Material handling equipment

Abstract

To detach a gripper G without interfering with a container 1 on a discharge conveyor 7.SOLUTION: This invention relates to an article conveying device that is provided with a grip piece 14 provided on a downstream movable element 13A located on a downstream side of a conveying path R and a grip piece 14 provided on an upstream movable element 13B located on an upstream side among two adjacent movable elements 13, and constitutes a gripper G for holding a container 1 (article) between two grip pieces 14. In the article conveying device, a discharge conveyor 7 for conveying the container 1 while it is placed is provided along the rail 11, and a rocking mechanism 21 for rocking the grip piece 14 is provided on at least one of the downstream movable element 13A or the upstream movable element 13B. When the container 1 held by the gripper G is located on the discharge conveyor 7, the grip piece 14 is rocked by the rocking mechanism 21 to detach the grip piece 14 from the container 1 conveyed by the discharge conveyor 7.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article conveying device, specifically an article conveying device using linear drive, and relates to an article conveying device that holds an article by grip pieces provided on adjacent downstream and upstream movers.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an article conveying device that conveys an article using linear drive is known. As such an article conveying device, there is known one including a rail provided along a required conveying path, a stator provided along the rail, a plurality of movers provided movably along the rail and linearly driven by the stator, and grip pieces provided on the movers (Patent Document 1). In the article conveying device described in Patent Document 1, a gripper that holds an article is configured between the grip pieces of the downstream mover located on the adjacent downstream side and the grip pieces of the upstream mover located on the upstream side, and the downstream mover and the upstream mover are synchronously moved to convey the held article along the conveying path. Here, in the article conveying device described in Patent Document 1, the grip pieces are provided rotatably with respect to the upstream and downstream movers so that the grip pieces of the gripper do not open in the curved section of the conveying path, and further, the bases of the grip pieces are connected by a rod. With such a configuration, even when the gripper is located in the curved section, the grip pieces do not open and the held article does not fall off.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, if the gripping pieces of the upstream and downstream movable elements are connected by a rod, there is a problem in that the items held by the grippers cannot be discharged onto a conveyor such as a belt conveyor. To explain in more detail, in the configuration of Patent Document 1 described above, even if an article can be placed on the conveyor belt, the grip piece cannot be moved away from the conveyor belt, and the gripper cannot be detached without interfering with the article on the conveyor belt. Therefore, in article transport devices such as those described in Patent Document 1, a robot must be installed at the location where the transport conveyor is provided, and the robot must take out the articles held by the grippers and transfer them to the transport conveyor, which presents an inefficient problem. Similarly, when supplying containers to an item handling device using a conveyor belt, it was necessary to use a robot or the like to transfer the items on the conveyor belt to the gripper. In view of these problems, the present invention provides an article conveying device that can discharge the gripper onto a conveying conveyor without interfering with the article, and also provides an article conveying device that can hold the article supplied from the conveying conveyor without interfering with the gripper. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In other words, the article transport device according to claim 1 comprises a rail provided along a required transport path, a stator provided along the rail, a plurality of movable elements that are movable along the rail and linearly driven by the stator, and grip pieces provided on the movable elements. In an article conveying device, a gripper is configured to hold an article between a grip piece of a downstream movable element located on the adjacent downstream side and a grip piece of an upstream movable element located on the upstream side, and the held article is conveyed along the conveying path by moving the downstream and upstream movable elements in synchronous motion, A conveyor is provided along the rail to receive the articles held by the grippers and transport them downstream. A swinging mechanism for swinging the grip piece is provided in at least one of the downstream or upstream movable elements. The gripper is characterized in that when the article held by the gripper is positioned on the conveyor, the rocking mechanism rocks the grip piece to release it, thereby detaching the grip piece from the article being conveyed by the conveyor. Furthermore, the article transport device according to claim 3 comprises a rail provided along a transport path having a straight section and a curved section, a stator provided along the rail, a plurality of movable elements provided to be movable along the rail and linearly driven by the stator, and a grip piece provided on the movable elements. In an article conveying device, a gripper is configured to hold an article between a grip piece of a downstream movable element located on the adjacent downstream side and a grip piece of an upstream movable element located on the upstream side, and the held article is conveyed along the conveying path by moving the downstream and upstream movable elements in synchronous motion, A conveyor for transporting the above items at intervals is provided along the straight section of the rail, and the conveying path of the gripper is positioned so that it moves from the curved section to the straight section and approaches the conveyor. A swinging mechanism is provided to swing the grip piece of the downstream movable element described above. The gripper is characterized in that, with the grip piece of the downstream movable element of the gripper open by the rocking mechanism, the gripper is moved from the curved section to the straight section, the grip piece of the downstream movable element is positioned downstream in the direction of transport of the article being transported by the conveyor, and when the grip piece of the upstream movable element is positioned behind in the direction of transport of the article, the rocking mechanism closes the grip piece of the downstream movable element to hold the article. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the invention of claim 1 above, by swinging the gripper piece with a swinging mechanism provided on the downstream or upstream movable element, the gripper piece that has detached from the article can be moved away from the conveyor belt, and the gripper can be detached so as not to interfere with the container on the conveyor belt. Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 3, when the gripper approaches a straight section from a curved section, the gripper piece is opened by a swinging mechanism provided on the downstream movable element, so that the gripper can be positioned downstream in the conveying direction of the article without interfering with the article. After that, when the gripper is closed, it becomes possible to hold the container between the gripper and the grip piece of the upstream movable element. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Plan view of the article conveying device according to this embodiment [Figure 2] Plan view explaining the gripper [Figure 3] Side view illustrating the gripper [Figure 4] Front view illustrating the gripper [Figure 5] Diagram illustrating the operation of a gripper [Figure 6] A diagram illustrating the process of discharging containers onto a discharge conveyor. [Figure 7] Diagram illustrating the operation of the gripper according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] Diagram illustrating the operation of the gripper according to the third embodiment. [Figure 9] Diagram illustrating the operation of the gripper according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 10] A diagram illustrating the process of discharging containers onto a discharge conveyor. [Figure 11] This diagram illustrates the operation of receiving a container from the input conveyor according to the fifth embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows a filling system 2 for filling a container 1 as an article with a liquid and attaching a cap to the container 1. The filling system 2 includes a linear conveying device 3 provided with a plurality of grippers G for holding the container 1, and along the conveying path R of the linear conveying device 3, a supply device 4 for supplying an empty container 1 to the gripper G, a filling device 5 for filling the container 1 with a liquid, a capping device 6 for attaching a cap to the container 1, and a discharge conveyor 7 as a conveying conveyor for discharging the container 1 to another device. In this embodiment, the article conveying device according to the present invention is constituted by the linear conveying device 3 and the discharge conveyor 7, and the filling system 2 is controlled by a control device 8 composed of a computer or the like.

