Article handling device

Abstract

Provided is an article handling device that can stably handle articles even during high-speed operation and improve production efficiency. The article handling device 1 includes: a linear conveyor belt 4 in which a plurality of sliders 11 capable of independent position control move freely along a base 10; a handling body 5 rotatably supported by the front slider 11 of a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 arranged at intervals along the traveling direction and receiving an article W; a link mechanism (connecting mechanism) that connects the handling body 5 and the rear slider 11; and a control device 7 that includes a control logic for controlling the rotation angle of the handling body 5 via the link mechanism by controlling the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11. Thereby, even during high-speed operation, articles can be stably handled, and production efficiency can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article conveying device for conveying articles, such as an aggregate formed by aggregating a plurality of masks / cards, etc. Background Art

[0002] As a prior art in the above-mentioned article conveying device, Patent Document 1 discloses a cardboard packaging machine, which includes: an article supply member that sequentially supplies the supplied aggregates to a supply position on an article conveying path at a predetermined time; an article conveying member that conveys the aggregates supplied by the article supply member along the article conveying path; a cardboard conveying member that sequentially conveys cardboard with a cylindrical opening in its trunk portion to an insertion area (insertion position); and an article insertion member that inserts the aggregates into the trunk portion of the cardboard at the insertion area on the article conveying path while conveying the aggregates by the article conveying member. In the cardboard packaging machine described in Patent Document 1, the supply direction in which the article supply member supplies the aggregates to the supply position on the article conveying path and the insertion direction in which the article insertion member inserts the aggregates from the insertion area on the article conveying path into the trunk portion of the cardboard are configured to be parallel.

[0003] Prior Art Documents

[0004] Patent Documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-201409 Summary of the Invention

[0006] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] As described above, in the cardboard packaging machine described in Patent Document 1, the supply direction in which the article supply member supplies the aggregates is orthogonal to the conveying direction in which the article conveying member conveys the aggregates along the article conveying path. That is, at the supply position, the traveling direction (conveying direction along the article conveying path) of the aggregates changes at a right angle. Therefore, at the supply position of the aggregates, the previous forward speed instantaneously becomes zero, and it is necessary to instantaneously accelerate when reaching the article conveying path and going in the conveying direction. When operating at high speed, the overlapping of the aggregates is likely to be disordered.

[0008] In addition, in the cardboard packaging machine described in Patent Document 1, the supply direction in which the article supply member supplies the aggregate to the supply position on the article conveyance path and the insertion direction in which the article insertion member inserts the aggregate from the insertion area on the article conveyance path into the trunk of the cardboard are configured to be parallel in plan view. Therefore, the peripheral space of the article conveyance path cannot be effectively utilized, the space efficiency is poor, and there is room for improvement. Moreover, in the cardboard packaging machine described in Patent Document 1, the relative positions of the article supply member and the article discharge member with respect to the article conveyance path are limited, and there is a lack of versatility with respect to the installation location. In addition, conventionally, in an article conveyance device, shortening the time required to convey an article to improve production efficiency has been a major issue.

[0009] Furthermore, the present invention has been made in view of these aspects, and an object thereof is to provide an article conveyance device that stably conveys articles even during high-speed operation and improves production efficiency.

[0010] Means for Solving the Problem

[0011] As a means for solving the above problem, the invention described in Solution 1 is an article conveyance device for conveying an article, characterized by comprising: a linear conveyor belt in which a plurality of sliders capable of being independently position-controlled move freely along a base; a conveyance body rotatably supported by one of a pair of front and rear sliders arranged at intervals in the traveling direction and receiving the article; a connecting mechanism connecting the conveyance body and the other slider; and a control device including a control logic for controlling the rotation angle of the conveyance body via the connecting mechanism by controlling the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders.

