Upright discharge device and upright discharge method

Abstract

To provide an upright discharge device and an upright discharge method for changing a posture of an article in a lateral posture to an upright posture and discharging the article to a downstream process, which can speed up process (shorten cycle time), increase stability of the article after the posture is changed, and prevent the article from falling- down or disturbance of alignment.SOLUTION: An upright discharge device 100 includes swing-type delivery means 10 and conveyance means 20 disposed downstream of the swinging type delivery means 10, the swing-type delivery means 10 has a swing member 11 that changes a posture of an article XA1 from a lateral posture to an upright posture and delivers the article XA1 to the conveyance means 20, the conveyance means 20 is capable of moving between a receiving position P3 and a discharging position P4 for the article XA1, and has an article support part 27 that supports the article XA1 in an inclined position, and uprights the article XA1 that is in the lateral posture and conveyed from an upstream process to the downstream.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for upright discharge that discharges, in an upright state, an article that is transported sideways. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a known upright discharge device that discharges an item transported sideways in an upright position includes a device that pushes the item (container) in a sideways position into a holder, rotates the holder 90 degrees to an upright position, and then uses a robot to remove the container from the holder (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Also known is a device in which a number of trays capable of holding items (fruit and vegetables) are attached at intervals to an endless conveyor, and the trays are tilted during transport to bring the fruit and vegetables in the trays from a lying position to an upright position, and then the lid (bottom) of the tray is opened to allow the fruit and vegetables inside to fall freely and be supplied to a fruit and vegetable packaging device (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-310321 [Patent Document 2] JP 2000-44045 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, for example, in the case of the device described in Patent Document 1, the holder cannot be returned to the article receiving position until the robot removes the container from the holder, which poses a problem of hindering faster processing (shortening cycle time).

[0006] Furthermore, in the case of a configuration in which articles are allowed to fall freely in an upright state and then supplied (discharged) to a downstream process, as in the device described in Patent Document 2, if the tray (or bucket, etc.) is moved at high speed, the fallen state of the articles (the state of the articles after their posture is changed to an upright state) becomes unstable. In particular, in cases where the articles need to be further aligned after being discharged in an upright state and then transported to a downstream process, if the fallen state of the articles becomes unstable, the force of inertia during the fall can cause the articles to tip over or become out of alignment after their posture is changed.

[0007] Furthermore, in the case of a standing discharge device that transports containers containing liquid in a sideways state and allows them to fall upright by free fall, the inertial force that the objects receive when falling varies depending on the amount and viscosity of the liquid contained therein. In other words, if one standing discharge device is used to handle multiple objects in a general purpose manner, the falling state of the objects becomes even more unstable, resulting in a problem of a higher possibility of the objects falling over or becoming out of order.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and provides an upright discharge device and an upright discharge method for changing the position of a toppled object to an upright position and discharging it to a downstream process, which can speed up processing (shorten the cycle time) and increase the stability of the object after the position has been changed, preventing the object from falling over or becoming out of alignment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention relates to an erection and discharge device that erects an article in a horizontal position transported from an upstream process and transfers it downstream, comprising a swinging transfer means and a transport means arranged downstream of the swinging transfer means, wherein the swinging transfer means has a swinging member that changes the position of the article from the horizontal position to an erect position and transfers it to the transport means, and the transport means has an article support section that is movable between a receiving position and a discharging position for the article and supports the article in an inclined position with respect to the horizontal position of the article.

[0010] The present invention also relates to a method for upright discharge comprising the steps of receiving an article transported in a horizontal position from an upstream process using a swinging transfer means, changing the position of the article from the horizontal position to an upright position, and transferring it to a downstream conveying means; receiving the article in an inclined position exceeding the upright position in the conveying means and conveying it downstream while maintaining the inclined position; and moving the article released from the conveying means downstream while abutting a guide means to upright the article in the vertical direction. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, in an upright discharge device and an upright discharge method for changing the position of a toppled object to an upright position and discharging it to a downstream process, it is possible to provide an upright discharge device and an upright discharge method that can speed up processing (shorten the cycle time) and increase the stability of the object after the position is changed, preventing the object from falling over or becoming disorganized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an article transport apparatus including a standing discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration of an item transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an article according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a front view and (B) to (E) are side views. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the upright discharge device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the upright discharge device according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the operation of the article transport device according to the present embodiment, in which (A) is a front view and (B) is a plan view. [Figure 7] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the operation of the article transport device according to the present embodiment, in which (A) is a front view and (B) is a plan view. [Figure 8]1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the upright discharge device according to the present embodiment, in which (A) is a front view, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a plan view. [Figure 9] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the upright discharge device according to the present embodiment, in which (A) is a front view, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a plan view. [Figure 10] Fig. 11 is a plan view illustrating the operation of the upright discharge device according to the embodiment. Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the pushing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this drawing and the following drawings, some components are omitted as appropriate to simplify the drawings. In this drawing and the following drawings, the size, shape, thickness, etc. of the members are exaggerated as appropriate.

[0014] <Overall composition> FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an example of the overall configuration of an article transport apparatus 500 including a standing discharge apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view mainly showing the standing discharge apparatus 100. As shown in FIG.

[0015] 1 and 2, the article transport device 500 has, for example, an upstream transport means 200, a sending device 150, and an erecting and discharging device 100. The upstream transport means 200 is, for example, a servo loop device that rotates in a horizontal plane, and is partially omitted in FIG. 1. The erecting and discharging device 100 of this embodiment is equipped with a swinging type delivery means 10, a transport means 20, and a discharging means 30 (see FIG. 2), and is a device that delivers an article XA1 in a sideways state transported from an upstream process (for example, the upstream transport device 200 and the sending device 150) obliquely downward while changing the posture of the article, erects it, and discharges it downstream. Note that the sending device 150 is omitted in FIG. 2.

[0016] In this embodiment, the directions are defined as follows: the standing direction of the article XA1 is the vertical direction V, the first direction in the horizontal plane is the first horizontal direction H1, and the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction V and the first horizontal direction H1 is the second horizontal direction H2. The "direction in which the article XA1 is delivered diagonally downward" is a direction that faces downward in the vertical direction V at a predetermined angle from the first horizontal direction H1, and is called the delivery direction D. There is no distinction between positive and negative (+-) for the vertical direction V, the first horizontal direction H1, and the second horizontal direction H2, but the delivery direction D is a direction that accompanies the movement of the article XA1, and the diagonally downward direction is called the forward direction.

