Transport assistance device

Abstract

To provide a transportation auxiliary device capable of efficiently transporting a granular body material inside a bag body, and of simplifying a device configuration while easily enabling recognizing reduction in the granular body material inside the bag body.SOLUTION: A transportation auxiliary device 1 comprises: a placement part 10 which has a swinging placement part 16 in which a placement body part 11 and an end portion on the placement body part side are connected to the placement body part in a freely rotational manner, and on which a bag body 9 for storing a granular body material is placed; and an energization mechanism 20 which energizes the swinging placement part so as to be rotated with respect to the placement body part in such a manner that the swinging placement part becomes downhill-shaped toward the placement body part, in accordance with reduction of the granular body material inside the bag body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a transportation aid device. [Background technology]

[0002] There have been known devices for transporting powdered or granular material contained in a bag to another destination. Some of these devices have a nozzle that is inserted into the bag, but when the amount of powdered or granular material in the bag decreases, an operator needs to hold the nozzle and tilt the bottom of the bag to make it easier to introduce the powdered or granular material into the nozzle. For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a powder discharge device in which a table on which paper bags can be placed is supported in an inclined state by support fittings on a support plate supported by a coil spring so as to be freely floatable in the vertical direction on a dolly. The dolly of this powder discharge device is provided with a vibrator that vibrates the support plate in the overall vertical direction. The following Patent Document 2 discloses a suction and take-out device equipped with a nozzle that is inserted into the opening of a bag contained in a frame-shaped cassette and sucks and takes out powder with a suction port at the tip. This suction and take-out device is equipped with an elevation means for moving the nozzle vertically and a horizontal movement means for moving it horizontally. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-67018 [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-1303 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the powder discharge device described in the above Patent Document 1, the table on which the paper bag is placed is supported in an inclined position and vibrated, so the powder in the paper bag can be efficiently sucked up by a suction pipe, but a vibrator is required. In addition, with this powder discharge device, it is difficult for the worker to determine the decrease in the powder in the paper bag, which may cause transport problems or require the worker to periodically check the inside of the paper bag. In the suction take-out device described in the above Patent Document 2, the nozzle is moved vertically and horizontally, so the powder in the bag can be efficiently sucked by the nozzle, but an elevation means and a horizontal movement means are required. Also, in this suction take-out device, although the amount of powder taken out can be detected by the amount-taken detection means, it is difficult for the operator to determine the decrease in the amount of powder in the bag, as in the above case.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and aims to provide a transport auxiliary device that can efficiently transport powdered or granular material in a bag, makes it easy to recognize the reduction in powdered or granular material in the bag, while also simplifying the device configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the transport auxiliary device according to the present invention has a mounting body and a swinging mounting part whose end on the mounting body side is rotatably connected to the mounting body, the mounting part on which a bag containing powdered granular material is placed; The above A biasing mechanism for biasing the swingable placement portion to rotate relative to the placement body portion. The swingable placement section is in a naturally inclined position in which a biasing member constituting the biasing mechanism is in a downward slope toward the placement body section, and is displaced from a horizontal position to the inclined position by a restoring force of the biasing member as the powdered or granular material in the bag placed on the placement section decreases. It is characterized by the above. In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the transportation auxiliary device of the present invention has a mounting main body portion and a oscillating mounting portion whose end portion on the mounting main body portion side is rotatably connected to the mounting main body portion, and is equipped with a mounting portion on which a bag body containing powdered granular material is placed, and a biasing mechanism that biases the oscillating mounting portion to rotate relative to the mounting main body portion so that the oscillating mounting portion becomes downwardly sloping toward the mounting main body portion as the powdered granular material in the bag body decreases, and the oscillating mounting portion is capable of rotating to a non-use position where the angle between the oscillating mounting portion and the mounting main body portion is smaller than the angle between the oscillating mounting portion and the mounting main body portion when the oscillating mounting portion is in the use position and the biasing mechanism is in its natural inclined position. In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the transport auxiliary device of the present invention has a mounting main body portion and a oscillating mounting portion whose end portion on the mounting main body portion side is rotatably connected to the mounting main body portion, and is equipped with a mounting portion on which a bag body containing powdered granular material is placed, a biasing mechanism that biases the oscillating mounting portion to rotate relative to the mounting main body portion so that the oscillating mounting portion becomes downwardly sloping toward the mounting main body portion as the powdered granular material in the bag body decreases, and a nozzle holding portion that holds a transport nozzle on the upper side of the mounting main body portion, and is characterized in that the nozzle holding portion is provided with an insertion portion through which the transport nozzle can be inserted freely vertically. Effect of the Invention

[0007] By being configured as described above, the transport auxiliary device of the present invention is capable of efficiently transporting the powdered or granular material in the bag and making it easy to recognize the reduction in the powdered or granular material in the bag, while also simplifying the device configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic front view showing an example of a transportation assistance device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the transportation auxiliary device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the transportation assistance device. [Figure 4] 2A and 2B are partially cutaway schematic enlarged side views of the transportation auxiliary device. [Diagram 5] 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In some drawings, some of the detailed reference numerals used in other drawings are omitted. In the following embodiment, directions such as the up-down direction will be described based on a state in which an example of a transportation assistance device according to this embodiment is installed. 1 to 6 are diagrams that diagrammatically show an example of the transportation auxiliary device.