[0009] The linear conveying device 3 includes a rail 11 provided along the conveying path R, an electromagnetic coil unit 12 arranged along the rail 11 and having a large number of electromagnetic coils (stators) provided at predetermined intervals inside, and a plurality of rotors 13 provided movably along the rail 11 and linearly driven by the electromagnetic coil unit 12. A gripper G for holding the container 1 is constituted by two adjacent rotors 13. FIGS. 2 to 4 are diagrams for explaining the gripper G. In the plan view shown in FIG. 2, the gripper G is constituted by a downstream rotor 13A located on the downstream side in the conveying path R, an upstream rotor 13B located on the upstream side, and grip pieces 14 provided on the downstream rotor 13A and the upstream rotor 13B. In this embodiment, the container 1 is held from both sides by the grip pieces 14 of the downstream rotor 13A and the grip pieces 14 of the upstream rotor 13B, and in this state, the control device 8 synchronously moves the downstream rotor 13A and the upstream rotor 13B, so that the held container 1 can be conveyed along the conveying path R.

[0010] In the side view shown in FIG. 3 and the front view shown in FIG. 4, the rail 11 is provided along the conveyance path R and is provided in parallel at vertically spaced positions, and an electromagnetic coil unit 12 incorporating an electromagnetic coil is provided between the upper and lower rails 11. The linearly driven portions of the downstream mover 13A and the upstream mover 13B have the same configuration, and each includes a permanent magnet 13a provided so as to face the electromagnetic coil unit 12, and rollers 13b provided above and below the permanent magnet 13a and rolling along the rail 11. As shown in FIG. 4, each mover 13 includes two rollers 13b each in the vertical direction, and the rollers 13b located on the downstream side are provided at positions offset from the 13b located on the upstream side so as not to interfere when adjacent movers 13 approach. The electromagnetic coil disposed within the electromagnetic coil unit 12 provided on the rail 11 is individually excited by the control device 8, and performs so-called linear driving to move the permanent magnet 13a facing the electromagnetic coil by magnetic force. The control device 8 is also capable of recognizing the position of each mover 13 in the conveyance path R and adjusting its speed. In this embodiment, a set of downstream mover 13A and upstream mover 13B is recognized as one gripper G. Since the basic configuration and principle of the linear conveyance device 3 that moves the mover 13 by linear driving are conventionally well-known, further detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0011] Next, the downstream mover 13A and the upstream mover 13B constituting the gripper G will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a support block 15 is provided above the linearly driven portions of the downstream mover 13A and the upstream mover 13B, and a rotary base 17 is rotatably provided above the support block 15 via a rotary shaft 16. A support column 18 is provided on the upper part of the rotating base 17, coaxially with the rotating shaft 16, and a mounting base 19 is provided on the upper part of the support column 18 to which the grip piece 14 is fixed. With this configuration, the grip pieces 14 provided on the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B are each configured to pivot as the rotating base 17 rotates around the rotation axis 16.

