Stacking apparatus

Abstract

To provide a stacking apparatus which can stack products without damaging them.CONSTITUTION: A stacking apparatus comprises: a belt conveyer device 11 for conveying each package 1; and a bucket conveyer device 12 for receiving the package discharged and drop-fed from the belt conveyer device. The bucket conveyer device includes plural buckets 20 conveyed using a linear conveyance system. The packages carried out from the belt conveyer device are fed to each bucket waiting at a feed position and are stacked flat, but, when they are contacted with a front wall part 20a of each bucket, each bucket is moved forward to suppress an impact applied to the packages. Thereafter, each bucket is moved backward to prepare for the next package.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an accumulation device, and more particularly to a technique for accumulating products in a flat pile in a bucket, for example. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, one example of a stacking device that stacks products such as flat packages flat is one in which a bucket conveyor is disposed on the discharge side of a conveyor that transports the packages. In this stacking device, the load position of the packages in the bucket conveyor is lower than the discharge position of the conveyor. In this stacking device, the bucket of the bucket conveyor pauses temporarily at the discharge side of the conveyor and waits, and in this state, the packages that are successively discharged from the conveyor are dropped and supplied into the bucket. As a result, the packages are stacked and accumulated in the bucket. This type of device is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6558548 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a package is fed into a bucket that is temporarily stopped, the package comes into contact with the front wall, and the package is subjected to a reaction force from the wall due to the contact. For example, if the package is a pillow package and there is a top seal part with a relatively wide seal width on the front side in the conveying direction, the top seal part may act as a kind of packing or cushion and be able to absorb the reaction force due to the contact. However, if the conveying speed is fast and the reaction force is large, or if the top seal part is ultrasonically sealed and the seal width is narrow and cannot absorb the shock, the packaged item may hit the front wall and be damaged.

[0005] Furthermore, some recent packages have a cut pitch close to the length of the packaged item, and the packaged item is placed close to the top seal, which increases the impact on the packaged item.

[0006] The above-mentioned problems are described as being independent of each other, and the present invention does not necessarily have to solve all of the problems described, but it is sufficient if it can solve at least one of the problems. In addition, we intend to obtain rights to the configuration for solving this problem separately through divisional applications, amendments, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the stacking device in the packaging machine of the present invention (1) comprises a conveyor device that transports products, and a bucket conveyor device that receives the products that are carried out from the conveyor device and dropped and supplied, the bucket conveyor device having a plurality of buckets and a transport means for transporting the plurality of buckets, and is a drop-supplied stacking device that stacks the products by supplying a plurality of products in a flattened state to a bucket that is located at a supply position among the plurality of buckets, and is configured to move the bucket in the direction of contact when the products come into contact with the bucket.

[0008] In this way, by moving the bucket in the direction in which the product is about to come into contact with the bucket, the difference in relative speed between the product and the bucket at the time of contact is reduced, and the impact on the product is also reduced, thereby minimizing damage to the product.

[0009] (2) The conveyor device is preferably configured to transport the product forward, and the product that is transported out contacts the front wall of the bucket, moving the bucket forward upon contact and then moving backward.

[0010] Since multiple products are accumulated in a bucket, if the product conveying direction is forward, and the bucket moves forward each time a product is received, the bucket may move too far away from the discharge side of the conveyor and it may become difficult to properly supply the products if the moving distance or the number of accumulated products increases, but by moving backward after moving forward, the occurrence of such a situation can be prevented as much as possible. The forward and backward movements may be performed by, for example, a control device that controls the movement of the bucket in the bucket conveyor.

[0011] (3) The speed of the forward movement may be set to a speed corresponding to the moving speed of the product discharged by the conveyor. In this way, the bucket moves at a speed corresponding to the moving speed of the product when it is discharged from the conveyor and comes into contact with the bucket, so that the impact on the product can be suppressed as much as possible. In the embodiment, the speed corresponding to the moving speed is set to be the same as the conveying speed of the conveyor, but it does not necessarily have to be the same speed. Even if they are different, as long as the difference in speed is small, the impact on the product will be small. Also, setting the speed to the same speed is more preferable because there will be no difference in speed.

[0012] (4) It is preferable to make the distance of the backward movement shorter than the distance of the forward movement. In this way, the time required for the backward movement can be shortened, and even products that are conveyed out at short time intervals can be handled.