[0010] 1 to 3, the transport auxiliary device 1 according to this embodiment includes a mounting main body 11 and a swinging mounting part 16 whose end on the mounting main body 11 side is rotatably connected to the mounting main body 11, and includes a mounting part 10 on which a bag 9 containing powdered or granular material is placed. With this configuration, the bag 9 can be placed on the mounting part 10. The bag body 9 placed on the placement portion 10 may be configured to be capable of accommodating, for example, about 10 kg to 40 kg of powdered or granular material. The bag body 9 may have a vertical dimension (longitudinal dimension) of about 600 mm to 1200 mm, a horizontal dimension (width dimension) of about 300 mm to 600 mm, and a gusset (thickness dimension) of about 50 mm to 150 mm, or may have standardized dimensions. The bag body 9 may be made of an appropriate material depending on the type of powdered or granular material to be accommodated. For example, the bag body 9 may be made of a paper material such as craft paper or a synthetic resin material such as a resin film, or may be made of multiple layers selected from various film-like materials such as craft paper, a resin film, and a metal film.

[0011] The powdered or granular material contained in the bag 9 refers to a powder or granular material, but includes fine flake-like, short fiber-like, sliver-like materials, etc. The above-mentioned material may be any material, such as synthetic resin materials such as resin pellets and resin fiber pieces, metal materials, semiconductor materials, wood materials, pharmaceutical materials, food materials, etc. Examples of the powdered or granular material include natural materials (virgin materials), crushed materials, master batch materials, various additives, etc., when a synthetic resin molded product is molded at the destination (supply destination) of the transportation auxiliary device 1. The powdered or granular material may contain reinforcing fibers such as glass fibers and carbon fibers.

[0012] As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the transport auxiliary device 1 includes a biasing mechanism 20 that biases the swinging placement part 16 to rotate relative to the placement body part 11 so that the swinging placement part 16 becomes a downhill slope toward the placement body part 11 as the powdered granular material in the bag body 9 decreases. With this configuration, when the powdered granular material in the bag body 9 decreases, the biasing mechanism 20 rotates the swinging placement part 16 relative to the placement body part 11 so that the swinging placement part 16 becomes a downhill slope toward the placement body part 11. As a result, the powdered granular material in the bag body 9 moves from the swinging placement part 16 side to the placement body part 11 side in a manner that it is gathered together, and the powdered granular material can be efficiently transported to the destination through the transport nozzle 6 inserted into the bag body 9. In addition, when the powdered granular material in the bag body 9 decreases, the swinging placement part 16 rotates, so that the operator can easily recognize the decrease in the powdered granular material in the bag body 9 while simplifying the device configuration. In other words, it is possible to reduce the need for an operator to look into the bag 9 to check the remaining amount of powdered or granular material, and the remaining amount of powdered or granular material in the bag 9 can be estimated from the displacement of the swinging placement part 16. An example of a specific configuration of the swinging placement part 16 and the biasing mechanism 20 will be described later.

[0013] In this embodiment, the transport auxiliary device 1 includes a nozzle holding part 24 that holds the transport nozzle 6 on the upper side of the mounting body 11. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the transport nozzle 6 inserted into the bag body 9 from falling over. In addition, since the transport nozzle 6 is held on the upper side of the mounting body 11, when the powdered material decreases as described above, the powdered material that is gathered on the mounting body 11 side by the rotation of the swing mounting part 16 can be efficiently transported via the transport nozzle 6 held on the upper side. In this embodiment, the transport auxiliary device 1 includes a guide part 23 that guides the nozzle holding part 24 so that it can move up and down. With this configuration, when the powdered material in the bag body 9 decreases, the nozzle holding part 24 that holds the transport nozzle 6 descends by its own weight along the guide part 23. For example, when the transport nozzle 6 is fixedly held relative to a fixedly provided nozzle holding portion 24, it is possible to make the transport nozzle 6 relatively long and insert it until its tip reaches the bottom of the bag body 9, but compared to this, it is possible to improve the handleability of the transport nozzle 6 and the workability when inserting the transport nozzle 6.

[0014] The transport auxiliary device 1 may be incorporated into a transport system that pneumatically transports the powdered or granular material in the bag 9 placed on the placement unit 10 to a destination through a material transport path 5 connected to a transport nozzle 6. As shown in FIG. 1, such a transport system may include a collector 4 that is connected to the material transport path 5 and constitutes the destination. The collector 4 may be configured to separate and collect the powdered or granular material pneumatically transported from the bag 9 by suction from the air suction source 2 from the transport air. The collector 4 may be provided with an appropriate separation section that separates the powdered or granular material pneumatically transported from the transport air. The destination of the collector 4 may be a storage section such as a storage tank or storage hopper that temporarily stores the powdered or granular material collected by the collector 4, or may be a drying hopper that dries the powdered or granular material, various molding machines, etc. The collector 4 may be configured to collect different types of powdered or granular materials from multiple transport sources including the transport auxiliary device 1.

