JPH0369420A - Tray feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To have trays released one by one faultlessly by a method wherein the forward parts of flat springs are curved downward so as to make them detach a tray coming into contact by pressing it down and then the forward ends of the flat springs separate from the detached tray to let it fall. CONSTITUTION:With progressive turn of movable arms 10, the upper side of each of flat springs 14 comes into contact with a guide 5 and the flat spring 14 begins to curve on the point of contact with the guide 5. With this curving, the forward end of the flat spring 14 forming a jaw 14a holding the tray jointly with the other declines at tan increasing angle. As a result, the lowest tray of the pile, held by said jaws, is pressed down and detached downward from supporting edges 4. A further turn of the movable arms 10 makes the flat springs 14 curve so sharply, hence making the tray-holding jaws 14a decline at such a large angle, that the jaws 14a separate from the tray, relinquishing its hold and letting it fall by its own gravity. This constitution enables releasing the trays one by one faultlessly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an improvement of a tray removing device in a tray feeder.

(B) Prior Art Conventionally, thin trays for packaging sweets and the like have been stacked when stored before use, and are removed one by one when used. The device for removing the stacked trays one by one includes suction with vacuum bats installed on both sides of the loaded cases, or clamping with rolls installed on both sides. There was something to supply.

However, in the case of a device that suctions with a vacuum vat, it cannot handle trays of different sizes, and in the case of a device that uses rolls to hold the suction, the contact surface of the rolls is large, so the friction between the overlapping surfaces of the trays is The force was large, and due to the thickness of the trays, it was not always possible to accurately remove the trays one by one.

(C) Problems to be solved by the present invention Therefore, 1. The present invention grips loaded trays from both sides with thin plate springs, and curves the thin plate springs downward to make it possible to remove the trays. In addition to being able to accommodate trays of different sizes, the frictional force of the overlapping surfaces of the trays is made small to ensure that the trays can be removed one by one at all times.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a tray gripping thin plate spring that rises while approaching the loaded trays, and a thin plate spring that moves upward. A tray feeding machine having a limiting guide piece, wherein the tray is held from both sides by the proximity of the thin plate spring, and the upward movement of the thin plate spring is restricted by the guide piece, so that the front part of the thin plate spring is moved downward. The tray is controlled so that the abutting tray is pushed down and detached, the degree of curvature is increased by the continuation of the upward movement of the thin plate spring, the tip of the thin plate spring leaves the tray, and the detached tray falls. The aim is to provide a feeder.

(E) Examples Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given according to an embodiment shown in nine figures.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a tray feeder according to the present invention.

The upper part of the figure is a stocker side plate having an opening 2 formed in its lower part, and in this embodiment, the stocker side plates 1 are erected facing each other at an interval corresponding to the width of the loaded trays.

A tray guide 3 is attached to the inner wall above the opening 2 of the stocker side plate 1, with its upper end 3a protruding from the stocker side plate 1, with the protruding portion of the upper end 3a opening slightly outward. This is to make it easier to insert loaded trays from the top. The lower part 3b of the tray guide 3 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
As shown in the side view of the figure, it is inclined inward at an angle matching the inclination of the side surface of the loading tray 15 set in the tray feeder.

The lower end of the tray guide 3 is connected to the stocker side plate 1. The lower end of the tray guide 3 is bent inwardly and upwardly to form a protrusion, forming a tray locking piece 4. In this embodiment, the left and right tray locking pieces 4
becomes the tray locking part.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the stocker side plate↓
A guide piece 5 is attached to the upper edge of the opening 2 with a bolt 6. The guide piece 5 is attached so that its lower end is located slightly below the locking piece 4.

However, it is above the upper surface of the thin plate spring 14, which will be described later.

It is attached to the outer wall of the stocker side plate 1 via the metal fittings 7.
With the cylinder rod 8 facing downward, install the air cylinder 9.
is installed. The air cylinder 9 serves as a drive mechanism for the movable arm 10 of the tray feeder of the present invention. The cylinder rod 8 of the air cylinder 9 is connected to the movable arm 10 via a connecting rod 11 attached to the rear end of the movable arm 10.

The movable arm 10 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 13 provided on the lower outer wall of the stocker side plate ↑ near the center.

