JPH01110417A - Vessel aligning method and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent omission in an aligning device of bottles or the like by arranging bottles in a row along a gate while regulating them on an aligning conveyor by the gate, so that the transfer by means of the conveyor can be allowed by opening the gate when a given number of bottles have been arranged. CONSTITUTION:The angle theta of a vessel guide 37 is adjusted so as to suit the aligning pattern, for instance, in a same number staggered pattern, it is set to 30 deg.. In the corner part between a pattern stopper 34 and a pattern guide plate 33 on one side, bottles 17 are aligned in a complete triangular shape by manual operation. Then, the bottles fed on an aligning conveyor 11 are arranged in a row along the vessel guide 37 of a gate 38. When the forefront bottle is detected by a sensor (not shown), the feed of bottles is stopped. At that time, if a prescribed number of bottles have been supplied inside the gate 38, the gate 38 is opened. Thereby bottles 17 are fed forward by the aligning conveyor 11 in an aligned condition, and are laid upon the previously fed bottles. Thus, the omission of bottles can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for arranging containers such as bottles in a predetermined pattern in order to pack them into boxes or the like.

``Prior Art'' Manufactured bottles undergo various molding inspections while being conveyed by a conveyor, and then are gathered together and arranged in a predetermined pattern, packed in predetermined units, for example, in boxes, and shipped.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a conventional bottle alignment method. Bottles 1 that have undergone molding inspection are arranged in a line along the bottle guides 3 on both sides by the supply conveyor 2 while standing vertically, and are arranged in a line along arrow A.
The bottles are conveyed in the same direction, changed direction along the curved discharge part 4 of the bottle guide 3, and are discharged from the discharge port 4a onto the central part of the front end of the conveyance of the wide alignment conveyor 5 while standing upright. The alignment angle conveyor 5 has a plurality of plate pieces 5a connected in a caterpillar shape to form an endless bell 5b.
-5b are stretched in parallel and circulated at the same time, and the bottles 1 discharged from the bottle guide 3 are conveyed in the direction B, which is substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction A of the supply conveyor 2.

Above both edges of the alignment conveyor 5, pattern guide plates 6 are installed parallel to each other along the conveyance direction, and above the front end of the alignment conveyor 5, a plate-shaped pattern stopper 7 is provided at right angles thereto. Bottles 1 on the alignment conveyor 5 are not conveyed beyond this pattern stopper 7. The pattern stopper 7 is for determining the arrangement pattern of the bottles 1, and in the example shown in the figure, a wavy unevenness 8° 9 is formed on one long edge.

Bottles 1 flowing from the supply conveyor 2 onto the center of the rear end of the alignment conveyor 5 are conveyed by the alignment conveyor K and pushed by the subsequent bottles 1, so that the bottles 1 are separated from the pattern guide plates 6 and pattern stoppers 7 on both sides. The wavy unevenness 8 of the pattern stopper 7 is successively pushed into the enclosure formed by the pattern stopper 7.
, 9, they are naturally arranged and accumulated in a staggered manner.

When the bottles 1 are stacked in a predetermined range or more on the alignment conveyor 5, the grip hand of the carriage (not shown) moves to just above the alignment conveyor 5, and the bottles 1 are stacked in a predetermined stack. They are picked up in area units and removed from the alignment conveyor 5. At this time, the alignment conveyor 5
will be temporarily suspended.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" However, conventionally, as described above, the bottles 1 are poured one by one from the supply conveyor 2 onto the center of the rear end of the alignment conveyor 5. Because the bottles were naturally aligned during transportation, the alignment order is not constant and is affected by the shape and surface treatment of the bottle, making it difficult to align them smoothly and evenly, especially in the case of bottles with little slipperiness. Met. Furthermore, when the alignment conveyor 5 is stopped and the bottles 1 are picked up as described above, the bottles 1 from the supply conveyor 2 stay on the rear end of the alignment conveyor 5. Therefore, when the alignment conveyor 5 is restarted, the remaining bottles 1 flow all at once, colliding with the pins remaining on the alignment conveyor 5 that were not pinked up during the previous pickup, and randomly pushing them. There has been a problem in that the direction of alignment of the bottles is out of order, resulting in a bridging phenomenon of the bottles, that is, a missing part (so-called missing part) where no bottles are present, especially in the vicinity of the pattern guide plate 6.

