JPH0784250B2 - Separation and transport device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a separation / conveyance device, and more specifically, it separates a conveyed object continuously supplied at a predetermined interval into a predetermined number. The present invention relates to a separating / conveying device capable of conveying while carrying out.

<< Conventional Technology >> Conventionally, a product to be packaged, or a product to be packaged such as various items before being packaged, is manufactured at a predetermined interval from a manufacturing process or a packaging device, and continuously. It is sequentially supplied to the separating and conveying device, where it is separated into a predetermined number of pieces, and the next stage is packed, for example, in a box and shipped.

Then, as a separation / conveyance device for separating a predetermined number of conveyed objects continuously supplied at predetermined intervals, for example, a plurality of conveyed object storage buckets are fixedly integrated with an endless chain at predetermined intervals. The speed of the endless chain can be increased or decreased. That is, first, the transport speed of the transported object and the speed of the endless chain (bucket) that are sequentially supplied at predetermined intervals are synchronized. Thereby, the transported objects can be supplied one by one into each bucket. Then, after the transported object is supplied to the last bucket of each predetermined number, the speed of the endless chain is increased and the bucket group is rapidly moved forward.
As a result, by moving a predetermined number of leading buckets to the supply position before the next transported object is supplied, the transported object can be received in the bucket. afterwards,
The speed of the endless chain is again synchronized with the transfer speed of the object to be transferred, and the objects are sequentially supplied into each bucket. By doing so, it is possible to separate and convey the conveyed objects supplied at the predetermined intervals by the predetermined number.

<< Problems to be Solved by the Invention >> However, in the above-described conventional device, the moving speeds of the transported objects and the buckets are synchronized while the transported objects are supplied into the predetermined number of buckets, and after each predetermined number of the transported objects are supplied. Since the bucket moving speed is increased so that the next leading bucket comes to a predetermined position before the next transported object moves, the transported object supplied at predetermined intervals is Although it was possible to separate and convey a predetermined number of objects, it was not possible to separate and convey the respective objects to be conveyed in an aligned state.

That is, each bucket must repeat sudden acceleration and deceleration at the supply position of the transported object when separating into a predetermined number,
The rotation speed of the endless chain will be changed each time. Therefore, since the bucket that is being supplied with the object to be conveyed and moving is also fixed to the endless chain, the bucket that is being conveyed is also accelerated and decelerated each time.
Then, the transported object stored in each bucket receives an inertial force in the traveling direction and the front-back direction each time the speed changes. In particular, since the bucket size is usually large with a relatively large allowance to accommodate transported objects of different sizes, the inertial force causes each transported object to move irregularly back and forth in the bucket. Will be done. Furthermore, the direction may be changed diagonally. In this way, the objects to be conveyed move in arbitrary directions in the respective buckets and cannot be conveyed in an aligned state.

Further, the objects to be conveyed separated by the predetermined number as described above are conveyed in that state and transferred to another transfer device or the like arranged on the carry-out side of the endless chain. When the speed of the endless chain changes, the transfer speed changes, which causes various problems such as further collapse of the accumulation state.

Furthermore, since the speed of the endless chain frequently changes, the endless chain and the means for driving it cannot rotate at a constant speed, which naturally causes a problem of rigidity of the device itself.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to convey an object to be conveyed continuously while separating and conveying it by a predetermined number while maintaining an aligned state. The present invention is to provide a separating and conveying device that can be used.

<< Means for Solving the Problems >> In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a separation / conveyance device that separates and conveys a predetermined number of conveyed objects continuously supplied at a predetermined interval. A large number of conveyors formed by connecting a predetermined number of buckets for sequentially receiving the conveyed articles at the supply points, and a plurality of conveyors provided in the vicinity of the supply points and engaged with the conveyed objects to convey the conveyed objects. A synchronous conveyance means for sequentially conveying to the supply point in synchronism with a supply speed; and a conveyance body which has received the object to be conveyed in each bucket at the supply point and disengaged from the synchronous conveyance means. And a high-speed conveying means for conveying the conveyed object at a speed higher than the synchronous speed and for returning the material to be conveyed to the upstream side of the synchronous conveying means via the discharge position.