[0017] <Upstream conveying device> As shown in Fig. 2, upstream of the erection discharge device 100, an upstream conveying device 200 is provided which moves a holding means (e.g., bucket 201) in a horizontal plane, for example, drawing a substantially elliptical shape. The upstream conveying device 200 is, for example, a horizontal servo loop conveyor which circulates a plurality of buckets 201. The path of the circulating movement of the buckets 201 includes a first delivery area A1 for the article XA1 downstream. At least in the first delivery area A1, the upstream conveying device 200 moves the bucket 201 linearly in a moving direction T1 (a direction from top to bottom in Fig. 1) along a second horizontal direction H2.

[0018] Bucket 201 is, for example, substantially rectangular in plan view, with two opposing sides (inner circumference end 201i and outer circumference end 201o) open, which correspond to the inner circumference and outer circumference when bucket 201 circulates in a substantially ellipse, and side walls 202 are provided on the two opposing sides along moving direction T1. Each bucket 201 contains one article XA1 in a laid-down state with its head 300H facing inner circumference end 201i and its bottom 300B facing outer circumference end 201o.

[0019] The upstream transport device 200 intermittently operates a bucket group 201G, which is a set of a plurality of (for example, five) buckets 201, to transport a plurality of (for example, five) articles XA1 to the first transfer area A1.

[0020] <Goods> Here, the article XA1 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is an external view showing an example of the article XA1, in which Fig. 3(A) is a front view and Fig. 3(B) to Fig. 3(E) are side views.

[0021] 3(A), the article XA1 of this embodiment is, for example, a container 300 in which a liquid or the like is contained, and specifically, the article XA1 is, for example, a spray bottle 300 in which a liquid is contained. The spray bottle 300 has a bottle 301 and a spray nozzle 303 attached to an opening 302 thereof. The spray nozzle 303 is a head 300H of the article XA1. The shape of the bottle 301 is arbitrary, but for example, the bottle 301 has a bottom 300B, a body part 305 having a relatively flat, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with opposing wide side surfaces S1 and opposing narrow side surfaces S2, and an opening 302 in which the upper end of the body part 305 is narrowed to have a small diameter, substantially circular shape.

[0022] In this embodiment, the posture of the article XA1 changes during transportation as shown in Fig. 3(B) to Fig. 3(E). The definition of the posture (state) of the article XA1 during transportation used in the description of this embodiment will be described. First, as shown in Fig. 3(B), the posture (state) in which one of the wide side surfaces S1 (S1') of the bottle 301 is abutted against a certain horizontal surface is called a sideways posture (sideways state). Also, as shown in Fig. 3(D), the posture in which the spray nozzle 303 (head 300H) is vertically upward and the bottom 300B of the bottle 301 is placed (abutted) against a certain horizontal surface is called an "upright posture", or this state is called an "upright state" of the article XA1. In addition, when the article XA1 is tilted by swinging it around the bottom 300B (its center) as an axis so that the angle between the wide side S1 and the horizontal plane changes from a lying or upright posture, this posture is called the "tilted posture," and this state is called the "tilted state" of the article (Figures 3(C) and (E)).

[0023] In addition, for example, when the wide side surface S1' that is in contact with the horizontal plane is raised in a direction away from the horizontal plane (to give an inclined posture) based on the lying-on-side posture, the angle between the wide side surface S1 (S1') (the side that was in contact) and the horizontal plane will be referred to below as the "article inclination angle θ."

[0024] As will be described later in detail, over time, the posture of article XA1 changes from a lying posture (article tilt angle θ=0) shown in Fig. 3(B) to a first tilt posture (acute angle tilt posture) in which the article tilt angle θ is a predetermined angle less than 90 degrees shown in Fig. 3(C), to an upright posture (article tilt angle θ=90 degrees) shown in Fig. 3(D), to a second tilt posture (obtuse angle tilt posture) in which the article tilt angle θ exceeds 90 degrees (upright posture) shown in Fig. 3(E), and then returns to the upright posture shown in Fig. 3(D). When returning to the upright posture from the second tilt posture (obtuse angle tilt posture), the movement (swing) is in the opposite direction (tilt angle decreasing direction shown by the dashed arrow in Fig. 3(D)) to the movement (swing) in the direction in which the article tilt angle θ increases from the lying posture to the upright posture (tilt angle increasing direction shown by the solid arrow in Fig. 3(D)).

[0025] In other words, article XA1 repeats the following movement: it swings from a lying position (Figure 3(B)) with an article inclination angle θ of 0 degrees in a direction increasing the inclination angle (standing up), changes to an acute angle inclination position (Figure 3(C)), an upright position (Figure 3(D)), and an obtuse angle inclination position (Figure 3(E)), and then swings in a direction decreasing the inclination angle and returns to the upright position (Figure 3(D)).

[0026] In this example, the article XA1 has a spray nozzle 303 attached to the head, but this is not limited thereto, and the head may be sealed with a cap or the like.

[0027] In addition, the standing discharge device 100 of this embodiment handles one type (same kind) of article XA1 on a certain standing discharge line, but can be used generally for standing discharge of multiple articles XA1 with different shapes, weights (types of contents), etc. on each standing discharge line.

[0028] <Sending device> Returning to Fig. 1, above the upstream conveying device 200 (bucket 201) in the first transfer area A1, a sending-out device 150 is provided. The sending-out device 150 is, for example, an overhead conveyor (coyagura conveyor) 150 that can send out a plurality of articles XA1 (articles XA1 contained in the bucket group 201G) conveyed to the first transfer area A1 collectively (at one time) toward the erecting and discharging device 100. Note that the erecting and discharging device 100 of this embodiment may be configured to include the sending-out device 150 or may not include the sending-out device 150.

[0029] The overhead conveyor 150 includes upstream and downstream sprockets 151 arranged along the first horizontal direction H1, a circular chain 152 that runs around the sprockets 151, a power source (such as a motor not shown) that rotates one of the sprockets 151, and a plurality of sending members 154 that are attached to the chain 152 at predetermined intervals and run together with the chain 152. In detail, the sending members 154 run in a circular manner in a substantially elliptical shape in a front view shown in FIG. 1 by the circular chain 152. Hereinafter, as the running direction T2 of the chain 152 (sending member 154), the direction from the upstream conveying device 200 side to the standing discharge device 100 (from left to right in FIG. 1) in FIG. 1 is referred to as a sending direction T21, and the direction from the standing discharge device 100 side to the upstream conveying device 200 (from right to left in FIG. 1) is referred to as a recovery direction T22.

[0030] The overhead conveyor 150 is disposed above the bucket 201 so as to completely cover it, and the length that the delivery member 154 moves in the delivery direction T21 is greater than the length from the inner peripheral end 201i to the outer peripheral end 201o of the bucket 201. As a result, the delivery member 154 traveling in the delivery direction T21 enters the bucket 201 from the inner peripheral end 201i side of the bucket 201, and abuts against the head 300H of the article XA1 lying sideways in the bucket 201, pushing it out toward the first delivery area A1 at the outer peripheral end 201o. The swinging delivery device 10 of the standing discharge device 100 is provided in the first delivery area A1.

