JPH0325379B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically taking out empty baskets and receiving articles, and for automatically stacking the baskets.

For example, when taking out various products such as plastics molded by an injection molding machine, a rectangular basket is placed exclusively in front of the die, and a fixed amount of the product is stored in the basket so that the molded product is fed from a chute. The basket is then replaced with another basket, but this work is mostly done by hand and is inefficient. Furthermore, this requires at least one person to be present at the location, and not only does it take a lot of effort to take out and stack the baskets, but it also requires a large amount of space to handle the baskets. Currently, this is considered to be the cause of high product costs.

The present inventor previously proposed Japanese Patent Application No. 58-226520 in order to solve this problem. The proposed device performs the above-mentioned series of operations, that is, empty basket removal, product loading, and stacking operations at a fixed point on a line parallel to the product removal point. This has been improved so that it can be carried out efficiently in a relatively narrow front position and contributes to space saving.

Hereinafter, an example of implementing the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a basket 1 used in the present invention, in which at least the left and right peripheries in the upper part have an outwardly protruding flange P and the lower periphery has an inward hooking key. A stage K is formed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the device.
A pair of support plates 4, 4' on which the empty basket 1 is placed are swingably supported via support shafts 5, 5' at the upper parts of b, 2c, and 2d, and a table is mounted at the lower part. 6
are provided so that they can be raised and lowered within a certain height range using the respective pillars 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d as guides.
Specifically, the table 6 has bracket plates 7a and 7b.
rollers 8, which are set upright and provided on the front and rear sides of each board.
A rack 10 of a constant length is attached in the height direction of at least one support (2a in the illustrated example), and a gear engages with the rack 10. 11 is driven by a geared motor 12 provided on the underside of the table 6 and rotated via gears 13 and 14, thereby raising and lowering the table. (Refer to Fig. 3) Reference numerals 15 and 16 are engagement brackets provided on one side of the front surface of the table 6, and when the table is raised and lowered, the baskets are automatically taken out by interacting with the automatic basket removal means described below. It is intended to do so.

Reference numeral 17 denotes automatic cage take-out means, which supports a shaft 19 rotatably in the horizontal direction via a bearing 18 on the side of the column (2a in the illustrated example) on the side where the engaging brackets 15 and 16 are located. A chain ring 20 is fixed to the outer edge of the shaft 19, and a boss 21 is fixed to the inner edge of the shaft 19.
The arms 22a and 22b are made to protrude with a phase difference of 90 degrees,
At the tip of each arm, rollers 23a and 23b are rotatably supported. However, Koro 23
In the process of raising the table 6, the arm 22b comes into contact with the engagement bracket 15 initially provided on one side of the front surface of the table 6, causing the chain ring 2 to rotate in the direction of arrow A, and at this time, the arm 22b rotates at 90 degrees. After the table is reversed and comes to a position below the engagement bracket 16 after being raised, it stops. When the table 6 is then lowered, the engagement bracket 16 and the rollers 23b come into contact, and this contact causes the chain ring 20 to move in the direction of arrow B. It is made to rotate.

Reference numerals 24 and 24' designate chain rings provided at the ends of the support shafts 5 and 5' of the support plates 4 and 4' in the same direction as the chain ring 20, and 25a is an idle gear that connects these chain rings 2.
A chain 26 is stretched between 0, 25a, 24', and 24, and when the chain ring 20 is rotated in the directions of arrows A and B, that is, in the former case, the chain rings 24 and 24' are rotated in the directions of arrows C and D, respectively. On the other hand, in the latter case, the support plates 4 and 4' are rotated in the opposite directions of the arrows H and F, and the support plates 4 and 4' are rotated in the same direction, and the lowermost basket is placed on the table 6. The lowermost basket 1 is disengaged from the left and right projecting flanges P while the bottom of the basket 1 is supported, and the basket is removed.

On the other hand, 27a and 27b are limit switches provided at the upper and lower positions of the support column 2b, and 28a and 28b are dogs provided on the table 6 side, and when the table 6 is raised, the dog 28b switches the limit switch 27.
By contacting the geared motor 12, the rotating direction of the geared motor 12 is changed, and the table 6 shifts to a lowering operation, and the dog 28a switches the limit switch 27.
It is designed to stop when it comes into contact with a.

On the other hand, a conveying means 29 is provided at the opposing lower portions of the supports 2a, 2b and 2c, 2d for sending out the basket taken out onto the table 6 toward the protruding end of one side (the right side in the illustrated example) of the lower frame. that is, the upper horizontal frame 3 of the lower frame
Chain rings 31a, 3 are placed at a certain distance at 0, 30'.
1b, 31'a, 31'b are provided to span the chains 32, 32', respectively,
One of the chains (31a in the illustrated example) is attached to the frame 30.
It is directly connected to the geared motor 33 at the outer position of the chain ring 31b and the chain ring 3 is rotated by the drive of the motor 33 in the direction of arrow H.
1'b is connected to the shaft 34 and rotated synchronously.