[0015] The air suction source 2 may be a suction blower or the like connected to a collector 4 via a suction pipeline 3. A dust collector equipped with an appropriate filter such as a bag filter or a cyclone filter may be provided at an appropriate location on the upstream side (suction side) of the air suction source 2. The transport nozzle 6 is shaped like a vertically long tube (cylindrical in this embodiment) when held by the nozzle holder 24 (see also FIG. 2). A suction port that opens downward is provided at the tip (lower end) of the transport nozzle 6. The illustrated example shows an example in which the open end face around the opening of the suction port of the transport nozzle 6 is inclined and faces diagonally downward. A connection part that is connected to the material transport path 5 is provided at the base end (upper end) of the transport nozzle 6.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 3, the large diameter portion 6a of the transport nozzle 6 adjacent to the lower side of the connection portion is provided with a material sensor 7 for detecting whether or not the powdered material has passed through. With this configuration, the material sensor 7 can detect whether or not the powdered material has passed through the transport nozzle 6 (passing state and non-passing state). With this, for example, when the powdered material in the bag 9 decreases to the point where it cannot be transported and the non-passing state occurs, an appropriate notification unit can notify or the air suction source 2 can be stopped. Such a material sensor 7 may be a non-contact sensor such as a photoelectric sensor having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, or may be any other type of sensor. Note that a configuration without such a material sensor 7 may be used. The transport nozzle 6 is not limited to a configuration in which it is connected to the air suction source 2 via the suction pipe line 3, the collector 4, and the material transport path 5. For example, the transport nozzle 6 may be configured to have a connection part connected to a compressed air source at an appropriate position, and transport (pump) the powdered or granular material to the destination by the ejector effect of the compressed air blown toward the downstream side in the transport direction.

[0017] The mounting unit 10 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, as shown in Fig. 2. The mounting body 11 and the oscillating mounting part 16 of the mounting unit 10 are provided adjacent to each other in a first direction perpendicular to the up-down direction. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the mounting unit 10 is provided with one mounting body 11 and one oscillating mounting part 16. That is, in this embodiment, one oscillating mounting part 16 is rotatably connected to a first end part of the mounting body 11 on one side in the first direction. In this embodiment, the placement portion 10 is substantially rectangular in shape and elongated in the first direction in plan view. That is, the placement portion 10 is substantially rectangular in shape with short sides in the up-down direction and in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction in plan view. The dimensions of the placement portion 10 along the first direction and the second direction may be appropriately determined according to the dimensions of the bag body 9 to be placed. In the illustrated example, the bag body 9 is placed on the placement portion 10 so that its vertical (longitudinal) direction is the up-down direction and its horizontal (width) direction is the first direction. That is, the bag body 9 is placed so that its width direction is aligned with the first direction, which is the connecting direction between the placement main body 11 and the swing placement portion 16. In this case, the dimension of the placement portion 10 along the first direction may be approximately the same as the width dimension of the bag body 9, which has a relatively large width dimension, or may be greater than or equal to the width dimension of the bag body 9. The dimension of the placement portion 10 along the second direction may be equal to or larger than the gusset dimension of the bag body 9, which has a relatively large gusset dimension.

[0018] The mounting body 11 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape and includes a bottom plate 12 to be placed on an installation target such as a floor. The bottom plate 12 of the mounting body 11 may be provided with rolling elements such as casters on its lower surface. The dimension of the bottom plate 12 of the mounting main body 11 along the first direction may be approximately the same as the dimension of the bottom plate 17 of the oscillating mounting part 16 in a horizontal position described below along the first direction, but is smaller than the dimension of the bottom plate 17 along the first direction. The dimension of the bottom plate 12 of the mounting main body 11 along the first direction may be about 1 / 2 the width of the bag 9, which has a relatively small width, or about 1 / 2 to 9 / 10 of the dimension of the bottom plate 17 of the oscillating mounting part 16 along the first direction. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the mounting body 11 has a back plate portion 13 that rises from a second end portion on the other side of the first direction of the bottom plate portion 12, and side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides that rise from the ends on both sides of the bottom plate portion 12 in the second direction.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the back plate portion 13 is provided such that each end in the second direction is connected to the side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides. The back plate portion 13, the side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides, and the bottom plate portion 12 may be integrally formed by sheet metal processing such as bending, or may be joined by welding or the like. As shown in Fig. 1, the height dimension of the back plate portion 13 along the vertical direction is smaller than the height dimensions of the side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides along the vertical direction. The height dimension of the back plate portion 13 may be a dimension that allows the positioning of the bag body 9 when the bag body 9 is placed on the placement portion 10, and may be an appropriate dimension from the viewpoint of weight reduction or strength, for example, about 50 mm to 200 mm. The side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides are provided to face each other in the second direction. These side plate portions 14, 14 are elongated so as to extend in the vertical direction. In the illustrated example, the side plate portions 14, 14 have a tapered shape in the upper portion above a portion that is roughly the same height as the back plate portion 13 as viewed in the second direction (the thickness direction of each side plate portion 14, 14) toward the upper side.

[0020] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each of the side plate parts 14 has a guide part 23 for guiding the nozzle holding part 24. The guide parts 23 are provided so as to be in substantially the same position in the first direction. The guide parts 23 are provided so as to be located in substantially the center of the placement body part 11 in the first direction. In the illustrated example, the guide parts 23 are provided so as to be located slightly closer to the swing placement part 16 side than the center of the placement body part 11 in the first direction. The guide parts 23 are elongated in the vertical direction so as to extend upward from the upper end of each of the side plate parts 14. The guide parts 23 are columnar (cylindrical in the illustrated example) with the axial direction in the vertical direction. The guide parts 23 are provided so that the tip of the transport nozzle 6 held by the nozzle holding part 24 lowered relative to the guide parts 23 can abut on the bottom of the bag body 9 (see Fig. 6). The length of these guide parts 23, 23 may be appropriately determined according to the vertical dimension (longitudinal dimension) of the bag body 9 that can be placed on the placement part 10, and from the viewpoints of weight reduction and ease of handling. The length of these guide parts 23, 23 may be determined so that the upper end parts are located at a height of about 700 mm to 1500 mm from the placement part 10. In the illustrated example, the length of these guide parts 23, 23 is approximately the same as each other.

