Container removal device and food serving system using same

Abstract

To prevent an interference sound between containers when taking out the containers from a container stacking body.SOLUTION: A container take-out apparatus includes a pair of first movement claws 13 that holds or the releases holding of a lowest stage container B1 in a container stacking body BT, a pair of second movement claws 14 that is provided above the pair of first movement claws 13 and holds or releases the holding of a container B2 directly above the lowest stage container B1, an elevating member 17 that descents to take out the lowest stage container B1 while supporting the lowest stage container B1, and a control unit 19 that performs control that holds a newly lowest stage container B1 after taking out the lowest stage container B1 with the pair of the first movement claws 13 and the pair of the second movement claws 14, moves the pair of the second movement claws 14 to a releasing position while keeping the pair of the first movement claws 13 at a holding position, moves the pair of the first movement claws 13 in a separation direction and descents the container stacking body BT along the first movement claws 13, and changes the holding position of the lowest stage container B1 by the pair of the first movement claws 13 to a position where the container B2 directly above the lowest stage container B1 can be held by the pair of the second movement claws 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container removal device and a food serving system using the same, and more particularly to container removal for removing one of a stack of stacked containers. [Background technology]

[0002] In food factories and stores, a container removal device is used to remove containers one by one from a container stack and supply them to the next process, and a food plating device is used to plate rice and side dishes on the containers removed from the container removal device. The container removal device and the food plating device together make up a food plating system.

[0003] Regarding a container removal device, for example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2009-280289 A) discloses a device which comprises a number of dish stock sections capable of loading and accommodating a number of types of dishes (containers), each with a dish drop port at its bottom, a pair of left and right dish ejection pivot shafts which are provided at the lower edge of the drop ports of the dish stock sections and have peripheral grooves recessed into the peripheral surface to receive both end edges (flanges) of the dishes, and locking grooves drilled parallel to the central axis to engage both end edges of the dishes, and a dish lateral transfer type which sequentially transfers dishes which have fallen downward from the drop ports of the dish stock sections via the dish ejection pivot shafts to the transport conveyor side by left and right reciprocating lateral sliding of a moving frame equipped with two dish engagement recesses.

[0004] In other words, in order to remove plates loaded in the plate stock section, both end edges of the outer surface of the plate are supported by a plate ejection pivot shaft, and the plate ejection pivot shaft rotates downward so as to clamp both end edges of the outer surface of the plate in place, dropping the plates one by one for removal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-280289 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the above-mentioned device, since the containers are held by the outer peripheral surface of the dish-discharging pivot shaft, if the containers are made of ceramic or resin, the impact of the dish-discharging pivot shaft rotating and the containers lowering one by one to be locked into the locking grooves creates a noise (interference noise) caused by the stacked containers interfering with each other.

[0007] In addition, the above-mentioned device is designed to clamp the flanges of containers from above and below with locking grooves provided on the dish-dispensing rotating shaft and remove them one by one, so it was limited to containers with flanges that could be clamped in the locking grooves.

[0008] The present invention has been made against the above-mentioned technical background, and aims to provide a container removal device and a food serving system using the same that can prevent the generation of interference noise between containers when removing containers from a container stack.

[0009] In addition, the present invention has been made against the above-mentioned technical background, and aims to provide a container removal device that can be used even when the container does not have a flange, and a food serving system using the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, the container removal device of the present invention described in claim 1 includes a container storage section that stores a container stack in which containers with outer widths that decrease toward the bottom are stacked; a pair of first moving members that are movable between a holding position in which they approach each other to hold a bottom container located at the bottom of the container stack, and a release position in which they move away from each other to release the hold of the bottom container; a pair of second moving members that are provided above the pair of first moving members and are movable between a holding position in which they approach each other to hold an upper container stacked directly above the bottom container, and a release position in which they move away from each other to release the hold of the upper container; a lifting member that is provided directly below the container storage section and can be raised and lowered, and that moves down while supporting a bottom surface of the bottom container to remove the bottom container from the container stack; and a control means for sequentially executing the following steps: a second step of moving the pair of first moving members to a release position to support the lowest container with the lifting members; a third step of lowering the lifting members while keeping the pair of first moving members in the release position and the pair of second moving members in the holding position to remove the lowest container from the container stack; a fourth step of moving the pair of first moving members to the holding position while keeping the pair of second moving members in the holding position to hold the new lowest container between the pair of first moving members and the pair of second moving members; a fifth step of moving the pair of second moving members to the release position while keeping the pair of first moving members in the holding position; and a sixth step of moving the pair of first moving members in a separating direction to lower the container stack including the new lowest container along the first moving members, and changing the holding position of the new lowest container by the pair of first moving members to a position where the new directly above container can be held by the pair of second moving members.

