Formed container separating device

Abstract

To provide a formed container separating device capable of easily and surely separating formed containers in the state of superposing a large number of container forming sheets without requiring manpower, and also capable of preventing the end faces of the containers from being damaged.SOLUTION: A group of containers U1 (A) to be separated is placed on a placing table 20. A pressure member 24 presses the group of containers U1 (A) placed on the placing table 20 from above and holds it between the containers together with the placing table 20. A side part and an upper part of a container group (B) adjacent to the group of containers U1 (A) are held by a side part abutting member 33 and an upper part abutting member 35. The placing table 20 is rotated around the support shaft 26 while maintaining the holding state by the pressing member 24 and the placing table 20. As a result, the group of containers U1 (A) is separated from a group of containers U1 (B).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a molded container separating apparatus for separating a large number of molded containers, such as foamed food trays, which are aligned and molded on a resin sheet, into individual pieces. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, the devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are known as manufacturing devices for resin containers such as food foam trays. In these manufacturing devices, a resin sheet (various thermoplastic resin sheets, particularly a polystyrene foam resin sheet) is first heated to form recesses (molded containers) that will become containers in a matrix (lattice) arrangement. Then, the container molded sheet on which many molded containers have been molded in this way is pressed with a die with a Thomson blade embedded therein, and slits are punched out so that adjacent molded containers are connected to each other by minute connecting parts. The container molded sheet obtained in this way is manually separated, and for example, by breaking the connecting parts when several dozen sheets are stacked together, many molded containers are separated at once. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3005707 [Patent Document 2] JP 2006-240053 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The separation work, which is carried out when dozens of container forming sheets are stacked together, requires a considerable load, which places a heavy burden on the worker. In addition, if the force required to hold the container forming sheets is too great, the containers may be damaged, and if the container forming sheets are shifted up and down, left and right, or rotated to twist off the connection parts, the end faces of the containers may be damaged by friction or dust may be generated.

[0005] To provide a formed container separation device which can easily and reliably separate formed containers from a large number of stacked container forming sheets without requiring manual labor and which does not damage the end faces of the containers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to a formed container separation device that stacks container forming sheets, in which a predetermined number of formed containers are aligned and formed, and each formed container is connected by tiny connecting parts, so that the formed containers are stacked one on top of the other to form a laminated sheet group, and separates a container group consisting of formed containers stacked one on top of the other, which is located at the end of the laminated sheet group, from an adjacent container group.The device comprises a mounting table on which the container group to be separated is placed, a pressing member that presses the container group placed on the mounting table from above and clamps it together with the mounting table, a holding means that holds the sides and top of the adjacent container groups, and a separating means that displaces one of the pressing member or the mounting table in a direction away from the adjacent container group while maintaining the clamped state between the pressing member and the mounting table, and the separating means separates the container groups by breaking each connecting part located above and below, starting from the formed container at the top or bottom of the container group.

[0007] The separating means preferably includes a tilting means for tilting the placement table about a fulcrum below a gap between the container group to be separated and the adjacent container group. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a formed container separation device can be obtained which can easily and reliably separate formed containers from a large number of stacked container forming sheets without the need for manpower, and which does not damage the end faces of the containers. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing a container forming sheet to be processed in a formed container separation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a portion of the container forming sheet. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a container group separation device that separates containers in a given row from containers in an adjacent row. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view of the forming container separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a case where the mounting table is in a horizontal position. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a view taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a side view showing the forming container separation device during a separation operation. [Figure 7] This is a view taken along line A-A in Figure 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a side view showing the forming container separation device after the container group separation operation. [Figure 9] 9 is a front view of the formed container separation device as viewed from the right side in FIG. 8, showing a configuration for transferring the group of containers on the mounting table to the delivery table. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a side view showing an example in which two container groups are separated simultaneously, the side view showing the case where the mounting table is in a horizontal position. [Figure 11] 11 is a side view showing a state in which the mounting table is inclined in the example of FIG. 10. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 6 shows a forming container separation device which performs a separation operation on two rows of container groups, viewed from the same direction as FIG. 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments. 1 is a plan view showing a container forming sheet S to be processed in the formed container separation device of this embodiment. This container forming sheet S is, for example, a polystyrene foam resin sheet, and is rectangular when viewed from above, with formed containers P aligned in a matrix. That is, six formed containers P are formed side by side in the horizontal direction and five formed containers P are formed side by side in the vertical direction, and in the following description, the horizontally extending columns are referred to as the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth columns from the top, and the vertically extending rows are referred to as rows A, B, C, D, E, and F from the left.

