JP7751882B2 - dish transfer device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a plate transfer device.

Traditionally, in conveyor-belt sushi restaurants and other establishments that handle large volumes of dishes, automation of dish washing has progressed, and dish washing machines that automatically wash used dishes are used. These dish washing machines stack washed dishes from the bottom up, and discharge them in a stacked state from a discharge outlet.

Patent Document 1 also proposes a dish transfer device that automatically transfers washed dishes discharged from the dish discharge outlet from the dish washing device.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-148417

In the case of the plate transfer device in Patent Document 1, it was necessary to control the conveyor to which the plates were being transferred and stop the conveyor before transferring the plates, necessitating the use of a dedicated conveyor device. Furthermore, the plate transfer device in Patent Document 1 required a complex mechanism for transferring the plates from the dish washing device to the conveyor.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a plate transport device that can be installed on an existing plate transport device and can efficiently transport plates without using complex mechanisms.

The gist of the present invention, which aims to solve the above problems, is as follows:

(1) A dish transfer device that transfers plates stacked from a dish washing device below to a transfer conveyor. The device comprises a pair of endless bodies arranged on both sides of the dish transfer path and rotated by a drive means, and a dish push-out unit that includes a plurality of rod-shaped dish push-out guides that extend in the direction in which the plates are stacked and that circulate while being supported by the endless bodies on both sides. The dish transfer device is characterized in that the opposing pairs of dish push-out guides, each supported by the endless bodies on both sides, move the plates along the transfer path and dispense them onto the transfer conveyor.

(2) The dish transfer device described in (1) above is characterized in that the dish push-out unit moves dishes from the initial position where they are stacked in the dish washing device to a standby position adjacent to and ahead of the initial position in the transfer direction, and then sequentially dispenses the dishes from the standby position onto the transfer conveyor using multiple circulating dish push-out guides.

(3) The plate transfer device described in (2) above further comprises a transfer plate having a loading surface at the same height as the conveying surface of the transport conveyor, and the waiting position is located on the transfer plate.

(4) The plate transfer device described in (1) above is characterized in that it includes a transport path sensor that detects the transport status of the transport conveyor upstream in the transport direction of the transport conveyor from the discharge position where the plate pusher pushes the plate onto the transport conveyor, and when the transport path sensor detects an empty gap where nothing is being transported on the transport conveyor, the plate pusher pushes the plate onto the transport conveyor in time with the empty gap reaching the discharge position.

(5) The plate transfer device described in (4) above, characterized in that after receiving a stacking completion signal indicating that plates have been stacked up to the upper stacking limit position corresponding to the top end of the plate push-out guide, the plate push-out unit pushes the plates out onto the transport conveyor at the timing when the empty gap detected by the transport path sensor reaches the ejection position.

(6) The plate transfer device described in (5) above, characterized in that the stacking completion signal is a signal received from the dish washing device indicating that the number of plates required to stack up to the upper stacking position has been discharged.

(7) The plate transfer device described in (1) above further comprises a push-out guide sensor that detects the plate push-out guide that has moved to a rear position in the plate transfer direction of the plates stacked from the dish washing device, and when the push-out guide sensor detects the plate push-out guide, the movement of the plate push-out guide is stopped until it is time to dispense the next plate.

(8) The plate transfer device described in (7) above, characterized in that when the push-out guide sensor detects the plate push-out guide, it outputs a signal to the dish washing device, which has stopped discharging dishes, to cause the dish washing device to resume discharging dishes.

(9) The plate transfer device described in (1) above is characterized by including side guides that are arranged on both sides of the transfer path, facing each other between the endless body and the plate push-out guide fixed to the endless body, and that guide both sides of the plate being transferred in the transfer direction.

(10) The plate transfer device described in (1) above is characterized in that the multiple plate push-out guides are arranged at intervals to sandwich the plate to be transferred on both sides in the transfer direction, and a pair of opposing plate push-out guides push out the plate in the front in the transfer direction while preventing the plate in the rear in the transfer direction from falling over.