To illustrate this principle, in the case of natural alignment in FIG. 15, the bottles 1 are first almost aligned from the center to the rear of the pattern stopper 7, and then flow radially to the left and right, and have already reached the center. After the alignment in is completed,
The final alignment position is 2. Bottles that are 2. Proceed diagonally to 22 from 2. However, at z2, the flow direction of the alignment conveyor 5 is the b direction,
This and the force in the diagonal C direction are temporarily eliminated, so 2
! This state of stopping at 2.0 occurs at the same time for 2 to 3 rows when the accumulated bottles flow at once as described above, so it stops at 21 before reaching the final alignment position z3. Tooth loss occurs.

In addition, in FIG. 16, the order of arrangement of bottles is from X to x l
, and if it is from y to y', no missing teeth will occur, but X
If the y bottle moves more than the X bottle before the y bottle reaches y', and if it overtakes it and reaches y' first, tooth loss will occur.

Such a state also occurs when the bottles of y move straight forward along the flow direction a of the alignment conveyor 5. That is, the X bottle attempts to align with y', and the y bottle attempts to align with y' while simultaneously rotating.

Here, ZAOB is 30'', while zAOC
is 60°. At this time, since the bottle X is being pressed straight by the bottle y, the bottle y reaches y' before the bottle X.

In the past, since tooth loss was apt to occur, lifeguards constantly monitored the presence or absence of tooth loss, and bottles were manually refilled at the locations where teeth were removed. The replenishment process caused the bottles to become scratched and contaminated, resulting in a decline in quality.

An object of the present invention is to enable alignment without causing missing teeth.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the arranging method of the present invention, the containers transported by the supply conveyor are arranged in a line along the arranging conveyor while the transport thereof is regulated by a gate. When the number of arranged objects reaches a predetermined number, the gate is opened to allow conveyance by the alignment conveyor.

The alignment device of the present invention also includes a container guide that guides the containers conveyed onto the alignment conveyor by the supply conveyor on the alignment conveyor, and a container guide that guides the containers on the alignment conveyor while regulating the conveyance of the containers by the alignment conveyor. A gate for arranging the containers in a line together with the container guide, a sensor for detecting whether the number of containers arranged has reached a predetermined number, and a stopper actuator actuated by the stopper actuator based on the detection by the acid sensor so that the containers can be arranged from the supply conveyor to the container guide. It is equipped with a supply stop stopper that stops the containers being sent to the alignment conveyor, and a gate opening/closing actuator that opens the gate based on detection by the sensor.

"Function" According to the alignment method of the present invention, the containers that have been supplied onto the alignment conveyor by the supply conveyor are not immediately conveyed by the alignment conveyor, but are transported along the alignment conveyor while being regulated by the gate. arranged in a line. When the number of arrays reaches a predetermined number, the gate opens,
- A predetermined number of containers lined up in a row are conveyed as they are by a sorting conveyor to a collection and sorting point. Even when the alignment conveyor is stopped and the containers that have been stacked and aligned are removed, the containers sent from the supply conveyor can be arranged in a line along the gate.

In the alignment device of the present invention, the containers supplied by the supply conveyor are arranged in a line on the alignment conveyor while being guided between the container guide and the gate. When the sensor detects that the number of containers arranged has reached a predetermined number, the stopper actuator is activated, and the containers from the supply conveyor are stopped by the supply stopper.

Further, the gate opening/closing actuator is activated to open the gate, and a predetermined number of containers arranged in a negative row are conveyed as they are by the alignment conveyor.

"Example" Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall planar arrangement of the alignment device according to the present invention. The supply conveyor 10 is a wide alignment conveyor 1.
A fullness detection device 12 and a feeding device Z13 are disposed in the middle of the conveyance of this supply conveyor 10, and a supply stop device 14 is provided between the supply conveyor 10 and the alignment conveyor 11. is mounted, and furthermore, an arrangement device 15 is mounted above the rear end of the arrangement conveyor 11. Guide plates 16 are arranged in parallel along both side edges of the supply conveyor 10, and the bottles 17 are conveyed in a line in an upright state by the supply conveyor IO.

The feeding device 13 rotates a star wheel 19 by a servo motor 18 as shown in FIG. 5, and moves the bottles 17 on the supply conveyor 10 one by one to the alignment conveyor
At this time, when the bottles 17 are forcibly fed upward, since the terminal end of the guide plate 16 is bent, the bottles 17 are transferred onto one corner of the rear end of the alignment conveyor 11 in an oblique direction.