Here, the transport body is formed by connecting front and rear buckets to each other by a chain or a timing belt, and the synchronous transport device has a sprocket or a timing pulley that meshes with the chain or the timing belt, and the high-speed transport means is A first endless belt for sliding the upper surface of the belt engaged with the sprocket or the timing pulley engaged with the conveyor to convey the conveyor after disengagement at a high speed and to reverse the conveyor downward; A second endless belt which is provided along the first endless belt and below the first endless belt, and which holds the inverted conveyance body between the first endless belt and the first endless belt and circulates the conveyance body upstream of the synchronous conveyance means. The recirculated carrier is formed by the chain and the timing belt at the same speed as the object to be conveyed. It has been able to by meshed with the sprocket or a timing pulley rotates slower than the endless belt, configured to cause transfer to the upper surface of the endless belt of the first.

<< Practical Examples >> Preferred embodiments of the separating and conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a preferred embodiment of the separating and conveying apparatus according to the present invention and a schematic configuration of an accessory device attached to the separating and conveying apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

A separation / conveyance device 3 according to the present invention is arranged near the unloading end of a supply conveyor device 2 that continuously conveys and conveys the conveyed object 1 at predetermined intervals. An article take-out device 5 is arranged at a discharge position in front of the separation / conveyance device 3 in the traveling direction of the conveyed object.

In the supply conveyor device 2, a pair of sprockets 7 and 7 are arranged at a fixed position above the plate-shaped transport path 6, and fingers 9 are provided at predetermined intervals of the endless chain 8 provided between the sprockets 7 and 7. Are disposed and formed. As a result, the transported object 1 is pushed to the fingers 9 and the transportation path 6
The sheets are sequentially conveyed on the upper side at predetermined intervals, and are conveyed from the end of the conveying path 6.

Next, a preferred embodiment of the separating and conveying apparatus 3 of the present invention will be described. First, for convenience of explanation, a conveying body used in this apparatus, that is, a conveying body in which a predetermined number of buckets are connected and formed, is shown in FIG. , Will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, each bucket 15 has a substantially L-shaped object receiving member 11 standing upright on the upper surface at a position slightly inward from both ends of the elongated flat plate-shaped base 10. And base
10 A chain 12 is formed so as to hang down at a central position in the lower surface traveling direction. Then, a predetermined number (three in this embodiment) of such buckets 15 are cascade-connected via a chain 12 to form a carrier 16 that forms an integrated bucket group. Then, a plurality of the carriers 16 having such a structure are detachably attached to the separating and conveying device 3.

That is, as shown in the overall configuration of FIG. 1, the separation / conveyance device 3 includes first and second drive shafts 20 and 21 having different rotational speeds before and after the traveling direction (which are arranged in front of the traveling direction). The first drive shaft 21 has a higher rotation speed), and the first drive shaft 20 arranged forward in the traveling direction is provided with a set of first drive pulleys 23, 23 at predetermined intervals. It is fixed (see Fig. 4). Further, a pair of first driven pulleys are provided on the drive shaft of FIG. 2 via a power transmission means such as a bearing.
The first and second driven pulleys 25 and 25 are arranged so as not to receive the rotational drive force of the second drive shaft 21 (see FIG. 5). A pair of first endless belts 27, 27 are provided between the pair of first drive pulleys 23 and the first driven pulley 25, respectively. The spacing is set to be substantially the same as or slightly narrower than the width of the base portion 10 described above. That is, the carrier 16 is placed on the first endless belts 27, 27, and the carrier 16 is moved forward by the frictional force generated between the two. But,
Since it is simply placed, it can be easily detached and transmission of the conveying force can be cut.
Then, these first drive pulley 23 and first driven pulley 23
25 and the first endless belt 27, 27, the carrier 16
It constitutes a high-speed transport means for transporting at a constant speed and at a high speed.