(11) The plate transfer device described in (1) above is characterized in that the plate push-out guide pushes out plates onto a transport conveyor that is continuously operating in the transport direction, and the plate push-out guide located downstream in the transport direction of the pair of plate push-out guides supports the front side of the plate in the transport direction of the plate pushed out onto the transport conveyor when the plate push-out guide moves in the transport direction along the trajectory of the endless body during the dispensing operation.

The objective of this invention is to provide a plate transport device that can be installed on an existing plate transport device and can efficiently transport plates without using complex mechanisms.

1 is an external configuration diagram showing the external configuration of a plate transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is an external configuration diagram of the plate transfer device shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the conveyor side on which the plate transfer device is installed. FIG. FIG. 2 is an internal structural diagram showing the internal structure inside the case of the plate transport device. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the internal structure of the case of the plate transport device. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the plate pushing mechanism of the plate transfer device. 10 is a diagram illustrating how washed dishes discharged from the dish washing device are transferred to a transport conveyor. FIG.

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is an external configuration diagram showing the external configuration of the plate transfer device 1 of this embodiment. Figure 2 is an external configuration diagram of the plate transfer device 1 as seen from the side of the transport conveyor 60 on which the plate transfer device 1 shown in Figure 1 is installed. Figure 3 is an internal structural diagram showing the internal structure inside the case 50 of the plate transfer device 1. Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the internal structure inside the case 50 of the plate transfer device 1. Figure 5 is a detailed diagram of the plate push-out mechanism of the plate transfer device 1. Figure 6 is a diagram showing how the piled, washed plates discharged from the dish washing device 70 are transferred to the transport conveyor 60.

The plate transfer device 1 of this embodiment is a device that transfers plates D washed by a dish washing device 70 used in the kitchens of establishments that use a large number of plates, such as conveyor belt sushi restaurants, to a transfer conveyor 60 that transports the plates to a predetermined position. The dish washing device 70 stacks washed plates from the bottom up and discharges them from a discharge outlet 72. The plate transfer device 1 of this embodiment automatically and sequentially transfers plates from the discharge outlet 72 to the transfer conveyor 60, making it possible to automatically and continuously wash plates and transport the washed plates to a predetermined position.

The plate transfer device 1 of this embodiment includes a plate push-out unit 2, an endless chain 4 (first chain 41 and second chain 42), a drive motor 8 serving as a drive means, side guides 10, a connecting plate 12, a transport path sensor 14, a push-out guide sensor 16, a control unit 30, a case 50, a frame 52, and other components. The plate push-out unit 2, chain 4, and drive motor 8 constitute a plate push-out mechanism 100. The plate transfer device 1 is equipped with a pair of plate push-out mechanisms 100, symmetrically positioned on opposite sides of a transport path A along which plates D are transported. However, for ease of understanding, Figures 4 to 6 only show the plate push-out mechanism 100 on one side (the left side when viewed from the direction of plate transport), and the other (the right side) is omitted.

The dish push-out unit 2 pushes out dishes using a pair of opposing rod-shaped dish push-out guides 20 that circulate on the left and right and are supported by a chain 4. The dish push-out unit 2 pushes the washed dishes D that have piled up from the discharge outlet 72 of the dish washing device 70 toward the transport conveyor 60, and finally moves them onto the transport conveyor 60. The stacked dishes are then transferred sequentially to the transport conveyor 60 by multiple pairs of dish push-out guides 20.