The supply stop device 14 is connected to the guide plate 1i as shown in FIG.
A plate-shaped supply stop stopper 21 is pivotally attached to the tip of a bending plate 20 constituting a bent portion at the end of the stopper, and the supply stop stopper 21 is pivotably attached to a support column 22, which is a stopper actuator. The opening/closing operation is performed by a pneumatic cylinder 23. The supply stop stopper 21 opens and closes the ends of the guide passage formed by the guide plates 16 on both sides, and when this is closed, the bottles 17 sent from the supply conveyor 10 are stopped just before the alignment conveyor 11, and the following bottles 17 are also stopped. Stay in one line.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the full detection device 12 includes a lever 25 attached to an inverted-shaped bracket 24 fixed to the outer surface of the guide plate 16 so as to be able to swing back and forth toward the guide plate 16. A resin flap 26, which is longer than the diameter of the bottle 17, is fixed to the lower end of the lever 25. A tension spring 27 is hung on the upper end of the lever 25, and the flap 26 is connected to the lower end edge of the guide plate 16 and the supply conveyor 1.
It is urged in the direction of protruding between the guide plates 16 on both sides from the slit 28 formed between the guide plates 16 on both sides. A switch actuator 29 is fixed to the upper end of the lever 25, and a proximity switch 30 that is sensitive to the switch actuator 29 is attached to the bracket 24. When the bottle 17 is stuck between it and the supply stop device 14 and becomes full, the fullness detection device 12 detects this in the following manner.

When the bottles 17 are continuously supplied to the alignment conveyor 11 by the supply conveyor 10, the bottles 17 flow smoothly along the guide plates 16 on both sides without being subjected to braking force, so that the fullness detection device 12 When passing through, the bottle 17 is pushed laterally by the flap 26 and slides against it. In other words, the bottle 17 passes through the flap 26 while sliding against it, and the flap 26 is pushed sideways by the tension spring 2.
7, the flowing bottle 17 does not have enough force to retract the flap 26 outward from the slit 28, and the lever 25 and the switch actuator 29 are in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 30 is turned on.

Therefore, when the bottles 17 are flowing toward the alignment conveyor 11, the proximity switch 30 remains on.

When the supply stop stopper 21 closes (at this time, the servo motor 18 of the feeding device 13 stops), the bottle 17 is pushed by the succeeding bottle 17 due to the continuous conveying action of the supply conveyor 10, and there is a slight gap between the guide plates 16 on both sides. Since there is ample room for this, it overlaps the previous one in a zigzag pattern and stays there. When this state reaches the flap 26, the eight flap 26 is pushed outward from the slit 28 by the bottle 17 against the tension spring 27, the lever 25 is rotated, and the switch actuator 29 is moved as shown in chain lines. As shown by , the robot moves away from the proximity switch 30, the proximity switch 30 is turned off, and a full state is detected.

When the full state is detected in this way, the pneumatic cylinder 23 in the supply stop bag W14 is operated to open the supply stop stopper 21, and the servo motor 18 is driven in the feeding device 13 to move the bottles 17 onto the alignment conveyor ll.
They are sent upward one after another.

The alignment conveyor 11 has the same structure as the conventional one shown in FIG. 14, and as shown in FIG. A plurality of them are installed in parallel so that they can circulate at the same time. Above both side edges of the alignment conveyor 11, pattern guide plates 33 are installed parallel to each other along the conveyance direction, and the alignment conveyor 11
A plate-shaped pattern stopper 3 is placed above the front end of the
4 are installed so that they can be replaced. The illustrated pattern stopper 34 has wavy irregularities 35 and 36 formed on its negative length measurement edge.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, in the arrangement device 15, a container guide 37 made of a C-shaped member is installed almost horizontally above the rear end of the arrangement conveyor 11, and a gate is opened and closed on three days on the container guide 37. It can be mounted freely. The container guide 37 has a length exceeding the width of the alignment conveyor 11 from the end of the guide path formed by the guide plates 16, and has groove plates 39 projecting from both ends, which are held by adjusting screws 40, and are fixed in the vertical and longitudinal directions. The position of the alignment conveyor 11 can be adjusted, and the horizontal inclination of the alignment conveyor 11 can be adjusted using one end (the terminal end of the guide path) as a fulcrum. The gate 38 has three inverted arms 41 whose base ends are fixed to a support shaft 42 via brackets 41a, and a guide bar 43 is horizontally fixed to the tips of these arms 41. The gate 38 is pivotally connected to the three construction tables 44 so as to be vertically movable (openable and closable) by bearing its support shaft 42 on the upper ends of three construction tables 44 fixed on the container guide 37. ing. A pneumatic cylinder 46, which is an actuator for opening and closing the gate, is attached to the base plate 45 of the central construction base 44 among the three construction bases 44.
The gate 38 is opened and closed by this pneumatic cylinder 46.