[0011] The container removal device of the present invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, each of the pair of first movable members is formed with a retaining piece that protrudes inwardly and holds two points of the lowermost container, and each of the pair of second movable members is formed with a retaining piece that protrudes inwardly and holds two points of the container directly above.

[0012] The container removal device of the present invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2 above, the container storage section is provided with a plurality of guide rods that contact the sides of the container stack and support it.

[0013] The container removal device of the present invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3 above, the control means changes the holding positions and release positions of the pair of first movable members and the pair of second movable members to match the external width dimension of the container.

[0014] The container removal device of the present invention described in claim 5 is Claim 3 In the invention described above, the guide rods are arranged in pairs on the pair of first moving members and are movable toward and away from each other, and the control means is changing the holding positions and the release positions of the pair of first moving members and the pair of second moving members in accordance with an outer width dimension of the container; The guide rod is moved so as to come into contact with a side of the stack of containers.

[0015] The container removal device of the present invention described in claim 6 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a buffer member is provided on the upper end of the lifting member.

[0016] The container removal device of the present invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 6 above, it further has a transport means for intermittently transporting the bottommost container removed by the lifting member toward the next process.

[0017] In order to solve the above problems, the food serving system of the present invention described in claim 8 is as follows: Claim 7and a food plating device which plates food in the container transported by the transport means. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the present invention, after the bottommost container is removed, the new bottommost container is held by a pair of first moving members and a pair of second moving members, the pair of second moving members is moved to the release position, and then the pair of first moving members is moved in a direction away from each other so that the entire container stack descends along the first moving members, thereby making it possible to prevent interference noises caused by stacked containers colliding with each other as the container stack descends one level at a time.

[0019] In addition, since the pair of first movable members and the pair of second movable members move toward and away from each other to hold and release the container, even if a flange is not formed, it is possible to accommodate containers of various shapes as long as the outer width becomes smaller toward the bottom. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a food serving system equipped with a container removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view showing a container removal device constituting the food plating system of FIG. 1 together with a stage. FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a perspective view showing the container removal device of FIG. 2 from a different direction than in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the container removal device of FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is a front view of the container removal device of FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the container removal device of FIG. 2. [Figure 7] 1(a) to 1(j) are explanatory views successively showing a container removal operation by the container removal device of the present embodiment. [Figure 8](a) is a plan view of a rectangular container, (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the rectangular containers of (a) stacked together, (c) is a plan view of a container removal device when the rectangular container of (a) is used, and (d) is a front view of (c). [Figure 9] (a) is a plan view of a round container with a relatively large diameter and shallow bottom, (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the round containers of (a) stacked together, (c) is a plan view of a container removal device when the round container of (a) is used, and (d) is a front view of (c). [Figure 10] 1A is a plan view of a relatively medium-diameter, deep-bottomed round container, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view showing the round containers of FIG. 1A stacked together, FIG. 1C is a plan view of a container removal device when the round container of FIG. 1A is used, and FIG. 1D is a front view of FIG. 1C. [Figure 11] (a) is a plan view of a round container with a relatively small diameter and deep bottom, (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the round containers of (a) stacked together, (c) is a plan view of a container removal device when the round container of (a) is used, and (d) is a front view of (c). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings for explaining the embodiment, the same components are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description will be omitted.