[0013] (5) The conveying means utilizes a linear conveying system, and the movement of the bucket located at the supply position may also be performed using the linear conveying system. In this way, the function of the linear conveying system for conveying the bucket can be used to move the bucket located at the supply position in accordance with the supply of the product. This simple configuration can absorb impacts on the product.

[0014] In addition, the configurations shown in (1) to (5) above can be configured in appropriate combinations, and based on such combined configurations, it is preferable to combine the components described in the embodiments and drawings. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, products can be stacked without being damaged. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of an accumulation device according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] This is an enlarged perspective view (part 1) of a portion of the device. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] This is an enlarged perspective view (part 2) of a portion of the structure. [Figure 6] This is an enlarged perspective view (part 3) of a portion of the structure. [Figure 7] This is an enlarged perspective view (part 4) of a portion of the structure. [Figure 8] This is an enlarged perspective view (part 5) of a portion of the structure. [Figure 9] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various changes, modifications, and improvements can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0018] The drawings show a preferred embodiment of a stacking device 10 according to the present invention. As shown in these drawings, the stacking device 10 includes a belt conveyor device 11 and a bucket conveyor device 12 that rotates in a region below the conveying surface of the belt conveyor device 11. Although not shown, for example, a pillow packaging machine is disposed upstream of the belt conveyor device 11, and packages 1 manufactured by the pillow packaging machine are sequentially supplied to the belt conveyor device 11. The package 1 to be conveyed and stacked in this embodiment contains a packaged article 3 and has top seal parts 2 at the front and rear in the conveying direction. The top seal part 2 is formed by ultrasonic sealing, and the seal width is linear, for example, about 2 to 3 mm.

[0019] The belt conveyor device 11 has a first section 11a on the upstream side and a second section 11b on the downstream side, the conveying surface of the first section 11a is configured to proceed horizontally, and the conveying surface of the second section 11b is configured to be inclined downward so that the packages 1 can be stably stored in the bucket. The inclination angle of the conveying surface of the second section 11b is, for example, 4 to 7 degrees.

[0020] The belt conveyor device 11 includes two endless belts 13 arranged on the left and right at a predetermined interval. Each endless belt 13 is arranged so as to contact the upper surface of a guide plate 14 arranged along the conveying surface, and guides the movement of the belt along the guide plate 14 in the horizontal direction in the first section 11a and in the diagonally downward direction in the second section 11b. The two endless belts 13 are stretched around pulleys 15 attached to the same rotating shaft, and rotate synchronously on a predetermined trajectory. One of the pulleys 15 is a drive pulley linked to a drive motor 19, and the two endless belts 13 rotate with the rotation of the drive pulley.

[0021] A pair of side guides 16 are provided on both the left and right sides of the conveying surface formed by the two endless belts 13. The distance between the pair of side guides 16 arranged on the left and right corresponds to the width of the packaging body 1, suppressing lateral movement. Furthermore, the front end portion of the side guide 16 is formed to protrude forward beyond the front end edge of the endless belts 13. As a result, the packaging body 1 conveyed forward from the front end side of the endless belts 13 is guided by the left and right side guides 16 and moves while falling forward.

[0022] A reflective photoelectric sensor 17 is disposed above the discharge side of the belt conveyor device 11. The photoelectric sensor 17 is disposed so that light emitted from the photoelectric sensor 17 is irradiated onto the area between the two endless belts 13. A mirror 18 is disposed on the optical path of the emitted light at a predetermined position between the two endless belts 13. The emitted light is reflected by the mirror 18, and each portion is adjusted so that it reaches the light receiving portion of the photoelectric sensor 17.

[0023] As a result, for example, when no packaging body 1 is present at the passage position of the emitted light, the emitted light is reflected by the mirror 18 as it is, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving unit. In this case, the received light intensity is a large value equal to or greater than a certain value. On the other hand, when a packaging body 1 is present at the passage position of the emitted light, for example, when the packaging body 1 is formed from an opaque film, the emitted light is blocked and does not reach the mirror 18, and the reflected light does not return, and even if the light is reflected by the surface of the packaging body 1, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is small. Therefore, the presence or absence of the packaging body 1 can be detected based on the amount of received reflected light. Also, when the packaging body 1 is formed from a transparent film, the transparent film transmits light, so that even if the packaging body 1 is present at the passage position of the emitted light, the emitted light reaches the mirror 18, and the reflected light is also received by the light receiving unit of the photoelectric sensor 17. However, when light passes through a transparent film, part of the light is absorbed and diffusely reflected, and therefore the intensity of the reflected light received by the light receiving unit is smaller than when the packaging body 1 is not present. Therefore, the presence or absence of the packaging body 1 can be detected by adjusting the sensitivity of the photoelectric sensor 17 and identifying the difference in the intensity of the reflected light based on the presence or absence of the transparent film.

