JPH0470206B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for easily holding objects to be processed in a gripping device when carrying objects to be processed into a bucket in sterilization processing or other circulation processing equipment for canned goods, bottled products, etc. The present invention relates to a method for circularly assembling objects to be processed and an apparatus therefor.

Conventionally, for example, in the case of canned or bottled products, etc., after production, they are charged into a sterilization pot for heat sterilization.
It is made to undergo a predetermined heat sterilization process.

However, in the heat sterilization process mentioned above, a cylindrical bucket is used to load and unload the materials to be treated into the sterilization pot, and after the materials to be treated, such as canned goods and bottles, are stacked and stored in this bucket, The bucket is transported to a sterilization pot using a crane or the like and sterilized in a prescribed manner, but conventionally, the materials to be processed were filled one by one manually into the bucket. Therefore, not only were they forced to perform extremely inefficient work, but they were also required to perform extremely hard labor.

In view of this, the present invention has been developed to provide an endless robot that can automatically pack materials to be processed into a bucket for charging into a processing tank such as a sterilization pot using an articulated robot or the like without manual intervention. A large number of objects to be processed that have flowed on the belt are stored in a circular section formed on the belt, and the objects to be processed are collected at once from inside the circular section by a gripping device such as a robot for the next process. The object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for circularly gathering objects to be processed, which can be held and carried into a bucket.

The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

The embodiment shown in the figure shows an example of a circular gathering device for the workpieces suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention, and is used, for example, in a circulation treatment process for heating and sterilizing the workpieces as shown in Fig. 1. Used in the processing material storage section.

In other words, the apparatus for performing the above-mentioned circulation treatment process includes a transport mechanism such as a bucket transport crane 2 that transports and circulates the bucket 1 containing the material to be processed D, and a transport mechanism arranged directly below the transport mechanism along the required section. A bucket conveyor 3 is provided, and is capable of stopping the bucket 1 at at least two positions, ie, a receiving position A and a take-out position B of the object to be processed D, and a bucket conveyor 3 is disposed following the conveyor 3 and is capable of stopping the bucket 1 at at least two positions, that is, the receiving position A and the take-out position B of the object to be processed D. a treatment tank 4 in which required processing is carried out; a conveyor 6 for carrying in and collecting objects to be processed disposed along one half of the downstream side of the bucket conveyor 3 in the belt movement direction; It is installed between the processed material discharge conveyor 7 disposed along one half of the upstream side, the processed material collection section 8 at the end of the carry-in collection conveyor 6, and the processed material mounting section 9 of the discharge conveyor 7. The robot 11 is equipped with a robot 11 for loading and unloading objects to be processed, which has a gripping part 12 in the hand part 10 for gripping a group of objects D to be processed and loading or unloading them into the bucket 1. Under the 12 turning orbits, the collection section 8 position of the carrying-in collection conveyor 6 and the workpiece placement section 9 position of the discharge conveyor 7 are arranged, respectively, and the present invention is applied to the collection section 8 as described above. It is something that

The circular gathering device has endless belts 13, 13, as shown in FIG. 2 as a plane of the gathering portion 8, FIG. 3 as a side view, and FIG. 4 as an enlarged plane view.
A pair of stop guide members 14, 14 are provided on the left and right sides, each having a circular arc shape having an arc length of approximately 120° and concave toward the upstream side. The guide members 14, 14 have a base 15 pivoted to fixing members 17, 17 on the machine frame 16 side by pins 18, 18 so as to be able to swing in a horizontal plane, and one end is attached to the outside of these stop guide members 14, 14, respectively. 19a, 19a are connected, and the other end 19b, 19b is connected to the machine frame 16 at the end of the endless belt 13.
9 allows the inner circumferential surfaces of both stop guide members 14, 14 to be opened and closed outward over a required range from a position forming part of a perfect circle.

Further, when the stop guide members 14, 14 are in a position forming a perfect circle, the stop guide member 1
An arc-shaped presser guide member 20 that closes the space between the upstream end portions 14a and 14a of the presser guide members 4 and 14 and forms a perfect circle as a whole is provided so as to be supported upwardly so as to be freely pivotable and retractable.

In this support means, the intermediate portion of the presser guide member 20 is supported by a U-shaped link 22 that is suspended between two shafts 21, 21 supported by the machine frame 16, and the intermediate portion of the presser guide member 20 is connected to a part of this link 22. The presser guide member 20 is lowered by the expanded and contracted operation of the air cylinder 23, and forms a circular section 24 together with the left and right stop guide members 14, 14.

Note that the size of this circular section 24 is set so that it has a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the gripping section 12 of the robot 11.

Next, the steps of the method of the present invention will be explained.

Before starting, several buckets 1 are placed on the bucket conveyor 3 at regular intervals in FIG. 1.

On the other hand, from the upstream side of the incoming collection conveyor 6, canned goods,
The object D to be processed, such as a bottled product, is supplied and conveyed toward the collecting section 8 by the belt movement of the conveyor 6.

