Empty-box processing device

Abstract

To easily process an empty box of corrugated cardboard.SOLUTION: An empty box processing device that unfolds an empty box of corrugated cardboard, includes: a placement portion 11 (see FIG. 1) on which an empty box before unfolded is placed; a blade portion 12 that tears a corner part of the empty box; a movable unit 13 by which the blade portion 12 is moved so as to come into contact with the corner part of the empty box; an operation lever 15 that applies power to operate the movable unit 13; and a power transmission unit 16 that includes a toothed wheel 16a and a weight 16a coupled to the toothed wheel 16b and transmits power to operate the movable unit 13 when the toothed wheel is rotated in a forward direction in response to an operation of the operation lever 15 by a user. After tearing by the blade portion 12 is completed by an operation performed by a user having been started in an initial state, the operation lever 15 returns to the initial state when the weight 16b of the power transmission portion 16 is lowered by gravity applied to the weight 16b and, thereby, the toothed wheel 16a is rotated in a reverse direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an empty box handling device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, mass production lines in factories and other facilities have been using general-purpose returnable containers for logistics to prevent cardboard waste. However, when the items being transported are batteries or other products, they may be transported in cardboard packaging depending on the product size, maritime transport regulations, and other factors.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a cardboard box unpacking system for automatically unpacking cardboard boxes containing products and placing the products on a tray. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-075731 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] There is a demand for reducing the volume of rectangular cardboard boxes that are to be discarded by opening the lids, spreading them out in a cross shape, and stacking them flat. However, packaging materials such as cardboard require manual work to unpack and dispose of them as waste. For example, to spread a rectangular box out in a cross shape and stack it flat, a worker must cut the edges that make up the solid shape with hand tools such as scissors or a cutter, which is time-consuming. On the other hand, when using a robot, it is common to use a large crusher that is designed to crush the box as is. Therefore, there is a demand for a system that can easily spread out and stack cardboard boxes.

[0006] The present disclosure provides an empty box processing device that can easily process empty cardboard boxes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The empty box processing device disclosed herein is an empty box processing device that unfolds empty cardboard boxes, and has a loading section on which the empty boxes are placed before being unfolded, a blade section that cuts the corners of the empty boxes, a movable section that moves the blade section so that it abuts the corners of the empty boxes, an operating lever that provides power to operate the movable section, a gear, and a weight connected to the gear, and is also equipped with a power transmission section that transmits power to operate the movable section by rotating the gear in a forward direction in response to operation of the operating lever by a user, and the operating lever is operated by a user from an initial state, and after cutting by the blade section is completed, the gravity acting on the weight of the power transmission section causes the weight to move downward, and the gear rotates in the reverse direction, returning to the initial state. This allows the system to automatically return to the initial state after the empty box has been developed, and wait for the next empty box to be processed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an empty box processing device that can easily process empty cardboard boxes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an empty box processing device according to a first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 2] 1 is an enlarged side view of a main part of an empty box processing device according to a first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the empty box processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Embodiment 1 The empty box processing device according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an empty box processing device 1.

[0011] The empty box processing device 1 comprises a placing section 11, a blade section 12, a movable section 13 that operates the blade section 12, a guide section 14, a power transmission section 16, an operating lever 15, and a collection box 17. Here, the empty box processing device 1 is a processing device that processes cardboard boxes 2 used to transport large lithium batteries, and in particular, it crosswise unfolds the lids of the cardboard boxes 2. The cardboard boxes 2 before unfolding may be referred to as empty boxes.

[0012] Here, the cardboard box 2 is assumed to be long in the predetermined X and Y directions before being unfolded, and shorter in the Z direction than in the X and Y directions. The X, Y, and Z directions are mutually perpendicular, and the directions corresponding to the horizontally extending sides of the cardboard box when placed on the loading section 11 of the empty box processing device 1 will be referred to as the X and Y directions, and the direction corresponding to the vertically extending side will be referred to as the Z direction. Note that when an empty box is placed on the loading section 11 of the empty box processing device 1, the corner side of the empty box will sometimes be referred to as the corner side of the empty box processing device 1.