[0011] The container forming sheet S is pressed by a die having a Thomson blade, and a slit R is punched out between adjacent formed containers P, leaving minute connecting parts Q1 and Q2, as shown in Fig. 2. In the illustrated example, the formed container P has a vertically long rectangular shape, and adjacent formed containers P are connected by one connecting part Q1 at a relatively short side and by two connecting parts Q2 at a relatively long side. The width of each connecting part Q1, Q2 is, for example, 1 / 20 to 1 / 30 of the length of the side of the formed container P. The formed container P is composed of a storage part P1 that is recessed from the surroundings and a flat flange part P2 that surrounds the storage part P1, and is used, for example, as a foam tray for food.

[0012] The container forming sheets S are stacked so that the formed containers P are stacked one on top of the other, and are kept in a predetermined storage location as a stacked sheet group T (see FIG. 3). The number of container forming sheets S to be stacked is determined depending on the performance of a formed container separation device described later, the material and thickness of the container forming sheets S, and is, for example, 30 to 50 sheets. Each container group consisting of formed containers P stacked one on top of the other is separated from each other by the formed container separation device as described later.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a container group separation device that separates a predetermined row of containers from adjacent rows of containers by breaking each of the connecting parts Q1 (FIG. 2) located above and below. The stacked sheet group T is taken out from a storage location and transported by a first belt conveyor 11, which stops once with the first row of containers U1 located at the front positioned on a second belt conveyor 12. The second belt conveyor 12 extends in a direction perpendicular to the first belt conveyor 11. That is, the second belt conveyor 12 transports the container group U1 separated from the adjacent container group U2 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the first belt conveyor 11. The transport surface of the first belt conveyor 11 is inclined, for example, by 3 degrees so that it becomes higher as it approaches the second belt conveyor 12, while the transport surface of the second belt conveyor 12 is horizontal.

[0014] A first upper guide member 13 capable of engaging with the upper surface of the stacked sheet group T is provided above the downstream end of the first belt conveyor 11, inclined at the same angle as the first belt conveyor 11. A front guide member 14 and a second upper guide member 15 are provided near the second belt conveyor 12. The front guide member 14 has an abutment surface perpendicular to the conveying surface of the second belt conveyor 12, and the abutment surface of the front guide member 14 can abut the front surface of the container group located at the front of the stacked sheet group T conveyed by the first belt conveyor 11. The second upper guide member 15 is disposed above the conveying surface of the second belt conveyor 12, and is driven to move up and down by a cylinder 16 to press the upper surfaces of the container group located on the second belt conveyor 12.

[0015] Since the conveying surface of the first belt conveyor 11 is inclined, when the first row of containers U1 reaches the second belt conveyor 12, the first row of containers U1 is pushed out along the first belt conveyor 11 while remaining inclined. Therefore, the lower surface of the first row of containers U1 is slightly separated from the conveying surface of the second belt conveyor 12, while the succeeding container group U2 is held in contact with the first upper guide member 13. In this state, the first row of containers U1 is released from the first upper guide member 13 and attempts to tilt forward due to its own weight, so that the upper and lower connecting portions Q1 are broken in order from the top. In this embodiment, the second upper guide member 15 is lowered in accordance with this, and the second upper guide member 15 presses the container group U1 from above. As a result, the container group U1 is rotated and displaced from the inclined state to the vertical state around the lower end on the container group U2 side, and is reliably separated from the second row of containers U2.

[0016] 4 and 5 show an embodiment of a configuration for separating the container groups in each row one by one, i.e., a formed container separation device. The stacked sheet group T shown in these figures is separated into rows by the container group separation device shown in Fig. 3, and the example shown in Fig. 4 shows the state before the container group U1 (A) in the first row (row A in Fig. 1) in the first row of the container group U1 is separated from the adjacent container group U1 (B) in the second row (row B in Fig. 1). That is, the formed container separation device is located at the end of the stacked sheet group T and is configured to sequentially break each of the connecting parts Q2 located above and below the container group P, and separate the container group consisting of the stacked formed containers P from the adjacent container groups.