[0031] 2, a moving direction T1 of the bucket group 201G entering the first transfer area A1 is perpendicular to a sending direction T21 of the sending member 154 in the sending device 150. Furthermore, a plurality of sending devices 150 (here, five sending devices) are arranged in parallel along the moving direction T1 of the bucket group 201G in the first transfer area A1 in accordance with the number of the bucket groups 201G.

[0032] Figure 2 shows the movement and changing posture of item XA1. Although the state of item XA1 varies, in reality, multiple sending-out devices 150 run their respective sending-out members 154 in synchronization, and the sending-out members 154 collectively (synchronize) remove items XA1 (in this example, five items XA1) contained in bucket group 201G (each of five buckets 201) that intermittently enter the first transfer area A1, and push them toward the first transfer area A1.

[0033] <Standing discharge device / swinging type delivery means> The swing-type delivery means (swing-type delivery device) 10 of the erection and discharge device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a front schematic view showing the swing-type delivery means 10 in isolation.

[0034] As shown in Figures 4(A) and 4(B), the swinging type delivery means 10 has a swinging member 11 and a drive means 12 for the swinging member 11. As shown in Figures 4(C) and 4(D), the swinging member 11 is a member that receives the article XA1 pushed out from the delivery device 150, changes its posture from a lying down state to an upright state, and delivers it to the transport means 20.

[0035] The swinging members 11 are provided corresponding to the number of bucket groups 201G, and have, for example, a first support surface 111 capable of supporting one wide side surface S1 of the article XA1 and a second support surface 112 capable of supporting the bottom portion 300B of the article XA1. The first support surface 111 and the second support surface 112 are provided, for example, to form a substantially right angle, that is, the swinging member 11 is configured as a substantially L-shaped member when viewed from the second horizontal direction H2 (when viewed from the front in FIG. 4).

[0036] 4(A) and 4(B), a swing shaft 13 is fixed to the connection portion (corner portion of the substantially L-shape) between the first support surface 111 and the second support surface 112, and the swing member 11 can swing at a predetermined angle (for example, about 90 degrees) between an initial position P1 shown in Fig. 4(A) and a delivery position P2 shown in Fig. 4(B) by rotating the swing shaft 13 by a driving means 12. The first support surface 111 and the second support surface 112 are fixed to each other so as not to move relative to each other and swing integrally.

[0037] The driving means 12 is a means for swinging the oscillating member 11 around the oscillating shaft 13, and is, for example, a crank (servo crank) driven by a servo motor. In the driving means (servo crank) 12, one end of a rod 122 is connected to the tip of a piston 121 that expands and contracts due to a servo motor. The other end of the rod 122 is connected to one end of a crank (arm) 123, and the other end of the crank 123 is connected to the oscillating shaft 13. The rotation angle of the crank 123 is, for example, approximately 90 degrees. As a result, the oscillating member 11 swings between an initial position P1 and a delivery position P2 via the oscillating shaft 13 in response to the expansion and contraction of the piston 121.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 4(C), when the rocking member 11 (the first support surface 111 and the second support surface 112) is inclined with respect to a reference surface when it is in the initial position P1. Here, the reference surface is a surface (a floor surface or a surface parallel thereto) on which the upright discharge device 100 is placed, specifically, a horizontal surface. In this embodiment, when the rocking member 11 is in the initial position P1, the first support surface 111 is inclined at a first angle α1 (e.g., 20 degrees) at which the angle formed with the reference surface (horizontal surface) is an acute angle, and the second support surface 112 is inclined so that it is approximately perpendicular to the first support surface 111, that is, the angle formed with the reference surface is a second angle (e.g., 110 degrees). More specifically, the first support surface 111 is inclined so that the angle formed with the first horizontal direction H1 is acute, with the front lowered from the first horizontal direction H1 in the delivery direction D.

[0039] 4(B) by the driving means 12, the swingable member 11 (the first supporting surface 111 and the second supporting surface 112) are also inclined with respect to the reference plane. When the swingable member 11 is at the handover position P2, the first supporting surface 111 is inclined at a first angle α2 (e.g., 110 degrees) at which the angle it forms with the reference plane (horizontal plane) is an obtuse angle, and the second supporting surface 112 is inclined so as to be approximately perpendicular to the first supporting surface 111.

[0040] The first support surface 111 has a necessary and sufficient size for stably supporting at least the wide side surface S1 of the article XA1, and the second support surface 112 has a necessary and sufficient size for stably placing the bottom portion 300B of the article XA1.

[0041] The sending device 150 delivers the article XA1 to the swinging member 11 at the initial position P1 in the first delivery area A1. The article XA1 placed on the swinging member 11 at the initial position P1 is supported by the swinging member 11 in an inclined posture (first inclined posture) in which the front of the delivery direction D is downwardly slanted, i.e., the bottom 300B of the article XA1 is low in the vertical direction and the head (spray nozzle 303) is in a high position. The article inclination angle θ in this case is, for example, 20 degrees (see FIG. 4(C)).

[0042] When the swinging member 11 is moved to the delivery position P2 by the driving means 12, the article XA1 placed on the swinging member 11 assumes an inclined posture (second inclined posture) in which the head 300H is located forward of the bottom 300B in the delivery direction D. The second inclined posture is a posture in which the article inclination angle θ increases (changes in the direction of increasing the inclination angle) from the sideways posture (state in which the article inclination angle θ=0) and exceeds the upright posture, making the article inclination angle θ an obtuse angle (for example, 110 degrees in this example). In this case, the article XA1 falls freely toward the conveying means 20. In other words, when the swinging member 11 is at the delivery position P2 (when the article XA1 assumes the second inclined posture), the state (shape, inclination angle, etc.) of the swinging member 11 at the delivery position P2 is set according to the shape, contents, or processing speed of the article XA1 so that the bottom 300B of the article XA1 slides on the second support surface 112 while the article XA1 falls freely.

[0043] The rocking member 11 in the initial position P1 is inclined to prevent the article XA1 from bouncing or thrashing on the rocking member 11 due to the inertial force or the reaction force from the rocking member 11 when the article XA1 falls from the delivery device 150. Therefore, a value that does not cause the article XA1 to bounce or thrash on the rocking member 11 is appropriately set depending on the situation such as the shape of the article XA1 and the delivery speed of the contents. In other words, the rocking member 11 in the initial position P1 may be in a state where the inclination angle α1 is 0 or close to it (the first support surface 111 is approximately horizontal). Although omitted in FIG. 1, side guides 15 are provided on both sides of each rocking member 11 (see FIG. 2), which prevent the article XA1 from jumping out, etc.

