JPH0620881B2 - Article loading device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention picks up elongated articles conveyed laterally by a first conveyor one by one, and uses a second conveyor to determine the conveyance direction of the first conveyor. The present invention relates to an article loading device for loading a predetermined number of articles in a plurality of rows in a container by sequentially transferring the articles to a container that is conveyed in a crossing direction.

[Conventional technology]

For example, in a manufacturing process of a ceramic product such as an insulator for an ignition plug, powder compression molded products are arranged in a container (sheath) in an aligned state and passed through a firing furnace. The so-called green molded product before firing is brittle and is easily broken by impact, so care must be taken when handling. Also, when arranging multiple molded products in a container, contact of adjacent molded products is prevented so that air or inert gas can flow evenly around each molded product in the firing process and cooling process. It is necessary to arrange them in the aligned state.

Conventionally, due to the above-mentioned restrictions, it has been common to manually arrange molded products in a container. For example, the molded products discharged from the compression press are conveyed side by side on the belt conveyor one by one, and the worker placed at the end of the molded product sorts the conveyed molded products one by one and The molded products are arranged in a container in a vertical position and in a predetermined position in order. The containers sequentially flow on the second conveyor in the transport direction intersecting the transport direction of the molded article conveyor.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

With the decrease in the defective rate in the molding process, it has become desirable to automate the work of arranging the molded products in the container in connection with the fact that the screening work before firing can be omitted.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for automatically performing the work of loading the above-described molded products into a container in an aligned state.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The article loading device of the present invention picks up long and narrow articles conveyed one by one by a first conveyor in a horizontal position, and sequentially transfers them to a container conveyed by a second conveyor in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the first conveyor. By loading a predetermined number of articles in a plurality of rows in a container by transferring the articles to the container, and its characteristic configuration is that the article pickup unit picks up the articles from the first conveyor one by one, and the article pickup unit. Means for vertically moving the second conveyor and means for driving the second conveyor at a predetermined pitch are provided, and the article pick-up unit includes a sliding body movable in a transverse direction of the second conveyor and the sliding body at a predetermined pitch. A moving means, an article pick-up head that is rotatably attached to the sliding body about a horizontal axis, and holds an article, and an article pick-up head that rotates. And means for, in that it is configured to change an article featured in horizontal position to the vertical position.

The article pick-up head is configured such that a pair of finger members approaches or separates from each other to grip or separate the article, or suction and holds an article having a stepped cylindrical outer peripheral surface. Is preferred.

[Action]

According to the above characteristic configuration, the elongated article conveyed in the horizontal posture on the first conveyor is held by the article pick-up head of the article pick-up unit and then lifted above the first conveyer to move the horizontal axis. For example, it is linearly moved to a predetermined position above the container on the second conveyor while being rotated about the center of the body by 270 degrees and being changed to a vertical posture,
It descends and is placed in a predetermined position on the container in a vertical orientation.

The predetermined position in the transverse direction of the second conveyor in the container is precisely determined by the pitch at which the sliding body moves, and the articles are lined up in order at predetermined intervals in the transverse direction of the second conveyor. The row-to-row pitch is precisely determined by the pitch at which the second conveyor conveys the containers. In this way
A predetermined number of articles are loaded in a container in a state where they are arranged in a plurality of rows.

〔effect〕

Therefore, according to the present invention, an elongated article such as an insulator for a spark plug before firing, which is sequentially conveyed in a stable horizontal posture by a belt conveyor, is picked up one by one in a vertical direction. It became possible to automatically carry out the work of changing the posture and loading the containers in an aligned state.

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a container conveyor 12 corresponding to a second conveyor is supported on the floor by a support base 10. The container conveyor 12 is slightly inclined, and the inclination angle thereof can be adjusted by the adjusting column 14. An endless belt 16 that constitutes the container conveyor 12 is hung between a pair of drums provided at both ends of a frame 22, and one driving drum 20 is driven by a step motor 24 via a speed reducer 26.

Multiple ceramic containers (sheaths) 28 are container magazines 30
From which the containers 28 are manually or automatically taken out one by one and sent to the container conveyor 12.