[0022] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a food plating system equipped with a container removal device according to one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the container removal device together with a stage which constitutes the food plating system of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the container removal device of Fig. 2 from a different direction than that of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a plan view of the container removal device of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a front view of the container removal device of Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the container removal device of Fig. 2. Note that the container transport table of the container removal device has been omitted in Fig. 3.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 1, the food plating system of this embodiment is composed of a container removal device 10 that removes containers B one by one from a container stack BT in which containers B (small bowls, plates, bowls, etc.) are stacked, and a food plating device 20 that plates food such as side dishes and cooked rice in containers B intermittently transported by a turntable-type container transport table (transport means) 11 that forms part of the container removal device 10. Furthermore, container removal device 10 and food plating device 20 are placed on a stage 30. As shown in Fig. 2, the stage 30 is mounted on a frame 31, which is a framework.

[0024] In addition, the food serving device 20 is structured so that after food placed in the hopper 21 is loosened by the loosening mechanism 22, a predetermined amount of food is measured in a measuring and supply cup 23, which can be opened and closed so as to open downward, and the food is dropped and supplied to container B on the container conveying table 11 located directly below.

[0025] As shown in Figs. 2 to 5, the container removal device 10 includes a base body 10a having an opening 10a-1 formed therein. A container storage section 12 is provided on the opening 10a-1 to store containers B stacked as a container stack BT. A pair of first moving claws (a pair of first moving members) 13 that can approach and separate from each other are provided on either side of the opening 10a-1, and a pair of second moving claws (a pair of second moving members) 14 that can also approach and separate from each other are provided above the pair of first moving claws 13. A pair of guide blocks 15 are provided on both sides of the pair of first moving claws 13 and the pair of second moving claws 14 to support the pair of first moving claws 13 and the pair of second moving claws 14 and guide their movement.

[0026] In addition, guide rods 12a that contact the sides of the container stack BT and support it are installed in the container storage section 12 facing the up and down direction. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a total of four guide rods 12a are arranged on each side of a pair of first moving claws 13, two on each side, and are attached to a rod plate 16 provided below the pair of first moving claws 13. This rod plate 16 is supported by the above-mentioned guide block 15, and as described later, the guide rods 12a can move toward and away from each other so as to support container stacks BT of various widths. Note that, for convenience in stacking the containers B, the height of the guide rod 12a on the front side is lower than that of the guide rod 12a on the back side. However, the number of guide rods 12a may be more than one, and it is not necessary to use four as shown in this embodiment as long as the container stack BT can be supported without falling over.

[0027] Here, the pair of first movable claws 13 can be moved between a holding position where they approach each other to hold the bottom container B1 (FIG. 7), which is the container B located at the bottom of the container stack BT, and a release position where they move away from each other to release their hold on the bottom container B1. The pair of second movable claws 14 can be moved between a holding position where they approach each other to hold the direct-upper container B2 (FIG. 7), which is the container stacked directly above the bottom container B1, and a release position where they move away from each other to release their hold on the direct-upper container B2.

[0028] 2 to 4, each of the pair of first moving claws 13 has holding pieces 13a formed to protrude inward for holding two points of the bottommost container B1. Therefore, one side of the bottommost container B1 is held by two holding pieces 13a of one first moving claw 13, and the opposite side is held by two holding pieces 13a of the other first moving claw 13, i.e., the bottommost container B1 is held by four holding pieces 13a, making it possible to hold containers B of various outer shapes and stably hold them without wobbling.

[0029] Similarly, each of the pair of second movable claws 14 is formed with a retaining piece 14a protruding inward for holding two points of the directly above container B2, and the pair of second movable claws 14 is also capable of holding containers B of various external shapes with the four retaining pieces 14a, and is able to hold the containers BS stably without wobbling.

[0030] The shape of the container B that can be removed by the container removal device 10 of this embodiment is a container B whose outer width (the width (dimension) of the outside of the container) becomes smaller toward the bottom (see Figure 7), and therefore the container storage section 12 described above stores a container stack BT in which such containers B are stacked.

