Device for inverting conveyed objects and method for inverting conveyed objects

Abstract

To provide a conveyed object reversing device and a conveyed object reversing method that can transfer a conveyed object to a pocket in a short time without any inconvenience during transportation and shorten a cycle time of a reversing process.SOLUTION: A reversing device 11 includes a first transport mechanism 30 and a reversing mechanism 40. The first transport mechanism 30 includes a transport body 35 that transports a case W received from a conveyor 20 to a delivery position P2 in a pocket 45. The reversing mechanism 40 includes a rotating body 41 having a plurality of pockets 45. The reversing mechanism 40 reverses the case W carried into the pocket 45 by intermittent rotation of the rotating body 41. In the first transport mechanism 30, a maximum speed of the transport body 35 during a transport process of supplying the case W into the pocket 45 is set to be higher than a maximum speed of the conveyor 20, and a maximum deceleration in a deceleration process until the conveyor 35 stops at the delivery position P2 is set smaller than a maximum deceleration when the conveyor 20 stops.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveyed article reversing device for reversing conveyed articles and a method for reversing conveyed articles. [Background Art]

[0002] For example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose reversing devices that reverse a conveyed article in the middle of a conveyance path. This type of reversing device includes a carry-in conveyor that carries the conveyed article to a predetermined position, a reversing mechanism that reverses the carried-in conveyed article, and a carry-out conveyor that carries the reversed conveyed article out from the reversing mechanism. The reversing mechanism includes a rotating body that reverses the conveyed article. The rotating body includes accommodating portions (an example of pockets) capable of accommodating a conveyed article at respective positions at equal angular intervals in the rotation direction. The rotating body rotates intermittently, reverses the conveyed article accommodated from one side of the rotating body by rotating the rotating body half a turn, and carries the conveyed article out from the other side of the rotating body.

[0003] In the reversing devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a single conveyor serves as both the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor. The carry-in conveyor carries the conveyed article into the rotating body, and the carry-out conveyor carries the conveyed article out from the rotating body.

[0004] Further, in the reversing device of Patent Document 3, the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor convey the conveyed article in directions parallel to the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the rotating body (conveyance direction) and opposite to each other. The reversing device includes a carry-in feed pawl that carries the conveyed article into the rotating body by feeding the conveyed article in a feed direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the carry-in conveyor, and a carry-out feed pawl that carries the conveyed article out from the rotating body by feeding the conveyed article in a feed direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the carry-out conveyor. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 7-267338 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 8-133232 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2-233413 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] By the way, in order to improve the cycle time of the reversing device, it is necessary to speed up the transfer operation of the conveyed items on the input conveyor into the rotating body. However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the input conveyor transports the transported object to a predetermined storage position in the reversing mechanism, the transported object is stopped by abrupt deceleration or contact with a stopper without deceleration. Therefore, when increasing the speed of the transport conveyor to improve the cycle time, the impact on the transported object when stopping increases as the speed increases. For example, if the transported object is a case, and the contents of the case are products that are sensitive to impact, the impact when stopping may cause damage such as breakage or tearing to the product.

[0007] On the other hand, in configurations such as the reversing device described in Patent Document 3, where the loading and feeding claws transfer the conveyed material from the conveyor to the rotating body, this transfer operation is an extra step, making it difficult to improve the cycle time. Furthermore, if the loading and feeding claws are made to operate at high speed, the conveyed material may slip on the loading and feeding claws, making it difficult to properly transfer the conveyed material to the rotating body. Thus, when attempting to speed up the process of transferring conveyed material to the rotating body, there are problems associated with the material, such as shocks and slippage. Therefore, there is a need for a reversing device that can transfer conveyed material to the rotating body in a short time without causing any problems with the material, and thereby shorten the cycle time of the material reversal process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The following describes the means and effects of solving the above problems. A conveying object inversion device that solves the above problems is a conveying object inversion device that inverts a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped conveying object received from a conveyor, and comprises a rotating body having a plurality of pockets arranged at intervals in the rotational direction and configured to allow the conveying object to be loaded and unloaded in the radial direction, an inversion mechanism that inverts the conveying object loaded into one of the plurality of pockets at the loading position by intermittent rotation of the rotating body, and a conveying mechanism having a conveying body that supplies the conveying object into the one pocket by transporting the conveying object received from the conveyor at the receiving position to the one pocket of the inversion mechanism, wherein the maximum speed of the conveying body during the supply process of supplying the conveying object into the pocket is greater than the maximum speed of the conveyor, and the maximum deceleration during the deceleration process from the maximum speed until the conveying body stops at the delivery position is set to be less than the maximum deceleration when the conveyor stops.

[0009] This configuration allows for the high-speed processing of supplying conveyed objects from the conveyor into the pockets of the inversion mechanism and inverting them, while minimizing any inconveniences during transport, such as impacts on the objects. Therefore, the inversion device can store the conveyed objects in the pockets in a short time without causing any inconvenience during transport, thus shortening the cycle time of the inversion process.

[0010] A conveying object inversion device that solves the above problems is a conveying object inversion device that inverts a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped conveying object received from a conveyor, comprising a rotating body having a plurality of pockets arranged at intervals in the rotational direction and configured to allow the conveying object to be loaded and unloaded in the radial direction, an inversion mechanism that inverts the conveying object loaded into one of the plurality of pockets at the loading position by intermittent rotation of the rotating body, and a conveying body that can reciprocate along a conveying path between a receiving position where the conveying object is received from the conveyor and a transfer position within the one pocket of the inversion mechanism, and the conveying object received from the conveyor at the receiving position is transferred to the transfer position within the one pocket The system includes a conveying mechanism for transporting objects up to a certain point, wherein the conveyor is arranged in pairs with a first interval between them in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the transported objects, the pocket has a pair of support parts separated by a second interval in the width direction, the transport body has a table that can be raised and lowered, the first interval and the second interval are set to be narrower than the width dimension of the transported objects and wider than the width dimension of the table, and the transport body is configured to receive the transported objects from the conveyor to the table by raising the table through the gap of the first interval at the receiving position, and to transfer the transported objects from the table to the pocket by lowering the table through the gap of the second interval at the transfer position.

[0011] With this configuration, the first and second intervals can be set to the required width, as long as they are within a range narrower than the width of the conveyed object. Furthermore, the table width can be set to the required width, as long as it is within a range narrower than the first and second intervals. Therefore, even when the table on which the conveyed object is placed is moved at high speed, the table width can be set to ensure the necessary contact area to prevent the conveyed object from sliding on the table. Consequently, even when the conveyed object is moved at high speed, the conveyed object on the table hardly slides, and the speed of the conveyed object can be controlled independently of the conveyor. Therefore, in the inversion device, the conveyed object can be placed into the pocket in a short time without causing any inconvenience during transport, thus shortening the cycle time of the inversion process.

[0012] In the above-described inversion device for conveyed objects, the conveying mechanism may be configured such that the maximum deceleration is greater than the maximum acceleration during the acceleration process in which the conveyed object, having received the object at the receiving position, accelerates to its maximum speed.

[0013] This configuration effectively reduces the time required for transporting the items, from the impact on the transported items to their transfer to the reversing mechanism, while minimizing the impact on the transported items. In the above-described inversion device for conveyed objects, the conveying body comprises a table on which the conveyed objects are placed and which can be moved horizontally, and a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the table, and the pocket has a pair of support parts provided on both sides of a lifting passage through which the table can be raised and lowered so as to be able to support the conveyed objects, and the conveying mechanism may perform a first operation of raising the table at the receiving position to receive the conveyed objects on the conveyor onto the table, a second operation of moving the table horizontally from the receiving position to the handover position, a third operation of lowering the table at the handover position to hand over the conveyed objects to the pocket, and a fourth operation of returning the table from the handover position to the receiving position.

[0014] This configuration allows for a reduction in the transport time required when transferring the transported object to the reversing mechanism, and enables the rotation of the rotating body in the reversing mechanism to start earlier. Therefore, the reversing operation of the transported object can be processed at high speed.

[0015] In the above-described inversion device for conveyed objects, the inversion mechanism may start rotating the rotating body at the same time that the table reaches the transfer position, or before the table, which has reached the transfer position and started to descend, finishes descending.

[0016] This configuration allows for an earlier start to rotation of the rotating body when transferring the conveyed object to the reversing mechanism. Therefore, the reversal of the conveyed object can be processed at an even faster speed. In the above-described article reversing device, a maximum speed of the conveying body when returning from the delivery position to the receiving position may be higher than a maximum speed of the conveying body when feeding from the receiving position to the delivery position.