[0017] A loading platform 20 is provided at the end of the downstream end of the second belt conveyor 12 (on the right side in FIG. 4), and a crossing member 21 is provided between the second belt conveyor 12 and the loading platform 20. The height position of the upper surfaces of the loading platform 20 and the crossing member 21 is the same as the conveying surface of the second belt conveyor 12, and they form a continuous plane. The loading platform 20 is provided to place the container group to be separated, and in FIG. 4, the first row of container group U1(A) is placed on it. A support member 22 extending vertically upward is provided on the loading platform 20 on the forward side in the traveling direction of the second belt conveyor 12, and a pressing member 24 is attached to the upper end of the support member 22 via an air cylinder 23. The support member 22 functions as a regulating guide that regulates the forward end of the container group on the loading platform 20. The pressing member 24 is formed with an engagement member 29 that can engage with the rear side (the subsequent container group U1(B) side) of the storage section P1 (FIG. 2) located at the top of the container group. The pressing member 24 is driven to move up and down by an air cylinder 23, and presses the container group placed on the placement table 20 from above, and clamps the container group in cooperation with the placement table 20.

[0018] A support shaft 26 is provided at the upper end of the shaft support member 25 fixed to the floor surface, below the opposing ends of the mounting table 20 and the cross member 21, i.e., below the gap between the container group to be separated and the adjacent container group, and extends horizontally and parallel to the side where the connection part Q2 of the opposing molding containers P of both container groups is formed, so as to be freely rotatable about its axis, and the mounting table 20 is fixed to the support shaft 26 via a connecting member 19. A swing lever 27 is fixed to the support shaft 26, and the swing end of the swing lever 27 is connected to a piston of an air cylinder 28 provided on the floor surface so as to be swingable up and down. When not in operation (as shown in FIG. 4), the piston of the air cylinder 28 is in the protruding position, and the mounting table 20 is set to a horizontal position. In contrast, during operation (the state shown in Figure 6), the air cylinders 23 and 28 are driven, which causes the pressing member 24 to descend and clamp the container group together with the mounting table 20, and at the same time, the piston of the air cylinder 28 retracts, causing the swing lever 27 to rotate clockwise in Figures 4 and 6, and the mounting table 20 to rotate clockwise around the support shaft 26 as a fulcrum and tilt. In other words, the air cylinder 28 and the swing lever 27 form a tilting means that tilts the mounting table 20 around the fulcrum below the container group to be separated and the adjacent container group.

[0019] In Fig. 4, a pair of support columns 30 are erected on the floor surface on both sides of the cross member 21 on which the second row of container group U1 (B) is placed, and as shown in Fig. 5, a beam 31 extending horizontally is attached to the upper end of the support column 30. An air cylinder 32 having a piston that advances and retreats horizontally is fixed to each support column 30, and a side abutment member 33 that can abut against the side of the container group is attached to the tip of the piston of each air cylinder 32. An air cylinder 34 having a piston that advances and retreats vertically is fixed to the beam 31, and an upper abutment member 35 that can abut against the upper part of the container group is provided at the tip of the piston of the air cylinder 34. An engagement member 36 that can engage with the front side (the leading container group side) of the storage section P1 (Fig. 2) located at the top of the container group is provided on the upper abutment member 35. The upper contact member 35 is driven to move up and down by an air cylinder 34, and when in the lowered position, it presses against the uppermost portion of the group of containers placed on the cross member 21.

[0020] The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7. Here, the case where the first row of container group U1 is subjected to a separation operation will be described as an example. When the laminated sheet group T is conveyed to the forming container separation device and the front side of the leading container group U1(A) is placed on the placement table 20 with the front side abutting against the support member 22, the second container group U1(B) from the front is on the cross member 21. As shown in Fig. 4, the piston of the air cylinder 28 is in the protruding position and the placement table 20 is set in the horizontal position, the piston of the air cylinder 23 is in the raised position and the pressing member 24 is separated from the top surface of the leading container group U1(A). As shown in Fig. 5, the piston of the air cylinder 34 is also in the raised position and the upper abutment member 35 is separated from the top surface of the container group U1(B), and the piston of the air cylinder 32 is in the retracted position and the side abutment member 33 is separated from the container group U1(B).