A molded product conveyor 32 corresponding to the first conveyor is provided in a substantially horizontal state and its transportation direction is orthogonal to the transportation direction of the container conveyor 12, and is driven by a motor 33 with a speed reducer. The molded product conveyor 32 conveys a molded product 34 in a base state sent from a molded product discharge station of a powder compression press or the like.

The molded product 34 in this embodiment is an insulator for a spark plug and has an elongated cylindrical shape. This molded article 34
The powder is compressed by a powder compression press, polished by a contour polishing machine 36, and then sent to the molded product conveyor 32. Alternatively, the cylindrical molded article 34 is extruded from the extrusion molding machine, cut into a predetermined length, and dried, and then the outer shape polishing machine 36.
It may be polished by.

The molded products 34 sent to the molded product conveyor 32 are placed on the belt of the conveyor in a horizontal posture and in a row at predetermined intervals in a state in which the longitudinal direction is along the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 3, this belt is covered with a cover 38 having a groove 40 in the center thereof, and this groove 40 is used to convey the molded product 3 to be conveyed.
Functions as a guide for 4.

The molded product 34 that has reached the end of the molded product conveyor 32, that is, the intersection with the container conveyor 12, is separated by the product pick-up unit 42 attached to the tip of the pivotable elbow joint arm 44 of the product loading device 46. Are taken up one by one. The article loading device 46 is installed on a support plate 50 attached to an upper portion of a bracket 48 fixed to a side surface of the support base 10. The article pickup unit 42 is lifted above the molded article conveyor 32 by the elbow joint arm 44 while holding one molded article 34 as will be described later.
The molded product 34 is moved horizontally and vertically along the locus indicated by the phantom line 52 in FIG.
Is placed in a predetermined position on the container 28. While the molded product transfer operation is being performed, the step motor 24 is temporarily stopped in order to stop the belt 16 of the container conveyor 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an article loading device 46 bolted to an upper support plate 50 of a bracket 48 includes a housing 54 to which a back plate is fixed, and a step motor 58 is attached to the back plate. ing. The step motor 58 is connected to the upper arm 78 and the lower arm 8 of the elbow joint arm 44 through an appropriate mechanism (not shown) as shown in FIG.
Drive 0. The driving mechanism for the elbow joint arm 44 is described in detail in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-161683.

As shown in FIG. 5, a short support shaft 164 is supported at the lower end of the lower arm 80, and the article pick-up unit 42 is attached to the projecting portion 168. The angular posture of the support shaft 164, that is, the angular posture of the article pick-up unit 42 is determined by the entire movement range of the elbow joint arm 44, that is, from the home position H shown by an imaginary line in FIG. It is kept constant over the range of motion to the loading position shown by the solid line.

Next, details of the article pickup unit 42 will be described with reference to FIGS. The article (molded article) 34 picked up by the article pick-up unit 42 is a substantially cylindrical porcelain insulator 180 for a spark plug, which is picked up from the molded article conveyor 32 in a horizontal orientation and changed to a vertical orientation to form a container. The containers 28 on the conveyor 12 are placed in an array in a predetermined order.

The article pickup unit 42 includes a support block 230,
The support block 230 is externally fitted to the protrusion 168 of the support shaft 164 supported by the elbow joint arm 44 in the hole 226, and is fixed by one or a plurality of fixing screws 200.
A pair of parallel holes 2 is provided on the opposite surface of the support block 230.
32 is formed, and a pair of rods 234, which also support the sliding member 236 and also serve as sliding paths, are fitted and fixed in the holes 232. The sliding body 236 is formed with a pair of parallel through holes 238 having a linear bearing 240 for smoothly sliding along the pair of rods 234.

A third hole 252 is formed above the pair of parallel holes 232 of the support block 230, and the third rod 250 parallel to the pair of rods 234 is fitted and fixed. These three
The ends of the parallel rods 234 and 250 of the book are terminated by a substantially triangular end block 254. That is, the tips of the rods 234 and 250 are fitted into the three parallel holes formed in the terminal block 254 and fixed by the fixing screws 258. In this way, a robust and hard-to-deform support structure for linearly movably supporting the slide body 236 is formed.