[0017] According to this configuration, the cycle time of a conveying mechanism that sequentially conveys articles can be shortened. An article reversing method for solving the above problem is an article reversing method for reversing an article by using a reversing mechanism including a rotating body having a plurality of pockets arranged at intervals in a rotation direction and configured to allow loading and unloading of the article in a radial direction, the method comprising: a receiving step in which a conveying body receives the article from a conveyor; a conveying step in which the conveying body moves horizontally from a receiving position to convey the article to a delivery position inside one of the plurality of pockets; a reversing step in which the rotating body rotates intermittently to reverse the article accommodated in the one pocket; and an unloading step of unloading the reversed article from the pocket, wherein in the conveying step, a maximum speed of the conveying body is set to be higher than a maximum speed of the conveyor, and a maximum deceleration in a deceleration process until the conveying body is stopped at the delivery position is set to be lower than a maximum deceleration of the conveyor when the conveyor is stopped.

[0018] According to this method, the process of supplying articles conveyed by a conveyor into the pockets of the reversing mechanism and reversing the articles by the reversing mechanism can be performed at high speed while suppressing impact applied to the articles. Effects of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, the process of supplying articles conveyed by a conveyor into the pockets of a reversing mechanism and reversing the articles can be performed at high speed while suppressing impact applied to the articles. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] [Figure 1] It is a side view showing an article reversing device according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a plan sectional view showing a reversing device for conveyed articles. [Figure 3] It is a side view showing a first conveyor, a first conveying mechanism and a reversing mechanism. [Figure 4] It is a plan view showing the first conveyor, the first conveying mechanism and the reversing mechanism. [Figure 5] It is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] It is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 1. [Figure 7] It is a side view illustrating a carrying-in process of conveyed articles in the reversing device. [Figure 8] It is a side view illustrating a carrying-in process of conveyed articles in the reversing device. [Figure 9] It is a side view illustrating a carrying-in process of conveyed articles in the reversing device. [Figure 10] It is a side view illustrating a carrying-in process of conveyed articles in the reversing device. [Figure 11] It is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the reversing device. [Figure 12] It is a graph showing the conveying speed of the first conveyor. [Figure 13] It is a graph showing the conveying speed when the first conveying mechanism carries in articles. [Figure 14] It is a graph showing the conveying speed when the first conveying mechanism returns. [Figure 15] It is a graph showing the conveying speed when the first conveying mechanism carries in articles in a modification. [Figure 16] It is a graph showing the conveying speed when the first conveying mechanism carries in articles in a modification different from FIG. 15. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, a reversing device for conveyed articles will be described with reference to the drawings. The reversing device shown in Figure 1 is a device that reverses the direction of a transported object midway through its transport path. In the following, the transport direction will be referred to as the X direction, the width direction intersecting the transport direction of case W (an example of a transported object) as the Y direction, and the vertical direction as the Z direction. For this reason, the transport direction is also referred to as X, the width direction as Y, and the vertical direction as Z.

[0022] <Configuration of the inversion device 11> The configuration of the inversion device 11 will be explained with reference to Figures 1 to 4. In Figures 1 to 4, the symbols P1, P2, etc., indicating the position of each case W are written in parentheses around the symbol of case W.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1, the reversing device 11 includes a first conveyor 20 as an example of a conveyor, a first transport mechanism 30 as an example of a transport mechanism, a reversing mechanism 40, a second transport mechanism 50, and a second conveyor 60.

[0024] The first conveyor 20 is a conveyor that transports case W, as an example of a transported item, to the receiving position P1. The first conveying mechanism 30 is a mechanism that conveys the case W between the first conveyor 20 and the reversing mechanism 40 and transfers the case W to the pocket 45 of the reversing mechanism 40. In other words, the first conveying mechanism 30 receives the case W brought in by the first conveyor 20 at the receiving position P1. Then, the first conveying mechanism 30 conveys the received case W from the receiving position P1 to the transfer position P2 in the conveying direction X, thereby storing the case W in the pocket 45 of the reversing mechanism 40.

[0025] The inversion mechanism 40 is a mechanism that inverts the case W housed in the pocket 45 by the first transport mechanism 30. The inversion mechanism 40 comprises a rotating body 41 that can rotate around a rotating shaft 42, a third motor 43 which is its drive source, and a power transmission mechanism 44 that transmits the power of the third motor 43 to the rotating shaft 42. As shown in Figure 2, the rotating shaft 42 is rotatably supported by a pair of bearings 41A.

[0026] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the power transmission mechanism 44 is, for example, a belt-type power transmission mechanism and comprises a drive pulley 46 that rotates with the power of the third motor 43, a driven pulley 47 that can rotate together with the rotating shaft 42, and an endless timing belt 48 wrapped around both pulleys 46 and 47.

[0027] As shown in Figure 1, the rotating body 41 has multiple pockets 45 at equiangled positions in the direction of rotation. For example, if the number of pockets 45 is N (where N is a natural number), the rotating body 41 has pockets 45 every 360° / N in the direction of rotation. In the example shown in Figure 1, N=4, so the rotating body 41 has four pockets 45 at 90-degree intervals in the direction of rotation.

[0028] The rotating body 41 is capable of intermittent rotation around the rotation axis 42. When there are N pockets 45, the rotating body 41 rotates intermittently by 360° / N. In the example of N=4 shown in Figure 1, the rotating body 41 rotates intermittently by 90°. The rotating body 41 stops at a rotation angle where one pocket 45 is in a horizontal position at the transfer position P2. In other words, the rotating body 41 stops with one of the four pockets 45 positioned at the loading position Pin into which the case W can be loaded.

[0029] The second conveying mechanism 50 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a mechanism that unloads the inverted case W received from the pocket 45 at the receiving position P3 of the inversion mechanism 40. The second conveying mechanism 50 transports the inverted case W from the receiving position P3 to the handover position P4 of the second conveyor 60 and hands it over to the second conveyor 60. The second conveying mechanism 50 is equipped with a transport body 55 that can move between the receiving position P3 and the handover position P4. The transport body 55 has a liftable table 51 on which the case W can be placed. As shown in Figure 1, when one pocket 45 is at the loading position Pin, another pocket 45 located 180° opposite to this pocket 45 is positioned at the unloading position Pout.

[0030] The second conveyor 60 transports the inverted case W, which has been received from the second transport mechanism 50, to the destination. Next, the first conveyor 20, the first transport mechanism 30, and the reversing mechanism 40 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 3 to 6.

[0031] <Detailed configuration of the first conveyor belt 20> As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the first conveyor 20 includes a conveyor 21 that transports multiple cases W in the transport direction X at approximately constant or variable intervals. The first conveyor 20 includes a first motor 22, which is its drive source, and a power transmission mechanism 23 that transmits the power of the first motor 22 to the conveyor 21.

[0032] The power transmission mechanism 23 is, for example, a belt-type power transmission mechanism. The power transmission mechanism 23 includes a drive pulley 25 and a driven pulley 26A that rotate with power transmitted from the rotation of the first motor 22 via the gearbox 24, and an endless timing belt 27 wrapped around both pulleys 25 and 26A (see Figure 4). Tension is applied to the timing belt 27 by pressing it from the outer circumference side of the roller 28. The conveyor 21 is constructed by wrapping an endless conveying belt or an endless member 21A, such as a chain, around the outer circumference of the drive pulley 26 and the driven pulley 29. If the conveyor 21 is, for example, a chain conveyor, a pair of sprockets are provided instead of a pair of pulleys 26 and 29.

[0033] As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the conveyors 21 constituting the first conveyor 20 are provided in pairs at intervals in the width direction Y. The conveyors 21 are, for example, chain conveyors, but other types of conveyors such as belt conveyors or roller conveyors may also be used. In the case of these other types of conveyors 21, they may also be provided in pairs at intervals in the width direction Y. In these cases, the gap in the width direction Y between the pair of conveyors 21 may be used as a lifting passage for the table 31, which will be described later and constitutes the first transport mechanism 30. Note that if the conveyor 21 is a roller conveyor, it may be provided with multiple rollers arranged in the transport direction X instead of pulleys 26, 29 and endless member 21A.

[0034] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, a stopper 71 is provided near the downstream end of the conveyor 21 in the transport direction X, which stops the case W at the receiving position P1. The stopper 71 is driven, for example, by a cylinder 72. When the cylinder 72 is in the retracted state, the stopper 71 is in the retracted position shown in Figure 3, and when the cylinder 72 is driven to extend, the stopper 71 is positioned in a regulating position (see Figure 7) that can stop the case W. Therefore, even if the conveyor 21 continues to operate, it is possible to stop the case W located at the downstream end of the conveyor 21 at the receiving position P1.