As shown in FIG. 6, the plate pusher 2 transfers plates to the conveyor 60 in stages. The plate pusher 2 moves plates from an initial position where they are discharged from the dish washing device 70 and stacked to a standby position on the transfer board 12, adjacent to the initial position in front of the initial position in the direction of transfer, and then moves them from the standby position to a discharge position on the conveyor 60. The discharge position is the position on the conveyor where the plate is placed when the plate pusher 2 pushes the plate onto the conveyor 60. In this embodiment, discharging a plate to the discharge position refers to the plate pusher guide 20 pushing (sending) the plate from the transfer board 12 onto the plate of the conveyor 60. In this embodiment, the plate transfer device 1 uses the plate pusher guide 20 to discharge plates onto the continuously operating conveyor 60. It is preferable that the conveyor 60, to which the plate transfer device 1 transfers plates, continuously operates at a speed (low speed) sufficient to ensure stable discharge and prevent plates from tipping over as they move from the transfer board 12 to the discharge position. In Figures 2, 3, and 6, the dashed line shows a plate D in the discharge position immediately after it has been discharged from the standby position onto the transport conveyor 60. The discharged plate is then transported downstream in the transport direction by the transport conveyor 60, which is in continuous operation.

As shown in Figure 4 and other figures, the dish push-out unit 2 of this embodiment has four dish push-out guides 20 on one side of the dish push-out mechanism 100: a first dish push-out guide 21, a second dish push-out guide 22, a third dish push-out guide 23, and a fourth dish push-out guide 24. The dish push-out unit 2 on the opposite side, which is omitted from Figure 4 and other figures, also has the first dish push-out guide 21 to the fourth dish push-out guide 24 in a similar symmetrical arrangement.

Each plate push-out guide 20 is a rod-shaped guide that extends vertically (in the direction in which the plates are stacked) as the plates are discharged from the discharge opening 72. A pair of left and right plate push-out guides 20 abut against the edges of the stacked plates, pushing and moving any plates above the lower end of the guide toward the transport conveyor 60. The lower ends of the plate push-out guides 20 are positioned to match the upper surface of the transfer plate 12 that slides the plates onto the transport conveyor 60. In other words, the positions of the lower ends of the push-out guides 20 are adjusted and positioned so that the bottommost plate of the plates pushed out by the plate push-out guides 20 among the plates stacked from the discharge opening 72 is positioned so that it can smoothly transfer from the plates on top to the transfer plate 12.

The length of the plate push-out guide 20 is not particularly limited, but should be a length corresponding to the number of plates that can be stably transported when transported in a stacked state on the transport conveyor 20. The length will vary depending on the shape of the plates, but should be a length that can accommodate approximately 20 plates. In this embodiment, the position of the top end of the plate push-out guide 20 is the upper limit for the number of plates that can be stacked. As will be described later, the number of plates to be discharged on the washing device 70 side is counted, and when the number of plates discharged reaches the upper limit, discharge from the dish washing device 70 is stopped, allowing the plates to be stacked up to the upper limit.

In this embodiment, each dish push-out guide 20 is fixed to an attachment provided on part of the chain 4 via a bracket 6. Note that the means for fixing the chain 4 and dish push-out guide 20 is not limited to the method used in this embodiment, and any suitable fixing means and structure may be selected.

Furthermore, each plate push-out guide 20 is fixed to the chain 4 at a distance that sandwiches the front and rear of the plate D being pushed out. As a result, the plate push-out guide 20 at the rear in the plate transport direction pushes out the plate, and the plate push-out guide 20 at the front of the plate prevents the plate from tipping forward in the transport direction. In other words, the plate push-out guide 20 of this embodiment pushes out the plate at the front in the push-out direction while preventing the plate at the rear in the push-out direction from tipping over, allowing the stacked plates sandwiched between the front and rear plate push-out guides 20 to be moved reliably and stably to the transport conveyor 60.

For example, in the state shown in Figure 6, plates in their initial position above the discharge outlet 72 are pushed out by a pair of first plate push-out guides 21, and a pair of fourth plate push-out guides 24 are located ahead of them in the transport direction. The fourth plate push-out guides 24 move from the state shown in Figure 6 to the operation of discharging plates in their standby position onto the transport conveyor 60, but they can also support the front of the plates being pushed out by the rear first plate push-out guides 21. This prevents the stacked plates from shifting or tipping in the transport direction due to vibrations when moving from the top of the plates to the transfer plate 12, and allows the plates to be reliably moved in the transport direction while maintaining their vertically stacked state.