Further, in the present invention, the sprocket 28 constituting the synchronous conveying means is fixed to the center of the second drive shaft 21, that is, the center position between the first driven pulleys 25, 25. The sprocket 28 can mesh with the chain 12 provided on the carrier 16. As a result, the carrier 16 moves and the chain 12
When the sprocket 28 and the sprocket 28 are engaged with each other, the coupling force between the chain and the sprocket 28 is the first endless belt.
Since the frictional force between 27 and the base portion 10 is larger, the conveyance speed of the conveyance body 16 is synchronized with the rotation speed of the sprocket 28, that is, the speed of the second drive shaft 21, that is, the conveyance speed is slower. Like Since the speed of the second drive shaft 21 is set so as to be synchronized with the above-described transport speed of the supply conveyor device 2, the transported objects 1 sequentially supplied from the supply conveyor device 2 are transferred one by one. It is smoothly supplied and stored in each bucket 15 of the carrier 16.

Further, in this embodiment, the first guide plates 30, 30 are arranged on the outer side in the radial direction and the axial direction of the first drive pulleys 23, 23, respectively. The first guide plate 30 is formed in an elongated strip shape, and its shape is concentric with the first drive pulley 23 (the diameter is slightly larger) from the plate arcuate portion 30a and the upper end of the semicircular arcuate portion 30a. Horizontal part 30 extending toward the rear
It consists of b and. The radial gap between the first guide plate 30 and the first drive pulley 23 is approximately the distance obtained by adding the wall thickness of the base portion 10 of the bucket 15 and the wall thickness of the first endless belt 27. They are the same. As a result, the first endless belt 27 is mounted on the first endless belts 27, 27 so that both side end portions of the base portion 10 are provided on the first drive pulley 23 in the vicinity of the first drive pulley 23. Belt 27 and first guide plate 30
The carrier 16 is pinched between the first endless belt 27 and the carrier 16 without being separated from the first endless belt 27.

Similarly, a second guide plate 31 having substantially the same shape is also arranged around the first driven pulleys 25, 25, and also in this case, the carrier 16 is prevented from separating from the first endless belt 27. ing.

Further, in this embodiment, a second endless belt 34 that forms a high-speed conveying means together with the first endless belts 27, 27 is provided along the lower side of the first endless belts 27, 27. The second endless belt 34 is arranged so as to extend between the second drive pulley 32 and the second driven pulley 33, and is arranged at a substantially central position of its width with respect to the traveling direction of the bucket 15. ing. The second endless belt 34 moves along the first drive pulley 23 and comes into contact with the central portion of the base 10 of the carrier 16 which is turned upside down. That is, the conveying body 16 that has come to the lower side of the first endless belt 27 is sandwiched by the first and second endless belts 27 and 34, and is conveyed while preventing separation thereof.

On the other hand, the article take-out device 5 provided at the discharge position on the front side of the separating and conveying device 3 in the traveling direction of the conveyed object is a stopper member 40 for temporarily stopping the conveyance of the conveying body 16 conveyed by the first endless belt 27. And a vertically movable lift device 41 for moving up the carrier 16 temporarily stopped by the stopper member 40, and an object to be transferred housed in the carrier 16 moved up by the lift device 41. It is composed of a transfer device 43 for taking out 1 and transferring it to another device.

The operation of the above-described embodiment will be described. First, the article to be conveyed 1 is sequentially and continuously supplied by the supply conveyor device 2 at predetermined intervals, and is supplied from the end of the conveying path 6 to the separating and conveying device 3 side. . At this time, the leading bucket 15 of the carrier 16 is located at a predetermined supply position when the leading transported object 1 is supplied, and the transported object 1 is stored in the bucket 15. Then, in this state, the carrier 16 meshes with the chain 12 provided on the lower side thereof by the sprocket 28, so that the carrier 16 moves in synchronization with the rotation speed of the sprocket 28 (of the carrier 16). The first endless belt 27 that abuts the base 10 is slipping). Therefore, since the rotation speed of the sprocket 28 and the transfer speed of the supply conveyor device 2 are synchronized, the objects 1 to be transferred can be smoothly supplied into each bucket 15. In this embodiment, since the buckets 15 forming the carrier 16 are simply connected and integrated by the chain 12, when the buckets 15 are engaged with the sprocket 28 to rotate and move, the buckets 15 are not moved.
Will be oriented in the same direction as the radial direction. That is, the sixth
As shown in the figure, the receiving member 11 is opened, and the transported object 1 is more smoothly supplied into each bucket 15.