[0021] The air cylinder 23 is driven to lower the pressing member 24, so that the pressing member 24 and the table 20 clamp the container group U1(A), and the engaging member 29 engages with the container storage portion P1 of the uppermost forming container P. Then, the air cylinders 32 and 34 are driven, and the side contact member 33 advances to contact the side of the container group U1(B), and the upper contact member 35 and the engaging member 36 descend to engage with the container storage portion P1 of the uppermost forming container P. Next, the piston of the air cylinder 28 retracts, so that the table 20 rotates clockwise in Figs. 4 and 6 and tilts. Therefore, the container group U1(A) rotates about the support shaft 26, and in the container group U1(A), the upper and lower connecting portions Q2 are broken in order from the uppermost forming container P to the lowermost one, and the container group U1(A) is separated from the container group U1(B).

[0022] In this separation operation, the subsequent container group U1(B) is held by the side abutment member 33 and the upper abutment member 35, so that the connection portion Q2 between the container group U1(A) and the container group U1(B) is easily and reliably separated in order from the forming container P located at the top. That is, the air cylinders 32, 34, the side abutment member 33, and the upper abutment member 35 constitute a holding means for holding the sides and the top of the container group. In addition, in the separation operation, the engagement member 29 engages with the storage portion P1 of the top forming container P of the leading container group U1(A), so that the connection portion Q2 of the container forming sheet S located at the top is smoothly broken when the rotation of the mounting table 20 starts. Furthermore, the engagement member 36 engages with the storage portion P1 of the top forming container P of the container group U1(B) on the crossing member 21, so that the container group U1(B) is reliably held.

[0023] 8 and 9, a configuration for carrying out the separated container group from the forming container separation device will be described. After the separation operation, the mounting table 20 maintains the inclined state, and in this state, the pressing member 24 and the engaging member 29 rise and move away from the container group U1(A), after which the container group U1(A) is delivered to the delivery table 40, the mounting surface of which is inclined at the same angle as the inclined mounting table 20. For this delivery operation, a delivery pusher 41 is provided on the side of the mounting table 20. The delivery pusher 41 has an air cylinder 43 fixed to a support 42 erected on the floor surface and a push member 44 attached to the piston of the air cylinder 43, and the push member 44 pushes the rear side of the container group on the mounting table 20, i.e., the side surface on the air cylinder 28 side, to deliver the container group to the delivery table 40. After this transfer operation, the piston of the air cylinder 28 is extended to make the platform 20 horizontal, the remaining stacked sheet group T is transferred forward by the second belt conveyor 12, and the container group U1 (B) is placed on the platform 20.

[0024] As described above, in this embodiment, the container group on the table 20 is separated from the adjacent container groups by breaking each of the connecting parts Q2 located above and below, starting from the topmost molded container P, by rotating and tilting the table 20 clockwise in Figs. 4 and 6 about the support shaft 26 as a fulcrum while maintaining the state of being sandwiched between the pressing member 24 and the table 20. Therefore, the air cylinder 28 constitutes a separation means for separating the container group on the table 20 from the adjacent container groups by displacing the pressing member 24 in a direction away from the adjacent container groups. As another example, a fulcrum may be provided above between the engaging member 29 provided on the pressing member 24 and the engaging member 36 provided on the abutting member 35, above the container group to be separated and the adjacent container group, and the pressing member 24 may be rotated and tilted counterclockwise in Figs. 4 and 6 about this fulcrum, breaking each of the connecting parts Q2 located above and below, starting from the bottommost molded container P, and separating the container group from the adjacent container groups. That is, in this case, the separating means separates the container group on the placing table 20 from the adjacent container group by displacing the placing table 20 in a direction away from the adjacent container group.

