JPH0476855B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides can lids for various canned goods and can containers to be supplied to a can lid seamer. This invention relates to a device that sequentially takes out a group from a carton case at a predetermined position and automatically and repeatedly supplies it to a predetermined position, which is the starting end of a guide chute leading to a seamer.

Conventionally, the work of supplying can lids to a seamer involves manually taking out a group of can lids that are cylindrical and arranged separately in a carton case using a special chuck tool, and feeding them to a predetermined position on a guide chute.
After removing the can lids from the carton case, the empty cartons were manually removed.

In recent years, with the improvement in the speed of sealing can lids for canned goods and can containers, there is a need to also improve the feeding speed of can lids.
Furthermore, there is an increasing demand for labor saving by freeing up the labor from simple tasks.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and includes a plurality of rows of can lid groups arranged in a cylindrical shape.
A control system that uses a dedicated gripper and a mechanism to move it to automatically carry out the repetitive task of taking out groups of can lids one by one from carton cases housed in multiple stages and supplying them to a guide chute. By using a moving device equipped with the device, that is, a robot device, the problems of the prior art are solved, and the object is to provide a device that can save labor and cope with the tightening speed of can lids. .

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In Figures 1 to 3, a carton case containing can lids is set in a predetermined position, and a group of can lids are taken out one row at a time from the carton case by a robotic device, and placed on the upper side of a seamer (not shown). The overall device for feeding onto the guide chute to be connected is shown, and the fourth
Figures 7 to 7 show details of the gripper mechanism attached to the tip of the robot arm.

First, the outline of the overall apparatus will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Reference numeral 1 is a carton case in which groups of cylindrical can lids 2 are arranged in a plurality of rows and in multiple stages.
The carton cases 1 are conveyed on a carry-in conveyor 3, and the first carton case 1 is sent upward by a lift-up device 4, and is pushed out by an extrusion cylinder 5 provided on one side of the upper part of the lift-up device 4. , and is supplied to a setting position holding table 6 of the carton case 1 provided adjacent to the lift-up device 4. As is clear from FIG. 3, this holding stand 6 is inclined downward in the direction of a guide chute 7 arranged parallel to the axial direction of the can lid group 2 on the holding stand 6. Give a rolling habit to
The can lids constituting the can lid group are pressed against one side wall surface of the carton case 1 so that they do not fall apart. When the carton case 1 is set at a predetermined position on the holding stand 6, a cylinder 8 for holding the carton case provided on the holding stand 6 so as to be orthogonal to the extrusion cylinder 5 is moved to the side opposite to the guide chute 7. The sides of the carton case 1 are pressed from the outside to fix the carton case 1 so that it does not move.

A is arranged in line with the above-mentioned holding table 6, and holds the can lid groups 2 in the carton case 1 sequentially from the upper stage, especially the can lid group 2 on the inclined upper stage, takes it out from above the carton case 1, and guides it to the guide chute. 7 (details will be described later). Further, the can lid group 2 supplied onto the guide chute 7 is supplied to a seamer (not shown) by an extrusion cylinder 9 provided at the end of the guide chute 7. Furthermore, after all the can lid groups 2 housed in the carton case 1 have been removed, the empty carton case 1 is freed from the pressure from the side by the cylinder 8, and then the holding base 6 is moved by the action of the cylinder 10. The holding table 6 descends and is pushed and ejected sideways by the ejection cylinder 11, and then the holding table 6 rises and assumes a position for receiving the next carton case 1. The above-mentioned operations are then repeated.

Next, details of the robot device A will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the robot device A is arranged in parallel with a holding table 6, and rotates arms 12 and 12a for taking out the can lid group 2 of the present invention and discharging it onto the guide chute 7. The angle and control of the vertical movement stroke of the rod 13 attached to the distal end arm 12a, etc., are performed by a control device such as a computer, which is not particularly shown, and a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Needless to say, the length of the rod 13 is such that it can accommodate the stroke that allows the lowermost can lid group 2 in the carton case 1 to be gripped. A cylinder mechanism 14 as shown in FIG. 5 is attached to the lower end of this rod 13. Piston rod 15 that constitutes this cylinder mechanism 14
The piston rod 15 is built into the cylinder 16 so that it can be moved upward by air for a short stroke, and the piston rod 15 is given a downward movement by a spring 17 of relatively weak elasticity loaded in the cylinder 16.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a relatively long holder fixed to the lower part of the cylinder 16 so as to be perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylinder 16, and downward mounting pieces 19 are provided on the left and right sides of the holder 18. The upper surface of an arc-shaped grip plate 20 having a width slightly longer than a 1/4 circle is pivotally supported at the front and rear ends of this mounting piece 19, and the opposing edges of both grip plates 20 , 6 are butted against each other, and these two gripping plates 20 form a gripping surface that is slightly longer than the semicircumference of the target can lid diameter. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, connection pieces 21 are attached to the center portions of both grip plates 20, facing upward, respectively, and these connection pieces 21 and the lower end of the piston rod 15 are connected to a link rod 22.
They are combined respectively. In the figure, 23 is an air port provided in the rod 13, 24 is an air port provided in the cylinder 16, and the piston rod 15 is moved up and down by a switching valve 25 as shown in FIG. When the piston rod 25 is in a neutral state as shown in FIG. 7, only the elastic force of the spring 17 acts on the piston rod 15.