The tip of the movable arm 10 (the connecting rod 11 with the cylinder rod 8
On the opposite side, a thin plate spring 14 is installed horizontally in an initial state. Therefore, when the cylinder rod 8 extends and the rear end of the movable arm ↑0 rotates downward, the tip of the movable arm ↑0 (on the side where the thin plate spring 4 is attached) rotates upward.

The tray gripping portion 14a, which is the tip of the thin plate spring 1-4, is serrated. This is to ensure that the tip of the tray is easily caught and that the thin plate spring 14 is held securely.

In the present invention, the tray gripping portion 14a is carved in a sawtooth shape, but instead of cutting the portion, the sawtooth shape may be attached.

(F) Function of the present invention One embodiment of the present invention has been described above, and the function of the present invention will be described below while explaining its operation. 3 and 4 are side views showing the operation of the present invention.

The stacked trays 15 are placed with their bottom faces downward, inserted through the tray guide 3, and held by the tray locking pieces 4. FIG. 3 shows the state before the start of operation.

First, the air cylinder 9 is connected to the air inflow hose 16.
When air is fed into the cylinder rod 8, the cylinder rod 8 is extended, and the movable arm 10 connected to the cylinder rod 8 starts to rotate about the support shaft 13 in the direction A in the figure. Movable arm 1
As the movable arm 10 rotates, the thin plate spring 14 attached to the lower end of the movable arm 10 is pushed forward and grips the side surface of the tray located at the lowest position of the loaded trays.

As the rotation of the movable arm 10 progresses, the two surfaces of the thin plate spring 14 come into contact with the guide piece 5, and the thin plate spring 14 begins to curve around the point of contact with the guide piece 5. As a result of the thin plate spring 14 curving, the tray gripping portion 14a, which is the tip of the thin plate spring 14, moves downward while increasing its angle. Therefore, the loaded lowermost tray is pushed down and the locking piece 4
It is detached downward from the As the rotation of the movable arm 10 further progresses, the degree of curvature of the flat spring top 4 increases, and the downward angle of the tray gripping portion 1.4a increases, causing it to separate from the tray and no longer grip it. falls due to its own weight.

After that, the elastic force of the thin plate spring 14 and the air cylinder 9
As a result, the thin plate spring 14 also becomes horizontal, and the movable arm ]-0 and the thin plate spring 14 return to their original states.

By repeating this operation, the present invention can detach and supply the loaded trays 5 one by one.

(G) Effects of the present invention The structure and operation of the present invention provide the following effects.

First, the tray is removed by pushing it out with the thin plate spring 4, so that trays of different sizes can be accommodated simply by changing the width of the stocker side plate 1.

Second, since the tip of the thin plate spring 14 grips the tray,
The frictional force between the overlapping surfaces of the trays is reduced, and as a result, the trays can be accurately removed one by one.

Thirdly, since the detachment device is composed of the thin plate spring 14 and the movable arm 10, it is possible to manufacture the tray feeder at a relatively low cost.

Fourth, the effect of the embodiment is that the drive mechanism is an air cylinder, and the movable arm is rotated by the expansion and contraction of the rod of the air cylinder, so there are no rotating parts such as gears or cams, which is dangerous. less.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a tray feeder according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of stacked trays, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the tray feeder before it starts operating. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the tray feeder during operation. Stocker side plate tray guide guide piece cylinder rod air cylinder 101. Movable arm connecting rod 1
21. Stocker body support shaft 141. Thin plate spring tray holding part Stacked tray air inflow hose 21. Opening 41. Tray locking piece 79. Mounting bracket 1. 3. 5°8. 9. 11°13. 14a. 5 16°

Claims (1)

[Claims] A tray feeding machine having a tray-clutching thin plate spring that rises while approaching toward loaded trays, and a guide piece that restricts the upward movement of the thin plate spring, wherein the tray can be moved on both sides due to the proximity of the thin plate spring. The guide piece restricts the upward movement of the thin plate spring, causing the front part of the thin plate spring to curve downward, pushing down the abutment tray and releasing it.
A tray feeder characterized in that the degree of curvature increases as the thin plate spring continues to ascend, the tip of the thin plate spring leaves the tray, and the tray is controlled so that the detached tray falls.