by the clamp member 16A, and as the first item 3A is pushed out to the side by the pusher 39, the posture of the first item 3A is corrected so that the side of the first item 3A pushed by the pusher 39 follows the front surface (plane) of the pusher 39 and becomes parallel to the front surface of the pusher 39, before it is inserted into the container 5.

Therefore, the first and second items 3A and 3B pushed out of the guide means 2 by the pusher 39 in the insertion area C are inserted into the container 5 with their longitudinal directions perpendicular to the axis of the container 5. This prevents a portion of the first and second items 3A and 3B from protruding out of the opening 5c of the container 5, and allows the downstream lid attachment device to attach a lid to the opening 5c of the container 5 without any hindrance.

In the above embodiment, the clamp member 16 is swung around the pin 32 by the second moving mechanism 22, causing the pressing portion 16A of the clamp member 16 to overlap with the placement portion 2A. However, this is not the only possible configuration. For example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the pressing portion 16A of the clamp member 16 is swung forward and then lowered in a horizontal state to overlap with the placement portion 2A. This allows the first item 3A on the placement portion 2A to be reliably held down horizontally from above by the pressing portion 16A.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...Article insertion device 2...Guide means 3A...First article 3B...Second article 4...Pushing means 39...Pusher 39A...Notch portion 5...Container 5c...Opening 7...First supply means 8...Second supply means 9...Moving means 11...Container conveying means 15A, 15B...Holding member 2A...Placement portion 16...Clamp member 21...First moving mechanism (opening/closing interlocking mechanism)
22: Second moving mechanism (moving mechanism) A: First supply area B: Second supply area C: Insertion area

Claims (5)

An article insertion device comprising a plurality of guide means capable of accommodating bag-like articles, a moving means for moving the guide means, an article supplying means for supplying bag-like articles to each of the guide means moved by the moving means, a container conveying means for conveying a container with an opening facing the guide means at an insertion position, and a pusher for pushing out the bag-like articles accommodated in the guide means into the container at the insertion position and inserting the bag-like articles into the container conveyed by the container conveying means,
the guide means includes a placement section on which the bag-shaped articles supplied from the article supply means are placed, a clamp member movable between a pressing position where the bag-shaped articles on the placement section are pressed and a retracted position where the clamp member is removed from the placement section, and a movement mechanism that moves the clamp member between the pressing position and the retracted position;
Moreover, the pusher is provided with a notch for avoiding interference with the clamp member of the guide means located at the pressing position,
When a bag-shaped article is placed on the placement portion of the guide means by the article supply means, the clamp member is moved from the retracted position to the pressing position by the movement mechanism, and the bag-shaped article is clamped between the clamp member and the placement portion,
An article insertion device, characterized in that, at the insertion position, a bag-shaped article pressed by a clamp member of the guide means is pushed out to the side by the pusher and inserted into a container. the article supplying means is adapted to supply a second bag-shaped article from above onto the bag-shaped article pressed by the clamping member,
The article insertion device described in claim 1, characterized in that, at the insertion position, the bag-shaped article clamped in the loading portion by the clamp member and a second bag-shaped article superimposed thereon are simultaneously pushed out of the guide means by the pusher and inserted into the container. the guide means includes a pair of holding members that can be opened and closed between a holding position where the second bag-like article is curved and held and a release position that is wider than the holding position, and includes an opening/closing interlocking mechanism that opens and closes the pair of holding members between the holding position and the release position,
The article insertion device described in claim 2, characterized in that when the pair of holding members is in the released position by the opening/closing interlocking mechanism and a second bag-shaped article is supplied from above the bag-shaped article by the article supply means, the pair of holding members are moved from the released position to the holding position by the opening/closing interlocking mechanism, and the second bag-shaped article is held by the holding members. An article insertion method for inserting a first bag-shaped article and a second bag-shaped article into a container having an opening, comprising:
conveying a guide means capable of accommodating a first bag-shaped article and a second bag-shaped article to a first supply position;
supplying a first bag-like article to a placement portion of the guide means at a first supply position;
a step of pressing and clamping a first bag-shaped object onto the placement portion with a clamp member;
conveying the guide means to a second supply position while the first bag-shaped article is pressed against the placement portion by the clamp member;
supplying a second bag-shaped object over the first bag-shaped object and the clamping member pressing the first bag-shaped object at a second supply position;
conveying a guide means holding the first bag-shaped article and the second bag-shaped article to an insertion position;
A method for inserting items, comprising the steps of simultaneously pushing a first bag-shaped item pressed by a clamp member and a second bag-shaped item superimposed thereon out sideways from a guide means at an insertion position and inserting them into a container. 5. The article inserting method according to claim 4, wherein the second bag-like article has a larger shape than the first bag-like article.

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