[0021] The side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides are provided with holding portions 14a, 14b for holding the guide portions 23, 23. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, each side plate portion 14, 14 is provided with a first holding portion 14a, 14a for holding the lower end portion of each guide portion 23, 23, and a second holding portion 14b, 14b for holding the longitudinal middle portion of each guide portion 23, 23. The first holding portion 14a, 14a is provided at the lower end portion of each side plate portion 14, 14. The second holding portion 14b, 14b is provided at the upper end portion of each side plate portion 14, 14. The first holding portion 14a, 14a and the second holding portion 14b, 14b are provided so as to protrude outward in the second direction, and are configured to have an insertion hole through which the guide portion 23, 23 is inserted. That is, the guide portion 23, 23 is held on the outer side of each side plate portion 14, 14 in the second direction. The guide portions 23, 23 may be fixed to the first holding portions 14a, 14a and the second holding portions 14b, 14b by appropriate fasteners, welding, or the like.

[0022] In the illustrated example, the first holding portions 14a, 14a are provided in a cut-and-raised shape at the lower end of each side plate portion 14, 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the illustrated example, the second holding portions 14b, 14b are formed by bending at the upper end of each side plate portion 14, 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. The holding portions 14a, 14b for holding the guide portions 23, 23 are not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and various other modifications are possible. The height dimension of the side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides may be an appropriate dimension from the viewpoint of weight reduction and strength so as to be able to hold the guide portions 23, 23, and may be about 200 mm to 600 mm.

[0023] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle holding part 24 is provided with an insertion part 28 through which the transport nozzle 6 is inserted so as to be movable up and down. With this configuration, when the powdered or granular material in the bag body 9 decreases, the transport nozzle 6 descends by its own weight along the insertion part 28 of the nozzle holding part 24. As a result, as described above, the handling of the transport nozzle 6 and the workability when inserting the transport nozzle 6 can be improved. In this embodiment, as described above, the guide parts 23, 23 that guide the nozzle holding part 24 so as to be movable up and down are provided, so that when the powdered or granular material in the bag body 9 decreases, the nozzle holding part 24 descends by its own weight relative to the guide parts 23, 23, and the transport nozzle 6 descends by its own weight relative to the nozzle holding part 24. As a result, the movable range of the transport nozzle 6 in the up and down direction can be efficiently increased.

[0024] In this embodiment, the insertion portion 28 of the nozzle holding portion 24 is provided so as to extend in the vertical direction. With this configuration, the transportation nozzle 6 can be held more stably and the transportation nozzle 6 can be more effectively prevented from falling over, compared to a configuration in which the insertion portion 28 is a through hole provided in the flat plate portion, for example. In this embodiment, the nozzle holding portion 24 is provided detachably with respect to the guide portions 23, 23. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the nozzle holding portion 24 from becoming an obstacle by removing the nozzle holding portion 24 when placing the bag body 9 on the placement portion 10. Instead of this aspect, for example, a locking mechanism may be provided that releasably holds the nozzle holding portion 24 at a position that does not get in the way when the bag body 9 is placed on the placement portion 10.

[0025] Specifically, the nozzle holding portion 24 is provided so as to span the guide portions 23, 23 provided on both sides in the second direction of the mounting body 11. The nozzle holding portion 24 is provided at both ends in the second direction with guided portions 25, 25 provided with guide holes 25a, 25b through which the guide portions 23, 23 are inserted. The guide portions 23, 23 are provided so as to be freely inserted and removed from the guide holes 25a, 25b of the guided portions 25, 25. In the illustrated example, the guided portions 25, 25 are provided with upper and lower pieces spaced apart from each other, and the first guide holes 25a, 25a and the second guide holes 25b, 25b are provided to penetrate the upper and lower pieces in the thickness direction. As the guided portions 25, 25, instead of the embodiment in which guide holes 25a, 25b are provided in the vertically spaced apart portions, a configuration having a cylindrical portion extending in the vertical direction so as to define an insertion portion through which the guide portions 23, 23 are inserted may also be used, and various other modifications are possible.

[0026] An insertion portion 28 is provided in the center in the second direction of the nozzle holding portion 24. The insertion portion 28 is provided so as to be located approximately in the center of the bottom plate portion 12 of the mounting body 11 in a plan view. In the illustrated example, the insertion portion 28 is provided so as to be located in the center of the bottom plate portion 12 in the second direction in a plan view, and is located slightly closer to the oscillating mounting portion 16 than the center of the bottom plate portion 12 in the first direction in a plan view. The insertion portion 28 is provided to penetrate the holding plate portion 26, which is provided so as to connect the guided portions 25, 25 on both sides in the second direction and so as to have a thickness direction in the vertical direction, and the tubular portion 27, which is provided so as to be connected to the lower surface side of the holding plate portion 26 and to extend downward. In the illustrated example, the tubular portion 27 is cylindrical. The tubular portion 27 constituting the insertion portion 28 extending in the vertical direction may be a polygonal tubular portion, and is not limited to such a complete cylinder, and may be configured to be divided into multiple parts in the circumferential direction or the axial direction so as to be able to hold the transport nozzle 6, or may have various other configurations. The tubular portion 27 may be configured so as to be able to suppress the powdered or granular material from being caught between the tubular portion 27 and the transport nozzle 6.