[0044] On the other hand, in this embodiment, the free fall of the article XA1 is utilized for delivery of the article XA1 from the swinging type delivery means 10 (swinging member 11) to the downstream conveying means 20. For this reason, the swinging member 11 at the delivery position P2 is set so as to allow the article XA1 to freely fall in the delivery direction D.

[0045] That is, in the above example, the rocking member 11 is configured such that the first support surface 111 and the second support surface 112 are at a substantially right angle, and the angle of the rocking member 11 (first support surface 111) is set to a first angle α1 (e.g., 20 degrees) at the initial position P1, and furthermore, the crank angle is set to approximately 90 degrees. However, this is not limited as long as the rocking member 11 at the transfer position P2 is configured to allow the article XA1 to freely fall in the transfer direction D (preferably, furthermore, the rocking member 11 at the initial position P1 is configured to prevent the position of the article XA1 from being disturbed, etc.). Specifically, for example, when the article XA1 does not freely fall at the transfer position P2 due to friction with the rocking member 11, the crank angle is set to a value greater than 90 degrees, and the second angle α2 is set to a larger obtuse angle (e.g., 120 degrees or more).

[0046] Also, for example, the first support surface 111 and the second support surface 112 may be configured so that the angle they form is an obtuse angle, or the first angle may be made smaller so as to approach a horizontal plane, or made larger so as to approach the vertical direction.

[0047] In this way, the swinging transfer means 10 (swinging member 11) changes the posture of the article XA1, which is transferred in a horizontal state from the upstream (upstream conveying device 200), from the horizontal state to an upright state and transfers it to the conveying means 20. Specifically, the swinging transfer means 10 receives the horizontally-inclined article XA1 in an acute-angle inclined posture (FIG. 4(C)) by the swinging member 11, rotates the swinging member 11 in the direction of increasing the inclination angle to temporarily put the article XA1 in an upright posture, and further rotates in the direction of increasing the inclination angle to put the article XA1 in an obtuse-angle inclined posture (FIG. 4(D)). The article XA1 is then transferred to the downstream conveying means 20 by free fall.

[0048] <Standing discharge device / transport means> The conveying means 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a front schematic view of the conveying means 20. As shown in Fig. 5(A), the conveying means 20 is disposed downstream of the swinging-type delivery means 10, and is a means for receiving the article XA1 in the second inclined position from the swinging-type delivery means 10 in the second receiving area A2, conveying it to the downstream process, and discharging it. For example, the conveying means 20 has an article support section 27, a first driving means DR1 for moving the article support section 27 along the second horizontal direction H2 toward the discharge position P4, a second driving means DR2 for reciprocating at least the article support section 27 in a direction parallel to the delivery direction D, and a transport conveyor 25.

[0049] First, the transport conveyor 25 is composed of, for example, two sprockets 251 (see FIG. 2), a transport belt 252 stretched over them, and a power source (such as a motor) (not shown) that rotates one of the sprockets 251. The transport conveyor 25 is disposed downstream of the swinging transfer means 10, specifically diagonally downward (forward in the transfer direction D). The transport belt 252 travels in a circular manner, and its surface serves as a transport surface 25A to support the bottom 300B of the article XA1 transported from a receiving position P3 of the article XA1 from the swinging transfer means 10 toward a discharging position P4 (see FIG. 2) of the article XA1 to the downstream process. In this example, the receiving position P3 is a position set for each of a set (five pieces) of articles XA1, while the discharging position P4 is a single location at the downstream end of the transport conveyor 25.

[0050] For example, if the direction from the receiving position P3 toward the discharging position P4 is defined as the longitudinal direction of the conveying surface 25A, the length of the short side of the conveying surface 25A (conveying width) is set to a length that can adequately support the bottom 300B of the article XA1. As shown in Fig. 5(C), the conveying surface 25A is inclined so as to be substantially flush with the second support surface 112 when the swinging member 11 is at the delivery position P2. In this example, for example, the conveying surface 25A is inclined downwards so that the front of the conveying surface 25A in the delivery direction D is lowered from the first horizontal direction H1, and the angle it forms with the first horizontal direction H1 is an acute first angle (e.g., 20 degrees).

[0051] 5(C), when the swinging member 11 is at the delivery position P2, a part of the second support surface 112 (the tip end on the conveying surface 25A side) is disposed at a position partially overlapping one end side of the conveying surface 25A in the conveying width direction. As a result, when the swinging member 11 is at the delivery position P2, the conveying surface 25A is positioned so as to be continuous with the second support surface 112 in the delivery direction D of the article XA1.

[0052] The article support section 27 is movable between a receiving position P3 of the article XA1 from the swinging transfer means 10 and a discharging position P4 of the article XA1 to the downstream process, and receives and supports the article XA1 while it is in the obtuse angle inclined position, and moves it to the discharging position P4 while maintaining the obtuse angle inclined position. The article support section 27 in this embodiment is constituted by, for example, a side finger conveyor 21.

[0053] 2 and 5(A), the side finger conveyor 21 has a plurality of sprockets 23, a circular belt 24 that runs around the sprockets 23, a power source (not shown) that rotates and drives a part of the sprockets 23, and a plurality of side fingers 22 that are attached to the belt 24 at predetermined intervals and run together with the belt 24. In detail, in this example, three rotating shafts 231 (rotating shafts 231A to 231C) of the sprockets 23 are provided, and two sprockets 23A (e.g., a vertically upper sprocket) and 23B (a vertically lower sprocket) that share the same axis are provided on each of the rotating shafts 231A to 231C. Separate belts 24A and 24B are respectively hung around the two sprockets 23A and 23B that share the same axis with a space therebetween. That is, belt 24A is fastened to sprocket 23A of rotating shaft 231A, sprocket 23A of rotating shaft 231B, and sprocket 23A of rotating shaft 231C, and belt 24B is fastened to sprocket 23B of rotating shaft 231A, sprocket 23B of rotating shaft 231B, and sprocket 23B of rotating shaft 231C.

[0054] Further, the two belts 24A, 24B are respectively attached with side fingers 22 spaced apart at a predetermined interval. The two belts 24 (side fingers 22) circulate in a substantially triangular shape in the plan view shown in FIG. 2, for example. Hereinafter, in the running direction T4 of the belts 24 (side fingers 22), the direction from the receiving position P3 to the discharging position P4 (from bottom to top in FIG. 2) is referred to as the conveying direction T41, and the direction from the discharging position P4 to the receiving position P3 is referred to as the recovery direction T42. The conveying direction T41 of the side finger conveyor 21 is a direction perpendicular to the sending direction T21 of the sending member 154 in the sending device 150.