[0024] The bucket conveyor device 12 utilizes a linear transport system to individually control the movement of a plurality of buckets 20. The bucket conveyor device 12 includes an endless track (not shown), a carriage (not shown) that moves along the track, and the buckets 20 connected to the carriage. The buckets 20 are integrated with the carriage, and move and pause as the carriage moves and pauses.

[0025] The track is an endless path formed by connecting two straight sections arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval and the ends of the straight sections with a semicircular section. In the figure, one of the semicircular sections is omitted. In this embodiment, the path is arranged in a horizontal plane parallel to the installation surface of the device, for example. The carriage is driven along the track based on the linear motor principle. Each carriage is driven independently, and it is possible to control all carriages to move or stop at the same time, or to control only some carriages to move. For example, when a carriage is stopped and the carriage located immediately in front of it moves forward, the distance between the front and rear carriages becomes wider than the distance between the other carriages. In addition, the carriage can move in any direction, that is, not only forward along the conveying direction of the bucket 20, but also backward, and the carriage movement speed and movement distance can be controlled accurately and even for short distances.

[0026] The bucket 20 has a box-shaped main body that is generally rectangular in plan view and open upward. That is, the bucket 20 has a front wall 20a, a rear wall 20b, a left side wall 20c, and a right side wall 20d on all four sides, and a recess 20f is provided at the center of the bottom 20e in the front-to-rear direction. The right side wall 20d has a notch 20g that is recessed from above to below at the center of the front-to-rear direction. This notch 20g corresponds to the position where the recess 20f is formed. A tapered surface 20h is provided on the inner surface side adjacent to the notch 20g of the right side wall 20d, and the thickness becomes thinner as it approaches the notch 20g side.

[0027] The first package 1 fed into the bucket 20 is supported by the bottom 20e from both front and rear ends and stored. The second and subsequent packages 1 are then stacked flat on top of the package 1 stored before it. A recess 20f is located below the center in the front-rear direction of the bottommost package 1 stored, and a notch 20g is provided at the position where the recess 20f is formed, opening on the right side wall 20d side. A robot hand is inserted from the notch 20g side to pinch and hold the accumulated packages 1 from above and below, and then the packages 1 can be removed.

[0028] In this embodiment, the bucket 20 is manufactured by, for example, a 3D printer, and the inside of each wall is hollowed out to reduce weight, and ribs are provided at appropriate positions to increase strength. Furthermore, a recess 20i recessed from the outer surface side toward the inside is provided below the front wall 20a and the rear wall 20b. This recess 20i is located below the bottom 20e, and a space is provided to reduce weight. In addition, the front-to-rear length in the internal space of the bucket 20 and the length of the packaging body 1 are made almost the same. By making them almost the same, the packaging bodies 1 are neatly stacked without being significantly shifted forward and backward. When a predetermined number of packaging bodies 1 are accumulated in the bucket 20, the bucket is transported forward, and the following bucket 20 is transported to the above-mentioned supply position to prepare for the accumulation of the next packaging body 1.

[0029] In this embodiment, the carriage, i.e., the bucket 20, is transported intermittently and the transport is temporarily stopped at the supply position. At this time, the behavior of the other parts of the bucket 20 is not important, and the bucket 20 moves or temporarily stops according to the situation. Then, the control unit of the bucket conveyor device 12 moves the bucket 20, which has been temporarily stopped at the supply position, slightly forward in accordance with the timing of the dropping and supplying of the packaging body 1 (arrow (1) in FIG. 9). The timing at which this movement starts may be, for example, when the top seal portion 2 located forward in the transport direction of the packaging body 1 comes into contact with the front wall portion 20a of the bucket 20. The moving speed during the forward movement is set to be equal to the transport speed in the belt conveyor device 11, i.e., the forward moving speed of the packaging body 1 that is carried out from the belt conveyor device 11 and supplied into the bucket 20.

