Container alignment device

Abstract

To provide a high-efficiency, space-saving container alignment device that enables a transparent or translucent bottle-like container to be transferred by a pickup robot to another place in a desired attitude by conveying the transparent or translucent bottle-like container in an overturned attitude with its bottle axis in the same direction and then imaging the bottle-like container.SOLUTION: A container alignment device has: a direction restricting conveyance part which restricts the direction of a bottle-like container being conveyed; a container separate conveyance part which leaves intervals; and a container transfer part which transfers gripped respective bottle-like containers in a predetermined attitude by imaging the respective bottle-like containers B to a following work position, wherein the direction restricting conveyance part allows only a bottle-like container having its bottle axis in one desired direction to pass through into a container feed part of the direction restricting conveyance part which places the bottle-like container in an overturned attitude with the bottle axis in a certain direction, and a plurality of rod-like rotary bodies are arranged which are supported rotatably at intervals large enough to support two adjacent bottle-like container, and each have a projection part for slide contact formed spirally and obliquely at an outer periphery of a rod body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container alignment device for efficiently changing and aligning transparent or translucent bottle-shaped containers supplied in a loose state into a predetermined position and sending them to a subsequent process. [Background technology]

[0002] When using a machine to fill bottle-shaped containers with a filling liquid and then cap their mouths, it is necessary to change the orientation of the transparent or translucent bottle-shaped containers that are supplied individually, align them, and then send them to the next work position. Conventionally, various means and methods have been used to transport bottle-shaped containers.

[0003] For example, as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a method or device can be exemplified in which a plate-shaped guide is provided on a conveyor so as to cross diagonally across the conveyor's direction of travel, and containers being transported on the conveyor are brought into contact with the guide to regulate the alignment direction of the containers.

[0004] The applicant has also disclosed a device, as shown in Patent Document 3, in which bottle-shaped containers fed into a frame are rotated in the opposite direction or against an adjacent horizontal belt conveyor that rotates at a different speed, rotating the bottle-shaped containers until their axes are aligned with the conveying direction, causing them to drop through a gap in the adjacent horizontal belt conveyor onto a lower conveyor, which then transports them to the next process.

[0005] Patent Documents 4 and 5 disclose a device that includes a storage section for items such as bottle-shaped containers, a rotor with tracks (lanes) on the outer periphery of the upper part of the storage section for placing bottle-shaped containers in a line, a pickup robot that holds the bottle-shaped containers lined up on the rotor and transfers them to a conveying device, and a control unit that controls the movements of these components, and that transfers bottle-shaped containers that have been supplied in a loose state to the conveying device in a predetermined position, such as upright.

[0006] In addition, as a means for positioning bottle-shaped containers that have been supplied in a loose state and aligned by the rotor or the like with their bottle axes along the conveying direction in a predetermined position for the subsequent process, there is an apparatus that has, for example, a detection means for detecting the top and bottom of the bottle-shaped container, a rocking plate that rocks on a rocking axis that corresponds to the longitudinal center of gravity position of the bottle-shaped container placed on it, a container slide-out section arranged below the rocking plate, and an air jetting means that blows air toward the bottom of the bottle-shaped container placed on the rocking plate, and based on the detection result of the detection means, blows air from the air jetting means toward the side of the rocking plate where the bottom of the bottle-shaped container is located, rocking and tilting the rocking plate, and dropping the bottle-shaped container bottom-side into the container slide-out section, thereby positioning the bottle-shaped container in an upright position.

[0007] Furthermore, there is also an apparatus in which a pickup bar is provided above the container slide-out section that engages only the mouth of a bottle-shaped container that is transported with its bottle axis aligned with the transport direction and its mouth facing downstream in the transport direction, but not the bottom, and the pickup bar is operated in accordance with the transport of each bottle-shaped container.By doing so, bottle-shaped containers that are transported with their mouths facing downstream in the transport direction have their mouths hooked by the pickup bar and positioned upward, and are dropped into the container slide-out section with their posture corrected so that the bottoms are positioned downward, and bottle-shaped containers that are transported with their bottoms facing downstream in the transport direction are dropped bottom-first into the container slide-out section without being affected by the pickup bar, thereby keeping the bottle-shaped containers in an upright position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 06-247536 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-160739 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-103506 [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 6454430 [Patent Document 5] Patent No. 6567142 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] However, with the devices disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Documents 1 and 2, even if the bottle-shaped containers are aligned to the desired position, they are unable to maintain that position and may roll over. Also, in order to align the overlapping and orientation to a certain extent, a horizontal conveyor belt is required, which naturally makes the device larger.

[0010] Furthermore, in the device disclosed in Patent Document 3, the moving directions of a plurality of parallel horizontal belt conveyors are staggered, and a drive source is required for each of the horizontal belt conveyors to provide a speed difference between them.

[0011] In the devices disclosed in Patent Documents 4 and 5, a pickup robot holds a bottle-shaped container to be transported, and when transferring it to a transport device, a camera captures the position and orientation of the bottle-shaped container being transported. However, if the bottle-shaped container is made of transparent or translucent resin, it is difficult to obtain an image sufficient to determine its orientation. Furthermore, if the bottle-shaped containers are rolling or stacked during the image capture, the pickup robot cannot operate accurately based on the image. If a roll-prevention member were used, the roll-prevention member would appear in the image as a shadow, significantly impairing the accuracy of the image capture. This would make it difficult to distinguish the top and bottom of the bottle-shaped container (the side with the mouth where the cap is attached is considered the top in the bottle axial direction, and the bottom on the opposite side is considered the bottom in the bottle axial direction), raising concerns that the pickup robot might malfunction due to incorrect image capture.

