Article supply device

Abstract

To provide an article supply device capable of delivering an article assembly, consisting of a plurality of articles discharged sideways from a bucket conveyor, to a delivery position located at the side of the bucket conveyor, while maintaining the posture of the article assembly and while intermittently or continuously operating the bucket conveyor for conveying the articles at high speed.SOLUTION: A pusher unit 30 has a plurality of pushers 41 that are movable in each of a conveyance direction X of a bucket conveyor 10, a side direction Y intersecting the conveyance direction X, and a direction Z intersecting these directions. Each pusher 41 moves together with an article delivery conveyor 20 in the conveyance direction X at the same speed as a conveyance speed of the bucket conveyor 10, and sequentially performs a series of operations, each to collectively discharge articles W stored in a specified number of article storage spaces S, to the side direction Y. These operations are performed alternately by the pushers 41 in response to the arrival of the specified number of articles W.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article supplying device that collects a predetermined number of articles being transported by a bucket conveyor and discharges them as a collection of articles to a delivery position toward a packaging machine or the like disposed to the side in the transport direction. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known an item supplying device that uses a bucket conveyor to store and transport items in an item storage space defined by an endless rope that travels in a circular motion and a partition wall that stands on the outer periphery of the rope, and that assembles a predetermined number of stored items into a collection of items and delivers them to a transfer position on a downstream conveyor or the like.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an article supplying device that uses a pusher to push multiple articles stored in each article storage space of a moving bucket conveyor to the side, and delivers the articles to a downstream conveyor or the like as an aggregated article with each article having a short end. When pushing out the aggregated article, this article supplying device brings the pusher into contact with a partition wall that constitutes the storage space, and slides the pusher in the conveying direction of the bucket conveyor. The bucket conveyor is then operated intermittently or continuously at high speed to push out the articles to the side. The aggregated article discharged from the bucket conveyor by the pusher moves toward a guide plate (guide) that is arranged at a position away from the aggregated article to the front side in the conveying direction, while being guided obliquely by a guide plate (guide) arranged on the rear side of the aggregated article in the conveying direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3585946 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the item supply device described in Patent Document 1, when a collection of multiple items slips out to the side while the bucket is traveling, or when it moves while being guided by a guide plate, the collection is not firmly supported from the front and back in the conveying direction of the bucket conveyor, so the posture of the collection may be disturbed, such as some of the items that make up the collection being shifted or tilted.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide an article supplying device that can maintain the posture of a collection of articles consisting of a plurality of articles discharged laterally from a bucket conveyor while operating (running) a bucket conveyor that transports articles intermittently (at high speed) or continuously (running), and deliver the collection of articles to a delivery position located to the side of the bucket conveyor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the article supplying device of the present invention takes the following measures. First, the invention according to claim 1 relates to a bucket conveyor (10) having an endless cord (12) in which a plurality of article storage spaces (S) for storing articles (W) are formed, and each time an article (W) is received into one of the article storage spaces (S) at a carry-in position (P1) for receiving the arriving article (W), the endless cord (12) is run to transport the article (W) so that the succeeding article storage space (S) is positioned at the carry-in position (P1), and the bucket conveyor (10) has a conveying direction (X) of the bucket conveyor (10), a side (Y) intersecting the conveying direction (X), and a conveying direction (Y) between the bucket conveyor (10) and the side (Y) intersecting the conveying direction (X). a pusher unit (30) provided in parallel with the bucket conveyor (10), the pusher unit (30) having a plurality of pushers (41) movable in a vertical direction intersecting with the conveying direction (X) and a conveying unit (10) configured to convey the specified number of articles (W) discharged to the side (Y) by the pushers (41), the pushers (41) sequentially performing a series of operations for discharging a specified number of the articles (W) stored in the article storage space (S) collectively to a side (Y) intersecting with the conveying direction (X), the pushers (41) sequentially performing a series of operations in response to the arrival of the specified number of the articles (W); an article delivery conveyor (20) having a placement section (21) on which articles (W) can be placed as a collective article (U), and article support sections (23) standing upward from the front and rear of the placement section (21) in the conveying direction (X) and supporting both sides of the collective article (U); and each of the pushers (41) of the pusher unit (30) starts to synchronize with the bucket conveyor (10) and moves in the conveying direction (X) at approximately the same speed together with the placement section (21) and the article support section (23), while pushing the specified number of article storage spaces (10, 10, 10, 10, 10, a first operation of discharging the articles (W) stored in the placement section (S) collectively to the article support section (23) and moving in the conveying direction (X) to a stop position (P3) set downstream in the conveying direction (X); and a second operation of discharging the collective article (U) from the article support section (23) to a transfer position (P4) having guides (56) supporting both sides of the collective article (U) facing a packaging device, while the pusher (41) stops moving in the conveying direction (X) together with the placement section (21) and the article support section (23) at the stop position (P3).and a third operation of returning the pusher (41) from the delivery position (P4) to a position (P2) where synchronization with the bucket conveyor (10) starts, to complete one cycle. Also, during the one cycle from when one of the pushers (41) starts synchronization with the bucket conveyor (10) to when it returns to the position (P2) where synchronization with the bucket conveyor (10) starts, another of the pushers (41) starts the one cycle of operation. The article delivery conveyor (20) is an article supply device that performs an operation of stopping at a position connecting with the delivery position (P4) in response to an operation of one of the pushers (41) stopping its movement in the conveying direction (X) at the stop position (P3), and performs an operation of stopping its movement in the conveying direction (X) until one of the pushers (41) that has stopped moving in the conveying direction (X) moves to a side (Y) intersecting the conveying direction (X) and finishes discharging the collective article (U) to the delivery position (P4).