A step motor 260 is provided below the support block 230, and an output rotation shaft 262 of the step motor 260 extends through a hole 264 to a cavity 272 formed in the support block 230. A sliding body 236 is attached to the rotary shaft 262 of the step motor 260 via a chain 274 and a pair of rods 234.
A sprocket 266 for moving along is fixed. The chain 274 is hung between the drive sprocket 266 and a sprocket 276 fixed to a shaft 277 rotatably supported by the terminal block 254.

Both ends of the chain 274 are attached to the sliding body 236 by the clamp members 278. Clamp member 278
Is adjustable in the direction of tightening or loosening the chain 274, and is provided with a screw 279 for fixing the clamp member after the adjustment. In addition, using an endless chain,
The sliding body 236 may be fixed to the appropriate position.

As described above, the molded product 34 on the molded product conveyor 32
Means for linearly moving the slide body 236 between a position for picking up the article (article pick-up position) and a position for placing the molded article 34 on the container 28 on the container conveyor 12 (article loading position). It is configured. Then, the sliding body 236 is controlled by driving and controlling the step motor 260.
Can be moved to any position between the support block 230 and the end block 254.

A bracket 28 extending downward is provided at a lower portion of the sliding body 236.
0 is attached or integrally provided. A rotary actuator 282 by a hydraulic or electric step motor is attached to one side surface of the bracket 280, and a rotation shaft 284 thereof penetrates a hole 286 of the bracket 280 and extends to a side surface on the opposite side of the bracket 280. An article pickup head 288 is attached to the rotary shaft 284 via an attachment member 290. A hole 292 into which the rotating shaft 284 is fitted is formed in the mounting member 290, and the mounting member 290 is fixed to the rotating shaft 284 by an appropriate fixing screw. The mounting member 290 is attached to or integrated with a block 296 having a substantially rectangular opening 298.

The pair of substantially L-shaped finger members 300 and 302 are block 2
It is pivotally supported by 96 and extends like scissors.
The notch portion 304 is provided in 6 so as to form a pair of leg portions 306 and 308. Each finger member 300, 302
Has lever ends 310, 312 extending from the notch 304 to the opening 298. Lever ends 310, 312
Is pivotally supported by a pivot pin 314 that is passed through a pair of concentric holes near the ends of the legs 306 and 308. In order to allow the lever ends 310, 312 to pivot relative to each other, an intermediate cutout 316 is formed in one lever end 310, as shown in FIG. 6a, into which the intermediate cutout 316 fits. A protruding portion 318 is formed on the other lever end portion 312.

A roller 320 is provided in a recess 322 formed inside the upper end of each lever end 310, 312, and a pivot pin 324 is provided.
Is pivoted at. Both ends of each pivot pin 324 project to the outside of each lever end 310, 312, and the rubber ring 3
It forms a means for hanging 26. Rubber ring 3
Numeral 26 urges both lever end portions 310 and 312 toward each other to engage both rollers 320 with the inclined surface of the wedge member 328. The wedge member 328 is attached to the tip of the reciprocating linear actuator 330. The reciprocating linear actuator 330 is a piston rod of the air cylinder 332 attached to the upper part of the block 296 in the illustrated configuration, and the piston rod 330 extends to the opening 298 of the block 296.

A flexible hose 334 connects the air cylinder 332 and a compressed air source (not shown) via a two-way valve. It is also possible to replace the air cylinder 332 with an electric solenoid. As shown in FIG. 6, when the wedge member 328 is displaced in the direction in which it extends from the air cylinder 332 (downward in FIG. 6), both rollers 320 of the lever end portions 310 and 312 are expanded and the finger members 300 and 302 are formed. The product 34 is ready to be grabbed. Conversely, as shown in FIG. 7, the wedge member 32
8 is displaced in the direction of retracting to the air cylinder 332 side, the lever end portion 310,
The rollers 320 of 312 approach each other, and the finger members 300, 30
The part that holds the second molded product 34 expands. Finger member 300,
302 corresponds to the outer peripheral surface of the spark plug insulator 180,
It has a substantially cylindrical inner surface portion 336 for gripping it.