[0031] Regarding the shape of container B, since the outer width of container B decreases toward the bottom, containers whose outer width is the same from top to bottom or whose outer width increases toward the bottom are not suitable. Also, as long as the outer width of container B decreases toward the bottom, it is acceptable for container B to have a shape that bulges in the vertical direction as in this embodiment, and it may have a shape that is linear (tapered) in the vertical direction or a shape that is concave in the vertical direction.

[0032] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, a lifting member 17 is provided immediately below the container storage section 12 provided above the opening 10a-1, which is capable of lifting and lowering, and which supports the bottom surface of the bottom container B1 while lowering to remove the bottom container B1 from the container stack BT. A lifting and lowering platform 17a is provided at the upper end of the lifting and lowering member 17. Therefore, when the bottom container B1 is separated from the container stack BT by the movement of a pair of first movable claws 13 (described later) to the release position, the bottom container B1 falls onto the lifting and lowering platform 17a of the lifting and lowering member 17, which is in the raised position, and the lifting and lowering member 17 lowers while supporting the bottom container B1.

[0033] In addition, in order to prevent noise (falling noise) from being generated when the lowest container B1 falls onto the lifting support platform 17a of the lifting member 17, and to prevent the lowest container B1 from being damaged by the impact of the fall, it is desirable to provide a cushioning material (not shown) such as rubber or felt on the lifting support platform 17a.

[0034] As shown in Figure 2, the container conveying table 11 has holding holes 11a formed at regular intervals around the periphery, through which the lifting member 17 can descend and be detached, and into which the lowermost container B1 is fitted and held as it descends with its bottom surface supported by the lifting support base 17a of the lifting member 17.

[0035] The control system of the container removal device 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

[0036] As shown in the figure, the control system of the container removal device 10 includes an input unit 18 for inputting the number of containers B to be removed, the holding and release positions of the pair of first moving claws 13 and the pair of second moving claws 14 according to the type of container B, the position of the rod plate 16 for positioning the guide rod 12a for supporting the container stack BT, etc., a first claw motor 13M for driving the pair of first moving claws 13, a second claw motor 14M for driving the pair of second moving claws 14, a rod motor 16M for driving the rod plate 16 to which the guide rod 12a is attached, a lifting motor 17M for driving the lifting member 17, and a control unit 19 for controlling the rotation angles of these motors 13M, 14M, 16M, and 17M to control the direction and amount of movement. In this embodiment, servo motors controlled by encoders are used for the motors 13M, 14M, 16M, and 17M, but stepping motors controlled by pulse numbers may also be used.

[0037] In this embodiment, the control unit 19 changes the holding and releasing positions of the pair of first moving claws 13 and the pair of second moving claws 14, and also moves the position of the rod plate 16 that positions the guide rod 12a for supporting the container stack BT, thereby making it possible to take out containers B of various shapes. For this purpose, as described above, the input unit 18 inputs the holding and releasing positions of the pair of first moving claws 13 and the pair of second moving claws 14 according to the shape (external width) of the container B, and inputs the position of the rod plate 16 that positions the guide rod 12a. However, when the container take-out device 10 takes out only one type of container B, it is not necessary to input the pair of first moving claws 13, the pair of second moving claws 14, and the rod plate 16 to the input unit 18.

[0038] Next, the container removal operation by the container removal device 10 having such a configuration will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Here, Figs. 7(a)-(j) are explanatory diagrams successively showing the container removal operation by the container removal device of this embodiment. Note that this series of operations is performed by the pair of first moving claws 13, the pair of second moving claws 14, the rod plate 16, and the lifting member 17, which are driven by motors 13M, 14M, 16M, and 17M controlled by the control unit 19 described above.