[0008] According to the invention of claim 1, the articles (W) arriving at the carry-in position (P1) of the bucket conveyor (10) from the upstream process are accommodated one by one in the article accommodation spaces (S) formed in the bucket conveyor (10) and transported in the transport direction (X). When the articles (W) accommodated in a specified number of article accommodation spaces (S) arrive at the position (P2) where synchronization starts, one of the multiple pushers (41) performs a first operation. In the first operation, the pusher (41) starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor (10) transporting the articles (W) and moves along the transport direction (X) of the bucket conveyor (10) at approximately the same speed as the transport speed of the bucket conveyor (10). In addition, the placement portion (21) and the article support portion (23) of the article delivery conveyor (20) move in the transport direction (X) at approximately the same speed as the transport speed of the bucket conveyor (10). The pusher (41) further moves in a side direction (Y) intersecting the conveying direction (X) while pushing a specified number of articles (W) in a collectively manner in the side direction (Y) in synchronization with the bucket conveyor (10). As a result, the articles (W) in a standing state are discharged as a collective article (U) onto the placement section (21) of the article delivery conveyor (20). The collective article (U) on the placement section (21) is supported from both sides by the article support sections (23). As a result, the posture of the articles (W) of the collective article (U) is maintained. Then, in a second operation, the pusher (41) stops moving in the conveying direction (X) at the stop position (P3) and moves in a side direction (Y) intersecting the conveying direction (X) while pushing the collective article (U) in the side direction (Y). As a result, the collected items (U) are discharged to a transfer position (P4) located to the side (Y) of the bucket conveyor (10) while maintaining the upright position of the short ends of the articles (W). In the third operation, after the collected items (U) are transferred to the transfer position (P4), the pushers (41) return to the position (P2) where synchronization starts. By the time one of the pushers (41) returns to the position (P2) where synchronization starts, another pusher (41) starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor (10). In this way, by shifting the cycle phase of each pusher (41) that repeats the cyclic motion, the multiple pushers (41) take turns performing the first to third operations, and a specified number of articles (W) can be sequentially delivered to the transfer position (P4) as collected items (U).That is, in response to the arrival of a specified number of articles (W), the articles can be efficiently discharged collectively to the side (Y). Meanwhile, the collected article (U) that has been delivered to the transfer position (P4) is supported from both sides by the guides (56). Therefore, the collected article (U), which is made up of a plurality of articles (W) that are discharged from the bucket conveyor (10) to the side (Y), can be delivered to the transfer position (P4) while maintaining its posture.

[0009] Next, the invention according to claim 2 dependent on claim 1 is characterized in that after the collected products (U) reach the delivery position (P4), the pusher (41) rises and moves away from the collected products (U), and then moves in the conveying direction (X) and to a side (Y) intersecting the conveying direction (X) to return to the position (P2) where the synchronization starts.

[0010] According to the invention of claim 2, after the pusher (41) discharges the collective product (U) to the delivery position (P4), it rises to move away from the collective product (U) and then moves in the conveying direction (X) of the bucket conveyor (10) and to the side (Y) intersecting the conveying direction X, thereby returning to the position (P2) where it starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor (10). This makes it possible to prevent interference with the next discharged collective product (U) or with another pusher (41).

[0011] Next, the invention according to claim 3 dependent on claim 1 or claim 2 is characterized in that the moving speeds of the pusher (41) in the conveying direction (X) and / or the directions (Y, Z) intersecting the conveying direction (X) in the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation can be set separately.

[0012] According to the invention of claim 3, the timing at which the pusher (41) pushes out the multiple articles (W) or the collective article (U) can be freely set. This makes it possible to form a collective article (U) corresponding to articles (W) of various sizes and shapes, and discharge it to the transfer position (P4). In other words, it is possible to provide an article supply device that can handle various supply modes of the articles (W).

[0013] Next, the invention of claim 4 dependent on claim 3 is characterized in that the movement speed of the pusher (41) in the third operation is set faster than the movement speed of the pusher (41) in the first operation and the second operation.

