Work transport device

Abstract

To provide a work-piece conveyance device which eliminates the problem that work-pieces being conveyed are caught between side walls of the conveyance device and horizontal rails of conveyance belts, and can secure the stable drive of the conveyance device and prevent debris of work-pieces and dust generated by sliding contact from mixing up with products with simple methods, in addition to suppression damages on the work-pieces.SOLUTION: The work-piece conveyance device includes a main body conveyor part 4A with a main body conveyor belt 12 which is stretched so as to be able to move using at least a pair of pulleys and whose upper surface serves as a work-piece mounting surface 11, and a side wall conveyor part 4B with a pair of side wall conveyor belts 17 each of which stretches so as to be able to move using the at least a pair of pulleys and is arranged on both sides in the width direction of the work-piece mounting surface 11 of the main conveyor belt 12 with belt surfaces 16 facing each other. The pair of side wall conveyor belts 17 are made to move according to the movement of the main body conveyor belt 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a workpiece transport device equipped with a conveyor belt for transporting workpieces, and particularly to a workpiece transport device such as a so-called lifter device in which the conveyor belt is arranged at an upward gradient. [Background technology]

[0002] The lifter device is a type of conveying device that is used for general purposes and is not limited to any particular industry. In the filling and packaging industry, for example, it is used as a work conveying device for supplying containers as work pieces and caps that close the mouths of those containers to work processes such as filling.

[0003] Specifically, the conventional lifter device includes a hopper for storing the workpieces to be transported, a conveyor device that circulates a conveyor belt with cross bars to lift up the workpieces stored in the hopper, and a chute that supplies the lifted up workpieces to a subsequent machine (see the description in Patent Document 1, paragraph 0007). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-072540 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When transporting workpieces using such a lifter device, the workpiece may become caught between the side wall of the conveyor device installed along the conveyor belt running direction and the horizontal rail of the conveyor belt, causing problems with the conveyor's operation and causing the workpiece to be scratched, crushed, or broken. As a result, not only does this impair the quality of the appearance and sealing of the product using the workpiece, but fragments of the broken workpiece may become foreign matter and be mixed into the product during operation by subsequent machines, etc.

[0006] There are various types of caps as the workpieces. For example, caps with nozzles are prone to getting pinched or shattered in the nozzle or handle. Caps that open and close with a hinge can also be left open by getting pinched in the lid. Fin-lock caps, which have a tamper-evident band (TE band) detachably connected to the cap body and in which the TE band remains on the bottle opening when the cap is opened, can sometimes have the connection between the cap body and the TE band separated due to the pinching.

[0007] This problem of workpiece jamming occurs because of the gap (clearance) between the conveyor's sidewall and the conveyor belt's crossbars. Without this gap, the conveyor belt with crossbars would be constantly in sliding contact with the sidewall, resulting in increased wear and tear on the conveyor belt and impacting production capacity. Furthermore, the friction could result in dust particles becoming contaminated with the workpieces. However, if the gap is set large, workpieces are more likely to get stuck in the gap. Furthermore, maintaining the conveyor's external dimensions automatically shortens the width of the crossbars, reducing conveyance capacity. Furthermore, because the conveyor belt in a conveyor system moves in a slightly meandering motion, the gap is not constant. Given the assembly errors of the system, it is difficult to set the gap properly during design. Furthermore, changing the hardware gap setting each time the shape and size of the workpieces being conveyed change is a time-consuming task.

