JPH012934A - Equipment for stacking and transporting disc-shaped articles, especially biscuits - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION PRIOR ART A device according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from GB 2,044,230. In this known device, columns of biscuits which are delivered flat at irregular intervals from a continuous baking oven are rearranged into a stack of biscuits with overlapping flat sides, which is then placed on a conveyor belt for further transport. To this end, the biscuits are placed on a curved path, transported until they are almost vertical, and then stacked on top of the horizontally stacked stack by a stacking gear rotating at a constant speed. In the case of this device, the problem is that the intervals between the biscuits sent one after another are too narrow or too wide. That is, in the former case,
This confuses the stacking process and, in the latter case, causes the teeth of the stacking gear to rub the top biscuit of the stack unnecessarily long.

Usually, the biscuits are transported or stored over considerable distances between this known device and the packaging machine. Before entering the packaging machine, the continuous laminate is
Divide into groups and perform intermediate inspections, such as weighing, as necessary. Such additional processing is particularly prone to damaging the edges of the biscuit.

[Summary of the invention]

The basic problem of the present invention is to reconfigure the device described in the first part of claim 1 so that biscuits can be handled with care.

This problem is solved by the latter part (characteristic part) of claim 1.

By linking the laminate machine with the detector, it is possible to avoid the laminate machine from rubbing against the last article in the stack, even if the articles are widely spaced. According to an arrangement according to the invention, the stack is formed in a magazine and packed into pallets when a predetermined number of biscuits is reached or when the length of the group is a predetermined length. Because of this pallet, the biscuits are protected during the various processing steps that take place before they reach the packaging machine.
Optimal protection.

DE 27 13 205 A1 already discloses a lamination forming machine which is actuated step by step by means of a detector. However, this laminate forming machine is not applicable to the device according to the first cited British Patent No. 2,044,230.

A suction wheel used to place a piece of Wazful material into a mold is disclosed in DE 36 10 953 A1. However, this device presupposes that the pieces of watzful material are delivered at regular intervals.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a device according to the invention. The biscuits 2 coming out of the oven are conveyed at irregular intervals by a feeding conveyor belt 1. The conveyor belt 1 transfers the biscuits 2 to two conveyor belts 3 spaced on either side and translating at the same speed. A narrow cylindrical suction wheel 4 is placed between the conveyor belts 3
is rotating around a horizontal axis of rotation 5. The periphery of the suction wheel 4 forms a curved path 7. This curved path is slightly higher than the belt at the tip of the belt 3, so the biscuit 2 is picked up there.

The circumferential speed of the car 4 is set higher than the speed of the belt 3,
Even if the biscuits 2 are in contact with each other on the belt 1, the biscuits are separated from each other on the path 7. A number of small holes are made in the cylindrical wall 8 of the suction wheel 4, and one side of the hole is connected to the shaft 5 via a disk 9 (FIG. 2). Inside the wall 8 a segmented suction chamber 10 with a suction joint 11 is provided. The suction joint connects to the suction blower. Both sides of the biscuit 2 protrude from the periphery 6 of the suction wheel. On the path 7 are a light source 15 and a photodiode 16.
A light barrier 14 consisting of the following is installed immediately adjacent to the suction wheel 4. The light barrier 14 detects that the biscuit 2 has passed.

Proceeding in the feeding direction A, immediately after passing the light barrier,
A laminate forming machine 20 is placed near the periphery 6 of the car 4. The suction chamber 10 extends from slightly ahead of the transfer point from the belt 3 to the suction wheel 4 to the lamination forming machine 20. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4, the laminate forming machine 2o consists of two machines rotating around an axis 21 parallel to each other.
It consists of several impellers 22. The shaft 21 is the lamination forming machine 2
It is installed almost parallel to the tangent line of the circumference 6 of the car at the position of ゜. Each blade wheel 22 has two blades 2 parallel to the axis.
Install 3. The length of the wings is approximately equal to the diameter of the biscuit 2. The wing 23 is tapered in an arc shape at its free end. The blade wheel 22 is provided with an elastic cushioning material 25 on the same plane as the root of the blade 23, which is slightly spaced to the side of the suction wheel 4.
A stopper 24 with a mark is disposed adjacent to the suction wheel peripheral edge 6.