[0014] According to the invention of claim 4, the movement speed of the pusher (41) in the third operation is set faster than the first and second operations, so that the pusher (41) can quickly return to the position (P2) where synchronization starts. Therefore, the time required for the first and / or second operations can be set relatively long within one cycle of operation of the pusher (41), and the speed at which the article (W) is moved in the lateral direction (Y) intersecting the conveying direction (X) can be set relatively slowly, which can prevent the article (W) from being damaged by rubbing. Alternatively, the time for one cycle of operation of the pusher (41) is shortened, and the article (W) can be supplied more efficiently. Effect of the Invention

[0015] The present invention can provide an item supplying device that can maintain the posture of a collection of items consisting of a plurality of items discharged laterally from a bucket conveyor while operating (running) a bucket conveyor that transports items intermittently (at high speed) or continuously (at high speed), and deliver the collection of items to a delivery position located to the side of the bucket conveyor. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view of an article supplying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic plan view showing a transport path for articles according to the embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 3] 4 is a schematic side view of a bucket conveyor and a pusher unit of the article supplying device according to the present embodiment, viewed in the Y direction. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a pusher unit according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 1 is a schematic front view of an article supplying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The article supplying device according to this embodiment is a device that sends out articles W, which are stored and transported in an upright state in the article storage space S of the bucket conveyor 10, as a collective article U to be packaged as a single product, toward a packaging device (not shown) disposed downstream. In this embodiment, for example, two bags of food or the like packaged in a continuous package are considered as one article, and three articles W with their ends standing up are considered as one collective article U.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 1, the article supply device includes a bucket conveyor 10, an article delivery conveyor 20, and a pusher unit 30, and forms a part of a conveying path along which an article W is conveyed from an upstream process to a downstream packaging device. In the following description, the direction along the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 is defined as the front-rear direction, the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 (side Y) on a horizontal plane is defined as the left-right direction, and the direction Z perpendicular to the conveying direction X and side Y of the bucket conveyor 10 is defined as the up-down direction. The bucket conveyor 10 and the article delivery conveyor 20 are arranged side by side along the front-rear direction, and the pusher unit 30 is disposed above them. A supply conveyor 50 is connected to the right side of the article delivery conveyor 20.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying path for the item W is provided with a loading position P1 for the item W, a start position P2 where the pusher body 41 and the item support part 23, etc. described later start moving in the conveying direction X at the same speed as the conveying speed of the bucket conveyor 10, i.e., start synchronizing with the bucket conveyor 10, a stop position P3 downstream in the conveying direction X where the pusher body 41 and the item support part 23, etc. stop moving in the conveying direction X, and a transfer position P4 where the item W is transferred to the supply conveyor 50.

[0020] The bucket conveyor 10 is disposed connected to the end of the conveying path of an upstream process (conveyor) that continuously conveys articles W. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the bucket conveyor 10 includes an endless cord 12 made of a chain or the like that is driven by a motor (not shown) and runs in a circular motion, and a partition wall 13 that stands on the outer periphery of the endless cord 12. By standing the partition wall 13, an article storage space S that stores articles W is formed between the front and rear partition walls 13 in the conveying direction X. The height of the standing partition wall 13 is set so that the articles W stored in the article storage space S protrude above the upper end of the partition wall 13. In addition, an article detection means (not shown) that detects the articles W is disposed at the carry-in position P1 that receives the articles W arriving on the bucket conveyor 10.

[0021] The bucket conveyor 10 transports the article W by running the endless cord 12 so that the subsequent article storage space S is positioned at the carry-in position P1 every time the bucket conveyor 10 receives an article W into one of the article storage spaces S at the carry-in position P1. Specifically, when an article W is transported to one of the article storage spaces S positioned at the carry-in position P1 of the bucket conveyor 10, the article W is detected by an article detection means (not shown). Then, every time article detection information is obtained, the one article storage space S that received the article W is run for one storage space, and the travel drive is repeated to position the subsequent article storage space S at the carry-in position P1. The travel of the bucket conveyor 10 may be either continuous operation or high-speed intermittent operation, and is selected appropriately.

[0022] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the article delivery conveyor 20 is provided adjacent to the bucket conveyor 10 and is located on the right side Y of the bucket conveyor 10. The article delivery conveyor 20 includes a placement section 21 capable of placing a specified number of articles W discharged to the right side Y by a pusher body 41 described later as a collective article U, and an article support section 23 supporting the collective article U placed on the placement section 21. The article delivery conveyor 20 is configured such that the placement section 21 and the article support section 23 can move reciprocally along the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10, i.e., in the forward and backward directions, on a guide rail (not shown) by receiving a driving force from a driving means such as a servo motor (not shown). The reciprocating movements of the placement section 21 and the article support section 23 are driven and controlled by commands from a control section (not shown).