[0012] Furthermore, the gripper G in this embodiment is equipped with a swinging mechanism 21 that swings the grip piece 14 provided on the downstream movable element 13A, thereby detaching the grip piece 14 from the container 1 it is holding. Figure 5 illustrates the above-mentioned rocking mechanism 21, and shows a plan view of the rotating base 17 of the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B. First, the rotating base 17 of the upstream movable element 13B is provided with two first guides 22 and a second guide 23 at the inner and outer ends of the transport path R, respectively, facing the downstream movable element 13A. The first guide 22, provided on the inner circumference, has its tip extending to the vicinity of the rotation axis 16 of the downstream movable element 13A, and its tip has a curved portion 22a that curves in a hook shape toward the outer circumference of the transport path R. Furthermore, the second guide 23, provided on the outer circumference, extends its tip beyond the rotation axis 16 of the downstream movable element 13A and protrudes beyond the downstream end of the downstream movable element 13A. A curved portion 23a is formed at its tip, which engages with the third and fourth rollers 24c and 24d, which will be described later. Here, as shown in Figure 4, in two adjacent sets of grippers G, the upstream movable element 13B constituting one gripper G is provided with first and second guides 22 and 23 on the upper surface of the rotating base 17, while the upstream movable element 13B constituting the other gripper G is provided with first and second guides 22 and 23 on the lower surface of the rotating base 17. In this way, when the two sets of grippers G are aligned without gaps, as shown in Figure 4, the first and second guides 22 and 23 that protrude further downstream than the downstream movable element 13A of the upstream gripper G do not interfere with the upstream movable element 13B of the downstream gripper G. Furthermore, a resin stopper 15a is attached to the upstream end face of the support block 15, so that even if the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B come closer together than intended for any reason, the stopper 15a will absorb the impact of the collision and prevent damage to components such as the rotating base 17.

[0013] Next, the rotating base 17 of the downstream movable element 13A is provided with first to fourth rollers 24a to 24d that contact the first and second guides 22 and 23. The first and second rollers 24a and 24b described above are arranged to contact the outer end face of the transport path R of the first guide 22, and are aligned at predetermined intervals in the same direction as the transport path R. On the other hand, the third roller 24c contacts the outer end face of the second guide 22, and the fourth roller 24d contacts the inner end face of the second guide 22. Furthermore, the third roller 24c is positioned offset to the downstream side of the conveying path R relative to the fourth roller 24d.

[0014] The operation of the gripper G by the above-mentioned rocking mechanism 21 will be described below. Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show the state in which the gripper G holds containers 1 of different sizes. Figure 5(a) shows the state in which the gripper G is holding the container 1 with the smallest diameter that can be held. The control device 8 brings the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B closer together, thereby bringing the grip pieces 14 closer together and holding the small diameter container 1. In contrast, Figure 5(b) shows the state in which the container 1 with the largest possible diameter is held, and the control device 8 separates the downstream movable element 13A from the upstream movable element 13B from the state in Figure 5(a). As a result, the first roller 24a reaches the curved portion 22a of the first guide 22. By separating the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B in this way, the distance between the grip pieces 14 is increased, making it possible to hold a large-diameter container 1. As the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B separate from the state shown in Figure 5(a) to the state shown in Figure 5(b), the first and second rollers 24a and 24b maintain contact with the outer peripheral end face of the first guide 22, and the third and fourth rollers 24c and 24d maintain contact with the inner and outer peripheral end faces of the second guide 23, thereby preventing the rotation base 17 of the downstream movable element 13A from rotating. As a result, the grip piece 14 of the downstream movable element 13A does not swing, and a parallel state is maintained between it and the grip piece 14 of the upstream movable element 13B in which the container is held.

[0015] Next, when the control device 8 further separates the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B from the state shown in Figure 5(b) to the state shown in Figure 5(c), the first roller 24a is located on the curved portion 22a of the first guide 22 and therefore cannot move any further downstream. On the other hand, a curved portion 23a is formed at the tip of the second guide 23, and as the downstream movable element 13A moves, the third roller 24c and the fourth roller 24d move along the curved portion 23a as shown by the dashed line, and in particular the third roller 24c moves from the outer circumference side to the inner circumference side of the transport path R. As a result, the rotating base 17 of the downstream movable element 13A rotates counterclockwise around the rotation axis 16, causing the second roller 24b to detach from the first guide 22. In addition, the grip piece 14 provided on the rotating base 17 swings and is released, causing it to detach from the container. Then, when the rotating base 17 of the downstream movable element 13A rotates to the state shown in Figure 5(c), the curved portion 23a of the second guide 23 is gripped by the third roller 24c and the fourth roller 24d, preventing further rotation of the rotating base 17. In other words, when the third roller 24c and the fourth roller 24d attempt to swing around the rotation axis 16, the curved portion 23a of the second guide 23 acts as a stopper, preventing the rotation of the rotation base 17 and preventing further separation between the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B. Furthermore, the second guide can be prevented from detaching from the third roller 24c and the fourth roller 24d.