[0012] In the invention of Solution 1, in the control device, the rotation angle of the conveyance body can be controlled via the connecting mechanism by controlling the distance between a pair of sliders. Therefore, the supply direction in which the article is supplied to the conveyance body and the discharge direction in which the article is discharged from the conveyance body can be freely controlled. As a result, it is possible to take time to change the orientation of the article. Therefore, in the case where the article is, for example, an aggregate, its overlap is not disturbed, and high-speed operation can be performed. Moreover, since the supply direction in which the article is supplied to the conveyance body and the discharge direction in which the article is discharged from the conveyance body can be freely controlled, the installation space of the article supply member, the article discharge member, etc. can be effectively utilized. In addition, the relative positions of the article supply member, the article discharge member, etc. with respect to the article conveyance path (linear conveyor belt) are not limited, so the versatility with respect to the installation location is excellent.

[0013] The invention described in Solution 2 is characterized in that, on the basis of the invention described in Solution 1, the control device includes the following control logic: while the pair of front and rear sliders move along the base, the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders is gradually changed to rotate the conveyance body.

[0014] In the invention of Embodiment 2, by causing the carrier to move while rotating along with the movement of a pair of sliders, for the handling of an article, it takes time to change the orientation of the article. Therefore, the article can be stably handled without time loss.

[0015] The invention described in Embodiment 3 is characterized in that, on the basis of the invention described in Embodiment 1, the base is configured in a ring shape.

[0016] In the invention of Embodiment 3, for the carrier connected to a pair of sliders, instead of reciprocating, for example, between the article loading position and the article unloading range on the article handling path, a plurality of carriers are caused to move in one direction along the base and circulate, so that they can move to the article loading position and the article unloading range. As a result, there is no time loss, and in addition, the structure does not become complicated. A series of operations can be smoothly and repeatedly performed without time loss: at the article loading position, the article is received in the carrier, and the carrier is moved to the article unloading range while rotating to a specified rotation angle, and at the article unloading range, the article is unloaded from the carrier.

[0017] The invention described in Embodiment 4 is characterized in that, on the basis of the invention described in Embodiment 1, the supply direction in which the article is supplied to the carrier and the unloading direction in which the article is unloaded from the carrier are orthogonal in a top view.

[0018] In the invention of Embodiment 4, compared with the prior art (the cardboard packaging machine described in Patent Document 1), the entire article handling device including the article supply member and the article unloading member can be made very compact in a top view. Furthermore, the occupied space can be reduced, and the space efficiency is very good.

[0019] The invention described in Embodiment 5 is characterized in that, on the basis of the invention described in Embodiment 1, the control device includes the following control logic: a plurality of continuously supplied articles are continuously loaded into a plurality of carriers that are continuously moving on the linear conveyor belt, and in a state where the plurality of carriers are stopped, each article is unloaded from each carrier simultaneously.

[0020] In the invention of Embodiment 5, particularly, in a state where a plurality of carriers are stopped, each article is unloaded from each carrier simultaneously. Therefore, the production speed can be increased, and further, the production efficiency can be increased.

[0021] Advantages of the Invention

[0022] In the article handling device according to the present invention, even during high-speed operation, the article is stably handled. In addition, the production efficiency is improved, and the space can be effectively utilized. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] Figure 1 It is a perspective view showing the whole of the article handling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 It is a perspective view showing the situation where an article is carried into a carrier from an article supply member of the article handling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 3 It is a perspective view showing the peripheral structure including the carrier of the article handling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 4 It is a cross-sectional view showing the peripheral structure including the carrier of the article handling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 5 It is a perspective view showing the situation where the carrier of the article handling device according to an embodiment of the present invention rotates.

[0028] Figure 6 It is a perspective view showing the situation where the carrier of the article handling device according to an embodiment of the present invention rotates. Detailed Embodiment

[0029] Hereinafter, based on Figures 1 to 6 the article handling device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0030] The article handling device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention transports an article W as an aggregate, for example, an aggregate article W formed by aggregating a plurality of masks / cards, etc., a predetermined distance. Refer to Figure 1 , the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment includes an article supply member 18 and an article discharge member (not shown), transports the article W carried in by the article supply member 18 at the article loading position to the article discharge range, and discharges the article W to the next process through the article discharge member in this article discharge range.