[0035] <Detailed configuration of the first transport mechanism 30> The first conveying mechanism 30 and the second conveying mechanism 50 have the same basic configuration. That is, although there are some differences in the layout and dimensions of the parts, the first conveying mechanism 30 and the second conveying mechanism 50 have almost the same basic configuration. Therefore, the configuration of the first conveying mechanism 30 will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

[0036] As shown in Figure 4, the first interval L1, which is the distance between the pair of conveyors 21 in the width direction Y, is narrower than the width dimension LW of the case W. Therefore, it is possible to transport the case W on the pair of conveyors 21. Also, the first interval L1 is wider than the width dimension LT of the table 31 of the first transport mechanism 30. The width centerlines of the pair of conveyors 21 coincide with the width centerline of the table 31. Therefore, the table 31 can move up and down between a lowered position and a higher raised position relative to the upper surface of the pair of conveyors 21 by passing through the gap in the width direction Y of the pair of conveyors 21. Furthermore, the transport body 35 can move in the X direction along the transport path from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2 while the table 31 is in the raised position, and can move in the -X direction along the transport path from the handover position P2 to the receiving position P1 while the table 31 is in the lowered position.

[0037] As described above, the following relationship is established between the position and dimensions in the width direction Y of the conveyor 21, the case W, and the table 31. That is, LT < L1 < LW is satisfied. The width dimension LT of the table 31 preferably satisfies LT ≥ LW / 2 in order to secure a large contact area between the table 31 and the case W.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the first conveyance mechanism 30 includes a second motor 32 serving as a drive source, a power transmission mechanism 33, and a conveyance body 35. The conveyance body 35 is configured to be capable of reciprocating in the conveyance direction X by power transmitted from the second motor 32 via the power transmission mechanism 33. The conveyance body 35 includes the table 31 and a first lifting cylinder 34 serving as an example of a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the table 31. Further, a cableveyor (registered trademark) 36 that accommodates a power line, a signal line for transmitting signals for controlling the first lifting cylinder 34, and the like is connected to the conveyance body 35. The conveyance body 35 moves along the rail 37 in the conveyance direction X by the power of the second motor 32.

[0039] A carriage 37A movable along the rail 37 is fixed to a lower portion of the conveyance body 35. The power transmission mechanism 33 includes a pair of pulleys 38A, 38B, and an endless timing belt 39 wound around the pair of pulleys 38A, 38B. One pulley 38A is rotated by the power of the second motor 32. A part of the timing belt 39 is fixed to the conveyance body 35. Accordingly, when the second motor 32 is driven to rotate forward and reverse to cause the timing belt 39 to rotate forward and reverse, the conveyance body 35 can reciprocate in the conveyance direction X.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 3, the first lifting cylinder 34 is attached onto the conveyance body 35. The table 31 is fixed to an upper end portion of a rod 34A of the first lifting cylinder 34. When the first lifting cylinder 34 is driven to extend, the table 31 rises, and when the first lifting cylinder 34 is driven to contract, the table 31 lowers.

[0041] As shown in Figure 5, a first sensor 81 for detecting cases W is provided near the downstream end of the first conveyor 20 in the transport direction X. The first sensor 81 detects cases W when they reach the receiving position P1 or a position slightly upstream of the receiving position P1. When the first sensor 81 detects a case W, the control unit 100 drives the first lifting cylinder 34 to extend, thereby raising the table 31.

[0042] <Detailed configuration of the reversal mechanism 40> Next, the detailed configuration of the reversal mechanism 40 will be described with reference to Figures 3, 4, and 6. As shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6, when the rotation of the reversing mechanism 40 is stopped, the rotating body 41 is positioned in a horizontal orientation in which the longitudinal direction of one of the multiple pockets 45 coincides with the horizontal direction. The position of this one pocket 45 is the loading position Pin. The height of this one pocket 45 at the loading position Pin is set so that when the table 31, which is in the raised position, moves in the transport direction X, a case W on the table 31 can be inserted through the opening 45A of the pocket 45.

[0043] Furthermore, the pocket 45 is composed of four L-shaped cross-section frames 45B that form the opening 45A. Of the four frames 45B, the two lower frames 45B constitute an example of a pair of support parts on which the case W, which has been handed over to the pocket 45 at the handover position P2, is placed. As the table 31, which has reached the handover position P2, descends from the raised position to the lowered position, the case W on the table 31 is placed on the lower pair of frames 45B that constitute the pocket 45, thereby handing the case W from the table 31 to the pocket 45.

[0044] In the pocket 45, a stopper 49 that restricts further movement of the case W is disposed at a deep position on the opposite side of the opening 45A in the conveyance direction X (the radial direction of the rotating body 41). A position where the deep surface of the case W in the insertion direction (conveyance direction X) abuts against the stopper 49, or a position slightly upstream of said position in the conveyance direction X, is the transfer position P2 for the case W in the pocket 45. For this reason, speed control is performed on the conveyance body 35 to stop it at the transfer position P2, with the stop target being either the position where the deep surface of the case W on the table 31 contacts the stopper 49 or a position slightly before said position. That is, at the transfer position P2, the conveyance body 35 stops when the case W on the table 31 lightly abuts against the stopper 49, or stops at a position slightly before the position where the case W abuts against the stopper 49. This suppresses impact applied to the case W when the conveyance body 35 stops at the transfer position P2.

[0045] As shown in Figure 4, the interval between the pair of frame bodies 45B on which the case W is placed in the pocket 45 is defined as a second interval L2. The width center line of the table 31 coincides with the width center line of the pocket 45. The second interval L2 is wider than the width dimension LT of the table 31 and narrower than the width dimension LW of the case W. In other words, LT < L2 < LW is satisfied. Thereby, the table 31 can move up and down between a high raised position and a low lowered position relative to the placement surfaces of the pair of frame bodies 45B through the gap in the width direction Y between the pair of frame bodies 45B. Further, the rotating body 41 can rotate with the case W placed on the pair of frame bodies 45B. Therefore, the case W on the table 31 can be transferred to the pocket 45.

[0046] Therefore, from the aforementioned relationship of LT < L1 < LW and the above-described relationship of LT < L2 < LW, LT < L1 < LW and LT < L2 < LW are both satisfied. When determining the necessary width dimension LT for the table 31 so as to secure the necessary contact area between the case W and the table 31, the first interval L1 may be determined within a range that satisfies LT < L1 < LW, and the second interval L2 may be determined within a range that satisfies LT < L2 < LW. Here, in order to secure the necessary contact area, the width dimension LT of the table 31 preferably satisfies, for example, LT ≧ LW / 2.

[0047] <Configuration of the second transport mechanism 50> As described above, the second conveying mechanism 50 has basically the same configuration as the first conveying mechanism 30. That is, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the second conveying mechanism 50 comprises a fourth motor 52 which is a drive source, a power transmission mechanism 53, and a conveying body 55. The conveying body 55 is capable of reciprocating along the rail 57 in the conveying direction X by power transmitted from the fourth motor 52 via the power transmission mechanism 53. The conveying body 55 has a table 51 and a second lifting cylinder 54 which raises and lowers the table 51. A cable carrier (registered trademark) 56 is connected to the conveying body 55. The width dimension of the table 51 is narrower than the gap in the width direction Y of the pair of frame bodies 45B (support parts) that constitute the lower part of the pocket 45 at the discharge position Pout.

[0048] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the second conveyor 60 comprises a conveyor 61, a fifth motor 62 which is a drive source, and a power transmission mechanism 63. The gap in the width direction Y between the pair of conveyors 61 is wider than the width dimension of the table 51 and serves as a lifting passage for the table 51.

[0049] <Comparison of the inversion device 11 of the embodiment with a comparative example> In the conventional inversion device of the comparative example, the input conveyor transports the conveyed goods to the stopping position (transfer position) within the pocket. In this configuration, input conveyors installed in factories are typically stopped by cutting off the power supply to the motor. In other words, the input conveyor cannot control its deceleration. Furthermore, when the input conveyor is operated continuously, the conveyed goods are forced to stop at the transfer position within the pocket by hitting a stopper. Therefore, the faster the conveying speed of the input conveyor is increased in order to shorten the cycle time of the inversion operation, the more abruptly the conveyed goods will stop at the transfer position within the pocket, resulting in a greater impact on the conveyed goods. For example, if the conveyed goods are cases containing delicate products that are easily damaged, torn, or have altered properties when subjected to impact, it is necessary to avoid a large impact during abrupt stopping.

[0050] Therefore, this embodiment provides an inversion device 11 that can perform the inversion process at high speed while suppressing impact on the conveyed object. The inversion device 11 comprises a first conveyor 20 and an inversion mechanism 40, similar to the input conveyor of the comparative example. The difference from the comparative example is that it is equipped with a first conveying mechanism 30 that moves horizontally (traverses) between the first conveyor 20 and the inversion mechanism 40 to receive and transfer the conveyed object.