[0016] In this embodiment, the linear transport device 3 has a transport path R that is approximately oval in shape, and the transport path R consists of a straight section Ra and a curved section Rb with a predetermined radius. Here, since the grip pieces 14 are positioned to protrude outward from the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B, when the gripper G moves in the curved section Rb, there is a problem that the grip pieces 14 separate from each other and become unable to hold the container 1. To address these problems, in this embodiment, the rotating bases 17 of the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B are rotatable by the rotating shaft 16, and the rocking mechanism 21 maintains a state in which the first and second guides 22 and 23 and the first to fourth rollers 24a to 24d are engaged as shown in Figures 5(a) and (b). As a result, even while the gripper G moves through the curved section Rb, the parallel state of the grip piece 14 is maintained, and the container 1 can be held in place.

[0017] Next, the linear conveying device 3 of this embodiment is equipped with a ferriplate 31 that supports the bottom of the container 1 along the rail 11, and is installed from the position where the supply device 4 is installed to the position where the discharge conveyor 7 is installed. As shown in Figure 3, the Ferriplate 31 supports the container 1 held by the gripper G from below, and when the gripper G moves, the container 1 slides across its surface. The Ferriplate 31 is provided to be able to move up and down by a lifting mechanism 32, and the lifting mechanism 32 consists of a motor 32b that rotates a ball screw 32a arranged in the vertical direction, and a nut member 32c provided at the lower part of the Ferriplate 31.

[0018] The above-mentioned supply device 4 comprises a linear supply conveyor 4a provided parallel to the transport path R of the linear transport device 3, and a supply robot (not shown). The supply conveyor 4a transports empty containers 1 in an upright position in a single line and stops a predetermined number of containers 1 at a position adjacent to the linear transport device 3. When the supply robot 4 grasps a container 1 on the supply conveyor 4a, it widens the gap between adjacent containers 1 and then has a predetermined number of grippers G, which are stopped on the ferriplate 31, hold the container 1. At this time, the control device 8 positions the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B such that the distance between the grip pieces 14 of the gripper G is slightly wider than the diameter of the container 1. Then, when the supply robot places the container 1 between the grip pieces 14, the control device 8 brings the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B closer together to hold the container 1. Note that in Figure 1, for illustrative purposes, three grippers G are shown holding three containers 1, but depending on the number of heads in the filling device 5 and capping device 6 described below, it is possible to hold more grippers G holding the containers 1.

[0019] Next, although a detailed explanation of the filling device 5 and the capping device 6 will be omitted as they have conventionally known configurations, they are equipped with filling nozzles and capping heads at predetermined intervals along the transport path R of the linear transport device 3. The control device 8 is configured to position the gripper G of the linear transport device 3 below the filling nozzle and capping head, with the distance between them aligned.

[0020] The discharge conveyor 7 is composed of a straight belt conveyor installed parallel to the transport path R of the linear transport device 3, and the belt conveyor is constantly transporting the container 1 in the same direction as the transport path R by a motor (not shown). The upstream end of the discharge conveyor 7 and the downstream end of the Ferriplate 31 are positioned with virtually no gap between them and with the same height of the conveying surface. The container 1, which has been conveyed on the Ferriplate 31 by the gripper G, is then transferred directly onto the discharge conveyor 7 by the gripper G. Furthermore, the upstream end of the discharge conveyor 7 extends further upstream than the downstream end of the straight section Ra of the transport path R of the linear transport device 3, and is positioned so that the discharge conveyor 7 and the straight section Ra overlap. When the gripper G places the container 1 onto the discharge conveyor 7, in the section overlapping with the straight section Ra, both the gripper G and the discharge conveyor 7 transport the container 1. Then, as the gripper G moves into the curved section Rb, it releases the container 1 and detaches from the discharge conveyor 7.

[0021] Figure 6 shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the discharge conveyor 7 in the linear conveying device 3 described above, illustrating the operation of the gripper G from the time it discharges the container 1 onto the discharge conveyor 7 until it detaches from the discharge conveyor 7. In this embodiment, the control device 8 is configured to set the movement speed of the gripper G when it moves along the discharge conveyor 7 to be slightly slower than the transport speed of the discharge conveyor 7. First, when the gripper G transfers the container 1 from the ferriplate 31 to the discharge conveyor 7 (S1), the control device 8 increases the speed of the downstream movable element 13A relative to the upstream movable element 13B just before the downstream movable element 13A reaches the curved section Rb, gradually separating the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B (S2). This state S2 represents the state shown in Figure 5(b), that is, the state just before the grip piece 14 of the downstream movable element 13A begins to swing. If the downstream movable element 13A is gradually moved further away from the upstream movable element 13B from this state, the rotating base 17 of the downstream movable element 13A rotates, and the grip piece 14 swings in the direction away from the container 1, resulting in the open state shown in Figure 5(c) (S3).