After discharging the plate onto the transport conveyor 60, the push-out guide 20 turns around as the chain 4 (described below) rotates, and moves in the opposite direction to the transport direction on the outside of the device, opposite the transport path A. It then returns to its initial position behind the plate and repeats the process of pushing out the plate again.

The positions of the pair of push-out guides 20 in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the transport direction are not particularly limited as long as they are in contact with the tray. Specifically, in a plan view, they should each be outside the center of transport path A (of the tray) and inside the outermost position of the tray. In order for the driving force to act efficiently on the tray, they are preferably positioned symmetrically toward the center of transport path A.

The chain 4 is an endless body (endless rotating body) that rotates due to the driving force of the drive motor 8, circulating each of the plate push-out guides 20. In this embodiment, the chain 4 is composed of a first chain 41 and a second chain 42 arranged above and below. In the following description, the term "chain 4" refers to both the first chain 41 and the second chain 42.

As described above, the chains 4 are arranged on both sides of the transport path A. That is, the chains 4, each consisting of a first chain 41 and a second chain 42, are arranged facing each other on both sides of the transport path A. The chains 4 on both sides are rotated in opposite directions by the drive motor 8 so that they move in the same direction on the transport path A side.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the first chain 41 and the second chain 42 are wound around upper and lower sprockets 5b, respectively, which are supported by a pair of front and rear rotating shafts 5a, and are arranged along the plate transfer path A. One of the rotating shafts 5a is connected to a drive motor 8, which transmits driving force to drive the chain 4. The other rotating shaft 5a rotates in response to the chain 4. In this embodiment, the rotating shaft 5a at the front in the transfer direction is the drive shaft driven by the drive motor 8. Note that either rotating shaft 5a may be the drive shaft as long as it can rotate the chain 4.

A chain with an attachment is arranged on the chain 4 at a position where each dish push-out guide 20 is fixed. In this embodiment, each dish push-out guide 20 is supported on the chain 4 by a bracket 6 attached to the chain with attachment. In this embodiment, the dish push-out guide 20 is supported by two chains (41, 42), one above the other, allowing each dish push-out guide 20 to move dishes stably. Note that the number of chains is not limited to two, as long as the same number of chains are arranged opposite each other on both sides of the transport path A; there may be one on each side, or three or more on each side.

In this embodiment, the plate push-out guide 20, which moves while supported by the chain 4, can push out plates onto the transport conveyor 60, which is continuously operating in the transport direction. Of the pair of push-out guides 20, the plate push-out guide 20 located downstream in the conveyor's transport direction (left side as viewed in the transport direction) can support the plate by continuously abutting against the front side in the transport direction of the plate pushed out onto the transport conveyor 60 as it pushes out and moves in the conveyor's transport direction along the trajectory of the chain 4. This allows the plate to be supported by the plate push-out guide 20 even during the initial period of transport on the transport conveyor 60, allowing for more stable plate transport.

The drive motor 8 drives the chain 4 to rotate via the rotating shaft 5a and sprocket 5b. In this embodiment, the drive motor 8 is located forward in the transport direction and rotates the front rotating shaft 5a and sprocket 5b. In this embodiment, the left and right dish pushing mechanisms 100 are each equipped with a drive motor 8, but it is also possible to provide a drive motor on only one side and transmit the driving force to the other rotating shaft 5a via a transmission member such as a chain or gear to rotate it. Also, in this embodiment, the drive motor 8 is directly connected to the rotating shaft 5a, but this is not limited to this. The drive motor 8 may be located at a position offset from the rotating shaft 5a and transmit the driving force to the rotating shaft 5a via a transmission member such as a chain.

The side guides 10 are plate-shaped guides that guide the sides of stacked plates D as they are pushed in the pushing direction by the plate push-out unit 2. The side guides 10 are arranged on both sides of the area through which plates pass on the transfer path A, and guide the moving plates D to prevent them from tipping left or right. In this embodiment, the side guides 10 are divided at the position where the bracket 6 of the plate push-out guide 20 passes, and are composed of three plates arranged in the vertical direction. The side guides 10 are preferably arranged in the range through which plates pass in the vertical direction (from near the bottom end of the plate push-out guide 20 to near the top end). Furthermore, the side guides 10 are preferably formed in the transfer direction, from near the side of the plate in its initial position to a position just before the transfer conveyor 60. This supports both sides of the stacked plates from the position of the discharge opening 72 to just before they are dispensed onto the transfer conveyor 60.