[0031] Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2, the article handling device 1 according to this embodiment particularly includes: a linear conveyor belt 4, in which a plurality of sliders 11 capable of being independently position-controlled move freely along a base 10; a handling body 5 rotatably supported by the front slider 11 of a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 arranged at intervals along the traveling direction, for receiving an article W; a link mechanism 6 connecting the handling body 5 and the rear slider 11; and a control device 7 including a control logic for controlling the rotation angle of the handling body 5 via the link mechanism 6 by controlling the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11. As will be described in detail later, the control device 7 particularly controls the positions of the respective sliders 11, 11 of the linear conveyor belt 4 based on detection signals from various detection sensors (not shown in the figure) including a linear scale described later. The link mechanism 6 corresponds to a connecting mechanism.

[0032] Refer to Figure 1 , the linear conveyor belt 4 uses a linear motor as a drive source to move a plurality of sliders 11, 11 along a track laid on the base 10 respectively. In addition, as the linear motor, a so-called movable magnet type linear motor is applied. Specifically, with regard to this movable magnet type linear motor, an electromagnet (armature) is fixed to the base 10 as a linear motor stator, and a permanent magnet is fixed to each slider 11 as a linear motor rotor. A driving force is applied to each slider 11 by controlling the current supply to the coil constituting the electromagnet. And a linear scale having a scale fixed to each slider 11 and a plurality of sensors arranged on the base 10 side is assembled. By controlling the current supply to the coil based on the position detection by this linear scale, the movement of each slider 11 to a specific position can be realized. In short, in the linear conveyor belt 4, the control device 7 can independently control the positions, speeds, etc. of the plurality of sliders 11, 11.

[0033] Refer to Figure 1 , the base 10 of the linear conveyor belt 4 is configured such that in a side view, its outer shape is an oval-shaped ring formed by a pair of opposing semi-circular arc portions 14, 14 and a pair of opposing linear portions 15, 15 connected to the pair of semi-circular arc portions 14, 14. In addition, in this embodiment, the base 10 is configured such that in a side view, its outer shape is an oval-shaped ring, but the base 10 may also be configured such that in a top view, its outer shape is an oval-shaped ring. Directly above the upper linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor belt 4, on the upper left side of the upstream side ( Figure 1 of its conveying direction), the front end portion of the discharging side of the article supply member 18 is arranged. The supply direction of the article supply member 18 for supplying the article W is consistent with the length direction of the linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor belt 4.

[0034] The position of the front end of the discharge side of the linear conveyor 4 where the article supply member 18 (upper and lower pair of belt units 20, 20) is disposed becomes the article loading position where the article supply member 18 loads the article W onto the carrier 5. Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the article supply member 18 is generally configured to include an upper and lower pair of belt units 20, 20. The upper and lower pair of belt units 20, 20 are configured such that the upper and lower pair of endless belts face each other within a specified range. The upper and lower pair of belt units 20, 20 are configured such that by the rotation of respective drive rollers (not shown), the upper and lower pair of endless belts move in a circulating manner in one direction. The upper and lower pair of belt units 20, 20 are disposed obliquely downward toward the article loading position of the linear conveyor 4.

[0035] The front end of the discharge side of the lower belt unit 20 in the upper and lower pair of belt units 20, 20 is disposed between a pair of stopper members 25, 25 which are located between a pair of posture holding members 24, 24 (to be described later) of the carrier 5 on the sliders 11, 11 constituting the article loading position of the linear conveyor 4. And, the pair of belt units 20, 20 operate under the drive of the drive rollers such that a plurality of articles W move separately at intervals between the upper and lower pair of belt units 20, 20, and are loaded onto a pair of support members 26, 26 in sequence between the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 of the carrier 5 on the sliders 11, 11 which sequentially reach the article loading position of the linear conveyor 4 starting from the front end of the discharge side thereof.