[0055] If the direction perpendicular to the running direction T4 of the belt 24 is defined as the belt width direction, the length 221L of the fixed portion 221 (attachment surface to the belt 24) of the side finger 22 to the belts 24A, 24B is longer than the length 24L of each of the belts 24A, 24B in the belt width direction, and each fixed portion 221 has a length spanning the two belts 24A, 24B arranged side by side in the belt width direction. The side finger 22A fixed to the belt 24A is not fixed to the belt 24B but is also arranged above it, and the side finger 22B fixed to the belt 24B is not fixed to the belt 24A but is also arranged above it.

[0056] The side fingers 22A attached to one belt 24A and the side fingers 22B attached to the other belt 24B are arranged alternately, and one article XA1 is supported by a pair of (adjacent) side fingers 22A, 22B.

[0057] In this way, the two belts 24A, 24B and the side fingers 22A, 22B aligned in the belt width direction function as an article support portion 27, with the belts 24A, 24B supporting one wide side S1 of the article XA1 and the side fingers 22A, 22B supporting the opposing narrow side S2 of the article XA1.

[0058] Additionally, the multiple sprockets 23 of the side finger conveyor 21, a power source (such as a motor, not shown) that rotates and drives one of the sprockets 23, and the transport conveyor 25 correspond to a first drive means DR1 that moves the article support section 27 at least in the transport direction T41. The first drive means DR1 performs an intermittent operation of stopping the side finger conveyor 21 when receiving a predetermined number of articles XA1 (five in this example) and starting it again after receiving the articles XA1. The transport surface 25A (transport belt 252) of the transport conveyor 25 also operates intermittently in synchronization with the side finger conveyor 21, but the transport surface 25A may also run continuously.

[0059] As the belt 24 and side fingers 22 are driven by the first driving means DR1, the article XA1 is transported from the receiving position P3 to the discharging position P4. The side fingers 22A, 22B can be moved in their respective mounting positions, for example, by a differential gear, and the distance between them can be easily adjusted, so that even when an article XA1 of a different size (shape) is being transported, the side fingers can be easily adjusted to fit the shape of the article XA1.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 5(A), the article support section 27 is also provided so as to be inclined with respect to the reference plane (horizontal plane). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5(C), the article support section 27 is inclined so that the first support surface 111 of the swinging member 11 at the transfer position P2 is parallel (opposed) to the belts 24A and 24B. Specifically, the conveying surface 25A is inclined downward from the first horizontal direction H1 to the front in the transfer direction D, and is inclined at an angle α3 (for example, 20 degrees) at which the angle with the first horizontal direction H1 is an acute angle. In addition, the article support section 27 (the belt 24 and the fixed portion 221 of the side finger 22) is inclined at an angle α4 (for example, 110 degrees) at which the angle with the first horizontal direction H1 is an obtuse angle so that the head 300H of the article XA1 to be supported is located forward of the bottom 300B in the transfer direction D.

[0061] The article XA1 supported by the swinging member 11 changes its posture to an obtuse-angle inclined posture shown in FIG. 5(C), which exceeds the standing posture in the direction of increasing the inclination angle, via the standing posture shown in FIG. 5(B). When the swinging transfer means 10 is at the transfer position P2 as shown in FIG. 5(C), the article XA1 is transferred to the conveying means 20 in an obtuse-angle inclined posture. At this time, the swinging member 11 can release the article XA1 by free falling in the transfer direction D. In addition, the article support section 27 is disposed obliquely below the position where the article XA1 falls from the swinging member 11, so that the article XA1 can be reliably received. Furthermore, the inclination angle α4 of the article support section 27 is set to be substantially parallel to the first support surface 111 of the swinging member 11 at the transfer position P2, so that the article XA1 released by natural falling from the swinging member 11 can be received with little disturbance in its posture.

[0062] 5(A) and 5(B), the transport device 20 has a second drive means DR2 which reciprocates the article support portion 27 at least in a direction parallel to the delivery direction D. The second drive means DR2 includes, for example, an air cylinder which reciprocates the entire side finger conveyor 21, thereby enabling the article support portion 27 to advance and retreat so as to approach or move away from the swinging member 11 of the swinging type delivery means 10 while maintaining its inclination angle (α4).

[0063] When transferring article XA1 from the swinging-type delivery means 10 to the transport means 20, the second driving means DR2 advances the side finger conveyor 21 so that the article support portion 27 is closest to the swinging member 11.

[0064] The position where the article support part 27 is closest to the swinging member 11 is, for example, a position close enough that the two (the first support surface 111 of the swinging member 11 and the belt 24 of the article support part 27) can clamp the wide side surface S1 of the article XA1 (the wide side surface S11 on the side of the direction of decreasing the inclination angle and the wide side surface S12 on the side of the direction of increasing the inclination angle, see Figs. 5(B) and 5(C)). More specifically, it is a position where the first support surface 111 of the swinging member 11 abuts against the wide side surface S11 on the side of decreasing the inclination angle and the belt 24 of the article support part 27 abuts against the wide side surface S12 on the side of increasing the inclination angle, or where a small gap is generated so that the article XA1 can move (can fall freely) between the first support surface 111 and the belt 24. In this manner, the wide side surface S11 of the article XA1 on the decreasing tilt angle side is supported by the first support surface 111, the wide side surface S12 on the increasing tilt angle side is supported by the belt 24, and the narrow side surface S2 is both supported by the side fingers 22, and the article XA1 is transferred by free fall from the swinging transfer means 10 to the conveying means 20 while being prevented from losing its posture or falling over. Note that even when the article XA1 is supported by the article support part 27, when the swinging member 11 and the article support part 27 are in the closest position to each other, the bottom part 300B of the article XA1 is on the second support surface 112 of the swinging member 11.

[0065] After the transfer from the swinging member 11 to the article support section 27 is completed, the second driving means DR2 retracts the side finger conveyor 21 (article support section 27). This causes the article XA1 to be transferred from the second support surface 112 of the swinging member 11 to the conveying surface 25A. Then, the driving means 12 of the swinging type delivery means 10 returns the swinging member 11 to the initial position P1.

[0066] In this embodiment, as an example, the conveying surface 25A is fixed to a base (not shown) of the conveying means 20, and the second driving means DR2 moves the side finger conveyor 21 relatively to the conveying surface 25A above the conveying surface 25A. The length of the conveying surface 25A in the conveying width direction is sufficiently larger than the advance / retract width of the side finger conveyor 21, and is set to a length that can support the bottom 300B of the article XA1 regardless of the position of the side finger conveyor 21. As another example, even when the article support part 27 and the rocking member 11 are furthest apart from each other, the second support surface 112 of the rocking member 11 is disposed above the end of the conveying surface 25A on the rocking member 11 side in the conveying width direction so as to overlap it, but it is not necessary that they overlap.