In the above configuration, the height position of the chains 32, 32' is
That is, when the basket 1 is actually taken out and lowered onto the table 6, the pair of opposing locking keys K provided around the periphery of the basket 1 will be caught on the chains 32, 32' and stopped. Even in this state, the table 6 is lowered a little to form a gap between it and the bottom of the basket 1, and the motor 33 is driven and the chains 32 and 32' are moved. By traveling in the direction of the arrow,
The cages 1 fixed on the chains 32 and 32' are made to travel in the same direction.

Next, the right end vertical support 35, 3 of the lower frame
5', use this as a guide to create one table 3
6 is provided to move up and down,
This includes table 36 as well as table 6.
Bracket plates 37, 37' are provided at the front side position,
For each bracket plate 37, 37', support column 35, 3
Rollers 38 and 38' are provided to sandwich the rollers 5'.

On the other hand, a rack 39 is provided on the back side of the column 35 over a certain length range in the height direction, and a gear 40 that meshes with the rack 39 drives a geared motor (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the table 36. The table 36 is raised and lowered by rotating the table 36. Reference numerals 41 and 41' refer to sliding rollers provided at a certain width on the table, through which the key stage K for hooking the basket 1 is engaged and placed. 42a and 42
Reference numeral b denotes a limit switch provided on the back side of the support column 35', and when the table 36 is raised, a dog 43b provided on the bracket plate 37' comes into contact with the limit switch 42b, thereby changing the direction of rotation of the geared motor. The table 36 moves downward and is stopped when the dog 43a comes into contact with the limit switch 42a.

On the other hand, on the opposing inner surfaces of the lower horizontal frames 46, 46' in the lower frame, there is a conveying means 4 for conveying the basket 1 taken out by the table 36 to the opposite side of the lower frame (the left end in the illustrated example).
7 is provided, namely the lower horizontal frame 4
Chain rings 48a, 4 are placed at a certain distance at 6, 46'.
8b, 48'a, 48'b are provided, and chains 49, 49' are provided, respectively, and one of the chains (48b in the illustrated example) is installed between the frames 46, 46'. Directly connected to 50,
The motor 50 is driven to rotate the chains 48b and 4 in the direction of the arrow H.
8'b is connected to the shaft 51 so that they rotate synchronously.

52 is a chain 49 in the conveying means 47;
49' is a table provided at the end point of rotation, and the vertical support 5 on the left end side of the lower frame
3 and 53' are used as guides to move up and down. Specifically, as in the case of the table 36, a bracket plate 5 is placed on the front side of the table 52.
4 and 54' are provided, and rollers 55 and 55' are provided to clamp the support columns 53 and 53' to each bracket plate 54 and 54'.

A rack 56 is provided on the back side of the column 53 over a certain length range in the height direction, and a gear 57 that meshes with the rack 56 is rotated by the drive of a geared motor 58 provided on the lower surface of the table 52. As a result, the table 52 is raised and lowered. Bearings 60 are installed at the inner side positions of the vertical supports 53, 53' at a certain height, and at the same height positions of the other vertical supports 59, 59' provided at the inner positions at the same distance as the basket width. ,60',61,6
1', L-shaped hook plates 62a, 6
2b are arranged so that their horizontal plates face each other and can be rotated upward by 90 degrees opposite to each other, and when the table 52 lifts up with the product storage basket placed thereon, the overhanging flange P of the basket When it comes into contact with the lower surface, it rotates upward, that is, in the ri and nu directions, and during this rotation process, it replaces the overhanging flange P and escapes, and when the overhanging tsuba P changes to the upper position, it loses its own weight. It rotates in the , , and o directions and returns to its original state.

Next, in this state, the table 52 begins to descend, and during the descent, the overhanging tsuba P
Table 5 is in contact with the top surface of the horizontal plate.
This means that it is locked away from 2. At this time, 63a and 63b are limit switches provided at the upper and lower positions of the support column 53', and
When the dogs 64a and 64b provided on the sides contact the limit switch 63b during the upward movement of the table 52, the rotating direction of the geared motor 58 is changed, and the table 52 shifts to the downward movement. When the dog 64a comes into contact with the limit switch 63a, the table 52
is starting to stop.

The stopping position of the table 52 is a slightly lower position where the baskets sent from the conveying means can smoothly enter the top surface of the table without colliding with each other. When the cage 52 rises, it lifts the basket upward.

The above has explained the operation of one basket, but in continuous work, when another basket comes and stops due to the intermittent rotation of the chains 49, 49', the table 52 rises again, and in the process of rising The baskets are stacked on the bottom surfaces of the baskets that are locked on the hook plates 62a and 62b at the upper position and lifted, and at this time the hook plates 62a and 62b are operated as described above. This time, it engages with the protruding flange P of the lower basket to place it thereon, and in the same manner, other baskets can be stacked one after another.