[0036] Refer to Figures 2 to 4 , the carrier 5 is rotatably supported by the front slider 11 among the front and rear pair of sliders 11, 11 which are disposed adjacent to each other at intervals along the traveling direction. The carrier 5 is connected to the rear slider 11 among the front and rear pair of sliders 11, 11 via a link mechanism 6. The carrier 5 is provided one-to-one for the front and rear pair of sliders 11, 11 which are adjacent to each other along the traveling direction and are disposed along the base 10. The carrier 5 includes: a pair of posture holding members 24, 24 having an L-shaped cross section and disposed at intervals from each other; stopper members 25, 25 which respectively block the front ends in the traveling direction of the pair of posture holding members 24, 24; and support members 26, 26 which are respectively erected from the end portions at the bottom of the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 and support the article W from below.

[0037] The pair of posture holding members 24, 24 are disposed at intervals in the width direction of the article W. The pair of posture holding members 24, 24 are disposed such that their bottoms face each other in a close manner. The distance between the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 is appropriately set corresponding to the width of the article W. The height of the posture holding member 24 is also appropriately set corresponding to the height of the article W. At the rear end in the traveling direction of the bottoms of the pair of posture holding members 24, 24, a notch recess 28 (refer toFigure 5 and Figure 6 )。The stopper member 25 blocks the front end in the traveling direction of the posture holding member 24.

[0038] The support members 26 are erected from the respective end portions facing each other at the bottoms of the pair of posture holding members 24, 24. As can be seen from Figure 4 , the upper ends of the respective support members 26, 26 are bent toward the side portions of the posture holding members 24, 24. And, referring to Figure 3 , a storage space 47 for storing the article W is formed between the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 of the carrier 5 and on the pair of support members 26, 26. The overlapping of the articles W as an aggregate is held without disorder in the width direction by the pair of posture holding members 24, 24. Further, as described above, the front end of the discharge side of the belt unit 20 constituting the lower side of the article supply member 18 is inserted between the pair of stopper members 25, 25 between the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 of the carrier 5.

[0039] Referring to Figures 2 to 4 , the later-described rotating cylinder member 39 provided on the upper surface of the front slider 11 among the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 is connected to the rear slider 11 among the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 by a link mechanism 6. The link mechanism 6 includes a first link 31 and a second link 32 that are rotatably connected to the front ends of the link portions 36 of the first link 31. The first link 31 includes an annular portion 35 (also refer to Figure 6 ) and a link portion 36 that protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the annular portion 35. The second link 32 is formed in a rod shape. Further, a support cylinder member 38 is fixed to the upper surface of the front slider 11 among the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11. Inside the support cylinder member 38, the cylindrical rotating cylinder member 39 is rotatably supported with respect to the support cylinder member 38 via a bearing 40. The annular portion 35 of the first link 31 is fixed to the upper end surface of the rotating cylinder member 39.

[0040] Also refer to Figure 6 , on the upper surface of the annular portion 35 of the first link 31, the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 of the carrier 5 are integrally connected via a pair of intermediate members 41, 41 arranged at intervals. The intermediate members 41 are formed in a block shape. The pair of intermediate members 41, 41 are arranged at intervals in the same direction as the pair of posture holding members 24, 24. The distance between the pair of intermediate members 41, 41 is substantially the same as the distance between the pair of support members 26, 26 of the carrier 5. The inner diameter of the annular portion 35 of the first link 31 is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the rotating cylinder member 39. And, the front end of the link portion 36 of the first link 31 and one axial end of the second link 32 are rotatably connected to each other by a first connecting pin 44. The first connecting pin 44 extends in the vertical direction.

[0041] On the other hand, the axial other end of the second link 32 is rotatably connected to a second connection pin 45 erected from the upper surface of the slider 11 on the rear side. And, referring to Figures 4 to 6 , accompanying the rotational movement of the first link 31 of the link mechanism 6, the rotating cylinder member 39 rotates relative to the support cylinder member 38, and the carrier 5 also rotates. As a result, by changing the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 that are adjacent to each other at intervals along the traveling direction, via the link mechanism 6, the rotating cylinder member 39 disposed on the front slider 11 rotates about the radial center of the support cylinder member 38, and the carrier 5 rotates about the radial center of the support cylinder member 38.