[0008] The problem of workpieces getting caught is not limited to lifter devices, but can also occur in conveying devices in which the conveying surfaces of the belt conveyors are positioned horizontally in parallel.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a work transport device that can solve the problem of workpieces getting caught between the side wall of the conveyor device and the crossbar of the conveyor belt during transport, thereby preventing the workpieces from being scratched, crushed, or broken, as well as ensuring stable operation of the conveyor device and preventing workpiece fragments and dust generated by sliding contact between the workpiece and the conveyor device or components of the conveyor device from getting mixed into the product in a simple manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the workpiece transport device of the present invention is a workpiece transport device that is stretched so as to be able to run using at least one pair of pulleys. Re, on top a main body conveyor section having a main body conveyor belt with a work mounting surface on one side thereof, and a side wall conveyor section having a pair of side wall conveyor belts each stretched so as to be able to run using at least a pair of pulleys and arranged on both sides in the width direction of the work mounting surface of the main body conveyor belt with their belt surfaces facing each other, wherein the main body conveyor belt has horizontal bars extending in the width direction formed at equal intervals in the running direction, the upstream side of the running direction of the work mounting surface of the main body conveyor section when works are transported is arranged at an upward gradient so as to form part of the peripheral wall of a hopper having an outer shape of a substantially inverted quadrangular pyramid, and further wherein the upper end of the running direction of the work mounting surface is arranged in parallel with the bottom top of the hopper, forming a gap between the pair of side wall conveyor belts so that the horizontal bars of the work mounting surface can scoop up caps, Is, run Row direction upstream Edge forward The hopper is positioned near the opening of the hopper, and is located downstream in the traveling direction. Edge forward The conveyor belt is characterized in that it is disposed at the same position as the downstream end of the main conveyor belt.

[0011] Specifically, the pair of side wall conveyor belts are set to run at the same speed as the main conveyor belt in synchronization with the running of the main conveyor belt.

[0012] According to the work transport device of the present invention, the side wall conveyor belt moves in accordance with the movement of the main conveyor belt, thereby suppressing the occurrence of friction. Even if part of the work being transported gets into the gap between the side wall of the conveyor device and the cross bar of the conveyor belt, no friction occurs, so the generation of dust and other particles due to sliding contact can be suppressed and damage to the work can be avoided.

[0013] The pair of side wall conveyor belts are arranged so that their opposing belt surfaces are perpendicular to the workpiece mounting surface (including a virtual surface) of the main body conveyor belt.

[0014] According to the workpiece transport device of the present invention, even if a gap is formed between the main conveyor belt and the sidewall conveyor belt, the gap can be made extremely small, making it difficult for the problem of workpieces getting caught. Also, it is possible to arrange the main conveyor belt and the sidewall conveyor belt so that the gap between them is zero, in which case workpieces can be reliably prevented from getting caught.

[0015] The main conveyor section is characterized in that the drive source for the drive pulley that drives the main conveyor belt is shared with the drive pulleys that drive the side wall conveyor belts in the side wall conveyor section.

[0016] By sharing the drive source of the drive pulley in this way, the configuration of the device itself can be made smaller, and component costs can be reduced.

[0018] The work transport device of the present invention configured in this manner can be used as a so-called lifter device, and can reliably send out the work scooped up from the hopper by the cross bar toward the subsequent machine without damaging it. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] In this way, the work transport device of the present invention can solve the problem of the work being caught between the side wall of the conveyor device and the cross bar of the conveyor belt during transport, and not only can it suppress the occurrence of scratches, crushing, and bending of the work, but it can also ensure stable operation of the conveyor device and prevent work fragments and dust generated by sliding contact between the work and the conveyor device or components of the conveyor device from being mixed into the product, thereby providing the excellent effect of preventing this. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the overall configuration of an embodiment of a workpiece transport device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] An enlarged explanatory diagram of the main part of the workpiece transport device of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a workpiece transport device 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0022] The workpiece transport device of this embodiment is a workpiece transport device 1, so-called a lifter, in which a conveyor belt is arranged at an ascending gradient, as shown in FIG. 1, and is used for transporting caps C as works.

[0023] This work transport device 1 is equipped with a hopper 2 that stores caps C, a conveyor section 4 that is arranged together with the hopper 2 on a frame base 3 and scoops up the caps C from the hopper 2, and a chute 5 that sends the caps C scooped up by the conveyor section 4 toward the subsequent machine.