[0051] The first transport mechanism 30 performs a receiving operation to receive the case W from the first conveyor 20 at the receiving position P1, and a transfer operation to transport the received case W to the transfer position P2 and transfer it to the pocket 45 of the reversing mechanism 40. The pocket 45 is a case W storage section provided in multiple locations at predetermined angular intervals in the rotational direction of the rotating body 41. In the example shown in Figures 1 and 3, the rotating body 41 rotates intermittently, for example, by 90 degrees at a time, so that one of the multiple pockets 45 stops intermittently at the transfer position P2 in sequence.

[0052] In this embodiment, the first conveyor 20 is responsible for transporting the cases W to a receiving position P1, which is a predetermined distance before the pocket 45. The receiving position P1 is located upstream in the transport direction X from the opening 45A when the pocket 45 is at the loading position Pin, and is the starting position for storing the cases W in the pocket 45. The first transport mechanism 30, which is capable of high-speed transport and deceleration control, is responsible for storing the cases W in the pocket 45. Details of the speed control of the transport body 35 in this first transport mechanism 30 will be described later in comparison with the speed and deceleration of the first conveyor 20.

[0053] Furthermore, control may be performed to start the rotation of the rotating body 41 before the table 31, which has stopped at the transfer position P2, has finished descending to the lower position. Moreover, control may be performed to start the rotation of the rotating body 41 before or almost simultaneously with the table 31, which has stopped at the transfer position P2, begins descending from the upper position to the lower position. In these cases, the case W on the table 31 is picked up by the pocket 45. This timing control speeds up the start of the inversion of the case W when it reaches the transfer position P2. As a result, the time required from the arrival at the transfer position P2 until the inversion of the case W is completed is shortened.

[0054] <Electrical configuration of the inversion device 11> Next, the electrical configuration of the inverting device 11 will be described with reference to Figure 11. The control unit 100 controls the reversing device 11. The control unit 100 is electrically connected to a first sensor 81, a second sensor 82, and a third sensor 83. The first sensor 81 detects when a case W on the conveyor 21 of the first conveyor 20 reaches the receiving position P1 or a position slightly upstream of the receiving position P1 in the transport direction X.

[0055] The second sensor 82 detects that the case W has reached the transfer position P2 within the pocket 45 located at the loading position Pin in the reversal mechanism 40. The third sensor 83 detects that the case W, which is being turned inside the pocket 45 in the inversion mechanism 40, has reached the discharge position Pout.

[0056] Furthermore, the control unit 100 is electrically connected to the first conveyor 20, the stopper 71, the first transport mechanism 30, the reversing mechanism 40, the second transport mechanism 50, and the second conveyor 60. The control unit 100 controls the drive of the first motor 22, which is the drive source for the first conveyor 20.

[0057] The control unit 100 drives the cylinder 72 based on the detection signal from a sensor (not shown). When the sensor (not shown) detects that case W has reached a position upstream of the transfer position P2, the control unit 100 drives the cylinder 72 to extend and lower the stopper from the standby position to the restricting position, thereby stopping case W at the receiving position P1. When the sensor (not shown) detects a predetermined timing from when the table 31 starts to rise until case W is transferred onto the table 31, the control unit 100 drives the cylinder 72 to retract and raise the stopper 71 from the restricting position to the standby position.

[0058] The control unit 100 drives the second motor 32 of the first transport mechanism 30 and the first lifting cylinder 34, which is the lifting mechanism of the table 31, based on the detection signal from the first sensor 81. Specifically, the control unit 100 raises the table 31 by extending the first lifting cylinder 34 based on the detection signal from the first sensor 81. After the table 31 has been raised, the control unit 100 drives the second motor 32 to move the transport body 35, which has the table 31 raised, from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2. When the transport body 35 reaches the handover position P2, the control unit 100 drives the first lifting cylinder 34 to retract, thereby lowering the table 31. When a sensor (not shown) detects that the table 31 has lowered to a height where the case W can be handed over to the pocket 45, the control unit 100 drives the second motor 32 in reverse to move the transport body 35 back to the receiving position P1.

[0059] The control unit 100 drives the third motor 43, which is the drive source for the reversing mechanism 40. When the case W is placed in the pocket 45 at the loading position Pin up to the transfer position P2, the control unit 100 drives the third motor 43 to rotate the rotating body 41 by 90 degrees in the rotational direction. Thereafter, each time the case W is placed in the pocket 45 at the loading position Pin up to the transfer position P2, the control unit 100 drives the third motor 43 to intermittently rotate the rotating body 41 by 90 degrees.

[0060] The control unit 100 drives and controls the fourth motor 52, which is the drive source for the second transport mechanism 50, and the second lifting cylinder 54. The control of the second transport mechanism 50 is simply the reverse of the movement of the first transport mechanism 30, raising and lowering the table 51 by the extension and retraction drive of the second lifting cylinder 54, and moving the transport body 55 horizontally by the forward and reverse drive of the fourth motor 52.

[0061] The control unit 100 controls the fifth motor 62, which is the drive source for the second conveyor 60. <Control details of the inversion device 11> The control unit 100 performs the following control. The control is implemented by the computer within the control unit 100 executing a program. The control consists of the following four steps. These four steps constitute the inversion method of this embodiment.

[0062] The receiving step involves receiving a case W, which is an example of a conveyed item, from the first conveyor 20. The conveying body 35 of the first conveying mechanism 30 raises the table 31 at the receiving position P1, thereby receiving the case W from the first conveyor 20 onto the table 31.

[0063] In the conveying step, the case W received from the conveyor 21 is moved horizontally (conveying direction X) to be transported into the pocket 45 of the rotating body 41 of the reversing mechanism 40. In this conveying step, the maximum speed V1 of the conveying body 35 is set to be greater than the maximum speed V0 of the first conveyor 20, and the maximum deceleration β1 of the deceleration process of the conveying body 35 is set to be less than the maximum deceleration β0 of the conveyor 21 when it is stopped.

[0064] In the inversion step, the rotating body 41 rotates intermittently to invert the case W housed in the pocket 45. In this embodiment, the rotating body 41 rotates intermittently, for example, 90 degrees (360° / N) at a time. The case W is inverted when the rotating body 41 rotates 90 degrees twice (N / 2 times).

[0065] In the unloading step, the inverted case W is unloaded from pocket 45. Specifically, the table 51 of the second conveying mechanism 50 rises at the receiving position P3, allowing the table 51 to receive the case W from pocket 45. Then, the conveyor 55 moves from the receiving position P3 to the handover position P4, unloading the case W from pocket 45. At the handover position P4, the table 51 lowers, transferring the case W onto the conveyor 61.

[0066] <Transport operation of transporter 35> The conveying mechanism 30 performs the following operations of the conveying body 35 in this order: first operation, second operation, third operation, and fourth operation. The first operation is to raise the table 31 at the receiving position P1 to receive the case W on the conveyor 20 onto the table 31. The second operation is to move the table 31 horizontally from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2. The third operation is to lower the table 31 at the handover position P2 to hand over the case W to the pocket 45. The fourth operation is to return the table 31 from the handover position P2 to the receiving position P1.

[0067] <About acceleration and deceleration control> Next, the acceleration and deceleration control of the first conveyor 20 and the first transport mechanism 30 will be described with reference to Figures 12 to 14. Figure 12 is a speed profile showing the acceleration and deceleration control of the first conveyor 20. Figures 13 and 14 are speed profiles showing the acceleration and deceleration control of the transport body 35 (i.e., table 31) that constitutes the first transport mechanism 30. Figure 13 is the speed profile of the transport body 35 during its forward movement when transporting the case W. Figure 14 is the speed profile of the transport body 35 during its return movement when it returns to the receiving position P1 after transferring the case W to the pocket 45 at the handover position P2. The graphs shown in Figures 12 to 14 show the relationship between time t and speed V of the first transport mechanism 30.

[0068] As shown in Figure 12, the conveyor 21 accelerates rapidly with a relatively large maximum acceleration α0 and transports at a constant maximum speed V0. When stopping, it stops abruptly with a relatively large maximum deceleration β0. The maximum speed V0 here may be set by the operator for each type of case W. The acceleration α0 corresponds to the acceleration when power is supplied to the first motor 22 when the switch is turned on. The deceleration β0 corresponds to the deceleration when power is cut off to the first motor 22 when the switch is turned off. In this embodiment, the conveyor 21 is configured so that the stopper 71 stops the case W when it reaches the receiving position P1, so it continues to rotate during operation. Alternatively, instead of using the stopper 71, the control unit 100 may stop the drive of the conveyor 21 by performing switching control, thereby stopping the case W at the receiving position P1.

