Material handling equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides an article conveying device that can efficiently and reliably correct the orientation of articles within a conveying bucket, regardless of the shape or surface condition of the articles being conveyed. [Solution] The article conveying device conveys containers C by placing them in a conveying bucket 13 having a pair of opposing inclined surfaces 14. A vibration generating guide 32 is provided along the conveying path of the conveying bucket 13 and has a plurality of protrusions 33. An engaging portion 31 protrudes downward from the conveying bucket 13. As the conveying bucket 13 is conveyed, the engaging portion 31 engages with the protrusions 33 of the vibration generating guide 32, causing vibration to be generated in the conveying bucket 13, and correcting the orientation of the container C placed in the conveying bucket 13 to be aligned with the inclined surfaces 14.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article conveying device that corrects the posture of an article in a conveying bucket while conveying the article by a conveying bucket having an inclined surface.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as such an article conveying device, a device described in Patent Document 1 is known. This device is configured to place an article (for example, a container or the like) in a state of being placed horizontally (hereinafter referred to as "lying state") such that its longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the conveying direction in a conveying bucket having a pair of opposing inclined surfaces and hold its posture. That is, the pair of inclined surfaces are defined such that the valley formed therebetween extends in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and the container is held such that its central axis is along the valley of the inclined surface.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional device, when the shape of the article is elongated or box-shaped, since the side surface of the article is likely to engage with the valley between the inclined surfaces, the container is held in a certain posture in the conveying bucket, but depending on the shape and surface state of the container, the posture may not be appropriately corrected in some cases.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an article conveying device that can efficiently and reliably correct the posture of an article in a conveying bucket regardless of the shape and surface state of the conveyed article.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The article conveying device according to the present invention is an article conveying device that conveys articles by placing them on a conveying bucket having a pair of opposing inclined surfaces, and is characterized in that it is provided along the conveying path of the conveying bucket and comprises a comb-shaped vibration generating guide having a plurality of protrusions and an engaging part that protrudes downward from the conveying bucket, and as the conveying bucket is conveyed, the engaging part engages with the protrusions of the vibration generating guide, thereby generating vibration in the conveying bucket and correcting the posture of the articles placed on the conveying bucket to be aligned with the inclined surfaces.

[0007] Preferably, the transport buckets are provided at regular intervals on the transport member extending along the transport path, a plurality of vibration generating guides are provided along the transport member, and the engaging portion is located on the outside of the transport member in the transport bucket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an article conveying device that can efficiently and reliably correct the orientation of an article within a conveying bucket, regardless of the shape or surface condition of the article being conveyed. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a front view showing the overall configuration of an article handling device, which is one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a side view showing the main components of an item handling device. [Figure 3] This is a front view of the transport bucket, seen along the transport direction. [Figure 4] This is a side view showing the operation of the transport bucket. [Figure 5] This is a plan view showing the operation of the transport bucket. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The configuration of an article conveying device, which is one embodiment of the present invention, will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of the article conveying device, in which the article is conveyed in an overturned state by the first conveying conveyor (conveying member) 11 in the direction of arrow A, and then transferred from the first conveying conveyor 11 to the second conveying conveyor 12 by the robot 20 and conveyed to the next process. In this embodiment, the article to be conveyed is a container C with an elliptical cross-sectional shape (see Figure 2), the height (axial length) is about the same as the major axis of the ellipse at its widest cross-section, and a cylindrical opening D with a smaller diameter than the bottom surface B is formed on the opposite side of the bottom surface B.

[0011] The first conveyor belt 11 extends along the conveying path, and conveying buckets 13 are provided on its upper surface at regular intervals. Each conveying bucket 13 has a pair of opposing inclined surfaces 14 so as to be able to hold a container C. That is, the pair of inclined surfaces 14 are inclined in a concave shape so as to form a valley between them that extends in the width direction of the first conveyor belt 11. Each container C is placed between the pair of inclined surfaces 14 in one conveying bucket 13, and in a normal state, it is held so that its central axis coincides with the valley between the inclined surfaces 14 (see Figure 2).

[0012] The robot 20 has a conventionally known configuration and is controlled by the control device 21. It takes container C from the transport bucket 13 and transfers it to the second transport conveyor 12. The control device 21 controls the operation of the robot 20 based on an image of the overturned container C taken by a camera 22 positioned above the first transport conveyor 11. The second transport conveyor 12 is a flat belt and transports the container C with its central axis perpendicular to the transport direction.