[0013] The placing unit 11 is a platform on which an empty box is placed. For example, the placing unit 11 is a platform that supports the vicinity of the four corners of the empty box from below, and the empty box is placed so that the opening thereof faces downward. For example, the placing unit 11 only needs to support the lower four corners or the sides of the empty box before it is unfolded while it is placed on it, and the shape of the placing unit 11 can be changed as desired as long as it does not hinder the descent of the cardboard box 2 into the collection box 17 by the operation of the guide unit 14 when the cardboard box 2 is moved downward after it is unfolded.

[0014] The blade portion 12 and the movable portion 13 are disposed in positions near the four corners of the empty box placed on the placement portion 11.

[0015] The blade portion 12 is a stress concentration portion that cuts the corners to unfold the empty box. The blade portion 12 moves in accordance with the operation of the movable portion 13 and comes into contact with the corners of the empty box. As a result, the empty box is torn apart by the blade portion 12 and unfolded. The initial state of the blade portion 12 is when it is positioned toward the inside of the empty box before it moves.

[0016] The movable part 13 is a mechanism for moving the blade part 12. The movable part 13 can be moved to a position where the blade part 12 comes into contact with a corner of an empty box. For example, the operation of the movable part 13 to move the blade part 12 can be performed by power generated when the user operates the operating lever 15.

[0017] The guide section 14 is disposed in a position where it abuts against the side of an empty box, near a corner of the empty box processing device 1. The guide section 14 is a movable guide whose role changes depending on the processing status of the empty box, and can be switched between a feed guide that adjusts the position of the empty box when it is fed onto the loading section 11, a side holder that holds down the side of the empty box when it is placed on the loading section 11, and a drop guide that guides the unfolded cardboard box 2 into a collection box 17 provided below.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of the operating lever 15, the power transmission unit 16, and the blade unit 12 and their vicinity.

[0019] The operating lever 15 is a lever that generates power to operate the movable part 13 that moves the blade part 12 and the guide part 14 via the power transmission part 16 when the user applies force to unfold an empty box using the blade part 12 in the empty box processing device 1.

[0020] The power transmission unit 16 is a mechanism that transmits power to the movable unit 13 and the guide unit 14, and includes a pinion (gear) 16a and a weight 16b. The power transmission unit 16 can transmit power to the movable unit 13 to switch the state of the blade unit 12 between a state in which it abuts against an empty box and a state in which it does not abut against the empty box.

[0021] The power transmission unit 16 can also transmit power to rotate at least a part of the guide unit 14 when the guide unit 14 drops the unfolded cardboard box 2 into the collection box 17 below. For simplicity of explanation, the power transmission unit 16 will be described below as transmitting the power generated by the operating lever 15 only to the movable unit 13.

[0022] The pinion 16a of the power transmission unit 16 is in an initial state when no force is applied by operating the operating lever 15, and when force is applied to the operating lever 15 and then released, the weight 16b descends due to gravity, and the pinion 16a returns to its initial state.

[0023] 2, the operating lever 15 and the power transmission unit 16 are arranged such that a part of the operating lever 15 is a rack that meshes with a pinion 16a of the power transmission unit 16. On the other hand, the relationship between the movable unit 13 to which the blade unit 12 is connected and the power transmission unit 16 is also such that a part of the movable unit 13 is a rack that meshes with the pinion 16a.

[0024] 2, the operating lever 15 is operated so as to be lifted by the user. At this time, the power transmission unit 16, which is engaged with the operating lever 15, rotates in the forward direction, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2. When the power transmission unit 16 rotates in the forward direction in this way, the blade unit 12 of the movable unit 13 moves from the inside to the outside of the empty box, abutting against the empty box and unfolding the empty box.

[0025] On the other hand, as shown by the dashed arrow in Figure 2, when the user is not applying force to the operating lever 15, a downward force due to gravity acts on the weight 16b of the power transmission unit 16. Here, the weight 16b is connected to the pinion 16a, and the pinion 16a rotates in the opposite direction as the weight 16b descends. Therefore, when the user stops pulling the operating lever 15 upward, the power transmission unit 16 rotates in the opposite direction, causing the operating lever 15 to automatically descend. At this time, the blade unit 12 automatically moves inward.

[0026] The power transmission unit 16 can also be configured to include a shaft or multiple gears for transmitting the power generated by the operating lever 15 to the movable unit 13 or the guide unit 14, but the configuration is not limited to these.