[0067] By doing this, even if the configuration allows the item XA1 to freely fall from the oscillating member 11 to the item support section 27, the posture of the item XA1 can be prevented from being disturbed, and the cycle time of the handover process can be shortened compared to when the item XA1 is extracted (taken out) by a robot or the like.

[0068] Although not shown, the standing discharge device 100 has a control unit. The control unit is composed of a CPU, storage means (RAM, ROM, etc.), etc., and controls the operation of each part of the standing discharge device 100 in cooperation with the hardware constituting each of the above-mentioned parts of the standing discharge device 100 (standing discharge control is performed). The CPU is a so-called central processing unit, and executes various programs to realize various functions. The RAM is used as a working area for the CPU. The ROM stores the basic OS and programs executed by the CPU.

[0069] <Elevating discharge device / discharge means> Referring to Figure 2, the discharge means 30 is provided downstream of the conveying means 20 and has another conveying means 31 for placing and conveying downstream the article XA1 that has been released from support by the article support section 27 downstream of the conveying means 20, and a guide means 32 that abuts against a portion of the article XA1.

[0070] The other conveying means 31 is, for example, a belt conveyor that runs at approximately the same speed as the side finger conveyor 21. The belt conveyor 31 is a known configuration and will not be described or illustrated in detail, but is composed of a plurality of sprockets, a belt 31A stretched over the sprockets, and a power source (e.g., a motor) that rotates and drives one of the sprockets. The conveying surface (belt) 31A of the belt conveyor 31 is disposed on a plane (horizontal plane) parallel to the reference plane, and the longitudinal direction (discharge direction T6) extends along the second horizontal direction H2.

[0071] The guide means 32 is provided on the side above the vertical direction V of the belt conveyor 31 and extends in the longitudinal direction (discharge direction T6) of the belt conveyor 31. In detail, the guide means 32 is arranged at an incline with respect to the extending direction of the conveying surface 31A of the belt conveyor 31 in a plan view (FIG. 2) from above the vertical direction V. Specifically, the upstream end 32U of the guide means 32 is close to the downstream end of the conveying means 20 and is located on a substantial extension line of the conveying direction T41 of the two belts 24A, 24B of the conveying means 20. On the other hand, the downstream end 32D of the guide means 32 is located closer to the center in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the extending direction, first horizontal direction H1) of the conveying surface 31A than the upstream end 32U. In other words, the guide means 32 is provided at an incline from the outside to the inside in the width direction of the conveying surface 31A as it moves from the upstream to the downstream. The guide means 32 is configured so as to be able to come into contact with a part of the wide side surface S12 of the article XA1 supported by the two belts 24A, 24B of the article support section 27 in the direction in which the inclination angle increases.

[0072] At the downstream end of the conveying means 20, when the running direction T4 of the belt 24 of the side finger conveyor 21 switches from the conveying direction T41 to the collecting direction T42, the article XA1 is pushed out by the side finger 22 and released from support. The support by the conveying surface 25A is also released, and the article XA1 is pushed out onto the conveying surface 31A of the belt conveyor 31. The article XA1, which has been conveyed in an obtuse angle inclined position by the article support section 27, is transferred onto the conveying surface 31A of the discharge means 30, which is a horizontal surface, and the guide means 32 abuts against the wide side surface S12 of the article XA1 on the side in the direction of increasing inclination angle. The wide side surface S12 is pushed by the guide means 32, which is inclined from the outside to the inside in the width direction of the conveying surface 31A. In other words, the article XA1 is moved by the conveying surface 31A, and its position is returned from the obtuse angle inclined position to the direction of decreasing inclination angle, and finally it takes an upright position with its head facing vertically, and is discharged downstream.

[0073] Thus, in this embodiment, the buckets 201 in the upstream transport device 200 circulate, for example, in a horizontal plane, and the delivery members 154 in the delivery device 150 circulate in a vertical plane. In contrast, the side fingers 22 in the side finger conveyor 21 circulate in a plane inclined at a first angle (for example, 20 degrees) to the vertical direction V.

[0074] <Stand-up discharge method using a standing discharge device> 6 to 10, the upright discharge method using the upright discharge device 100 will be described in chronological order. The upright discharge method includes the steps of receiving an article XA1 conveyed in a horizontal position from an upstream process by a swinging transfer means 10, changing the position of the article XA1 from the horizontal position to an upright position and transferring it to a downstream conveying means 20, receiving the article XA1 in an inclined position exceeding the upright position in the conveying means 20 and conveying it downstream while maintaining the inclined position, and moving the article XA1 released from the conveying means 20 downstream while abutting the guide means 32 to make the article XA1 stand up vertically.

[0075] 6 and 7 are diagrams showing the vicinity of the first transfer area A1, with Fig. 6(A) and Fig. 7(A) being schematic front views, and Fig. 6(B) and Fig. 7(A) being schematic plan views. As shown in Fig. 6, the upstream transport device 200 intermittently circulates buckets 201 (bucket group 201G) in a horizontal plane. Each bucket 201 contains an article XA1 in a horizontally laid position with its head 300H facing the inner circumference of the circulating run and its bottom 300B facing the outer circumference.

[0076] As shown in Fig. 6(B), when a set of bucket group 201G (e.g., five buckets 201) stops in the first transfer area A1, five delivery devices 150 (see Fig. 6(A), omitted in Fig. 6(B)) synchronously move the delivery member 154. Then, the delivery member 154 moving in the delivery direction T21 enters the bucket 201 from the inner circumferential end 201i side of the bucket 201, abuts against the head 300H of the article XA1 lying sideways inside the bucket 201, and pushes the article XA1 toward the first transfer area A1.

[0077] 7, in the first transfer area A1, the swinging transfer means 10 moves the swinging member 11 to the initial position P1 and waits, and the five output devices 150 synchronously transfer the article XA1 to the swinging member 11 at the initial position P1. The article XA1 pushed out of the bucket 201 by the output member 154 falls freely and is placed on the swinging member 11 at the initial position P1. The article XA1 placed on the tilted swinging member 11 is supported by the swinging member 11 in an acute inclined position with an article inclination angle θ of, for example, 20 degrees. When the article XA1 is pushed out of the bucket 201, the upstream transport device 200 moves the next bucket group 201G to the first transfer area A1.

[0078] FIG. 8 shows the vicinity of the second transfer area A2, with FIG. 8(A) and FIG. 8(B) being schematic front views, and FIG. 8(C) being a schematic plan view of FIG. 8(B).

[0079] As shown in Fig. 8, when an article XA1 is placed on the swinging member 11, the driving means 12 (servo crank) of the five swinging type delivery means 10 swing the swinging member 11 in synchronization. Specifically, the servo crank 12 swings the swinging member 11 at a crank angle of, for example, 90 degrees as shown in Figs. 8(A) and 8(B). As the swinging member 11 swings, the article XA1 changes its posture from an acutely inclined posture to an increasing inclination angle. At this time, the transport means 20 advances the side finger conveyor 21 (article support section 27) toward the swinging type delivery means 10 (swinging member 11) by the second driving means DR2, or advances and waits.