[0022] In this open state of S3, the movement speed of the gripper G is set to be slower than the transport speed of the discharge conveyor 7, so the container 1 on the discharge conveyor 7 detaches from the grip piece 14 of the upstream movable element 13B due to the speed difference. On the other hand, container 1 attempts to approach the downstream movable element 13A due to the speed difference, but the grip piece 14 of the downstream movable element 13A swings and detaches from container 1, so container 1 does not come into contact with the grip piece 14 of the downstream movable element 13A. Then, the gripper G moves from the straight section Ra of the transport path R to the curved section Rb and detaches from the discharge conveyor 7 (S4, S5). The control device 8 adjusts the distance between adjacent grippers G in advance so that the gripping pieces 14 of the detaching grippers G do not interfere with the container 1.

[0023] The operation of the filling system 2 having the above configuration will be described below. First, in the supply device 4, the empty container 1 is transported by the supply conveyor 4a, and the linear transport device 3 stops a plurality of grippers G at a position adjacent to the supply conveyor 4a. Then, the robot constituting the supply device 4 takes out the container 1 from the supply conveyor 4a and places it on the Ferriplate 31 at the position where the gripper G is stopped. The control device 8 brings the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B of the gripper G closer together, and once the container 1 is held by the grip piece 14, it then sequentially moves the held container 1 to the filling device 5 and the capping device 6, where the container 1 is filled with liquid and a cap is attached.

[0024] Once the cap has been attached to the container 1 in this manner, the control device 8 moves the gripper G to the discharge conveyor 7, and the container 1, held by the gripper G, is transferred from the ferriplate 31 onto the discharge conveyor 7. When the gripper G holding the container 1 is positioned on the discharge conveyor 7, as shown in Figure 6, the control device 8 increases the speed of the downstream movable element 13A relative to the upstream movable element 13B, and the oscillating mechanism 21 oscillates the grip piece 14 of the downstream movable element 13A, releasing it and detaching it from the container 1. Furthermore, since the movement speed of the gripper G is set to be slower than the transport speed of the discharge conveyor 7, when the gripper G opens the container 1, the gripper G moves along the curved section Rb, and the grip piece 14 is moved away from the discharge conveyor 7. At this time, container 1 detaches from the grip piece 14 of the upstream movable element 13B due to the speed difference, while the grip piece 14 of the downstream movable element 13A is oscillating due to the oscillating mechanism 21, so there is no collision. Subsequently, container 1 is transported to the next process by discharge conveyor 7, and gripper G is circulated to the supply device 4 along the transport path R, at which point control device 8 brings the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B closer together again.

[0025] Thus, in this embodiment, when the container 1 is discharged to the discharge conveyor 7 that continuously transports the container 1 by the linear transport device 3, the gripper G can be detached from the discharge conveyor 7 without interfering with the container 1. In other words, conventionally, the gripper G had to be stopped at the position of the discharge conveyor 7, the container 1 of the gripper G had to be removed by a transfer means such as a robot, and the container 1 had to be placed on the discharge conveyor 7. However, this mechanism and operation have become unnecessary.

[0026] Figure 7 illustrates the oscillating mechanism 21 of the gripper G according to the second embodiment, and corresponds to Figure 5 used in the first embodiment. Hereafter, components that are common to the configuration of the first embodiment will be denoted by numbers obtained by adding 100 to the reference numerals used in the first embodiment. The gripper G of the second embodiment also comprises a downstream movable element 113A and an upstream movable element 113B, and grip pieces 114 provided on them. The swinging means swings the grip piece 114 provided on the downstream movable element 113A to detach it from the container 1. The oscillating mechanism in this embodiment consists of a first guide 122 provided on the rotating base 117 of the upstream movable element 113B and first to third rollers 124a to 124c provided on the rotating base 117 of the downstream movable element 113A. The first guide 122 has the same shape as the second guide 23 in the first embodiment described above, and its tip is provided to a position that protrudes beyond the downstream end of the downstream movable element 113A, and its tip is formed to curve in accordance with the rotation of the downstream movable element 113A. The first and second rollers 124a and 124b provided on the downstream movable element 113A are located in the same positions as the third and fourth rollers 24c and 24d in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the third roller 124c is positioned to contact the outer end face of the first guide 122 when the container 1 is being held, as shown in Figure 7(a), and is aligned with the first roller 124a in the same direction as the transport path R.