[0012] In addition, in order to align the orientation of the mouth and bottom of the transported container, a device that selectively blows air onto both ends of the swinging direction of the swinging plate on which the bottle-shaped container is placed, tilts the swinging plate, and drops the bottle into the container slide-out section in a predetermined orientation, as described above, requires a large amount of air consumption and generates noise.Furthermore, with some bottle-shaped containers, the swing axis of the swinging plate and the longitudinal center of gravity of the bottle-shaped container may not be aligned, making it impossible to drop the bottle into the container slide-out section due to the blowing of air or its own weight.

[0013] Furthermore, this device hooks the mouth of the bottle-shaped container and lifts it, positioning the bottom of the bottle-shaped container downward and then dropping it into the container slide-out section.However, this device requires replacement parts to match the diameter dimensions of the mouth of the bottle-shaped container being transported, and the storage space for these replacement parts and the time lost during replacement have become problems.

[0014] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a highly efficient, space-saving container alignment device that can stably transport transparent or translucent bottle-shaped containers in a horizontal position with their bottle axes aligned in the same direction, and photograph the bottle-shaped containers under conditions that produce good imaging results, thereby enabling a pickup robot to reliably transfer the bottle-shaped containers to another location in the desired position in a short period of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the container alignment device of the present invention comprises a direction-regulating conveying section that conveys transparent or translucent bottle-shaped containers supplied in a loose state to a subsequent work position in a horizontal position with the bottle axes oriented in a fixed direction, and a container transferring section that takes an image of each bottle-shaped container being conveyed and, based on the image results, changes each grasped bottle-shaped container to a predetermined position and transfers it to the subsequent work position, and the direction-regulating conveying section comprises a conveyor whose upper surface is a container alignment surface, and a bottle transfer section that transfers the bottles so as to allow the conveyance of containers aligned on the container alignment surface. a container loading section provided above the conveyor on the upstream side of the conveying direction of the bottle-shaped containers, wherein the container loading section has a gap that allows only one bottle-shaped container with its bottle axis aligned in a desired direction to slip through and fall onto the conveyor, and the bottle-shaped container can be supported by hanging over two adjacent bottles; a plurality of rod-shaped rotating bodies that are rotatably supported along the desired direction in a plan view and have sliding protrusions formed on the outer periphery of the rod body that are inclined in a spiral shape; and a drive section that rotates the rod-shaped rotating bodies.

[0016] With the container alignment device of the present invention having this configuration, bottle-shaped containers supplied into the frame are slid against the sliding protrusions of the rotating rod-shaped rotors, while their position is regulated so that the bottle-shaped containers do not slide against any of the rod-shaped rotors, i.e., so that the bottle axes are aligned in the conveying direction, and the bottles can be dropped through the gaps between adjacent rod-shaped rotors onto the conveying conveyor below.

[0017] The conveying conveyor of the direction-regulating conveying section is a roller conveyor that is capable of rotating multiple roller members that are lined up in the conveying direction of the bottle-shaped containers, and is characterized in that the multiple roller members are driven and controlled so that the conveying speed of the bottle-shaped containers gradually increases as they move downstream.

[0018] With the container alignment device of the present invention having this configuration, bottle-shaped containers are fed into the container input section upstream of the transport conveyor, and fall through the gaps in the rod-shaped rotating bodies with the bottle axes aligned in the desired direction.The roller conveyor can then separate the bottle-shaped containers being transported in a row in the transport direction before they head to the next process.

[0019] Furthermore, between the direction-regulating conveying section and the container separating and conveying section, there is provided a container separating and conveying section which is arranged at an upward gradient in the conveying direction of the bottle-shaped containers and is equipped with a lift conveyor whose upper surface serves as a loading surface for the bottle-shaped containers received from the direction-regulating conveying section.

[0020] With the container alignment device of the present invention having this configuration, only bottle-shaped containers that are lying on their sides with their bottle axes aligned in the desired direction are transported downstream by driving the lift conveyor, and bottle-shaped containers whose bottle axes are facing the desired direction but that are overlapping other bottle-shaped containers, for example, can be caused to slide off the lift conveyor, which is arranged at an upward incline, and separated.

[0021] The rod-shaped rotor may be a metal rod, and the sliding contact protrusion may be made of a material having a higher friction resistance than the metal rod.

[0022] Furthermore, the adjacent rod-shaped rotors are configured to be driven in opposite directions of rotation.

[0023] By using a rod-shaped rotating body configured in this manner, bottle-shaped containers that are in a position that makes it difficult for them to slip through the gaps in the rod-shaped rotating body can be pushed aside by contact with the sliding protrusions, which have a high contact resistance, and slid or rotated by contact with the metal rod body, which has a low contact resistance, so that the bottle axis is aligned in the conveying direction, and can then be dropped from the gaps in the rod-shaped rotating body onto the conveying conveyor below.

[0024] The container transfer unit has an imaging conveyor belt made of a flexible sheet material that is stretched between a pair of pulleys and travels in a circular manner along a conveying path for conveying bottle-shaped containers and a return conveying path, and upstream of the conveying path, there is a receiving area where bottle-shaped containers in a sideways position with the bottle axis aligned along the running direction of the imaging conveyor belt are placed on the placement surface of the imaging conveyor belt, an imaging area where a camera is provided that takes images of the bottle-shaped containers conveyed by the imaging conveyor belt from above the conveying path, and based on the image capture results of the camera, The system is characterized in that it is composed of a transfer area in which a pickup robot is disposed that picks up the bottle-shaped container in a transfer area located downstream of the imaging area on the conveying path and transfers it to another location in the desired orientation, and in that the receiving area and transfer area excluding the imaging area are disposed trough-shaped guide means that push up and deform the imaging conveyor belt running on the conveying path, forming a V-shaped concave deformation section that can accommodate bottle-shaped containers in a horizontal orientation in the width direction of the conveyor belt, and guide the running of the imaging conveyor belt.