[0080] 8(B) and 8(C), at the timing when the swinging member 11 moves to the delivery position P2, the article support part 27 moves to the position closest to the swinging member 11. During the period when the swinging member 11 moves to the delivery position P2, the article XA1 passes through an upright posture (see FIG. 5(B)) and further changes its posture in the direction of increasing the inclination angle, and at the delivery position P2, the article XA1 assumes an obtuse angle inclined posture and is ready to fall freely.

[0081] In detail, the wide side surface S11 of the article XA1 facing the direction of decreasing inclination angle is supported by the first support surface 111 of the swinging member 11, the wide side surface S12 facing the direction of increasing inclination angle is supported by the belt 24 of the article support part 27, and the two narrow side surfaces S2 are supported by a pair of opposing side fingers 22. Then, the article XA1 is delivered from the swinging-type delivery means 10 to the conveying means 20 by free fall while being prevented from losing its posture or falling over.

[0082] FIG. 9 shows the vicinity of the second transfer area A2, with FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B) being schematic front views, and FIG. 9(C) being a schematic plan view of FIG. 9(B).

[0083] 9(A), after the transfer from the rocking member 11 to the article support portion 27 is completed, the second driving means DR2 moves the side finger conveyor 21 (article support portion 27) backward (forward in the receiving direction D). As a result, the article XA1 is transferred from the second support surface 112 of the rocking member 11 to the conveying surface 25A.

[0084] 9(B) and 9(C), when the side finger conveyor 21 starts to move backward, the driving means 12 of the swinging type delivery means 10 moves the swinging member 11 toward the initial position P1. This enables the swinging type delivery means 10 to receive the next set of articles XA1 from the upstream transport device 200.

[0085] When the side finger conveyor 21 moves to the farthest position on the downstream side, the first driving means DR1 of the transport means 20 drives the side finger conveyor 21. As a result, the five articles XA1 move on the transport surface 25A while being supported laterally by the side fingers 22 while maintaining the obtuse angle inclined posture, and are transported from their respective receiving positions P3 to their respective discharging positions P4.

[0086] 10 is a schematic plan view of the vicinity of the discharge means 30. When the running direction T4 of the side fingers 22 changes from the conveying direction T41 to the recovery direction T42 at the downstream end of the conveying means 20, the support of the article XA1 by the article support section 27 and the conveying surface 25A is released. The article XA1 is pushed out by the side fingers 22 and placed on the conveying surface 31A of the belt conveyor 31 while maintaining the obtuse angle inclined posture, and the wide side surface S12 on the side in the direction of increasing inclination angle abuts against the guide means 32. The guide means 32 may be a pair of support members that support both sides of the article XA1.

[0087] While the article XA1 travels downstream on the conveying surface 31A, the wide side surface S12 on the side of the increasing inclination angle is pushed by the guide means 32 that is inclined from the outside to the inside in the width direction of the conveying surface 31A. In other words, while the article XA1 moves downstream on the conveying surface 31A, the guide means 32 returns the article XA1 from the obtuse angle inclination posture to the direction of decreasing inclination angle, and finally the article XA1 takes an upright posture with its head facing vertically and is discharged downstream. When all of a set (for example, five articles) of articles XA1 are transferred to the belt conveyor 31 (when the most upstream article XA1 of the five articles XA1 is transferred to the belt conveyor 31), the side finger conveyor 21 advances toward the swinging member 11. The next set of articles XA1 has already been placed on the swinging member 11. As an example, the timing at which the article XA1 is handed over from the upstream conveying means 200 to the swinging member 11 and the timing at which the side finger conveyor 21 advances toward the swinging member are almost simultaneous.

[0088] In this embodiment, in a stand-up discharge device that changes the article XA1 from a lying position to an upright position and discharges it, the position of the article XA1 can be changed by allowing the article XA1 to freely fall. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the article XA1 is picked up by a robot or the like and its position is changed, it is possible to improve the processing speed (shorten the cycle time).

[0089] Furthermore, the article XA1 is brought into an upright position by increasing the article inclination angle θ from a lying state (changing its position in the direction of increasing the inclination angle), and the swinging transfer means 10 changes the upright position to an obtuse angle inclination position by further increasing the inclination angle, and delivers the article XA1 in a state in which it can freely fall to the downstream conveying means 20. At this time, the downstream conveying means 20 advances so as to approach the swinging transfer means 10 to receive the article XA1. Therefore, even when the article XA1 is delivered by free fall, it is possible to prevent the article XA1 from losing its position, tipping over, or becoming out of alignment after the position is changed, and to increase the stability of the article XA1 during conveyance.

[0090] In addition, after the transport means 20 receives the article XA1, the article support section 27 retreats away from the rocking member 11. At this timing, the rocking member 11 can start returning to the initial position P1, thereby shortening the cycle time. In this embodiment, the article support section 27 is closest to the rocking member 11 when the article XA1 is delivered, and even when the article XA1 is supported by the article support section 27, the bottom 300B of the article XA1 is on the second support surface 112 of the rocking member 11. If the side finger conveyor 21 is made to run in the discharge direction T6 while the article support section 27 and the rocking member 11 are in close proximity, for example, the rocking member 11 cannot be returned to the initial position P1 until the most upstream article XA1 of the five articles XA1 is discharged, and the cycle time becomes longer. Therefore, by retreating from the rocking member 11 after the article support section 27 receives the article XA1, the rocking member 11 can be returned to the initial position P1 early.

[0091] Furthermore, the conveying means 20 conveys the article XA1 in an obtuse angle inclined position, and downstream of the conveying means 20, a belt conveyor 31 having a horizontal conveying surface 31A and a guide means 32 change the position of the article XA1 from the obtuse angle inclined position in the direction of decreasing the inclination angle to an upright position, and discharges it downstream. In this case, too, the article XA1 is gradually returned to the upright position by the guide means 32 while traveling, making it possible to improve the processing speed (shorten the cycle time) compared to a configuration in which the article XA1 is picked up and its position changed by, for example, a robot or the like.

[0092] <Modification> A modified example will be described with reference to Figs. 11 to 13. First, Figs. 11 and 12 are schematic front views showing the vicinity of the second delivery area A2. With reference to Fig. 11, the timing at which the second driving means DR2 moves the transport means 20 (side finger conveyor 22) forward and backward relative to the swinging delivery means 10 (swinging member 11) is not limited to the above example. For example, in the above example, when delivering the article XA1, the article support part 27 is brought close to the swinging member 11, and the two support the article XA1, and then the article support part 27 is moved backward, and at the same time, the swinging member 11 is returned to the initial position P1.