When, for example, an optical sensor detects that the molded product 34 reaches the end of the molded product conveyor 32, the air cylinder 332 is first driven and controlled based on the detection signal to mold the finger members 300 and 302. Grab item 34. After that, the step motor 58, the rotary actuator 282,
The molded product 34 is transferred to the container 28 on the container conveyor 12 by drivingly controlling the step motor 260 in cooperation with each other.

That is, the entire article pick-up unit 42 is moved up and down by driving the step motor 58, and the rotary actuator 2
The article pickup head 288 is rotated in the vertical direction by driving 82, and the article pickup head 288 (sliding body 236) is linearly moved in the transverse direction of the container conveyor 12 by driving the step motor 260. Therefore, the molded article conveyor 32
After being held by the article pick-up head 288, the upper horizontal molded article 34 is lifted above the molded article conveyor 32 and rotated 270 degrees in a direction indicated by an arrow 338 in FIG. The container moves linearly to a predetermined position on the container 28 while changing its orientation, and descends to be placed in the vertical position at the predetermined position of the container 28.

The predetermined position of the container 28 in the transverse direction of the container conveyor 12 is accurately determined as the moving distance of the sliding body 236 by the step motor 260, and the molded products 34 are arranged in a line at predetermined intervals in the transverse direction of the container conveyor 12. To be The pitch between rows is accurately determined by controlling the step motor 24 that drives the container conveyor 12 to move the containers 28 at a predetermined pitch in the transport direction. Once the molded article 34 is in place on the container 28,
The air cylinder 332 is drive-controlled and the wedge member retracts, so that as shown in FIG.
302 is spread and the molded article 34 is peeled off.

8 to 10 show a suction type or vacuum type molded product pickup head 340. The pickup head 340 includes an arm 342 attached to the end of the output shaft 284 of the rotary actuator 282 attached to one side of the bracket 280 of the sliding body 236. A tubular member 344 orthogonal to the arm axis is attached to the end of the arm 342. The tubular member 344 is
An inner chamber 346 communicating with a passage 348 in the arm 342 is provided (eighth
), The passage 348 is in controllable communication with a source of suction (not shown) via a fixture 350 and a flexible hose 352. The edge 354 of the open end of the tubular member 344 is a spark plug insulator 180.
Has a shape that matches the shoulder 356 of the
Engages with the shoulder portion 356 while protruding into the inner chamber 346 (eighth
Figure). When the sliding body 236 linearly moves and the edge 354 of the tubular member 344 abuts the shoulder portion 356 of the insulator 180, the tip 358 of the insulator 180 is contacted.
Enters the inner chamber 346, and a part of the peripheral surface of the insulator 180 engages with the partially cylindrical hood 360. A rod 362 is housed in the cylindrical member 344 in the axial direction, and a free end of the rod 362 is attached with an expansion head covered with an elastomer cushion or a pad 366. The pad 366 abuts the end surface of the insulator tip 358 to seal the slot 368 of the insulator 180. As is well known, the long hole 368 is for attaching the center electrode and the sealing material when manufacturing the spark plug. Thus, when the inner chamber 346 is in communication with the source of suction via the passage 348 and the hose 352, the pad 366 acts as an effective seal that resiliently conforms to the allowable manufacturing tolerances of the insulator. And
When the molded product pick-up head 340 is in the horizontal position shown,
The inner chamber 346 is positively sealed from the outside air while rotating to a vertical position for loading the insulator 180 into the
It is held in the posture shown in FIG. 8 while being stabilized from 80 by the hood 360.

As previously mentioned, the molded articles 34, or spark plug insulators 180, are loaded into the containers 28 on the container conveyor 12 in a vertical position, one row at a time. For this purpose, in the container, as shown in Figures 3 and 11,
A styrofoam tray 370 is placed with a plurality of holes 372 for receiving the ends of the insulator to hold 180 in a staggered orientation in alternating rows. These molded product holding holes 372 are cylindrical and are equidistant from each other, and their dimensions are such that the ends of the insulator 180 fit exactly.
Each tray 370 is sized to be accurately positioned in the container 28 with a small spacing 374 (FIG. 12). Insulator 180
The opening 376 of each hole 372 is tapered to facilitate insertion of the ends of the.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 11-13, the tray in the container 28
A positioning device 380 is provided across the container conveyor 12 to position the 370.