[0027] In the gripper G of the second embodiment having the above configuration, the control device 8 can hold containers 1 of different diameters by bringing the downstream movable element 113A and the upstream movable element 113B into contact and separate (Figure 7(a)), and it is also possible to release the grip piece 114 of the downstream movable element 113A by swinging it, thereby detaching it from the container 1 (Figure 7(b)). To explain in more detail, Figure 7(a) corresponds to Figure 5(b) in Figure 5, and shows the state in which the container 1 with the maximum diameter that can be held is being held. At this time, the control device 8 maintains the distance between the downstream movable element 113A and the upstream movable element 113B to maintain the parallelism of the grip piece 114. When the downstream movable element 113A and the upstream movable element 113B are separated from this state, the first and second rollers 124a and 124b move along the curved shape formed in the first guide 122, the first roller 124a moves from the outer circumference to the inner circumference of the transport path R, and the third roller 124c separates from the first guide 122. Subsequently, as the downstream movable element 113A and the upstream movable element 113B separate further and the rotating base 117 rotates, the curved portion 122a of the first guide 122 is gripped by the first roller 124a and the second roller 124b, preventing the rotation of the rotating base 117 and restricting the angle at which the grip piece 114 is released. As a result, the rotating base 117 rotates around the rotating shaft 116, causing the grip piece 114 of the downstream movable element 113A to swing and release, and detach from the container 1. Since the swinging motion of the grip piece 114 is the same as the swinging motion of the gripper G in the first embodiment, if the gripper G according to this second embodiment is applied to the linear conveying device 3 in the first embodiment, it becomes possible to release and retract the gripper G in the discharge conveyor 7 without interfering the grip piece 114 with the container 1.

[0028] Figure 8 illustrates the gripper G according to the third embodiment and corresponds to Figure 5 of the first embodiment. Hereafter, components that are common to the configuration of the first embodiment will be denoted by adding 200 to the reference numerals used in the first embodiment. The gripper G of the third embodiment also comprises a downstream movable element 213A and an upstream movable element 213B, and grip pieces 214 provided on them. The swinging means swings the grip piece 214 provided on the downstream movable element 213A to release it and detach it from the container 1. The swinging mechanism in this embodiment consists of a cam follower 241 provided on the rotating base 217 of the downstream movable element 213A, and a cam 242 provided along the rail 11 (not shown) that constitutes the linear conveying device 3. Although not shown, the rotating base 217 is constantly biased by a spring member in a direction that closes the grip piece 214. When the cam follower 241 is positioned on the inner circumference side of the transport path R by the cam 242 (a), the grip piece 214 holds the container 1. When the cam follower 241 is positioned on the outer circumference side of the transport path R, the grip piece 214 swings and is released, becoming detached from the container 1 (b). The opening angle of the grip piece 214 at this time can be adjusted by the shape of the cam 242, and the timing at which the grip piece 214 begins to swing can also be adjusted by the shape of the cam 242. Therefore, even when using the oscillating mechanism 221 in this third embodiment, it is possible to discharge the container 1 without the grip piece 214 interfering with the container 1 in the discharge conveyor 7, just as in the first and second embodiments.

[0029] Figures 9 and 10 illustrate the linear conveying device 303 according to the fourth embodiment. Unlike the first to third embodiments described above, the fourth embodiment uses a swinging mechanism 321 to swing and release the grip piece 314 of the upstream movable element 313B, thereby detaching it from the container 1. The gripper G of the fourth embodiment also comprises a downstream movable element 313A and an upstream movable element 313B, and grip pieces 314 provided on them. The configuration of the gripper G of this embodiment is basically a symmetrical version of the gripper G of the first embodiment. Hereafter, components that are common to the configuration of the first embodiment will be denoted by numbers obtained by adding 300 to the reference numerals used in the first embodiment. The rocking mechanism 321 in this embodiment consists of first and second guides 322 and 323 provided on the rotating base 317 of the downstream movable element 313A, and first to fourth rollers 324a to 324d provided on the rotating base 317 of the upstream movable element 313B. The first guide 322, provided on the inner circumference, has its tip extending to the vicinity of the rotation axis 316 of the upstream movable element 313B, and its tip has a curved portion 322a that curves in a hook shape toward the outer circumference of the transport path R. Furthermore, the second guide 323, which is provided on the outer circumference, is provided so that its tip extends beyond the upstream end of the upstream movable element 13B, and a curved portion 323a is formed at its tip. On the other hand, the first and second rollers 324a and 324b provided on the upstream movable element 313B contact the outer end face of the transport path R in the first guide 322, and the second guide 323 is positioned between the third and fourth rollers 324c and 324d.