The transfer plate 12 connects the initial position above the discharge outlet 72 with the conveyor 60, and is a plate on which plates can be placed and slid for transport. The top surface of the transfer plate 12 (the surface on which plates are placed) is positioned at the same height as the top surface of the plate, which is the conveying surface of the conveyor 60. It is also preferable that the top surface of the transfer plate 12 be horizontal to ensure stable movement of plates. This eliminates any step between the conveyor 60 and the plate transfer device 1, minimizing vibrations and shocks when plates are transferred from the plate transfer device 1 to the conveyor 60, and allowing stacked plates to be stably transferred to the conveyor 60. It is also preferable to provide a transfer recess 62, etc., as necessary, on the side wall 61 of the conveyor 60 facing the plate transfer device 1 so that the transfer plate 12 is positioned horizontally.

As shown in Figure 6, the transfer plate 12 is formed to a length that allows for one waiting position corresponding to the size of one tray between the initial position on the discharge outlet 72 and the dispensing position on the transport conveyor 60. However, the length of the transfer plate 12 is not limited to this, and it may be long enough to allow for two or more waiting positions. In that case, it is sufficient to arrange a chain 4 of an appropriate length and an appropriate number of push-out guides 20 according to the length of the transfer plate 12.

The transport path sensor 14 is a sensor that determines the timing for the plate pusher 2 to push out a plate D from the standby position of the plate transfer device 1 and place it on the conveyor 60. In this embodiment, the transport path sensor 14 detects the presence or absence of an object (plate) being transported on the transport conveyor 60, thereby detecting gaps on the transport conveyor where nothing is being transported.

Specifically, the transport path sensor 14 is positioned upstream of the dispensing position on the transport conveyor 60 in the transport direction. The transport path sensor 14 is composed of two sensors: a first transport path sensor 14a positioned upstream in the transport direction of the transport conveyor, and a second transport path sensor 14b positioned downstream. The first transport path sensor 14a and the second transport path sensor 14b are positioned with a gap of at least the diameter of a plate between the time when the first transport path sensor 14a detects an empty section where nothing is being transported and the time when the beginning of that empty section reaches the second transport path sensor 14b. If the first transport path conveyor 14a does not detect anything (a plate) (it remains empty), the control unit 30, described below, can detect a gap of at least the diameter of a plate. By controlling the control unit 30, described below, to move the plate push-out guide 20 to coincide with the time when the gap reaches the dispensing position, plates can be reliably dispensed onto the empty transport conveyor 60. The detection of the gap and the timing at which the gap reaches the dispensing position can be determined by storing information about the transport speed of the transport conveyor 60 in advance in the control unit 30. Alternatively, the control unit 30 may acquire the transport speed information from the transport conveyor 60.

The push-out guide sensor 16 is a sensor that detects when the dish push-out guide 20 has reached a predetermined position. In this embodiment, the push-out guide sensor 16 detects a position detection dog 7 located on the bracket 6 of the dish push-out guide 20 to detect that the dish push-out guide 20 has reached a predetermined position. In this embodiment, the predetermined position is a position behind the direction of transport of the dishes stacked at the initial position. As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the push-out guide sensor 16, located at a position corresponding to the initial position, detects the dog 7 corresponding to the position of the push-out guide 20, thereby detecting that the push-out guide 20 has reached behind the dishes at the initial position. The push-out guide sensor 16 can be any sensor capable of detecting the position of the dish push-out guide 20. For example, a known non-contact proximity sensor, such as a magnetic or capacitance type, can be used. A contact switch, such as a limit switch, can also be used.