When the workpiece D reaches the collecting part 8, this collecting part 8
The left and right stop guide members 14, 14 at the ends of the endless belt 13 are opened in an arc of approximately 120° toward the upstream side, so that the workpiece D is placed between the guide members 14, 14. The particles enter, come into contact with the inner surface, and gather densely along the arc surface.

If the presser guide member 20 is lowered by driving the air cylinder 23 when the interior surrounded by these stop guide members 14, 14 is filled with the workpiece D, the subsequent workpiece D will not enter the presser guide member. The workpieces D group, which are stopped by the outer edges of the presser guide members 20 and are conveyed to the downstream side and collected before the presser guide member 20 descends, are collected by the pair of left and right stop guide members 14, 14 and the presser guide member 20. It is divided into a circular section 24 formed by.

Next, the stop guide members 14, 14 are slightly opened outward by the drive of the air cylinder 19, thereby releasing the objects D from being pressed against each other.

After that, the arm 25 of the robot 11 shown in FIG.
The gripping part 12 of the hand part 10 is aligned within the circular partition part 24, and by the downward movement of the arm 25, the suction means provided on the lower surface of the gripping part 12 contacts the upper surface of the object D. Then, by suctioning the objects D all at once and raising the arm 25, the objects D are held by the grip part 12 and lifted.

In this case, as the holding member 20 descends, the workpiece D located directly below is held down by the lower surface of the holding member 20, so that it remains on the collecting conveyor 6 when it is sucked by the gripping part 12. After rotating the empty bucket 1 at the receiving position A of the bucket conveyor 3, the arm 25 is lowered and the gripping part 12 is inserted into the bucket 1, thereby completing this process.

By repeating this process, the objects D in the circular compartment 24 can be automatically loaded into the bucket 1 at regular intervals.

Incidentally, the bucket 1, which has reached the end of the bucket conveyor 3 and has been filled with the objects to be processed, is suspended by a hanger (not shown) of the crane 2.
It is conveyed toward the processing tank 4 by the circulation drive of the
Heat sterilization is performed at the position 4..., and the cooling water tank 5
After cooling, the sterilization process is completed.

When the bucket 1, which has reached the upstream side of the bucket conveyor 3 and has undergone the sterilization process, reaches the take-out position B, it rotates the arm 25 of the robot 11 and carries the workpiece D absorbed by the gripping part 12 to the starting end of the discharge conveyor 7. The processing object D is placed on the placing part 9 of the discharge conveyor 7 by rotating upward and lowering the workpiece D.

The empty bucket 1 is transferred to the bucket conveyor 3.
The belt moves to the above-mentioned packing position A, and unsterilized objects to be processed are packed again.

The workpiece D discharged onto the discharge conveyor 7 is sent out to the passage 26 from the final exit sent to the end by the belt movement of the conveyor 7, and is sent to the next process.

In addition, in the embodiment, the case where the stop guide members 14, 14 are provided as a pair on the left and right and each is swung separately has been shown, but it is also possible to integrate the stop guide members 14, 14 and move them in the direction of movement of the endless belt. good.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the workpieces flowing on the endless belt are stored separately in the circular compartment formed by the stop guide member and the presser guide member, and By inserting a gripping part supported by the robot's hand into the robot, it is possible to take out the workpiece at once, making it possible to automate this type of heavy labor work that previously relied on human hands, making it extremely easy to use. It has excellent effects and can be processed efficiently.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the entire circulation processing apparatus to which the method of the present invention is partially applied, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the circular collection device for the objects to be treated according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan view of FIG. 2. 13... Endless belt, 14... Stop guide member, 14a... Upstream end, 15... Base, 16
... Machine frame, 17 ... Fixed member, 18 ... Pin, 1
9... Air cylinder, 20... Presser guide member,
21... Shaft, 22... Link, 23... Air cylinder, 24... Circular section, D... Processing object.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When the object to be processed on the endless belt comes into contact with the inner surface of a stop guide member installed in a substantially semicircular shape concave toward the upstream side and accumulates in sequence on the upstream side. , by lowering and entering a guide member installed between the upstream end portions of the stop guide member so as to be substantially semicircular and concave toward the downstream side, the stop guide member and the presser guide member are connected to each other. A circular partition is formed and the workpiece is divided into the partition, and the entry of the workpiece on the upstream side is stopped at the outer edge of the presser guide member. A gap is created between the workpiece in the circular compartment and the stop guide member, so that the workpiece in the circular compartment can be held by a gripping member or the like having the same shape. Features: Circular gathering method of objects to be processed. 2. An endless belt, and a substantially semicircular shape concave toward the upstream side at the end of the endless belt, the base of which is pivotably supported in a horizontal plane relative to a fixed member on the machine frame side. a stop guide member, a drive mechanism connected to the stop guide member for swinging the stop guide member in the front-rear direction, and an upstream end of the stop guide member to form a circular section as a whole when closed. a presser guide member formed in a substantially semicircular shape so as to be concave toward the downstream side;
A circular gathering device for objects to be processed, which comprises a drive mechanism that supports this presser guide member on the machine frame side via a support member so as to be movable up and down.