[0069] In the case of a reversing device described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, where the input conveyor stores cases in pockets of a rotating body, increasing the maximum speed V0 of the conveyor is effective in improving the cycle time. However, in this case, the impact on the cases when the conveyor is stopped by a stopper becomes excessive. Similarly, in a configuration where the conveyor is stopped by cutting off the power to the motor, the impact on the cases when the conveyor stops also becomes excessive. In contrast, in the reversing device 11 of this embodiment, the first transport mechanism 30 is responsible for storing the cases W in the pockets 45 of the rotating body 41, so it is not necessary to increase the maximum speed V0 of the conveyor 21 to take into account the storage speed in the pockets 45. Therefore, the impact on the cases W when the conveyor is stopped at the receiving position P1 does not become excessive. Hence, the configuration is such that the stopper 71 stops the cases W when they reach the receiving position P1.

[0070] As shown in Figure 13, in the transport process in which the case W is transported from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2 and supplied into the pocket 45, the transporter 35 transports the case W at a maximum speed V1. This maximum speed V1 is greater than the maximum speed V0 of the conveyor 21. Moreover, the maximum deceleration β1 during the deceleration process until the transporter 35 stops at the handover position P2 is set to be smaller than the maximum deceleration β0 when the conveyor 21 stops. Furthermore, the assumed maximum acceleration α1 when the transporter 35 accelerates from the receiving position P1 to the maximum speed V1 is set to be smaller than the maximum acceleration α0 during the acceleration process of the conveyor 21.

[0071] As shown in Figure 14, the maximum speed V2 during the return process when the conveyor 35 moves from the handover position P2 to the receiving position P1 is set to be greater than the maximum speed V1 during supply shown in Figure 13. Also, the maximum acceleration α2 during the acceleration process when the conveyor 35 accelerates from the handover position P2 to the maximum speed V2 is set to be less than the maximum acceleration α0 during the acceleration process of the conveyor 21, and greater than the maximum acceleration α1 during the forward movement shown in Figure 13. The maximum deceleration β2 during the deceleration process when the conveyor 35 decelerates from the maximum speed V2 until it stops at the receiving position P1 is set to be less than the maximum deceleration β0 when the conveyor 21 stops, and greater than the maximum deceleration β1 during the forward movement shown in Figure 13.

[0072] Here, deceleration refers to the acceleration in the negative mass. In other words, it means the acceleration during the deceleration process. The acceleration α during deceleration is α < 0. Deceleration is equivalent to the absolute value of the acceleration α. ​​In this example of α, if we set α = -β < 0, then β (= |α|) is the deceleration.

[0073] <Operation of the Embodiment> Next, the operation of the inversion device 11 will be explained. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the case W is transported by the first conveyor 20 at a predetermined transport speed V0. When the case W is detected by a sensor (not shown) slightly upstream in the transport direction X from the receiving position P1, the control unit 100 moves the stopper 71 from the retracted position to the restricting position by driving the cylinder 72 to extend, as shown in Figure 7. As a result, the case W hits the stopper 71 and stops at the receiving position P1.

[0074] Normally, by this time, the transporter 35, having lowered the table 31, is waiting below the receiving position P1. As shown in Figure 8, when the first sensor 81 detects that the case W has reached the receiving position P1, the control unit 100 drives the first lifting cylinder 34 to extend, thereby raising the table 31. During this raising process, the case W on the conveyor 21 is transferred onto the table 31. At the same time that the table 31 rises, the stopper 71 retracts to its retracted position.

[0075] Next, as shown in Figure 9, the transporter 35 moves horizontally along the rail 37 in the transport direction X from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2. Through this transport, the case W is placed in the handover position P2 within one of the four pockets 45, which is located at the loading position Pin.

[0076] Next, as shown in Figure 10, when the second sensor 82 detects that case W has reached the transfer position P2, the control unit 100 drives the first lifting cylinder 34 to retract, thereby lowering the table 31, and drives the third motor 43 to rotate in the forward direction, thereby starting the rotation of the rotating body 41 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 10. At this time, the control unit 100 starts the rotation of the rotating body 41 at the same time that the table 31 reaches the transfer position P2, or starts the rotation of the rotating body 41 before the table 31, which has reached the transfer position P2 and started to descend, finishes descending. This makes it possible to advance the timing of the start of rotation of the rotating body 41 when case W is transferred from the table 31 to the pocket 45.

[0077] As a result, case W is transferred from table 31 to pocket 45, and the rotating body 41, which had started rotating, rotates 90 degrees, which is the amount of one rotation, and stops. The conveyor body 35, which lowered table 31 when handing over case W to pocket 45, returns from the handover position P2 to the receiving position P1.

[0078] Thereafter, a series of processes including those shown in Figures 7 to 10 are performed similarly for each case W that reaches the receiving position P1. Specifically, the stopping of case W by the stopper 71 at the receiving position P1 (Figure 7), the transfer of case W onto the table 31 (Figure 8), the transport of case W from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2 (Figure 9), the transfer of case W to the pocket 45 (Figure 10), the intermittent rotation of the rotating body 41, and the return of the transport body 35 to the receiving position P1 are all performed similarly for subsequent cases W.

[0079] When case W is loaded into pocket 45, the rotating body 41 performs two intermittent rotations, causing pocket 45 containing case W to reach the discharge position Pout. When case W reaches the discharge position Pout, it is detected by the third sensor 83.

[0080] When the third sensor 83 detects the case W, the control unit 100 extends the second lifting cylinder 54 of the transport body 55 that has reached the receiving position P3 up to that point, or immediately after, the receiving position P3, thereby raising the table 51. As a result, the case W in the pocket 45 is transferred onto the table 51.

[0081] The conveyor 55 moves (traverses) from the receiving position P3 to the handover position P4. When the conveyor 55 reaches the handover position P4, the control unit 100 lowers the table 51 by driving the second lifting cylinder 54 to retract. During this lowering process, the case W on the table 51 is transferred onto the conveyor 61 of the second conveyor 60. The case W is then carried out by the second conveyor 60. In this way, the series of processes is repeatedly performed on the case W at predetermined cycle times.

[0082] Now, let's discuss the effect of reducing cycle time. The first conveyor 20 transports the cases W at a constant transport speed V0. This constant transport speed V0 is also the maximum speed V0 on the speed profile shown in Figure 12. In this embodiment, the first conveyor 20 continues to rotate during operation because the stopper 71 stops the cases W when they reach the receiving position P1. However, when stopping from the maximum speed V0, it makes a sudden stop accompanied by a relatively large maximum deceleration β0, as shown in Figure 12. In other words, the first conveyor 20 is not suitable for high-speed transport to the pocket 45, which involves stopping for each case W. The first conveyor 20 is difficult to operate at high speed while suppressing the impact when stopping because the impact on the cases W increases as the speed increases. Therefore, the first conveyor 20 in this embodiment is responsible for transporting the cases W up to just before they reach the pocket 45. The first conveyor 20 is driven at a constant transport speed V0 that matches the production capacity of the cases W upstream.

[0083] Next, we will explain the transport process of the transporter 35 that transports the case W into the pocket 45. Since the pocket 45 moves due to the rotation of the rotating body 41, the transport body 35 waits outside the pocket 45 and cannot start the loading operation until it reaches the loading position Pin into which the pocket 45 can be loaded.

[0084] When pocket 45 reaches the loading position Pin, the transporter 35 located outside pocket 45 needs to transport case W from the receiving position P1 with a stroke approximately equivalent to the depth of pocket 45. This transport time is important for reducing the cycle time.

[0085] Although the travel distance is relatively short, the conveying speed V0 of the conveyor 21 is slow, making it difficult to increase speed while minimizing impact. Therefore, the first conveying mechanism 30 is adopted to transport at a higher speed. In this operation of placing the case W into the pocket 45, it is ultimately necessary to stop the case W inside the pocket 45. A certain degree of stopping position accuracy is also required. For example, if the case W stops too far in front of the stopper 49 at the back of the pocket 45, the case W will fall due to gravity as the rotating body 41 rotates another 90 degrees, and the impact of the fall will be applied to the case W. Also, if the case W is forcibly stopped by hitting the stopper 49, a large impact will be applied to the case W when it collides with the stopper 49. Therefore, stopping control is performed so that the case W stops at a position where it lightly touches the stopper 49, or slightly in front of the stopper 49.

[0086] Furthermore, increasing the maximum acceleration during the acceleration process shortens the transport time, but if the maximum acceleration is too high, slippage of the case W will occur on the table 31. In this case, even if the stopping position accuracy of the table 31 is accurate, the stopping position accuracy of the case W cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, it is necessary to maximize the maximum acceleration while suppressing slippage between the case W and the table 31. This is also true during the deceleration process, and slip prevention measures are necessary for the table 31. For this reason, a friction sheet (not shown) is attached to the top surface of the table 31. This achieves both high transport speed and high stopping position accuracy.