The control unit 30 controls the operation of the dish transfer device 1. Furthermore, as described below, the control unit 30 also performs the process of acquiring a stacking completion signal from the dish washing device 70, which indicates that dishes have been stacked up to the upper limit of the dish stacking position, and the process of outputting a signal to the dish washing device 70 to resume discharging dishes. More detailed control will be described later.

The control unit 30 includes a processor 31 and a memory 32. The processor 31 is, for example, a CPU, and executes programs stored in the memory 32 to control various operations and processes of the plate transfer device 1. The memory 32 is a storage device that stores various information, such as the control program for the plate transfer device 1. The control unit 30 may also include an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), and some or all of the functions realized when the processor 31 executes the programs stored in the memory 32 may be realized by the ASIC.

In addition, the control unit 30 communicates with the dish washing device 70 via wired or wireless communication to obtain the above-mentioned stacking completion signal and to output a signal to the dish washing device 70 to resume dish discharge.

The case 50 is a housing that covers the dish push-out mechanism 100, including the dish push-out guide 20, chain 4, and drive motor 8. In this embodiment, the case 50 has an opening/closing door 50a on the side opposite the side from which the dishes are dispensed. When manually removing dishes that have accumulated in the dish transfer device 1, the opening/closing door 50a can be opened and the dishes can be removed. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the case is made up of two independent cases that cover the left and right mechanical structural parts, respectively, but it may also be an integrated case with the top and rear of the case closed.

The frame 52 is a frame-shaped member that supports mechanical structures such as the plate push-out mechanism 100 and secures the plate transfer device 1 to the conveyor 60. The plate push-out mechanisms 100 are symmetrically secured to the left and right bases of the frame 52, and the frame portion extending toward the conveyor 60 is secured to the underside of the conveyor 60, allowing the plate transfer device 1 to be secured in a predetermined position.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the plate transfer device 1 may be equipped with a guide plate 56 that surrounds the periphery (front and both sides in the transfer direction) of plates below the push-out guide 20 in the initial position. When a plate in the initial position is pushed out by the push-out guide 20, even if a horizontal force acts on the plate below the guide from the plate above, the guide plate 56 supports the lower plate so that it does not move, allowing the plate to be pushed out smoothly. This also prevents the plate below the push-out guide 20 from collapsing.

Next, the flow of operation of the plate transfer device 1 of this embodiment will be explained. Note that unless otherwise specified, the following explanation of the operation of each part will be explained assuming that each part of the plate push-out mechanism 100 on both the left and right sides operates symmetrically. Also, the operation will be explained after automatic operation has started, where plates are stacked at the initial position and the standby position on the transfer board 12, and then the plates are moved sequentially. However, when operating the plate transfer device 1 for the first time, it is sufficient to perform preparations such as stacking plates by manually operating it as appropriate before switching to automatic operation.

The control unit 30 first obtains a stacking completion signal from the dish washing device 70 indicating that the stacking of plates at the initial position is complete. The stacking completion signal is output when the dish washing device 70 counts the number of plates being discharged and discharges a predetermined number of plates, reaching the upper stacking limit position corresponding to the top end of the push-out guide 20. Once the predetermined number of plates have been discharged, the dish washing device 70 temporarily suspends the stacking of plates and outputs a stacking completion signal. Since the discharge of plates has stopped after the stacking completion signal is obtained, the dish transfer device 1 can begin pushing out the plates.

The control unit 30 then uses the transport path sensors 14 (first transport path sensor 14a and second transport path sensor 14b) to detect whether there is a predetermined gap on the transport conveyor 60 that allows a plate to be dispensed. When the transport path sensor 14 detects the predetermined gap, it drives the drive motor 8 in time to move the push-out guide 20 and dispense the plate from the standby position so that the plate can be dispensed when the gap reaches the dispensing position in front of the plate transfer device 1. The timing at which the gap reaches the dispensing position can be determined based on the transport speed of the transport conveyor 60, which is pre-registered in the control unit 30. The plate in the standby position is pushed out to the dispensing position, and another rear push-out guide 20 pushes out the plate in the initial position that is abutting the guide to the standby position.