Reference numeral 20a denotes a locking portion formed by bending one end edge of both gripping plates 20 downward, and the endmost can lid engages with this locking portion 20a, thereby preventing the can lid from being drawn in or falling off, as will be described later. This is how it was done. Also, one end of the holder 18, specifically, the locking portion 2
A holding plate 27 that vertically moves up and down via a parallel link mechanism 26 is provided at one end facing the opposite side of the grip plate 20 forming the grip plate 0a. , a cylinder 28 having one end pivoted to the cylinder mechanism 14;
The 29 ends of the rods are connected.

Note that 1a shown in FIG. 3 is a partition plate that is separated so that the can lids of each layer stacked in the carton case 1 do not bite into each other, and this partition plate 1a is used to separate all the cans placed on top of the partition plate 1a. After operculum group 2 was removed,
It is taken out and removed from the carton case 1 by a suction mechanism (not shown) or the like.

Next, the operation of the robot device A will be explained.
The arms 12 and 12a of the robot are driven to rotate in accordance with the control signal, so that the gripping plates 20 are placed above the group of can lids 2 which is located at the uppermost stage of the carton case and is also located at the uppermost inclined stage. Let me come.
Next, a locking portion 20 formed on one side of both gripping plates 20
When the grip plate 20 is lowered by operating the rod so that the rod a intervenes between the inner surface of one side wall of the carton case and the can lid at one end, only a weak elastic force of the spring 17 acts on the piston rod 15. As a result, the lower edges of both gripping plates 20 contact the periphery of can lid group 2 and open against the elasticity of spring 17, and both gripping plates 20, which descend further, are completely fitted to can lid group 2. In this state, the rod 13 stops descending. At this time, the holding plate 27 is in the raised position. Next, the arms 12 and 12a work to move the grip plate 20 to the left in the paper of FIG. and hold the can lid group 2 on the grip plate 20.
Gather it into a stick shape with a length that matches the length of. At the same time, compressed air is sent into the cylinder mechanism 14 via the board 23 by operating the switching valve 25, and force in the compression direction is applied to both grip plates 20 via the piston rod 15 and link rod 22, causing the rod-shaped The can lid group 2, which has become flat, is firmly gripped. At the same time, the cylinder 28 works, and the parallel link mechanism 2
As shown in FIG. 20a and is completely held between the holding plates 27.

When this action is completed, the rod 13 rises to take out the can lid group 2 from the carton case 1 and expose the can lid group 2 onto the guide chute 7 by the combined rotation of the arms 12 and 12a. Then, the rod 13 is lowered by a set amount to place the lower surface of the can lid group 2 on the guide chute 7 surface, and then the piston rod 15 is moved upward by the action of the switching valve 25 to release the can lid group 2, and the cylinder The rod 29 is pulled by the action of 28, and the holding plate 2
7 to completely release the can lid group 2, the grip plate 20 is again guided onto the carton case 1 by the control signal, and the next can lid group 2 is moved to the guide chute 7 in the same manner as above. supply. Although the position of the can lid group 2 within the carton case 1 changes each time, the movements of the arms 12, 12a and the vertical stroke of the rod 13 are operated according to preset control signals.

As described above, according to the present invention, a group of loose can lids can be accurately fed onto a guide chute from a predetermined position, and this taking out and feeding action is automatically performed by a gripping mechanism connected to a robot. This is a useful invention, as it can be carried out repeatedly, can sufficiently cope with high-speed supply of can lids, and can greatly save labor.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view of the overall device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same as above, Fig. 3 is a partial side view, Fig. 4 is a partially cutaway front view of the gripping mechanism, and Fig. 5 is a cylinder as above. FIG. 6 is a side view of the gripping plate, and FIG. 7 is a diagram of the air piping of the cylinder mechanism. A... Robot device, 12, 12a... Arm, 13... Rod, 14... Cylinder mechanism, 1
5... Piston rod, 16... Cylinder, 17
... Spring, 18 ... Holder, 19 ... Mounting piece,
20... Grip plate, 21... Connection piece, 22... Riku rod, 23, 24... Air port, 25... Switching valve, 26... Parallel link mechanism, 26a... Link rod, 27... Holding plate, 28...Cylinder, 2
9...Rotsud.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transport end portion of a carton case that stores a group of loose can lids arranged in a cylindrical shape in multiple rows and stages and has an open top surface, and a can lid seamer.
A robotic device that automatically and repeatedly feeds the cylindrical can lid group in the carton case to the guide chute is disposed between the guide chute of the can lids connected to the upper side of the can lid, and an elevating and lowering device provided at the tip of the arm of the robotic device is provided. Attach the cylinder mechanism to the lower end of the rod,
The cylinder mechanism includes a semi-cylindrical gripper mechanism that opens and closes by the lifting and lowering action of the piston rod and grips and releases the group of can lids, and one end surface of the gripper mechanism and the side wall of the carton case. An automatic take-out and supply device for a group of can lids, characterized in that a vertically movable holding member is inserted between the inner surface and the can lid group to prevent the can lid group from falling off.