[0087] As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the maximum speed V1 (Figure 13) of the conveyor 35 during the conveying process of supplying the case W into the pocket 45 is greater than the maximum speed V0 (Figure 12) of the conveyor 21. Moreover, the maximum deceleration β1 during the deceleration process until the conveyor 35 stops at the handover position P2 is set to be smaller than the maximum deceleration β0 when the conveyor 21 stops. As a result, the case W can be conveyed at high speed from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2 while suppressing the impact on the case W.

[0088] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 14, the maximum speed V2 during the return process in which the conveyor 35 moves from the handover position P2 to the receiving position P1 is greater than the maximum speed V1 during the supply process. Therefore, the cycle time of the first conveying mechanism 30 that sequentially conveys the cases W can be shortened.

[0089] Furthermore, in the unloading operation of the second conveying mechanism 50, which is performed simultaneously with the loading operation of the first conveying mechanism 30, the speed profiles applied to the forward and reverse movements of the conveyed body 55 are reversed compared to the first conveying mechanism 30. That is, in the second conveying mechanism 50, the speed profile shown in Figure 13 is used for the unloading process in which the table 51 is transported from the receiving position P3 to the handover position P4. Then, the speed profile shown in Figure 14 is used for the return process in which the table 51 is returned from the handover position P4 to the receiving position P3. Thus, the loading operation of the first conveying mechanism 30 and the unloading operation of the second conveying mechanism 50 are performed simultaneously, and the return operation of the first conveying mechanism 30 and the return operation of the second conveying mechanism 50 are performed simultaneously. As a result, the rotation of the rotating body 41 can be started earlier, which contributes to shortening the cycle time. For example, if there is a delay between the return timing of the transporter 35 and the return timing of the transporter 55, and one waits for the other, the cycle time will be slightly longer. However, in this embodiment, such a delay does not occur, or the delay can be kept to a minimum, thus avoiding an increase in cycle time.

[0090] <Advantages of the table transport system> Next, the advantages of the table transport system of this embodiment, which is equipped with height-adjustable tables 31 and 51, will be described. Other transport mechanisms besides the table transport system include a gripping system that grips the transported object and moves it horizontally, a pusher system that pushes the transported object into the pocket 45, and a suspended transport mechanism that suspends the transported object and moves it horizontally. Suspension systems include suction systems, magnetic attachment systems, and gripping systems.

[0091] For example, in the gripping method, if the orientation of the gripping part when receiving the conveyed object differs from the orientation of the gripping part when handing over the conveyed object, an extra operation is required to change the orientation of the gripping part from the time the conveyed object is gripped until it is placed in the pocket 45, which increases the conveying time. Also, in the suspension method, there is no need to change the orientation of the gripping part, but since the position where the conveyed object is placed in the pocket 45 is downstream in the direction of rotation of the conveyed object, the rotation of the rotating body 41 cannot start until the gripping part returns to outside the pocket 45. This waiting time increases the cycle time. Furthermore, in the pusher method, since it pushes the side of the conveyed object, it does not delay the timing of the rotation start of the rotating body 41, but if the conveying speed of the conveyed object is to be increased, it is necessary to push with force, and even if the drive speed of the pusher is reduced, the conveyed object moves at high speed due to inertia, so the impact when it hits the stopper 49 is large. In addition, in the pusher method, if a configuration is adopted in which the case W is pushed from the upstream side in the conveying direction X, the first conveyor 20 must convey the case W in a direction intersecting the conveying direction X of the first conveying mechanism 30. In this case, the orientation of the case W transported by the first conveyor 20 will be different from the orientation of the case W transported by the table 31. Therefore, extra work may be required on the unloading side to return the case W to its original orientation.

[0092] Compared to these other methods, the table transport method of this embodiment allows for high-speed transport of the case W from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2 while suppressing impact on the case W through acceleration and deceleration control. Furthermore, after the case W is transferred to the pocket 45, the table 31 is positioned upstream of the case W in the direction of rotation of the pocket 45. In other words, even if the rotating body 41 is rotated immediately, the case W and the table 31 do not interfere with each other. Therefore, the rotation of the rotating body 41 can be started immediately without waiting for the table 31 to return to its original position. This contributes to shortening the cycle time.

[0093] Furthermore, the inversion device 11, consisting of the first conveyor 20, the first transport mechanism 30, the inversion mechanism 40, the second transport mechanism 50, and the second conveyor 60, transports and inverts the case W while maintaining the same orientation (e.g., longitudinal direction). Therefore, the inversion device 11 performs loading, inversion, and loading in a single line. For example, in the case of a configuration where the rotating body 41 is positioned so that the rotating shaft 42 is parallel to the transport direction X, at least the width of two lines is required for the inversion mechanism, making it difficult to effectively utilize factory space. In contrast, the inversion device 11 of this embodiment completes the transport, inversion, and transport sequence in the width of a single line, making it easier to effectively utilize factory space.

[0094] <Effects of the Embodiment> According to the embodiments described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The inversion device 11 inverts the rectangular parallelepiped case W received from the conveyor 21. The inversion device 11 comprises a transport mechanism 30 and an inversion mechanism 40. The transport mechanism 30 has a transport body 35 that transports the case W received from the conveyor 21 at the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2 in one pocket 45 at the loading position Pin. The transport body 35 supplies the case W into the pocket 45. The inversion mechanism 40 comprises a rotating body 41 having a plurality of pockets 45 that are spaced apart in the rotational direction and configured to allow loading and unloading of the case W in the radial direction. The inversion mechanism 40 inverts the case W that has been loaded into one of the pockets 45 located at the loading position Pin by the intermittent rotation of the rotating body 41. In the conveying mechanism 30, the maximum speed V1 of the conveying body 35 during the supply process of supplying the case W into the pocket 45 is set to be greater than the maximum speed V0 of the conveyor 21, and the maximum deceleration β1 during the deceleration process until the conveying body 35 stops at the handover position P2 is set to be less than the maximum deceleration β0 of the conveyor 21 when it stops. With this configuration, the process of supplying the case W transported by the conveyor 21 into the pocket 45 of the inversion mechanism 40 and inverting the case W can be performed at high speed while suppressing the impact applied to the case W. Therefore, in the inversion device 11, the case W can be stored in the pocket 45 in a short time without causing any inconvenience in transport, thus shortening the cycle time of the inversion process.

[0095] (2) The conveyor 21 is arranged in pairs with a first interval L1 between them in the width direction Y which intersects the transport direction X of the case W. The pocket 45 has a pair of frame bodies 45B (an example of a support part) separated by a second interval L2 in the width direction Y. The transport body 35 has a table 31 that can be raised and lowered. The first interval L1 and the second interval L2 are set to be wider than the width dimension of the table 31 and narrower than the width dimension LW of the case W. The transport body 35 receives the case W from the conveyor 21 to the table 31 by raising the table 31 through the gap of the first interval L1 at the receiving position P1. The transport body 35 is also configured to transfer the case W from the table 31 to the pocket 45 by lowering the table 31 through the gap of the second interval L2 at the handover position P2.

[0096] With this configuration, the first interval L1 and the second interval L2 can be set to the required width as long as they are within a range narrower than the width LW of the case W. Furthermore, the width LT of the table 31 can be set to the required width as long as it is within a range narrower than the first interval L1 and the second interval L2. As a result, even when the table 31 on which the conveyor 35 is placed is moved at high speed, the width LT of the table 31 can be set to ensure the necessary contact area to prevent the case W from sliding on the table 31. Consequently, even when the conveyor 35 is moved at high speed, the case W on the table 31 hardly slides, and the speed of the conveyor 35 can be controlled independently of the conveyor 21. Therefore, in the inversion device 11, the case W can be placed in the pocket 45 in a short time without any inconvenience during transport, thus shortening the cycle time of the inversion process.

[0097] (3) The transport mechanism 30 is configured such that the maximum acceleration α1 during the acceleration process when the transport body 35 receives the case W at the receiving position P1 and accelerates to the maximum speed V1, and the maximum deceleration β1 during the deceleration process from the maximum speed V1 to a stop, are approximately the same in magnitude (see Figure 13). With this configuration, the impact on the case W can be kept to a minimum, while effectively shortening the transport time required to hand over the case W to the reversing mechanism 40.