[0023] The article support section 23 is composed of a pair of guide plates (guides) standing upward from the placement section 21, and is arranged opposite to each other on both sides of the placement section 21 in the reciprocating direction. The article support section 23 supports both sides (front and rear sides in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10) of the collective product U placed on the placement section 21. The distance between the opposing guide plates of the article support section 23 is set so as to allow a specified number of articles W to be received on the placement section 21, and to support the specified number of articles W from both sides in the reciprocating direction so that the specified number of articles W does not fall in the reciprocating direction. The distance between the guide plates of the article support section 23 can be changed by adjusting the fastening of the members 24 such as screws. Furthermore, the tip 23a of the article support section 23 on the bucket conveyor 10 side is formed in a tapered shape with an increased distance. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip 21a of the placement section 21 on the bucket conveyor 10 side is inclined downward and lowered. These configurations allow the specified number of articles W to be smoothly received from the article storage space S of the bucket conveyor 10.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, even after receiving the collective item U at the item support section 23, the item delivery conveyor 20 continues to synchronize with one of the pusher bodies 41 and moves forward along the conveying direction X at approximately the same speed as one of the pusher bodies 41. Then, in response to the operation of one of the pusher bodies 41 stopping its movement in the conveying direction X at the stop position P3, it performs an operation of stopping at a position connecting with a delivery position P4 of the supply conveyor 50 described later. The stop position P3 is set at a position where the positions of the pusher body 41 and the item support section 23 in the front-rear direction and the delivery position P4 are aligned when delivering the collective item U from the item delivery conveyor 20 to the delivery position P4. After that, the item delivery conveyor 20 performs an operation of stopping its movement in the conveying direction X until one of the pusher bodies 41, which has stopped moving in the conveying direction X, moves to the side Y intersecting the conveying direction X and finishes discharging the collective item U to the delivery position P4.

[0025] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the pusher unit 30 is disposed above the bucket conveyor 10, and comprises a fixed unit 31 supported by a frame (not shown), and a moving unit 32 supported so as to be movable along a guide rail disposed on the fixed unit 31.

[0026] The moving unit 32 has a moving unit body and two types of pusher devices 40 arranged on the moving unit body. The moving unit body receives a driving force from a servo motor 34 and can move back and forth, i.e., along the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10. As the moving unit body moves back and forth, the pusher devices 40 also move back and forth.

[0027] Each of the two pusher devices 40 includes a pusher body 41, a first drive mechanism 43, and a second drive mechanism 45. The first drive mechanisms 43 are disposed on the moving unit body so as to be spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. Each of the first drive mechanisms 43 includes a servo motor 46 and a guide rail 47 extending in the left-right direction. The second drive mechanism 45 is disposed so as to be movable along the guide rail 47 by receiving the driving force of the servo motor 46 disposed in each of the first drive mechanisms 43. The second drive mechanism 45 includes an air cylinder 48, and the pusher body 41 is disposed on the lower end of the air cylinder 48 via a support member 49. The first drive mechanism 43 can repeatedly move the pusher body 41 connected via the second drive mechanism 45 in a lateral direction Y intersecting the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10, that is, in a left-right direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10. The second driving mechanism 45 can reciprocally move the pusher body 41 in a direction perpendicular to both the conveying direction X and the left-right direction of the bucket conveyor 10, that is, in an up-down direction (direction Z).

[0028] Each pusher body 41 is a plate-like member having a substantially trapezoidal shape, and the plate surface can come into contact with a plurality of articles W (collected articles U) from the side. As shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the pusher body 41 is set to move in the left-right direction at a height where its lower end is located above the upper end of the partition wall 13 of the bucket conveyor 10 when it descends in the vertical direction (direction Z). That is, the pusher body 41 comes into contact with the part of the collective article U that protrudes above the partition wall 13, and pushes the collective article U toward the article support part 23. As a result, the partition wall 13 and the pusher body 41 do not interfere with each other, and the articles W stored in the plurality of article storage spaces S are sent to the article delivery conveyor 20 with their short ends standing up. Also, when the pusher body 41 rises in the vertical direction (direction Z), it is placed at a height position above the collective article U.

[0029] The pusher body 41, by virtue of the configuration of the moving unit 32 described above, can move in three directions, namely, the front-rear direction (the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10), the left-right direction (the side Y intersecting the conveying direction X), and the up-down direction (the direction intersecting the conveying direction X and the side Y), and each pusher body 41 can sequentially discharge the articles W contained in a specified number of article storage spaces S collectively to the side Y. When the articles W contained in a plurality of article storage spaces S are collectively discharged to the side Y by the pusher body 41, a collective product U is formed in which the articles W are erected at their short ends.

[0030] The pusher body 41 is configured such that drive control is repeated to form one cycle by the first to third operations. In the first operation, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the pusher body 41 starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor 10 from the start position P2 and moves together with the placement section 21 and the article support section 23 at the same speed in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 to discharge a specified number of articles W stored in the article storage space S onto the placement section 21, i.e., between the article support sections 23. The start position P2 is set to a position where, for example, when a specified number of articles W conveyed by the bucket conveyor 10 arrive at a specified position, the waiting pusher body 41 can abut against the specified number of articles W at the specified position.