[0024] In this embodiment, the conveyor section 4 is composed of a main conveyor section 4A having a main conveyor belt 12 that is stretched so that it can run using at least one pair of pulleys (not shown) and whose upper surface serves as a work mounting surface 11, and a side wall conveyor section 4B having a pair of side wall conveyor belts 17 that are each stretched so that they can run using at least one pair of pulleys 15, 15, and arranged on both sides of the width of the main conveyor belt 12 at the work mounting surface 11, with their belt surfaces 16 facing each other.

[0025] The main conveyor belt 12 has horizontal bars 13 extending in the width direction and formed at equal intervals in the running direction, and the main conveyor section 4A is arranged on the frame base 3 at an upward gradient so that the upstream end of the running direction of the work loading surface 11 when the work is being transported is located inside the hopper 2 in which the caps C are stored, and the downstream end is located at the top.

[0026] The side wall conveyor belts 17 are flat belts, and in this embodiment, the side wall conveyor sections 4B are respectively arranged on the frame base 3 on both sides in the width direction of the main conveyor belt 12 so that the upstream end of each side wall conveyor belt 17 in the running direction during work transport is located near the outside of an opening 21 formed in a top plate portion 20 of a hopper 2 described later, and the downstream end is located approximately at the same position as the downstream end of the main conveyor belt 12.

[0027] Therefore, the pulleys of the main body conveyor 4A and the pulleys of the pair of sidewall conveyor units 4B are arranged so that their axial directions are perpendicular to each other. In this embodiment, the drive pulley (not shown) around which the main body conveyor belt 12 of the main body conveyor 4A is wound and the drive pulleys (not shown) around which each of the pair of sidewall conveyor belts 17 of the sidewall conveyor unit 4B is wound are driven by a single motor (not shown) via a drive force transmission system such as a bevel gear or a speed change gear that converts the rotation of the power in a different axial direction, and the pair of sidewall conveyor belts 17 are adjusted to run in synchronization with the running of the main body conveyor belt 12. The running speed of the main body conveyor belt 12 can be adjusted by inputting data from a control panel (not shown) or operating a switch.

[0028] 1 has an external shape that is a roughly inverted square pyramid, with the main conveyor section 4A located at an upward slope in the center of one of the peripheral walls 25 of the hopper 2 and constituting a part of the peripheral wall 25, and the bottom apex 26 of the roughly inverted square pyramid (the ridge portion of an inverted gable roof) is disposed near the legs of the frame base 3 so as to be parallel to the main conveyor belt 12 and form a gap between it and the main conveyor belt 12 so that the cross beams 13 of the work loading surface 11 can scoop up the caps C. One half of the top plate 19 of the hopper 2 is a top plate 20 formed with an opening 21 in which the main conveyor belt 12 is disposed, and the other half is a lid 23 that can be opened and closed by hinges 22 provided on the top plate 20.

[0029] The chute 5 at the downstream end of the main conveyor section 4A slides the caps C conveyed by the conveyor section 4 down and sends them out in the direction of the subsequent machine, and is of a known construction.

[0030] Next, the operation of the workpiece transport device 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0031] The lid portion 23 of the hopper 2 is opened and closed, the caps C to be transported are placed in the hopper 2 and stored therein, and the motor of the conveyor portion 4 is driven to run the main conveyor belt 12 of the conveyor portion 4 and the pair of side wall conveyor belts 17.

[0032] In the conveyor section 4, the running main conveyor belt 12 scoops up the caps C that have been collected at the top of the bottom in the hopper 2 due to their own weight with the cross bars 13, and transports them downstream in the traveling direction.