[0098] (4) The transport body 35 includes a table 31 on which the case W is placed and which can move horizontally, and a first lifting cylinder 34 as an example of a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the table 31. The pocket 45 has a pair of frame bodies 45B as a pair of support parts that can support the case W on both sides separated by a lifting passage through which the table 31 can move up and down. The transport mechanism 30 performs a first operation of raising the table 31 at the receiving position P1 to receive the case W on the conveyor 21 onto the table 31, a second operation of moving the table 31 horizontally from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2, a third operation of lowering the table 31 at the handover position P2 to hand over the case W to the pocket 45, and a fourth operation of returning the table 31 from the handover position P2 to the receiving position P1. With this configuration, the transport time required when handing over the case W to the inversion mechanism 40 can be shortened, and the rotation of the rotating body 41 in the inversion mechanism 40 can be started earlier. Therefore, the processing from receiving case W to completing the inversion operation can be sped up.

[0099] (5) Simultaneously with the table 31 reaching the transfer position P2, or before the table 31, which has reached the transfer position P2 and begun to descend, finishes its descent, the reversing mechanism 40 starts rotating the rotating body 41. With this configuration, the timing of the start of rotation of the rotating body 41 can be advanced when the case W is transferred to the reversing mechanism 40. Therefore, the reversal of the case W can be processed at an even faster speed.

[0100] (6) The maximum speed V2 when the transporter 35 returns from the delivery position P2 to the receiving position P1 is greater than the maximum speed V1 when the transporter 35 returns when it moves from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2. With this configuration, the cycle time of the transport mechanism 30 that sequentially transports the cases W can be shortened while suppressing displacement and impact of the cases W.

[0101] (7) The method for inverting the conveyed object involves inverting the case W using an inversion mechanism 40 equipped with a rotating body 41 having a plurality of pockets 45 arranged at intervals in the rotational direction and configured to allow the case W, which is the conveyed object, to be loaded into and unloaded in the radial direction. The method for inverting the case W includes a receiving step, a transport step, an inversion step, and an unloading step. In the receiving step, the transport body 35 receives the case W from the conveyor 21. In the transport step, the transport body 35 moves horizontally from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2 in one of the plurality of pockets 45. In the inversion step, the rotating body 41 rotates intermittently to invert the case W contained in one of the pockets 45. In the unloading step, the inverted case W is unloaded from the pocket 45. Furthermore, in the transport step, the maximum speed V1 of the transport body 35 is set to be greater than the maximum speed V0 of the conveyor 21, and the maximum deceleration β1 of the deceleration process until the transport body 35 is stopped at the handover position P2 is set to be less than the maximum deceleration β0 of the conveyor 21 when it stops. With this method, the process of supplying the case W transported by the conveyor 21 into the pocket 45 of the inversion mechanism 40 and inverting the case W can be performed at high speed while suppressing the impact applied to the case W.

[0102] The embodiments are not limited to those described above and may be modified to the following forms. As shown in the graph in Figure 15, the speed profile of the transporter 35 may be set so that the maximum deceleration β3 during the deceleration process is greater than the maximum acceleration α3 during the acceleration process. With the acceleration and deceleration control shown in this graph, the maximum speed V3 can be set to a higher speed because the maximum deceleration β3 is larger, which has the effect of shortening the transport time required by the transport mechanism 30. Therefore, the transport time required to hand over the case W to the reversing mechanism 40 can be shortened more effectively while keeping the impact on the case W to a minimum. Alternatively, the speed profile applied to the forward and reverse movements may be reversed from that of the first transport mechanism 30, and the same acceleration and deceleration control may be adopted for the second transport mechanism 50. In this case, the transport time required by the second transport mechanism 50 can be shortened even further.

[0103] As shown in the graph in Figure 16, when the maximum speed is limited to a maximum speed V1, the transporter 35 may have a period of time during which it moves at a constant speed of the maximum speed V1. In this case, the speed profile of the transporter 35 may be set so that the maximum deceleration β4 during the deceleration process from the maximum speed V1 to stopping is greater than the maximum acceleration α4 during the acceleration process until reaching the maximum speed V1. With the acceleration and deceleration control shown in this graph, the transport time at the maximum speed V1 can be extended, thus shortening the transport time required by the transport mechanism 30. Therefore, the transport time required to hand over the case W to the reversing mechanism 40 can be shortened more effectively while keeping the impact on the case W to a minimum. Note that the same acceleration and deceleration control may be adopted for the second transport mechanism 50 by reversing the speed profiles applied to the forward and reverse movements compared to the first transport mechanism 30.

[0104] The conveying mechanism 30 may be a belt conveyor system. In this case, the conveyor belt constitutes an example of a conveyed body. For example, a first transfer conveyor, as an example of a conveying mechanism, is placed downstream of the first conveyor 20, which is an example of a conveyor, in the conveying direction X. The first transfer conveyor has an endless conveyor belt that constitutes an example of a conveyed body. The downstream end of the first conveyor 20 and the upstream end of the first transfer conveyor are adjacent to each other, separated by a gap within a range that allows for the transfer of cases W. Both the first conveyor 20 and the first transfer conveyor transport cases W, which are an example of a transported object, in the conveying direction X. The first conveyor 20 is controlled to be driven and stopped, for example, by turning the power supply of the motor, which is the drive source, on and off. While the reversing device 11 is in operation, the first conveyor 20 is operated continuously at a constant speed, and cases W are transported in sequentially. The first transfer conveyor is driven by a speed-controllable drive source, such as a servo motor, and its speed is controlled by the control unit 100. The first transfer conveyor sequentially receives the cases W that have been sequentially brought in by the first conveyor 20 at the receiving position P1 at the upstream end of the transport direction X. When the first transfer conveyor receives the cases W at the receiving position P1, it stops or is driven at a receiving speed equal to that of the first conveyor 20. Once the first transfer conveyor receives the cases W, its speed is controlled according to a predetermined speed profile that includes an acceleration process to reach a maximum speed and a deceleration process to decelerate from the maximum speed until it stops at the handover position P2 in the pocket 45. In this supply process of accommodating the cases W in the pocket 45, the maximum speed of the first transfer conveyor is set to be greater than the maximum speed of the first conveyor 20, and the maximum deceleration of the first transfer conveyor's deceleration process is set to be less than the maximum deceleration of the first conveyor 20 when it is stopped. Thus, the first transfer conveyor transports the case W from the receiving position P1 to the handover position P2 at high speed by the rotation (forward rotation) of an endless conveyor belt. In the above embodiment, the transport body 35 having a table 31 is a moving body, so there is a return process in which the moving body returns from the handover position P2 to the receiving position P1, but in this belt conveyor system there is no return process. Also, the first transfer conveyor does not have a constant speed period in which it is maintained at maximum speed (see Figures 13 and 15), or it may have a constant speed period (see Figure 16). The first conveyor 20 may be a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, or the like.Furthermore, the first transfer conveyor is not limited to a belt conveyor, and any conveyor capable of securing a contact area with the case W may be used. For example, the first transfer conveyor may be of a table circulation type in which a plurality of tables are fixed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of a belt conveyor or a chain conveyor. In this case, the first transfer conveyor conveys the case W received at the receiving position P1 to the transfer position P2 and transfers it to the pocket 45 in the feeding process where the circulating table moves in the conveyance direction X.

[0105] According to this configuration, since the conveyance body is a belt conveyor, a wider contact area with the case W can be ensured compared to a feed pawl type in which the case W is placed on a plurality of carry-in feed pawls. Therefore, slipping of the case W during conveyance can be suppressed, so the maximum acceleration and maximum deceleration can be set to larger values. For this reason, the maximum speed can be set higher relative to the conveyance distance. Accordingly, slipping of the case W during conveyance can be suppressed, and excessive impact when stopping can also be suppressed. For example, in a configuration where a conveyor carries conveyed articles into a rotating body as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it has been difficult to achieve higher speed because of the need to avoid excessive impact when the case W hits a stopper and excessive impact when the conveyor stops. In contrast, in this modified example, the conveyor is separated into the first carry-in conveyor 20 and the first supply transfer conveyor, the first conveyor 20 is continuously operated at a constant speed, and the first transfer conveyor is configured to be speed-controllable. Then, the first transfer conveyor supplies the case W to the pocket 45 of the rotating body 41 through speed control involving acceleration, deceleration, and stopping. Therefore, the case W can be transferred to the pocket 45 in a short time while suppressing conveyance inconveniences, and consequently the cycle time of the reversing process can be shortened.

[0106] Note that the first transfer conveyor may satisfy the following conditions in the same manner as the table 31 of the above embodiment. The first conveyor 20 is configured as a pair spaced apart by a first interval L1 in the width direction Y. Letting LC be the width dimension of the first transfer conveyor (that is, the conveyor belt), LW be the width dimension of the case W, and L2 be the second interval between the pair of support portions (frame bodies 45B) forming the pocket 45, the relationships LC < L1 < LW and LC < L2 < LW are satisfied. LC is preferably LC ≥ LW / 2 in order to ensure a wide contact area between the first transfer conveyor and the case W.