[0025] According to the container alignment device of the present invention having this configuration, the trough-shaped guide means disposed in the area of ​​the conveying path excluding the imaging area, i.e., from the bottle-shaped container supply section upstream of the conveying path to the imaging area and from the imaging area to the transfer area downstream of the conveying path, form a V-shaped concave portion on the imaging conveyor belt while traveling in the area where the trough-shaped guide means is disposed. Therefore, by storing bottle-shaped containers in this deformed portion, it is possible to prevent the bottle-shaped containers from rolling across the width of the imaging conveyor belt. In the imaging area where the V-shaped concave portion is not formed, the imaging conveyor belt traveling along the conveying path runs suspended between the trough-shaped guide means disposed upstream of the conveying path and the trough-shaped guide means disposed downstream of the conveying path, maintaining the shape of the V-shaped concave portion. Therefore, when imaging bottle-shaped containers in the imaging area, it is possible to prevent the imaging conveyor belt and anti-rolling members other than bottle-shaped containers from getting in the way.

[0026] Furthermore, the image capturing conveyor belt is made of a light-transmitting material, and the image capturing device has a backlight arranged so as to be able to irradiate light from the back side of the transport path in the image capturing area.

[0027] With the container alignment device of the present invention having this configuration, the edges of bottle-shaped containers can be emphasized by imaging using backlight illumination from the back side (shadow imaging), making it possible to prevent malfunction of the pickup robot. [Effects of the Invention]

[0028] The container alignment device of the present invention provides a highly efficient, space-saving container alignment device that can stably transport transparent or translucent bottle-shaped containers in a sideways position, photograph the bottle-shaped containers under conditions that produce good imaging results, and enable a pickup robot to transfer the bottle-shaped containers to another location in the desired position in a short amount of time and reliably. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0029] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of a container alignment device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the main configuration of a container insertion section of a direction-regulating conveying section in the container alignment device of FIG. 1; [Figure 3] 2 shows the configuration of the rod-shaped rotating body in the direction-regulating conveying section, (A)(A) is a front view, (A)(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line ii in (A)(A), (B)(A) is a front view of the rod-shaped rotating body of (A)(A) rotated 90 degrees around its axis toward the back of the figure, and (B)(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line ii in (B)(A). [Figure 4] The circular grooves formed by cutting the rod body of the container alignment device of Figure 2 are shown in (A) and (B), respectively. (A) is a front view, and (B) is a front view of the rod body of (A) rotated 90 degrees around its axis toward the back of the figure. [Figure 5] 3 is an explanatory diagram of the round groove formed by cutting into the round bar of the container alignment device of FIG. 2 and the tube that fits into it, (A) is an explanatory diagram showing the fitted state, and (B) is an explanatory diagram showing the state before fitting. [Figure 6]FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a belt is attached to a pulley of a drive unit in the container alignment device of FIG. 2. [Figure 7] 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the configuration of a container transfer unit of the container alignment device of FIG. 1; [Figure 8] 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a conveyor belt 1 when the transfer conveyor of FIG. 7 is transporting bottle-shaped containers. [Figure 9] 2A and 2B are explanatory views showing a bottle-shaped container in the direction regulation unit of the container alignment device of FIG. 1 before and after orientation correction, respectively; [Figure 10] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing adjustment of the arrangement of a pair of guide parts that constitute the trough-shaped guide means in the container transport device of FIG. 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] As described above, the container alignment device 1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 comprises: a direction-regulating conveying section 100 that conveys transparent or translucent bottle-shaped containers B supplied individually from a hopper 101 in a horizontal position with the bottle axes aligned in a fixed direction to the subsequent container separating and conveying section 200; a container separating and conveying section 200 that conveys each bottle-shaped container B conveyed sequentially from the direction-regulating conveying section 100 to the subsequent container transferring and loading section 300 with spaces between them in the conveying direction; a container transferring and loading section 300 that takes images of each bottle-shaped container B conveyed from the container separating and conveying section 200, and based on the image results, grasps each bottle-shaped container B with a pickup robot 310, changes it to a predetermined position, and transfers it to a pocket of the container standing section 400 described below; and a carrying out section 500 that sends the bottle-shaped containers B in an upright position in the container standing section 400 to the subsequent working position.

[0031] As shown in Figure 1, the direction-regulating transport section 100 is provided with a roller conveyor 110 that forms a transport conveyor 102 with its upper surface serving as a container alignment surface and its downstream end connected to the container separating and transporting section 200. The roller conveyor 110 is made up of multiple roller members 110A that are aligned in the bottle-shaped container transport direction and each of which has a variable rotation speed. In this embodiment, the multiple roller members are driven and controlled so that the transport speed of the bottle-shaped containers gradually increases toward the downstream side.

[0032] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, above the transport conveyor 102 and between the side walls 109 erected on both sides thereof, there is a container insertion section 103 into which bottle-shaped containers B are inserted from the hopper 101. The container insertion section 103 has a gap so that only one bottle-shaped container B with its bottle axis aligned in a desired direction can pass through and fall onto the corresponding roller conveyor 110, and the bottle-shaped container B can be supported by spanning two adjacent bottles, and four rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 are rotatably arranged so as to be aligned in the desired direction in a plan view.