After driving the drive motor 8 to start the push-out operation, if the push-out guide sensor 16 detects the dog 7 of the next dish push-out guide 20, the control unit 30 stops the drive motor 8, thereby halting the movement of the push-out guide 20. For example, if the drive motor 8 is driven from the state shown in Figure 6, the first push-out guide 21 moves the dish in its initial position toward its standby position on the transfer board 12, and then the second dish push-out guide 22 moves toward the position of the dish in its initial position. Then, when the dog 7 of the second dish push-out guide 22 is detected by the push-out guide sensor 16, the control unit 30 stops the drive motor 8.

Next, the control unit 30 outputs a signal to the dish washing device 70, which had temporarily stopped discharging dishes to prevent dishes from piling up while the push-out guide 20 is moving, i.e., while the dishes are being pushed out by the dish push-out guide 20, to resume discharging dishes up to the upper stacking limit. The control unit 30 then receives a signal from the dish washing device 70 indicating that the dishes have been stacked. Thereafter, the control unit 30 controls the drive of the drive motor 8 in the same manner, repeating the operation of discharging dishes into the dispensing gap, thereby sequentially transferring dishes from the dish washing device 70 to the transport conveyor 60. The above is the flow of operation for transferring dishes by the dish transfer device 1 of this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the upper end of the dish push-out guide 20 is set as the upper limit stacking position. When the dish washing device 70 has discharged the number of dishes pushed out from the initial position by the push-out guide 20, i.e., the number of dishes from the bottom end of the guide to the upper limit stacking position (e.g., 20), the dish washing device 70 pauses stacking and outputs a stacking completion signal. The dish transfer device 1 then begins the dish transfer operation once it receives the stacking completion signal, but this is not the only method for detecting whether dishes have reached the upper limit stacking position. Other methods are also acceptable as long as they can pause the discharge of dishes from the dish washing device 1 once the dishes have reached the upper limit stacking position so that the dish push-out guide 20 can push them out. For example, the dish transfer device 1 may be equipped with a sensor that detects when a dish has reached the upper limit stacking position. In this case, when the sensor detects that the upper limit has been reached, the control unit 30 can output a signal to the dish washing device 1 to stop discharging dishes.

In addition, in this embodiment, the upper limit stacking position is the position of the top end of the dish push-out guide 20, but this is not limited to this and can be any position at least above the bottom end of the dish push-out guide 20, and it can be below or above the top end of the guide. After moving the dishes from their initial position using the push-out guide 20, the number of dishes needed to stack them up to the upper limit stacking position again can be counted and registered in advance, and the dish washing device 70 can be made to pause once it has discharged that number of dishes, allowing dishes to be stacked to any position.

In this embodiment, the plate push-out guides 20 are described as including four guides, the first plate push-out guide 21 to the fourth plate push-out guide 24, but this is not limited to this. An appropriate number can be used depending on the length of the transport path, the length of the circulating track of the chain 4, the size of the plates being transported, etc.

In this embodiment, the push-out guide 20 is temporarily stopped at a predetermined position behind the tray in its initial position by the push-out guide sensor 16 detecting the dog 7, but this method is not limited to this. The push-out guide 20 may be stopped using other known means as long as it can be stopped when it reaches the predetermined position. For example, if the push-out guides 20 are arranged at equal intervals, the correspondence between the motor rotation speed and the movement distance may be determined in advance, and the push-out guide may be moved and stopped at each of those intervals.

In this embodiment, the plate transfer device 1 is fixed to the conveyor 60 by the frame 52, but as long as it can be reliably fixed so as not to move relative to the conveyor 60, it may also be fixed to something other than the conveyor 60, or it may be provided with legs so that it can stand on its own.

The plate transfer device 1 of this embodiment described above allows plates to be automatically and reliably transferred sequentially from the dish washing device 70 to the transport conveyor 60 without the need for human intervention. Furthermore, the plate transfer device 1 of this embodiment allows plates to be transferred while the transport conveyor 60 is operating continuously, allowing plates to be transferred efficiently with simple control.