[0042] Referring to Figure 1 , in the present embodiment, at the article loading position of the linear conveyor 4, the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 is set to a predetermined maximum distance so that the length direction of the accommodation space 47 (refer to Figure 3 ) between a pair of posture holding members 24, 24 constituting the carrier 5 is aligned with the length direction of the linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4, and the orientations of the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 of the carrier 5 are controlled. On the other hand, in the article unloading range (described later) of the linear conveyor 4, the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 is set to a predetermined minimum distance so that the length direction of the accommodation space 47 (refer to Figure 3 ) between a pair of posture holding members 24, 24 of the carrier 5 is aligned with the direction (width direction) orthogonal to the length direction of the linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4 in plan view. In addition, the article unloading range is the downstream side in the conveying direction of the upper linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4 ( Figure 1 the right side).

[0043] Referring to Figure 1 , on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the upper linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4 ( Figure 1 the right side), an article unloading member (not shown) is arranged. The range of the linear conveyor 4 where the article unloading member is arranged becomes the article unloading range where the articles are unloaded from each carrier 5 through the article unloading member. And when there are a plurality of carriers 5 corresponding to a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 parked at intervals in the article unloading range (in Figure 1When the number of articles is five (in the middle), the article W is slightly lifted from each carrier 5 by the article unloading member to avoid the stopper members 25, 25 of each carrier 5, and is unloaded in a direction (width direction) orthogonal to the length direction of the linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4 in plan view. In short, the unloading direction in which the article unloading member unloads the article W is the same as the direction (width direction) orthogonal to the length direction of the linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4 in plan view. In addition, by the article unloading member, a plurality of articles W corresponding to the number of carriers 5 stopped in the article unloading range are unloaded simultaneously.

[0044] Figure 1 The control device 7 shown particularly controls the positions of the respective sliders 11 of the linear conveyor 4, that is, the positions of the respective carriers 5, the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 corresponding to the carrier 5, and the operation of the article unloading member, etc., based on detection signals from various detection sensors (not shown) including the linear scale. The control method of the control device 7 will be described in detail when explaining the operation of the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment described later.

[0045] Next, the operation of the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. In addition, as described above, the positions of the respective sliders 11, 11 of the linear conveyor 4, that is, the positions of the respective carriers 5, the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 corresponding to the carrier 5, and the operation of the article unloading member are controlled by the control device 7.

[0046] Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 when the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 having the carrier 5 is the specified maximum distance, and the carrier 5 is in a state where the length direction of the accommodation space 47 between its pair of posture holding members 24, 24 is the same as the length direction of the linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4 (the rotation angle of the carrier 5 is 0°), while the front end portion of the belt unit 20 on the unloading side under the article supply member 18 is located between the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 (between the pair of stopper members 25, 25), it continuously moves to the article loading position.

[0047] Then, referring to Figure 2At the moment when the article W is carried out from the front end of the pair of belt units 20, 20 on the carrying member 18, the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 of the carrier 5 arrives at the article carrying position, and the article W from the front end of the pair of belt units 20, 20 on the carrying member 5 is carried in between the pair of posture retaining members 24, 24. Then, the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 of the carrier 5 having the article W taken in moves forward without stopping while maintaining the distance therebetween, that is, while the carrier 5 maintains its shape, and is taken out from the lower belt unit 20 of the article supply member 18. By repeating this operation, the carrier 5 (pair of posture retaining members 24, 24) of the plurality of front and rear sliders 11, 11 continuously moving on the base 10 of the linear conveyor 4 can take in a plurality of articles W continuously (in a state where the intervals between them are very small) from the front end of the carrying member 20, 20 on the carrying member 18 on the carrying member 18 one by one, and each carrier 5 moves toward the article carrying range without stopping.

[0048] Next, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 As the front and rear pair of sliders 11, 11 corresponding to the carrier 5 receiving the article W advances on the straight portion 15 on the upper side of the base 10, the distance between the front and rear pair of sliders 11, 11 gradually decreases, so that the rotating cylinder member 39 arranged on the front slider 11 is rotated toward the center of the radial direction of the supporting cylinder member 38 through the link mechanism 6. Figure 1 The carrier 5 rotates counterclockwise in a plan view, and the carrier 5 rotates in the same direction with the radial center of the support cylinder member 38 as the center. Then, when approaching the article carrying-out range, the distance between the front and rear pairs of sliders 11, 11 of each carrier 5 becomes a predetermined minimum distance, so that the carrier 5 rotates to a state where the length direction of the storage space 47 between the pair of posture holding members 24, 24 coincides with the direction orthogonal to the straight portion 15 of the linear conveyor belt 4 in a plan view (the rotation angle of the carrier 5 is 90°).