The container 28 is laterally positioned on the belt 16 of the conveyor 12 by contacting one of its side walls with a guide rail 382 (FIG. 12). Positioner 380 is a conveyor 1
A vertical plate member 384 including a bracket portion bolted to the side groove of the second frame 22 and a bridge 386 connecting the upper plate member 384 to the upper plate member 384 are provided. The bridge 386 comprises a pair of L-shaped plates 386 arranged symmetrically with respect to each other, the L-shaped plate 386 being laterally reinforced by triangular ribs 390, the vertical direction plates 392 of which are connected by an integral web 394 thereof. ing. Two hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders 396, 398 are juxtaposed between the vertical direction plate portions 392, which are attached to a support plate 400 bolted to the upper ends of the vertical direction plate portions 392. The cylinder extends in a direction sandwiching the web 394. Vertical plate member for frame 384
A reciprocating ram 402 is arranged between them. The ram 402 consists of two lateral blocks 404 and a connecting member 406 attached to them. Two parallel vertical holes 408 with suitable bushes are formed in each block 404, a fixed support rod 410 is located in the vertical holes 408, and the ram 402 is in two pairs of support rods 410. It is constructed so that it can be guided and supported to move up and down. One end of each rod 410 is attached to the bridge 386, and the other end is attached to the bracket portion 385 of the vertical plate member 384.

The cylinder 396, as shown in FIG.
A piston rod 412 having an end 414 attached to a lug 416 fixed to one side of 06 is provided. The other cylinder 398
At the end of the piston rod 418 is attached a contact block 420 which engages a contact plate 422 mounted on a lug 424 fixed to the other side of the ram's coupling member 406. Therefore, when the piston rod 412 of the cylinder 396 reciprocates, the ram 402 reciprocates. The upper limit of the stroke of the ram 402 is determined by adjusting the block 420 attached to the piston rod 418 of the cylinder 398.
FIG. 13 shows the piston rod 418 fully extended. The maximum retracted position of the ram 402 shown by the chain line in FIG. 12 is achieved by fully retracting both piston rods 412 and 418, and the upward stroke of the ram 402 is the engagement of the contact plate 422 and the contact block 420. Are not restricted by.

A plate 426 and a bar 428 are provided below the ram 402. One side block 404 to the other side block 404
A plate 426 is bolted to the bottom surface of a pair of support blocks 430 attached by pins 433 to a rod 432 extending to. One end of the rod 432 is attached to the outer surface of one side 404 of the side block in a pneumatic cylinder 43 mounted in a substantially horizontal position.
6 is connected to the piston rod 434, and the rod 432 is reciprocated by this cylinder 436. The other end 43 of the rod 432
8 protrudes outward from the other side block 404, and the rod 43
Means for limiting the stroke and rotation of the two are provided. This means, as shown in FIG.
4 includes an end cap 440 bolted to the outer wall of the rod 4, the rod 432 protruding into a hole 442 formed in the cap 440. The contact plate 444 closing this hole 442 allows
12 The movement of the rod 432 to the left in the figure is restricted. Further, as a means for preventing the rotation of the rod 432, the flat surface 446
Is formed on the rod 432 and a square key 448 is provided across the hole 442 of the cap 440. And the face of the key 448
450 slides on the flat surface 446 of the rod.

As shown in FIG. 13, a rectangular notch 452 is formed at the bottom of each support block 430, and a bar 428 is slidably fitted therein. Further, a vertical hole 456 is formed in each block, and a coil spring for urging the bar 428 to contact the upper surface of the plate 426 is provided therein. plate
On the lower surface of 426, a plurality of columnar probes 458 arranged in a row in the lateral direction are attached. The distance between the probes 458 corresponds to the distance between the molded product holding holes 372 in each row of the tray 370.