[0031] In addition, when the waiting pusher body 41, the placement unit 21, and the article support unit 23 start to move in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 at the start position P2, if the positional relationship with the bucket conveyor 10 is misaligned, there is a period in which the servo motor driving the pusher body 41 or the placement unit 21 and the article support unit 23 is commanded to be driven, not at the same speed as the moving speed of the bucket conveyor 10, to transiently accelerate and decelerate to eliminate the misalignment of the positional relationship with the bucket conveyor 10 in the conveying direction X. After this period, the positions of the pusher body 41, the placement unit 21, the article support unit 23, and the bucket conveyor 10 in the conveying direction X are aligned, and they move at the same speed. In other words, it is an inaccurate description to say that they all move at the same speed throughout the entire period of the first operation, but the description is simplified by expressing it as "moving at the same speed" or "approximately the same speed".

[0032] In the first operation, the moving unit 32 moves in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 at the same speed as the conveying speed of the bucket conveyor 10, so that the pusher body 41 moves in the conveying direction X (forward direction) in synchronization with the bucket conveyor 10, and moves to the right by driving the first driving mechanism 43. Furthermore, the placement section 21 and the article support section 23 of the article delivery conveyor 20 also move together with the pusher body 41 in the conveying direction X (forward direction) of the bucket conveyor 10 at the same speed as the conveying speed of the bucket conveyor 10. In this first operation, the collection U of the articles W is placed on the placement section 21, and the pusher body 41, the placement section 21, and the article support section 23 all move to the stop position P3 and stop moving in the conveying direction X. Note that when the pusher body 41 transfers the articles W from the bucket conveyor 10 to the article support section 23, the synchronization with the bucket conveyor 10 is released.

[0033] 2 and 5, the second operation is an operation in which the pusher body 41 discharges the collected item U from the item support section 23 to a transfer position P4 described below while the movement of the bucket conveyor 10 in the conveying direction X is stopped at stop position P3. In the second operation, the pusher body 41, which has moved to the item support section 23 in the first operation, further moves toward the transfer position P4. At this time, the item transfer conveyor 20 also stops moving in the conveying direction X. In this second operation, the collected item U of the items W passes across the item transfer conveyor 20 while being supported by the item support section 23, and is sent to the transfer position P4.

[0034] The third operation is an operation in which the pusher body 41 returns from the delivery position P4 to the start position P2 where the pusher body 41 starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor 10. In this embodiment, after the collective items U are delivered to the delivery position P4, the pusher body 41 rises and moves away from the collective items U, and after moving away from the collective items U, moves in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 and to the side Y intersecting the conveying direction X, and then moves (descends) in the direction Z to return to the start position P2. Specifically, after the pusher body 41 discharges the collective items U from the article support section 23 to the delivery position P4, it rises by the drive of the second drive mechanism 45. Furthermore, the pusher body 41 moves leftward by the drive of the first drive mechanism 43, and the moving unit 32 moves backward, and after completing these movements, it descends by the drive of the second drive mechanism 45, thereby returning the pusher body 41 to the start position P2.

[0035] These two pusher bodies 41 take turns performing a series of operations for collectively discharging the articles W (three in this embodiment) stored in the specified number of article storage spaces S to the side Y intersecting the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10, in response to the arrival of the specified number of articles W. The configuration is such that during one cycle from when one pusher body 41 starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor 10 to when it returns to the start position P2, the other pusher body 41 (another pusher) starts one cycle of operation.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a supply conveyor 50 is disposed on the right side of the article delivery conveyor 20 to supply the collective product U toward the packaging unit of the packaging machine. The supply conveyor 50 has a placement surface 51 for receiving the collective product U, a pusher (not shown) for pushing the collective product U by contacting the collective product U placed on the placement surface 51, and a pair of side guides 54 disposed facing each other at positions spaced upward from both side edges of the placement surface 51. A conveying path is formed by the pair of side guides 54 and the placement surface 51 extending in the direction in which the pusher pushes the collective product U. In addition, a transfer position P4 is provided at the upstream end of the conveying path in the supply conveyor 50, where the collective product U of the articles W is discharged from the article support section 23. Guides 56 are provided at the transfer position P4 to support both sides of the collective product U toward the packaging device.

[0037] Although not shown in the drawings, a packaging machine is provided downstream of the supply conveyor 50 on the transport path as a packaging device for packaging the collective item U. The packaging machine is a horizontal form-fill-seal machine that forms a strip of film pulled out from a film roll into a cylindrical shape using a bag-making means so that the left and right ends of the film overlap, vertically seals the overlapped portion of the film along the feed direction of the tubular film, and horizontally seals the tubular film containing the collective item U at the front and rear positions of the collective item U along a direction intersecting the feed direction to obtain a packaged product.

[0038] The control unit stores and updates, as required, information on the detection of the article W detected by the article detection means at the carry-in position P1 of the bucket conveyor 10 and information on the travel position of each article W stored in the article storage space S obtained from an encoder pulse attached to the bucket conveyor 10. The control unit also issues a travel drive command (control) to the bucket conveyor 10 based on the detection information by the article detection means (not shown). Furthermore, the control unit issues drive commands (control) to the servo motor 34 that drives the position of the moving unit 32, the servo motor 46 of the first drive mechanism 43, the air cylinder 48 of the second drive mechanism 45, and the servo motor (not shown) of the article delivery conveyor 20 based on information on the travel position of each article W stored in the article storage space S. The control unit also issues a travel drive command (control) to the supply conveyor 50.