[0025] 10 and 11 show another example of separating container groups. In the example shown in Figs. 4 and 6, one container group U1(A) is placed on the placement table 20, but in the example shown in Figs. 10 and 11, two container groups U1(A) and U1(B) are placed on the placement table 20, and the container group U1(B) is separated from the adjacent container group U1(C) in the third row. That is, on both sides of the bridge member 21 on which the container group U1(C) in the third row is placed, a pair of support columns 30 are erected on the floor surface as in Figs. 4 and 6, and a side abutment member 33 and an upper abutment member 35 that can abut against the sides of the container group U1(C) are provided. In addition, the pressing member 24 presses the two container groups U1(A) and U1(B) from above, and the engaging member 29 engages with the rear side (the subsequent container group U1(C) side) of the storage section P1 of the container group U1(B) in the second row. Also, the front side of the first row of container group U1(A) abuts against the support member 22. In Fig. 10, the mounting table 20 is in a horizontal state, and the pressing member 24 and the upper abutment member 35 are set to the raised position. In Fig. 11, the mounting table 20 is in an inclined state, and the pressing member 24 and the upper abutment member 35 are set to the lowered position. The other configurations and functions are the same as those of the embodiment shown in Figs. 4 to 9.

[0026] The examples in Figures 10 and 11 are applied when it is difficult to keep the container groups being transported upright when, for example, inspecting for foreign objects after a separation operation, and this problem is solved by transporting the two container groups in a linked state. After the foreign object inspection is completed, the two container groups are separated from each other by a formed container separation device having the configuration shown in Figures 4 and 6.

[0027] Fig. 12 shows a forming container separation device which performs a separation operation on two rows of container groups U1 and U2, and corresponds to Fig. 5. That is, Fig. 12 is a view of the container groups U1 and U2 placed on the transfer member 21 from the placement table 20 side. The upper abutment member 35 abuts on the container groups U1 and U2 which are a group of containers in the same row in two columns from above, and the side abutment members 33 abut on each side of the container groups U1 and U2 which are a group of containers in the same row in two columns. Also, on the placement table 20 (not shown), the pressing member 24 presses from above the container groups U1 and U2 which are a group of containers in the same row in two columns, and together with the placement table 20, the container groups U1 and U2 which are a group of containers in the same row in two columns are sandwiched. According to the example of Fig. 12, as in the examples of Figs. 10 and 11, the two container groups are transported in a connected state after separation, so that the posture is stable. The configuration of the example in FIG. 12 may be combined with the examples in FIGS. 10 and 11 to interconnect four container groups.

[0028] 4 and 5, for example, the side contact members 33 contact near the center height of the sides of the group of containers and do not contact near the upper and lower ends, but the vertical length of the side contact members 33 changes depending on the pressing force of the upper contact member 35. Specifically, the greater the pressing force of the upper contact member 35, the shorter the side contact members 33 may be. On the other hand, when the pressing force of the upper contact member 35 is small and is only sufficient to prevent the uppermost container forming sheet S from lifting up, it is necessary to make the side contact members 33 longer so that they contact the sides of the group of containers near the upper and lower ends. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] P Molded container Q1, Q2 connection S Container forming sheet T laminated sheet group U1, U2 container group 20 Placement table 24 Pressing member 28 Air cylinder (separation means) 32, 34 Air cylinder (holding means) 33 Side abutment member (holding means) 35 Upper abutment member (holding means)

Claims

1. A container forming sheet on which a predetermined number of formed containers are aligned and formed, and each formed container is connected by a minute connecting portion, is stacked so that the formed containers are vertically overlapped to form a laminated sheet group, and a formed container separation device is provided which separates a container group consisting of formed containers stacked vertically at an end of the laminated sheet group from an adjacent container group, a placement table on which the containers to be separated are placed; a pressing member that presses the containers placed on the placement table from above and holds the containers together with the placement table; a retaining means for retaining the sides and tops of the adjacent containers; a separating means for displacing one of the pressing member and the mounting table in a direction away from the adjacent group of containers while maintaining the clamping state between the pressing member and the mounting table, The separating means separates the container group by breaking each of the connecting portions located above and below, starting from the upper or lower forming container of the container group.

2. 2. The forming container separation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separating means comprises tilting means for tilting the placement table with a fulcrum below a portion between a group of containers to be separated and an adjacent group of containers.

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