When the ram 402 descends, the tip of the probe 458 enters into the row of holes 372 of the tray 370. If the tray 370 is slightly offset from its exact position inside the container 28, the tip of the probe 458 will
The tray 370 is slid forward, backward, leftward and rightward by engaging with the upper end of the taper shape, and the tray 370 is thrust to a depth as shown in FIG. The diameter of probe 458 is significantly smaller than the diameter of hole 372. tray
The gap between the side wall of the 370 and the wall of the container 28 and the probe 458
And probe 458 due to the gap caused by the difference in diameter of hole 372
Can easily enter the hole 372. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, a pair of contact plates 460 that restrict the lowering of the bar 428.
The vertical plate member 384 is formed so as to project laterally. When the ram 402 descends and the end of the bar 428 abuts the abutment plate 460, the bar 428 cannot move any further and the plate 426
To compress the spring 454 in the support block 430. This causes the tip of the probe 458 to expand as shown in FIGS. 14 to 17.

Each probe 458 includes, for example, a tubular member 462 including a small-diameter portion 468 that is pressed into a hole 470 of the support plate 426. The cylindrical member 462 forms a long hole 472, and the rod 474 is slidably inserted therein. Rod 474 has hole 47 in bar 428
Located within 8 has a small diameter end 476 secured by a nut 480 engaged with a threaded end 482. Rod 474
An enlarged head 484 having a tapered upper surface 486 is formed at the lower end of the. The lower end of the tubular member 462 has an inverted tapered annular surface 4
It is 88. A plurality of, for example, six cylindrical pieces 490 are provided on the circumferential surface of the rod 474 protruding from the annular surface 488 at the lower end of the tubular member 462.
Are attached by a pair of elastic O-rings 492 fitted in the circumferential groove 494 of the cylindrical piece 490 (Fig. 14).
The upper and lower ends of each cylindrical piece 490 are tapered surfaces 496 and 498, and the tapered surface 496 is the tapered lower end surface 488 of the tubular member 462.
And tapered surfaces 498 engage tapered surfaces 486 of rod 474, respectively. When the plate 426 is pushed down by the ram 402 (Figs. 11-13), the ends of the bar 428 abut the abutment plate 460 (Fig. 12) resulting in the bar 428 with the rod 474 attached to the plate 426. Displaced to the first
Move from the position shown in Fig. 15 to the position shown in Fig. 17. Thus rod 47
4 is retracted with respect to the tubular member 462, and the distance between the tapered surface 486 and the tapered surface 486 is reduced, so that the cylindrical piece 490 moves to the first position.
Displaces outward as shown in Fig. 17. Such a cylindrical piece 49
The outward protrusion of 0 accomplishes the triple purpose of more accurately positioning the tray 370 within the container 28, aligning the molded article holding holes 372, and adjusting the diameter of the holes 372. This is a tray
This is possible due to the property of 370 Styrofoam, which is the material of 370, that it is relatively easily deformed under pressure.

19 to 21 show another example of the structure of the probe 458, in which the tubular member 462 forms the longitudinal slit 500, and as a result, a plurality, for example, six radially expandable pieces 502 are formed. Has been done. The piece 502 is formed by the elastic thin wall portion 504 to form the tubular member 46.
It is connected to two rigid members. Each piece 502 is a rod end
When the plate 426 and the bar 428 are separated from each other (FIG. 21) having the tapered end surface 506 engaged with the tapered surface 486 of the rod 484 (FIG. 21), the cam 502 of the piece 502 of the tapered surface 486 of the rod acts on the taper end surface 506 of the rod 502 to cause the diameter of the piece 502. Elastically deforms outward in the direction,
The outer circumference of the truncated cone (FIGS. 18 and 19) becomes substantially columnar (FIGS. 20 and 21). Thus, the same effect as that of the embodiment of FIGS. 14 to 17 is exhibited.

The molded product holding holes 372 arranged in the tray 370 are staggered. After positioning the first row, cylinder 396 lifts ram 402, which causes probe 4
58 is pulled out of hole 372. Ram 402 is abutment plate 422
Moves up until it contacts a block 420 attached to the end of the piston rod 418 of the cylinder 398 (Fig. 13).
In the initial stage of the pullback process, the tip of the probe 458 is retracted by the effect of the spring 454 gradually decreasing the distance between the bar 428 and the plate 426 until they are engaged with each other. At the final stage of raising the ram 402, the abutment block 420 at the end of the extended piston rod 418 of the cylinder 398 abuts the abutment plate 422, and the tip of the probe 458 comes out of the hole 372. Limit the ascending stroke. The conveyor 12 then advances the container 28 to align the next row of holes 372 in the tray 370. This subsequent row is offset from the previous row so that the rod 432 with the support block 430 of the support plate 426 attached to it to displace the probe 458 into the hole 372 is laterally displaced by the pneumatic cylinder 436. In this way, the positioning operation is repeated for each row.