The leading edge of the arriving biscuit 2 hits this stopper (
Figure 3). The two shafts 21 are interlocked via a gear 26 and rotate in opposite directions. The gear 26 is driven by a step motor 27.

At the starting position, the wings 23 are adjusted to the state shown in FIG. When the light barrier 14 detects the passing of the biscuit 2, the circumferential speed of the car 4 and the light barrier 14 are changed to the buffer material 25.
After giving a predetermined delay time corresponding to the interval between the two, the impeller 22 is rotated by the motor 27 by 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow B. By this movement, the arriving biscuits are transferred to the suction wheel 4.
are pulled away from the peripheral edge 6 and stacked flat into a laminate 32. The configuration of the impeller 22 as shown provides the following advantages. That is, the distance traveled by the biscuit is extremely short, so that the acceleration and associated load on the biscuit are small. Furthermore, according to this configuration, when introducing the biscuit into the lamination forming machine, the fixed guide 28 provided with the tapered introduction part 29 allows the biscuit to be guided from both sides.

The stacked body 32 is provided in a rotating magazine 34 having a multi-chamber structure.
It is formed in an outwardly open prismatic chamber 33. The magazine 34 can be indexed and rotated by a further stepping motor 36 about an axis 35 which is perpendicular to the axis 21 and mounted approximately radially to the periphery 6 of the suction wheel 4 . The chamber 33a containing the laminate 32 being formed is partially closed on the outside by a guide plate 37 having a fixed arc-shaped cylindrical segment. In Fig. 1, the guide plate 37 is shown for ease of viewing.
was omitted. In addition, although the chamber 33a appears to be shown as a top view in FIG. 1, it is actually a side view (
(See Figure 5). For each chamber 33, an elastically biased brake shoe 39 guides the accumulation bottom 38 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction.
to prevent the accumulation bottom 38 from moving due to the action of gravity. Referring to Figure 5, chamber 33 shown at the bottom left
In the drawing, the stacking bottom 38 is shown moved forward, but in reality, everything except the stacking bottom of the chamber 33a being stacked is at the rear. The accumulation bottom 38 of this chamber 33a is
For each step of the lamination forming machine 20, the third step motor 40 drives the screw shaft 41 and the drive element 42,
It is moved backwards by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the biscuit 2. The drive element 42 is guided in the guide path 43 so that it can move longitudinally but not rotate.

When the number of switching steps between the lamination forming machine 2o and the driver 42 reaches the predetermined number, the magazine 34 is indexed and rotated in the direction of arrow C (FIG. 5). Biscuits that have been counted 2
group 47 will now be located in the next chamber 33b, and the driver 42 will move into the empty chamber 3 with the accumulation bottom.
Move to 3a.

This accumulation bottom is advanced by the motor 4o to the immediate vicinity of the laminate forming machine 20. A new stack is then formed in chamber 33a. The next index rotation of the magazine empties chamber 33b and transfers the biscuits to a waiting empty pallet 48.

The pallet 48 is made of plastic and has a rectangular shape.

A cylindrical cavity 49, narrowing towards one side, is provided between the opposing sides in order to loosely accommodate a group 47 of biscuits 2.

The empty pallet 48 is placed on a tilting ramp 50 parallel to the axis 35.
Place it on top. The leading pallet 48 is supported by the core 51 of the electromagnet 52 to prevent it from slipping.

When the magazine 34 is indexed and rotated, or when the first pallet 48 that was waiting becomes full.

The electromagnet 52 is activated to release the pallet restraint. The pallet then slides down the ramp 50 and then onto the conveyor belt 53.

A modified embodiment of the lamination forming machine 20 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The laminating machine in this case consists of two conveyor screws 57 which are arranged symmetrically with respect to the central plane of the suction wheel 4 and are driven in opposite directions.

The parallel axis of rotation 58 of the screw 57 is arranged approximately radially from the periphery of the suction wheel 4 and parallel to the axis 36 of the magazine 34 . Further, these rotating shafts are connected via a bevel gear pair 59 to a drive shaft 6 relative to the shaft 21 in FIG.
0 and is also driven by the step motor 27. However, in this case.