[0033] In this embodiment, a drive unit 107 for driving and rotating a rod-shaped rotating body 106 is disposed between the side walls 109 upstream of the container insertion unit 103 in the conveying direction of the bottle-shaped containers B. The rod-shaped rotating body 106 is cantilever-supported at its base end by a bearing 116 provided in the drive unit 107, and is disposed so as to pass through a hole 107B provided in a partition plate 107A separating the container insertion unit 103 and the drive unit 107, and extend toward the container insertion unit 103 in the conveying direction.

[0034] The partition plate 107A is provided with partition plates (not shown) that extend in the conveying direction of the bottle-shaped containers B between each of the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 and the roller conveyor 110. Therefore, in this embodiment, the bottle-shaped containers B that slip through the gaps between the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 and fall onto the conveyor 102 are transported to the container transfer section 300 by passing through one of the three belt-like rows separated by the partition plates (not shown).

[0035] Here, as shown in Figures 3(A) and (B), the rod-shaped rotating body 106 in this embodiment has a sliding protrusion 105 formed on the outer periphery of a long metal rod (round bar) 104, and two resin tubes (105A, 105B) with a circular cross-sectional shape are wound obliquely in a spiral shape around the outer periphery of the rod-shaped rotating body 106.

[0036] In detail, as shown in Figures 4(A) and (B), the rod body 104 of the rod-shaped rotating body 106 has two end fixing portions 104A formed as small diameter grooves cut radially into the rod body 104 so as to separate an area that acts as a direction regulating portion 108 that aligns the orientation of the bottle-shaped container B within the container insertion portion 103.

[0037] As shown in Figures 5(A) and (B), a round groove 104B for arranging tubes 105A and 105B is cut into the surface of the rod body 104 in the longitudinal middle region, which acts as the direction regulating portion 108.

[0038] In this embodiment, the circular grooves 104B formed in the direction restriction 108 of the rod body 104 are formed at positions rotated 180° around the circumference of the rod body 104, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, and two resin tubes 105A and 105B are fixed at both ends to the two end fixing portions 109, respectively, and are tightly wound in a spiral shape by fitting their middle portions into different circular grooves 104B. Therefore, the resin tubes 105A and 105B protruding from the surface of the rod body 104 act as sliding contact protrusions 105 in this embodiment.

[0039] At this time, the sliding contact protrusions 105 are formed so as to leave a space for the bottle-shaped container B to make sufficient contact with the surface of the metal rod body 104 of the rod-shaped rotating body 106 exposed between adjacent sliding contact protrusions 105.

[0040] In the driving unit 107, a pulley 114 is disposed on the base end side of each rod-shaped rotating body 106. More specifically, in this embodiment, one pulley 114 (for convenience, referred to as the first pulley 114A) is disposed at the end of the rod-shaped rotating body 106 (for convenience, referred to as the first rod-shaped rotating body 106A) shown at the top in FIG. 2, and two pulleys 114 (for convenience, referred to as the second pulley 114B and the third pulley 114C) are disposed at the end of the rod-shaped rotating body 106 (for convenience, referred to as the second rod-shaped rotating body 106B). The third rod-shaped rotating body 106 from the top (for convenience, referred to as the third rod-shaped rotating body 106C) has two pulleys 114 (for convenience, referred to as the fourth pulley 114D and the fifth pulley 114E) fixed to its end, and the bottommost rod-shaped rotating body 106 (for convenience, referred to as the fourth rod-shaped rotating body 106D) has one pulley 114 (for convenience, referred to as the sixth pulley 114F) fixed to its end.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 2(B), the base end of the second rod-shaped rotating body 106B is connected to the rotating shaft of a motor 113 serving as a drive source, and round belts 115 are respectively connected between the first pulley 114A of the first rod-shaped rotating body 106A and the second pulley 114B of the second rod-shaped rotating body 106B, between the third pulley 114C and the fourth pulley 114D of the third rod-shaped rotating body 106C, and between the fifth pulley 114E and the sixth pulley D of the fourth rod-shaped rotating body 106D, thereby transmitting the rotation of the motor 113.

[0042] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, each round belt 115 is attached by twisting it 180 degrees between each pulley 114 and crossing it, and adjacent rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 are configured to rotate in opposite directions to drive them.

[0043] Returning to Figure 1, the container separating and conveying section 200 has a lift conveyor 212 that is stretched between a pair of pulleys 210, 210 on a frame base 201 and is capable of circular running by driving a motor 211. The conveyor belt 213 of the lift conveyor 212 wound around the pair of pulleys 210, 210 has its upper surface as a work mounting surface, and is formed so as to convey the bottle-shaped containers B while preventing them from slipping off due to frictional resistance with the bottle-shaped containers B.

[0044] The lift conveyor 212 is disposed on the frame base 201 with its downstream end in the running direction positioned at the top of the workpiece loading surface and inclined upward to the container transfer section 300, and as the conveyor belt 213 circulates, the upstream end of the lift conveyor 212 in the running direction is positioned abutting the downstream end of the transfer conveyor 102 so as to be able to receive bottle-shaped containers B carried out from the downstream end of the transfer conveyor 102 of the direction-regulating transfer section 100, and the downstream end is also positioned abutting the upstream end of the transfer conveyor 301 (described below) so as to be able to send bottle-shaped containers B to the subsequent container transfer section 300. In this embodiment, the conveyor belt 213 on which the bottle-shaped containers B are placed in the container separating and transferring section 200 is configured as a single large belt capable of placing bottle-shaped containers B in three rows in the width direction. In addition, partitions (not shown) are also provided on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 213 to separate each belt-like row along which the bottle-shaped containers B are transported, so that the bottle-shaped containers B are transported to the container transfer section 300 without changing their row.