[0039] In the first step of removing container B (specifically, the bottom container B1), the container stack BT is accommodated in the container accommodation section 12 with the pair of first movable claws 13 in the holding position (position for holding the bottom container B1) and the pair of second movable claws 14 in the release position (position for releasing the holding of the directly above container B2) as shown in FIG. 7(a). From the state shown in FIG. 7(a), as shown in FIG. 7(b), while the pair of first movable claws 13 are kept in the holding position, the pair of second movable claws 14 are moved from the release position to the holding position (position for holding the directly above container B2) and the lifting member 17 is lifted. As described above, the lifting member 17 lifts by penetrating the holding hole 11a (hole into which the bottom container B1 fits and is held) formed in the container transport table 11.

[0040] Next, in the second step, as shown in Fig. 7(c), the pair of first movable claws 13 are moved to the release position (position where the hold of the bottommost container B1 is released) while the pair of second movable claws 14 are kept in the holding position. As a result, as shown in Fig. 7(d), the bottommost container B1, which has been released from the hold of the pair of first movable claws 13, is separated from the container stack BT and falls under its own weight. As a result, as shown in Fig. 7(e), the bottommost container B1 falls onto and is supported on the lifting and lowering support pedestal 17a of the lifting and lowering member 17, which is in the raised position.

[0041] Next, as a third step, as shown in FIG. 7(f), while the pair of first moving claws 13 is in the release position and the pair of second moving claws 14 is in the holding position (i.e., the pair of first moving claws 13 and the pair of second moving claws 14 are not moved from the position shown in FIG. 7(e)), the lifting member 17 is lowered while supporting the bottommost container B1, and the bottommost container B1 is removed from the container stack BT. Therefore, as shown in the figure, after the bottommost container B1 is removed, the container B2 just above, which is held by the pair of second moving claws 14, is located at the bottom of the container stack BT. In this embodiment, the lowered lifting member 17 is released downward from the holding hole 11a formed in the container transport table 11, and therefore the bottommost container B1 supported by the lifting member 17 is fitted and held in the holding hole 11a and is mounted on the container transport table 11.

[0042] Next, as a fourth step, as shown in Figure 7 (g), the pair of first movable claws 13 are moved to the holding position while the pair of second movable claws 14 are kept in the holding position, so that the new bottommost container B1 (i.e., the container B that was previously the directly above container B2) is held by the pair of first movable claws 13 and the pair of second movable claws 14.

[0043] Next, in a fifth step, as shown in Fig. 7(h), the pair of second movable claws 14 are moved to the release position while the pair of first movable claws 13 are kept in the holding position. Therefore, the bottom container B1 is held only by the pair of first movable claws 13, and the holding position by the pair of first movable claws 13 is lower than the previous holding position (e.g., see Figs. 7(a) and (b)) by the thickness of the pair of second movable claws 14.

[0044] As described above, the shape of the container B that can be removed by the container removal device 10 of this embodiment is a container B whose outer width decreases downward. Therefore, in the sixth step, as shown in Fig. 7(i), the pair of first moving claws 13 are moved in the direction away from each other to slightly lower the container stack BT including the new bottommost container B1 along the first moving claws 13 (by the thickness of the pair of second moving claws 14), and the holding position of the new bottommost container B1 by the pair of first moving claws 13 is changed to a position where the new directly above container B2 can be held by the pair of second moving claws 14, as shown in Fig. 7(j).

[0045] The positional relationship shown in Figure 7(j) (wherein the pair of first movable claws 13 are in the holding position for the bottommost container B1 and the pair of second movable claws 14 are in the release position for the directly above container B2) is the same as the positional relationship shown in Figure 7(a) described above, so that the first to sixth steps are thereafter repeated in sequence to remove the bottommost containers B1 one by one.

[0046] In this series of steps, after the bottommost container B1 is removed, the new bottommost container B1 is held by a pair of first movable claws 13 and a pair of second movable claws 14, the pair of second movable claws 14 are moved to the release position, and then the pair of first movable claws 13 are moved in the separating direction so that the entire container stack BT descends along the first movable claws 13, thereby making it possible to prevent interference noises from being generated when stacked containers B collide with each other as the container stack BT descends one level at a time.

[0047] In addition, the pair of first movable claws 13 and the pair of second movable claws 14 move toward and away from each other to hold and release the container B, so even if a flange is not formed, it is possible to accommodate containers B of various shapes as long as the outer width becomes smaller toward the bottom.