[0030] Figure 10 shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the discharge conveyor 307 in the linear conveying device 303, illustrating the operation in which the gripper G discharges the container 1 to the discharge conveyor 307 and retracts from the discharge conveyor 7. In this fourth embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the control device 8 sets the movement speed of the gripper G to the same speed as the transport speed of the discharge conveyor 7. As described above, once the gripper G transfers the container 1 from the ferriplate 331 to the discharge conveyor 307 (S1), the control device 8 moves the downstream movable element 313A and the upstream movable element 313B along the discharge conveyor 307, and decelerates the upstream movable element 313B relative to the downstream movable element 313A just before the upstream movable element 313B reaches the curved section Rb. As a result, the upstream movable element 313B gradually separates from the downstream movable element 313A, and the rotating base 317 of the upstream movable element 313B rotates, corresponding to the state shown in Figure 9(b), so that the grip piece 314 separates from the container 1 and enters an open state (S2).

[0031] Then, the grip piece 314 of the downstream movable element 313A moves along the curved section Rb and detaches from the container 1 on the discharge conveyor 307 (S3). On the other hand, the grip piece 314 of the upstream movable element 313B swings backward in the transport direction and detaches from the container 1, so that the grip piece 314 of the upstream movable element 313B does not catch up to the container 1 and make contact with it. Subsequently, the gripper G moves to the curved section Rb of the transport path R and deviates from the discharge conveyor 307, but the control device 8 adjusts the distance between adjacent grippers G in advance so that the gripping pieces 14 of the grippers G do not interfere with the container 1 being transported by the discharge conveyor 307 (S3).

[0032] Thus, even when the grip piece 314 of the upstream movable element 313B is swung, the gripper G can be detached without interfering with the container 1 placed on the discharge conveyor 307, similar to the first to third embodiments described above. In addition, as the configuration of the gripper G in the fourth embodiment, it is also possible to apply the swinging mechanisms 121 and 221 described in the second and third embodiments above, and swing the upstream movable element 313B to detach the grip piece 14 from the container 1.

[0033] In the first to fourth embodiments described above, the discharge conveyor 7 is provided near the connection point between the straight section Ra and the curved section Rb of the transport path R, and the gripper G detaches from the discharge conveyor 7 as it moves through the curved section Rb. In contrast, if a swinging mechanism 21 is provided on both the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B that constitute the gripper G, and both grip pieces 14 are swung, the gripper G can be prevented from interfering with the container 1 being transported by the discharge conveyor 7, even if the discharge conveyor 7 is installed along a straight section Ra. When the grip pieces 14 of the downstream movable element 13A and the upstream movable element 13B are oscillated in this manner, it is conceivable to use an oscillating mechanism 21 equipped with a cam follower 241 and a cam 242, such as the one described in the third embodiment.

[0034] Figure 11 illustrates a linear conveying device 403 according to the fifth embodiment. Unlike the first to fourth embodiments, the fifth embodiment shows a configuration in which containers 1, which are continuously conveyed by a supply conveyor 404a acting as a conveying conveyor, are continuously received by the gripper G of the linear conveying device 403. As the gripper G of the fifth embodiment, it is possible to use the configuration used in the first to third embodiments described above. In other words, any gripper G that rotates the rotating base of the downstream movable element 413A by the oscillating mechanism 421 to release the grip piece 414 can be used. For explanatory purposes, this explanation will use the gripper G used in the first embodiment, and in the following explanation, components that are common to the configuration of the first embodiment will be denoted by adding 400 to the reference numeral used in the first embodiment.

[0035] The supply conveyor 404a is installed along the straight section Ra of the transport path R of the linear transport device 403, and is positioned so that the supply conveyor 404a and the straight section Ra overlap. Furthermore, the upstream portion of the supply conveyor 404a is positioned further upstream than the connection point between the straight section Ra and the curved section Rb. The supply conveyor 404a is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown), and its transport speed is recognized by an encoder (not shown). Furthermore, the containers 1 are transported at predetermined intervals by a required spacing adjustment mechanism. Furthermore, the downstream end of the supply conveyor 404a and the upstream end of the Ferriplate 431 are positioned with virtually no gap and the height of the conveying surfaces is the same. When the gripper G holds the container 1 conveyed by the supply conveyor 404a, it is then transferred to the Ferriplate 431 by the gripper G. Furthermore, a sensor 451 for detecting the container 1 being transported is provided upstream of the handover point with the gripper G on the supply conveyor 404a. When the control device detects the container 1, it uses the signal from the encoder to recognize the transport position of the container.

[0036] The operation of the linear transport device 403 having the above configuration will be described below. First, the control device positions the gripper G in the curved section Rb. At this time, the downstream movable element 413A of the gripper G is separated from the upstream movable element 413B, and the oscillating mechanism 421 causes the grip piece 414 of the downstream movable element 413 to oscillate into an open state (S1). When the container 1 is transported by the supply conveyor 404a and passes the sensor 451, the control means moves the gripper G from the curved section Rb to the straight section Ra in synchronization with the transport speed of the container 1 (S2). This causes the gripper G to approach the supply conveyor 404a, and the control device moves it so that the grip piece 414 of the downstream movable element 413A is positioned between the containers 1 being transported.