Next, when the object 1 to be conveyed is supplied into all the buckets 15 of one carrier 16, the carrier 16 rotates and moves as it is, and when the engagement between the sprocket 28 and the chain 12 is released, The body 16 receives the conveying force of the first endless belt 27. As a result, the first endless belt 27
Will be conveyed in synchronism with the moving speed of. That is, since the speed of the first endless belt 27 is set higher than the rotation speed of the sprocket 28, the mesh with the sprocket 28 is released, so that the carrier 16 moves at a high speed at a constant speed, and the next carrier 16 moves. Move away from. As a result, it is possible to separate and convey the conveyed objects 1 conveyed by the supply conveyor device 2 at a predetermined interval every predetermined number, that is, every number of buckets 15.

On the other hand, as described above, the carrier 16 moves at a low speed when meshed with the sprocket 28, and moves at a high speed when receiving the carrying force of the first endless belt 27 other than that (relatively long time). Therefore, each of the carriers 16 is located on the meshing start side of the sprocket 28 (near the lower part of the sprocket 28).
Will be accumulated in the contact state. Therefore, since each carrier 16 continuously meshes with the sprocket 28, even if the object 1 to be conveyed is sequentially supplied to the separating and conveying device 3 side by the supply conveyor device 2, each bucket of the carrier 16 is sequentially conveyed. 15 can be smoothly received because it moves continuously to the predetermined supply location in synchronization with the supply conveyor device 2. As a result, it is possible to continuously receive the articles to be conveyed 1 that are supplied at predetermined intervals, and to separate and convey the articles 1 by a predetermined number.

Further, in the present embodiment, the transported object 1 separated and transported as described above is transferred to another device such as a boxing device (not shown) by the article take-out device 5.
That is, the stopper member 40 rises and projects above the first endless belt 27. Then, the carrier 16 transported on the first endless belt 27 is stopped by the stopper member.
It abuts 40 and suppresses its forward movement. That is, as described above, the first endless belt 27 runs idle and the carrier 16 stops at that position. Next, the lift device 41
Moves up and comes into contact with the carrier 16 and urges upward as it is. Then, since the carrier 16 is detachably placed on the first endless belt 27, the carrier 16 moves upward away from the first endless belt 27. Then, the transfer device 43 arranged above the lift device 41 takes out the transported object 1 stored in the bucket device 16 and transfers it to a boxing device (not shown) or the like. At this time, the carrier 16
Moves at a constant speed, the transported objects 1 do not move and fall apart in the bucket, and the aligned state is maintained, so that subsequent boxing work and the like can be performed smoothly.

Then, after the transfer is completed, the lift device 41 is moved downward, and the empty carrier 16 is placed on the first endless belt 27 again. At this time, since the stopper member 40 has already moved down, the carrier 16 is moved forward along the first endless belt 27 again without being restricted by the stopper member 40. Then, it is rotated by the first drive pulley 23, is positioned below the first endless belt 27, and is conveyed while being sandwiched by the first and second endless belts 27, 34, and is conveyed by the synchronous conveying means. It is returned to the upstream side. That is, the sprocket 28 reaches the meshing start side and waits for meshing.

After that, by repeating the above steps, the transported objects 1 supplied at predetermined intervals are transported while being separated into a predetermined number, and the separated transported objects 1 are sequentially transferred to the next-stage device. is there.

In the above-described embodiment, the chain 12 and the sprocket 28 are used as means for operating the carrier 16 at a low speed in synchronization with the speed at which the carrier 16 is supplied when the carrier 1 is supplied to the carrier 16. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various configurations can be adopted such as using a timing belt and a gear-shaped timing pulley.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the carrier 16 can be detached from the first endless belt 27, but this is for moving upward when transferring, and it may be impossible to detach. However, even in that case, a means for high-speed conveyance so that the object to be transferred 1 can be moved at a constant high speed while being stored, and when the object to be transferred 1 is supplied into the bucket 15 can be moved at a low speed. It is necessary to have a structure that can block or overcome the conveyance force from the.