[0027] The collection box 17 is a box provided below the placement section 11. The cardboard box 2 unfolded on the placement section 11 is inserted into the collection box 17 by the guide section 14, to which power is transmitted by the power transmission section 16, operating as a drop guide.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the empty box processing device 1.

[0029] First, an empty box is set in the empty box processing device 1 (step S1). At this time, the guide unit 14 operates as a loading guide that guides the empty box so that it is loaded into a predetermined position in the empty box processing device 1.

[0030] The user operates the operating lever 15 (step S2). In response to the user's operation of the operating lever 15, the placement unit 11 and the blade unit 12 move (step S3). Here, the pinion 16a of the power transmission unit 16 is in a state of rotating in the forward direction in response to the user's operation of the operating lever 15.

[0031] In the empty box processing device 1, the empty box is centered in a floating state (step S4). This centering of the empty box in a floating state can be performed because, in the process of moving the blade section 12 arranged inside the empty box at the corner of the empty box in a direction that pushes it outward, the empty box has high strength and rigidity despite its light weight, so that the floating free movement resistance is smaller than the cutting start resistance.

[0032] The empty box processing device 1 unfolds the four corners of the empty box (step S5). That is, the empty box processing device 1 transmits power generated by the operating lever 15 to the movable part 13 via the power transmission part 16, thereby moving each of the blade parts 12 and simultaneously unfolding the four corners of the empty box. More specifically, as described in step S4, the blade parts 12 are disposed inside the empty box at each corner, and therefore can unfold the corners by moving toward the outside of the empty box in response to the power transmitted to the movable part 13 via the power transmission part 16. At this time, the pinion 16a of the power transmission part 16 rotates forward in response to the user's operation of the operating lever 15.

[0033] In the empty box processing device 1, the unfolded cardboard box 2 is dropped into the collection box 17 (step S6).

[0034] The user releases the operating lever 15 that was operated in step S2 (step S7).

[0035] As gravity causes the weight 16b to descend, the pinion 16a of the power transmission unit 16 rotates in the opposite direction. This causes the operating lever 15 to automatically return to its initial state (step S8). At the same time, the blade unit 12 also moves inward to return to its initial state.

[0036] In this way, after the empty box processing device 1 has unfolded the four corners of the empty box, it can automatically move the blade portion 12 back inward and return the operating lever 15 to its initial state.

[0037] More specifically, in the empty box processing device 1, the user operates the operating lever 15 from the initial state, and after the cardboard 2 has been cut and the cardboard 2 has been unfolded and dropped into the collection box 17, gravity acting on the weight 16b of the power transmission unit 16 causes the weight 16b to move downward, causing the gear 16a to rotate in the reverse direction. Therefore, in the empty box processing device 1, the blade unit 12 and operating lever 15 are each automatically returned to their initial states, and the device can enter a standby state in which the next empty box can be set.

[0038] As described above, the empty box processing device 1 can reduce the user's effort of returning the operation lever 15, and allows the user to repeatedly execute the process of unfolding empty boxes with simple operations.

[0039] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In other words, the above description has been omitted or simplified as appropriate for the sake of clarity, and a person skilled in the art can easily modify, add, or convert each element of the embodiment within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1. Empty box handling equipment 2 cardboard boxes 11 Placement section 12 Blade 13 Moving parts 14 Guide section 15 Operating lever 16 Power transmission section 16a Pinion 16b weight 17 Collection Box

Claims

[Claim 1] An empty box processing device that unfolds empty cardboard boxes, a placement section on which an empty box before being unfolded is placed; A blade unit that cuts off the corners of the empty box; a movable part that moves the blade part so that the blade part abuts against a corner of the empty box; an operating lever that applies power to operate the movable part; a power transmission unit including a gear and a weight connected to the gear, the gear rotating in a forward direction in response to operation of the operating lever by a user, and transmitting power for operating the movable unit; The operating lever is operated by a user from an initial state, and after the cutting by the blade portion is completed, the weight moves downward due to gravity acting on the weight of the power transmission portion, and the gear rotates in the reverse direction, thereby returning to the initial state. Empty box handling equipment.

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