[0039] Next, the flow of transport of each article W by the article supply device will be described. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, when an article W arrives at the loading position P1 from an upstream process, a control unit issues a travel drive command (control) to the bucket conveyor 10 based on detection information from an article detection means (not shown), and the bucket conveyor 10 starts to travel. The bucket conveyor 10 has a partition wall 13 that stands up at the loading position P1 to form an article storage space S. One article W is stored in each article storage space S, and the articles W are transported sequentially.

[0040] When a specified number (e.g., three) of articles W stored in the article storage spaces S arrive at the start position P2 where synchronization begins, one pusher body 41 and the placement section 21 and article support section 23 of the article delivery conveyor 20 begin to synchronize with the bucket conveyor 10 that conveys the articles W, in response to a drive command from the control section, and move in the conveying direction X (forward direction) at approximately the same speed as the conveying speed of the bucket conveyor 10 along the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10. As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, one pusher body 41, in a state synchronized with the bucket conveyor 10, moves to the side Y (right direction) intersecting the conveying direction X while pushing the specified number of articles W to the side. As a result, a collection U of articles W with their short ends raised is discharged onto the placement section 21 of the article delivery conveyor 20.

[0041] One of the pusher bodies 41 moves together with the placement section 21 and the article support section 23 to the stop position P3 and stops moving forward. Then, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the one of the pusher bodies 41, with its forward movement stopped at the stop position P3, moves rightward while pushing the collection U consisting of a specified number of articles W to the right side Y. As a result, the collection U is discharged from the article support section 23 to the delivery position P4 while maintaining the state in which the articles W are standing upright. Then, the pusher body 41, the placement section 21, and the article support section 23 are released from synchronization with the bucket conveyor 10.

[0042] After the collection U of articles W is delivered to the delivery position P4, one of the pusher bodies 41 rises and moves away from the collection U. Thereafter, it moves in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 and in a direction intersecting the conveying direction X, i.e., to the left, then descends and moves forward and backward to return to the starting position P2. The other pusher body 41 (another pusher) starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor 10 from the starting position P2 before the one pusher body 41 returns. In this way, each pusher body 41 repeats a cyclic motion, and sequentially transfers each specified number of articles W as a collection U to the delivery position P4, with the phases at which each cycle starts always being shifted.

[0043] The collection U of the articles W transferred to the delivery position P4 is transported toward the packaging machine by the supply conveyor 50. The collection U is transported while being supported by side guides 54 provided on both side edges of the supply conveyor 50.

[0044] The pusher unit 30 according to the embodiment described above is configured such that the two pusher devices 40 move integrally in the front-rear direction, but instead of this configuration, each pusher device 40 may move independently in the front-rear direction. That is, as a modified example, the two first drive mechanisms 43 may be disposed in the fixed unit 31 so as to receive drive forces from separate servo motors to move in the conveying direction X, thereby allowing the two pusher bodies 41 to move independently in the conveying direction X as well.

[0045] In such a modified example, the pusher unit 30 can set the moving speeds of each pusher body 41 separately in the conveying direction X (front-back direction) and the direction intersecting the conveying direction X (left-right direction and up-down direction) of the bucket conveyor 10 in the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation. The moving speed of the pusher body 41 in the third operation can be set faster than the moving speeds of the pusher body 41 in the first operation and the second operation, and the moving speeds of the first to third operations are less subject to constraints, and the degree of freedom of control design is increased. Note that, as for the moving speeds of the two pusher bodies 41 in the third operation, only the moving speed in one direction among the three directions of XYZ may be set separately. For example, only the moving speed in the front-back direction in the third operation may be set separately for each pusher body 41, and the moving speeds in the left-right direction and the moving speeds in the up-down direction may be set to the same speed for both pusher bodies 41. Alternatively, the moving speeds in any two directions in the third operation may be set separately for each pusher body 41, and the moving speeds in all three directions may be set separately for each pusher body 41.