The operation of this device is controlled by a predetermined program, and when the probe 458 is in the hole, the molded product 34 is loaded in the hole several rows downstream of the container 28 in the traveling direction of the container 28. Thus, the positioning device 380 conveniently locks the tray 370 in the optimum position while the holes 372 are being loaded. After the last row of holes 372 of the tray 370 in the container 28 are positioned, the ram 402 is fully retracted by the cylinder 396 while the cylinder 398 is manipulated to fully retract the abutment block 420, which causes the probe 458. Can pass over the edge of the container 28 being loaded. The tray 370 in the container 28 being loaded is held in place by the weight of the spark plug insulator 180 already contained in several rows of retaining holes 372. Tray 37 in the preceding container
The spacing between the last row of holes 372 of 0 and the front row of holes in the subsequent container may be the same distance that the preceding container is advanced in successive steps by the conveyor 12 until the loading of the preceding container is complete. desirable. Subsequent containers are advanced by conveyor 12 until the first row of holes in tray 370 probe 458.
When it is positioned below, the hole positioning work is restarted. Hole 37
For example, when loading the second molded part, the holes 372 in a few rows
Not started until processed by.

At the beginning of the pullback process of the probe 458, the tray 370 is rubbed by friction between the wall of the holding hole and the enlarged piece of the probe tip.
A pressure member as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 12 can be provided to prevent the object from being lifted from the container 28. The pressing member may be, for example, a washer 510 attached to the tip of a coil spring 512 fixed to the lower surface of the plate 426. Such washers 510 are provided on some of the probes 458 and apply downward pressure to the top surface of the tray 370 early in the process of retracting the probes 458.

The device of the invention operates automatically. pressure switch,
Since various sensors such as limit switches, proximity switches, and photoelectric sensors are arranged at appropriate positions along the container conveyor 12 and the molded product conveyor 32, the flow of the container 28 on the belt 16 of the container conveyor and the molded product conveyor 32. The flow of the upper molded product 34 can be controlled appropriately and the loading device
The complex article loading operation of the container 28 by the 46 can be optimized.

On the other hand, a step motor driving the molded product conveyor 32
33 is similarly controlled by suitable sensors located at several locations along the conveyor to detect molded articles. For example, a sensor at the entrance of the conveyor 32 detects a molded product placed on the conveyor 32. Further, one to several misalignment state detection sensors are provided at predetermined positions along the conveyor 32 to detect the presence or absence of a molded product, and an alarm is generated when the molded product is clogged. And / or cause the device to shut down.

In a configuration in which molded articles such as spark plug insulators are transferred from the conveyor 32 onto the container 28 one at a time, the sensor provided at the end of the molded article conveyor 32 has an operation cycle of the loading device 46 and the pick-up tool 42. Give the start signal. If the number of molded articles 34 that should form one row in the tray 37 is given in advance by storing it in the memory of the controller 600 (FIG. 3), the The step motor 266 for the sliding body moves the sliding body 236 and the pick-up head 288 along the rod 234, and then causes the head to take a position corresponding to the order in which the molded product being gripped should occupy in the one row. It will be. Alternatively, a counter may be provided to count each molded product picked up by the pick-up tool, and the operation of the step motor 248 may be controlled by the counter and the programmed controller 600.

Further, a sensor for detecting the molded product 34 actually picked up from the end of the molded product conveyor 32 can be provided at an appropriate position, and a sensor for counting the rows of the molded products actually loaded in the tray 370 can be provided. . When one row of molded products is loaded, the conveyor motor 24 turns the conveyor belt 16
Is advanced by the amount corresponding to the distance between rows. Alternatively, counting of molded products, container feeding, etc. may be controlled by a processor incorporated in the control device 600.