[0027] The nozzle holding portion 24 includes a rising piece portion rising upward from the holding plate portion 26 between both end portions in the second direction of the holding plate portion 26 and the guided portions 25, 25 on both sides in the second direction, and a diagonal piece portion extending from the upper end portion of the rising piece portion toward the diagonally upward side that is the outer side in the second direction. The rising pieces on both sides in the second direction are provided so that the large diameter portion 6a of the transportation nozzle 6 can be received between them. The large diameter portion 6a of the transportation nozzle 6 is abutted against the holding plate portion 26, so that the downward movement of the transportation nozzle 6 relative to the nozzle holding portion 24 is suppressed. The nozzle holding portion 24 may be configured without the above-mentioned cylindrical portion 27, or may have various other configurations. The nozzle holding part 24 is movable up and down relative to the guide parts 23, 23, and the transport nozzle 6 is movable up and down relative to the nozzle holding part 24. This is not limited to the case where the nozzle holding part 24 is movable in the vertical direction, which is the direction of fall under its own weight, but may be movable up and down slightly inclined in the first direction or the second direction (for example, at an inclination angle of about 20 degrees from the vertical direction). In this case, the axial direction of the guide parts 23, 23 and the insertion part 28 may be slightly inclined in the first direction or the second direction. In addition, the insertion part 28 and the guided parts 25, 25 of the nozzle holding part 24 may be held rotatably around an axis along the first direction or the second direction relative to the guide parts 23, 23. For example, with this configuration, the lower end of the transport nozzle 6 may be guided to a portion where the powdered granular material is likely to remain (for example, a portion near the shaft part 15 in the first direction, etc.) as the powdered granular material in the bag body 9 decreases.

[0028] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the oscillating placement part 16 can be rotated to a non-use position where the angle between the oscillating placement part 16 and the placement main body part 11 is smaller than the angle between the oscillating placement part 16 and the placement main body part 11 when the oscillating placement part 16 is in the use position and the biasing mechanism 20 is in the natural inclined position. With this configuration, when not in use, the oscillating placement part 16 can be put in the non-use position to save space. Specifically, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the oscillating support portion 16 is formed in an approximately rectangular flat plate shape and includes a bottom plate portion 17 which, together with the bottom plate portion 12 of the support main body portion 11, constitutes the bottom plate portion of the support portion 10, and side plate portions 18, 18 on both sides which are arranged to rise up from both ends of the bottom plate portion 17 in the second direction.

[0029] The side plate portions 18, 18 on both sides are provided so as to be positioned further outward in the second direction than the side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides of the mounting body portion 11. In other words, the dimension of the bottom plate portion 17 of the oscillating mounting portion 16 in the second direction corresponds to the dimension of the bottom plate portion 12 of the mounting body portion 11 in the second direction plus the thickness dimension of the side plate portions 14, 14 on both sides of the mounting body portion 11. The connecting side end portions of these side plate portions 18, 18 on the mounting body portion 11 side and the connecting side end portions of each side plate portion 14, 14 of the mounting body portion 11 on the oscillating mounting portion 16 side are overlapped in the second direction and rotatably connected by the shaft portions 15, 15 which serve as the rotation fulcrum of the oscillating mounting portion 16 relative to the mounting body portion 11 (see also FIG. 4). These shafts 15, 15 may be inserted into through holes constituting bearings provided in the side plates 14, 14 of the mounting body 11 and the side plates 18, 18 of the oscillating mounting part 16. Alternatively, these shafts 15, 15 may be fixedly provided on one of the side plates 14, 14 of the mounting body 11 and the side plates 18, 18 of the oscillating mounting part 16, and inserted into through holes constituting bearings provided on the other.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 3, the side plate portions 18, 18 on both sides are not provided over the entirety of the bottom plate portion 17 in the first direction. In the illustrated example, these side plate portions 18, 18 are not provided at the tip end portion of the bottom plate portion 17, which is on the side different from the shaft portions 15, 15 in the first direction. The illustrated example shows an example in which the dimension along the second direction of the tip end portion of the bottom plate portion 17 where the side plate portions 18, 18 are not provided is smaller than the connecting side portion where the side plate portions 18, 18 are provided. The illustrated example shows an example in which chamfered portions are provided at both corners of the tip end portion of the bottom plate portion 17 in the second direction. These side plate portions 18, 18 are provided so that the rising dimension from the bottom plate portion 17 becomes smaller from the connecting end toward the tip side. The dimension along the first direction and the rising dimension of these side plate portions 18, 18 may be appropriately set from the viewpoint of strength, weight reduction, etc.

[0031] As shown by solid lines in Fig. 3, the oscillating placement unit 16 configured as described above assumes a horizontal position when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the bottom plate portion 17 against the biasing force of the biasing mechanism 20. The bottom plate portion 17 of the oscillating placement unit 16 is provided such that, in the horizontal position, its upper surface is substantially flush with the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 12 of the placement body portion 11. As the load applied to the bottom plate portion 17 decreases, that is, as the powdered or granular material in the bag body 9 decreases, the oscillating placement unit 16 is displaced to an inclined position that is a downward slope toward the bottom plate portion 12 of the placement body portion 11 by the biasing force (restoring force) of the biasing mechanism 20. The predetermined value may be an appropriate value so that the oscillating placement unit 16 can be displaced to an inclined position as the powdered or granular material in the bag body 9 decreases in this manner.