[0045] Next, the container transfer section 300 has a transfer conveyor 301 that transfers bottle-shaped containers B in a horizontal position (the orientation of the mouth and bottom does not matter) with the bottle axis aligned along the conveyance direction.

[0046] In this embodiment, the transfer conveyor 301 also has conveyor belts 304 arranged in three rows, and is configured to receive the bottle-shaped containers B conveyed in rows from the container separating and conveying section 200 into each corresponding row. The conveyor belts 304 of each row are made of a flexible, light-transmitting sheet material for imaging, and as shown in Figure 7, are stretched between a drive pulley 303 connected to a motor 302 as a drive source and a driven pulley 303, and are configured to circulate along a conveying path L1 for conveying the bottle-shaped containers B and a return conveying path L2.

[0047] The conveying path is provided with a receiving area 305 where bottle-shaped containers B are supplied from the upstream side in the running direction with their bottle axes aligned with the running direction of the conveyor belt 304 and placed on the conveyor belt 304, an imaging area 306 where the posture of the bottle-shaped containers B being conveyed, more specifically the orientation of the mouth and bottom of the bottle-shaped containers B, is imaged, and a transfer area 307 where the bottle-shaped containers B that have been imaged are conveyed, picked up by a pick-up robot 310, and transferred to another location.

[0048] In the receiving area 305 and the transfer area 307 of the conveying path excluding the imaging area 306, a trough-shaped guide means 320 is arranged to push up from below against each conveyor belt 304 running on the conveying path, applying tension to the conveyor belt 304 to bend it, and forming a V-shaped concave deformation portion 311 in the width direction of the conveyor belt 304 (direction perpendicular to the running direction) that can accommodate a bottle-shaped container B in a horizontal position, while guiding the running of the conveyor belt 304.

[0049] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8, the trough-shaped guide means 320 has a mounting base 321 arranged along the conveying path on the back side of the conveying path of the conveyor belt 304, and a guide part 324 arranged on a top plate 321A of the mounting base 321 with fixing members 322 such as screws in the receiving area 305 and the transfer area 307 of the conveying path excluding the imaging area 306, and having a recess 323 formed on the upper surface that resembles a V-shaped concave deformation portion 311.

[0050] In this embodiment, guide part 324 is composed of a pair of parts 324A and 324B that are disposed on mounting base 321 at positions symmetrical to an imaginary line along the running direction, corresponding to bottom apex 323A of V-shaped concave deformation portion 311. The upper surfaces of the pair of parts 324A and 324B are inclined surfaces that point toward each other, and are configured to form concave portion 323 using both inclined surfaces.

[0051] The imaging area 306 arranged on the conveying path is equipped with a camera 331 that images the transparent or translucent bottle-shaped container B being conveyed on the conveyor belt 304 from above the conveying path, and a backlight 332 that illuminates the bottle-shaped container B in the imaging area from the back side of the conveying path through the conveyor belt 304.

[0052] A transfer area 307, located downstream of the imaging area 306 on the transport path, is provided with a control unit 310A that determines the position and posture of the bottle-shaped container B transported to the transfer area 307 based on the image capture results of the camera 331, and a pickup robot 310 that can pick up the bottle-shaped container B and transfer it to a destination in a predetermined posture based on the determined information. In this embodiment, the pickup robot 310 transfers the bottle-shaped container B in a horizontal posture with its mouth aligned in one direction into a pocket 401 of a container standing unit 400 in an upright position to transport the bottle-shaped container B to a filling unit of a filling device (not shown).

[0053] The container erector 400 is disposed upstream of the unloading section 500 heading toward the filling section in the running direction of the conveyor belt 501. The pocket 401 is configured to be rotatable by an erector mechanism (not shown) from a placement position located to the side of the conveyor belt 501 with the placement surface on which the bottle-shaped containers B are placed facing upward, to a standing position above the placement surface of the conveyor belt 501 on a rotation axis provided along the running direction of the conveyor belt 501. The placement surface of the pocket 401 is provided with a suction pad (not shown) for suction-holding the bottle-shaped containers B, and the suction pad can be used to suck and release the bottle-shaped containers B by turning on and off the negative pressure using a negative pressure pump (not shown).

[0054] Furthermore, the container alignment device 1 of this embodiment is equipped with motors 113, 211, 302 as driving sources for each conveyor 102, 212, 301 such as the aforementioned direction control conveying section 100, container separation conveying section 200, container transfer section 300, etc., imaging by camera 331 arranged in imaging area 306, driving of pickup robot 310 based on imaging by camera 331, and a control panel (not shown) for controlling the rotation of pocket 401 of container standing section 400 and the ON / OFF of the vacuum pump, and the control panel can be accessed from a remote location via a remote controller (not shown) to perform various adjustments and maintenance.

[0055] In this embodiment, the running speeds of the conveyors 102, 212, 301 of the aforementioned direction-controlling conveying section 100, container separating and conveying section 200, and container transferring section 300 are controlled so that the conveyors 102, 212, 301 located downstream on the conveying path of the bottle-shaped container B are faster, thereby preventing the bottle-shaped container B being conveyed from becoming stuck between the conveyors 102, 212, 301.