[0033] At that time, the pair of sidewall conveyor belts 17 also travel at the same speed as the main body conveyor belt 12, following it and preventing the caps C from falling off to the side of the main body conveyor belt 12. In the work transport device 1 of this embodiment, the sidewall conveyor belts 17 move in accordance with the travel of the main body conveyor belt 12 in this way, thereby preventing friction between the transported caps C and other parts such as the sidewall belt conveyors 17. Therefore, even if the caps C get caught between the main body conveyor belt 12 and the sidewall conveyor belts 17 during transport, since there is no friction, it is possible to prevent the generation of dust and the like due to sliding contact and also to prevent damage to the workpieces.

[0034] The caps C are then conveyed to the downstream end by the conveyor section 4, where they slide down into the chute 5 and are sent out in the direction of the subsequent machine.

[0035] 2, in this embodiment, the lower edge in the width direction of the sidewall conveyor belt 17 is abutted against the side edge in the width direction of the upper surface of the main conveyor belt 12, which becomes the workpiece mounting surface 11, and the gap is arranged to be extremely small, but the pair of sidewall conveyor belts 17 may be arranged so that the opposing belt surfaces 16 are perpendicular to the workpiece mounting surface 11 (including the imaginary surface) of the main conveyor belt 12. For example, if the gap between the main conveyor belt 12 and the sidewall conveyor belt 17 is arranged to be zero, the cap C will not get caught, and damage to the cap C can be reliably prevented.

[0036] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0037] For example, in this embodiment, a single motor is used to run three conveyor belts arranged in the main body conveyor section 4A and the side wall conveyor section 4B, but of course, a motor may be provided for each conveyor belt.

[0038] Furthermore, the configuration of the conveyor section 4, which is a key part of the present invention, can also be adopted in a work transport device 1 that transports work in a horizontal direction, and in that case, it is possible to obtain the excellent effect of preventing the work from getting caught.

[0039] It goes without saying that the workpiece is not limited to the cap C described above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] C Cap 1 Work transport device 2 Hopper 3 Frame base 4 Conveyor section 4A Main conveyor section 4B Side wall conveyor section 5. Shooter 11 Workpiece mounting surface 12 Main conveyor belt 13 Horizontal Bar 15 Pulley 16 Belt surface 17 Side wall conveyor belt 19 Top plate 20 Top plate 21 Opening 22 hinges 23 Lid 25 Peripheral wall 26 Bottom top

Claims

1. a main conveyor unit having a main conveyor belt that is stretched so as to be able to run using at least one pair of pulleys and has an upper surface that serves as a workpiece mounting surface; a side wall conveyor unit having a pair of side wall conveyor belts that are stretched so as to be able to run using at least a pair of pulleys, and that are arranged on both sides in the width direction of the workpiece mounting surface of the main conveyor belt with their belt surfaces facing each other, The main conveyor belt has horizontal bars extending in the width direction and formed at equal intervals in the running direction, The upstream side of the workpiece loading surface in the running direction when the main body conveyor transports the workpieces is disposed at an upward gradient so as to form part of the peripheral wall of a hopper having an outer shape of a substantially inverted quadrangular pyramid, and further, the upper end of the workpiece loading surface in the running direction is disposed parallel to the bottom top of the hopper, forming a gap between the top and bottom of the hopper so that the horizontal rails of the workpiece loading surface can scoop up the caps, The pair of side wall conveyor belts are arranged with their upstream ends in the running direction positioned near the opening of the hopper, and their downstream ends in the running direction positioned at the same level as the downstream end of the main conveyor belt.

2. 2. The workpiece transport device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of side wall conveyor belts are set to run at the same speed as the main body conveyor belt in synchronization with the running of the main body conveyor belt.

3. 3. The workpiece transport device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of side wall conveyor belts are arranged such that opposing belt surfaces are perpendicular to the workpiece loading surface of the main body conveyor belt.

4. 4. The workpiece transport device according to claim 1, wherein a drive source for a drive pulley that runs the main body conveyor belt in the main body conveyor section is shared with a drive source for drive pulleys that run each side wall conveyor belt in the side wall conveyor section.

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