1 Dish transfer device 100 Dish push-out mechanism 2 Dish push-out section 20 Dish push-out guide 21 First dish push-out guide 22 Second dish push-out guide 23 Third dish push-out guide 24 Fourth dish push-out guide 4 Chain 41 First chain 42 Second chain 6 Bracket 7 Dog 8 Drive motor 10 Side guide 12 Transfer plate 14 Conveyor path sensor 16 Push-out guide sensor 30 Control unit 50 Case 52 Frame 60 Conveyor conveyor 70 Dish washing device 72 Discharge outlet

Claims (11)

A dish transfer device that transfers stacked dishes from a dish washing device below to a conveyor,
a pair of endless bodies arranged on both sides of the tray transfer path along the transfer path and rotated by a driving means;
a plate pushing-out section including a plurality of rod-shaped plate pushing-out guides extending in the stacking direction of the plates, which are supported by the endless bodies on both sides and circulate;
A plate transfer device characterized in that a pair of opposing plate push-out guides supported by the endless bodies on both sides move the plate along the transfer path and discharge it onto the conveyor. The dish transfer device described in claim 1, characterized in that the dish push-out unit moves dishes from the initial position where they are stacked in the dish washing device to a waiting position adjacent to the initial position in front of the initial position in the transfer direction, and then sequentially ejects the dishes from the waiting position onto the transport conveyor using multiple circulating dish push-out guides. The plate transfer device described in claim 2 further comprises a transfer plate having a loading surface at the same height as the conveying surface of the transport conveyor, and the waiting position is located on the transfer plate. a conveyance path sensor for detecting a conveyance state of the conveyor upstream in the conveying direction of the conveyor from a dispensing position where the plate is dispensed onto the conveyor by the plate pusher;
The plate transfer device described in claim 1, characterized in that when the conveying path sensor detects an empty gap where nothing is being conveyed on the conveying conveyor, the plate push-out unit dispenses the plate onto the conveying conveyor at the timing when the empty gap reaches the dispensing position. The plate transfer device described in claim 4, characterized in that after receiving a stacking completion signal indicating that plates have been stacked up to the upper stacking limit position corresponding to the upper end of the plate push-out guide, the plate push-out unit pushes the plates out onto the transport conveyor at the timing when the empty gap detected by the transport path sensor reaches the ejection position. The plate transfer device of claim 5, characterized in that the stacking completion signal is a signal obtained from the dish washing device indicating that the number of plates required to stack up to the upper stacking position has been discharged. a push-out guide sensor for detecting the dish push-out guide that has moved to a rear position in the dish transport direction of the dishes stacked from the dish washing device;
2. The plate transport device according to claim 1, wherein when the push-out guide sensor detects the plate push-out guide, the movement of the plate push-out guide is stopped until the timing for dispensing the next plate. The dish transfer device of claim 7, characterized in that when the push-out guide sensor detects the dish push-out guide, it outputs a signal to the dish washing device, which has stopped discharging dishes, to cause the dish washing device to resume discharging dishes. The plate transfer device of claim 1 further comprises side guides arranged opposite each other on both sides of the transfer path, between the endless body and the plate push-out guide fixed to the endless body, for guiding both sides of the plate being transferred in the transfer direction. The plate transfer device described in claim 1, characterized in that the multiple plate push-out guides are arranged at intervals to sandwich the plate to be transferred from the front and back in the transfer direction, and a pair of opposing plate push-out guides push out the plate in the front in the transfer direction while preventing the plate in the rear in the transfer direction from falling over. The tray push-out guide pushes out the trays onto the transport conveyor which is continuously operating in the transport direction,
A plate transfer device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the plate push-out guide located downstream in the conveying direction of one of the pair of plate push-out guides supports the front side of the plate in the conveying direction of the plate dispensed onto the conveying conveyor when the plate moves toward the conveying direction along the orbit of the endless body during dispensing.