In the drawing, reference numeral 65 denotes a limit switch that is brought into contact with the protruding flange P at the forward end of the basket being transported by the transporting means 29 to stop the motor drive of the transporting means 47.

The apparatus of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and is arranged so that the table 36 serves as a product take-out point for an injection molding machine, etc. To explain the overall operation now, as shown in FIG. 4A, The conveying means 29, 47 are stopped, the empty baskets 1, 1' are placed on the tables 6 and 36, and the support plates 4,
4', a large number of empty baskets 1'', 1, .
7 is driven and the basket 1 into which the product is loaded moves in the direction of the arrow H. After that, as shown in Figure B, after a short period of time (a certain period of time when the basket 1 escapes from the top of the table 36), the table 36 is moved. As it rises, the conveying means 29 is driven to move the empty basket 1' in the direction of arrow H, and then the empty basket 1' is moved to the table 36 as shown in Figure C.
The empty basket 1' is placed thereon via sliding rollers 41, 41'. At this time, the basket 1 reaches a position above the table 52 and the driving of the conveying means 47 is stopped.

Next, as shown in Figure D, the table 36 on which the empty basket 1' is placed goes down, but at the same time the table 6 rises and the table 6 goes to pull out the empty basket 1''. On the other hand, the table 52 hooks the basket 1 in which the products are stored and hooks the claw plates 62a, 62b.
(See Figure E)
After that, things will return to their original state and new products will begin to be introduced into basket 1'. The following is similar repetitive work.

Although the operation of each limit switch has been omitted in the above explanation, it is assumed that the operation is automatically controlled based on the built-in sequence circuit in advance depending on the capacity of the injection molding machine used. When a certain number of products are placed in the upper basket, the basket is sent out, and then an empty basket is received on the table again to prepare for product loading.
Until the OK is given, the product discharged from the injection molding machine is temporarily stored in a storage hopper (not shown), and when preparations are complete, the bottom plate of the storage hopper is opened and the product is placed inside the basket. Have them put it into the pot.

According to the present invention, since the center of the device frame is used as a free receiving point for products relative to the empty basket, it is possible to receive products from any of the three sides or directly from a large injection molding machine, etc., thereby increasing efficiency. It is possible to receive and transport products, and it greatly contributes to space saving and productivity improvement.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the basket used in the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the basket used in the present invention;
The figure is a perspective view of the entire device, Figure 3 is a detailed view of the part indicated by the dashed-dotted circle in Figure 2, Figure 4 is A, B, C,
D and E are action explanatory diagrams. 1... basket, P... hanging tsuba, 2a, 2b, 2c,
2d... Upper frame, 4, 4'... Support plate, 6
...Table, 10...Rack, 12...Geared motor, 15, 16...Engagement bracket,
17... automatic extraction means, 26... chain, 29
...transporting means, 32, 32'...chain, 35,
35'... Vertical frame, 36... Table, 4
7... Conveying means, 49, 49'... Chain, 52
...Table, 53, 53'...Vertical frame,
62a, 62b...Hooking claw plates.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rectangular basket with a protruding collar protruding in the upper horizontal direction and a key stage for hooking in the lower part.The overall shape is a convex shape with an upper frame and a lower frame, and a protruding center. A large number of empty baskets are stacked on top of the upper frame of the device frame, in other words, four pillars are set up to surround each basket in a square shape, and two pillars are arranged in pairs facing each other in the center. A support plate is movably provided at a certain height position, and the protruding collar of the lowest stacked baskets is engaged with the support plate to support the entire basket, and a table is provided at a lower position. It is arranged so that it can be raised and lowered, and when the lowest basket is placed on the table and lifted slightly during the raising process, the support plate rotates and disengages from the overhanging flange, and the table lowers and lifts the tension. When the protruding tsuba passes, it returns to its original position and the protruding flange of the next upper basket engages and supports it.In addition, the upper horizontal frame of the lower frame is used to hold the basket taken out on the table in the lower tier. Empty basket conveying means is provided for transporting empty baskets toward one end of the frame, and a table is movably provided at the end edge of the lower frame for receiving empty baskets transported by the transport means. At the same position, products are placed in the basket, and on the other end of the lower frame, there is another table that can be raised and lowered within the four pillars, and the two are arranged as a set. A hook plate is movably provided between the opposing supports, and when the protruding collar of a basket placed on the table comes into contact with the underside of the hook plate as the table rises, it escapes out of the way. , After passing, the table returns to its original position, and then the table is lowered, so that the overhanging basket of the basket engages with the hook plate and is supported, and also connects the edges of the lower horizontal frame in the lower frame. An apparatus for automatically taking out empty baskets, receiving products therein, and automatically stacking the baskets, characterized in that an additional conveying means is provided for conveying the baskets containing the products.