The above is one preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it goes without saying that modifications can be added thereto.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same, and FIG.
-4 line partial sectional view, FIG. 5 is the same line 5-5 partial sectional view, FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 6a is a partial sectional view taken along line 6a-6a, FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing a state where the pick-up portion is opened, FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another example of the article pick-up tool of FIGS. 5 to 7, and FIG. 9 is 9 of FIG.
-9 end view in the direction of arrow, FIG. 10 is an end view in the same line 10-10, and FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view in the line 11-11 in FIG.
Fig. 12 is a view taken along the line 12-12 of Fig. 11, and Fig. 13 is 13- of Fig. 12.
13 is a sectional view taken along the line 13 in FIG. 14, and FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line 14-14 in FIG.
FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line 15-15 of FIG. 14, FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 14 showing the expanded state of the probe, and FIG. 17 is 17- of FIG.
A sectional view taken along the line 17 and FIGS. 18 to 21 are views similar to FIGS. 14 to 17 showing another embodiment. 12 ... second conveyor, 24 ... second conveyor driving means,
28 …… Container, 32 …… First conveyor, 34 …… Goods, 42 ……
Article pick-up unit, 44, 58 ... Supporting and lifting means for article pick-up unit, 236 ... Sliding body, 260 ... Moving means for sliding body, 282 ... Means for rotating article pick-up head, 2
88,340 …… Item picking head, 300,302 …… Finger member, 32
0,324 …… Biasing means for separating finger members in the separating direction, 328,332 ……
Means for approaching finger members, 344 ... Cylindrical member, 346 ... Inner chamber of tubular member, 348, 352 ... Communication means, 354 ... End surface of tubular member, 356 ... Shoulder portion, 358 ... Tip portion , 360 …… Partial cylindrical hood, 368 …… Through hole.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An elongated article (34) conveyed laterally by a first conveyor (32) is picked up one by one,
A predetermined number of articles (34) are transferred to the container (28) by sequentially transferring the containers (28) transferred by the second conveyor (12) in a direction intersecting the transfer direction of the first conveyor (32). An article loading device for loading articles arranged in a plurality of rows, the article picking-up unit (42) picking up the articles (34) one by one from the first conveyor (32), and the article pick-up unit (42) supported in a vertically movable manner. Means (44, 58) and means (24) for driving the second conveyor (12) at a predetermined pitch are provided, and the article pickup unit (42) moves in the transverse direction of the second conveyor (12). A free sliding body (236), a means (260) for moving the sliding body at a predetermined pitch, and an article pick-up head that is rotatably attached to the sliding body around a horizontal axis and holds an article (34). (288) and a means (282) for rotating the article pick-up head (288). An article loading device configured to change to an orientation. 2. The article picking head (288) is configured to change the article (34) picked up in a horizontal posture to a vertical posture by rotating the article pickup head (288) about the horizontal axis by 270 degrees. Item loading device as described. 3. The article pick-up head (288) comprises a pair of finger members (300, 302), and when the pair of finger members (300, 302) approach each other, the article (34) is gripped and separated from each other. The article loading apparatus of claim 1, wherein the article loading apparatus is configured to separate the articles (34). 4. A means (320,324) for urging the pair of finger members (300,302) in a direction in which they are separated from each other, and a means for causing the pair of finger members (300,302) to approach each other against the urging force.
The article loading device according to claim 3, wherein (328,332) is provided. 5. The article pickup unit (42) comprises an article pickup head (340) for sucking and holding an article (34) having a stepped cylindrical outer peripheral surface, the article pickup head (340) being The tubular member (344) and means (348, 352) for communicating the inner chamber (346) of the tubular member (344) with an external suction source, and the end surface (354) of the tubular member (344). The article loading apparatus of claim 1, wherein the article is configured to engage a shoulder (356) forming a step on the outer peripheral surface of the article (34). 6. The cylindrical article (34) has an axial through hole (36).
8), the article pick-up head (340) is provided with means (366, 362) for contacting the end surface of the tip end (358) of the article (34) and closing one end side of the through hole (368). The article loading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein 7. A cylindrical member (34) of the article pickup head (340).
7. The partial cylindrical hood (360), which partially extends over the shoulder (356) of the article (34) and engages with the outer peripheral portion, is provided at the front end of (4). Item loading device.