[0049] Next, refer to Figure 1 After the rotation, each carrier 5 (a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11) moves forward without stopping and maintains the state, and waits in front of the object carrying-out range. Next, if the number of carriers 5 in the object carrying-out range is less than the specified number, the waiting carriers 5 move forward to the specified position in the object carrying-out range. Then, refer to Figure 1 When it is detected that a specified number of carriers 5 (five carriers 5 in this embodiment) containing articles W are arranged at specified positions spaced apart from each other within the article unloading range, the article unloading component operates.

[0050] Then, when the article unloading member operates, the article W (five articles W) is slightly lifted by the article unloading member from each carrier 5 (five carriers 5) to avoid the stopper members 25, 25 of each carrier 5, and is unloaded respectively in a direction (width direction) orthogonal to the length direction of the linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4 in a top view. Next, referring to Figure 1 , when each article W is unloaded from each carrier 5 within the article unloading range, a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 of each carrier 5 that are empty move forward on the semi-circular portion 14 of the base 10 ( Figure 1 the semi-circular portion 14 on the right side) while maintaining a state where the distance therebetween is the specified minimum distance. In addition, after each article W is unloaded from each carrier 5 by the article unloading member, the empty carriers 5 do not interfere with the article unloading member, so the empty carriers 5 can move without waiting for the article unloading member to return to the initial position, and the unloading cycle time can be accelerated.

[0051] Next, when a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 of each carrier 5 that are empty reach the lower linear portion 15 of the base 10, while the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 of each carrier 5 move forward on the lower linear portion 15 of the base 10, the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 gradually increases. Thus, also referring to Figure 4 , via the link mechanism 6, the rotating cylinder member 39 disposed on the front slider 11 rotates, and the carrier 5 rotates in the same direction.

[0052] Then, the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 of the empty carrier 5 becomes the specified maximum distance, so that the empty carrier 5 becomes a state where the length direction of the accommodation space 47 between its pair of posture holding members 24, 24 is aligned with the length direction of the linear portion 15 of the linear conveyor 4, and moves forward on the lower linear portion 15 and the semi-circular portion 14 of the base 10 ( Figure 1 the semi-circular portion 14 on the left side) and waits in sequence in front of the article loading position.

[0053] As described above, in the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment, there are provided: a linear conveyor 4 configured such that a plurality of sliders 11 capable of being independently position-controlled move freely along the base 10; a carrier 5 rotatably supported by the front slider 11 of a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 spaced apart in the traveling direction and receiving the article W; a link mechanism 6 connecting the carrier 5 and the rear slider 11; and a control device 7 including a control logic for controlling the rotation angle of the carrier 5 via the link mechanism 6 by controlling the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11.

[0054] In this way, in the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment, a linear conveyor belt 4 is particularly adopted, and the rotation angle of the handling body 5 can be controlled via the link mechanism 6 by controlling the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 by using the control device 7. Therefore, the supply direction in which the article supply member 18 supplies the article W to the handling body 5 and the discharge direction in which the article discharge member discharges each article W from each handling body 5 can be freely set. As a result, it takes time to change the orientation of the handling body 5, that is, the orientation of the article W. Therefore, even during high-speed operation, the handling can be stably performed in a state where the overlap of the articles W as an aggregate is not disordered. In addition, the article supply member 18, the article discharge member, etc. can be provided in appropriate correspondence with the layout with limited installation space, and the space can be effectively utilized. In other words, the relative positions of the article supply member 18, the article discharge member, etc. with respect to the linear conveyor belt 4 are not limited, so the versatility with respect to the installation location is excellent.