When gate 38 is closed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,
The guide bar 43 is parallel to the container guide 37, and a guide path is formed between them that guides the bottles 17 in a line following the guide path by the temporary guides 16. Therefore, at this time, the bottles 17 fed from the supply conveyor 10 onto the alignment conveyor 11 are restricted from being conveyed by the alignment conveyor 11 by the guide bar 43, and are lined up in a line by the guide bar 43 and the container guide 37. While being maintained in an upright position, they are slid along the alignment conveyor 11 in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction from the supply conveyor 10 side to the opposite side.

A sensor 47 is attached to the tip of the upper surface of the container guide 37 to detect the leading bottle 17 among the bottles 17 slidably guided in this manner. In the illustrated example, a reflective photoelectric sensor is used as the sensor 47. When the sensor 47 detects the leading bottle 17, a predetermined number of bottles 17 are arranged in a row between the guide bar 43 and the container guide 37, and therefore the sensor 47 detects the number of bottles 17 arranged between them. It is then detected whether or not the number has reached a predetermined number.

Once that detection is done, will the supply stop? i! At 14, the supply stop stopper 21 is activated by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 23.
At the same time as closing, the servo motor 18 in the feeding device 13 stops, and then the pneumatic cylinder 46 is operated and the gate 38 opens upward as shown in FIG. Nobin 17
are released from the restriction and are conveyed all at once by the alignment conveyor 11 while being arranged in - rows.

Next, the overall operation will be explained.

The angle of the container guide 37 is adjusted according to the desired alignment pattern, and if the alignment pattern is a so-called equal number staggered pattern as shown in FIG.
/BOC is 30', and if the bottles 17 are gathered together at this angle, the same number of bottles 17 will form a zigzag pattern, so the angle θ of the container guide 37 is set to 30' as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in the figure, at the corner between the pattern stopper 34 and one of the temporary pattern guides 33, the bottles 17 are initially aligned manually in advance into an overall triangular shape.

The bottle 1 is supplied by the supply conveyor 10 between the closed supply stop stopper 21 and the fullness detection device 12.
7 becomes full and this is detected by the fullness detection device 12, the pneumatic cylinder 23 is actuated to open the supply stopper 21, and at the same time the servo motor 18 is driven and the bottle 17 is moved by the star wheel 19. The containers are fed one by one onto the alignment conveyor 11 and arranged in a line along the guide bar 43 of the gate 38 and the container guide 37 as shown in FIG.

The first bottle among the arranged bottles 17 is the sensor 47.
When the supply stop stopper 21 is closed and the servo motor 18 is stopped, the pneumatic cylinder 46 is operated to open the gate 38 and a predetermined number of bottles arranged in a line at an angle according to the container guide 37 are opened. 17 are conveyed forward by the alignment conveyor 11 while maintaining their arrangement state as shown in FIG. 10, and overlap the last row of bottles 17 already arranged on the alignment conveyor 11.

When the gate 38 is opened and one row of bottles 17 is transported,
Since the sensor 47 is turned off, the gate 38 is closed again by the pneumatic cylinder 46. While the gate 38 is opened and closed in this manner, the bottles 17 are kept on the supply conveyor 1.
0 one after another, and are pushed in a line toward the closed supply stopper 21 side.

When the fullness detection device 12 detects that the bottle is full, the supply stopper 21 opens in the same manner as above, and the servo motor 18 is driven to feed the bottle 17 in the same manner as described above, and when the gate 38 opens. A predetermined number of bottles 17 in the next row are conveyed by the alignment conveyor 11 while being arranged in a line at an angle according to the container guide 37, and are similarly stacked on the last row of bottles 17 already arranged.