[0037] In this way, as the gripper G approaches the supply conveyor 404a while the grip piece 414 of the downstream movable element 413A remains open, the grip pieces 414 of both the downstream movable element 413A and the upstream movable element 413B are positioned above the supply conveyor 404a (S3). The control device moves the gripper G in synchronization with the position of the container 1 being transported by the supply conveyor 404a, positioning the grip piece 414 of the downstream movable element 413A on the downstream side in the transport direction of the container 1, and positioning the grip piece 414 of the upstream movable element 413B on the upstream side in the transport direction of the container 1. At this time, the grip piece 414 of the downstream movable element 413A is swinging and in an open state, so that the grip piece 414 can be positioned above the supply conveyor 404a without interfering with the container 1 being transported. In contrast, if the gripper G is brought closer to the supply conveyor 404a while maintaining the closed state without swinging the grip piece 414 of the downstream movable element 413A, there is a risk that the grip piece 414 will interfere with the container 1 when it is positioned above the supply conveyor 404a.

[0038] When the gripper G is located in the straight section Ra, the control device controls the position and speed of the gripper G to bring the grip piece 414 of the upstream movable element 413B into contact with the upstream side of the container 1 (S4). Subsequently, the control device moves the gripper G while synchronizing its speed with the transport speed of the supply conveyor 404a, and in that state, brings the downstream movable element 413A closer to the upstream movable element 413B. As a result, the grip piece of the downstream movable element 413A, which was open due to the swinging motion, swings and closes, and the downstream movable element 413A and the upstream movable element 413B move closer together, so that the container 1 is held by the grip pieces 414 (S5). Subsequently, the control device synchronizes the speed of the gripper G with the transport speed of the supply conveyor 404a, and transfers the held container 1 from the supply conveyor 404a to the ferry plate 431. After that, as in the above embodiment, the container 1 is moved to the filling device and capping device, and then discharged by the discharge conveyor. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1. Container (item) 2. Filling system 3 Linear conveying device 7 Discharge conveyor 13A Downstream mover 13B Upstream mover 14 Grip piece 21 Swivel mechanism G Grippa

Claims

1. The system comprises a rail provided along a required transport path, a stator provided along the rail, a plurality of movable elements provided to be movable along the rail and linearly driven by the stator, and grip pieces provided on the movable elements. In an article conveying device, a gripper is configured to hold an article between a grip piece of a downstream movable element located on the adjacent downstream side and a grip piece of an upstream movable element located on the upstream side, and the held article is conveyed along the conveying path by moving the downstream and upstream movable elements in synchronous motion, A conveyor is provided along the rail to receive the articles held by the grippers and transport them downstream. A swinging mechanism for swinging the grip piece is provided in at least one of the downstream or upstream movable elements. An article conveying device characterized in that, when an article held by the gripper is positioned on the conveying conveyor, the rocking mechanism rocks the grip piece to release it, thereby detaching the grip piece from the article being conveyed by the conveying conveyor.

2. The above rail includes straight sections and curved sections. The above-mentioned conveyor is installed along the straight section of the rail, and the conveying path of the gripper is arranged to move from the straight section to the curved section and move away from the conveyor. The article conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that when an article held by the gripper is positioned on the conveying conveyor, the oscillating mechanism releases the grip piece near the connection point between the straight section and the curved section, so that the grip piece of the gripper moving in the curved section does not interfere with the article being conveyed on the conveying conveyor.

3. The system comprises a rail provided along a transport path having straight and curved sections, a stator provided along the rail, a plurality of movable elements provided to be movable along the rail and linearly driven by the stator, and grip pieces provided on the movable elements. In an article conveying device, a gripper is configured to hold an article between a grip piece of a downstream movable element located on the adjacent downstream side and a grip piece of an upstream movable element located on the upstream side, and the held article is conveyed along the conveying path by moving the downstream and upstream movable elements in synchronous motion, A conveyor for transporting the above items at intervals is provided along the straight section of the rail, and the conveying path of the gripper is positioned to move from the curved section to the straight section and approach the conveyor. A swinging mechanism is provided to swing the grip piece of the downstream movable element described above. An article conveying device characterized in that, with the grip piece of the downstream movable element of the gripper open by the rocking mechanism, the gripper is moved from the curved section to the straight section, the grip piece of the downstream movable element is positioned downstream in the direction of conveyance of the article being transported by the conveyor, and when the grip piece of the upstream movable element is positioned behind in the direction of conveyance of the article, the rocking mechanism closes the grip piece of the downstream movable element to hold the article.

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