[0046] The article supplying device according to the above embodiment has the following advantages. (1) According to the article supply device of the above embodiment, the articles W arriving at the carry-in position P1 of the bucket conveyor 10 from the upstream process are accommodated one by one in the article accommodation spaces S formed in the bucket conveyor 10 and transported in the transport direction X. When the specified number of articles W accommodated in the article accommodation spaces S arrive at the start position P2, one of the multiple pusher bodies 41 performs a first operation. In the first operation, the pusher body 41 starts to synchronize with the bucket conveyor 10 transporting the articles W, and moves along the transport direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 at the same speed as the transport speed of the bucket conveyor 10. In addition, the placement part 21 and the article support part 23 of the article delivery conveyor 20 move in the transport direction X at the same speed as the transport speed of the bucket conveyor 10. The pusher body 41 further moves to the side Y intersecting the transport direction X while pushing the specified number of articles W together to the side Y in a state synchronized with the bucket conveyor 10. As a result, the articles W in the standing state are discharged as the collective article U onto the placement section 21 of the article delivery conveyor 20. The collective article U on the placement section 21 is supported from both sides by the article support section 23. As a result, the posture of the articles W of the collective article U is maintained. Then, in the second operation, the pusher body 41 stops moving in the conveying direction X at the stop position P3, and while pushing the collective article U to the side Y, moves to the side Y intersecting with the conveying direction X. As a result, the collective article U is discharged to the delivery position P4 located on the side Y of the bucket conveyor 10 while maintaining the posture of the articles W in the standing state. In the third operation, after the collective article U is delivered to the delivery position P4, the pusher body 41 returns to the start position P2 where the synchronization starts. Before one of the pusher bodies 41 returns to the start position P2, another pusher body 41 starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor 10. In this way, by shifting the cycle phase of each pusher body 41 that repeats the cyclic motion, the multiple pusher bodies 41 take turns performing the first to third operations, and the specified number of articles W can be delivered to the delivery position P4 in sequence as a collective article U. That is, in response to the arrival of the specified number of articles W, the articles can be efficiently discharged collectively to the side Y. Meanwhile, the collective article U delivered to the delivery position P4 is supported from both sides by guides.Therefore, the posture of a collective item U made up of a plurality of articles W discharged from the bucket conveyor 10 to the side Y can be maintained, and the collective item U can be delivered to the delivery position P4. (2) In the article supply device according to the above embodiment, after the pusher body 41 discharges the collective item U to the delivery position P4, it rises to move away from the collective item U and then moves in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 and to the side Y intersecting the conveying direction X, thereby returning to the start position P2. This makes it possible to prevent interference with the next discharged collective item U or with another pusher body 41. (3) The pusher unit 30 is configured such that the two pusher devices 40 are arranged on the fixed unit 31 so that they can be moved by separate actuators, and thus the two pusher bodies 41 can move independently. The moving speeds of the pusher bodies 41 in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 and / or the directions Y and Z intersecting with the conveying direction X in the first, second, and third operations can be set separately. Thus, the timing at which the pusher body 41 pushes out the multiple articles W or the collective article U can be freely set. This allows the collective article U to be formed in response to articles W of various sizes, shapes, etc., and discharged to the delivery position P4. That is, an article supply device that can be adapted to various supply modes of articles W can be provided. (4) In the case where the two pusher bodies 41 are configured to be able to move independently, the movement speed of the pusher body 41 in the third operation is set faster than the first and second operations, so that the pusher body 41 can quickly return to the start position P2. Therefore, within the operation time of one cycle of the pusher body 41, the time required for the first and / or second operations can be set relatively long, and the speed at which the article W is moved in the side Y intersecting with the conveying direction X can be set relatively slowly, so that the article W can be prevented from being damaged by rubbing. Alternatively, the operation time of one cycle of the pusher body 41 is shortened, so that the article W can be supplied more efficiently.