[0093] However, without being limited to this, as shown in Fig. 11(A), the article support part 27 may not be advanced toward the rocking member 11 when the rocking member 11 moves to the transfer position P2 (during its movement), but instead, as shown in Fig. 11(B), the second driving means DR2 may slightly retreat the article support part 27 (move it forward in the transfer direction D) in time with the rocking member 11 moving to the transfer position P2 and the article XA1 being released from the rocking member 11 and starting to fall naturally, thereby receiving the article XA1 while absorbing the impact caused by the natural fall, as shown in Fig. 11(C). Also, the article support part 27 may be advanced toward the rocking member 11 when the rocking member 11 moves to the transfer position P2 (during its movement).

[0094] Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 12(A) and Fig. 12(B), at least the rocking member 11 may also be provided with a driving means (not shown) similar to the second driving means DR, which can move forward and backward in the transfer direction D (parallel to the forward and backward direction of the conveying means 20) and push the article XA1 toward the article support section 27 when the article XA1 is transferred. Specifically, for example, in Fig. 12(A), the second driving means DR advances the side finger conveyor 21 (article support section 27) toward the rocking member 11. The rocking member 11 also advances in the transfer direction D and pushes the article XA1 toward the article support section 27. Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 12(B), the second driving means DR retreats the side finger conveyor 21 (article support section 27) while continuing the advancement of the rocking member 11 (pushing the article XA1 toward the article support section 27). This allows the article XA1 to be transferred at a speed faster than free fall. Alternatively, when friction with transport surface 25A becomes large, article XA1 can be quickly delivered to article support section 27. Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 12(C), swinging member 11 retreats in a direction away from article support section 27. This completes the delivery of article XA1.

[0095] In the above embodiment, the article support section 27 may be formed of a bucket. That is, instead of the side finger conveyor 21, the transport means 20 may be formed of a bucket conveyor that circulates a plurality of buckets in the traveling direction T4.

[0096] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a modified example of the upstream conveying device 200, and is a side view seen from, for example, the inner circumference side of the circulatory movement. FIG. 13(A) is a diagram showing the bucket 201 in the above embodiment, and FIG. 13(B) is a diagram showing the bucket 201 of a modified example. As shown in FIG. 13(A), in the above embodiment, the bottom 201B of the bucket 201 is a horizontal surface. However, this is not limited to this, and the bucket 201 may be of a sufficient size to accommodate a plurality of articles XA1 of different shapes, and each may be attached so that the bottom surface 201B is inclined with respect to the horizontal surface. This allows a part of the article XA1 to abut against one of the side walls 202 when the article XA1 is stored in the bucket 201. In other words, the shape (size) of the bucket 201 is highly versatile, but the variation in the posture of the stored article XA1 can be suppressed. The bottom 201B (outside) may be horizontal as in FIG. 13(A), and the bottom 201B may be inclined inside.

[0097] Furthermore, if the article XA1 is transported in a sideways position, the upstream transport device 200 is not limited to the above example.

[0098] Moreover, instead of the above-mentioned plurality of delivery devices 150, a delivery device 150 including a comb-shaped pushing member may be used.

[0099] In addition, the transport surface 25A may be moved together with the side finger conveyor 21.

[0100] As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and technical concept of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 10 Swinging delivery means (swinging delivery device) 11 Swinging member 12 Drive means (servo crank) 13 Swing axis 15 Side guide 20 Conveying means (conveying device) 21 Side finger conveyor 22 Side Finger 24 Belt 221 Fixed part 25 Transport surface 27 Article support part 30 Means of discharge 31 Means of transport (belt conveyor) 31A Conveying surface (belt) 32 Guide means 150 Sending device (overhead conveyor, koyagura conveyor) 154 Delivery member 100 Standing discharge device 111 First support surface 112 Second support surface 200 Upstream conveying device 200R sending area 201 Bucket 201B Bottom 201G Bucket Group 300 containers (spray bottles) 300B bottom 300H head 301 Bottles 302 Opening 303 Spray 305 Main body D Delivery direction DR1 First driving means DR2 Second driving means H1 First horizontal direction H2 Second horizontal direction P1 initial position P2 Delivery position P3 Receiving position P3 discharge position S1 Wide Side S2 narrow side T1 Movement direction T2 Travel direction T21 Sending direction T22 Collection Direction T4 Travel direction T41 Transport direction T42 Recovery Direction T6 discharge direction V vertical direction XA1 Goods

Claims

1. A stand-up discharge device that stands up an article in a sideways position conveyed from an upstream process and delivers it to a downstream process, A swing type delivery means; A conveying means disposed downstream of the swinging type delivery means, the swinging type delivery means has a swinging member that changes the posture of the article from a lying down posture to an upright posture and delivers the article to the conveying means, the conveying means has an article support section that is movable between a receiving position and a discharging position for the article and that supports the article in an inclined position with respect to the lying-down position of the article; A standing discharge device characterized by:

2. The article support portion has a support surface that is inclined at an obtuse angle with respect to a reference plane so that an upper portion of the article is located forward of a bottom portion in a receiving direction.

2. The stand-up ejection device according to claim 1 .

3. The swingable member has a first support surface and a second support surface that are inclined with respect to a reference surface when the article is delivered.

2. The stand-up ejection device according to claim 1 .

4. The transport means is configured such that the article support portion is movable forward and backward relative to the swinging member, and advances relative to the swinging member when the article is delivered, and retreats after the article is delivered.

2. The stand-up ejection device according to claim 1 .

5. The conveying means includes a finger conveyor capable of supporting a portion of the article.

2. The stand-up ejection device according to claim 1 .

6. receiving an article conveyed in a sideways position from an upstream process by a swing-type transfer means, changing the position of the article from the sideways position to an upright position, and transferring the article to a downstream conveying means; receiving the article in an inclined position exceeding an upright position in the conveying means, and conveying the article downstream while maintaining the inclined position; and a step of moving the article released from the conveying means downstream while contacting the guide means to vertically stand the article. A method for ejecting an upright object.

7. The swing-type transfer means receives the article, which is transferred from an upstream process in a sideways posture, in another inclined posture that is smaller than the inclined posture.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the ejection is performed in a vertical direction.

8. When the swinging delivery means delivers the article to the conveying means, a part of the conveying means advances toward the swinging delivery means and retreats after the article is delivered.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the ejection is performed in a vertical direction.

9. The transport means is configured such that the article support portion can advance and retreat relative to the swinging member, and retreats relative to the swinging member when the article is delivered.

2. The stand-up ejection device according to claim 1 .

10. When the swinging transfer means transfers the article to the conveying means, a part of the conveying means is moved backward relative to the swinging transfer means.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the ejection is performed in a vertical direction.

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