[0032] When the swinging placement part 16 is in the use position and the bag body 9 is not placed thereon, that is, when only the weight of the swinging placement part 16 is applied and the biasing mechanism 20 is in the natural state, the swinging placement part 16 is in a downwardly inclined position toward the bottom plate part 12 of the placement main body part 11 (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3). The angle between the bottom plate part 17 and the bottom plate part 12 of the placement main body part 11 when the swinging placement part 16 is in the inclined position may be an appropriate angle in accordance with the angle of repose of the powdered granular material so that the powdered granular material effectively moves to the placement main body part 11 side in the bag body 9 as the powdered granular material decreases as described above, and from the viewpoint of ease of placement of the bag body 9, and may be, for example, about 160 degrees to 130 degrees. In other words, the inclination angle of the bottom plate part 17 itself with respect to the installation surface in the inclined position may be about 20 degrees to 50 degrees. For example, if the inclination angle of the bottom plate portion 17 in the inclined position is too large, it is necessary to lift the bag body 9 relatively upward when placing the bag body 9, or the worker is required to hold down the swinging placement portion 16. With the above-mentioned configuration, since the inclination angle is relatively small, when placing the bag body 9, the swinging placement portion 16 can be easily displaced to the horizontal position by the bag body 9, improving workability. On the other hand, if the inclination angle of the bottom plate portion 17 in the inclined position is too small, the powdered material in the bag body 9 becomes difficult to move toward the placement main body portion 11 as the powdered material decreases, but by setting the inclination angle to the above level, it is possible to improve the mobility of the powdered material toward the placement main body portion 11.

[0033] The oscillating placement part 16 is rotated from the inclined posture to the unused position so that the angle between its bottom plate part 17 and the bottom plate part 12 of the placement main body part 11 becomes small (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3). In the illustrated example, the oscillating placement part 16 is substantially upright, that is, rotatable with respect to the placement main body part 11 until the angle between its bottom plate part 17 and the bottom plate part 12 of the placement main body part 11 becomes substantially 90 degrees. In the illustrated example, the oscillating placement part 16 is rotatable until its bottom plate part 17 abuts against or comes close to the connecting side end parts of the side plate parts 14, 14 on both sides of the placement main body part 11. An appropriate holding mechanism or the like may be provided to hold the oscillating placement part 16 in this unused position. The angle between the bottom plate 17 and the bottom plate 12 of the mounting body 11 in this non-use position is not limited to approximately 90 degrees, and may be an appropriate angle from the viewpoint of space saving, and may be approximately 110 degrees to 0 degrees. In other words, the swinging mounting part 16 may be rotatable until it is overlapped with the mounting body 11.

[0034] 4, the urging mechanism 20 includes an urging member 22 that urges the abutment portion 21c, which abuts against the abutted portion 14c provided on the mounting main body 11 as one of the mounting main body 11 and the swinging mounting portion 16, toward the swinging mounting portion 16 as the other, thereby displacing the swinging mounting portion 16. In other words, the urging mechanism 20 is not provided to connect the mounting main body 11 and the swinging mounting portion 16, but is provided in a non-connected state with respect to the other (the mounting main body 11). 2, the biasing mechanisms 20 are provided so as to be located on the outer sides in the second direction of the side plate portions 18, 18 on both sides of the swinging placement portion 16. The biasing mechanisms 20 on both sides in the second direction, the holding portions 18a, 18b that hold the biasing mechanisms 20, and the abutted portions 14c have the same configurations, so in the following, one side in the second direction will be described as an example. The abutted portion 14c is provided so as to be located on the lower side of the shaft portion 15 (substantially directly below in the illustrated example). This abutted portion 14c is provided so as to protrude outward in the second direction at the connecting side end portion at the lower end portion of the side plate portion 14 of the mounting body portion 11. In the illustrated example, the abutted portion 14c is the head of a male screw screwed into a piece protruding outward in the second direction from the lower end portion of the side plate portion 14.

[0035] The biasing mechanism 20 is held on the side plate 18 of the swinging mounting portion 16 so as to be slidable in a first direction in the horizontal position, and includes an elongated slide portion 21 extending in the first direction. A contact portion 21c is provided on the end of the slide portion 21 on the mounting body 11 (shaft portion 15) side. In the illustrated example, the contact portion 21c is formed by the head of a bolt. The biasing member 22 is a compression coil spring through which the base end portion 21a, which is the side opposite to the contact portion 21c in the longitudinal direction of the slide portion 21, is inserted. A first end portion of the biasing member 22, which is the side opposite to the contact portion 21c, is in contact with a flange portion 21b provided on the side of the base end portion 21a opposite to the contact portion 21c. A second end portion of the biasing member 22, which is the side opposite to the contact portion 21c (the tip side of the bottom plate portion 17), is in contact with and regulated by a first holding portion 18a that slidably holds the base end portion 21a provided on the side plate portion 18. In other words, the biasing member 22 is configured to bias the slide portion 21 so as to push it toward the placement body portion 11 side relative to the first holding portion 18a. A flange-shaped stopper portion is provided at the end of the base end portion 21a of the slide portion 21, which abuts against the first holding portion 18a to prevent the slide portion 21 from moving further toward the mounting body 11 side.