[0047] <Other changes> The present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications, additions, and deletions are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the moving unit 32 is configured with two pusher bodies 41 arranged on a common moving frame, and the moving unit 32 is moved repeatedly along the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10, so that the two pushers move together along the conveying direction X. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each of the pusher bodies 41 may be independently moved repeatedly along the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10, as in the pusher device of the second embodiment. Also, a similar pusher function may be configured in hand units mounted on the tips of a plurality of robot arms, and the collective items U may be sent out from the start position P2 to the delivery position P4. (2) In a configuration in which each pusher body 41 (pusher) can independently move repeatedly along the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10, if the time required for one cycle from start position P2, where the pusher begins moving in synchronization with the item support section 23 and the bucket conveyor 10, to transferring a specified number of items W from the item support section 23 to transfer position P4 and returning to start position P2 can be maintained, the moving speed of the pusher body 41 can be set variously as necessary for each of the sections in which the pusher body 41 pushes out a specified number of items W to the item support section 23, the section in which the pusher body 41 pushes out the specified number of items W from the item support section 23 to transfer position P4, and the section in which the pusher body 41 returns from transfer position P4 to start position P2, while the pusher body 41 and the item support section 23 move in synchronization with the bucket conveyor 10 from the start position P2. (3) When multiple items W, such as film-packaged items, are pushed out at a high speed by a pusher, inertia may cause the ends of some of the items W in the extrusion direction to become misaligned with the ends of the other items W at the position where the items W stop, or the items W may be scratched or, if the items W are bagged, the bag may break. Therefore, it is preferable to set the movement speed of the pusher as fast as possible when returning the pusher from the transfer position P4 to the starting position P2. (4) Furthermore, when pushing out the article W, it is preferable to set the pusher to operate at a constant speed in the pushing direction. (5) A specified number of articles W stored in each article storage space S of the bucket conveyor 10 by stacking them in the conveying direction X of the bucket conveyor 10 may be collectively discharged to the side Y by a pusher to form a collective item U. (6) In the above embodiment, the pusher body 41 comes into contact with each article W stored in the article storage space S at a position higher than the partition wall 13 of the bucket conveyor 10 to push each article W to the side Y, so that the pusher body 41 is configured as a substantially rectangular flat plate. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lower end of the pusher body may be formed into a comb-tooth shape so that the pusher body can come into contact with the article W in each storage space of the bucket conveyor 10. (7) In the above embodiment, the articles W stored upright in the article storage space S of the bucket conveyor 10 are pushed out together to form a collective item U. However, this is not limited to the above, and as long as the collective item U is supported on both sides until it reaches the transfer position P4, the articles W stored in each article storage space S may be of various shapes, such as articles that tend to roll and whose orientation is unstable, or articles that are generally cylindrical or generally prismatic. (8) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which a single article support section 23 arranged on the article delivery conveyor 20 is moved repeatedly. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and article support sections may be arranged at predetermined intervals around the outer periphery of an endless cord that travels in a fixed direction, so that each article support section takes turns receiving articles W that are collectively discharged by the pusher in synchronization with the travel of the bucket conveyor 10. (9) The number of the multiple pushers included in the pusher unit may be two or three or more. In the case of a configuration including three or more pushers, one of the multiple pushers starts one cycle of operation during the time between when one of the multiple pushers starts one cycle of operation and when it returns to the position where synchronization starts. (10) The start position P2 at which the pusher body 41 and the article support parts 23 of the article delivery conveyor 20 start to synchronize with the bucket conveyor 10 is set arbitrarily. For example, the start position P2 may be set based on the position of one of a specified number of articles W transported by the bucket conveyor 10. Also, the start position P2 may be set to an area where the pusher body 41 can come into contact with a specified number of articles W in a specified area when the specified number of articles W arrive at the specified area. (11) The packaging device may be a boxing device that uses a robot hand to pick up the collective item U placed at the delivery position and pack it into a box. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] S: Item storage space P1: Loading position P2: Start position (position where synchronization begins) P3: Stopping position P4: Delivery position U: Collected items W: Goods X: Bucket conveyor transport direction (front-back) Y: Side that intersects with the conveying direction (left and right direction) Z: Direction that intersects with the conveying direction (up and down direction) 10: Bucket conveyor 12: Endless rope body 13: Partition wall 20: Item delivery conveyor 21: Placement section 23: Item support section 30: Pusher unit 31: Fixed unit 32: Mobile unit 40: Pusher device 41: Pusher body (pusher) 43: First driving mechanism 45: Second drive mechanism 50: Supply conveyor 51: Placement surface 54: Side guide 56: Guide

Claims

1. a bucket conveyor having an endless rope in which a plurality of article storage spaces for storing articles are formed, and each time an article is received into one of the article storage spaces at a carry-in position for receiving the arriving article, the endless rope is run to transport the article so that the succeeding article storage space is positioned at the carry-in position; a pusher unit including a plurality of pushers movable in a conveying direction of the bucket conveyor, a side intersecting the conveying direction, and an up-down direction intersecting the conveying direction, the pushers taking turns to perform a series of operations for discharging a specified number of the articles contained in the article storage space collectively to a side intersecting the conveying direction in response to the arrival of the specified number of the articles; an article delivery conveyor including a placement section provided in parallel with the bucket conveyor and capable of placing the specified number of articles discharged to the side by the pusher as a collection of articles, and article support sections standing upward from the front and rear of the placement section in the conveying direction and supporting both sides of the collection of articles; The pushers of the pusher unit each include: a first operation in which the pusher starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor, and moves in the conveying direction together with the placement section and the article support section at approximately the same speed, discharges the specified number of articles accommodated in the article accommodating spaces collectively to the article support section, and moves in the conveying direction to a stop position set downstream in the conveying direction; a second operation of discharging the collected product from the article support section to a transfer position having guides for supporting both sides of the collected product facing a packaging device, while the pusher, together with the placement section and the article support section, stops moving in the conveying direction at the stop position; and a third operation of returning the pusher from the delivery position to a position where synchronization with the bucket conveyor starts, thereby completing one cycle of drive control. During one cycle from when one of the pushers starts synchronizing with the bucket conveyor to when the other pusher returns to a position where the pushers start synchronizing with the bucket conveyor, The article delivery conveyor includes: an article supply device, in which, in response to an operation of one of the pushers stopping its movement in the conveying direction at the stop position, it performs an operation of stopping at a position connecting with the delivery position, and also performs an operation of stopping its movement in the conveying direction until one of the pushers, which has stopped moving in the conveying direction, moves to a side intersecting the conveying direction and finishes discharging the collected items to the delivery position.

2. 2. The article supply device according to claim 1, wherein after the collection of products has been delivered to the delivery position, the pusher rises to move away from the collection of products, and then moves in the conveying direction and to a side intersecting the conveying direction to return to a position where the synchronization begins.

3. 3. The article supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the movement speed of the pusher in the conveying direction and / or a direction intersecting the conveying direction in the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation can be set separately.

4. 4. The article supplying device according to claim 3, wherein a moving speed of the pusher in the third operation is set to be faster than a moving speed of the pusher in the first operation and the second operation.

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