The motor 27 completely rotates the shaft 58 at each switching step.
Rotate. At the tip of the screw 57, a large-diameter segment end 61 with an extremely small helix angle is provided.

The diameter of the remaining portion of the screw is made to a size that leaves a small gap from the side of the suction wheel 4 to the screw 57.

The functions of the laminate forming machine 20 shown in Figs. 6 and 7 are the same as those shown in Figs. 3 and 4-. However, when the screw 57 is used, the acceleration of the biscuit 2 can be further relaxed.

It is also possible to further shorten the distance between the biscuit 2 and the laminate 32 to be separated from the suction wheel 4.

For this reason, in this embodiment it is also possible to arrange the laminating machine 20 above the shaft 5 of the suction wheel 4 and therefore to tilt the shaft 35 of the magazine 34 and the ramp 50 in opposite directions. It is possible. In this variant embodiment,
The accumulation bottom 38 in the magazine chamber 33 becomes unnecessary. Therefore, it is also possible to index and rotate the magazine 34 depending on the length of the stack. This variant embodiment is particularly advantageous if the thickness of the biscuit 2 varies relatively widely.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the device according to the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the IV--■ line in FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-v in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing the second embodiment of the laminate forming machine, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line It is a diagram. [Explanation of main symbols] 1.3... Conveyor belt, 32... Laminate, 2.
...Biscuit, 34...Rotating magazine,
4... Suction wheel, 38... Accumulating bottom, 6
...periphery, 47...group, 14...
・Light barrier, 48... Palette, 20...
・Lamination forming machine, 53...conveyor belt.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. comprising a conveyor (1, 3) for feeding a column of flattened articles (2) and a downwardly curved path (7) following the conveyor (1, 3); The articles (2) are separated from the path by a laminating machine (20) and then stacked into a laminated body (32) so that their flat surfaces meet.
In a device for laminating and transporting disc-shaped articles (2), especially biscuits, the path (before reaching the lamination forming machine (20))
7) a detector (14) is disposed thereon, which is connected to a motor (27) for stepwise operation of the laminate forming machine, and a magazine for receiving the laminates (32); (34) and a pallet (34) for further transferring the contents of the magazine when the number of articles (2) in the stack (32) reaches a predetermined number or when the length of the stack reaches a predetermined length. 48). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the detector (14) is constructed as a light barrier. 3. The path (7) is a breathable member that is movable in the feeding direction (
6), said member being driveable in the feed direction at a speed higher than the feed rate of the conveyors (1, 3) and from a transfer position between the conveyors (1, 3) and the path (7). The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the path portion leading to the lamination forming machine (20) is connected on the inside to a suction source (10, 11). 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said member forms a periphery (6) of a suction wheel (4) rotatable about a horizontal axis (5). 5. The laminate forming machine (20) is arranged below the horizontal plane passing through the axis (5), and the magazine (34) is inclined downward from the periphery (6) of the suction wheel (4), and the magazine (34) is arranged below the horizontal plane passing through the axis (5).
4) A collecting bottom (38) that can be driven by a motor is disposed in the inside, and the collecting bottom is movable step by step in synchronization with the movement of the lamination forming machine (20). 5. The apparatus according to claim 4. 6. The laminate forming machine (20) includes two impellers (22) each having two axes parallel blades (23) and rotatable in opposite directions around parallel axes (21). , and the blade wheel axis (21) follows the path (7) near the lamination forming machine (20).
6. A device according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the device is substantially parallel to the tangent line of ). 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the free ends of the wings (23) are tapered in the form of an arc. 8. The laminate forming machine includes two conveyor screws driven in opposite directions about an axis (58) oriented substantially radially with respect to the path (7) and arranged symmetrically with respect to the path plane. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: 9. Multiple magazine chambers (33
) and driven intermittently around an axis (35) oriented substantially radially with respect to the path (7);
9. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that as (34), a magazine is formed. 10. The pallet (48) to be filled is the magazine (34)
The stopper (51) is parallel to the axis (35) of the magazine below.
), the stop being adapted to be released after a switching operation of the magazine (34).