[0030] The timing of the movement start may be, for example, a trigger of the detection of the front end of the packaging body 1 by the photoelectric sensor 17, and a predetermined time after that. The predetermined time may be the time from when the front end of the packaging body 1, which is calculated based on the conveying speed of the belt conveyor device 11, passes through the detection area of ​​the photoelectric sensor 17 to when the front wall 20a of the bucket 20 reaches the standby position. The movement may be started slightly later than the moment when the front end of the packaging body 1, i.e., the tip of the top seal portion 2, contacts the front wall 20a. If it is started slightly later, it may be started at an appropriate timing until the tip of the packaged item 3 contacts the front wall 20a of the bucket 20. In this way, the front wall 20a moves in the same direction and at the same speed as the movement of the packaging body 1 at the timing when the packaging body 1 contacts the front wall 20a of the bucket 20, so that the impact on the packaging body 1 and thus the packaged item 3 is absorbed, and damage to the packaged item 3 can be prevented.

[0031] Furthermore, when the packaging body 1 is formed of a transparent film, the detection of the packaged item 3 inside may be used as a trigger to control the start of movement of the bucket 20. Since the relative positions of the packaged items 3 inside the packaging body 1 are not necessarily constant, it is preferable to use the detection of the front end of the packaging body 1 as the trigger, as described above.

[0032] Next, the control unit of the bucket conveyor device 12 moves the bucket 20, which has been moved forward as described above, backward in the direction opposite to the conveying direction (arrow (2) in FIG. 9). By moving backward in this manner, it prepares for dropping and supplying the next package 1.

[0033] Thereafter, the control unit of the bucket conveyor device 12 controls the reciprocating movement back and forth each time a packaging body 1 is supplied. Then, when a predetermined number of packaging bodies 1 are accumulated in the bucket 20, the bucket 20 is moved forward. The control unit also moves the succeeding bucket 20 to the supply position and temporarily stops it. Then, the above process is repeated.

[0034] In addition, the forward and backward movement of the bucket 20 when receiving the package 1 may be equal in forward and backward movement distance, but in this embodiment, the forward movement distance is made longer, and the bucket 20 receives the package 1 while gradually moving its stop position forward. As an example of the movement distance, the forward movement is about 18 mm, and the backward movement is about 16 mm. The forward and backward movement distance is determined so that the forward and backward movement is completed before the next package 1 is supplied. For example, in the case of 600 rotations (600 pieces are delivered per minute), the package 1 is delivered from the belt conveyor device 11 at 0.1 second intervals, so the reciprocating movement of the bucket 20 needs to be completed within that 0.1 second, and further, the speed during the forward movement needs to be at least matched to the conveying speed of the belt conveyor device 11. Therefore, it is preferable to set the movement distance as described above according to these conditions. In the example of the movement distance described above, the position of the bucket 20 advances little by little, but about 2 mm does not affect the reception by the bucket 20. If the bucket only moves forward without moving backward, there is a risk that the packages will not be supplied neatly into the bucket 20 as the number of accumulated packages increases, so it is advisable to move forward and backward.

[0035] Also, assuming that the conveying pitch of the packages 1 on the belt conveyor device 11 is the same, the faster the conveying speed, the higher the rotation speed (the number of packages conveyed per unit time) and the shorter the moving distance. Even if the moving distance is short in this way, the shock is absorbed by moving the packages 1 forward at the moment they hit the bucket 20. Also, in this embodiment, the conveying speed of the belt conveyor device 11 and the forward moving speed of the bucket 20 are controlled to be equal, but a speed difference may be provided within a range in which no problems arise, such as no damage to the packages 1 or packaged items 3, and the same applies to the timing of starting the movement.

[0036] As described above, the bucket 20 is moved forward and backward at high speed over a short distance, but if the bucket conveyor device 12 uses a linear transport system, the carriage can be moved as desired, so this can be achieved without incorporating a complex mechanism or a separate special device, etc. In addition, because the bucket 20 has been made lighter, it can be moved forward and backward at higher speeds and over short distances without increasing the load.

[0037] In addition, the posture of the packaging body 1 on the belt conveyor device 11 is not necessarily parallel to the conveying direction, and the packaging body 1 may be conveyed in an inclined posture in a plan view. In such a case, if the tapered surface 20h is not provided, the front right end portion of the packaging body 1 may enter the formation area of ​​the notch portion 20g of the bucket 20 and get caught, causing the packaging body 1 to rotate in a plane. In this embodiment, since the tapered surface 20h is provided, the front right end of the packaging body 1 comes into contact with the tapered surface 20h, and coupled with the fact that the packaging body 1 is subjected to a forward biasing force, the front right end is guided by the tapered surface 20h to reach the inner surface of the right side wall portion 20d, and is stored in the bucket 20 in a neat posture.