[0056] Next, the operation of the container alignment device 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0057] In the direction-regulating conveying section 100, the conveyor 102 is driven by a drive source to travel from the upstream side, where the frame 103 is disposed, to the downstream side so as to be able to convey bottle-shaped containers B. Driven by a motor 113 as a drive source for the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106, adjacent rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 within the frame 103 rotate in opposite directions. That is, the first rod-shaped rotating body 106A and the second rod-shaped rotating body 106B are respectively provided with a first pulley 114A and a second pulley 114B, and therefore, if the rotation direction of the second rod-shaped rotating body 106B, which rotates in the rotation direction of the motor 113, is considered to be the forward direction, the first rod-shaped rotating body 106A rotates in the reverse direction. Similarly, the second rod-shaped rotating body 106B and the third rod-shaped rotating body 106C are respectively provided with a third pulley 114C and a fourth pulley 114D, and the round belt 105 is attached to cross the third rod-shaped rotating body 106B, causing the third rod-shaped rotating body 106B to rotate in the reverse direction. Furthermore, the third rod-shaped rotating body 106C and the fourth rod-shaped rotating body 106D are respectively provided with a fifth pulley 114E and a sixth pulley 114D, and the round belt 105 is attached to cross the fifth pulley 114E, causing the fourth rod-shaped rotating body 106D to rotate in the forward direction.

[0058] In this state, the bottle-shaped container B is supplied from the hopper 101 to the container input section 102.

[0059] A bottle-shaped container B supplied into the frame 103 in a random position is simultaneously brought into sliding contact with an adjacent rod-shaped rotating body 106 that is rotating in the opposite direction, and is given a force that rotates it in an approximately horizontal direction on the rod-shaped rotating body 106.

[0060] 9(A), when two spaced apart points of a bottle-shaped container B are placed on adjacent rod-shaped rotating bodies 106, as the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 rotate, the bottle-shaped container B is pushed diagonally by the sliding protrusions 105, which are made of resin tubes 105A and 105B with a high friction coefficient and are formed obliquely on the surface of the rod-shaped rotating body 104, and slides against the metal rod-shaped body 104, which has less friction resistance than the sliding protrusions 105, applying a force that rotates the bottle-shaped container B in a substantially horizontal direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9(B), the bottle-shaped container B rotates to a state where it is not in sliding contact with either of the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106, i.e., where the bottle axis is aligned with the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106. In this state, the bottle-shaped container B drops from the gap between the adjacent rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 onto the transfer conveyor 102 below, and is transported in three files to the container separating and transporting section 200 for the next process, as described above.

[0061] As mentioned above, the roller members 110A constituting the roller conveyor 110 of the conveying conveyor 102 are driven and controlled so that the rotational speed of each member gradually increases as the bottle-shaped containers move downstream. Therefore, bottle-shaped containers B that fall through the gaps in the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 on the upstream side of the conveying conveyor 102 with their bottle axes aligned in the desired direction can be separated by the roller members 110A rotating at different speeds on the downstream side of the conveying conveyor 102, creating gaps between each bottle-shaped container B being conveyed in a row in that conveying direction, before heading to the next container separating and conveying section 200.

[0062] In the container separation and conveying section 200, the bottle-shaped containers B transported from the upstream end of the conveying conveyor 102 of the direction-controlling conveying section 100 are received at the upstream end of the running direction of the lift conveyor 212 by the circular movement of the conveyor belt 213 of the lift conveyor 212, and are transported uphill while preventing slipping due to frictional resistance between the conveyor belt 213 and the bottle-shaped containers B, and are transported from the downstream end of the lift conveyor 212 to the supply section on each conveyor belt 304 of the transfer conveyor 301 of the subsequent container transfer and loading section 300 with intervals between the bottle-shaped containers B being transported in each row.

[0063] At this time, even if a bottle-shaped container B is transported by the transport conveyor 102 in a state where its bottle axis is facing the desired direction but is not completely sideways, such as being stacked on top of another bottle-shaped container B, it will not be transported by the lift conveyor 212 of this embodiment, which transports bottles by utilizing the frictional resistance with the conveyor belt 213 arranged at an upward slope, and will instead slip off, allowing bottle-shaped containers B transported in the same row to be separated. At this time, a partition (not shown) arranged on the top surface of the conveyor belt 213 prevents the bottle-shaped containers that have slipped off from being placed back on the top surface of the conveyor belt 213 with their bottle axes facing in a direction other than the desired direction.

[0064] In the container transfer section 300, the drive source motor 302 is turned on to rotate the drive pulley 303 in the forward direction, thereby running each belt conveyor 304. Each belt conveyor 304 runs with its back surface in sliding contact with guide parts 324 arranged in the area of ​​the conveyance path excluding the imaging area 306, i.e., from the supply unit for bottle-shaped containers B on the upstream side of the conveyance path to the imaging area, and from the imaging area to the transfer area on the downstream side of the conveyance path.

[0065] At this time, the conveyor belt 304, which is made of a flexible material, forms a V-shaped concave deformation portion 311 as it travels through the area where the guide parts 324 are arranged. Therefore, as shown in Figure 8, by storing the bottle-shaped container B in the V-shaped concave deformation portion 311, it is possible to prevent the bottle-shaped container B from rolling in the width direction of the conveyor belt 304.