[0036] A second holding portion 18b that slidably holds a portion of the slide portion 21 on the contact portion 21c side is provided at the connecting side end of the side plate portion 18. The first holding portion 18a and the second holding portion 18b are provided so as to protrude outward in the second direction from the second direction outer surface of the side plate portion 18. The first holding portion 18a and the second holding portion 18b are provided with an insertion hole through which the slide portion 21 is inserted. The connecting end portions of the side plate portion 14 of the mounting body 11 and the side plate portion 18 of the swinging mounting portion 16 are provided with cutout portions for suppressing interference with the abutment portion 21c of the slide portion 21. The connecting end portion of the side plate portion 18 of the swinging mounting portion 16 is provided so as not to interfere with the abutted portion 14c when the swinging mounting portion 16 is displaced to the non-use position.

[0037] 4, when the swinging placement part 16 is displaced from an inclined position to a horizontal position, the biasing mechanism 20 configured as described above moves the slide part 21 toward the tip side of the bottom plate part 17 relative to the holding parts 18a, 18b of the swinging placement part 16 so as to be pushed by the abutted part 14c, and the biasing member 22 is compressed (energized). On the other hand, when the swinging placement part 16 is displaced from a horizontal position to an inclined position, the biasing member 22 extends, and the slide part 21 moves so as to be pushed out relative to the holding parts 18a, 18b of the swinging placement part 16. The abutting part 21c of the slide part 21 is provided so as to abut against the abutted part 14c when the swinging placement part 16 is displaced from a non-use position to an inclined position which is the use position.

[0038] The urging mechanism 20 may be provided in the mounting body 11 instead of in the oscillating mounting part 16, which is the other of the mounting body 11 and the oscillating mounting part 16. In this case, the contact part 14c may be provided in the oscillating mounting part 16, which is one of the mounting body 11 and the oscillating mounting part 16. The urging mechanism 20 is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and may be configured, for example, to have a torsion coil spring (torsion spring) provided as the urging member 22 around the shaft part 15. The urging mechanism 20 may also be configured to have a tension coil spring provided as the urging member 22 for urging the side plate part 18 of the oscillating mounting part 16 to the side plate part 14 of the mounting body 11. The biasing mechanism 20 is not limited to such a configuration, and may be configured to include other spring members such as a leaf spring, or rubber or the like as the biasing member 22, or may have various other configurations.

[0039] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the transportation auxiliary device 1 includes a detection unit 29b that detects the displacement of the oscillating placement unit 16 from the horizontal position to the inclined position, and an output unit 29c that outputs a detection signal of the detection unit 29b. With this configuration, when the oscillating placement unit 16 is displaced to the inclined position, the detection signal can be output. This allows an external device 8, such as a transportation device, a transportation monitoring system, or a mobile information terminal, connected to the output unit 29c via wired or wireless communication to recognize the reduction in the powdered or granular material in the bag 9 placed on the placement unit 10, so to speak, remotely. These detection section 29b and output section 29c have an operating section 29a (see Figure 4) which constitutes an actuator operated by an operating piece section 19 which constitutes an actuator provided on the oscillating support section 16, which is one of the support main body section 11 and the oscillating support section 16, and are provided on a limit switch 29 provided on the support main body section 11, which is the other.

[0040] 2 and 3, the limit switch 29 is provided along a surface facing outward in the second direction at the lower end of one of the side plate portions 18 of the mounting body 11. In the illustrated example, the operating portion 29a of the limit switch 29 is in the form of a plunger (rod) that advances and retreats along the first direction. A biasing member such as a return spring is provided within the limit switch 29 to bias the operating portion 29a in the forward direction when the pressing of the operating portion 29a in the backward direction is released. The actuating piece 19 is provided at the connecting end of one of the side plate portions 18 of the swinging placement portion 16. The actuating piece 19 is provided so as to protrude outward in the second direction. As shown in Fig. 4(a), the actuating piece 19 is provided so as to be able to push in the operating portion 29a of the limit switch 29 in the retracting direction when the swinging placement portion 16 is in the horizontal position. Also, as shown in Fig. 4(b), the actuating piece 19 is provided so as to be able to release the pushing of the operating portion 29a when the swinging placement portion 16 is displaced to the inclined position side.

[0041] When the operating part 29a is retracted by the displacement of the swinging placement part 16 as described above, the contact part of the built-in switch constituting the detection part 29b is electrically connected to the terminal part, whereas when the operating part 29a is advanced, the electrical connection between the contact part and the terminal part is released. The connected state and the non-connected state of the detection part 29b are output as a detection signal to the external device 8 via the output part 29c. The limit switch 29 may be provided on the swinging placement part 16, instead of being provided on the placement main body 11, which is the other of the placement main body 11 and the swinging placement part 16. In this case, the operating piece part 19 may be provided on the placement main body 11, which is the other of the placement main body 11 and the swinging placement part 16.

[0042] The detection unit 29b for detecting the displacement of the swaying placement unit 16 from the horizontal position to the inclined position is not limited to the limit switch 29, but may be a rotation angle sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the swaying placement unit 16, or other various contact or non-contact sensors. Instead of or in addition to the configuration in which the output unit 29c for outputting a detection signal to the external device 8 is provided, a notification unit for notifying when the displacement of the swaying placement unit 16 from the horizontal position to the inclined position is detected may be provided at an appropriate position of the transportation auxiliary device 1. Such a notification unit may be configured to notify by sound, light, or the like. Furthermore, a configuration in which the detection unit 29b and the output unit 29c are not provided may be used.