[0048] As described above, in the container removal device 10 of this embodiment, the holding positions and release positions of the pair of first moving claws 13 and the pair of second moving claws 14 corresponding to the shape (external width dimension) of the container B are input in the input section 18, and the position of the rod plate 16 that positions the guide rod 12a is input, whereby the holding positions and release positions of the pair of first moving claws 13 and the pair of second moving claws 14 are changed in the control section 19, and the position of the rod plate 16 that positions the guide rod 12a for supporting the container stack BT can be moved.

[0049] Here, an example of a container that can be handled by the container removal device 10 of this embodiment is shown in Figures 8 to 11. Figure 8(a) is a plan view of a rectangular container, Figure 8(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the rectangular containers of Figure 8(a) stacked together, Figure 8(c) is a plan view of a container removal device when the rectangular container of Figure 8(a) is used, and Figure 8(d) is a front view of Figure 8(c). Figure 9(a) is a plan view of a round container with a relatively large diameter and shallow bottom, Figure 9(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the round containers of Figure 9(a) stacked together, Figure 9(c) is a plan view of a container removal device when the round container of Figure 9(a) is used, and Figure 9(d) is a front view of Figure 9(c). Fig. 10(a) is a plan view of a round container with a relatively medium diameter and a deep bottom, Fig. 10(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the round containers of Fig. 10(a) stacked together, Fig. 10(c) is a plan view of a container removal device when the round container of Fig. 10(a) is used, and Fig. 10(d) is a front view of Fig. 10(c). Fig. 11(a) is a plan view of a round container with a relatively small diameter and a deep bottom, Fig. 11(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the round containers of Fig. 11(a) stacked together, Fig. 11(c) is a plan view of a container removal device when the round container of Fig. 11(a) is used, and Fig. 11(d) is a front view of Fig. 11(c).

[0050] In this embodiment, the rectangular container in Fig. 8 has a width of 101 mm and a height of 53 mm, the round container in Fig. 9 has a diameter of 113 mm and a height of 40 mm, the round container in Fig. 10 has a diameter of 98 mm and a height of 58 mm, and the round container in Fig. 11 has a diameter of 89 mm and a height of 42 mm. However, these shapes and dimensions of container B are merely examples and are not limited to the present invention.

[0051] As shown in these drawings, according to the container removal device 10 of this embodiment, the bottom container B1 is removed by using a pair of first movable claws 13 and a pair of second movable claws 14 that move toward and away from each other to move between the holding position and the release position, and multiple guide rods 12a (here, paired in pairs of two) are moved via a rod plate 16, making it applicable to both square and round containers.

[0052] In addition, the holding positions and release positions of the pair of first movable claws 13 and the pair of second movable claws 14, as well as the guide rod 12a, are moved according to the outer width of the container B, such as the width and diameter of the container B, making it possible to accommodate containers B with various outer widths.

[0053] The invention made by the inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiment, but the embodiment disclosed in this specification is illustrative in all respects and is not limited to the disclosed technology. In other words, the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted restrictively based on the description in the above embodiment, but should be interpreted strictly according to the description in the claims, and includes technologies equivalent to the described technologies in the claims and all modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the claims.

[0054] For example, the container removal device of the present invention does not necessarily require the container transport table 11 as a transport means. Also, the transport means may be a conveyer such as a belt conveyer or a roller conveyer, instead of a turntable type as in this embodiment.