Further, the rotation speed of the sprocket 28 and the supply conveyor device 2
However, it is not always necessary to make them the same speed, and it is sufficient that they are synchronized at an integral multiple speed. That is, for example, if the speed of the sprocket 28 is halved (the supply conveyor device 2 is doubled), the two conveyed objects 1 are supplied into one bucket 15.
The number of buckets 15 that the carrier 16 has can be twice as large as the number of buckets 15.

Further, a sprocket 28 and a first driven pulley 25 are provided on the second drive shaft 21 as means for separating and transporting the transport body 16 so that they can be placed on a belt and moved.
The first driven pulley 25 may be separately arranged at a position separated by a predetermined distance.

Further, in the present invention, when the object to be conveyed is supplied by rotating the carrier in the vertical direction, it is possible to easily perform the supply by expanding the carrier in the tangential direction. In the case of a transported object that can be carried, a speed increasing device may be provided from the position where a predetermined number of products are rotated in the horizontal direction.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, both the sprocket and the driven pulley are brought into contact with the carrier when moving at a low speed. However, for example, the diameter of the driven pulley (specifically, the pulley + first endless pulley). The belt thickness) may be made slightly smaller than that of the sprocket so that the carrier receives only the carrying force from the sprocket.

<< Effects of the Invention >> As described above, in the separating and conveying apparatus according to the present invention, when the object to be conveyed is supplied to the conveyor, the conveyor is conveyed at a low speed in synchronization with the supply speed, and after the supply, Since the carrier moves at a high speed, it is possible to smoothly separate and convey the conveyed objects supplied at predetermined intervals by a predetermined number.

Further, since the synchronous transport means for transporting the transport body at a low speed and the high speed transport means for transporting at a high speed do not mutually affect the transport speed, when the transport body storing the transported object is operating at a high speed. , Transported at a constant speed. As a result, there is no possibility that the transported object will move randomly in the bucket.

Therefore, when the conveyed objects continuously supplied at a predetermined interval are separated and conveyed by a predetermined number, the conveyed objects can be conveyed while maintaining the aligned state.

Further, since the apparatus itself can continuously operate the synchronous conveying means and the high-speed conveying means at a constant speed without affecting each other's operating speed, the conventional non-constant speed operation can be realized. In comparison, it can be made with a lower mechanical rigidity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a preferred embodiment of the separating and conveying apparatus according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are views showing an example of a conveying member used in the present invention, and FIG. 4 is FIG. A-A line sectional view of
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the bucket receives the transported object. 1 ... Object to be conveyed, 3 ... Separation and conveyance device 12 ... Chain, 15 ... Bucket 16 ... Conveyor, 23 ... First drive pulley 27 ... First endless belt 28 ... Sprocket

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A separation / conveyance device for separating and conveying a predetermined number of conveyed objects continuously supplied at a predetermined interval, wherein a predetermined number of buckets for successively receiving the conveyed objects are formed in a connected manner. And a plurality of transporting bodies that are provided in the vicinity of the supply point, and are synchronized with the transporter to sequentially transport the transporters to the supply point in synchronization with the supply speed of the transported object. And a means for receiving the object to be conveyed into each of the buckets at the supply point and disengaging the carrier with which the synchronous conveying means is disengaged from the object at a higher speed than the synchronous speed. And a high-speed conveying means for returning the material to the upstream side of the synchronous conveying means via the discharge point of the separation conveying apparatus. 2. The conveyor comprises front and rear buckets connected to each other by a chain or a timing belt, and the synchronous conveyor has a sprocket or a timing pulley that meshes with the chain or the timing belt. Is a first contact for sliding the upper surface of the belt to the carrier engaged with the sprocket or the timing pulley while the carrier is disengaged at a high speed and reversing the carrier downward. A second endless belt, which is provided along the first endless belt and below the endless belt, and which holds the inverted conveyer between the first endless belt and the first endless belt to recirculate the conveyer upstream of the synchronous conveyer means; The endless belt of the conveyor is recirculated, and the chain or timing belt The separation / conveyance device according to claim 1, which is transferred onto the upper surface of the first endless belt by being meshed with the sprocket or timing pulley which is rotated at a lower speed than the endless belt. .