[0038] The tapered surface 20h only needs to be provided on the front side in the bucket transport direction, and the tapered surface 20h does not need to be provided on the rear wall portion 20b side in the stacking device 10 of this embodiment. By providing the tapered surface 20h on the rear wall portion 20b side, the stacking device 10 can be applied to a device that transports the bucket 20 in the opposite direction to that of this embodiment.

[0039] The shape of bucket 20 is an example, and various configurations can be used. In addition, if removal by a robot is not performed, notch 20g and recess 20f do not necessarily have to be provided. Regardless of the shape of bucket 20, it is preferable to configure the bucket to move in the same direction as the product when receiving the product.

[0040] In the above-described embodiment, the bucket conveyor device 12 is configured to move the bucket 20 within a horizontal plane, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the bucket may move within a vertical plane as in Patent Document 1, and the movement trajectory may have various configurations.

[0041] Furthermore, the mechanism for moving the bucket 20 of the bucket conveyor device 12 is not limited to the one using the linear conveying system described above, and various configurations can be used, including a loop device equipped with multiple conveying devices (e.g., a double loop device, a triple loop device, etc.), a free bucket device, etc. However, in the case of a configuration that does not use a linear conveying system, it is sufficient if the bucket can be reciprocated a short distance using the conveying function of the bucket conveyor device, but if this is not possible, various configurations can be provided, such as providing each bucket with a mechanism for reciprocating a short distance, or allowing the bucket at the supply position to move freely within a predetermined range and applying a biasing force from outside in a predetermined direction to reciprocate the bucket.

[0042] In addition, the direction of bucket movement is not limited to forward and backward movement, and the bucket may move in the vertical direction, for example, by lowering the bucket when receiving products in order to eliminate or reduce the impact from the bottom when dropping the products.

[0043] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the bucket is moved forward and backward, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the distance traveled in one movement is short or the number of items to be accumulated is small, the bucket may not be moved backward.

[0044] In addition, in the various embodiments described above, the product to be accumulated is a pillow-type package 1 with a top seal formed by ultrasonic sealing, but the shape of the package is arbitrary and is not limited to a package.

[0045] The bucket may also be made up of multiple carriages, each equipped with a partition plate (front wall 20a and rear wall 20b). In this case, the distance between the carriages may be changed according to the length of the products. Also, side guides 16 may be provided in a predetermined range from the supply position to the removal position of the accumulated multiple packages 1.

[0046] Various aspects of the present invention have been described above using embodiments, but it should be noted that these embodiments and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are provided to aid in understanding the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations and manufacturing methods explicitly described in the specification, but also includes combinations of various aspects of the present invention disclosed in this specification. Although the configurations of the present invention that are sought to be patented are specified in the appended claims, it is noted for the sake of clarity that configurations disclosed in this specification that are not currently specified in the claims may be claimed in the future. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1: Packaging 2: Top seal part 3: Item to be packaged 10: Accumulation device 11: Belt conveyor device 12: Bucket conveyor device 13: Endless Belt 14: Guide plate 15: Pulley 16: Side guide 17: Photoelectric sensor 18: Mirror 19: Drive motor 20: Bucket

Claims

1. A conveyor device for transporting the product; a bucket conveyor device for receiving the product that is conveyed from the conveyor device and dropped; The bucket conveyor device has a plurality of buckets and a conveying means for conveying the plurality of buckets, and is a drop-supply stacking device that supplies the plurality of products in a flattened state to a bucket that is located at a supply position among the plurality of buckets, thereby stacking the products, The accumulation device is configured to move the bucket in a direction of contact when the product contacts the bucket.

2. The conveyor device is configured to convey the product forward, 2. The stacking device according to claim 1, wherein the discharged product comes into contact with a front wall of the bucket, and when the product comes into contact with the front wall of the bucket, the bucket moves forward and then moves backward.

3. 3. The stacking device according to claim 2, wherein the speed of the forward movement corresponds to the moving speed of the products conveyed by the conveyor device.

4. 3. The stacking device according to claim 2, wherein the distance of the backward movement is shorter than the distance of the forward movement.

5. The conveying means utilizes a linear conveying system, The bucket located at the supply position is also moved by the linear transport system. An integrated device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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