[0066] In the imaging area 306, a backlight 332 illuminates the backside of the bottle-shaped container B, and the camera 331 captures an image that emphasizes the edges of the bottle-shaped container B. At this time, each conveyor belt 304 traveling along a conveyance path without a V-shaped concave deformation portion 311 travels suspended between a trough-shaped guide means 320 disposed upstream of the conveyance area and a trough-shaped guide means 320 disposed downstream. The shape of the V-shaped concave deformation portion 311 is maintained, even if it loosens slightly. This prevents the bottle-shaped container B from rolling during imaging in the imaging area, enabling a good image to be captured. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the conveyor belt and any other components, such as those used to prevent the bottle-shaped container B, from getting caught in the image. For example, a sensor can be installed upstream of the imaging area to capture images in time with the detection of the conveyance of the bottle-shaped container B.

[0067] The imaging results are sent to the control unit 310A of the pick-up robot 310 installed in the transfer area 307 downstream of the conveyance path. The control unit 310A of the pick-up robot 310 determines the overturned state and position of the bottle-shaped container B being conveyed on the conveyor belt 304 from the imaging results. The method for determining the attitude of the bottle-shaped container B from the imaging results uses a known technology that detects the direction and attitude of the object from the imaging data. The pick-up robot 310 then drives the pickup arm to grasp the bottle-shaped container B being conveyed and transfer it to the subsequent specified position in the desired attitude.

[0068] In this embodiment, the pickup robot 310 transfers a bottle-shaped container B into a pocket 401 of the container erector 400. When the pickup robot 310 transfers a bottle-shaped container B into the pocket 401, the bottle-shaped container B is placed horizontally in the pocket 401 located to the side of the conveyor belt 501 with the placement surface for the bottle-shaped container B facing upward, with the opening facing in the opposite direction to the rotation axis of the erector mechanism. Then, a negative pressure pump (not shown) is turned on to create negative pressure using a suction pad, thereby adsorbing the bottle-shaped container B. In this state, the erector mechanism (not shown) is driven to rotate the pocket 401 about the rotation axis provided along the running direction of the conveyor belt 501 to an erect position above the placement surface of the conveyor belt 501, and the negative pressure is returned to normal pressure, releasing the bottle-shaped container B in an upright position on the conveyor belt. The bottle-shaped container B is then transported to the filling section by the conveyor belt 501 in the discharge section.

[0069] As described above, according to the container alignment device 1 of this embodiment, the direction-regulating conveying section 100 can convey randomly supplied bottle-shaped containers B downstream with their bottle axes reliably oriented in a predetermined direction, while preventing damage to the bottle-shaped containers B during conveyance. Furthermore, by using a pulley 114 and a stretched belt 15 attached to the pulley 114 as the driving section 12, only one motor 113 is required as the driving source, which is economical. Furthermore, the rotation of the rod-shaped rotating body 106 acts to agitate the bottle-shaped containers B in the frame 103, preventing bottle-shaped containers B from remaining in the container input section 103.

[0070] Furthermore, the container transfer section 300 can stably transport transparent or translucent bottle-shaped containers B in a sideways position while capturing images of the bottle-shaped containers B under conditions that produce good image capture results. The pick-up robot 310 can also transfer the bottle-shaped containers B to another location in the desired position, and since there are only two types of positions for the bottle-shaped containers B to be picked up, discrimination can be made in a short time, and since it is based on good image capture results, malfunctions are less likely to occur, making it more reliable.

[0071] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the container separating and conveying section 200 in this embodiment can be omitted, and the bottle-shaped container B can be conveyed directly from the direction-regulating conveying section 100 to the container transfer section 300.

[0072] Furthermore, the number of belt roller conveyors 110, 213, 304 in the direction-regulating conveying section 100, the container separating and conveying section 200, and the container transferring section 300, and the number of rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 arranged in the direction-regulating conveying section 100 are not limited to the above-mentioned numbers.

[0073] Furthermore, it is possible to omit the container standing section 400 in the container alignment device 1 of this embodiment and have the pick-up robot 310 directly place the bottle-shaped container B in an upright position on a subsequent conveying section, etc. Even in this case, the configuration of the container transfer section 300 of the container alignment device 1 of the present invention allows the pick-up robot 310 to correctly grasp the position of the bottle-shaped container B, thereby making it possible to prevent malfunctions from occurring.

[0074] Furthermore, in the direction-regulating conveying section 100, although the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 are adjacent to each other, they do not run in opposite directions but are rotated in the same direction, and by setting a difference in their rotational speeds, the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 can apply a rotational force in an approximately horizontal direction to the bottle-shaped containers B, causing the bottle axes to rotate in line with the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106, and with the posture of the bottle-shaped containers B regulated, they can be dropped from the discharge section formed by the gaps between adjacent rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 onto the conveying conveyor 102 below and aligned.

[0075] In this embodiment, specifically, the rotation speed of each rod-shaped rotating body 106 can be easily changed by varying the diameters of the pulleys 114A to 114F provided on each rod-shaped rotating body 106A to 106D.

[0076] The desired orientation of the bottle-shaped containers B may be rotated 90° from the orientation in the above-described embodiment. In this case, the container loading section 103 may be configured so that the rod-shaped rotator 106 in this embodiment is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the bottle-shaped containers B.

[0077] Furthermore, the number of rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 is not limited to the number in this embodiment. In that case, it goes without saying that the number of pulleys 114 and the number of round belts 115 connecting the pulleys 114 to transmit the driving force can also be changed as appropriate.

[0078] The sliding contact protrusion 105 is not limited to a resin tube 105, but may be a belt or the like. Anything that acts to push the bottle-shaped container B in an oblique direction when it comes into contact with the part that protrudes from the outer surface of the rod body 104 may be used.