When such an operation is repeated a predetermined number of times and the number of bottles 17 arranged on the alignment conveyor 11 reaches a predetermined number of rows, the alignment conveyor 11 is stopped and the line I-1 shown in FIG. Bottles 17 in the area up to are picked up as they are by a grip head of a carriage (not shown) and transported to another location by the carriage. During this time, since the gate 38 is closed, the incoming bottles 17 are arranged in a line as described above. J-
Since bottle 17 behind the 1st line is not picked up,
A triangular pre-pattern as shown in FIG. 11 remains on the alignment conveyor II. When the alignment conveyor 11 reaches tJI again, this pre-pattern is conveyed as it is, resulting in the same state as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the series of operations described above are repeated.

When the alignment pattern is a so-called staggered pattern as shown in FIG.
becomes 60°. Therefore, the angle θ of the container guide 37 is set to 6
If it is set to 0@, a predetermined number of bottles 17 that are guided by this and arranged in a line will form a staggered pattern when they overlap, so the pattern destroyer that was conventionally used for arranging this pattern will A dedicated correction device such as a pattern adjuster or a pattern adjuster is not required.

Furthermore, in the case of the so-called New Year's pattern in which the bottles 17 are arranged in a grid pattern, the angle of the container guide 37 may be set to 0.

Note that although the above embodiments use bottles as an example, the present invention can also be applied to containers other than bottles.

"Effects of the Invention" As detailed above, according to the arranging method of the present invention, the containers sent from the supply conveyor onto the arranging conveyor are arranged in the patterning direction by the gate, and the number of containers for one row is determined. Since the gate is opened and the alignment conveyor is used to transport and align the teeth, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of tooth loss, which eliminates the need for work and personnel to replenish the tooth parts, and also prevents damage and contamination of the container due to this work. The problem will also be resolved.

Further, according to the arranging device of the present invention, by adjusting the angle of the container guide with respect to the arranging conveyor, it is possible to change the arranging pattern such as the same number staggered pattern, the different number zigzag pattern, the New Year pattern, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 13 show embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the entire device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fullness detection device, FIG. 3 is a sectional view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the entire device. 5 is a perspective view of the feeding device, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the supply stop device and arrangement device, FIG. 7 is a side view of the arrangement device with the gate closed, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the feeding device. side view of the open state,
Figures 9 to 11 are plan views showing the bottle alignment procedure;
FIGS. 12 and 13 are explanatory diagrams showing the alignment pattern of bottles. FIG. 14 is a plan view of the conventional example, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are explanatory diagrams illustrating the occurrence of missing teeth during alignment of bottles in the conventional example. 10... Supply conveyor, 11... Alignment conveyor, 21... Supply stop stopper, 2
3...Pneumatic cylinder' (supply stop actuator), 34...Pattern stopper,
37...Container guide, 38...Gate, 46...Pneumatic cylinder (gate opening/closing actuator) 47...Sensor. 3634J:) 2 figures, 3 figures, samurai, 7 figures, 8 figures, 72 figures, 13 figures, spears, 74 figures, dinner / 95

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Containers such as bottles transported by a supply conveyor,
In the method for arranging containers, the containers are transferred onto a belt-shaped alignment conveyor, and while being conveyed by the alignment conveyor, the conveyance is regulated by a pattern stopper at a predetermined position, and the containers are gathered and arranged on the alignment conveyor. The containers conveyed by the container conveyor are arranged in a line along the gate on the alignment conveyor while their conveyance is restricted by a gate, and when the number of containers arranged reaches a predetermined number, the gate is opened. A method for arranging containers, characterized in that the containers are allowed to be transported by the above-mentioned arranging conveyor. 2. Containers such as bottles transported by the supply conveyor,
In the apparatus for arranging containers in which the containers are transferred onto a belt-shaped alignment conveyor and conveyed by the alignment conveyor, the conveyance is regulated by a pattern stopper at a predetermined position, and the containers are gathered and arranged on the alignment conveyor. a container guide that guides the containers conveyed onto the alignment conveyor by the alignment conveyor, and a container guide that guides the containers on the alignment conveyor; a gate for arranging the containers, a sensor for detecting whether the number of the arrayed containers reaches a predetermined number, and a stopper actuator actuated based on the detection by the sensor to stop the containers being sent from the supply conveyor to the alignment conveyor. A container aligning device comprising: a supply stop stopper for stopping the supply, and a gate opening/closing actuator for opening the gate based on detection by the sensor. 3. The container aligning device according to claim 2, wherein the container guide and the gate are mounted above the aligning conveyor so that the angle can be adjusted.