[0043] When the powdered or granular material in the bag body 9 is transported to a destination such as the collection device 4 using the transport auxiliary device 1 configured as above, the bag body 9 is placed on the placement part 10 as shown in FIG. 5. At this time, the bag body 9 may be placed on the placement part 10 with the nozzle holding part 24 removed from the guide parts 23, 23. Then, the transport nozzle 6 is inserted into the insertion part 28 of the nozzle holding part 24 attached to the guide parts 23, 23, and the tip part of the transport nozzle 6 is inserted into the bag body 9. Then, when the air suction source 2 (see FIG. 1) is started, the powdered or granular material in the bag body 9 is air-transported toward the collection device 4. Then, as the powdered or granular material in the bag body 9 decreases, the transport nozzle 6 descends relative to the nozzle holding part 24 by its own weight, and the nozzle holding part 24 descends relative to the guide parts 23, 23 by its own weight and the load of the transport nozzle 6 with the deformation of the bag body 9. As shown in Figure 6, if the powdered or granular material in the bag body 9 further decreases, the oscillating mounting portion 16 rotates relative to the mounting main body portion 11 as described above, and the powdered or granular material is moved so as to be biased toward the mounting main body portion 11.

[0044] In the above example, the oscillating support portion 16 is rotatable from a horizontal position through an inclined position to a non-use position. However, instead of this configuration, the oscillating support portion 16 may be rotatable between a horizontal position and an inclined position, that is, not rotatable until the non-use position is reached. In the above example, the nozzle holding portion 24 is provided with an insertion portion 28 through which the transport nozzle 6 is inserted so that it can move up and down freely. However, instead of this configuration, a holding portion that holds the transport nozzle 6 so that it cannot move up and down may be provided. In the above example, guide portions 23, 23 are provided to guide the nozzle holding portion 24 so that it can move up and down freely. However, instead of this configuration, a configuration in which a holding portion is provided on the mounting main body portion 11 to hold the nozzle holding portion 24 so that it cannot move up and down is also possible.

[0045] In the above example, the nozzle holder 24 for holding the transport nozzle 6 is provided, but the nozzle holder 24 may not be provided. In the above example, the oscillating placement part 16 is provided only on one side in the first direction of the placement main body part 11, but instead of this embodiment, the oscillating placement parts may be provided on both sides in the first direction of the placement main body part 11. In this case, the placement main body part 11 may be configured without providing the back plate part 13. The specific configurations of the parts and members included in the transportation auxiliary device 1 according to this embodiment are not limited to those described above, and various other modifications are possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 Transportation aids 10 Placement section 11. Mounting body 16 Swinging placement section 20 Biasing mechanism 23 Guide section 24 Nozzle holder 28 Insertion part 29b Detection section 29c Output section 6 Transport nozzle 9 Bag body

Claims

1. a placement part having a placement main body part and a swing placement part whose end part on the placement main body part side is rotatably connected to the placement main body part, the placement part on which a bag body for accommodating powdered or granular material is placed; a biasing mechanism that biases the swingable placement portion so as to rotate relative to the placement body; Equipped with The oscillating loading section is characterized in that a biasing member constituting the biasing mechanism is in a naturally inclined position such that it slopes downward toward the loading main body section, and is displaced from a horizontal position to the inclined position by the restoring force of the biasing member as the powdered or granular material in the bag body placed on the loading section decreases.

2. A mounting body portion and a swinging mounting portion whose end portion on the mounting body side is rotatably connected to the mounting body portion, the mounting portion on which a bag containing powdered granular material is placed, a biasing mechanism that biases the swinging placement portion to rotate relative to the placement body portion so that the swinging placement portion becomes a downward slope toward the placement body portion as the powdered or granular material in the bag decreases; Equipped with The transport auxiliary device is characterized in that the oscillating support portion is rotatable to a non-use position in which the angle between the oscillating support portion and the support main body portion is smaller than the angle between the oscillating support portion and the support main body portion when the oscillating support portion is in a use position and in an inclined position in which the biasing mechanism is in a natural state.

3. In claim 1 or 2, A transportation auxiliary device comprising: a nozzle holding portion for holding a transportation nozzle on an upper side of the mounting body portion.

4. A mounting body having a swinging mounting part whose end portion on the mounting body side is rotatably connected to the mounting body, the mounting part on which a bag containing powdered or granular material is placed; a biasing mechanism that biases the swinging placement portion to rotate relative to the placement body portion so that the swinging placement portion becomes a downward slope toward the placement body portion as the powdered or granular material in the bag decreases; a nozzle holder for holding a transport nozzle on an upper side of the mounting body; Equipped with The transportation auxiliary device is characterized in that the nozzle holding portion is provided with an insertion portion through which the transportation nozzle is inserted so as to be movable up and down.

5. In claim 4, The transportation auxiliary device, wherein the insertion portion is provided so as to extend in a vertical direction.

6. In any one of claims 3 to 5, A transport auxiliary device comprising a guide portion for guiding the nozzle holding portion so as to be movable up and down.

7. In any one of claims 1 to 6, A transportation auxiliary device comprising: a detection unit that detects displacement of the swingable placement unit from a horizontal position to an inclined position; and an output unit that outputs a detection signal from the detection unit.

Images