[0013] In the first conveyor belt 11, a vibration-applying unit 30, described later, is provided upstream of the camera 22, and a guide 23 and an air injection nozzle 24 are provided upstream of the vibration-applying unit 30. The air injection nozzle 24 is provided on the opposite side of the first conveyor belt 11 from the guide 23. The air injection nozzle 24 injects high-pressure air onto the container C on the conveyor bucket 13, displacing the container C toward the guide 23.

[0014] The configuration of the vibration-applying unit 30 will be explained with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Conveyor buckets 13 are attached to the surface of the first conveyor belt 11 (the upper surface in Figures 2 and 3) at regular intervals. Each conveyor bucket 13 consists of a pair of plate-like members 15, and the inclination angle of the inclined surface 14, which is the surface of the plate-like members 15, with respect to the horizontal plane is, for example, 10 to 30°. An engaging portion 31 is provided at the end of the plate-like member 15 in the width direction of the first conveyor belt 11. The engaging portion 31 is a flat plate located outside the first conveyor belt 11 and protruding downward from the first conveyor belt 11 and the conveyor buckets 13.

[0015] In Figure 3, the lower surface of the first conveyor 11 is slidably supported by rails 18 fixed to the upper surface of the fixed frame 16. A timing belt 17 is also fixed to the lower surface of the first conveyor 11. The timing belt 17 is wound around a pair of pulleys (not shown), and the first conveyor 11 is driven when one of the pulleys is driven by a drive motor.

[0016] A vibration generating guide 32 is provided on the underside of the first conveyor 11, along one side (for example, the side on which the air injection nozzle 24 is provided). The vibration generating guide 32 has a comb-like shape and has a plurality of tapered projections 33 that protrude upward. Each projection 33 has a vertical downstream side in the conveying direction and a cam surface that is inclined at approximately 45° on the upstream side and can engage with the engagement portion 31. In this embodiment, two vibration generating guides 32 are provided along the conveying path, and each vibration generating guide 32 has three projections 33, but these numbers are merely examples.

[0017] The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in FIG. 4(a), while the transport bucket 13 is moving in the direction of arrow A on the upstream side of the vibration generating guide 32, it smoothly transports the container C without moving up and down. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4(b), when the transport bucket 13 advances and the engaging portion 31 engages with the protrusion 33 of the vibration generating guide 32, due to this engagement, one side portion of the first transport conveyor 11 separates from the fixed frame 16, and one end of the transport bucket 13 is lifted so as to be inclined in the width direction of the first transport conveyor 11. Further, when the transport bucket 13 advances and the engaging portion 31 gets over the protrusion 33 and falls between the two protrusions 33, one side portion of the transport bucket 13 descends, and the first transport conveyor 11 comes into contact with the fixed frame 16 again. Such vertical movement of the transport bucket 13 is repeated every time the engaging portion 31 engages with the protrusion 33 along with its transport operation.

[0018] In this way, when the transport bucket 13 passes near the vibration generating guide 32 provided on one side portion of the first transport conveyor 11, the side where the vibration generating guide 32 is provided becomes the center of oscillation and is shaken in the vertical direction. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), even when the container C placed on the transport bucket 13 is not in a normal posture and its central axis is inclined in a direction intersecting the valley between the inclined surfaces 14, due to the vibration of the transport bucket 13, the container C repeatedly moves and rotates slightly along the inclined surface 14, and is gradually corrected to a stable posture, that is, a posture in which the central axis matches the valley between the inclined surfaces 14.

[0019] In this embodiment, the article is a container C having an elliptical cross-sectional shape and a relatively small height. However, the present invention is not limited to the shape of the article as long as its posture changes due to the vibration of the inclined surface 14.

[0020] Also, in this embodiment, the first transport conveyor 11 is driven by a timing belt 17, but the drive mechanism may use a chain.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0021] 13 Transport bucket 14 inclined surface 31 engaging portion 32 vibration generating guide 33 protrusion

Claims

1. An article conveying device that conveys articles by placing them in a conveying bucket having a pair of opposing inclined surfaces, A comb-shaped vibration generating guide having multiple protrusions is provided along the transport path of the transport bucket, It comprises an engaging portion that protrudes downward from the transport bucket, As the transport bucket is moved, the engaging portion engages with the projection of the vibration generating guide, causing vibration to be generated in the transport bucket, and correcting the orientation of the article placed in the transport bucket to align with the inclined surface. A material conveying device characterized by the following features.

2. The article conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveying buckets are provided at regular intervals on a conveying member extending along the conveying path, a plurality of vibration generating guides are provided along the conveying member, and the engaging portion is located outside the conveying member in the conveying bucket.

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