[0055] Furthermore, in the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment, by adopting the linear conveyor belt 4, the control device 7 can be used to gradually change the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 while the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11 move along the base 10, thereby rotating the handling body 5. As a result, the handling body 5 can move while rotating along with the movement of the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11. Therefore, for the handling of the article W, time loss can be eliminated, and furthermore, the production efficiency can be improved. Moreover, since it takes time to change the orientation of the article W, even during high-speed operation, the handling can be stably performed in a state where the overlap of the articles W as an aggregate is not disordered.

[0056] Furthermore, in the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment, by adopting the linear conveyor belt 4, after the handling body 5 is rotated to a specified rotation angle by the control device 7, the handling body 5 can be advanced without stopping while maintaining the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders 11, 11. As a result, even when the handling distance is long, the article W can be quickly transported to the specified article discharge range, and the production efficiency can be further improved.

[0057] Furthermore, in the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment, by adopting the linear conveyor belt 4, it is possible to change the orientation of the handling body 5 while handling the article W by the handling body 5. As a result, it is possible to make the supply direction in which the article supply member 18 supplies the article W to the handling body 5 and the discharge direction in which the article discharge member discharges the article W from the handling body 5 orthogonal to each other in plan view. Also, the article supply member 18 can be arranged directly above the base 10 of the linear conveyor belt 4. Thereby, compared with the prior art (the cardboard packaging machine described in Patent Document 1), the entire article handling device 1 including the article supply member 18 and the article discharge member can be made very compact in plan view. Furthermore, the occupied space can be reduced, and the space efficiency can be made very good.

[0058] Furthermore, in the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment, the control device 7 includes the following control logic: continuously loading a plurality of articles W continuously supplied by the article supply member 18 onto a plurality of handling bodies 5 continuously moving on the base 10 of the linear conveyor belt 4, and discharging each article W from each handling body 5 simultaneously in a state where the plurality of handling bodies 5 are stopped. Thereby, the production speed can be increased, and the production efficiency can be further increased.

[0059] In addition, in the article handling device 1 according to the present embodiment, the handling body 5 is connected to the rear slider 11 by the link mechanism 6, but the link mechanism 6 can also be changed to a gear mechanism such as a rack & pinion mechanism or other linear motion to rotary motion conversion mechanisms that convert linear motion into rotary motion in order to rotate the handling body 5 by changing the distance between a pair of front and rear sliders 21. Although such gear mechanisms as the rack & pinion mechanism are difficult to adopt in the annular linear conveyor belt 4 including the semi-circular arc portions 14, they can be adopted in a linear conveyor belt that does not include the semi-circular arc portions 14.

[0060] Reference Numerals

[0061] 1 Article handling device, 4 Linear conveyor belt, 5 Handling body, 6 Link mechanism (connecting mechanism), 7 Control device, 10 Base, 11 Slider, 18 Article supply member, W Article.

Claims

1. An article handling device that handles articles, characterized in that, Comprising: A linear conveyor belt configured such that a plurality of sliders capable of being independently position-controlled move freely along a base; A carrier rotatably supported by one of a pair of front and rear sliders spaced apart in the traveling direction, receiving the article; A connecting mechanism connecting the carrier and the other slider; and A control device including control logic for controlling the rotation angle of the carrier via the connecting mechanism by controlling the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders; A support cylinder member is fixed to the upper surface of the one slider, and the carrier rotates about the radial center of the support cylinder member.

2. The article handling device according to claim 1, wherein: The control device includes the following control logic: while the pair of front and rear sliders move along the base, the distance between the pair of front and rear sliders is gradually changed to rotate the carrier.

3. The article handling device according to claim 1, wherein: The base is configured to be annular.

4. The article handling device according to claim 1, wherein: The supply direction in which the article is supplied to the carrier and the discharge direction in which the article is discharged from the carrier are orthogonal in plan view.

5. The article handling device according to claim 1, wherein: The control device includes the following control logic: a plurality of continuously supplied articles are continuously loaded into a plurality of carriers continuously moving on the linear conveyor belt, and in a state where the plurality of carriers are stopped, each article is simultaneously discharged from each carrier.

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