[0055] In this embodiment, the lifting and lowering pedestal 17a is provided at the upper end of the lifting and lowering member 17, but this lifting and lowering pedestal 17a is not essential. However, if the lifting and lowering pedestal 17a is not provided, if the radial cross-sectional area of ​​the lifting and lowering member 17 is small, the support of the lowest container B1 may become unstable and the lowest container B1 may fall during removal, so it is preferable to ensure an area at least at the upper end that does not cause the support to become unstable. If the lifting and lowering pedestal 17a is not provided, a buffer member for preventing the falling sound of the lowest container B1 and damage to the lowest container B1 is directly provided at the upper end of the lifting and lowering member 17. That is, the buffer member is provided at the upper end of the lifting and lowering member 17 via the lifting and lowering pedestal 17a, or directly at the upper end of the lifting and lowering member 17. [Industrial Applicability]

[0056] The container removal device described above can be used with various containers as long as the outer width of the container decreases toward the bottom. Furthermore, the items to be put into the container are not limited to food such as side dishes and cooked rice. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 10 Container removal device 10a Base body 10a-1 opening 11 Container transport table (transport means) 11a Retaining hole 12 Container storage section 12a Guide rod 13 Pair of first moving claws (pair of first moving members) 13a Holding piece 13M Pair of first jaw motors 14 Pair of second moving claws (pair of second moving members) 14a Holding piece 14M Pair of second jaw motors 15 Guide block 16 Rod Plate 16M Rod Motor 17 Lifting member 17a Lifting platform 17M Lifting motor 18 Input section 19 Control section 20 Food plating equipment 21 Hopper 23 Measuring and serving cup 30 Stages B container B1 Bottom container B2 Directly above container BT Container Laminate

Claims

1. a container storage section for storing a container stack in which containers each having an outer width that decreases downward are stacked; a pair of first movable members movable between a holding position where they approach each other to hold a lowest container located at the bottom of the container stack, and a releasing position where they move away from each other to release the holding of the lowest container; a pair of second movable members provided above the pair of first movable members and movable between a holding position where the second movable members approach each other and hold the immediately above container stacked immediately above the lowermost container, and a releasing position where the second movable members move away from each other and release the holding of the immediately above container; a lifting member that is provided immediately below the container storage section and can be raised and lowered, the lifting member lowering while supporting a bottom surface of the bottom container to remove the bottom container from the container stack; a first step of moving the pair of second moving members from the release position to the holding position while the pair of first moving members is in the holding position and lifting the lifting member; a second step of moving the pair of first moving members to the release position while the pair of second moving members is in the holding position to support the bottommost container with the lifting member; a third step of lowering the lifting member while the pair of first moving members is in the release position and the pair of second moving members is in the holding position to remove the bottommost container from the container stack; a fourth step of moving a stacked member to a holding position to hold the new lowest container between the pair of first moving members and the pair of second moving members; a fifth step of moving the pair of second moving members to a release position while keeping the pair of first moving members in the holding position; and a sixth step of moving the pair of first moving members in a separating direction to lower the container stack including the new lowest container along the first moving members, thereby changing the holding position of the new lowest container by the pair of first moving members to a position where the new directly above container can be held by the pair of second moving members; A container removal device comprising:

2. Each of the pair of first moving members is formed with a holding piece that holds two points of the lowermost container so as to protrude inward, and each of the pair of second moving members is formed with a holding piece that holds two points of the immediately upper container so as to protrude inward.

2. The container removal device according to claim 1.

3. A plurality of guide rods are provided in the container storage section to contact the sides of the container stack and support the stack.

3. The container removal device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the control means changes the holding positions and the release positions of the pair of first moving members and the pair of second moving members in accordance with an outer width dimension of the container.

4. The container removal device according to claim 1, wherein the container removal device is a container removal device.

5. The guide rods are arranged in pairs on the first movable member side of the pair and are movable toward and away from each other, the control means changes the holding positions and the release positions of the pair of first moving members and the pair of second moving members in accordance with an outer width dimension of the containers, and moves the guide rod so as to contact a side of the stack of containers.

4. The container removal device according to claim 3.

6. A buffer member is provided at the upper end of the lifting member.

6. The container removal device according to claim 1, wherein the container removal device is a container removal device.

7. The apparatus further includes a conveying means for intermittently conveying the lowermost container removed by the lifting member to a next process.

7. The container removal device according to claim 1, wherein the container removal device is a container removal device.

8. A container removal device according to claim 7, a food serving device that serves food in the container transported by the transport means; A food presentation system comprising:

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