[0107] The conveying mechanism 30 is not limited to a lifting table type. It may also be a conveying mechanism that grips the conveyed object and moves it horizontally. Alternatively, it may be a pusher type conveying mechanism that pushes the conveyed object into the pocket 45. Even with the pusher type, if a stopper is positioned to move together with the pusher on the downstream side of the case W in the pushing direction, the case W can be decelerated by the deceleration of the pusher. Furthermore, it may also be a suspended-down type conveying mechanism that suspends the conveyed object and moves it horizontally. In this case, the suspension method may be a suction method, a magnetic attachment method, or a gripping method. Even with such other types of conveying mechanisms, if the maximum speed of the conveyed object is set to be greater than the maximum speed of the conveyor 21 during the supply process, and the maximum deceleration of the conveyed object is set to be less than the maximum deceleration when the conveyor 21 is stopped, similar effects can be obtained.

[0108] The second motor 32, which is the drive source for the first transport mechanism 30, and the fourth motor 52, which is the drive source for the second transport mechanism 50, may be replaced with a single motor. The mechanism for moving the transporter 35 horizontally may use a single-axis robot.

[0109] The conveyor 21 that constitutes the first conveyor 20 and the conveyor 61 that constitutes the second conveyor 60 may be other types of conveyors besides chain conveyors, belt conveyors, and roller conveyors that transport the cases W in a mounted state. Also, conveyor 21 may be one that grips and transports the cases W or transports the cases W in a suspended state.

[0110] • When the transported item is case W, the contents of case W are not particularly limited. The contents may be, for example, an empty container, or a container containing contents that are one of the following: liquid, solid, or gas. The transported item may be, for example, a case that contains containers such as PET bottles, glass bottles, or cans. The contents of case W may also be, for example, bags containing other food or beverages, electronic components, electrical appliances, daily necessities, parts, materials, powders, granules, or liquid raw materials or products. The number of contents in case W may be one or more. Furthermore, the transported item may be an empty case.

[0111] Case W is not limited to a cardboard case; it may be a paper case other than cardboard. Case W may also be a plastic case. The transported items may be cases wrapped in wrapping paper.

[0112] The transported object is not limited to case W, as long as it is rectangular in shape. For example, the transported object itself may be a rectangular article, rather than a case. It may be a rectangular material, component, part, or product. For example, it may be wood, metal plate, plastic product, ceramic product, etc., as long as it is rectangular in shape.

[0113] The control unit 100 may be composed of software, which consists of a computer that executes a program, or it may be composed of hardware such as electronic circuits. Furthermore, the control unit 100 may function in cooperation with both software and hardware. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0114] 11…Reversing device, 20…First conveyor as an example of a conveyor, 21…Conveyor, 21A…Endless member, 22…First motor, 23…Power transmission mechanism, 24…Gearbox, 25…Pulley, 26…Pulley, 27…Belt, 28…Roller, 29…Driven pulley, 30…First conveying mechanism as an example of a conveying mechanism, 31…Table, 32…Second motor, 33…Power transmission mechanism, 34…First lifting cylinder, 34A…Rod, 35…Conveyor body, 36…Cable carrier (Registered Trademark) ), 37...rail, 37A...carriage, 38A...pulley, 38B...pulley, 39...timing belt, 40...reversing mechanism, 41...rotating body, 42...rotating shaft, 43...third motor, 44...power transmission mechanism, 45...pocket, 45A...opening, 45B...frame forming an example of a support part, 46...drive pulley, 47...pulley, 48...timing belt, 49...stopper, 50...second transport mechanism, 51...table, 52...fourth motor, 53...power transmission mechanism, 54...second lifting cylinder nda, 55…conveyor, 60…second conveyor, 61…conveyor, 62…fifth motor, 63…power transmission mechanism, 71…stopper, 72…cylinder, 81…first sensor, 82…second sensor, 83…third sensor, 100…control unit, W…case as an example of conveyed object, X…conveying direction, Y…width direction, Z…vertical direction, P1…receiving position on the supply side, P2…transfer position on the supply side, P3…receiving position on the discharge side, P4…transfer position on the discharge side, Pin…pocket loading position, Pout…po L1...First interval, L2...Second interval, LW...Case width dimension, LT...Table width dimension, LC...Width dimension of the first transfer conveyor, V0...Maximum conveyor speed, α0...Maximum acceleration, β0...Maximum deceleration, V1...Maximum speed during supply, α1...Maximum acceleration, β1...Maximum deceleration, V2...Maximum speed during return, α2...Maximum acceleration, β2...Maximum deceleration, V3...Maximum speed during supply, α3...Maximum acceleration, β3...Maximum deceleration, α4...Maximum acceleration, β4...Maximum deceleration.

Claims

1. A conveyor reversing device that reverses a rectangular parallelepiped conveyed object received from a conveyor, The device comprises a rotating body having a plurality of pockets arranged at intervals in the rotational direction and configured to allow the loading and unloading of the transported object in the radial direction, and an inversion mechanism that inverts the transported object loaded into one of the pockets located at the loading position by intermittent rotation of the rotating body, A conveying mechanism having a conveying body that receives the conveyed object from the conveyor at the receiving position and transports it to the transfer position in one of the pockets of the reversing mechanism, thereby supplying the conveyed object into the one pocket, Equipped with, The conveying mechanism is characterized in that the maximum speed of the conveyed object during the supply process of supplying the conveyed object into the pocket is greater than the maximum speed of the conveyor, and the maximum deceleration during the deceleration process from the maximum speed until the conveyed object stops at the handover position is set to be less than the maximum deceleration when the conveyor stops.

2. A conveyor reversing device that reverses a rectangular parallelepiped conveyed object received from a conveyor, The device comprises a rotating body having a plurality of pockets arranged at intervals in the rotational direction and configured to allow the loading and unloading of the transported object in the radial direction, and an inversion mechanism that inverts the transported object loaded into one of the pockets located at the loading position by intermittent rotation of the rotating body, A conveying mechanism having a conveying body that can reciprocate along a conveying path between a receiving position where the conveyed object is received from the conveyor and a transfer position within one pocket of the reversing mechanism, and conveying the conveyed object received from the conveyor at the receiving position to the transfer position within one pocket, Equipped with, The conveyors are arranged in pairs at a first interval in the width direction intersecting the conveying direction of the conveyed objects. The pocket has a pair of support parts spaced at a second interval in the width direction, The transporter has a table that can be raised and lowered, The first and second intervals are set to be narrower than the width dimension of the conveyed object and wider than the width dimension of the table. The conveying body is configured to receive the conveyed object from the conveyor to the table by raising the table through the gap of the first interval at the receiving position, and to transfer the conveyed object from the table to the pocket by lowering the table through the gap of the second interval at the transfer position.

3. The conveying mechanism is characterized in that the maximum deceleration is set to be greater than the maximum acceleration in the acceleration process in which the conveying body, which has received the conveyed object at the receiving position, accelerates to the maximum speed, as described in claim 1.

4. The transporter comprises a table on which the transported object is placed and which can be moved horizontally, and a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the table. The pocket has a pair of support parts provided on both sides of a lifting passage that allows the table to move up and down, so as to be able to support the transported object. The conveying mechanism is characterized by performing a first operation of raising the table at the receiving position to receive the conveyed object on the conveyor onto the table; a second operation of moving the table horizontally from the receiving position to the handover position; a third operation of lowering the table at the handover position to hand over the conveyed object to the pocket; and a fourth operation of returning the table from the handover position to the receiving position, as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The inversion device for conveyed objects according to claim 4, characterized in that the inversion mechanism starts rotating the rotating body at the same time the table reaches the transfer position, or before the table, which has reached the transfer position and started to descend, finishes descending.

6. The conveying object reversal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the maximum speed at which the conveying object returns from the delivery position to the receiving position is greater than the maximum speed at which the conveying object returns from the delivery position to the receiving position.

7. A method for inverting a conveyed object, comprising an inversion mechanism that includes a rotating body having a plurality of pockets arranged at intervals in the rotational direction and configured to allow the conveyed object to be loaded and unloaded in the radial direction, wherein the conveyed object is inverted using the inversion mechanism, A receiving step in which the conveying body receives the conveyed object from the conveyor, A transport step in which the transporter moves horizontally from the receiving position to transport the transported object to a handover position within one of the multiple pockets, The inversion step involves the rotating body intermittently rotating to invert the conveyed object contained in one of the pockets, A discharge step of unloading the inverted conveyed object from the pocket. Includes, A method for inverting a conveyed object, characterized in that, in the conveying step, the maximum speed of the conveyed object is greater than the maximum speed of the conveyor, and the maximum deceleration during the deceleration process until the conveyed object is stopped at the transfer position is set to be less than the maximum deceleration when the conveyor is stopped.

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