[0079] Furthermore, each of the rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 may be supported at a height position relative to the container alignment surface in at least two different patterns, for example, by making the height positions of the two rod-shaped rotating bodies 106A and 106D at both ends lower than the two middle rod-shaped rotating bodies 106B and 106C of the four rod-shaped rotating bodies 106. By arranging multiple rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 in the frame 103 with varying heights in this manner, it is possible to obtain an effect such as making it easier for bottle-shaped containers B supplied to the frame 103 to slide downward. Note that even in this case, the gap dimensions and rotation directions between adjacent rod-shaped rotating bodies 106 remain as described above.

[0080] Furthermore, the guide part 324 in the container transfer section 300 may be configured to adjust the size of the recess by moving a pair of parts 324A, 324B arranged on the top plate 321A of the mounting base 321 at a position symmetrical to a virtual line along the running direction corresponding to the V-shaped recessed bottom apex 323A toward and away from each other, as shown in Figure 10, to change the size of the recess and the angle of the bottom apex. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 1. Container alignment device 100 Direction control conveying section 101 Hopper 102 Transport conveyor 103 Container input section 104 Rod (round bar) 105 Sliding contact protrusion 105A, 105B round tube 106 Rod-shaped rotating body 106A First rod-shaped rotor 106B Second rod-shaped rotor 106C Third rod-shaped rotor 106D 4th rod-shaped rotor 107 Drive Unit 107A Partition 108 Directional control section 109 Side wall 110 Roller conveyor 110A Roller member 113 Motor 114 Pulley 114A 1st pulley 114B No. 2 pulley 114C 3rd pulley 114D 4th pulley 115 Belt 116 Bearings 200 Container separation and conveyance section 201 Frame base 210 Pulley 211 Motor 212 Lift conveyor 213 Conveyor Belt 300 Container transfer section 301 Transfer conveyor 302 Motor 303 Pulley 304 Imaging conveyor belt 305 Reception Area 306 Imaging Area 307 Transfer area 310 Pickup Robot 311 Deformed part (V-shaped concave) 320 Trough-shaped guide means 321 Mounting stand 322 Fixing member 323 Recess 324 Guide Parts 331 Camera 332 Backlight 400 Container upright part 401 Pocket 500 Unloading section 501 Conveyor Belt

Claims

1. a direction-regulating conveying unit that conveys the transparent or translucent bottle-shaped containers supplied in a loose state to a subsequent work position in a horizontal position with the bottle axes oriented in a fixed direction; a container transfer unit that takes an image of each bottle-shaped container being transported, and based on the image, changes each grasped bottle-shaped container into a predetermined posture and transfers it to a subsequent work position; and The direction-regulating conveying unit includes a conveyor having an upper surface as a container alignment surface; a container input section provided above the conveyor on the upstream side of the bottle-shaped container conveying direction so as to allow the conveyance of containers aligned on the container alignment surface; The container input section has a gap that allows only bottle-shaped containers with their axes aligned in a desired direction to pass through and fall onto the transport conveyor, and allows the bottle-shaped containers to be supported by two adjacent bottles. The bottle-shaped containers are supported rotatably along the desired direction in a plan view, and a plurality of rod-shaped rotors are formed with a spirally oblique sliding protrusion on the outer periphery of the rod. a drive unit that rotates the rod-shaped rotor; A container alignment device comprising:

2. The container alignment device described in claim 1, characterized in that the conveying conveyor of the direction-regulating conveying section is a roller conveyor that can rotate and drive multiple roller members that are aligned in the conveying direction of the bottle-shaped containers, and the multiple roller members are driven and controlled so that the conveying speed of the bottle-shaped containers gradually increases as they move downstream.

3. The container alignment device described in claim 2, characterized in that a container separation and conveying section is provided between the direction-regulating conveying section and the container separation and conveying section, the container separation and conveying section being arranged at an upward gradient toward the conveying direction of the bottle-shaped containers, and having a lift conveyor whose upper surface serves as a loading surface for the bottle-shaped containers received from the direction-regulating conveying section.

4. 2. The container alignment device according to claim 1, wherein the rod-shaped rotor is a metal rod, and the sliding contact protrusion is made of a material having a higher friction resistance than the metal rod.

5. 2. The container aligning device according to claim 1, wherein adjacent rod-shaped rotating bodies are driven so as to rotate in opposite directions.

6. the container transfer unit has an imaging conveyor belt made of a flexible sheet material that is stretched between a pair of pulleys and circulates along a conveying path for conveying bottle-shaped containers and a return conveying path; The system is comprised of a receiving area upstream of the conveying path where bottle-shaped containers in a sideways position with the bottle axis aligned along the running direction of the imaging conveyor belt are placed on the placement surface of the imaging conveyor belt, an imaging area where a camera is provided to take images of the bottle-shaped containers being conveyed by the imaging conveyor belt from above the conveying path, and a transfer area where a pickup robot is provided that picks up the bottle-shaped containers in a transfer area located downstream of the imaging area on the conveying path based on the image capture results of the camera and transfers them to another location in a desired position, 6. A container alignment device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that in the receiving area and transfer area excluding the imaging area, a trough-shaped guide means is arranged to push up and deform the imaging conveyor belt running on the transport path, forming a V-shaped concave deformation portion that accommodates bottle-shaped containers in a horizontal position in the width direction of the imaging conveyor belt, and to guide the running of the imaging conveyor belt.

7. 7. The container alignment device according to claim 6, wherein the imaging conveyor belt is made of a light-transmitting material, and the imaging device has a backlight arranged so as to be able to irradiate light from the back side of the conveying path in the imaging area.

Images